A Gravitational Effective Action on a Finite Triangulation as a Discrete Model of Continuous Concepts

We recall how the Gauss-Bonnet theorem can be interpreted as a finite dimen- sional index theorem. We describe the construction given in hep-th/0512293 of a function that can be interpreted as a gravitational effective action on a triangulation. The variation of this function under local rescalings of the edge lengths sharing a vertex is the Euler density, and we use it to illustrate how continuous concepts can have natural discrete analogs.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure; Presented at the 26th Winter School GEOMETRY AND PHYSICS at Srn

The role of corporate image and extension similarity in service brand extensions.

Tevens verschenen als: Research Memorandum / METEOR, Universiteit Maastricht. - (RM00035)

The Role of Corporate Image and Extension Similarity in Service Brand Extensions

In this article we examine the role of corporate image in extending service brands to new and traditional markets in the telecommunications sector. With regards to corporate image, service brand extensions are primarily associated with innovation-related attributes, such as order of entry (i.e., pioneers versus followers). Increasingly, firms are extending their services to markets that are beyond the markets that they traditionally have been active in. The results of an experimental study show that consumers evaluate service extensions by providers with an innovative late mover image more favourably that service extensions by companies with a pioneer image in terms of perceived corporate credibility and expected service quality. With regards to these evaluation criteria, it was also found that consumers prefer service brand extensions to related rather than unrelated markets. In addition we find that the relative distance between service providers with an innovative late mover image and pioneers is larger in related markets.marketing ;