348 research outputs found
The marketing firm and coâcreation: The case of coâcreation by LEGO
This article discusses the marketer and customer coâcreation process within the context of bilateral contingencies. Bilateral contingencies occur when the marketers' behavior is reinforced (and/or punished) by the customers' behavior, whereas the behavior of the customers is reinforced (and/or punished) by the marketers' actions. Using the example of the LEGO community, we discuss how the marketers in the organization can respond to behaviors resulting from coâcreational customerâ customer exchanges. This paper fills the knowledge gap by presenting a behavior analysis framework (theory of the marketing firm) for the empirical measurement of the coâcreation process.The marketing firm and coâcreation: The case of coâcreation by LEGOacceptedVersio
The theory of the marketing firm
The theory of the marketing firm locates the rationale of the modern business enterprise that lies in its responding profitably to the imperatives of marketing orientation. Economic theories of the firm generally fail to recognize these imperatives, enhanced consumer choice and sophistication, which entail marketing orientation as the rationale of the firm. The paper propose a competence theory of the firm as a metacontingency and examines the bilateral contingencies by which firms link to their consumerates, which indicate their capacities for customer orientation. The marketing firm emerges as a means of encapsulating entrepreneurship, economizing on transaction costs, and enabling the management of marketing specialization
Force-matched embedded-atom method potential for niobium
Large-scale simulations of plastic deformation and phase transformations in
alloys require reliable classical interatomic potentials. We construct an
embedded-atom method potential for niobium as the first step in alloy potential
development. Optimization of the potential parameters to a well-converged set
of density-functional theory (DFT) forces, energies, and stresses produces a
reliable and transferable potential for molecular dynamics simulations. The
potential accurately describes properties related to the fitting data, and also
produces excellent results for quantities outside the fitting range. Structural
and elastic properties, defect energetics, and thermal behavior compare well
with DFT results and experimental data, e.g., DFT surface energies are
reproduced with less than 4% error, generalized stacking-fault energies differ
from DFT values by less than 15%, and the melting temperature is within 2% of
the experimental value.Comment: 17 pages, 13 figures, 7 table
Does excessive use of smartphones and apps make us more impulsive? An approach from behavioural economics
Purpose
Problematic smartphone use has been associated with negative effects in work and school environments. This study proposes the application of a behavioural economics perspective to establish whether heavy smartphone users show a tendency to devalue the consequences of their behaviour in the long term. To address this proposition, the study sought to establish how an objective measurement of usage time of smartphones and apps might help to predict, firstly, participantsâ choice behaviour and, secondly, their perceived dependence levels.
Design/methodology/approach
An objective measurement of the usage time of smartphones and apps was conducted over four weeks (N = 560 data points), and a computer-based intertemporal choice task and the Spanish version of the Smartphone Addiction Inventory (SPAI) were applied. The participants were twenty undergraduate college students.
Findings
Although the usage time of devices and apps failed to predict the choice behaviour, a correlation was found between the total usage time of smartphones and WhatsApp and Facebook apps and usersâ dependence level. On the other hand, dependence had a positive effect on the average selection of the impulsive choice.
