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Article
Publication date: 29 May 2019

Alpen Sheth and Hemang Subramanian

The purpose of this paper is to model blockchain-based smart contracts specifically for the insurance industry. The authors introduce the concept of smart contracts and further…

1862

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to model blockchain-based smart contracts specifically for the insurance industry. The authors introduce the concept of smart contracts and further discuss the implementation of a decentralized insurance marketplace, namely Etherisc, using smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain platform.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors employ three methods in this paper. The first one is a design illustration of a live application, namely, Etherisc. The second one is an economic model using demand–supply and equilibrium economics. The third one is an illustration using principal–agent modeling using constrained optimization.

Findings

The findings illustrate the following: in the design discussion, the authors demonstrate the architecture of a live Ethereum-based smart contract system. In the economic model, the authors illustrate how decentralized smart contract systems can increase social welfare by shifting demand and supply by reducing transactional costs. In the principal–agent model, the authors show how both the principal and agent are positively benefited by various mechanisms.

Originality/value

The paper is an original contribution and can be used as a reference model to study insurance or other similar marketplaces and the underlying economic transformations happening therein.

Details

Managerial Finance, vol. 46 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4358

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Article
Publication date: 6 May 2014

C. M. Siddique

This study was undertaken to explore obstacles to market orientation in the retail small- and medium-sized retail enterprises (SME) sector of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a…

933

Abstract

Purpose

This study was undertaken to explore obstacles to market orientation in the retail small- and medium-sized retail enterprises (SME) sector of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a rapidly growing economy in the Gulf region. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used a triangulation data collection approach, including a case study, participant observation, and a questionnaire-based survey. Five research hypotheses were developed on context-specific impediments to market orientation, identified by means of in-depth interviews with owners/operators of SMEs, their channel partners and customers, and were tested with survey data.

Findings

The study revealed a weak market orientation among UAE-based retail SMEs. An undifferentiated competition, limited resource infrastructure, and a short-term planning horizon occurred as the major impediments to the development and implementation of a market orientation. SMEs that preferred to maintain the status quo, and those who perceived UAE ' s commercial environment as lenient and pro-business, also expressed a lack of interest in the marketing concept and market orientation as a competitive strategy.

Research limitations/implications

The study supports the contention that social-structural conditions and business practices can create formidable barriers to a market orientation in emerging markets. The findings call for shifting the current research focus from intra-organizational antecedents of market orientation to context-specific factors that may impede or facilitate market orientation.

Originality/value

The study unravels a unique set of impediments to market orientation in UAE ' s retail sector and thus contributes to the ongoing interest of marketing scholars in expanding the range of possible antecedents of a market orientation. The findings of this study should be of special interest to foreign business firms aspiring to enter the growing retail sector of UAE and other emerging markets in the Gulf region.

Details

Education, Business and Society: Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues, vol. 7 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-7983

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Article
Publication date: 1 April 1992

V.W. Mitchell and Pari Boustani

The idea that risk could be a motivating factor in consumers′choice of breakfast cereal seemed less than plausible on firstconsideration. However, reports an investigation of…

1342

Abstract

The idea that risk could be a motivating factor in consumers′ choice of breakfast cereal seemed less than plausible on first consideration. However, reports an investigation of secondary sources, some focus groups and a survey of 180 shoppers which revealed that this initial reaction was unfounded and that risk appeared significant in affecting consumers′ purchasing behaviour. The most important risks were those of taste and nutritional value. The most important risk relievers were choosing a well‐known brand and obtaining free samples. The findings seem to support the high advertising spends characteristic of the market, but question the widespread use of celebrity endorsements.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 94 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

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Article
Publication date: 25 July 2019

Vanaja Menon Vadakepat and Devaki Vadakepat Menon

Many researchers have addressed students as consumers and considered their online searches to choose a university as typical buying behaviour. The myriad features of digital…

175

Abstract

Purpose

Many researchers have addressed students as consumers and considered their online searches to choose a university as typical buying behaviour. The myriad features of digital information enable universities to conveniently and quickly reach educational markets at a relatively low cost. Consumers’ market choices can usefully be interpreted in terms of their cultural perceptions. To encourage Web viewers to make repeat visits to, and remain longer on, their websites, it is critical for international universities to understand local and regional viewers’ perceptions and preferences regarding non-text Web messages through the lens of culture. The purpose of the current study is to address the need for, and the challenge presented by, glocalising the text and non-text aspects of university websites by investigating Arab consumers’ perceptions of these websites.

Design/methodology/approach

The sampling frame comprised 200 residents from the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, including 100 high school students and 100 stakeholders, with equal proportions of Arabs and non-Arabs. Illustrations and images were used in the questionnaire to collect respondents’ perceptions about university websites from a cultural perspective.

Findings

This study identifies a need to glocalise the non-text and website messages of international universities that are aiming to penetrate educational markets in the Emirates.

Research limitations/implications

This study clearly identifies the segment that is most receptive to a “glocalised” website communication strategy of international universities: Arab students, aged 16 or above, and educated stakeholders, expect to view academic information on websites, as do viewers everywhere, but prefer this information to reflect the values and traditions of Arab culture.

Originality/value

The increasing inflow of students from the Gulf region to the United Arab Emirates, instead of their usual choice of European or Western educational destinations, has motivated international universities to envisage the Emirates as a location for their campus expansions. An understanding of the approaches of Arab viewers to the websites of international universities through the lens of culture is essential for bridging the literature gaps that currently persist in the area of digital promotion and social marketing.

Details

Journal of Islamic Marketing, vol. 11 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1759-0833

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