Agent-Based Modeling of Deshopping Behaviour: A Single Shop Model with Multiple Deshoppers

Deshopping is rapidly turning into a modern day scourge for the retailers worldwide due to its prevalence and regularity. The presence of flexible return policies have made retail return management a real challenging issue for both the present and the future. In this study, we propose and develop a multi-agent simulation model for deshopper behavior in a single shop context. The background, theoretical underpinning, logical and computational model, experiment design and simulation results are reported and discussed in the paper

Application of Cournot\u27s model on a couple\u27s budget allocation

Budget allocation of the couples belongs to the field of family finance management, but also represents a source of dispute among them, which directed the research of this topic towards family therapy and psychology. This paper will offer quantitative approach, implementing Cournot’s duopoly model to a situation of a couple’s budget allocation. That will emphasis the underlying economic principles, as well as show that there exists an equilibrium solution or an equilibrium set of possible solutions

Incorporating neuroscience data into agent-based simulation models of buyer behavior

Purpose: The article aims to analyze the possibility of using various cognitive neuroscience techniques when building the agent model of buyer behavior and propose an experimental procedure for obtaining qualitative data based on the triangulation of methods. Design/Methodology/Approach: The proposed approach combines agent-based simulation with cognitive neuroscience techniques at the stage of designing the characteristics and behavior rules of agents-consumers. Findings: The consumer’s purchasing behavior is determined by the compilation of the influence of environmental factors and marketing stimuli as well as by his personality traits. Due to the necessity to consider all these elements when mapping the consumer-agent characteristics and decision rules, traditional methods of data collection may not be sufficient. In such a situation, cognitive neuroscience techniques can become a source of additional information, allowing to take into account the influence of emotions or cognitive abilities on one’s decisions. To make it possible, it is necessary to conduct experiments with the use of neuroscience research tools (e.g., EEG, GSR, HR etc.) aimed at detecting emotional and cognitive states during exposure to an advertisement of a specific product. The neurophysiological data collected during the experiments allow for a more accurate estimation of the qualitative parameters describing consumer behavior rules. Practical Implications: The proposed concept allows for a more accurate representation of agents-consumers’ features and decision rules. Consequently, the agent-based model more reliably reflects reality, and thus the results obtained during model simulation are more valuable and can be the basis for formulating marketing plans. Originality/Value: The proposed approach enriches the methodology of data collection and estimation of qualitative parameters in building agent models of buyer behavior.peer-reviewe

The Validity and Reliability Study of Organizational Power Distance Scale

Bu araştırmanın amacı, öğretmenlerin örgütsel güç mesafesi konusundaki algılarını belirlemede kullanılabilecek bir ölçek geliştirmektir. Araştırmanın çalışma grubu ilkokul, ortaokul ve lise öğretmenlerinden oluşmaktadır. Ölçeğin yapı geçerliğinin belirlenmesi için açımlayıcı (AFA) ve doğrulayıcı (DFA) faktör analizi yapılmıştır. AFA sonucunda, Gücü Kabullenme, Gücü Araçsal Kullanma, Gücü Meşrulaştırma ve Güce Razı Olma olmak üzere 20 maddeli ve dört faktörlü bir yapı ortaya çıkmıştır. Dört faktörün açıkladığı varyans oranı %56.58’dir. Bu yapı DFA ile doğrulanmıştır. DFA ile hesaplanan uyum iyiliği indeksleri şöyledir: ?2/sd =2.29, GFI=.90, AGFI=.86, RMSEA=.07, RMR=.07, SRMR=.07, CFI=.95, NFI=.92, NNFI=.95. Ölçeğin faktörleri açısından, Cronbach alfa iç tutarlılık katsayıları .74 ile .80 aralığında, McDonald omega katsayıları .73 ile .85 aralığındadır. Sonuç olarak, öğretmenlerin örgütsel güç mesafesi algılarını belirlemede kullanılabilecek geçerli ve güvenilir bir veri toplama aracı geliştirilmiştir.The purpose of this study is to develop a scale to be utilized in order to determine the organizational power distance perceptions of teachers. The study group of the research consists of elementary, lower, and upper secondary school teachers. Explanatory (EFA) and confirmatory (CFA) factor analyses were conducted to assess the structural validity of the scale. The results of EFA demonstrated that the scale was comprised of 20 items and four factors, namely, Acceptance of Power, Instrumental Use of Power, Justification of Power, and Acquiescence of Power. The ratio of the total variance explained by the scale was 56.58%. This structure was confirmed with CFA. CFA revealed a ?2/df ratio of 2.29. Other goodness of fit indexes computed by CFA were: GFI=.90, AGFI=.86, RMSEA=.07, RMR=.07, SRMR=.07, CFI=.95, NFI=.92, NNFI=.95. In terms of the factors of the scale, Cronbach’s alpha internal consistency coefficients were in the interval of .74 to .80 while McDonald omega coefficients of .73 to .85. As a result, a valid and reliable data collection instrument was developed that could be utilized to determine the power distance perceptions of teachers

