Fashion and Sustainability: Consumption and Shared Responsibility

Indulgence in fashion has been indispensable in modern societies, as it is a crucial device for self-image and identity construction. With the advanced technology and globalization of production, the fashion industry has skewed towards fast fashion, making the latest trends available to mass consumers at affordable prices. This research aims to examine how Chinese consumers perceive sustainable consumption in the context of fashion. We endeavor to explore the factors that influence the engagement of sustainable consumption. This study aims not to argue whether sustainable fashion should mobilize or replace the current fashion system but to provide evidence on consumers\u27 perception of sustainability and explore potential factors influencing sustainable behavior

Job Changing Frequency and Experimental Decisions: A Field Study of Migrant Workers in the Manufacturing Industry

Migrant workers form a very important part of the labor force in the economic development of many countries. Their turnover decisions may affect the stability of the performance of manufacturing industries. It is important to understand what kind of individual behavioral preferences may affect their job changing frequency. This study conducts a lab-in-the-field experiment through a large online-to-offline job-matching platform to elicit manufacturing migrant workers’ preferences, such as uncertainty attitudes, intertemporal choices and social preferences, especially difference aversion. The study also surveyed their demographic characteristics and other factors related to their job choices. We find that subjects who are more risk seeking change jobs more frequently. We also use the job record data from the platform and conduct empirical analysis to investigate one explanation of this result: risk-seeking subjects possess more optimistic expectations of potential job opportunities and they are more likely to sample different jobs and thus generate higher job changing frequency. Our findings may help policy-makers and employers design policies or mechanisms to prevent exorbitant job-changing behavior

Chapter 8: Meta-analysis of Test Performance When There is a “Gold Standard”

Synthesizing information on test performance metrics such as sensitivity, specificity, predictive values and likelihood ratios is often an important part of a systematic review of a medical test. Because many metrics of test performance are of interest, the meta-analysis of medical tests is more complex than the meta-analysis of interventions or associations. Sometimes, a helpful way to summarize medical test studies is to provide a “summary point”, a summary sensitivity and a summary specificity. Other times, when the sensitivity or specificity estimates vary widely or when the test threshold varies, it is more helpful to synthesize data using a “summary line” that describes how the average sensitivity changes with the average specificity. Choosing the most helpful summary is subjective, and in some cases both summaries provide meaningful and complementary information. Because sensitivity and specificity are not independent across studies, the meta-analysis of medical tests is fundamentaly a multivariate problem, and should be addressed with multivariate methods. More complex analyses are needed if studies report results at multiple thresholds for positive tests. At the same time, quantitative analyses are used to explore and explain any observed dissimilarity (heterogeneity) in the results of the examined studies. This can be performed in the context of proper (multivariate) meta-regressions

Exploring new frontiers in quality of life research in marketing

This paper reviews major theories of Quality of Life (QoL) from a marketing perspective. The discussion leads to the identification of a knowledge gap in understanding the dynamics of QoL and its connection to the evolution of consumption patterns. We propose new research topics in this area for future exploration to advance our knowledge of QoL in marketing.5 page(s

Anticipated duration of international joint ventures: A transaction cost perspective

Many international joint ventures have a pre-determined duration in the formation contract. However, what influences the ex ante anticipated duration has not been well researched. In this study, we applied the autonomy versus cooperation adaptability of transaction costs economics to examine the pre-determined duration of joint ventures. We developed hypotheses based on the argument of asset specificity, small numbers problem, and environmental uncertainties. Based on a sample of 7049 international joint ventures in China (1979-1996), we find that the longer anticipated duration is associated with bigger asset investment, higher local government affiliation, and lower host country risk. This study provides new insights on the research regarding the longevity of joint ventures.International joint ventures Anticipated duration China