DIRECT MARKETING IN THE 1990S: TENNESSEE'S NEW FARMERS' MARKETS

Marketing,

SUPERMARKET PATRONAGE: AN ANALYSIS OF CUSTOMER COUNTS AMONG OUTLETS WITHIN A GEOGRAPHIC AREA

As new supermarket management tools are introduced, the need for an improved understanding of store patronage is growing. Weekly customer counts for five supermarkets located in a Southeastern metropolitan area covering 261 weeks are analyzed. Descriptive statistics indicate that food shopper patterns vary by outlet. Regression equations are estimated for each location. Results point to store specific relationships. They indicate that evaluation of television and radio ads and double couponing can be quite involved.Consumer/Household Economics,

LOCATION AND OTHER MARKET ATTRIBUTES AFFECTING FARMER'S MARKET PATRONAGE: THE CASE OF TENNESSEE

Consumer/Household Economics,

FORECASTING ITEM MOVEMENT WITH SCAN DATA: BOX-JENKINS RESULTS

Preliminary forecasts using the Box-Jenkins methodology for supermarket scan data for ground beef and roast item movement are described. The functional form and the accuracy of the forecasts vary by product. Results suggest that further analyses incorporating price and advertising may increase the accuracy of the forecasts.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Marketing,

FRESH VEGETABLE PRICE LINKAGE BETWEEN GROWER/SHIPPERS, WHOLESALERS AND RETAILERS

This study focused on the transmission of price adjustments between grower/shippers and wholesalers and between wholesale handlers and retailers of nine fresh vegetables (only the results associated with bell peppers are reported in this paper). Results among the nine vegetable products were not consistent with respect to the magnitude of adjustments or the time periods involved in the adjustments. In response to wholesale price changes, upward price adjustments at the retail level occur more quickly than do downward price adjustments. Price transmission relationships also varied among the vegetable products between the wholesaler and grower. Overall, the results indicate that factors in addition to changes in upstream prices are impacting retailers' and wholesalers' pricing decisions.Demand and Price Analysis,

Primary crustal melt compositions: Insights into the controls, mechanisms and timing of generation from kinetics experiments and melt inclusions

We explore the controls, mechanisms and timing of generation of primary melts and their compositions, and show that the novel studies of melt inclusions in migmatites can provide important insights into the processes of crustal anatexis of a particular rock. Partial melting in the source region of granites is dependent on five main processes: (i) supply of heat; (ii) mineral–melt interface reactions associated with the detachment and supply of mineral components to the melt, (iii) diffusion in the melt, (iv) diffusion in minerals, and (v) recrystallization of minerals. As the kinetics of these several processes vary over several orders of magnitude, it is essential to evaluate in Nature which of these processes control the rate of melting, the composition of melts, and the extent to which residue–melt chemical equilibrium is attained under different circumstances. To shed light on these issues, we combine data from experimental and melt inclusion studies. First, data from an extensive experimental program on the kinetics of melting of crustal protoliths and diffusion in granite melt are used to set up the necessary framework that describes how primary melt compositions are established during crustal anatexis. Then, we use this reference frame and compare compositional trends from experiments with the composition of melt inclusions analyzed in particular migmatites. We show that, for the case of El Hoyazo anatectic enclaves in lavas, the composition of glassy melt inclusions provides important information on the nature and mechanisms of anatexis during the prograde suprasolidus history of these rocks, including melting temperatures and reactions, and extent of melt interconnection, melt homogenization and melt–residue equilibrium. Compositional trends in several of the rehomogenized melt inclusions in garnet from migmatites/granulites in anatectic terranes are consistent with diffusion in melt-controlled melting, though trace element compositions of melt inclusions and coexisting minerals are necessary to provide further clues on the nature of anatexis in these particular rocks.This work was supported by the National Science Foundation [grants EAR-9603199, EAR-9618867, EAR-9625517 and EAR-9404658], the Italian Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, the European Commission (grant 01-LECEMA22F through contract No. ERAS-CT-2003-980409; and a H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions under grant agreement No. 654606), the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (grants PRIN 2007278A22, 2010TT22SC and SIR RBSI14Y7PF), the Università degli Studi di Padova [Progetto di Ateneo CPDA107188/10 and a Piscopia—Marie Curie Fellowship under grant agreement No. 600376], the Australian Research Council (Australian Professorial Fellowship and Discovery Grants Nos. DP0342473 and DP0556700), and the National Research Foundation (South Africa; Incentives For Rated Researchers Program)

Not All Responses Are the Same: How CEO Cognitions Impact Strategy When Performance Falls Below Aspirations

