Managing Product Returns Within the Customer Value Framework

Customers can create value to the firm by purchasing products, not returning these products, recommending products to other potential customers, influencing other customers, and providing feedback to the company. In this chapter, we first discuss how product returns and engagement behaviors can be included in the customer value framework. Second, we discuss the antecedents of a customer’s product return decision, namely, return policies, information at the moment of purchase, and customer and product characteristics. Third, we focus on the consequences of product returns: the effects on future purchase and product return behavior, as well as on customer engagement behaviors. Thus, this chapter provides a comprehensive synthesis of current knowledge on antecedents and consequences of product returns and how this relates to measuring and managing customer value

Initial Characterization of the FlgE Hook High Molecular Weight Complex of

The spirochete periplasmic flagellum has many unique attributes. One unusual characteristic is the flagellar hook. This structure serves as a universal joint coupling rotation of the membrane-bound motor to the flagellar filament. The hook is comprised of about 120 FlgE monomers, and in most bacteria these structures readily dissociate to monomers (∼ 50 kDa) when treated with heat and detergent. However, in spirochetes the FlgE monomers form a large mass of over 250 kDa [referred to as a high molecular weight complex (HMWC)] that is stable to these and other denaturing conditions. In this communication, we examined specific aspects with respect to the formation and structure of this complex. We found that the Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi synthesized the HMWC throughout the in vitro growth cycle, and also in vivo when implanted in dialysis membrane chambers in rats. The HMWC was stable to formic acid, which supports the concept that the stability of the HMWC is dependent on covalent cross-linking of individual FlgE subunits. Mass spectrometry analysis of the HMWC from both wild type periplasmic flagella and polyhooks from a newly constructed ΔfliK mutant indicated that other proteins besides FlgE were not covalently joined to the complex, and that FlgE was the sole component of the complex. In addition, mass spectrometry analysis also indicated that the HMWC was composed of a polymer of the FlgE protein with both the N- and C-terminal regions remaining intact. These initial studies set the stage for a detailed characterization of the HMWC. Covalent cross-linking of FlgE with the accompanying formation of the HMWC we propose strengthens the hook structure for optimal spirochete motility

The Cost of Virulence: Retarded Growth of Salmonella Typhimurium Cells Expressing Type III Secretion System 1

Virulence factors generally enhance a pathogen's fitness and thereby foster transmission. However, most studies of pathogen fitness have been performed by averaging the phenotypes over large populations. Here, we have analyzed the fitness costs of virulence factor expression by Salmonella enterica subspecies I serovar Typhimurium in simple culture experiments. The type III secretion system ttss-1, a cardinal virulence factor for eliciting Salmonella diarrhea, is expressed by just a fraction of the S. Typhimurium population, yielding a mixture of cells that either express ttss-1 (TTSS-1+ phenotype) or not (TTSS-1− phenotype). Here, we studied in vitro the TTSS-1+ phenotype at the single cell level using fluorescent protein reporters. The regulator hilA controlled the fraction of TTSS-1+ individuals and their ttss-1 expression level. Strikingly, cells of the TTSS-1+ phenotype grew slower than cells of the TTSS-1− phenotype. The growth retardation was at least partially attributable to the expression of TTSS-1 effector and/or translocon proteins. In spite of this growth penalty, the TTSS-1+ subpopulation increased from <10% to approx. 60% during the late logarithmic growth phase of an LB batch culture. This was attributable to an increasing initiation rate of ttss-1 expression, in response to environmental cues accumulating during this growth phase, as shown by experimental data and mathematical modeling. Finally, hilA and hilD mutants, which form only fast-growing TTSS-1− cells, outcompeted wild type S. Typhimurium in mixed cultures. Our data demonstrated that virulence factor expression imposes a growth penalty in a non-host environment. This raises important questions about compensating mechanisms during host infection which ensure successful propagation of the genotype

