‘Globesity’? The effects of globalization on obesity and caloric intake

We examine the effect of globalization, in its economic and social dimensions, on obesity and caloric intake, namely the so –called ‘globesity’ hypothesis. Our results suggest a robust association between globalization and both obesity and caloric intake. A one standard deviation increase in globalization is associated with a 23.8 percent increase in obese population and a 4.3 percent rise in calorie intake. The effect remains statistically significant even after using an instrumental variable strategy to correct for some possible reverse causality and ommited variable bias, a lagged structure, and corrections for panel standard errors. However, we find that the primary driver (of the ‘globesity’ phenomenon) is the ‘social’ rather than the ‘economic’ dimension of globalization, and specifically the effect of changes in ‘information flows’ and ‘social proximity’ on obesity. A one standard deviation increase in social globalization increased the percentage of obese population by 13.7 percent.     

试析莫里森《宠儿》结尾的意义

《宠儿》的叙事策略和结构方式及其体现的极具族裔特色的民族精神,小说结尾与整部小说内在逻辑相统一,而某些西方评论家对它的指责显然有误读的嫌疑。     

The Importance of taste in experimental auctions: consumers’ valuation of calorie and sweetener labeling of soft drinks

A majority of purchases that consumers make are classified as repeat purchases. One of the main reasons why consumers make repeat food purchases is the food's taste. Therefore, we examined the importance of including taste testing in nonhypothetical experimental auctions. Specifically, we used two experiments to determine consumers’ willingness to pay for soft drinks labeled with different calorie and sweetener information. In Experiment 1, participants tasted the soft drinks prior to the bidding rounds. In Experiment 2, participants did not taste the soft drinks prior to the bidding rounds. Bidding behavior for the soft drinks was significantly different between Experiment 1 and Experiment 2. Results suggest that including taste testing in the design of experimental auctions is important to accurately capture consumers’ willingness to pay for foods that are purchased repeatedly. Results also imply that policies aimed at combating obesity by making the calorie content of foods more visible may not produce desired outcomes.     

The 99 price ending as a signal of a low-price appeal

There is evidence that the rightmost digits, or endings, of retail prices can communicate meanings to consumers. To better understand how such meanings are formed, this paper addresses the question of how the 99 price ending can have a low-price meaning even though 99-ending prices tend to be higher rather than lower competitive prices. Analysis of two large samples of newspaper price advertising indicates that there is a strong and robust correlation between the use of the 99 price ending and the presence of a low-price appeal such as a claimed discount. It is suggested that the salience of price advertising leads it to dominate other sources of information in the consumer's learning of price-ending meanings.     

Consumer consumption intentions of smaller packaged snack variants

Smaller snack package variants are ubiquitous in the food marketplace. Although it is assumed that consumers intend to consume less because snacks are placed into smaller packages, consumer intentions are never measured. This research examines dietary‐restrained consumers' consumption intentions of smaller snack package variants found in the marketplace described by snack type (i.e. less healthy, more healthy – as per Guiding Stars® food labelling system) and front‐of‐package calorie labelling (99 calories, 100 calories). We conducted an online experiment wherein 203 participants were exposed to the aforementioned snack package variants and their consumption intentions were subsequently measured. A regression analysis revealed that consumers who are highly dietary restrained intend to consume more when (a) the snack is relatively healthier and (b) it includes 99‐calorie front‐of‐package labelling. We discuss the idea that dietary‐restrained consumers are not likely to view smaller packaged snacks as portion control devices, but rather, as a means to eat more of a healthier food.     

Customizing calories: How rejecting (vs. selecting) ingredients leads to lower calorie estimation and unhealthier food choices

Customization of food products has increased substantially in recent years while the desire for healthiness and an emphasis on understanding and providing calorie information continues to dynamically change the landscape of restaurant retail. The authors report four studies demonstrating that different customization routes (i.e., rejecting alternatives from a full product offering versus adding alternatives to a basic product offering) lead to systematic, but predictable, differences in consumers’ estimations of calories. In particular, this research finds that a rejection (vs. selection) customization process leads consumers to persistently estimate lower calories in the final product, which then improves evaluations of the retailer and leads to unhealthier food choices. These findings occur when consumers estimate calories of the exact same final product using the different paths to customization as well as when they create their own customized final product, while accounting for differences in the quantity and type of ingredients selected, suggesting a very general difference in estimations. This research has important implications for consumers who want to manage their weight and for firms that need to manage consumers’ health perceptions.     

Mandatory Calorie Disclosure: A Comprehensive Analysis of Its Effect on Consumers and Retailers

In 2018 restaurants in the United States will need to provide calorie information on their menus as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. In the present research, we examine the efficacy of this legislation in reducing restaurant based food calorie consumption. Specifically, we explore the likely effect of the new policy on both the supply and demand side, that is, consumer and retailer behaviors. To achieve this, two studies are included in this research: a meta-analysis of 186 studies investigating the effect of calorie disclosure on calories selected, and a meta-analysis of 41 studies examining the effect of calorie disclosure on calories offered by retailers. Across these two studies we reveal a significant and unequivocal calorie disclosure effect for menu labels; disclosure results in both fewer calories selected (?27 Calories) and fewer calories offered by retailers (?15 Calories).     

The effect of 99-ending calories and anticipated guilt on restaurant menu development strategy

This study focused on the “just below calorie labeling (e.g., 199 vs. 200)” effect on consumers’ responses to purchasing indulgent foods. Based on the price context (e.g., $10.00 vs. $9.99), this study conducted a scenario-based online survey and found the interaction effect between anticipated guilt and the left-digit calorie effect to predict restaurant consumers’ choice of indulgent foods (i.e., hamburger advertisement with its calorie information, such as 399 vs. 400). The empirical findings showed that the calorie amount manipulation led to different levels of anticipated guilt for ordering the food and beliefs in the food’s calorie information (i.e., 399 < 400 calories) regardless of consumers’ level of health-related personal value.     

How the Features of Business Relationships Influence Their Endings

This paper discusses the connection between the nature of an existing business relationship and its ending, based on existing research on the reasons and the process of business relationship ending. This study first discusses the features of business relationships that most likely influence their ending process. Based on these features the paper presents propositions on how a particular type of relationship would end.     

The Process of Business Relationship Ending – Its Stages and Actors

How to describe a process of business relationship ending, while considering both the aspects of time and the multiplicity of actors involved? The process of ending consists of actions performed by the actors, as well as their perceptions and decisions concerning the future of the relationship and the consequences they have on the relationship. A longitudinal, dyadic case study is used to empirically ground a process framework. The model distinguishes six stages in the ending process and depicts different actor levels involved. The process model helps to understand the events and actions that end the relationship.