Consumer Benefits Research Articles

Collection responsibility and freight insurance strategies for an e‐tailing supply chain in the presence of managerial optimism

AbstractEntrepreneurs are usually optimistic when they offer return policies. We investigate the strategic interaction between the manufacturer's collection responsibility strategy (returns handled by the manufacturer or the e‐tailer) and the e‐tailer's complimentary return‐freight insurance strategy (whether to offer this insurance or not) in the presence of managerial optimism. It is found that the manufacturer's collection responsibility strategy creates the (implicit) incentive for the e‐tailer to offer complimentary return‐freight insurance. A high level of optimism and return handling costs expand the equilibrium range over which the manufacturer collects returns, and the e‐tailer offers complimentary return‐freight insurance. Contrary to conventional wisdom, we find that unilateral optimism does not always lead to a win‐win situation, but it can still result in suboptimal results on the other side. Finally, despite possibly high shipping costs, the e‐tailer's refusal to offer complimentary return‐freight insurance still benefits consumers, implying that managers with high optimism level benefit consumers.

Server Based Load Analysis of Smart Meter System

The electricity demand is adding with the growth of population and with the use of different appliances in the homes. So, there's a need for consumers to track their diurnal operation and understand the consumption patterns to save and control these coffers. Smart cadence along with Advanced Metering structure( AMI) is a realistic and effective result for this. before procedure which put to profitable use of one- way dispatches to gather cadence data, were mentioned to as Automated Meter Reading( AMR) Systems. This design aims at analyzing the performance of the proposed smart cadence systems, effective transmission and how serviceability explore new developments for the benefit of consumers as well as themselves by ever covering energy consumption. This is achieved by using PLC modems for remote monitoring and control of energy measures. By this way we can bring down mortal sweats demanded to outline cadence readings which are till now recorded by visiting every home collectively. As a result, the consumption patterns at the serviceability are studies and cargo analysis is made so that this can help in maintaining other systems associated with energy operation. To study and dissect the cargo consumption patterns. By this way an estimate on the energy consumption can be made and therefore have a control on its operation. Key Words: Smart Meter; Smart Grid; Advanced Metering Infrastructure(AMI); Information Rights Management(IRM); Power line communication(PLC); Arduino UNO;Energy consumption.

Sector-Scale Proliferation of CSR Quality Label Programs via Mimicry: The Rotkäppchen Effect

Proliferation of CSR quality certification programs can be analysed within theories of mimicry. Some firms use third-party quality certificates to signal their CSR practices to consumers accurately. These firms and consumers benefit from few, simple, recognized, reliable labels. Other firms use competing or own-brand labels to signal deceptively, gaining competitive advantage without compliance costs. Unreliable labels act as mimics to dupe consumers. If consumers cannot determine which labels are misleading, they ignore them all. Within ecological theories of mimicry, this is known as aggressive reverse Brouwerian automimicry. CSR-label research has a different naming tradition, and this sector-scale effect could be called a rotkäppchen effect, analogous to program-scale groucho and firm-scale goldilocks effects. It is testable by analysing mimicry mechanisms or predicted patterns.

Research on the Application of Membership System in Market Management: Evidence from China

Under the strong competition in the retail industry, large warehouse membership supermarkets have a stable and large consumer base in the market with strong competitiveness. This paper selects two case studies, Costco, which is the world's leading warehouse membership supermarket, and Freshippo, which has newly emerged in the Chinese market, for comparative analysis to explore the industrial structure behind the membership system in the development process and special innovations made by local membership supermarkets in China to satisfy consumers. The Chinese retail market is significantly different and requires localized transformation and innovation in order to attract local consumers to join. The paper also explores Freshippo's attempts to increase the brand's competitiveness in the face of the enormous convenience of online shopping in China, namely, the innovation of an online + offline model and the addition of several consumer benefits to attract more consumers to join the membership family. Through the integration and analysis of the development strategies of two membership supermarkets, we offer specific advice on the next development of membership supermarkets.

