Evaluation of the users value of salts against apple scab and powdery mildew for fruit production

The research was aimed at finding anti resistance strategies for Integrated fruit growing. As the salts tested may be approvable for organic farming, the trial results are also of value for the development of scab an mildew control strategies for organic fruit growing. As new fungicides are mainly unisite action fungicides, the problem of fungicide resistance development is becoming more important every year. Combining chemical fungicides, which is the best anti-resistance strategy, is not always possible or recommended in the case when the number of available chemical fungicides are limited or a reduction in fungicide use is asked for. Therefore the use of salts as an anti-resistance strategy was looked upon. The salts evaluated were K(HCO3), KH2PO3, KHPO4 and K2SiO3. When using these salts as an anti-resistance strategy the efficacy obtained when spraying the compounds alone was often to low to be used in rotation with chemical fungicides. Only with K(HCO3)2 a good efficacy can be observed in some years. The variation in efficacy with K(HCO3)2 observed is higher for powdery mildew. K(HCO3)2 can be considered as a ideal product for scab control in organic orchards at moments of low infection risk

In stories we trust: How narrative apologies provide cover for competitive vulnerability after integrity-violating blog posts

Consumers' confidence in companies has fallen due to recent and widespread violations of integrity and consumers' voicing of discontent in weblog (blog) posts. Current research on integrity restoration offers little guidance regarding appropriate responses. We posit that not only what (with which content) but also how (in which format) the company responds, contributes to an effective restoration of integrity and a reduction of consumers' intentions to switch. The results of Study 1 show that the combination of denial content and analytical format as well as apologetic content and narrative format works better than combinations of opposing response content and format. Comparing narrative apologies and denials in two consecutive studies, we demonstrate that the concept of "transportation"-the engrossing effect of a narrative-is the mechanism underlying narrative-based integrity restoration. We further assess in Study 2 how the use of empathy accounts for higher levels of transportation and perceived integrity. In Study 3, we establish that a personal response by the involved employee is more effective than a response issued by the company's spokesperson. Consumers trust in stories from the involved employee. © 2010 Elsevier B.V

A Walk in Customers' Shoes: How Attentional Bias Modification Affects Ownership of Integrity-violating Social Media Posts

The number of social media posts that expose company integrity violations has increased dramatically. In response, some companies empower employees to respond to customer blogs, which requires employees to recognize the customer's perspective. We show that attentional bias modification can be used to prime employees of two global Fortune 100 companies with a self-sufficiency or empathy bias. The results indicate that narrative transportation, or the extent to which employees mentally enter the world evoked by a customer's story, mediates the effect of attentional bias on two relevant psychological ownership dimensions: acknowledgment of responsibility and willingness to respond. Participants with a self-sufficiency bias neither acknowledge responsibility nor want to respond. However, participants primed with an empathy bias take responsibility for the customer's case and respond to the integrity violation. We find evidence for two boundary conditions of this effect: (1) it strengthens when the employee perceives the customer's financial vulnerability as high and (2) it weakens when the customer is impolite in the blog post

A Little Help from My Friends: Assessing the Adjustment of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises to Corporate Social Responsibility

With growing environmental and social awareness, corporations are facing rising pressure to engage in corporate social responsibility (CSR); small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are no exception. With operational constraints in resources and time, SMEs may attempt to boost their CSR through external sources. Adopting the perspective of stakeholder theory and drawing from the literature on socialization, this research suggests that the extent to which an SME adjusts to CSR principles mediates the relationship between CSR performance and SME stakeholder knowledge and interaction. This article tests the hypotheses with an online survey of SME owner-managers. The results show a mediating impact of organizational CSR adjustment over and above the direct effects of stakeholder knowledge and stakeholder interaction on CSR performance. The findings also suggest that organizational CSR adjustment directs CSR performance, enabling employees to engage in effective and efficient CSR activities. Theoretically and managerially relevant implications for researchers and SMEs are discussed

Assessing the effect of narrative transportation, portrayed action, and photographic style on the likelihood to comment on posted selfies

