Introduction M'étant intéressé pendant plus de vingt ans aux problèmes du financement de l'hôtellerie et d'autres installations touristiques, j'ai fait la constatation que dans de…
Abstract
Introduction M'étant intéressé pendant plus de vingt ans aux problèmes du financement de l'hôtellerie et d'autres installations touristiques, j'ai fait la constatation que dans de vastes milieux, même professionnels, l'image de la situation financière de l'offre touristique en hébergement ne correspond pas toujours avec la réalité.
This work examines the interplay between power, status and style. Building on the dual role of power and status as two primary sources of social influence in contemporary consumer…
Abstract
This work examines the interplay between power, status and style. Building on the dual role of power and status as two primary sources of social influence in contemporary consumer society, we propose that stylistic choices associated with greater status can imbue the wearer with greater feelings of power. We focus on a pervasive stylistic choice for women – whether to wear heels – and test two critical relationships regarding consumers' choice of heels that can act as a bridge between status and power. First, we propose that the stylistic choice of wearing heels increases wearers' perceived status (but not perceived power) – the heeled status-enhancement hypothesis, whereby (1) wearing heels increases wearers' perceived status (but not perceived power) among observers and (2) lacking power (vs having power or baseline) yields greater desire for heels over flats. Second, we propose that an increase in status stemming from wearing heels increases consumers' feelings and behaviours of high power – the status–power transfer hypothesis. Three studies confirm the use and perception of heels as status symbols and provide support for both hypotheses. We show that wearing heels (vs flat shoes) makes individuals feel and behave more powerfully by thinking more abstractly and taking more actions, two hallmarks of high power, but only when heels are worn conspicuously (i.e., the wearer knows the observer sees them). In addition, these effects are mediated by wearer's feelings of power and unexplained by perceptions of sexiness. Implications for the literatures on style, status, power and conspicuous consumption are discussed.
Maria Angela Perito, Antonella Di Fonzo, Marcello Sansone and Carlo Russo
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the market potential of food obtained from olive by-products. The marketing of such by-products (e.g. olive leaves and pulp) is a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the market potential of food obtained from olive by-products. The marketing of such by-products (e.g. olive leaves and pulp) is a challenging opportunity for the sustainable development of the sector. Yet, consumer demand is still poorly understood. The paper contributes to filling the knowledge gap with an empirical survey of a sample of Italian consumers.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors provide an assessment of consumers’ willingness to accept (WTA) food from olive by-products. The authors collected structured questionnaire from a sample of 289 Italian consumers. The authors asked to consumers their willingness to try a variety of food products containing olive by-products, as a proxy for their WTA the products. In order to investigate the drivers of the average WTA, the authors used the information in the questionnaire to build four constructs of interest: technophobia, neophobia, perception of benefits and awareness about sustainable consumption. The choice of the constructs and the variables was driven by the existing literature.
Findings
The paper shows how the WTA food with olive by-products is a general attitude of the consumer, rather than product-specific choice. The results suggest that consumers perceive the use of olive by-products as a new technology for preparing well-known food products. The authors did not find statistical evidence of the wariness of olive by-products as new food products. Technophobia is the most important factor hampering the marketing of olive by-products.
Originality/value
The paper is a first attempt of exploring the topic of WTA food with olive by-products.
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David Manry and David Stangeland
This research uses accounting information to supplement abnormal returns evidence in order to gauge the performance of greenmailed firms. Our results support the management…
Abstract
This research uses accounting information to supplement abnormal returns evidence in order to gauge the performance of greenmailed firms. Our results support the management entrenchment hypothesis; target firm earnings are poor relative to industry in the years surrounding the greenmail event, and earnings do not significantly improve as would be expected under the shareholders' interest hypothesis. This result holds after adjusting for greenmail premia net of tax effects. Evidence on investment spending suggests firms that pay greenmail differ substantially from their industries, but in a negative direction. In contrast, the industry‐adjusted earnings of non‐greenmail repurchasing firms are significantly greater than the earnings of greenmailed firms. Together, these results are consistent with the contention that greenmailed firms are not managed in shareholders' interests; they underperform their industry, the poor operating results are not attributable to higher investment outlays associated with a long‐term strategic focus, and performance does not improve. This is consistent with observed negative abnormal returns being attributable to both a lost takeover premium and a lost opportunity for improved corporate performance.
