Similar Empirical Studies Research Articles

Threefold versus fivefold cross-validation and individual versus average data in predictive regression modelling of machining experimental data

Model selection and validation are critical in predicting the performance of manufacturing processes. Proper selection of variables helps minimize the model mismatch error, proper selection of models helps reduce the model estimation error, and proper validation of models helps minimize the model prediction error. In the current paper, the literature is reviewed and a rigorous procedure is proposed for selection and cross-validation (CV) of predictive regression models. Experimental data from a turning surface roughness study are used to demonstrate how to select and validate predictive regression models. In particular, different data splitting methods are compared, such as fivefold CV versus threefold CV as well as the individual data versus the average data. This paper has revealed no statistical difference between the use of fivefold CV and threefold CV, and the use of the individual and the average data in subset selection and CV of predictive regression models. Consequently, threefold instead of fivefold or tenfold CV and either individual data or average data may be used to reduce the computational cost in predictive regression modelling of experimental data based on this and other similar empirical studies.

US consumers' perceptions of non‐price retail promotions

PurposeTo explore US consumers' perceptions of the level of fun associated with non‐price retail promotions and to predict likelihood of participation among demographic groups.Design/methodology/approachThe study employs a sample generated from retail forward panel data (n=500) to assess the impact of demographic variables including gender, age, educational attainment, income and household size on consumer perceptions and likelihood of participation in five types of non‐price retail promotions. Descriptive and inferential statistical techniques (t‐tests, regression) are used to evaluate the data.FindingsIdentifies demographic groups who perceive high levels of fun associated with non‐price retail promotions and examines relationships between demographics and likelihood of participation in these types of promotions.Research limitations/implicationsGeneralizations of the findings of this study to markets outside the USA are limited due to the differences in consumers and forms of retail promotion within various markets. Future studies could examine perceptions of non‐price retail promotions across international markets as well as identify additional predictors of response to non‐price retail promotions.Practical implicationsThis research provides retailers that operate within the USA specific knowledge of consumers' perceptions of non‐price retail promotions and identifies demographic characteristics of consumers who are likely to participate in such activities. As price competition in the sector continues to evolve, understanding non‐price forms of competition is critical to superior performance and survival in the industry.Originality/valueThis exploratory study uses demographics as a framework for examining consumers' perceptions of and likelihood of participation in non‐price retail promotions. The paper is unique because there are few similar empirical studies focused specifically on non‐price retail promotions.

Should They All Just Get Along? Judicial Ideology, Collegiality, and Appointments to the Supreme Court of Canada

Over the past 25 years, the justices of the Supreme Court of Canada have not exhibited the divergent policy views along party lines that have been characteristic of the justices of the United States Supreme Court. This apparent lack of partisan polarization in Canada may at first give rise to smugness about the appointments process in Canada; after all, our process appears to have successfully sidestepped the politicization associated with the US nomination and confirmation system. However, before any claim that the Canadian appointments process is in fact superior can be made or defended, it is necessary to understand what these findings imply about the judicial decision-making process and quality of adjudication by our Court relative to the US Supreme Court. In this paper we argue that whether the relative nonpartisan nature of the Supreme Court in Canada is advantageous depends on a number of assumptions surrounding the nature of the appointments process, the characteristics of justices who are appointed in each system, and the decision-making processes used by the justices on each Court. This paper discusses the relationship between two potential determinants of a justice's votes: her personal policy preferences and the extent and nature of cooperation between justices on the Court at a given time. To set the context Part II briefly outlines the main findings of some recent empirical research on the judicial voting behaviour on the Supreme Court of Canada and compares it to similar empirical studies of the US Supreme Court. Part III then sets out a framework for analyzing the difference in voting patterns based on the extent to which a judge votes in accordance with her policy preferences and the extent to which the justices of a multi-member court can be characterized as cooperative. Part IV uses this framework to assess the different patterns of voting on the Canadian and US Supreme Courts and discusses the important normative tradeoff between deliberation (positive cooperation) and logrolling (negative cooperation). Finally, Part V briefly discusses the connection of this normative tradeoff to the appointments process, and identifies some additional considerations to guide future theoretical and empirical research.

Demographics and patronage motives of supercenter shoppers in the United States

PurposeThis paper seeks to provide an updated, general understanding of supercenter shopping behavior in the USA.Design/methodology/approachThe study employs a sample generated from Retail Forward panel data to assess the impact of demographic variables, including gender, age, ethnicity, education, income, marital status, and household size, on supercenter shopping frequency across four product categories (apparel, health and beauty, home furnishings, and consumer electronics). Descriptive and inferential statistical techniques (regression, ANOVA) are used to evaluate the data.FindingsThe paper identifies demographic groups who frequent supercenters and examines patronage motives as drivers of supercenter shopping behavior.Research limitations/implicationsGeneralizations of the findings of this study to markets outside the USA are limited due to the differences in consumers and retail formats available in various countries. Future research could compare shopping behavior within large formats across international markets.Practical implicationsThis research provides supercenter retailers who operate within the USA with specific knowledge of the patronage motives driving cross‐category shopping in supercenters (e.g. value, one‐stop shopping convenience, brands, product assortment) and identifies the demographic characteristics of cross‐category shoppers. The results suggest marketing strategy implications for supercenter operators in the US market. As competition in the sector continues to evolve and consumer demographics change within the US market, understanding cross‐category shopping will be critical to retailer performance in the industry.Originality/valueThis study uses demographics and patronage motives as a framework for profiling cross‐category shoppers in the US supercenters. The paper is unique because there are few similar empirical studies which focus on consumer behavior within supercenters.