Purpose: This research assesses the effect of narrative transportation, portrayed action, and photographic style on the likelihood to comment on posted consumer photos. Design/methodology/approach: Integrating visual semiotics and experiments, this research empirically examines the influence of consumer photos on viewers’ likelihood to comment on the visualised narrative. One pilot, three experimental, and a content analysis involve photos varying in their narrative perspective (selfie vs. elsie) and portrayed content (no product, no action, or directed action). We also test for the boundary condition of the role of the photographic style (snapshot, professional, and “parody” selfie) on the likelihood to comment on consumer photos. Findings: Viewers are more likely to comment on photos displaying action. When these photos are selfies, the effect is exacerbated. The experience of narrative transportation — a feeling of entering a world evoked by the narrative — underlies this effect. However, if a snapshot style is used (primed or manipulated) — namely, the photographic style appears genuine, unposed, unconstructed, and natural — the superior effect of selfies disappears because of greater perceived silliness of the visualised narrative. Practical implications: Managers should try to motivate consumers to take selfies portraying action if their aim is to encourage eWOM. Social implications: Organisations can effectively use consumer photos portraying consumption for educational purpose (e.g. eating healthfully, reducing alcohol use). Originality/value: This research links consumer photos and eWOM and extends the marketing literature on visual narratives, which is mainly focused on company — rather than user-generated content

The Extended Transportation-Imagery Model: A Meta-Analysis of the Antecedents and Consequences of Consumers’ Narrative Transportation

Stories, and their ability to transport their audience, constitute a central part of human life and consumption experience. Integrating previous literature derived from fields as diverse as anthropology, marketing, psychology, communication, consumer, and literary studies, this article offers a review of two decades’ worth of research on narrative transportation, the phenomenon in which consumers mentally enter a world that a story evokes. Despite the relevance of narrative transportation for storytelling and narrative persuasion, extant contributions seem to lack systematization. The authors conceive the extended transportation-imagery model (ETIM), which provides not only a comprehensive model that includes the antecedents and consequences of narrative transportation but also a multidisciplinary framework in which cognitive psychology and consumer culture theory cross-fertilize this field of inquiry. The authors test the model using a quantitative meta-analysis of 132 effect sizes of narrative transportation from 76 published and unpublished articles and identify fruitful directions for further research

In de schoenen van de klant: over de maakbaarheid van verantwoordelijke medewerkers

The number of blog posts about the lack of trust in companies has dramatically increased since the beginning of the economic crisis in 2007 . In response to this, companies are experimenting with direct contact with blogging customers. Hereby it is important that employees Not simply forward complaints to a public relations or webcare department, but that they themselves suggest that they are in the shoes of the customer before they respond

Effects of narrative transportation on persuasion: A meta-analysis

This meta-analytic review covered a decade of research on the transportation–persuasion relationship. Transportation occurs when consumers mentally enter a world evoked by a narrative. Story topic familiarity and transportability were the greatest moderators. These findings put a spotlight on the importance of the consumer in the narrative persuasion process

Hearing Ability with Age in Northern European Women: A New Web-Based Approach to Genetic Studies

Age-related hearing impairment (ARHI) affects 25–40% of individuals over the age of 65. Despite the high prevalence of this complex trait, ARHI is still poorly understood. We hypothesized that variance in hearing ability with age is largely determined by genetic factors. We collected audiologic data on females of Northern European ancestry and compared different audiogram representations. A web-based speech-to-noise ratio (SNR) hearing test was compared with pure-tone thresholds to see if we could determine accurately hearing ability on people at home and the genetic contribution to each trait compared. Volunteers were recruited from the TwinsUK cohort. Hearing ability was determined using pure-tone audiometry and a web-based hearing test. Different audiogram presentations were compared for age-correlation and reflection of audiogram shape. Using structural equation modelling based on the classical twin model the heritability of ARHI, as measured by the different phenotypes, was estimated and shared variance between the web-based SNR test and pure-tone audiometry determined using bivariate modelling. Pure-tone audiometric data was collected on 1033 older females (age: 41–86). 1970 volunteers (males and females, age: 18–85) participated in the SNR. In the comparison between different ARHI phenotypes the difference between the first two principle components (PC1–PC2) best represented ARHI. The SNR test showed a sensitivity and specificity of 89% and 80%, respectively, in comparison with pure-tone audiogram data. Univariate heritability estimates ranged from 0.70 (95% CI: 0.63–0.76) for (PC1–PC2) to 0.56 (95% CI: 0.48–0.63) for PC2. The genetic correlation of PC1–PC2 and SNR was −0.67 showing that the 2 traits share variances attributed to additive genetic factors. Hearing ability showed considerable heritability in our sample. We have shown that the SNR test provides a useful surrogate marker of hearing. This will enable a much larger sample to be collected at a fraction of the cost, facilitating future genetic association studies