Search results for "Economics"
showing 10 items of 14389 documents
Comparative study between different methods for the efficiency of the production activity in the wood industry
2017
Generally speaking, the quality and cost of goods and in particular of the wood products is a decisive condition in their sales on the market, attracting buyers to satisfy their wishes and requirements. Starting from the general idea, by which it is considered that the manufacturing activity is effective if production is obtained at maximum quality with a low (minimum) cost, or when the revenue from the sale of products exceeds the market expenditure which is necessary to achieve it, this research article aims to study ways to make production more efficient by methods which could also be applied in the wood industry, by presenting a comparative study on production optimization methods in th…
The renaissance of tramways and urban redevelopment in France
2017
Abstract Tramways have made a remarkable comeback in France since the 1980s. An organization of public transport based on the decentralized administration system set up in the early 1980s has allowed local urban authorities to make their own choices to develop public transport networks in the context of automobile domination. As in many other countries, worries about fossil fuel dependency and demands concerning sustainable urban development appear as strong elements in favour of urban light rail. However, in France, tramways are not just technical solutions for traffic congestion, they have also become a symbol of a cultural mutation in urban development planning. Coupled with a national p…
Why do we enjoy creative tasks? Results from a multigroup randomized controlled study
2016
Previous studies have linked positive emotions with creativity, but it remains unknown why creative activities may enhance positive emotions. We tested how creative tasks influence autonomous self-expression and task absorption, and whether this in turn increases positive emotions. Data from 478 participants were divided into four language samples (English, German, Italian, and Polish) and analyzed in a series of multigroup structural equation models. The indirect effects were replicated in all samples. Creative tasks enhanced positive emotions through an increase in autonomy. However, participants who solved creative tasks also reported lower task absorption, and this has hindered their ex…
Debiasing media articles–reducing hindsight bias in the production of written work.
2021
Written work such as Wikipedia articles can contain hindsight bias. Since reading biased texts can, in turn, increase recipients’ individual hindsight bias, it is an important agenda to examine effective debiasing strategies. In the present study (N = 164), we tested whether providing authors with debiasing strategies can effectively reduce hindsight bias in their content. Specifically, participants wrote an article based on several newspaper articles about a dam and we manipulated whether they received event knowledge (i.e., dam collapse) and a debiasing intervention. Ten blind coders rated the extent to which the produced articles were suggestive of the disaster. Debiasing was successful …
Die Kundenzufriedenheit als Bestimmungsfaktor der Kundenbindung
1999
This contribution stresses the relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Several hypotheses on the relationship in question are stated based on different theoretical appoaches. An empirical study is presented that supports a piecewise linear relationship between satisfaction and loyalty. Finally, implications for marketing practice are discussed.
An Approach to Measuring Perceived Quality of Life in the City Through a Formative Multidimensional Perspective
2016
Cities compete to attract multinational companies, more tourism flows and to improve the quality of life of citizens. From a public service orientation, perceived quality of life should become a strategic input. In the last decades, scientists offered several alternative approaches to defining and measuring quality of life: social indicators, subjective measures and economic indices all with their strengths and weaknesses. This chapter conceptualizes and operationalizes perceived quality of life in the city from the perspective of its residents, proposing and validating a new measure with six dimensions through a formative index. The conceptual model and the hypotheses are tested using Part…
Stretching the value-satisfaction-loyalty chain by adding value dimensions and cognitive and affective satisfactions
2016
Purpose– Consensus on how value dimensions are drivers of overall perceived value is a widespread reality in consumer behaviour literature. But scanty research has been done on which of these value dimensions best predict customer loyalty. The purpose of this paper is to propose a causal model that examines how PERVAL dimensions of value affect customers’ loyalty, through both cognitive and affective satisfaction.Design/methodology/approach– The model is tested on a sample of 820 Spanish retail customers and the findings suggest that product quality and value for money (cognitive) impact customer loyalty through emotional and social value (affective), with significant direct and indirect ef…
The role of collective action for the emergence and consolidation of democracy
2020
AbstractThe role of citizens' collective action for the emergence and consolidation of democracy is generally analysed within bottom-up theories. However, top-down theories show that elites might impede or promote both democracy and collective action through a set of strategies which are often unobserved and vary over time. Democratic persistence and change require then to be assessed in a dynamic framework which considers both citizens and elites' strategies. For such reason, on a large sample of countries in the period 1971–2014, we jointly estimate the probability of collective action and democracy using a Structural Dynamic Model. This allows us to account for the dynamic nature of the …
Ways to Promoting Rural, Cultural and Gastronomical Tourism in Mărginimea Sibiului
2016
In 2009, the touristic potential of Marginimea Sibiului is recognised both nationally and internationally for its unique ethnographic, cultural, architectural and historical heritage and it has also won the Golden Apple Award of World Federation of Travel Journalists and Writers. In 2015, this area with rich traditions won a price for promoting local gastronomy. Cheeses of Marginimea Sibiului are an important part of this region's culinary and cultural tradition, and its diversity comes from specific production techniques. The Sheep Cheese Route provides an excellent opportunity for discovering the pastoral world of Marginimea Sibiului, with its picturesque settlements and calm lifestyle. D…
Internal resources as tools to increase the global competition: the Italian wine industry case
2017
Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, it identifies distinct organizational models in a sample of small and medium enterprises operating in the Sicilian wine industry; and second, it identifies the key factors enabling a superior export success. Design/methodology/approach Internal resources were analyzed theoretically in order to achieve the aims of the study. Subsequently the empirical investigation was carried out administering a questionnaire to a sample of 102 wineries in Sicily, Italy. A cluster analysis was performed in order to group these firms into homogeneous categories. Findings The findings show that success in the international market is more common among winer…