Multiattribute utility models link the relative attractiveness of a given project to the utility functions of the decision makers. Conjoint analysis is industry's most commonly…
Abstract
Multiattribute utility models link the relative attractiveness of a given project to the utility functions of the decision makers. Conjoint analysis is industry's most commonly used marketing research method for measuring consumers' multiattribute utility functions (Green 1984). In this article, conjoint analysis is proposed as a methodology for measuring managers' utility functions regarding innovative capital budgeting proposals.
George M. Zinkhan and F. Christian Zinkhan
Human existence is characterized by discontinuities, chaos, instabilities, constant changes, and paradoxes (Firat and Venkatesh, 1996). A challenge to social scientists is to…
Abstract
Human existence is characterized by discontinuities, chaos, instabilities, constant changes, and paradoxes (Firat and Venkatesh, 1996). A challenge to social scientists is to construct theories which explain human behavior, given the plurality and complexity of human behavior. At the same time, business decision makers face the challenge of managing in an environment of constant change and flux. The economist, Joseph Schumpeter (1943), described this process well:
George M. Zinkhan and F. Christian Zinkhan
Since organizations have limited resources, it is not possible to invest in every opportunity which is recognized or imagined. Once a set of promising projects has been identified…
Abstract
Since organizations have limited resources, it is not possible to invest in every opportunity which is recognized or imagined. Once a set of promising projects has been identified and investigated, it is necessary to reject some projects but invest in others. In this respect, the process of capital budgeting serves to shape the future of organizations, and a variety of capital budgeting methods have been proposed to assist managers who are engaged in this important planning task.
F. Christian Zinkhan and George M. Zinkhan
The application on conjoint analysis to the taskof customising financial services is discussed.Conjoint analysis allows for the generation of theutility levels associated with…
Abstract
The application on conjoint analysis to the task of customising financial services is discussed. Conjoint analysis allows for the generation of the utility levels associated with financial service design alternatives. By evaluating service‐provider and customer utility levels simultaneously, an efficient frontier of financial service designs can be identified. This process can greatly simplify the financial service design selection decision, since it eliminates inferior alternatives from consideration. A hypothetical example, the selection of commercial line of credit features for a potential corporate customer, is demonstrated.
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F. Christian Zinkhan and George M. Zinkhan
The northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) was declared a threatened species by the US Fish and Wildlife Service on June 22, 1990. Its listing as a threatened species…
Abstract
The northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) was declared a threatened species by the US Fish and Wildlife Service on June 22, 1990. Its listing as a threatened species makes it illegal not only to harm the owls directly, but also to destroy their habitat. Uncertainty associated with the federal government's handling of the owl habitat area increased with the announcement on June 27 that a plan for protection would be delayed. Subsequently, the Bush administration responded with a plan aimed at “balancing” environmental and employment considerations (Hooker and Rockwell, 1990). Reflecting the 1994 Clinton forest plan for the Pacific Northwest, total harvests of softwoods in the Douglas‐fir region of Western Washington and Western Oregon were recently projected to decline from 3.14 billion cubic feet in 1986 to 1.75 billion cubic feet in 2010 (Haynes, Adams, and Mills, 1995). Since the stock market responds very rapidly to new information, its reaction to the owl's listing can be investigated in an attempt to uncover Wall Street's perception of the likely future effect of the decision on the financial attractiveness of growing and marketing timber. Results have implications for the forest products industry and should be of interest to policymakers, forest industry planners, and security analysts.
Nancy D. Albers‐Miller and Marla Royne Stafford
The growth of international business, combined with an increase in the number of service offerings, underscores the importance of understanding effective promotional strategies…
Abstract
The growth of international business, combined with an increase in the number of service offerings, underscores the importance of understanding effective promotional strategies for services versus goods in international markets. The current study examines advertising appeals for services and goods across four different countries: Brazil, Taiwan, Mexico and the USA. Results of a content analysis indicate that the use of rational and emotional appeals differs across both product type and country. It is suggested that culture plays a role in the use of the appeals and that the product type × country interaction is strongly reflected in Taiwanese and US advertising.
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Márcia Maurer Herter, Adilson Borges, Diego Costa Pinto, Mario Boto Ferreira and Anna S. Mattila
This research examines how construal level shapes the effectiveness of rational (vs emotional) messages for inducing cessation behaviors. Concrete mindsets foster self-improvement…
Abstract
Purpose
This research examines how construal level shapes the effectiveness of rational (vs emotional) messages for inducing cessation behaviors. Concrete mindsets foster self-improvement goals, whereas abstract mindsets boost self-relevance goals.
Design/methodology/approach
In four studies, this research examines the moderating role of construal level on health messages and the underlying mechanism of goal pursuit.
