6,576 research outputs found
Joining hands for the greater good: examining Social Innovation launch strategies in B2B settings
Get PDFThe practice of forming brand alliances is common among companies in business-to-business
(B2B) settings that seek to launch social innovations. Research evidence on the efficacy of
such practice is, however, scarce. Based on the perspective of organizational buyers, we
examine how social innovations should be launched by companies in B2B settings, whether
through alliances with nonprofits or for-profits, or via independent ventures, across two
experimental studies. Underpinned by the stereotype content model, we find that alliance
launch strategies with nonprofits or for-profits result in greater purchase intentions,
perceptions of warmth and competence, when compared to independent ventures. Further, we
demonstrate that communicating societal benefits accruing from a social innovation favors an
alliance launch strategy over an independent venture. Alliance strategies show comparable
advantage to independent ventures when both societal and company-focused benefits are
communicated. Our research advances knowledge on; organizational buyers’ evaluations of
alliances and social innovations, the psychological mechanism underlying organizational
buyers’ evaluations of social innovations launch strategies, and communication management.
Our findings provide insights for companies seeking to launch social innovations, and
guidelines on partner selection
Specific Features in Accessing European Funding
Get PDFEuropean Funds are the European Union financial instruments in order to assist Member States in reducing the existing disparities between regions and between countries, and for harmonization with the economic, social and cultural European standards. This paper intends to present some general characteristics applicable to the most important financing programs, and also to outline certain features of the main financing lines, referring to investment projects development and their implementation, based on the Applicant Guides analysis. The paper treats institutional, legal, financial, technical, social and environmental aspects and outlines proposals and recommendations to achieve a better EU funds absorption and also a higher success rate of initiated projects. In knowledge-based economy circumstances, training consultancy specialists, that represent the intellectual capital in this area, will ensure the professional management of the developing process, submission and ongoing competitive projects, and will help enhance the funds absorption at national level. Thus, the European support for investments in ensuring sustainable growth will help overcoming the difficulties encountered by our country, and will sustain the Romanian economy recovery.eligible costs, European funds, investment, knowledge economy, sustainable development.
Influencing sustainable product choice through anticipated pride and guilt: the role of self-accountability and recalled emotions
Get PDFConsumption choices are significant in determining sustainability outcomes.
Therefore, an area of particular interest for both scholars and practitioners is that of
consumer behaviour and the challenge of encouraging sustainable consumption habits.
Sustainable consumer behaviour is important, yet slow to change, with many
individuals stating that they care about being sustainable, yet not demonstrating this in
their actual behaviour choices. This research proposes two related new theoretical
routes to sustainable product choice, namely through self-accountability and through
recalled emotions.
First, a systematic review of the extant literature was deemed necessary. A conceptual
framework was developed that identified the antecedents to and moderators of
sustainable behaviour change, informing a number of testable propositions and future
research directions. Moreover, this synthesis uncovered the gaps in current knowledge
that informed the research question and design of the empirical research that follows.
Adapting aspects of self-standards and self-discrepancy theory, the second stage of this
research explored the construct of self-accountability for influencing anticipated pride
and guilt about sustainable purchase behaviours, and thereby influencing the behaviour
itself. Two field surveys tested a number of structural models to measure the effect of
self-accountability on purchase intentions, mediated by feelings of anticipated pride
and guilt. The results found that consumers with higher levels of self-accountability
are more likely to be influenced by anticipated feelings of pride towards the outcome
of sustainable purchase behaviour. The third part of this research tested a manipulation of recalled pride and guilt across
two experimental studies, to explore their effect on feelings of anticipated pride and
guilt and hence on sustainable purchase intentions. The studies showed that the
manipulation of recalled pride was more significant than that of recalled guilt, as
compared with a neutral recall, in influencing purchase intentions. There was a
significant mediation effect of both anticipated pride and guilt, with anticipated pride
again showing higher significance.
