Determinants of economic and social satisfaction in manufacturer-distributor relationships

The aim of this work is to examine the dimensions of satisfaction in manufacturer-distributor relationships as well as identifying the antecedents of both the economic and the non-economic dimensions of satisfaction. A literature review about satisfaction in marketing channels is followed by quantitative research into how this interchange process is perceived by food product distributors in their relationships with manufacturers. The results provide strong support for the impact of communication, trust and commitment on satisfaction, as well as the interrelationships among the economic and the non-economic dimensions of satisfaction. Theoretical and managerial implications are extracted from these findings.     

不确定性容忍度、决策逻辑与突破式创新关系研究

以位于武汉市产业园、孵化器、创业园等多家公司的255位产品开发及技术研发人员、市场开发人员为有效样本,采用层级回归方法探讨不确定性容忍度、决策逻辑与突破式创新的关系。结果表明:不确定性容忍度与突破式创新显著正相关;不确定性容忍度与因果逻辑显著负相关,与效果逻辑显著正相关;突破式创新与因果逻辑显著负相关,与效果逻辑显著正相关;因果/效果决策在不确定性容忍度与突破式创新关系中发挥部分中介作用;不确定性容忍度正向调节效果逻辑与突破式创新的关系,对因果逻辑与突破式创新的关系没有显著调节作用。研究结论对企业创新管理实践具有重要指导价值。     

Problems with detecting assumed mediation using the hierarchical multiple regression strategy

In human resource management (HRM) and allied fields (e.g., organizational behavior, management, and industrial and organizational psychology), tests of mediation are frequently conducted using the hierarchical multiple regression (HMR) strategy of Baron and Kenny [Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173–1182]. Although previous research has identified a number of serious problems with this approach, the present study adds to the literature by identifying yet additional problems with its use in inferring the existence of mediation. Using a statistical simulation, we found that certain patterns of correlation coefficients guarantee inferences about mediation, whereas other patterns preclude such inferences. On the basis of various analyses including logistic regression and inspection of three-dimensional plots, we identified patterns of correlation coefficients needed to satisfy Baron and Kenny's [Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173–1182] conditions for inferring mediation. The same patterns have no necessary relation to actual causal connections among variables in mediation models. Moreover, as a consequence of the failure of the HMR strategy to detect mediating effects, many instances of actual mediation in HRM and allied fields may have gone undetected. In view of the foregoing, we conclude that the HMR strategy should no longer be used in testing for mediation.     

Diagnostics cannot have much power against general alternatives

Model diagnostics are shown to have little power unless alternative hypotheses can be narrowly defined. For example, the independence of observations cannot be tested against general forms of dependence. Thus, the basic assumptions in regression models cannot be inferred from the data. Equally, the proportionality assumption in proportional-hazards models is not testable. Specification error is a primary source of uncertainty in forecasting, and this uncertainty will be difficult to resolve without external calibration. Model-based causal inference is even more problematic.     

中国女性购买行为的价值观动因实证研究

本文从研究中国女性消费者购买行为的角度,利用结构方程方法,比较中西文化价值观对中国女性购买行为的影响和诠释能力,探索影响中国女性消费者购买行为的价值观动因.实证研究结果显示,较之于西方文化价值观,以儒道佛为代表的传统文化价值观能够更有效地诠释中国消费者购买行为.     

Measuring the impact of work reorganization on firm performance: evidence from French manufacturing, 1995–1999

In this paper, we apply the method of selective matching to estimate the causal effect of organizational changes on employment, stock of capital, value added, and factor productivity. Derived from a panel of 2404 French manufacturing firms in 1997, our estimates show that work reorganization improves firm performance overall through a more efficient use of labor and capital, without requiring any increase in the factors of production.     

