The face of the un‐consumer: An empirical examination of the practice of voluntary simplicity in the United States

The practice of voluntary simplicity is inextricably linked to consumer behavior and has attracted the attention of researchers in a number of disciplines, including psychology and marketing. Yet the daily practice of voluntary simplicity in the United States remains largely unexamined. The research presented here is the first to look at voluntary simplicity with the use of a nationwide sample of American consumers. A more refined application of Maslow's theory of human motivation to the understanding of this social phenomenon is proposed. The practices considered most important to this lifestyle are identified, as are key impediments to its consistent practice. Factor analysis is used to identify the underlying dimensions of U.S. voluntary simplicity: ecological and social responsibility; community; and maintaining a spiritual life. Findings indicate that people of moderate income are more likely to practice voluntary simplicity than was previously believed. This research also compares highly committed simplifiers to those who are less committed, finding that more committed practitioners are more likely to be consistent in practices requiring ongoing effort, such as composting. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Training and Performance of a Diverse Workforce

The moderating role of work contracts on the relationship between human resource management (HRM) and the self‐reported performance of 1,311 permanent and 924 temporary employees across three sectors was studied using a multilevel design in 103 organizations in three European countries. The HR practice examined was training and its allocation to the different workforce groups. The relationship between training for permanent employees and performance was moderated by work contract as well as country. In the Spanish sample, the performance of temporary employees was more negatively related to training for permanent employees as compared to the Dutch and the Swedish sample. Unexpectedly, in the Dutch sample, training provision was negatively related to the workforce group it was provided for. It is the temporary employees that seemed to be the cause of the interactions, underlining the call for special treatment of this workforce. Results indicate a considerable role of the interplay of job dependence and labor market conditions. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

SAVINGS IN TIMES OF DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE: LESSONS FROM THE GERMAN EXPERIENCE

Pension reforms in many developed countries make individuals shoulder a bigger share of longevity and income risks. The desired response is that individuals accumulate private assets for retirement. Whether this actually takes place, is of paramount relevance for scientists and policy makers. We take Germany as an example: Twenty years of pension reform have transformed the monolithic German pension system into a multipillar system. Formerly generous public pension benefits are gradually being reduced, whereas substantial incentives are granted to occupational and private saving schemes. Has this transition worked out? We survey the reform steps and households’ reactions: How did individuals adjust their labor market behavior? How did private and occupational pension plans take off? How do behavioral adjustments vary in the population? Most Germans adapted to the new situation. Both actual and expected retirement decisions changed and the share of households without supplementary pensions decreased from 73% to 39% in little more than a decade. This is a remarkable success. Nonetheless, households with low education, low income and less financial education did neither adjust their retirement behavior nor pick up supplementary pension plans and are thus likely to face difficulties in bridging the gap arising in future pension income.     

Does Service Employees’ Appearance Affect the Healthiness of Food Choice?

Derived from previous research on social influence on food consumption and social comparison theory, this article examines the effect of service employees’ appearance on consumers’ food choice using an experimental study, involving a video manipulation and eye‐tracking technique. The video shows a menu being proffered by a waitress whose degree of apparent healthiness varies (healthy, overweight, unhealthy lifestyle). The menu contains both healthy and unhealthy meal alternatives. The analysis of participants’ eye movements demonstrated that exposure to the overweight employee did not stimulate greater (i.e., earlier or longer) attention to unhealthy meal alternatives, whereas exposure to the employee who displayed an unhealthy lifestyle did. These findings have social and managerial implications: The postulated stigma according to which the presence of overweight others encourages unhealthy eating appears questionable. Service providers that might secretly hire according to body weight have no grounds to do so. In contrast, employees signaling an unhealthy lifestyle through their style choices prompt patrons to pay more attention to unhealthy meal alternatives. Food service providers might want to take this factor into consideration and actively manage the aspects that can be altered by simple measures.     

Consumer reactions to the availability of organic food in discount supermarkets

The market for organic food products in industrial countries has changed significantly. Conventional grocery stores have entered this market in recent years and now present an alternative point of purchase to farmers’ markets and specialized health food shops. In Germany, the main newcomers in this field are the discount supermarkets. The question is whether the increased supply of organic food products leads to sustained effects on consumer behaviour. In other words, can a first‐time purchase of organic products at a discounter act as an ‘icebreaker’ and induce further purchases? This question is addressed here. A consumer survey (n = 231) indicates that an initial purchase of organic food in a discount store is indeed very likely to lead to follow‐up purchases. The link shown is statistically significant. Furthermore, customers are very interested in the availability of locally grown products, reliable information and easy comparison with non‐organic products. Important recommendations concerning organic product range, display and information, especially for retailers, can be deducted.     

Organizational structure characteristics’ influences on international purchasing performance in different purchasing locations

This study contributes to the understanding of how firms should structure their purchasing organization to improve their performance. While the research into structural characteristics’ impacts on purchasing performance is evolving, it is still incomplete, especially concerning the contingencies on different purchasing environments. Drawing on ideas from the organizational information processing and contingency approaches as well as the international business literature, the present study proposes a model in which three key organizational structure characteristics – centralization, standardization, and specialization – are associated with purchasing performance. This study posits that the relationships are contingent on a purchasing location’s formal and informal institutional context. Based on a sample of 195 German manufacturers, the model is empirically tested using structural equation modeling. The findings support the relevance of organizational structure characteristics for international purchasing and firm performance and they also support the notion that the effects are contingent on the purchasing location’s institutional context.     

How Varying Levels of Knowledge and Motivation Affect Search and Confidence during Consideration and Choice

Using a pull-down menu search technique, we study how ability (knowledge level) and motivation (accountability) interact with decision phase (consideration vs. choice) to affect consumers' search costs (amount of search), benefit (confidence) and efficiency (benefit for a given amount of search). We find that consumers adapt their search strategies across phases and that these adaptations occur in different ways and at different rates for consumers with different levels of knowledge and accountability.     

Sportskandale in der Presse

Scandal research questions the normative social corrective function of scandal coverage. For political scandals, a correlation between coverage and disenchantment with politics has been proven. Similar effects can be expected in other domains. However, empirical evidence for this is yet missing. This study examines whether the coverage of sport scandals displays those characteristics known from the coverage of political scandals and considered to be a condition of negative effects on the recipients. To this end, the press coverage of two recent German sport scandals was analysed. Results show that the presumed characteristics known from political scandals also appear in sport scandal coverage. Finally, the extent of these negative effects and their possible consequences for journalism are discussed against the background of additional external survey data about one of the analysed scandals.