Originality/value
This paper proposes the application of a behavioural economics perspective to explore the relationship between objectively measured usage time of smartphone and apps, choice behaviours in an intertemporal task and usersâ perceived dependence levels. This allows us to consider an alternative to the traditional psychiatric approach in an environment of increasing access to and use of mobile digital platforms
The marketing firm and coâcreation: An empirical study of marketer and customer's coâcreation process
This study empirically investigates the marketer and customer's coâcreation process within the context of the marketing firm. Based on principles from bilateral contingencies, findings from a conjoint study (n = 98) indicate that utilitarian and informational reinforcing consequences from the marketer have a stronger impact on customers' coâcreation behavior relative to informational reinforcing consequences from other customers. Consequently, analyzing the impact of important reinforcing contingencies through the lens of bilateral contingencies expands our understanding of how and why coâcreation outcomes might occur. Also, a good coâcreation process may increase the business companies' research and intelligence and, as a consequence, strengthen their competitiveness.The marketing firm and coâcreation: An empirical study of marketer and customer's coâcreation processacceptedVersio
SMEs' purchasing habits : A procurement maturity model for stakeholders
Although micro companies overpower the small and medium enterprise (SME) segment, generalizations are often with medium size companies, and therefore, there are many unknowns, especially when it comes to its buying behavior. Conformist studies and industry practices assume SMEs to be ânormativeâ or âconservativeâ buyers; however, this hypothesis is untested. This article aims to scrutinize the reality, and proposes a unified model that rejects pre-containerization in buying behavior typologies, as well as selectiveness in terms of audience type, whether it is corporate, SME, or consumer. While replacing researchersâ perceptions with the audienceâs, the model yields actual knowledge that can lead to audienceâs beliefs in lieu of the opposite, which is used to mislead stakeholders. The study shows that SMEs also buy like individuals and spend in a similar way to consumersâ, including not only ânormativeâ and âconservativeâ but also ânegligentâ and âimpulseâ zones. From the research-implications perspective, future studies by behaviorists can explore why SMEs purchase in this way. Marketers may benefit from the finding that SMEs buy like individuals. In addition, SMEs may want to be conscious of their purchasing habits, andâutilizing the newly introduced ârisk scoreâ frontierâpolicymakers should assess the consequences of these habits at the macro level
Designing a fashion driving forces website as an educational resource
Electronic educational resources support search activities and manipulate information effectively in learning environments, thus enhancing education. This paper discusses the development of an electronic timeline database that classifies design and fashion details; technological developments; socio-economical influences; availability and popularity within fashion trends; marketing and distribution; and influential people including designers, in a manner that facilitates ease of cross referencing events at the same point in time for a rich analysis of fashion. The study focuses on the driving forces of fashion during the 1920s as a starting point for a much larger database. The data is presented in the form of a website allowing students to better understand fashion trends with macro-environmental and marketing strategies. The electronic resource is a useful tool for fashion, textile and marketing students as an educational interface providing design, production and marketing data for fashion-related products particularly useful for the analysis of fashion trends
Major Depletion of Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells in HIV-2 Infection, an Attenuated Form of HIV Disease
Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) provide an important link between innate and acquired immunity, mediating their action mainly through IFN-α production. pDC suppress HIV-1 replication, but there is increasing evidence suggesting they may also contribute to the increased levels of cell apoptosis and pan-immune activation associated with disease progression. Although having the same clinical spectrum, HIV-2 infection is characterized by a strikingly lower viremia and a much slower rate of CD4 decline and AIDS progression than HIV-1, irrespective of disease stage. We report here a similar marked reduction in circulating pDC levels in untreated HIV-1 and HIV-2 infections in association with CD4 depletion and T cell activation, in spite of the undetectable viremia found in the majority of HIV-2 patients. Moreover, the same overexpression of CD86 and PD-L1 on circulating pDC was found in both infections irrespective of disease stage or viremia status. Our observation that pDC depletion occurs in HIV-2 infected patients with undetectable viremia indicates that mechanisms other than direct viral infection determine the pDC depletion during persistent infections. However, viremia was associated with an impairment of IFN-α production on a per pDC basis upon TLR9 stimulation. These data support the possibility that diminished function in vitro may relate to prior activation by HIV virions in vivo, in agreement with our finding of higher expression levels of the IFN-α inducible gene, MxA, in HIV-1 than in HIV-2 individuals. Importantly, serum IFN-α levels were not elevated in HIV-2 infected individuals. In conclusion, our data in this unique natural model of âattenuatedâ HIV immunodeficiency contribute to the understanding of pDC biology in HIV/AIDS pathogenesis, showing that in the absence of detectable viremia a major depletion of circulating pDC in association with a relatively preserved IFN-α production does occur
Effective risk relievers for dimensional perceived risks on mail-order purchase: a case study on speciality foods in the UK
This article examines the effective risk relievers for different dimensions of perceived risk on mail-order purchase of food products. The sample comprised 1,600 active and inactive mail-order specialty food shoppers in the UK. The analysis focused on the correlation coefficients between consumers' levels of perceived risk and their weight on the importance of the risk relievers. Amongst 15 risk relievers, the results implied that there are certain risk relievers attached to higher levels of importance by consumers, who perceive higher levels of risks in certain aspects of mail-order purchase. Therefore, mail-order companies should promote the effective risk relievers to reduce specific dimensions of perceived risks
- âŠ