重大社会环境事件与人口健康的实证分析和思考——“事件人口学”在我国的创建和完善发展

社会发展进程中,自然和社会环境的重大改变会对人口数量和结构产生近期和远期效果,其对人口健康的影响效应则有更多证据。对重大社会环境事件的定义、基于重大社会环境事件的人口与健康研究的主要发现和存在问题进行了系统的梳理分析,并概要介绍了相关的研究,发现重大社会环境事件作为一种外生冲击和自然实验,为开展人口与健康的因果关系和相关关系等都提供了独特的研究机会和范式,有效弥补了已有人口与健康研究方法学的不足,也使得我们可以更加理性看待重大社会环境事件对人口与健康影响的"双面效应"。在全球化视角下加强基于重大社会环境事件的人口与健康研究,将为制定促进人口健康与社会政策提供重要参考,并以此为线索,可进一步拓展重大社会环境事件与人口数量、结构、分布、变动等人口效应的影响,进而建立事件人口学的研究体系、方法和内容。     

CAUSAL INFERENCE ON EDUCATION POLICIES: A SURVEY OF EMPIRICAL STUDIES USING PISA,TIMSS AND PIRLS

The identification of the causal effects of educational policies is the top priority in recent education economics literature. As a result, a shift can be observed in the strategies of empirical studies. They have moved from the use of standard multivariate statistical methods, which identify correlations or associations between variables only, to more complex econometric strategies, which can help to identify causal relationships. However, exogenous variations in databases have to be identified in order to apply causal inference techniques. This is a far from straightforward task. For this reason, this paper provides an extensive and comprehensive overview of the literature using quasi‐experimental techniques applied to three well‐known international large‐scale comparative assessments, such as PISA, PIRLS or TIMSS, over the period 2004–2016. In particular, we review empirical studies employing instrumental variables, regression discontinuity designs, difference in differences and propensity score matching to the above databases. Additionally, we provide a detailed summary of estimation strategies, issues treated and profitability in terms of the quality of publications to encourage further potential evaluations. The paper concludes with some operational recommendations for prospective researchers in the field.     

Effect of personality traits on smallholders’ land renting behavior: Theory and evidence from the North China Plain

This study investigates the effect of smallholders’ personality traits on their land rental market decisions. We develop a conceptual framework and show that these internal factors could affect smallholders’ land rental market participation beyond institutional and socio-demographic factors. Our empirical analysis is based on a survey of 2119 rural households collected in the North China Plain. We find that smallholders with a higher level of openness are more active in participating in the farmland rental market. Moreover, internal locus of control plays a significant role in explaining smallholders’ land renting behavior. We further show that need for achievement mediates the link between internal locus of control and smallholder’s intention to rent land, indicating that fostering a higher level of internal locus of control—and subsequently achievement desire—could play an important role in promoting smallholders’ land-renting behavior. More generally, our results imply that taking rural smallholders’ personality traits into account in designing land rental policies may increase the effectiveness of policies aimed at promoting land rental market participation among smallholders and incubating crop farm scale enlargement in rural China.     

A mechanisms-based explanation of nutrition policy (dis)integration processes in Uganda

Many African governments have recently invested in strengthened nutrition policy integration to address malnutrition; as a step towards realising the targets of the Sustainable Development Goal 2. Previous studies have identified various factors that enable or constrain how nutrition integration occurs across policy sectors. However, the explanatory value of these studies has remained relatively limited, as the causal processes through which independent variables affect policy outcomes remain unelucidated. This paper addresses this gap by applying a causal mechanisms approach to investigate the processes that explain observed patterns of nutrition policy (dis)integration in different ministries in Uganda. We employed a process-tracing research design to reconstruct the context-mechanism configurations that explain the observed patterns of nutrition integration in Uganda between 2000 and 2017. Data was collected from interviews with 34 respondents, various policy and programming documents, and a focus group discussion. Our analysis reveals that increased nutrition policy integration is explained by four causal mechanisms: (1) international policy promotion; (2) issue promotion by international actors; (3) issue promotion by domestic policy entrepreneurs; and (4) instrumental policy learning. Conversely, two mechanisms led to policy disintegration: (1) leadership contestation; and (2) turf wars. All mechanisms proved activated by configurations of contextual conditions that were time- and organisation-specific. This study showed how a mechanisms approach can provide a more refined understanding of policy successes and failures in nutrition governance. Whereas integration-fostering mechanisms cannot be automated, both government and international actors working to scale up investments in nutrition need to consider and invest in the contextual conditions that allow for sustained nutrition policy integration and, ultimately, a more effective delivery of nutrition services. These include developing leadership for nutrition at different governance levels, domestic ownership and integration-fostering capacity, and supporting policy-oriented learning.