Overall, this research highlights the significant role of pride and guilt for encouraging
sustainable purchase choices. Specifically, it highlights the superior role of pride and
offers two complementary mechanisms for engendering feelings of anticipated pride
and guilt. A manipulation is proposed whereby appraisal of pride and guilt can be a
suitable mechanism to trigger sustainable purchase intentions, contributing to both
theory and practice
Organisationa heritage: exploring effects on employee outcomes and perceptions of organisational attractiveness
Get PDFThis research study is one of the first to explore how Organisational Heritage may affect employees and potential employees. It examines employee outcomes that may be related to heritage and provides insight into the effect heritage can have on potential employees’ perception of organisational attractiveness.
The first part of the study focused on heritage characteristics and employees of a Corporate Heritage Brand (CHB). In-depth interviews were conducted with employees of a Canadian CHB to determine if heritage was a significant organisational identity characteristic, to establish which employee outcomes it was likely to influence and to explore the effects it had on the outcomes being identified. Results suggested that heritage characteristics are a distinct part of the organisational identity (the organisational heritage identity) which may positively affect organisational identification, organisational affective commitment, employee engagement, organisational pride and intent to stay. Heritage also appeared to diminish the negative impact of transformational organisational change on employee outcomes. A model is presented that summarizes the findings.
The second study used the repertory grid technique to determine the characteristics that a sample of potential employees used to differentiate between employer organisations which included CHB and non-CHB companies. Honey’s content analysis was used to ascertain which of these characteristics positively affect perceptions of organisational attractiveness. The study looked specifically at heritage as an organisational characteristic. The results identified nine characteristics, including heritage, which potential employees use to differentiate amongst employer organisations. Another set of nine characteristics were found to be strongly aligned with organisational attractiveness. Four characteristics were common to both groups, and importantly heritage was a part of these. A matrix is presented that categorises organisational characteristics on two dimensions: potential for differentiation and alignment with organisational attractiveness. Four types of characteristics were defined in the matrix: Key Organisational Identity (KOICs) – high differentiation, high attractiveness, Hygiene – low differentiation, high attractiveness, Differentiator – high differentiation, low attractiveness and Low Value – low differentiation, low attractiveness. Heritage was categorized as a KOIC. The discussion suggests heritage can be key to increasing perceptions of organisational attractiveness and organisational identification. Employer branding can be proactively used to convey the organisational heritage. In general, employer branding efforts to communicate key organisational identity and hygiene characteristics to potential employees can increase the likelihood of inclusion in the potential employees’ employer consideration set.
Overall, this research contributes to our increased understanding of heritage in an organisational setting. Specifically, it is one of the first academic efforts to provide empirical evidence in the nascent field of organisational heritage. The first part identified five employee outcomes likely to be affected positively by heritage. The findings also suggested that heritage may diminish the negative impact of organisational change on such organisational outcomes. The second part examined the importance of heritage in regard to potential employees and found evidence that heritage may be activated to differentiate employer organisations and can increase the perceived attractiveness. The findings allowed classifying several elicited organisational characteristics (including heritage) along their potential for organisational differentiation and organisational attractiveness
EU Funded Projects: from Financial to Economic Analysis
Get PDFInvestment projects represent the basis of economic and social development of our country. The investment is a cost that will most influence the future, but it is necessary that this influence should be not only positive, but also should exceed the investment efforts. There could be different sources of financing the investment, but lately, European grants are more and more accessed by various economic agents or institutions. To obtain European financing, the project must fulfill certain conditions and must follow certain economic, social and environmental indicators. Also, for some financing lines, is required the economic analysis preparation, in order to demonstrate that the project benefits to society are important and cover the investments efforts. Thus, economic analysis studies the project influence on macro-economic or regional level, and evaluates its contribution to the welfare of the region or local community. The present paper aims to analyze the most important and available theoretical resources and to provide practical examples for carrying out the economic analysis. In conclusion, economic analysis is an useful tool for each project evaluation, but the biggest barriers to its development are the lack of valid data and the reduced Romanian experience. Under these conditions, input data can be incorrectly estimated, resulting illusory and subjective project data. For a proper projects selection based on indicators of economic assessment, it must be developed a national, complete and complex guide.performance Cost-benefit analysis, European funds, externalities, investments, shadow prices.