Effect of Sand Roasting on Physicochemical, Thermal, Functional, Antinutritional, and Sensory Properties of Sattu, a Nourishing form of Chickpea

Sattu is a traditional Indian food product made of chickpea with tremendous nutritional benefits. However, the processing of sattu has not been thoroughly explored which is an impediment to industrial applications involving the development of sattu-based products. These products carry immense benefits for consumers and for widespread popularity; it is essential that the roasting of sattu for further processing be investigated for improving the properties of sattu while reducing its antinutritional factors. In this study, the impact of sand roasting on the physicochemical, sensory, antinutritional, thermal, functional, and antioxidant properties on sattu was investigated. Chickpea grains were roasted in sand for different time periods (3–17 min) and temperature combinations (171–228°C). Results revealed that samples treated at 180°C for 15 min had maximum sensory score (3.99) followed by the samples treated at 200°C for 10 min and at 228°C for 10 min. Overall sattu roasted at 180°C for 15 min was found suitable for further application.

Strategic cooperation of live‐stream platform in e‐commerce

AbstractMany live‐stream platforms (LSPs) have sought cooperation with e‐tailers or/and manufacturers. Considering the existing cooperation modes, we propose models to examine the optimal cooperation mode. Our study shows that the LSP benefits from cooperating with both firms. Moreover, the manufacturer profits from the LSP only cooperating with itself, while the e‐tailer may profit from the LSP only cooperating with itself or the manufacturer. The consumers benefit from the LSP only cooperates with one firm. We further consider the case where the manufacturer's LS channel is not inferior to the e‐tailer's channels and examine the equilibrium strategies for players and consumers.

Fashion Joining Online Gaming and the Metaverse

Abstract In an era when targeting younger generations becomes more and more challenging, and classic fashion is starting to be seen as being outdated, the Metaverse and online gaming has attracted fashion brands’ interest. Increasingly more fashion brands, such as Nike, Vans, Gucci, Supreme, Forever 21, Ralph Lauren, and NASCAR, are being present in the Metaverse and online games. The purpose of the study will be to bring some light on how the Metaverse might revolutionize fashion marketing communication for the younger and future generations. The paper also explores the customer benefits that the brands offer through the Metaverse and why the younger public tends to find this marketing type so appealing. From a methodological point of view, two focus groups were organized, one for gamers and another for casual players. The research directions investigate the relationship between fashion, Metaverse, and gaming marketing communications. It follows the perception of the audience, as also the benefits for organizations and consumers of games that include fashion brands. The qualitative analysis results showed that the gap between gamers and nongamers is becoming more and more narrow, as both consume the same type of content, and the benefits for organizations are worth the investment. For consumers, on the other hand, both advantages and disadvantages were highlighted as concerns for future generations. The study acknowledges why the younger generations invest so much time and money in the digital fashion world. It clarifies aspects related to the Romanian market, giving useful insights for fashion brands and not only.

Factors Influencing Digital Payment: With Special Reference to UPI Apps

Tremendous change in payment system after demonetization leads to the entry of various payment apps like google pay, paypal, paytm, phonepe etc. The transformation towards digitalization in payment, benefits both consumers and business organizations. Enormous factors influence the utility of digital payment. This paper focuses on the analysis of determinants of the usage of payment app. Primary data are collected from 148 respondents through questionnaire and the collected data are analysed using statistical tools Percentage analysis, ANOVA, and Chi-square.

De-fi Based Payment Gateway System

Abstract: By using Decentralized Finance based payment gateway system, users are able to pay for a product only when it reaches their home. The payment is stored in a temporary pool until the product is delivered. This approach offers a number of benefits for both consumers and businesses. For consumers, the ability to pay only when the product is received can provide greater peace of mind and reduce the risk of fraud or scams. It also allows users to avoid paying upfront for a product that they have not yet received or had the opportunity to inspect. For businesses, this approach can improve cash flow and reduce the risk of non- payment. By holding the payment in a temporary pool until the product is delivered, businesses can ensure that they are paid for the goods or services they provide. This can be particularly useful for small businesses or those operating in sectors with a high risk of nonpayment. Also by the Ethereum and the Etherscan API, this system can promote efficiency in charitable giving by enabling fund donors to verify and track the use of their donations.

