Stefan Roth, Lena Himbert and Stephan Zielke
While previous literature focusses on the impact of unit pricing on the customer level by analysing customer awareness and product choice, the present research aims to highlight…
Abstract
Purpose
While previous literature focusses on the impact of unit pricing on the customer level by analysing customer awareness and product choice, the present research aims to highlight the impact unit pricing has at the store level.
Design/methodology/approach
The impact of unit pricing on the store price image is investigated in two experiments. While the first experiment assesses the general influence of unit price presence and unit price prominence on store price image, the second experiment provides further insights into the influence of unit price prominence on store price image and shopping intentions under consideration of moderating variables.
Findings
This research demonstrates that the availability of unit prices influences several store price image dimensions positively, namely, price processibility, price perceptibility and evaluation certainty. There is also an indirect positive effect on value-for-money perception. Furthermore, unit price prominence has a positive effect on the dimension price processibility. There is a positive influence of unit price presence and unit price prominence on the consumers’ intention to shop at a given store through the store price image.
Originality/value
This paper adds to the existing unit price and store price image literature and derives implications for retailers as well as for policymakers regarding the presentation of unit prices on price labels. Policymakers can use the results for motivating retailers to use unit price information more actively and present it more prominently beyond the minimum regulatory standards.
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Both the ideals of the European Union (EU) and the EU's recent political difficulties have attracted comparison with the Habsburg empire. In recent years, some of those making…
Abstract
Both the ideals of the European Union (EU) and the EU's recent political difficulties have attracted comparison with the Habsburg empire. In recent years, some of those making comparison have turned to the Austrian Jewish novelists, Stefan Zweig and Joseph Roth, who were crucial to the imaginative emergence of the Habsburg Myth. This paper analyses their writings and those of Robert Musil and Gregor von Rezzori in relation to the Habsburg Myth as a story about European unity, about Austria-Hungary as a supranational polity and about Austria-Hungary's self-proclaimed providential purpose in European affairs. It explores the dissonance between the Habsburg Myth and the EU's territorial composition and argues that the Habsburg Myth is, nonetheless, revealing about the EU's internal hierarchies and its geopolitical difficulties in relation to Russia.
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Thomas Robbert and Stefan Roth
The purpose of this paper is to elaborate on the differences between price partitioning and drip pricing with regard to their influence on price recall, purchase intentions and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to elaborate on the differences between price partitioning and drip pricing with regard to their influence on price recall, purchase intentions and fairness perceptions. In many industries, sellers advertise low prices and reveal other surcharges sequentially as the customer goes through the buying process. To date, little is known about how these sequential, or drip-pricing, techniques influence consumer behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on an experimental between-subjects design (N = 95) with two groups. The data collection was conducted with a mixed scenario/stimuli-based online survey for a virtual travel agent.
Findings
The findings reveal that underestimation of the total price of an offering is significantly weaker when prices are presented sequentially rather than partitioned. In addition to reduced purchase intentions, drip pricing may negatively affect fairness perceptions when consumers feel deceived by the seller.
Originality/value
The study replicates findings of previous research on price partitioning but is one of the first empirical studies to examine the influence of sequence in price presentations. With this focus, the study opens up new avenues for pricing research.
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Dieter Ahlert, Rainer Olbrich, Peter Kenning and Hendrik Schroeder
In drip pricing, companies advertise low prices for products or services and then tack on additional surcharges later in the purchase process. This tactic has not only become…
Abstract
Purpose
In drip pricing, companies advertise low prices for products or services and then tack on additional surcharges later in the purchase process. This tactic has not only become popular for airlines but also for other online services, such as retailers and telecommunication companies. Despite the widespread use of drip pricing in the marketplace, little is known about its effects on consumer behavior. The purpose of this paper is to compare the effects of drip pricing with those of price partitioning. Specifically, it elaborates on perceived value, perceived deception, purchase intentions, and the moderating effect of price consciousness.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper develops a conceptual framework and tests four hypotheses with an experimental study on a purchase decision for a continental flight booked through an online travel agent. The experiment is based on a between-subjects design with two groups (n=130). The data are analyzed with multivariate statistics and structural equation modeling.
Findings
The findings reveal that drip pricing for service offerings leads to inferior results compared with partitioned pricing in terms of perceived value, perceived deception, and, ultimately, purchase intentions. The findings also indicate that the effects differ depending on the customer’s price consciousness.
Originality/value
The study draws from previous studies on partitioned pricing and replicates their findings. However, it is one of the first studies to elaborate on moderators and mediators of the consequences of drip pricing in a service context.
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Johanna Finnholm, Andreas Wallo, Karin Allard and Stefan Tengblad
This paper critically examines the empirical literature on the human resource (HR) function during organizational change, identifying the competence required for HR practitioners…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper critically examines the empirical literature on the human resource (HR) function during organizational change, identifying the competence required for HR practitioners and pinpointing gaps in previous research.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on an integrative literature review of empirical research. The review utilizes a competence model comprising three key elements: skills, motivation and the opportunities created by organizational conditions.
Findings
The review shows that while there is an ongoing discussion about the competence required by HR practitioners in organizational change, significant gaps remain in our understanding of how this competence translates into HR change agency. The typical normative descriptions of the role can be viewed as unrealistic as they fail to consider crucial contextual factors and the routine, rather mundane nature of HR change agency.