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Matthew S. Bothner, Frédéric Godart, Noah Askin and Wonjae Lee
Status constitutes a core research concept across the social sciences. However, its definition is still contested, and questions persist about its consequences. We begin with a…
Abstract
Status constitutes a core research concept across the social sciences. However, its definition is still contested, and questions persist about its consequences. We begin with a flexible, provisional definition: status is a relational asset possessed by social actors insofar as they are highly regarded by highly regarded others. Using this definition as a backdrop, we develop a fourfold typology based on how status is used as an asset and from where it is derived. The typology allows us to explore the implications of considering status as either a quality signal or a good and of viewing status-conferring ties as either deference-based or dominance-based. We then consider the implications of our framework for the generation of novelty. Although status has been connected to many social and economic outcomes, because of competing predictions in the literature – the generation of novelty has been linked to all regions of the status distribution – we sketch intuitions for future research on the status–novelty linkage. We also work toward greater conceptual clarity by comparing and contrasting status with selected related concepts: quality, reputation, and legitimacy. We conclude with considerations for future research, including cautionary remarks regarding network-analytic measurement in light of the definition we propose.
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Parul Gupta, Fangfang Zhang, Sumedha Chauhan, Sandeep Goyal, Amit Kumar Bhardwaj and Yuvraj Gajpal
This study aims to examine the factors (Stimuli) enhancing perceived utilitarian, social and conditional values (Organisms) of social commerce (s-commerce) platforms and their…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the factors (Stimuli) enhancing perceived utilitarian, social and conditional values (Organisms) of social commerce (s-commerce) platforms and their impact on small and medium enterprises’ (SMEs’) behavioral intention (Response) to adopt s-commerce.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data were gathered from 304 Indian SMEs using s-commerce platforms. Data were analyzed using SmartPLS 3 software.
Findings
The results indicated that perceived values significantly impact SMEs’ behavioral intention to adopt s-commerce. Among conditional, utilitarian and social values, the conditional value of s-commerce sites was found to be the strongest motivator for SMEs to adopt s-commerce.
Research limitations/implications
This research contributes to the growing literature on s-commerce, explaining how perceived value influences the decision of SMEs to adopt s-commerce platforms.
Practical implications
Among the significant influencers, perceived usefulness and perceived reputation were found to be the most effective triggers that stimulate perceived values of s-commerce sites. The findings draw due attention from policymakers toward environmental cues such as the legal and regulatory environment, which are instrumental in creating the most important perceived value for SMEs, i.e. conditional value.
Originality/value
By employing the inputs from the theory of consumption values and the Stimulus-Organism-Response framework, this original study looked beyond the technology factors and examined the role of perceived values of s-commerce platforms in shaping SMEs’ behavioral intention to adopt.
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Stefan Kirchner and Elke Schüßler
Critics increasingly highlight the dark sides of the sharing economy resulting from the insufficient regulation of competition, labor, or taxes in its for-profit sector. In this…
Abstract
Critics increasingly highlight the dark sides of the sharing economy resulting from the insufficient regulation of competition, labor, or taxes in its for-profit sector. In this chapter, the authors argue that regulatory solutions for the sharing economy hinge on the understanding of the ways in which the sharing economy is organized. Here, digitalization undermines established regulation through underlying organizational shifts pertaining to places, labor inputs and output responsibilities. Mapping out the field of actors that are or could be involved in regulating the sharing economy, the authors highlight a particular role played not only by digital platforms as market organizers, but also of a variety of other public and private actors such as standard setting organizations, social movements, trade unions, organized buyers and sellers, incumbents, or policy makers. The authors suggest that an understanding of sharing economy markets as fields can not only capture the highly organized nature of the sharing economy, but also serve to untangle the contestations and power dynamics unfolding among various actors engaged in different regulatory issues associated with the sharing economy. Seeing “Uberization” as a next development stage away from the modern corporation after global supply chains, the authors highlight regulatory challenges associated with the even more individualized and dispersed way in which sharing economy markets are organized and also discuss new opportunities for regulation provided by digital technology.
