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- P-ISSN1738-3110
- E-ISSN2093-7717
- SCOPUS
ISSN : 1738-3110
Vol.10 No.2
Abstract
The aim of this study is to empirically explore micro and macroeconomic factors affecting the Pakistani sugar industries and searching the energy potential of this industry, through the survey of literature. The empirical part has been explored by employing Vector Autoregression (VAR), Granger Causality tests and simultaneous equation models through quarterly data for the period of 1991q2-2008q4. The study also aims to devise policies for the development of sugar industries and identify its growing importance for the energy sector of Pakistan. Empirical tests applied on the domestic prices of sugar, domestic interest rates, and exchange rate, productive capacities of sugar mills, per capita income, world sugar prices on cultivable area and sugar production reveal very useful results. Results reveal an improvement of productive capacity of the sugar mills of Pakistan on account of increasing crushing capacity of this sector. Negative effect of rising wholesale prices on the harvesting area was also observed. Profit earnings of the sugar mills significantly increase with the rise of sugar prices but the system does not exist for the farming community to share the rising prices of sugar. The models indicate positive and significant effect of local prices of sugar on its volume of import. Another of the findings of this study positively relates the local sugar markets with the international prices of sugar. Additionally, the causality tests results reveal exchange rate, harvesting area and overall output of sugarcane to have significant effects on the local prices of sugar. Similarly, import of sugar, interest rate, per capita consumption of sugar, per capita national income and the international prices of sugar also significantly affect currency exchange rate of Pakistani rupee in terms of US$. The study also finds sugar as an essential and basic necessity of the Pakistani consumers. That is why there are no significant income and price effects on the per capita consumption of sugar in Pakistan. All the empirical methods reiterate the relationship of variables. Economic policy makers are recommended to improve governance and management in the production, stock taking, internal and external trading and distribution of sugar in Pakistan using bumper crop policies. Macroeconomic variables such as interest rate, exchange rate per capita income and consumption are closely connected with the production and distribution of sugar in Pakistan. The cartelized role of the sugar industries should also be examined by further studies. There is need to further explore sugar sector of Pakistan with the perspective of energy generation through this sector; cartelized sugar markets in Pakistan and many more other dimensions of this sector. Exact appraisal of sugar industries for energy generation can be done appropriately by the experts from applied sciences.
Abstract
Rapidly growing sales amount and the number of discount stores caused many side effects and sensitive issues in Korea. Because these severe competition due to more expensive cost just like excessive increase in advertising and location selection, and these caused completely ruined small merchants as well as passed on to the consumer. This Study focused on competitiveness of discount store in Korea to the perspective of college students, as explored the relationships between marketing communication and store loyalty. And, examined for two moderating effect, 1) consumers' value separated by hedonic value and utilitarian value between marketing communication and store loyalty, and 2) consumers' value separated by hedonic value and utilitarian value between marketing communication and consumption emotion. Finally, this study examined for mediating effect of consumption emotion between marketing communication and store loyalty. In order to verify the relationship, moderating and mediating effects, data were collected from 130 college students in Whasung, Gyeonggi Province to test theoretical model and its hypotheses. Findings are as followed : First, analysis showed that factors such as advertisement(β =.221, p<.05), publicity(β =.513, p<.01), sales promotion(β =.234, p<.01), word of mouth(β =.627, p<.01) and physical environment(β =.339, p<.01) for marketing communication in the discount store have statistically significant positive effect on store loyalty. But the result of regression analysis for which factors are more impact in marketing communication between store loyalty showed that word of mouth(β =.53, p<.01) is only statistically significant. Second, publicity(β =-.895, p<.05), the sub-dimension of marketing communication shows only statistically significant negative moderating effect on store loyalty. But, the results of the moderating effect of value between marketing communication and consumption emotion verified that utilitarian value show statistically significant, specifically advertisement(β =.294, p<.01), physical environment(β =.418, p<.01), sales promotion(β =.245, p<.01), word of mouth(β =.414, p<.01) and publicity(β =1.137, p<.05), respectively. And hedonic value show statistically significant, specifically advertisement(β =.286, p<.01), physical environment (β =.418, p<.01), sales promotion(β =.236, p<.01) and word of mouth(β =.420, p<.01), respectively. But publicity(β =.145, p=.119) is not statistically significant. Finally, the results verified mediating effect for consumption emotion between all factors for marketing communication and store loyalty showed that factors such as advertisement, publicity, word of mouth and physical environment for marketing communication except sales promotion were statistically significant fully mediated in advertisement, and partially mediated in publicity, word of mouth and physical environment. This testified that the consumption emotion had the most important factor to enhance store loyalty to the perspective of College students. These results can provide important implications and invaluable tips for planning marketing strategies and gaining access to new potential customers. Implications and future research directions are also discussed.
