Gender Differences in Consumer-Retailer Relationship Building via Retail Store Attributes

Although the importance of relationship marketing is well understood in marketing in general, research, to date, has been limited to: (1) developing conceptual studies proposing relationship marketing models across different service/retail contexts, (2) examining its outcomes such as satisfaction, commitment, trust, and attitudinal and behavioral loyalty, and (3) testing selected attributes driving customer-company relationship building. Less attention has been paid to consumer-company relationship building via a variety of retail attributes and its moderators. This study aims to enrich the current knowledge by exploring: (1) how a comprehensive set of retail attributes affects consumer-retailer relationship building and (2) if such relationship building process differs by gender

Reflections in the Mirror: Women’s Self Comparisons to Mannequins and Peers

The fashion industry has been under fire for years for using unrealistic body sizes in the form of stick-thin fashion models to promote the sale of clothing. Typical Western fashion models in today’s society are sized 0-2 and weigh approximately 23% less than the average U.S. woman, who weighs approximately 163 pounds and wears a size 14 (Vesilind, 2009). According to Vartanian (2009), many women suffer from body image self-discrepancies when they compare themselves with others, including fashion models. As such, social comparison has been documented to create negative emotions, such as body dissatisfaction and disappointment (Posavac & Posavac, 2002). Although a number of studies have investigated how an idealized body image in media impacts social comparison among females, no research has explored to what extent comparisons of mannequins to a customer’s self may impact self-image and consumer behavior. Since mannequins serve to show consumers how clothing may look on the human body and consumers may be drawn to the clothing due to the way the clothing fits the mannequin and/or the poise, stature, or grace of the mannequin itself (Schneider, 1997), it should be expected that mannequins would also influence self-image and behavior. Utilizing Social Comparison Theory as the theoretical foundation, this study examines the influencing factors affecting U.S. females\u27 social comparison tendencies and psychological well-being when a female compares her body to that of a mannequin and to other women. Data was collected using an online survey through the use of snowball convenience sampling, yielding 314 usable responses. Results indicate that the use of idealized mannequins in retail stores have a significant impact on social comparison and body dissatisfaction for female consumers. These results suggest that female consumers do indeed compare their bodies to those of mannequins and that the greater the discrepancy between the size of the mannequin and their own size, the more dissatisfied the woman is with her body. This research extends Social Comparison Theory as the findings show women also compare themselves to mannequins. In addition, results of this study show that women who are categorized with a BMI classification of overweight or obese are more likely to compare themselves to other females. Results also show that the top five body parts/characteristics most commonly compared to mannequins and other females are body size, weight, body shape, waist, and legs

Drosophila Graf regulates mushroom body β-axon extension and olfactory long-term memory

Abstract Loss-of-function mutations in the human oligophrenin-1 (OPHN1) gene cause intellectual disability, a prevailing neurodevelopmental condition. However, the role OPHN1 plays during neuronal development is not well understood. We investigated the role of the Drosophila OPHN1 ortholog Graf in the development of the mushroom body (MB), a key brain structure for learning and memory in insects. We show that loss of Graf causes abnormal crossing of the MB β lobe over the brain midline during metamorphosis. This defect in Graf mutants is rescued by MB-specific expression of Graf and OPHN1. Furthermore, MB α/β neuron-specific RNA interference experiments and mosaic analyses indicate that Graf acts via a cell-autonomous mechanism. Consistent with the negative regulation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling by Graf, activation of this pathway is required for the β-lobe midline-crossing phenotype of Graf mutants. Finally, Graf mutants have impaired olfactory long-term memory. Our findings reveal a role for Graf in MB axon development and suggest potential neurodevelopmental functions of human OPHN1.This work was supported by grants from the National Research Foundation of Korea (2017M3C7A1025368 and 2019R1A2C2089437)

Liberté, Égalité, Crédibilité: An experimental study of citizens' perceptions of government responses to COVID-19 in eight countries

: During a global pandemic, individual views of government can be linked to citizens' trust and cooperation with government and their propensity to resist state policies or to take action that influences the course of a pandemic. This article explores citizens' assessments of government responses to COVID-19 as a function of policy substance (restrictions on civil liberties), information about performance, and socioeconomic inequity in outcomes. We conducted a survey experiment and analyzed data on over 7000 respondents from eight democratic countries. We find that across countries, citizens are less favorable toward COVID-19 policies that are more restrictive of civil liberties. Additionally, citizens' views of government performance are significantly influenced by objective performance information from reputable sources and information on the disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 on low-income groups. This study reinforces the importance of policy design and outcomes and the consideration of multiple public values in the implementation of public policies

