Effect of Narcissism, Psychopathy, and Machiavellianism on Entrepreneurial Intention—The Mediating of Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy

The driving factors behind the exploration and search for entrepreneurial intention (EI) are critical to entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial practice. To reveal in depth the influence of personality traits on EI, our study introduces the opposite of proactive personality—the dark triad that consists of narcissism, psychopathy and Machiavellianism. Our study used the MBA students of Tianjin University as a sample to analyze the relationship between the dark triad, entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) and EI. A total of 334 MBA students aged 24–47 years participated and the participation rate is 95.71%. The data collection was largely concentrated in the period from May 15 to June 5, 2018. From the overall perspective of the dark triad, the results show that the dark triad positively predicts EI, and ESE has a partial mediating effect on the dark triad and EI. From the perspective of the three members of the dark triad, the study found that narcissism/psychopathy has a negative effect on ESE and EI; narcissism/psychopathy has a non-linear effect on EI; Machiavellianism has a positive effect on ESE and EI; and ESE has a mediating effect on the three members of the dark triad and EI. In short, our research reveals that the three members of the dark triad have different effects on EI in different cultural contexts, and the research findings have certain reference value for further improvement of entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial practice

Is high recovery more effective than expected recovery in addressing service failure?: a moral judgment perspective

In the context of two distinctive consumer categories and two different product settings, this research examines the effects of recovery on recovery performance as a function of consumer moral judgment of service failure. The findings of two studies reveal that consumers' response to recovery anchors on the magnitude of recovery but these responses are adjusted according to consumers' moral judgment of service failure. Specifically, consumers react more positively toward expected recovery than high recovery and these effects are pronounced when consumers are low in moral judgment of service failure. In contrast, when consumers are high in moral judgment of service failure, although high recovery (compared with expected recovery) lessens the likelihood of negative word of mouth this effect does not transfer to repurchase tendency. Product involvement does not provide alternative explanations for the findings. The findings of this research have important and meaningful implications for business providers

Metastasis-associated in colon cancer-1 and aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 are metastatic and prognostic biomarker for non-small cell lung cancer

BACKGROUND: Tumor recurrence and metastasis are the most common reason for treatment failure. Metastasis-associate in colon cancer-1 (MACC1) has been identified as a metastatic and prognostic biomarker for colorectal cancer and other solid tumors. Aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (ALDH1), a marker of cancer stem cells, is also associated with metastasis and poor prognosis in many tumors. However, the prognostic value of either MACC1 or ALDH1 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is unclear. In this study, we explored the relationship between MACC1 and ALDH1 expression, as well as their respective associations with clinicopathological features, to determine if either could be useful for improvement of survival prognosis in NSCLC. METHODS: The expression levels of both MACC1 and ALDH1 in 240 whole tissue sections of NSCLC were examined by immunohistochemistry. Clinical data were also collected. RESULTS: MACC1 and ALDH1 were significantly overexpressed in NSCLC tissues when compared to levels in normal lung tissues. Investigation of associations between MACC1 or ALDH1 protein levels with clinicopathological parameters of NSCLC revealed correlations between the expression of each with tumor grade, lymph node metastasis, and tumor node metastasis. The overall survival of patients with MACC1- or ALDH1-positive NSCLC tumors was significantly lower than that of those who were negative. Importantly, multivariate analysis suggested that positive expression of either MACC1 or ALDH1, as well as TNM stage, could be independent prognostic factors for overall survival in patients with NSCLC. CONCLUSIONS: MACC1 and ALDH1 may represent promising metastatic and prognostic biomarkers, as well as potential therapeutic targets, for NSCLC

Effective Pro-environmental Communication: Message Framing and Context Congruency Effect