Abstract
This paper undertakes a conceptual review of transaction cost to broaden the understanding of the transaction cost analysis (TCA) approach. More than 40 years have passed since Coase's fundamental insight that transaction, coordination, and contracting costs must be considered explicitly in explaining the extent of vertical integration. Coase (1937) forced economists to identify previously neglected constraints on the trading process to foster efficient intrafirm, rather than interfirm, transactions. The transaction cost approach to economic organization study regards transactions as the basic units of analysis and holds that understanding transaction cost economy is central to organizational study. The approach applies to determining efficient boundaries, as between firms and markets, and to internal transaction organization, including employment relations design. TCA, developed principally by Oliver Williamson (1975,1979,1981a) blends institutional economics, organizational theory, and contract law. Further progress in transaction costs research awaits the identification of critical dimensions in which transaction costs differ and an examination of the economizing properties of alternative institutional modes for organizing transactions. The crucial investment distinction is: To what degree are transaction-specific (non-marketable) expenses incurred? Unspecialized items pose few hazards, since buyers can turn toalternative sources, and suppliers can sell output intended for one order to other buyers. Non-marketability problems arise when specific parties' identities have important cost-bearing consequences. Transactions of this kind are labeled idiosyncratic. The summarized results of the review are as follows. First, firms' distribution decisions often prompt examination of the make-or-buy question: Should a marketing activity be performed within the organization by company employees or contracted to an external agent? Second, manufacturers introducing an industrial product to a foreign market face a difficult decision. Should the product be marketed primarily by captive agents (the company sales force and distribution division) or independent intermediaries (outside sales agents and distribution)? Third, the authors develop a theoretical extension to the basic transaction cost model by combining insights from various theories with the TCA approach. Fourth, other such extensions are likely required for the general model to be applied to different channel situations. It is naive to assume the basic model appliesacross markedly different channel contexts without modifications and extensions. Although this study contributes to scholastic research, it is limited by several factors. First, the theoretical perspective of TCA has attracted considerable recent interest in the area of marketing channels. The analysis aims to match the properties of efficient governance structures with the attributes of the transaction. Second, empirical evidence about TCA's basic propositions is sketchy. Apart from Anderson's (1985) study of the vertical integration of the selling function and John's (1984) study of opportunism by franchised dealers, virtually no marketing studies involving the constructs implicated in the analysis have been reported. We hope, therefore, that further research will clarify distinctions between the different aspects of specific assets. Another important line of future research is the integration of efficiency-oriented TCA with organizational approaches that emphasize specific assets' conceptual definition and industry structure. Finally, research of transaction costs, uncertainty, opportunism, and switching costs is critical to future study.
