Reinforced urn processes for credit risk models

We propose a Bayesian nonparametric model to estimate rating migration matrices and default probabilities using the reinforced urn processes (RUP) introduced in Muliere et al. (2000). The estimated default probability becomes our prior information in a parametric model for the prediction of the number of bankruptcies, with the only assumption of exchangeability within rating classes. The Polya urn construction of the transition matrix justifies a Beta distributed de Finetti measure. Dependence among the processes is introduced through the dependence among the default probabilities, with the Bivariate Beta Distribution proposed in Olkin and Liu (2003) and its multivariate generalization.     

The Concept of “Consumption Corridors” Meets Society: How an Idea for Fundamental Changes in Consumption is Received

Journal of Consumer Policy - The concept of consumption corridors is a concept to guide policy design and policy-making. It suggests applying good life and justice as the primary...     

Effects of au naturel packaging colors on willingness to pay for healthy food

This study introduces and defines a novel color family—au naturel colors—and proposes that featuring these hues on product packaging enhances consumer willingness to pay (WTP) for healthy food products, but not for unhealthy food products. This effect occurs irrespective of the fit between the colors of the product and of the packaging, and of the color lightness or saturation. Perceptions of product authenticity mediate the relationship between au naturel colors packaging and consumer WTP for the product. The results of seven studies provide support for the proposed conceptual framework, contributing to the literature on consumer responses to colors and packaging features, and allowing to draw implications for the marketing of healthy food products.     

Breaking Through Complexity: Visual and Conceptual Dimensions in Logo Evaluation across Exposures

This research investigates the effects of visual and conceptual complexity (VC and CC) on brand logo evaluations at single and multiple exposures. Building upon the theoretical distinction between visual and conceptual constructs and on a processing fluency account, it is proposed that the effects of VC and CC on attitude toward the logo change across exposures following opposite patterns, and are driven by the mechanisms of perceptual fluency and conceptual fluency, respectively. The results of a hybrid experimental study suggest that the initially positive effect of VC on attitude toward the logo becomes negative with multiple exposures, whereas the initially negative effect of CC on attitude toward the logo becomes positive as exposures increase. The findings contribute to research on consumer reactions to the visual elements of brands, and offer guidelines to brand managers and logo designers for leveraging on VC and CC, as well as on the number of exposures, in order to raise the attractiveness of logos.     

The Stability of Factor Models of Interest Rates

The daily term structure of interest rates is filtered to reducethe influence of cross-correlations and autocorrelations onits factors. A three-factor model is fitted to the filtereddata. We perform statistical tests, finding that factor loadingsare unstable through time for daily data. This finding is notdue to the presence of outliers nor to the selected number offactors. Such an instability problem can be solved when applyingthe factor analysis on multivariate scaled residuals, filteredusing a nonparametric technique based on functional gradientdescent.     

Customer Attitude and Dispositions Towards Customized Products: The Interaction Between Customization Model and Brand

Despite increasing interest in customization-related topics, little is known about the relation between customization and brand. The authors identify two main archetypes of product customization based on the degrees of freedom given to the customer in the design process: Combination-based Customization (CbC), which is the selection of product modules provided by the company, and Integration-based Customization (IbC), which is product customization by means of signs and symbols provided by the customer. The authors propose that customer attitude and dispositions towards CbC and IbC depend on the presence/absence of a mass brand logo upon the product. Results of three studies, based on web toolkits for t-shirt and trolley bag customization, demonstrate that in the presence of a mass brand logo CbC shows higher customer attitude and dispositions than IbC. In the absence of a mass brand logo, the opposite pattern holds. Additional findings show, however, that the advantage of CbC over IbC for branded products disappears when there is high congruence between the customer self and the brand, and when creative brands are considered.     

Mediation of artefacts,tools and technical objects: an international and french perspective

In this article we present a review of literature on the concept of Artefact, Tool and Technical Object in the light of in sociocultural approach. Particular attention is given to present and discuss the French research tradition on the Technical Object and Technological education. The aim is to give a broad perspective to explore the mediation between the individual and their environment.