Agriculture and environment: friends or foes? Conceptualising agri-environmental discourses under the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy

The European Union’s common agricultural policy (CAP), in addition to its primary production and farm income goals, is a large source of funding for environmentally friendly agricultural practices. However, its schemes have variable success and uptake across member states (MS) and regions. This study tries to explain these differences by demonstrating differences between policy levels in the understanding of the relationship between nature and farming. To compare constructs and values of the respective policy communities, their discursive construction as it appears in the main strategic EU and MS agricultural policy documents is analysed. The theoretical framework integrates elements from existing frameworks of CAP and environmental discourse analysis; specific agri-environmental discourses, their elements and interplay, are identified. The six discourses suggested here are ‘Productivism’, ‘Classical neoliberal’, ‘Ecological modernisation’, ‘Administrative’, ‘Multifunctionality’ and ‘Radical green’. The discourse analysis of selected documents reveals that there are indeed differences in how farming and the environment are generally conceptualised at different levels of CAP decision-making. At EU level, farming is primarily understood as a sector whose main task is to produce food (‘Productivism’), and the environment is used as a justification for CAP payments (‘Multifunctionality’). At the national/regional level, Rural Development Programmes reflect different value systems: in England, environmental protection is mainly seen as sound management of natural capital (‘Classical neoliberal’); in Finland, a benefit for producers and conscious consumers (‘Ecological modernisation’); in Croatia, a necessity limiting productivity (‘Productivism’) and imposed by an external authority (‘Administrative’ discourse). This diversity shows that differences can visibly manifest despite the Commission constraining the discursive space, helping to explain the differential implementation and success of environmental measures.

GMDNet: A Graph-Based Mixture Density Network for Estimating Packages’ Multimodal Travel Time Distribution

In the logistics network, accurately estimating packages' Travel Time Distribution (TTD) given the routes greatly benefits both consumers and platforms. Although recent works perform well in predicting an expected time or a time distribution in a road network, they could not be well applied to estimate TTD in logistics networks. Because TTD prediction in the logistics network requires modeling packages' multimodal TTD (MTTD, i.e., there can be more than one likely output with a given input) while leveraging the complex correlations in the logistics network. To this end, this work opens appealing research opportunities in studying MTTD learning conditioned on graph-structure data by investigating packages' travel time distribution in the logistics network. We propose a Graph-based Mixture Density Network, named GMDNet, which takes the benefits of both graph neural network and mixture density network for estimating MTTD conditioned on graph-structure data (i.e., the logistics network). Furthermore, we adopt the Expectation-Maximization (EM) framework in the training process to guarantee local convergence and thus obtain more stable results than gradient descent. Extensive experiments on two real-world datasets demonstrate the superiority of our proposed model.

Men on a mission, women on a journey - Gender differences in consumer information search behavior via SNS: The perceived value perspective

Gender has a considerable effect on how consumers search for information, shaping their behavior through a variety of motives. Previous research shows that the benefit consumers wish to gain from the information influences their search behavior on social networking sites (SNS). This study examines the extent to which gender influences the connection between perceived information values and the choice of SNS information source: commercial (marketer-generated content) and non-commercial (user-generated content). A representative Facebook users' sample (N = 525) and SEM statistics show gender differences in search behavior on SNS. Findings also demonstrate the impact of gender on the relationships between information values and preferred source of information, and demonstrate different motivations for male and female search behavior. The implications for both theory and practice are presented and analyzed.