Şantierul Histria / Le chantier d’Histria
No full textCondurachi Emil, Pippidi Dionisie M., Bordenache Gabriella, Eftimie Victoria, Stoian Iorgu, Popescu Emilian, Dimitriu Suzana, Radu Carmen, Coja Maria, Alexandrescu Petre, Zirra Vlad. Şantierul Histria / Le chantier d’Histria. In: Materiale şi cercetări arheologice, N°6 1959. pp. 265-306
Unmake up your mind: why some reversible decisions lead to more choice satisfaction than others.
Get PDFConsumers can often make reversible decisions, e.g. make purchases where items can be returned for exchanges or refunds or where purchases can be cancelled. Having the option to reverse a purchase decision (decision reversibility) has been linked to lower choice satisfaction, prompting scholars to think that being able to return goods for a refund or to cancel a purchase should make consumers less satisfied with their purchases. In this thesis I qualify this notion. I refine the construct of reversible decisions, showing that there are two distinct kinds of them: when consumers have an option to remake a choice (exchange the chosen item for a non-chosen one) and when consumers have an option to unmake a choice (cancel an order or return items for a refund). I conduct four experiments that show that consumers who can unmake a choice are more satisfied with it than those who can remake it. I thus refine the link between reversible decisions and choice satisfaction and recommend that retailers do not adopt exchange-only return policies. I explain the mediating mechanism for this effect: the extent of post-choice comparison between the chosen and foregone alternatives that is higher in decisions where a choice can be remade, rather than unmade. I also show that the effect of the different decision reversibility options (unmake choice vs remake choice) on choice
satisfaction is stronger for neurotic consumers. Cognitively depleting consumers or prompting them to seek variety in their choices removes the effect of decision reversibility options on choice satisfaction, suggesting some ways in which retailers can contain consumers’ dissatisfaction with exchange-only return policies.PhD in Leadership and Managemen
The Effect of Knowledge Miscalibration on the Dimensions of Consumer Value
Get PDFConsumer value is an important determinant of consumers’ post-use behaviour, for
example satisfaction, repeat purchase and word of mouth. The existing research mainly
looks at the factors associated with the product and service providers to improve
consumer value. Few studies on the role of the consumer in shaping consumer value
have found consumer knowledge to be an important element in shaping consumer value.
Adopting critical realism, this PhD expands this area of knowledge by investigating
knowledge miscalibration (i.e., the inaccuracy in subjective knowledge) as a significant
antecedent of consumer value.
Most of the time, consumers’ perceptions of what they think they know (i.e., subjective
knowledge) has been shown to be different from what they actually know (i.e.,
objective knowledge). Thus, subjective knowledge is usually inaccurate. This
inaccuracy in subjective knowledge relative to objective knowledge is called knowledge
miscalibration. Although the effect of knowledge miscalibration on consumers’
purchasing decisions has been investigated in the consumer behaviour literature, its role
in the use stage of consumption has received much less attention. The aim of this
research is to examine the effect of knowledge miscalibration on product or service use,
and more specifically on the value consumers derive from actually using products or
services (i.e., value-in-use).
In this research a critical realism paradigm is pursued, implying that reality exists in the
three domains of the empirical, the actual and the real. The research starts with
observing regularity in the empirical domain (i.e., consumer value) followed by
imagining the causal power in the actual and the real domains (i.e., knowledge
miscalibration), shaping the research question. A retroductive strategy is followed,
firstly by proposing the effect of knowledge miscalibration on consumer value and
secondly by conceptually and empirically testing this relationship.