Practical implications
It is necessary to develop an understanding of the context and avoid wishful thinking when initiating change efforts. Furthermore, HR practitioners require enhanced training in crucial areas such as interpersonal skills, including communication, coaching and managing emotions.
Originality/value
The paper presents a new conceptual framework and research propositions, advocating a dynamic approach to understanding HR’s role in change. It explores how HR’s change competence, in terms of their skills and motivation to manage change, is linked to their opportunities to participate in change initiatives.
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Sofia Garcia-Torres, Laura Albareda, Marta Rey-Garcia and Stefan Seuring
This paper aims to examine how companies enact traceability in their global supply chains (SCs) to achieve sustainability goals and how this so-called traceability for…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine how companies enact traceability in their global supply chains (SCs) to achieve sustainability goals and how this so-called traceability for sustainability (TfS) can contribute to (sustainable) supply chain management ([S]SCM). For this, the paper focuses on the paramount example of the apparel industry.
Design/methodology/approach
This study presents an integrative and systematic literature review of 89 peer-reviewed journal articles on the confluence of traceability and sustainability in global apparel SCs. It comprises content analysis and abductive category-building based on previous literature.
Findings
A conceptual framework emerges to describe TfS as an evolving cycle, comprising three dimensions: governance, collaboration and tracking and tracing. Resources and capabilities literature set the foundations for conceiving TfS as a distinctive meta-capability construct. Hence, besides being associated to increased performance, risk management and SC process transformation, TfS ultimately blurs boundaries and integrates non-traditional SC actors into the same ecosystem with important implications for sustainability and (S)SCM. This study refers to the industrial upgrading potential of global SCs to explain how leveraging enabling technologies for TfS may help to improve the triple-bottom-line (TBL) performance of the actors in the broad ecosystem while reducing the risks associated to those technologies. Thus, TfS can contribute to (S)SCM and to TBL sustainability within and beyond SC boundaries.
Originality/value
This study conceptually frames (S)SCM exploring TfS as a meta-capability and contributes to the underexplored question of how to achieve sustainability in global SCs.
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Yvonne Lagrosen and Stefan Lagrosen
An innovative technology called consciousness-based education (CBE) is being introduced in schools worldwide. The approach includes both an experiential and an intellectual…
Abstract
Purpose
An innovative technology called consciousness-based education (CBE) is being introduced in schools worldwide. The approach includes both an experiential and an intellectual component. However, research studies exploring learning in CBE are rare. The purpose of the paper is to explore how organizational learning takes place in schools, which adopt CBE in addition to their ordinary curriculum. Moreover, the ambition of the approach regarding quality is examined.
Methodology/approach
A multiple-case study has been carried out. Four schools using CBE have been studied: a private school in Fairfield, Iowa, USA; a governmentally funded free school in Skelmersdale, United Kingdom; an independent school in Melbourne, Australia, and a primary school in Lelystad, the Netherlands. In total, 26 in-depth interviews have been performed, mainly with teachers and students but also with principals and experts in the CBE pedagogy. In addition, three focus-group interviews with primary school pupils were conducted and observation during classes was included. The data were analyzed by the constant comparative technique from the grounded theory approach.
Findings
Categories characterizing organizational learning in the CBE schools have been identified. These findings are related to theories of the learning organization, resulting in a framework depicting different components of learning.
Research limitation/implication
The study provides a framework illustrating organizational learning in schools that utilize CBE which affords an overview of the technology and can serve as a vantage point for further research. Since this is a qualitative case study, the effectiveness of the CBE approach and its impact on learning outcomes were not assessed, and the possibilities to generalize the findings are limited.
Originality/value
CBE has not previously been studied from an organizational learning perspective.
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Abstract
Thick film superconductors with the nominal composition Bi2Pb0.5Sr2Ca2.5Cu3.5Ox were fired on stainless steel substrates and on alumina substrates covered with silver or gold thick film conductors. Films on stainless steel substrates were semiconducting due to reaction between the superconducting film and oxidised chromium and iron from the steel. Tc(R=0) of films on silver was between 80 K and 90 K while Tc (R=0) on gold was below 60 K. The low Tc (R=0) of films on gold is attributed to the interaction between the gold layer and copper from the superconductor.
Arthur Bert, Timothy MacDonald and Thomas Herd
Today, with years of corporate experience in managing mergers and acquisitions, there is little excuse for deals that don’t create value. Regrettably failure is the case more…
Abstract
Today, with years of corporate experience in managing mergers and acquisitions, there is little excuse for deals that don’t create value. Regrettably failure is the case more often than not. Depending on the industry, a top‐performing merger can increase shareholders’ wealth anywhere from 4 to 65 percent above industry averages. But such rewards only go to companies that understand that merger success is built on two main factors: timing and execution. A.T. Kearney’s findings indicate that a company has just two years to make the deal work. After year two, the window of opportunity on forging merger synergies has all but closed. This article highlights the reasons why timing is so important to merger success, and lays out the seven ground rules‐from selecting leaders quickly, and establishing clear goals, to managing risks and expectations – that leading acquirers abide by to ensure merger success.