Weathering product-harm crises.

Product-harm crises can seriously imperil a brand's performance. Consumers tend to weigh negative publicity heavily in product judgments, customer preferences may shift towards competing products during the recall period, and competitors often increase their advertising spending in the wake of a brand's misfortune. To counter these negative effects, brands hope to capitalize on their equity, and often use advertising as a communication device to regain customers' lost trust. We develop a multiple-event hazard model to study how consumer characteristics and advertising influence consumers' first-purchase decisions for two affected brands of peanut butter following a severe Australian product-harm crisis. Buying a recently affected brand is perceived as highly risky, making the trial purchase a first hurdle to be taken in the brand's recovery. Both pre-crisis loyalty and familiarity are found to form an important buffer against the product-harm crisis, supporting the idea that a brand's equity prior to the crisis offers resilience in the face of misfortune. Also heavy users tend to purchase the affected brands sooner, unless their usage rate decreased significantly during the crisis. Brand advertising was found to be effective for the stronger brand, but not for the weaker brand, while competitive advertising delayed the first-purchase decision for both brands affected by the crisis.(pro-environmental) attitudes; Behavior; Claim; Cognitive; Consumption; Control; Control theory; Decision; Decisions; Demand; Ecological consumer behaviour; Effects; Ego depletion; Implications; Marketing; Model; Performance; Research; Self-control; Self-perception theory; Social marketing; Studies; Theory; Product; Judgments; Preference; Recall; Advertising; Brands; Communication; Trust; Characteristics; Loyalty;

Intra- and inter-channel competition in local-service sectors.

Although economically very important, local-service sectors have received little attention in the extensive literature on competitive interactions. Detailed data gathering in these sectors is hard, not only because of the multitude of local players, but also because key service dimensions are hard to quantify. Using empirical entry models, we show how to infer information on these sectors' degree of intra- and inter-channel competition from the observed entry decisions in different local markets. The approach also controls for relevant socio-demographic characteristics of the trading area that may affect performance. We apply the proposed empirical entry model to the video-rental market. Additional entries of video stores are found to significantly increase the level of intra-channel competition. Unlike the predictions of many normative economic models, we find this increase to be larger when the entry occurs in a duopoly than in a monopoly, a pattern consistent with recent experimental research on collusive behavior in oligopolies. We also find evidence of inter-channel cannibalization from the upstream channel (movie theatres), but not from the downstream channel (premium cable). Finally, various socio-demographic characteristics of the trading zone, such as income and household size, are found to also have a significant impact on store performance.Competition; Sector; Channel competition; Characteristics; Oligopoly; Monopoly;

Intra- and Inter-Channel Competition in Local-Service Sectors

Although economically very important, local-service sectors have received little attention in the extensive literature on competitive interactions. Detailed data gathering in these sectors is hard, not only because of the multitude of local players, but also because key service dimensions are hard to quantify. Using empirical entry models, we show how to infer information on these sectors’ degree of intra- and inter-channel competition from the observed entry decisions in different local markets. The approach also controls for relevant socio-demographic characteristics of the trading area that may affect performance. We apply the proposed empirical entry model to the video-rental market. Additional entries of video stores are found to significantly increase the level of intra-channel competition. Unlike the predictions of many normative economic models, we find this increase to be larger when the entry occurs in a duopoly than in a monopoly, a pattern consistent with recent experimental research on collusive behavior in oligopolies. We also find evidence of inter-channel cannibalization from the upstream channel (movie theatres), but not from the downstream channel (premium cable). Finally, various socio-demographic characteristics of the trading zone, such as income and household size, are found to also have a significant impact on store performance

Improved detection of molecular markers of atherosclerotic plaques using sub-millimeter PET imaging

Since atherosclerotic plaques are small and sparse, their non-invasive detection via PET imaging requires both highly specific radiotracers as well as imaging systems with high sensitivity and resolution. This study aimed to assess the targeting and biodistribution of a novel fluorine-18 anti-VCAM-1 Nanobody (Nb), and to investigate whether sub-millimetre resolution PET imaging could improve detectability of plaques in mice. The anti-VCAM-1 Nb functionalised with the novel restrained complexing agent (RESCA) chelator was labelled with [F-18]AlF with a high radiochemical yield (>75%) and radiochemical purity (>99%). Subsequently, [F-18]AlF(RESCA)-cAbVCAM1-5 was injected in ApoE(-/-) mice, or co-injected with excess of unlabelled Nb (control group). Mice were imaged sequentially using a cross-over design on two different commercially available PET/CT systems and finally sacrificed for ex vivo analysis. Both the PET /CT images and ex vivo data showed specific uptake of [F-18]AlF(RESCA)-cAbVCAM1-5 in atherosclerotic lesions. Non-specific bone uptake was also noticeable, most probably due to in vivo defluorination. Image analysis yielded higher target-to-heart and target-to-brain ratios with the beta-CUBE (MOLECUBES) PET scanner, demonstrating that preclinical detection of atherosclerotic lesions could be improved using the latest PET technology

Intraosseous Hemangioma of the Left Parietal Bone

Background: A 26-year-old male presented with pain in his left tibia. Ultrasonography revealed no abnormalities. Tc-99m-bonescan was requested to rule out stress fracture. The scan confirmed the presence of a left tibial stress fracture, as well as an enhancing lesion in the left parietal bone. The patient had no neurological symptoms

Intra- and Interformat Competition Among Discounters and Supermarkets

The price-aggressive discount format, popularized by chains such as Aldi and Lidl, is very successful in most Western economies. Its success is a major source of concern for traditional supermarkets. Discounters not only have a direct effect on supermarkets’ market shares, they also exert considerable pressure to improve operational efficiency and/or to decrease prices. We use an empirical entry model to study the degree of intra- and inter-format competition between discounters and supermarkets. Information on the competitive impact of new entrants is derived from the observed entry decisions of supermarkets and discounters in a large cross-section of local markets, after controlling for a number of local market characteristics. In our modeling framework, we endogenize the retailers’ entry decisions, and allow for asymmetric intra- and inter-format competitive effects in a flexible way. We apply our modeling approach to the German grocery industry, where the discount format has stabilized after two decades of continued growth. We find evidence of intense competition within both the supermarket and discounter format, although competition between supermarkets is found to be more severe. Most importantly, discounters only start to affect the profitability of conventional supermarkets from the third entrant onwards. This may explain why many retailers rush to add a discount chain to their portfolio: early entrants may benefit from the growth of the discount-prone segment without cannibalizing the profits of their more conventional supermarket stores