This research conceptualises that knowledge miscalibration influences consumer value
dimensions, described as efficiency, excellence, play and aesthetics. It is suggested that
underconfidence (i.e., knowledge miscalibration where subjective knowledge is
deflated) and overconfidence (i.e., knowledge miscalibration where subjective
knowledge is inflated) influence consumer value dimensions differently as they
generate different consequences in use. Therefore, a conceptual model is developed that
describes the effect of knowledge miscalibration (i.e., overconfidence and
underconfidence) on the dimensions of consumer value.
The empirical part of the research is designed by conducting a covariance-based study
and an experimental investigation in order to gain both internal and external validity.
The covariance-based investigation is conducted in the context of amazon.com online
shopping. Knowledge miscalibration and consumer value dimensions are measured in
this study. This study supports the negative effect of underconfidence on efficiency,
excellence, play and aesthetics and the negative effect of overconfidence on play.
The experimental investigation is designed in the context of prezi.com, an online
dynamic presentation creation website that enables its users to move between slides,
words and images during their presentations. In this study, overconfidence and
underconfidence are manipulated and their effects on the dimensions of consumer value
are examined. The findings of this study show that underconfidence negatively
influences efficiency, excellence and aesthetics, while overconfidence negatively
impacts excellence, play and aesthetics.
Overall, this PhD concludes that knowledge miscalibration negatively influences the
dimensions of consumer value, with the exception of overconfidence impacting
efficiency. The contradictory results of the covariance-based study observed in the
experimental study can be explained through its inability to account for reciprocal
relationships (i.e., where consumer value dimensions also impact knowledge
miscalibration) and the existence of a third variable affecting both independent and
dependent variables. Furthermore, the context of the experimental study (employing a
new consumption task) is proposed to be the main reason for the lack of support for the
effect of underconfidence on play
The relationship between consumer calibration and consumer value : a systematic review
Get PDFConsumers’ perceptions of their resources in consumption tasks (that is, their abilities and endowments to perform consumption tasks) are many times not accurate. This misjudgement of resources negatively influences their performance in consuming or using products and services. Further, this carries on to influence consumers’ perceived value of products or services. In order to represent this phenomenon, consumer calibration is defined as the agreement between the subjective and objective assessment of consumer resources required in a consumption task. Therefore, it is crucial to discover the role of consumer calibration in the consumption experience. This paper proposes that consumer calibration occurs at two levels: of the task and of the self. Consumer task calibration refers to the extent of error in the task-required resource appraisal, whereas consumer self-calibration is the degree of accuracy in one’s self-perception of abilities. This systematic literature review is conducted to explore the relationships between consumer self and task calibration, on the one hand, and consumer value, on the other hand. After screening 2297 studies, based on their relevance and quality, forty texts in three main academic domains of Marketing, Psychology and Information Systems are selected for analysis and synthesis. The results reveal that subjective and objective assessments of consumer resources and task-required resources influence consumer value through their impact on functional performance and emotional consequences. The findings also suggest that, although a relationship between consumer task and self-calibration exists, their relationship with consumer value and their emotional consequences need further scrutiny. Consequently, a model for the effect of consumer calibration on consumer value is developed, based on the relationships established in the literature reviewed and the interpretation of the findings in the studies reviewed
Şantierul arheologic Histria / Le chantier archéologique d’Histria
No full textCondurachi Emil, Alexandrescu Petre, Pippidi Dionisie M., Bordenache Gabriella, Stoian Iorgu, Dimitriu Suzana, Coja Maria, Petre Aurelian, Popescu Emilian, Eftimie Victoria, Nubar Hamparțumian, Radu Carmen. Şantierul arheologic Histria / Le chantier archéologique d’Histria. In: Materiale şi cercetări arheologice, N°7 1961. pp. 227-271
- …
