Behavioral Aspects of Pricing

Buyers sometimes exhibit seemingly “irrational” behavior with respect to prices and use socially embedded heuristics to simplify their purchase decisions. In some cases small changes in prices can lead to much larger than anticipated changes in sales and profitability. Sellers need to understand the heuristics consumers use, the situations in which they emerge, and recognize how they can respond in markets where information and knowledge of product attributes and competitive prices is increasingly available via the Internet. This chapter explores consumers’ behavioral reactions to price through a review of contemporary literature in the field of pricing. The chapter delineates the nature and scope of these effects based upon a critical review of the most up-to-date empirical research in the field, and concludes by providing implications for innovation in pricing, and guidance for managers to reduce the disconnect between themselves and consumers

Electronic marking of mathematics assignments using Microsoft Word 2007

This paper describes on-going work within the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at The Open University to enable distance learning students to electronically submit assignments rich in mathematical notation and diagrams, and for those assignments to be marked and returned electronically by their tutor. A trial is currently underway of a prototype system that enables students to submit assignments in a range of electronic formats, which are then converted to Microsoft Word 2007 format to enable tutors to take advantage of various features of this software for marking and providing mathematical comments. The systems developed for this trial are described and preliminary findings presented

Rigidity of Totally Geodesic Hypersurfaces in Negative Curvature

Let $M$ be a closed hyperbolic manifold containing a totally geodesic hypersurface $S$, and let $N$ be a closed Riemannian manifold homotopy equivalent to $M$ with sectional curvature bounded above by $-1$. Then it follows from the work of Besson-Courtois-Gallot that $\pi_1(S)$ can be represented by a hypersurface $S'$ in $N$ with volume less than or equal to that of $S$. We study the equality case: if $\pi_1(S)$ cannot be represented by a hypersurface $S'$ in $N$ with volume strictly smaller than that of $S$, then must $N$ be isometric to $M$? We show that many such $S$ are rigid in the sense that the answer to this question is positive. On the other hand, we construct examples of $S$ for which the answer is negative.Comment: 16 pages, 2 figure

Should Consumers Request Cost Transparency? Cost Transparency in Consumer Markets

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a viewpoint about the role of cost transparency in consumer markets and whether or not consumers should request cost transparency from sellers, in light of the article by Antonis et al. (2015). Design/methodology/approach – Research in the area of cost transparency, pricing and related theoretical domains is analysed to understand the potential role for buyers and sellers in consumer markets. Findings – Although there are an increasing number of examples of greater operational transparency in supply chains, cost transparency in consumer markets is not widespread. Increased cost transparency represents an important product attribute for consumers, enhancing fairness perceptions and affective evaluations. For sellers, it is a potentially powerful complement to price moves and, through enhancing trust among consumers, can positively influence brand value(s). Research limitations/implications – Operational and cost transparency holds much promise as an emerging area in marketing but research into cost transparency in consumer markets is in its early stages and the limited number of field examples reduces the scope for empirical work. However, using carefully controlled lab experiments, much can be done to understand the generalisability and boundary conditions to its effect. Originality/value – This paper takes a balanced view about value to consumers and the implementation of cost transparency in consumer markets, highlighting key mechanisms through which greater transparency may influence consumer product evaluations and concluding with some caveats in relation to its practice

Reducing Household Water Consumption: A Social Marketing Approach

There is increasing pressure for society to move towards more sustainable use of its resources, and calls in the literature have been made to reassess marketing’s role in achieving such goals. This research examines how key behavioural factors influence household water use, in the context of a social marketing programme to reduce household water consumption. A model of the key drivers of household water consumption is developed and tested using a sample of 909 households in a regional city in Australia. The findings from this study support the model developed and show that in the absence of price as a rationing mechanism, the social marketing programme significantly reduces household water consumption. Statement of contribution: This is the first study to develop a comprehensive and empirically tested model of the non-price drivers of household water consumption, within the context of a social marketing intervention. The findings make a contribution to the field of consumer behaviour and social marketing by illustrating key behavioural drivers of water consumption. Consequently the study also shows how marketers can assist in preserving essential goods and services such as water

Forecasting consumer perception of innovativeness

How innovative is a new product to consumers? Why is it perceived to be innovative and does perceived innovativeness affect consumer intention to adopt new products? Some investigations have explored consumers’ perceptions of innovativeness, but this research is fragmented and contains no comprehensive definition and examination of the construct of “consumer perceived innovativeness” (CPI—how innovative the product is from the consumer’s perspective). This study proposes a new conceptualization for CPI based upon extant theory, qualitative research and two quantitative pilot studies. It then identifies and tests key causes and consequences of CPI on a national sample of consumers using a range of different innovations. This allows addressing the “so what?” (consequences) and the “how do you manage it?” (causes). The research extends work in the new product development area by (i) defining CPI within its nomological net and proposing an operational measure based on psychometric testing, (ii) suggesting that affect is more usefully viewed as a consequence of CPI rather than a dimension, and (iii) highlighting the important, yet often overlooked role, of perceived technology newness. These findings provide managers with a useful and practical theory for understanding and influencing consumer perceptions of a product’s innovativeness

Emotional Support, Perceived Corporate Ownership and Skepticism toward Out-groups in Virtual Communities

Consumers often look to virtual communities for knowledge and support in overcoming the challenges they face. This article examines the role of emotional support in virtual communities that help participants to cope with personal challenges such as healthcare, financial or legal matters. It examines the potential for peer to peer emotional support experienced in virtual communities to generate skepticism toward related out-groups such as doctors and drug companies. It also examines the degree to which corporate ownership of the virtual community reduces the degree to which emotional support generates skepticism toward out-groups. Guided by predictions of social identity theory, we use data from 270 regular participants in healthcare virtual communities to show that emotional support does generate skepticism toward out-groups. However, we find that this effect is reversed when the virtual community is reported by participants to be corporate owned. We offer guidance to public policy makers on the potential negative consequences of skepticism and we provide advice to managers on how to counter skepticism and improve community stickiness

Perceptions of online tutorials for distance learning in mathematics and computing

We report on student and staff perceptions of synchronous online teaching and learning sessions in mathematics and computing. The study is based on two surveys of students and tutors conducted 5 years apart, and focusses on the educational experience as well as societal and accessibility dimensions. Key conclusions are that both staff and students value online sessions, to supplement face-to-face sessions, mainly for their convenience, but interaction within the sessions is limited. Students find the recording of sessions particularly helpful in their studies