Abstract
As experiential education services are growing, the need for proper management is increasing. Considering that adequate measures are an essential factor for achieving success in managing something, it is important for managers to use a proper system of metrics to measure the performance of experiential education services. However, in spite of this need, little research has been done to develop a valid and reliable set of metrics for assessing the quality of experiential education services. The current study aims to develop a multi-item instrument for assessing the service quality of experiential education. The specific procedure is as follows. First, we generated a pool of possible metrics based on diverse literature on service quality. We elicited possiblemetric items not only from general service quality metrics such as SERVQUAL and SERVPERF but also from educational service quality metrics such as HEdPERF and PESPERF. Second, specialist teachers in the experiential education area screened the initial metrics to boost face validity. Third, we proceeded with multiple rounds of empirical validation of those metrics. Based on this processes, we refined the metrics to determine the final metrics to be used. Fourth, we examined predictive validity by checking the well-established positive relationship between each dimension of metrics and customer satisfaction. In sum, starting with the initial pool of scale items elicited from the previous literature and purifying them empirically through the surveying method, we developed a four-dimensional systemized scale to measure the superiority of experiential education and named it "Experiential Education PERFormance" (EEPERF). Our findings indicate that students (consumers) perceive the superiority of the experiential education (EE) service in the following four dimensions: EE-empathy, EE-reliability, EE-outcome, and EE-landscape. EE-empathy is a judgment in response to the question, "How empathetically does the experiential educational service provider interact with me?" Principal measures are "How well does the service provider understand my needs?," and "How well does the service provider listen to my voice?" Next, EE-reliability is a judgment in response to the question, "How reliably does the experiential educational service provider interact with me?" Major measures are "How reliable is the schedule here?," and "How credible is the service provider?" EE-outcome is a judgmentin response to the question, "What results could I get from this experiential educational service encounter?" Representative measures are "How good is the information that I will acquire form this service encounter?," and "How useful is this service encounter in helping me develop creativity?" Finally, EE-landscape is a judgment about the physical environment. Essential measures are "How convenient is the access to the service encounter?,"and "How well managed are the facilities?" We showed the reliability and validity of the system of metrics. All four dimensions influence customer satisfaction significantly. Practitioners may use the results in planning experiential educational service programs and evaluating each service encounter. The current study isexpected to act as a stepping-stone for future scale improvement. In this case, researchers may use the experience quality paradigm that has recently arisen.
Abstract
Well-being is a reflection of current sociocultural trends that focus on the quality of life based on economic growth. Furthermore, organic food is believed to help people maintain good health and therefore leads to increased consumption of organic foods. Therefore, consumer interest in organic food is increasing, causing its market to grow, and this trend will be maintained in the future. The abuse of agricultural pesticides, gene manipulation, and bovine spongiform encephalopathy has caused consumers to worry about food safety. The well-being trend has also contributed to consumers' growing interest inorganic food and organic agricultural products. A consumer's choice offood is a complex processes affected by various factors. In particular, organic food is considered an individualistic merit good, considering the consumers' preferences related to certification policies. Therefore, various factors such as personal characteristics and sense of value could affect consumers' decisions. This research focused on an analysis of the factors influencing consumers' purchasing intention for organic food on the basis of an increase in organic food consumption. The research method was based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Factors such as consumer characteristics regarding food consumption, purchasing frequency, and other factors affecting purchasing intention were presented. The hypothesis was set using advanced research and stated that it is easier to forecast purchasing intentions by combining the theory of planned behavior and personal characteristics of consumer. The results show that two dimensions, attitude and perceived behavioral control, have statistically significant influence on the purchasing intention. It can be said that a positive attitude toward organic foods in particular increases the possibility of purchasing intention. In addition, consumers who consume more organic food products are more likely to have positive attitudes, and, in the past, purchasing frequency has positively influenced purchasing intention of organic foods. Consumers' negative feelings about the non-purchase of organic foods also showed a negative influence on purchasing intentions. In other words, even though consumers feel uncomfortable when not consuming organic food products, they do not try to purchase such products because of this feeling of discomfort. Furthermore, the subjective norm and the behavioral control of food-related involvement do not have a statistically significant influence on the purchasing intention or attitudes. This research verified the influence of factors related to purchasing intention. This study has several limitations: (1) even though consumers' responses can change based on the type of food, the types of food were not classified in this study; (2) future studies are necessary to analyze the attitudes of consumers on the basis of their purchasing experiences with organic foods.