Consumer demographics, store attributes, and retail format choice in the US grocery market

PurposeTo provide a general understanding of grocery consumers' retail format choice in the US marketplace.Design/methodology/approachA random sample of US grocery consumers (N=454) was surveyed using a self‐administered questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistical techniques (regression, ANOVA) were used to evaluate the data.FindingsIdentifies demographic groups who frequent specific formats (specialty grocers, traditional supermarkets, supercenters, warehouse clubs, internet grocers) and examines store attributes (e.g. price competitiveness, product selection, and atmosphere) as drivers of format choice.Research limitations/implicationsThe results included in this research were gathered and reported on an individual format basis. In order to capture consumer choices across a range of grocery retail formats, forcing respondents to compare formats was not initiated. In addition, data pertaining to whether consumers had access to each and every type of format in the study were not collected. Examination of how dimensions of consumer access limit or expand retail patronage behavior could also be highly beneficial to grocery retailers.Practical implicationsThis research provides grocery retailers that operate within the USA specific knowledge of the attributes that consumers consider to be most important when making format choices (e.g. cleanliness, price competitiveness, product assortment, courtesy of personnel), and identifies the demographic characteristics of these consumers. The results suggest marketing strategy implications for grocery retailers that operate in the US market. As competition in the sector continues to evolve and consumer demographics change within the US market, understanding the consumer‐format choice linkage will be critical to retailer performance in the industry.Originality/valueThis exploratory study uses demographics and store attributes as a framework for profiling consumers by their ultimate retail format choice. The paper is unique because there are few similar empirical studies focused on the US grocery sector.

Precipitants to psychiatric patient assaults on staff: review of empirical findings, 1990–2003, and risk management implications

Psychiatric patient assaults on staff are a serious and continuing problem in health care settings. Over thirty years of empirical research have documented the characteristics of both patient assailants and staff victims. Notably absent from this literature have been similar empirical studies on the nature of patient precipitants to these assaults. This paper reviewed empirical studies of patient assault precipitants from 1990-2003. Six studies from three countries were reviewed. Common precipitants included staff restrictions on patient behaviors, denial of services, excessive sensory overload, and provocation by others. The clinical, methodological, and risk management implications are examined.

The Rise and Fall of Entrepreneurs: An Empirical Study of Individual Bankruptcy Petitioners in Israel

This Article addresses two fundamental areas of inquiry in personal bankruptcy. First, it examines what conditions justify an expansive vs. stringent bankruptcy debt relief regime in a given country. Second, the article examines what contributes to the particular profile composition of individuals in bankruptcy. The author hypothesizes that the scope of the fresh-start policy and the composition of the bankruptcy population in a given country is predicated on government's predisposition towards credit deregulation, the extent of the welfare state and the standards employed by financial institutions when extending credit to the private sector. To test this hypothesis, the author has undertaken an empirical study of consumer bankruptcy filings in Israel examining the characteristics of the petitioners and the causes of filings. By comparing the findings of this undertaking with the results of similar empirical studies in the United States and Canada, this Article provides strong support for the suggested three-prong hypothesis.

Order Flow, Trading Volume, and Short-term Stock Returns

This paper tests whether net order flow (or signed trading volume, the difference between public buy order volume and public sell order volume) helps predict short term future returns. It finds that net order flow does not explain daily and weekly return autocovariances. Thus, short term return reversals or continuations are not likely to be due to information asymmetry or public liquidity shocks as modeled in Llorente, Michaely, Saar, Wang (2000) and similar previous studies. I also compare my results to those of similar empirical studies that test these models by using trading volume.

Impacts of Exports on Economic Performance: a Comparative Study

The main task of this paper is to conduct a comparative investigation of two very similar empirical studies, namely, Fosu (1990a) and Helleiner (1986), and to isolate factors (model specification, sample, period of estimation) that have led the authors to reach different conclusions concerning the role of the export sector in the process of growth. The paper then extends the Fosu and Helleiner tests to a later period. In order to explain the different conclusions, an extensive sensitivity analysis is conducted and we are led to conclude that different model specifications can best explain the difference in the authors' empirical results. The results indicate that measuring the export variable in models testing the export-led growth hypothesis is a crucial task, and that extended modelling must be part of the future research agenda. Copyright 1993 by Oxford University Press.

The relationship between excess returns, firm size and earnings on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange

While considerable empirical work has been conducted in the United States concerning excess returns and the relationship of these returns to firm size and E/P ratio, thus far, there have been few similar empirical studies conducted using Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) data. Evidence of firm size or E/P ratio effects has been ascribed by various authors to either model misspecification or market inefficiencies. In this article the evidence is examined for the South African market using 1370 company years of data over the period 1978 to 1988, and a significant earnings effect is found, but no size effect. In the analysis the problem of data bias is considered with particular emphasis on thin trading issues, and a methodology for future empirical work is described. Finally, it is suggested that the evidence can be better explained by market inefficiencies than model misspecification.

The artificial dispute over Implicit Personality Theory: An answer to Jackson, Strieker, and Mirels

In their evaluation of Tzeng and Tzeng's (1982) concerns over the level of sophistication currently evident in the study of Implicit Personality Theory (IPT), Jackson and Strieker (1982) and Mirels (1982a) reaffirm their disputed positions at the opposing extremes of the myth-vs.-fact continuum of IPT. The present paper re-examines major measurement and statistical issues in the empirical study of IPT that are still unacknowledged by either Jackson and Strieker, or Mirels, or both. It is demonstrated that their dispute is artificial and can be accounted for by their lack of measuremental sophistication and their statistical partialities. Researchers are cautioned to consider more than “mechanical computability” and “statistical adoptability” in conducting and/or judging similar empirical studies.