This research investigates the effectiveness of two types of message framing in pro-environmental communication: prescriptive versus proscriptive appeals in daily and tourism contexts. Two experimental studies were conducted. Study 1a focused on natural park and street park scenarios, while Study 1b examined hotel and office scenarios. Study 2 replicated Study 1 and further explored the mediating role of anticipated pride and guilt. The results indicate that in tourism contexts, prescriptive-framed appeals are more effective than proscriptive-framed appeals, whereas in daily contexts, proscriptive-framed appeals are more effective. Furthermore, the message framing-context congruency effect is mediated by the anticipated pride and guilt. These findings fill a literature gap by revealing the interaction between message framing and context in pro-environmental communication, providing insights for managers to customize appeals, using prescriptive-framed messages in tourism contexts and proscriptive-framed messages in daily contexts, while leveraging anticipated pride and guilt to motivate eco-friendly actions

Management response to negative comments, psychological distance and product nature: a consumer perspective

Purpose – Management response to consumer comments has become a widely adopted marketing strategy to address the undesirable effects caused by negative remarks. Yet, when and what management response is more effective and under what circumstances remains under-researched. This study aims to fill this gap. Design/methodology/approach – In three experiments using five different products, the authors manipulate psychological construal level (psychological distance: distant vs proximal) and management response (response of primary vs secondary features) and thereafter assess their bearings on consumer psychological and behavioral reaction toward products of two distinctive natures (hedonic vs utilitarian). Findings – At a psychological distance, consumers show a preferable reaction to management response of primary over secondary features. In contrast, when the psychological distance is proximal, consumers react more positively to management response of secondary than primary features. In addition, these effects vary as a function of product nature, hedonic vs utilitarian. Research limitations/implications – The findings of this research bring a significant contribution to marketing communication literature and extend the construal level theory. Practical implications – A better understanding of the relative effectiveness of distinct types of management response to negative consumer comments is essential for more targeted and effective marketing strategies. Originality/value – Little research has documented the effects of distinct types of management response. How psychological distance might underpin these effects has not been explored. In addition, whether the interaction effect of management response and psychological distance varies with differences in product nature, namely, hedonic and utilitarian, remains unanswered until this research

No browsing, no donating: impact of image emotion and colour on browsing intention in online charitable fundraising

Browsing behaviour, as a pivotal step before donation behaviour, plays a crucial role in online charitable fundraising, with little attention focused on attracting potential donors’ attention and improving their browsing intention. This research focuses on the colour elements of tone and saturation, as well as the victim’s emotion, to investigate the impact of their interaction on donors’ browsing and donation behaviour. The results of two studies indicate that presenting a victim image with happy emotion in low saturation, blue (vs. yellow) tones can enhance the individual’s attention to the victim’s image and further improve their browsing intention. However, when presenting images in high saturation, the colour tone and the emotion of the image have no significant influence on browsing intention. Besides, in low saturation, blue (vs. yellow) tones can enhance the donor’s donation rate and amount. These findings could help scholars and non-profit organisations understand how to present colour elements and victim emotions in the fundraising materials to stimulate the browsing and donation behaviours of donors.</p

Probing Non-Gaussianity in Confined Diffusion of Nanoparticles

Confined diffusion is ubiquitous in nature. Ever since the “anomalous yet Brownian” motion was observed, the non-Gaussianity in confined diffusion has been unveiled as an important issue. In this Letter, we experimentally investigate the characteristics and source of non-Gaussian behavior in confined diffusion of nanoparticles suspended in polymer solutions. A time-varied and size-dependent non-Gaussianity is reported based on the non-Gaussian parameter and displacement probability distribution, especially when the nanoparticle’s size is smaller than the typical polymer mesh size. This non-Gaussianity does not vanish even at the long-time Brownian stage. By inspecting the displacement autocorrelation, we observe that the nanoparticle–structure interaction, indicated by the anticorrelation, is limited in the short-time stage and makes little contribution to the non-Gaussianity in the long-time stage. The main source of the non-Gaussianity can therefore be attributed to hopping diffusion that results in an exponential probability distribution with the large displacements, which may also explain certain processes dominated by rare events in the biological environment