Biosensor system-on-a-chip including CMOS-based signal processing circuits and 64 carbon nanotube-based sensors for the detection of a neurotransmitter

We developed a carbon nanotube (CNT)-based biosensor system-on-a-chip (SoC) for the detection of a neurotransmitter. Here, 64 CNT-based sensors were integrated with silicon-based signal processing circuits in a single chip, which was made possible by combining several technological breakthroughs such as efficient signal processing, uniform CNT networks, and biocompatible functionalization of CNTbased sensors. The chip was utilized to detect glutamate, a neurotransmitter, where ammonia, a byproduct of the enzymatic reaction of glutamate and glutamate oxidase on CNT-based sensors, modulated the conductance signals to the CNT-based sensors. This is a major technological advancement in the integration of CNT-based sensors with microelectronics, and this chip can be readily integrated with larger scale lab-on-a-chip (LoC) systems for various applications such as LoC systems for neural networks.We developed a carbon nanotube (CNT)-based biosensor system-on-a-chip (SoC) for the detection of a neurotransmitter. Here, 64 CNT-based sensors were integrated with silicon-based signal processing circuits in a single chip, which was made possible by combining several technological breakthroughs such as efficient signal processing, uniform CNT networks, and biocompatible functionalization of CNTbased sensors. The chip was utilized to detect glutamate, a neurotransmitter, where ammonia, a byproduct of the enzymatic reaction of glutamate and glutamate oxidase on CNT-based sensors, modulated the conductance signals to the CNT-based sensors. This is a major technological advancement in the integration of CNT-based sensors with microelectronics, and this chip can be readily integrated with larger scale lab-on-a-chip (LoC) systems for various applications such as LoC systems for neural networks

The role of customer participation in customer satisfaction with service recovery

Despite that service retailers are continually seeking ways to ensure customer satisfaction service failure is unavoidable due to the unique nature of service such as co-production with customers and the inseparability of production and consumption. More importantly, delivering an effective service recovery is vital in the long-term survival of businesses because a recovery encounter represents a critical moment when customers determine whether they will stay with a business or leave (Keaveney, 1995). However, the current understanding of when and how various types of recovery strategies work (or do not work) still remains incomplete. The purpose of this study was to advance the current understanding of customer satisfaction with service recovery by exploring how consumers respond to different service recovery strategies when a firm is responsible for the initial service failure in a hotel service context. The two recovery strategies of interest in this study were customer participation in service recovery and compensation. Building on justice theory, this study proposed that the two service recovery strategies would have a positive impact on customers\u27 justice perceptions (procedural, interactional, and distributive justice), which in turn would influence customer satisfaction with the service recovery. To test the hypotheses, an online scenario-based experiment was employed within each of two possible recovery outcome contexts: a positive outcome and a negative outcome following service recovery efforts. In the positive outcome context, two pertinent dimensions of perceived justice were identified: procedural/distributive justice and interactional justice. Customers\u27 participation in the service recovery (i.e., co-creation of recovery vs. firm recovery) was found not to have any positive impact on their justice perceptions. Compensation, however, was found to have a positive impact on customers\u27 procedural/distributive justice perception. No interaction effect between customer participation and compensation was found. Further, procedural/distributive justice positively influenced customers\u27 satisfaction with service recovery, but interactional justice did not. In the negative outcome context, three dimensions of perceived justice were found to be salient, as anticipated: procedural justice, distributive justice, and interactional justice. Customers\u27 participation did not have any positive impact on their justice perceptions. Compensation, however, did have a positive impact on all three justice perceptions. The interaction effect of the two recovery strategies was not significant. Finally, procedural and distributive justice positively influenced customers\u27 satisfaction with service recovery, but interactional justice had no influence on satisfaction with service recovery. Additionally, a post-hoc analysis explored a potential reason underlying the null effects of customer participation. The results implied that, instead of whether or not consumers participate in service recovery encounters, consumers\u27 attitude toward co-creation of service recovery is likely to play an important role in making a difference in justice perceptions about service recovery. This study contributes to the literature on customer participation/co-creation, service failure and recovery management, and customer satisfaction by enhancing the understanding of the effectiveness of customer participation and compensation as recovery strategies and the influence of customers\u27 justice perceptions on their satisfaction with service recovery