This study integrates research on managerial discretion within the behavioral theory of the firm to examine how four CEO psychological traits serving as antecedents of managerial discretion—ambiguity tolerance, cognitive complexity, locus of control, and commitment to the status quo—moderate firm responses to poor performance. Using CEOs’ responses to questionnaires, CEO ambiguity tolerance is found to positively moderate the relationship between negative attainment discrepancy and strategic change when performance is slightly below aspirations, defined as average market return for the firm’s industry. Further, CEOs with greater cognitive complexity are found to engage in more strategic change when performance is farther below aspirations. Thus, this study begins to unpack the role of CEOs’ cognitive makeup on firm responses to performance shortfalls

Executive Dismissal or Retention? A Study of Performance, Power, and Survival for College Basketball Coaches

This study applies upper echelons theory associated with executive dismissal and power to examine the relationships of performance and four types of executive power—structural, prestige, expert, and governance concentration—with dismissal. Using the context of National Collegiate Athletic Association college basketball, in which coaches are completely responsible for strategies and human capital acquisition and retention, a curvilinear relationship between performance and dismissal is found. Significant relationships for prestige and expert power with dismissal are also found, but the “honeymoon period” is longer than prior studies of executive and coach dismissal have shown. Surprisingly, concentrated governance is found to be negatively associated with the likelihood of dismissal

Investigation of nanodispersion in polystyrene-montmorillonite nanocomposites by solid state NMR

Nanocomposites result from combinations of materials with vastly different properties in the nanometer scale. These materials exhibit many unique properties such as improved thermal stability, reduced flammability, and improved mechanical properties. Many of the properties associated with polymer–clay nanocomposites are a function of the extent of exfoliation of the individual clay sheets or the quality of the nanodispersion. This work demonstrates that solid-state NMR can be used to characterize, quantitatively, the nanodispersion of variously modified montmorillonite (MMT) clays in polystyrene (PS) matrices. The direct influence of the paramagnetic Fe3, embedded in the aluminosilicate layers of MMT, on polymer protons within about 1 nm from the clay surfaces creates relaxation sources, which, via spin diffusion, significantly shorten the overall proton longitudinal relaxation time (T1 H). Deoxygenated samples were used to avoid the particularly strong contribution to the T1 H of PS from paramagnetic molecular oxygen. We used T1 H as an indicator of the nanodispersion of the clay in PS. This approach correlated reasonably well with X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) data. A model for interpreting the saturation-recovery data is proposed such that two parameters relating to the dispersion can be extracted. The first parameter, f, is the fraction of the potentially available clay surface that has been transformed into polymer–clay interfaces. The second parameter is a relative measure of the homogeneity of the dispersion of these actual polymer–clay interfaces. Finally, a quick assay of T1 H is reported for samples equilibrated with atmospheric oxygen. Included are these samples as well as 28 PS/MMT nanocomposite samples prepared by extrusion. These measurements are related to the development of highthroughput characterization techniques. This approach gives qualitative indications about dispersion; however, the more time-consuming analysis, of a few deoxygenated samples from this latter set, offers significantly greater insight into the clay dispersion. A second, probably superior, rapid-analysis method, applicable to oxygen-containing samples, is also demonstrated that should yield a reasonable estimate of the f parameter. Thus, for PS/MMT nanocomposites, one has the choice of a less complete NMR assay of dispersion that is significantly faster than TEM analysis, versus a slower and more complete NMR analysis with sample times comparable to TEM, information rivaling that of TEM, and a substantial advantage that this is a bulk characterization method. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.* J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 3188–3213, 200

Management Strategies for Reducing Voluntary Employee Turnover in Small Professional Service Firms

Replacing an employee can cost a firm as much as 200% of that employee\u27s annual salary, and small business owners may be especially sensitive to voluntary employee turnover due to their limited resources. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies that some owners of small professional services businesses in the midwestern region of the United States used to reduce voluntary employee turnover in their firms. The conceptual framework for this doctoral study was Barney\u27s resource-based theory. Data were collected from 4 participants whose firms were at least 5 years old and had experienced lower turnover than the average as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, using semistructured interviews and a review of company policies and procedures found in employee handbooks, as well as publicly available information on company websites. Data were analyzed by compiling all the data, using coding to organize the data, identifying themes that emerged, and then making observations about those themes as they pertained to the research. Member checking, along with the review of company documents, served as methodological triangulation for reliability and validity of the research. The 3 major themes that surfaced were how voluntary employee turnover impacts small professional services firms, how hiring reduced voluntary employee turnover, and how corporate culture and employee engagement reduced voluntary employee turnover. Data about strategies for reducing voluntary employee turnover may bring about positive social change in local economies by helping to ensure stability in local commerce and national economies by supporting the success of small businesses that account for many businesses in the United States