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Sandeep Goyal, Sumedha Chauhan, Yuvraj Gajpal and Amit Kumar Bhardwaj
A food delivery app (FDA) is a technological advancement connecting restaurants and consumers, making it possible to deliver food home conveniently. The current study seeks to…
Abstract
Purpose
A food delivery app (FDA) is a technological advancement connecting restaurants and consumers, making it possible to deliver food home conveniently. The current study seeks to identify the factors affecting consumers' continuance intention and sharing intention toward the FDA in the USA and Canada using an integrated framework built using trust transfer theory and a variety of constructs.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors collected data/inputs from 476 respondents in the USA and Canada who had used FDAs in the past and analyzed them using the structural equation modeling technique.
Findings
The results indicate that trust in FDA, trust in the user community and commitment affect continuance intention and sharing intention. Interestingly, trust in the seller does not influence commitment, continuance intention and sharing intention. Additionally, the trust disposition and reputation of the FDA play an important role in building trust in FDA.
Research limitations/implications
The present study combines the trust transfer theory with various important constructs such as commitment, trust disposition and reputation of the FDA to build an integrated framework to elucidate the continuance intention and sharing intention toward FDAs.
Practical implications
This study facilitates the FDA providers to understand how trust disposition, the reputation of the FDA and trust in the Internet build trust among FDA consumers. The study also helps them to fine-tune their trust-building strategy by considering several trust targets. It further enables them to appreciate how commitment results in continuance intention and sharing intention toward FDA.
Originality/value
It is an original study investigating the role of various constructs and trust transfer theory in shaping the consumers' continuance intention and sharing intention toward the FDA.
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Satyabhusan Dash, Ed Bruning and Kalyan Ku Guin
The purpose of this paper is to describe a cross‐cultural study which examined individualism's moderating effect on the relationship between bonding and commitment between banks…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe a cross‐cultural study which examined individualism's moderating effect on the relationship between bonding and commitment between banks and their corporate clients.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected through surveys completed by corporate customers from 126 Canadian companies and 156 Indian companies. Multiple regression analysis was used to calculate relative effects of structural and social bond on commitment across the two samples. Hierarchical moderated regression analysis was used to examine individualism's moderating effect on the bonding‐commitment relationship.
Findings
The paper's findings indicate that social and structural bonding are both antecedent to commitment, but that social bonding is given higher importance in the low individualism Indian society, while structural bonding is more important in the high individualism Canadian society. Individualism moderates the relationship between both social and structural bonding and commitment.
Practical implications
Bank relationships are dependent upon specific cultural contexts in which buyers and sellers interact. The type of bonding relationship (e.g. social or structural) determines the strength of commitment. Bank managers must understand the proper emphasis to place on developing social connections versus business transactional relationships with clients in individualistic versus collective cultures.
Originality/value
This paper dramatizes the importance of understanding ways in which bonding relates to commitment, particularly when societal values vary and thus alter the relative importance of forms of bonding that generate commitment. Through empirical analyses, the paper demonstrates the moderating effect of individualism on the social bonding‐commitment and structural bonding‐commitment linkages in the context of an important service sector. To date, these relationships have not been explored in either the Indian or Canadian context.
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Etayankara Muralidharan, Hari Bapuji and André Laplume
– This paper aims to understand why firms expedite or delay product recall decisions involving international sourcing.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to understand why firms expedite or delay product recall decisions involving international sourcing.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper combines US toy recall data from the Consumer Products Safety Commission database for the period from 1988to 2011 with World Economic Forum data on institutional environments to predict the effect the host country conditions have on recall timing decisions.
Findings
Firms tend to expedite decisions to recall defective products sourced from countries where the informal institutional profile is perceived to be unfavorable for quality manufacture.
Research limitations/implications
The reported research is empirical in nature and uses pooled cross-country, single-industry data.
Practical implications
Managers should be careful not to allow their biases to affect their product recall timing decisions.
Originality/value
Whereas previous research has examined recall timing decisions, this study is the first to consider the institutional environment where products are sourced from as an explanatory variable.