Findings
Results demonstrate that concrete (vs abstract) mindsets increase consumers’ intent to engage in cessation behaviors when exposed to rational (vs emotional) messages. Consistent with this study’s theorizing, the authors found that self-improvement goals underlie the effects for concrete mindsets, whereas self-relevance goals mediate the effects for abstract mindsets.
Research limitations/implications
The reported effects are limited to health messages focusing on cessation behaviors.
Practical implications
This research can help public policymakers to design more effective health messages to foster specific cessation behaviors – quitting smoking and reducing drinking – focusing on concrete (vs abstract) mindsets and rational (vs emotional) messages.
Originality/value
This investigation highlights construal level as an important moderator for message appeals (rational vs emotional) on cessation behaviors, along with the underlying mechanism of goal pursuit, thus contributing to health marketing literature.
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J.O. Tantoush, F. Lettice and H.K. Chan
The purpose of this paper is to explore buyer‐supplier relationships in the Libyan oil industry during and following the sanction era. This paper, utilising four largely validated…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore buyer‐supplier relationships in the Libyan oil industry during and following the sanction era. This paper, utilising four largely validated critical relationship parameters, seeks to flag important buyer‐supplier relationship insights.
Design/methodology/approach
Desk research is undertaken to explore the selected themes of trust, co‐operation, commitment and communication, which are critical to effective dyadic buyer‐supplier relationships. Subsequently, in‐depth interviews were conducted with five key personnel of five Libyan oil companies to examine the impact of sanctions on the selected themes in relation to their buyer‐supplier relationships.
Findings
The results highlight interesting differentials between the two explored areas in relation to the four selected themes: trust, co‐operation, commitment and communication. The results indicate that there is a significant gap in understanding the impact of sanctions on the buyer‐supplier relationship.
Practical implications
This paper is of practical use to academics and practitioners who wish to understand the impact on and implications of sanctions on dyadic buyer‐supplier relationships in a developing country. It is also useful to government officials and the oil industry in gaining insights into the effects of sanctions on an economy with significant reliance on the oil industry.
Originality/value
There are extensive studies on the key themes of dyadic buyer‐supplier relationships. However, there is a gap in understanding the impact of sanctions on buyer‐supplier relationship behaviours. The findings in this paper therefore contribute to bridging this gap.
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Vai Shiem Leong, Sally Hibbert and Christine Ennew
This study aims to examine the effects of enhanced visualization of intangible service value through integration of means-end perspectives on advertising effectiveness.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the effects of enhanced visualization of intangible service value through integration of means-end perspectives on advertising effectiveness.
Design/methodology/approach
Banking advertisements, incorporating message stimuli derived from salient values desired by the financial consumers and designed to assist message elaboration and stimulate personal relevance, were developed to examine the influence of cognitive connectivity on vividness of intangible service benefits and service advertising effectiveness.
Findings
The findings demonstrate that greater cognitive connectivity positively affects perceived tangibility, attitude toward the advertisement and attitude toward the brand. Additionally, the results indicated that perceived personal relevance has higher influence on envisioning service components, compared to one’s ability to connect visual cues to perceived benefits and to immediate end-goals.
Research limitations/implications
This study incorporated visual stimuli limited only to financial security and social recognition. Future research should aim to examine the effects of different types of values on consumers’ elaboration process and their ability to visualize financial services.
Originality/value
This study extends knowledge of the means-end chain by proposing a means-end cognitive connectivity construct which influences the degree that consumers are able to mentally picture intangible service attributes. This study also provides insight that different values have different degree of influence on one’s ability to visualize service.
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Emerging markets present differences in structural characteristics, yet exhibit commonalities of melancholy evidence of varying degrees of economic and political…
Abstract
Emerging markets present differences in structural characteristics, yet exhibit commonalities of melancholy evidence of varying degrees of economic and political under‐development. There is a greater consensus in the finance literature on what the characteristics of emerging markets are than there is on their meaning. Some perceive the financial markets in terms of the mix of financial institutions and the level of development of the national economy. In this respect, popular reference relates to the dichotomy between developed and developing countries. This view of the emerging markets is flawed on the grounds that some countries within the developed countries' group are regarded as emerging markets (e.g. Portugal, Greece and former USSR) (see for example, Todaro, 1989, p.16). Narrow conceptions then focus on the level of development (and efficiency) of the national stock market and financial system, hence the appellation ‘emerging stock markets of developing countries’. These markets are thought to suffer from the small numbers market condition (Williamson, 1975), allocative efficiency distortion, and a range of market imperfections and externalities, including transaction costs. Yet others cast these markets in terms of their high levels of political risk, involving essentially military interregnums or what the international investor regards as unwarranted government intervention in exchange transactions.