An Extended Model of Moral Outrage at Corporate Social Irresponsibility

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1007/s10551-014-2487-

Nanophotonic integration in state-of-the-art CMOS foundries

We demonstrate a monolithic photonic integration platform that leverages the existing state-of-the-art CMOS foundry infrastructure. In our approach, proven XeF2 post-processing technology and compliance with electronic foundry process flows eliminate the need for specialized substrates or wafer bonding. This approach enables intimate integration of large numbers of nanophotonic devices alongside high-density, high-performance transistors at low initial and incremental cost. We demonstrate this platform by presenting grating-coupled, microring-resonator filter banks fabricated in an unmodified 28 nm bulk-CMOS process by sharing a mask set with standard electronic projects. The lithographic fidelity of this process enables the high-throughput fabrication of second-order, wavelength-division-multiplexing (WDM) filter banks that achieve low insertion loss without post-fabrication trimming

Improved statistical analysis of low abundance phenomena in bimodal bacterial populations.

Accurate detection of subpopulation size determinations in bimodal populations remains problematic yet it represents a powerful way by which cellular heterogeneity under different environmental conditions can be compared. So far, most studies have relied on qualitative descriptions of population distribution patterns, on population-independent descriptors, or on arbitrary placement of thresholds distinguishing biological ON from OFF states. We found that all these methods fall short of accurately describing small population sizes in bimodal populations. Here we propose a simple, statistics-based method for the analysis of small subpopulation sizes for use in the free software environment R and test this method on real as well as simulated data. Four so-called population splitting methods were designed with different algorithms that can estimate subpopulation sizes from bimodal populations. All four methods proved more precise than previously used methods when analyzing subpopulation sizes of transfer competent cells arising in populations of the bacterium Pseudomonas knackmussii B13. The methods' resolving powers were further explored by bootstrapping and simulations. Two of the methods were not severely limited by the proportions of subpopulations they could estimate correctly, but the two others only allowed accurate subpopulation quantification when this amounted to less than 25% of the total population. In contrast, only one method was still sufficiently accurate with subpopulations smaller than 1% of the total population. This study proposes a number of rational approximations to quantifying small subpopulations and offers an easy-to-use protocol for their implementation in the open source statistical software environment R

Asymmetrical flagellar rotation in Borrelia burgdorferi nonchemotactic mutants

The Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi has bundles of periplasmic flagella subpolarly located at each cell end. These bundles rotate in opposite directions during translational motility. When not translating, they rotate in the same direction, and the cells flex. Here, we present evidence that asymmetrical rotation of the bundles during translation does not depend upon the chemotaxis signal transduction system. The histidine kinase CheA is known to be an essential component in the signaling pathway for bacterial chemotaxis. Mutants of cheA in flagellated bacteria continually rotate their flagella in one direction. B. burgdorferi has two copies of cheA designated cheA1 and cheA2. Both genes were found to be expressed in growing cells. We reasoned that if chemotaxis were essential for asymmetrical rotation of the flagellar bundles, and if the flagellar motors at both cell ends were identical, inactivation of the two cheA genes should result in cells that constantly flex. To test this hypothesis, the signaling pathway was completely blocked by constructing the double mutant cheA1∷kan cheA2∷ermC. This double mutant was deficient in chemotaxis. Rather than flexing, it failed to reverse, and it continually translated only in one direction. Video microscopy of mutant cells indicated that both bundles actively rotated. The results indicate that asymmetrical rotation of the flagellar bundles of spirochetes does not depend upon the chemotaxis system but rather upon differences between the two flagellar bundles. We propose that certain factors within the spirochete localize at the flagellar motors at one end of the cell to effect this asymmetry

Different strategies for different channels: influencing behaviors in product return policies for consumer goods

One more time the online channel differs from the offline one. Our study on the product return strategies in the retail industry shows that even if more expensive for online retailers, product return policies are more generous and perceived as lenient by consumers. Our measures were collected in the Italian jeans retail industry, with a comparative study done on firms active on both channels and representing more than 50% of the overall industry sales. The impossibility to serve the customer at a distance and the need to strategically boost online sales are becoming a serious trap for online retailers