Trauma-Responsive Vocational Rehabilitation Services

Research on the effectiveness of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Programs has revealed that VR services are less effective for trauma-affected and Black consumers. For instance, consumers with trauma exposure disengage from services earlier than their non-traumatized counterparts, and Black consumers benefit less from each phase of VR services compared to others. One midwestern state’s VR program sought to address these disparities by offering trauma-informed and trauma-responsive services that emphasize cultural responsiveness, racial equity, and strengths-based practices. To begin this work, the state’s VR program collaborated with an applied research unit in a public university to establish two work groups: a communications group and a training group. The purpose of the communications group was to build a robust referral network within the VR Division and with other community-based agencies and providers, particularly for low-income, Black consumers. The purpose of the training group was to develop and deliver a training program to support VR professionals in providing trauma-informed and trauma-responsive services. Results from an evaluation of the training indicated that each training module generated for staff both reminders and new insights into ways to effectively work with consumers. Staff expressed that they wanted opportunities to further explore and apply the training content and needed additional, ongoing support to implement what they were learning. In response to staff needs, the state’s VR program is continuing to invest in this community–university partnership by establishing communities of practice for staff and evaluating the effectiveness of the training program.

THE EFFECT OF GRAVITY FORCE ON THE MOVEMENT OF TITANIUM POWDER PARTICLES IN THE PLASMA FLOW

An attempt is presented to determine the influence of the spray direction on the particles movement in a plasma flow in order to assess the influence of gravity. Three spray directions are selected: down, up and horizontal. Titanium powder PTM-1 TU 14-22-57-92 was considered. For each of the spraying directions under consideration, the movement of titanium powder particles of different dispersion in the plasma flow was calculated using the finite element method with using the SolidWorks software package. Particles with sizes of 1, 50 and 90 microns were selected as the sprayed powder material. The change in the temperature of powder particles when moving in a plasma flow depending on the direction of spraying has been studied. A comparative analysis was carried out for the spraying directions under consideration, based on the results of which the advantages and disadvantages were described and recommendations were given for conducting the processes of obtaining powder and applying coatings. The presented data can be useful when choosing the position of the substrate for applying functional coatings. The influence of gravity on the separation of the resulting powders and on the temperature distribution of the plasma flow in the studied area is demonstrated. To verify the calculation results, a full-scale experiment was carried out in a plasma installation assembled at the IMET Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which is used for producing powder and applying coatings, taking into account its design features. The results have practical benefits for developers and consumers of technological equipment.

Analyzing the implications of organic standardization and certification in alternative food networks: The capability approach

AbstractAlthough organic standards and certification schemes have a crucial role in ensuring quality, safety, and sustainability within food systems, there is a need to critically analyze their implications on human capabilities within alternative food networks (AFNs). Therefore, this paper draws upon the capability approach to analyze the implications of three governance mechanisms (i.e., third‐party, social control, and hybrid certification) on human flourishing within AFNs in Ceará, Brazil. The three cases primarily build on 66 interviews with farmers, consumers, AFN owners and employees, certifying officials, governmental and non‐governmental representatives, and researchers. Third‐party certification has some positive effects in terms of material, political, and environmental capabilities and many negative effects regarding social/cultural capabilities. Social control certification bolsters material, social/cultural, political, and environmental capabilities for the benefit of farmers and consumers. Hybrid certification increases the material control, political power, social legitimacy, and environmental governance of market intermediaries. The findings can help scholars, practitioners, and policymakers rethink the role of organic standardization and certification in fostering fundamental human capabilities and tackling inequalities within AFNs.

Consumers' value perception and intention to purchase electric vehicles: A benefit-risk analysis

Understanding the antecedents of consumers' intentions to purchase electric vehicles (EVs) is significant to promote EVs. From the value perception perspective, this study aims to explore the relationships between consumers' risk and benefit perceptions and value perceptions of EVs and their effects on consumers' intentions to purchase EVs. On the basis of 367 valid questionnaires collected in EV pilot cities, this study found that benefit perceptions, namely financial benefit, environmental benefit and psychological benefit were positively correlated with perceived value. However, the effects of risk perceptions on perceived value were diverse. Specifically, physical safety risk and performance risk negatively affected perceived value, while financial risk had no significant effect on perceived value. Additionally, perceived value had a positive impact on consumers' intentions to purchase EVs. Meanwhile, this positive impact could be weakened by information overload. On the basis of research findings, implications and suggestions for promoting EVs are further discussed.