CONSUMER CULTURE STUDIES, A GLANCE AT THE LITERATURE’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE CONCEPT

Publishing a book on consumer culture studies originates from the need to review research conducted on this subject. Among the expectations of Politécnico Grancolombiano Institución Universitaria, and as a result of reviews on the subject, this opportunity was identified within scientific literature. This book intends to be useful for readers by identifying international research trends in this field. It also aims to support the decision-making of marketing managers, with respect to consumers, and to have important input that fosters future research.To do so, the institution introduces the structure of this editorial project, which first identified relevant authors and made an initial call to authors based on an approach to the state of the art by implementing a systematic literature review (SLR) (Kitchenham, 2004). The call made in August 2017 proposed that a select group of authors participate in the project with a chapter of its structure, given that they have indicated their interest in the subject. This proposal received great reception among those invited, including eight articles submitted, from which, after a rigorous selection process, contributions of five chapters were included at the date of publication with participation from international researchers who believed in our project

¿Disrupción en la decisión de compra? Un análisis crítico desde la perspectiva de los consumidores y los posibles cambios por el nuevo coronavirus

La pandemia del nuevo coronavirus lleva consigo una estela de incertidumbre que a día hoy, afecta directamente a los consumidores, y en consecuencia a su decisión de compra. Ante esto, esta revisión busca brindar un aporte inicial que permita responder la siguiente interrogante ¿Cómo la decisión de compra de los consumidores podría cambiar a causa de la pandemia del covid-19? En la presente revisión sistemática, se consultaron 304 artículos de diferentes disciplinas utilizando diversas bases de datos científicas, de todos estos se extrajeron 106 que pertenecen a revistas indexadas y arbitradas con una buena posición en cuartiles. Tras la pandemia, es probable que la decisión de compra de los consumidores sea más meticulosa y menos irracional, por la implicancia de los medios digitales y la vivencia de esta etapa de crisis. Por supuesto, estos cambios están sujetos a factores demográficos, psicográficos, conductuales y geográficos, por lo que es necesaria la realización de investigaciones de corte empírico

Micro-macro dynamics of the online opinion evolution: an asynchronous network model approach

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.This paper investigates the complex relationship between endogenous and exogenous, deterministic and stochastic stimulating factors in public opinion dynamics. An asynchronous multi-agent network model is proposed to explore the interaction mechanism between individual opinions and the public opinion in online multi-agent network community, including both the micro and the macro patterns of opinion evolution. In addition, based on random network models, a novel algorithm is provided for opinion evolution prediction. The model property analysis and numerical experiments show that the proposed asynchronous multi-agent network model can assimilate and explain some interesting phenomena that are observed in the real world. Further case studies with numerical simulation and real-world applications confirm the feasibility and flexibility of the proposed model in public opinion analysis. The results challenge the common perception that mass media or opinion facilitators play the fundamental role in controlling the development trends of public opinion. This study shows that the formation and evolution of public opinion in the presence of opinion leaders depend also on an individual’s emotional inertia and conformity pressures from peers in the same topic group

Forecasting Effects of Influence Operations: A Generative Social Science Methodology

Simulation enables analysis of social systems that would be difficult or unethical to experiment upon directly. Agent-based models have been used successfully in the field of generative social science to discover parsimonious sets of factors that generate social behavior. This methodology provides an avenue to explore the spread of anti-government sentiment in populations and to compare the effects of potential Military Information Support Operations (MISO) actions. This research develops an agent-based model to investigate factors that affect the growth of rebel uprisings in a notional population. It adds to the civil violence model developed by Epstein (2006) by enabling communication between agents in the manner of a genetic algorithm and friendships based on shared beliefs. A designed experiment is performed. Additionally, two counter-propaganda strategies are compared and explored. Analysis identifies factors that have effects that can explain some real-world observations, and provides a methodology for MISO operators to compare the effectiveness of potential actions

Improving residential housing project purchase by using integrated multi-attribute decision making and sentiment analysis technique

The residential house purchase decision making is highly complex due to reasons such as conflicting criteria which is hard to model, infrequent type of decisions, uncertain and irreversible decision outcomes, high investment, and long-term financial burden. Unlike many other types of purchasing, housing purchase decision-making is riskier and sometimes even ‘traumatic’. It is often associated with feeling of regret and the possibility of loss among homebuyers. Typically, the Multi Attribute Decision Making (MADM) models are used to systematically assist and structure residential housing project selection decision making. However, the MADM models impose deficiencies in the evaluation process due to insufficient knowledge of homebuyers, ignorance of public opinions and limited sources of information. Furthermore, the application of MADM models requires homebuyer to rely on their evaluation experience which potentially led to an imprecise decision. Hence, this study developed an improved model by integrating MADM and three approaches of Sentiment Analysis to capture and rank criteria from public opinions through online reviews. Properties online forums and google reviews were selected to extract public opinions through online reviews. Three high-rise residential projects located in Malaysia were used as case projects for demonstrating the model development and validation of the proposed framework. Three Sentiment Analysis approach were considered; Lexicon, Machine Learning and hybrid. Based on the ranking established by the models, it shows that location, facility, and house attributes are the most important criteria in residential housing purchase decision making. In addition, classification using a hybrid MADM Sentiment Analysis approach outperforms the Lexicon approach with better accuracy. The developed model can assist homebuyer in making decision for the current practice. Moreover, it can be generalised to other related multi-criteria applications with the use of online public opinions as reference