The behavioural intentions of specialty coffee consumers in South Africa

More than 1.6 billion cups of coffee are consumed worldwide on a daily basis. South Africa is rapidly adapting to worldwide trends with speciality coffee consumption on the rise, with South Africa recently having been recognised as a key player in the speciality coffee industry. Emerging market trends in speciality coffee consumption have resulted in a number of changes in consumption patterns, preferences and consumer behaviour. The purpose of this study was to determine the behavioural intention of speciality coffee consumers in South Africa, using the Theory of Planned Behaviour. The data were gathered from a non‐probability sample of 327 respondents, who were selected through a self‐completion online questionnaire. The results indicate that males consume more speciality coffee than females. The majority of respondents consume speciality coffee more than once a day, and foam cappuccinos are consumed most regularly. The results of the stepwise multiple regression analysis demonstrate the utility of the Theory of Planned Behaviour as a conceptual framework for predicting the behavioural intention of speciality coffee consumers. The findings indicate that attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control are important predictors of behavioural intention. Furthermore, perceived behavioural control is the most important factor influencing speciality coffee consumption, and the most influential of the direct measures of the Theory of Planned Behaviour. With the current rise in speciality coffee consumption among South Africans, the Theory of Planned Behaviour framework contributes to understanding those factors which influence regular speciality coffee consumption. It is recommended that marketers and practitioners adapt their offerings to appeal to the specific needs of the growing speciality coffee market in South Africa.     

The importance of values research for nonprofit organisations: the motivation‐based values of museum visitors

Marketing is very important to nonprofit organisations, and museums, being nonprofits, need to consider different market segments when designing and implementing their strategic and marketing plans. Marketing has traditionally been linked to concepts of profitability and providing a competitive edge, however with nonprofit organisations, marketing needs to focus on customer service. To achieve the best customer service, the organisation needs to know what the customer wants. Therefore this paper advocates that research on museums move away from demographic segmentation and factual recall, to psychographic segmentation and values. This paper discusses exploratory research undertaken on the Otago Museum, New Zealand, which looks at the motivation‐based values of the museum patrons. The most important finding in this study is the prevalence of socially oriented values (being with friends and family), whereas traditionally a museum visit has been linked to more individualistic values, such as education and knowledge. These findings have important implications for museum managers (and other nonprofit organisations) in that they show the value of psychographic segmentation. A museum, and other arts organisations, can decide if they will target one particular segment, for example, families, or if they will design their museum with quite different sections that will appeal to different target markets. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications     

Sovereign risk premiums in the European government bond market

This paper provides a study of bond yield differentials among EU government bonds on the basis of a unique data set of issue spreads in the US and DM (Euro) bond market between 1993 and 2009. Interest differentials between bonds issued by EU countries and Germany or the USA contain risk premiums which increase with fiscal imbalances and depend negatively on the issuer’s relative bond market size. The start of the European Monetary Union has shifted market attention to deficit and debt service payments as key measures of fiscal soundness and eliminated liquidity premiums in the euro area. With the financial crisis, the cost of loose fiscal policy has increased considerably.     

A metamodel approach towards self-determination theory: a study of New Zealand managers' organisational citizenship behaviours

The present study brings together the multiple dimensions of self-determination theory (SDT), the three facilitators (global aspirations, global motivation and mindfulness), the three needs (autonomy, competence and relatedness) and perceived autonomous support (PAS) towards the organisational citizenship behaviours (OCBs) of 386 New Zealand managers. SDT suggests that individuals with higher SDT dimensions will achieve greater motivation and well-being; however, few studies include more than one SDT dimension. The findings show that overall the majority of SDT dimensions were significantly correlated to OCB dimensions. Moderated regression analysis found that autonomous motivation was positively related to OCBs with controlled motivations negatively related to OCBs. PAS and most of the need satisfaction dimensions were also positively related to OCBs. Intrinsic aspirations were only related to OCBs individual. PAS was also tested as a moderator of SDT dimensions, and five significant interactions were found to influence OCBs individual and one to influence OCBs organisational. Overall, the highest levels of OCBs were reported by managers with higher than average PAS and those who rated highly on the SDT dimensions. This study provides strong and consistent support that SDT dimensions influence OCBs, and the consistent influence of PAS highlights the importance of workplace context.     

FOOL THE MARKETS? CREATIVE ACCOUNTING,FISCAL TRANSPARENCY AND SOVEREIGN RISK PREMIA

We investigate the effects of official fiscal data and creative accounting signals on interest rate spreads between bond yields in the European Union. We find that two different measures of creative accounting indeed both increase the spread. The increase of the risk premium is stronger, if financial markets are unsure about the true extent of creative accounting. Moreover, fiscal transparency reduces risk premia. Instrumental variable regressions confirm these results by addressing potential reverse causality problems and measurement bias.     

The macroeconomic determinants of private equity investment: a European comparison

A strong private equity (PE) market is a cornerstone for commercialization and innovation in modern economies. However, substantial differences exist in the relative amounts raised and invested in PE across European countries. We investigate the macroeconomic determinants of PE investment in Europe, focusing on the comparison between Central and Eastern European (CEE) and Western European countries. Our estimations are based on a data set running from 2001 to 2011 that covers 16 countries. Applying robust estimation techniques, we identify a ‘robust’ set of determinants of PE activity in both regions. We find similarities as well as differences in the driving forces of PE investments in Western European and CEE countries. Our results suggest that economic activity, the inflation rate, equity market capitalization, unit labour costs, the unemployment rate as well the the institutional and legal environment are significant determinants of PE activity.     

Family supportive organization perceptions and employee outcomes: the mediating effects of life satisfaction

Social exchange theory was used to understand employee perceptions of organizational support for work–family issues in this study of 373 employees from 40 New Zealand firms. These perceptions of family support were found to positively influence job and life satisfaction, and negatively influence turnover intentions and job burnout. Consequently, there is strong support for firms supporting work–family issues leading employees to reciprocate with superior outcomes. In addition, the mediating effects of life satisfaction were explored, as there have been calls to test the effects of existing relationships outside the workplace. While life satisfaction was not found to fully mediate any attitude, it did partially mediate all outcomes. Similarly, life satisfaction was also a significant predictor of all outcomes. This indicates that the role of firms in providing a supportive work–family climate is important and can consistently contribute to employee outcomes. Furthermore, the role of non-work attitudes is also important to acknowledge, and highlights the need to explore non-work aspects as potential mediators of work outcomes in social exchange relationships.     

Information Management in Aged Care: Cases of Confidentiality and Elder Abuse

Typically seniors like others choose to avoid institutional care. However, when age-related infirmity requires it, they not only enter into the care of others, but they also do so as vulnerable members of society. As their frailty increases with age, so does their dependence on the professionals who care for them and on the enforcement of policies concerning their care. A qualitative case study involving seniors and their carers revealed that breaches of confidentiality, unprofessional behaviour and the non-enforcement of policy, continue to hide the physical and emotional abuse perpetrated by nursing and other staff on vulnerable consumers. Professional ethics, including at a corporate level, enforcing policy, protecting whistleblowers and creating reporting mechanisms for aged care researchers, are amongst the recommendations arising from this study.