The complexity of food purchase motivations: Impacts of key priorities, knowledge, and information sources on active purchase of food labels

Studies of consumer preferences of specialty food labels have characterized the collection of values underlying active purchase decisions of individual labels. We explore whether a discernible structure of values and decision-making frameworks exists among consumers and across a variety of specialty food labels: USDA organic, Non-GMO Project Verified, and Certified Humane®. We segment consumers based on their motivations for purchasing the three labels simultaneously using cluster analysis, and then analyze the decision-making complexity for each cluster using hurdle models. Five clusters are identified and characterized: Never Buyers, Safety-First buyers, Biotechnology Avoiders, Health and Wellness Seekers, and Agricultural Idealists. Results indicate that the complexity of consumer motivations for buying specialty food labels is based on a hierarchical ordering of food values with the foundational value of food safety being the most important for a majority of consumers, and values related to environmental and animal welfare considerations present in only the most complex motivation structures. We also find that consumer interest in an animal welfare label may be constrained by limited consumer association of the label with food safety or other direct consumer benefits. Our results have significant implications for the development of specialty food labeling schemes and optimal communication strategies over specialty labeled food products.

Does personalized advertising have their best interests at heart? A quantitative study of narcissists’ SNS use among Generation Z consumers

Artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled technology has generated a new dynamic that empowers the advertising business and social networking environment. In terms of convenience, consumers benefit from the generation of customized ad content through their activities on social network sites (SNS). However, concerns about data privacy and impaired well-being remain, notably in relation to Generation Z consumers, who are considered tech-savvy, narcissistically-oriented, and vulnerable in their SNS usage. Drawing on cognitive dissonance theory, we show how a dilemma of convenience vs. privacy drives their technology dissonance and their dependence on SNS. Our empirical study in the US demonstrates the trade-off between convenience and privacy that results from the customizability of technology, the opposite functions of these facets in technology dissonance, and the negative impact on SNS dependence. When the key role of the ego in the dissonance in Generation Z’s SNS behavior is recognized, vulnerable narcissism is found to show nuances of psychological dissonance induced by privacy concerns. Our findings enhance the discussion on the customizability of AI-enabled technology by indicating how advertisers can improve targeted marketing and ensure the well-being of Generation Z consumers.

Partial vertical ownership in the presence of downstream competition

Firms sometimes acquire partial ownership of their upstream suppliers. Such ownership entails no direct control over the target firm's decision‐making; however, both firms might change their pricing strategies after forming a partial ownership relationship. This paper studies the economic impacts of partial vertical ownership (PVO) in a market with downstream competition, where a manufacturer supplies two competing retailers. We find that dividend payments between firms can alter firms’ incentives in their operational decisions and, hence, serve as an “invisible hand” to downstream competition and vertical interaction. We show that a higher PVO percentage can have both positive and negative effects because the acquiring retailer's gain from PVO depends on not only its own sales but also the competitor's sales. Thus, the PVO decision (i.e., the percentage of ownership to acquire) has an inverted U‐shaped effect on the resulting profit for both the acquiring retailer and the manufacturer, which implies an intermediate PVO percentage in equilibrium. Second, the relative strength of the positive and negative effects depends on the acquiring retailer's competitive position. We show that the manufacturer prefers establishing PVO with the retailer with a valuation disadvantage because the disadvantaged retailer can obtain more benefits from PVO and is willing to pay higher than the competitor. Last, we find that consumers benefit from PVO when the acquiring retailer is the retailer with a valuation advantage but may become worse off when the disadvantaged retailer acquires PVO. Our research provides managers with guidance on the optimal PVO percentage and policymakers with insights on regulating PVOs for consumer protection.

Industry Structure, Segmentation, and Quality Competition in the U.S. Hotel Industry*

We examine how quality competition affects the relationship between market size and industry structure at the product level using evidence from the U.S. hotel industry. Starting in the early 1980s, quality competition for business travelers became more based on variable and less on fixed costs, and became less scale intensive. Since then, market size increases have been met by more, but smaller, hotels in business travel destinations but continued to be met by larger hotels in personal travel destinations. Our results illustrate how the way consumers benefit from increases in market size depends on how firms compete.