Determinants of Consumers’ Willingness to Buy Counterfeit Luxury Products: An Empirical Test of Linear and Inverted U-Shaped Relationship

The proliferation of counterfeit luxury goods poses a great threat to the sustainable development of the luxury goods industry; it also disturbs the order of economic development, causes the aggravation of environmental pollution, and is contrary to the principle of global sustainable development. How to effectively weaken consumers’ willingness to buy counterfeit luxury products has become a focal issue. This research explores the impact of value consciousness, social risk perception, and face consciousness on the purchase intention of counterfeit luxury. In addition, this study explores the different mediating roles played by attitude. The results show that value consciousness has a significant positive impact on the counterfeit luxury purchase intention through the full mediation of attitudes. Perceived social risk not only exerts a direct negative impact on the purchase intention of counterfeit luxury products but can also indirectly influence intention through the partial mediation of attitudes. Besides, there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between face consciousness and counterfeit luxury purchase intention, and attitudes play a partially mediating role in this inverted U-shaped path. This research also has certain management implications for the government and luxury products companies to formulate relevant policies and marketing strategies to curb consumers’ willingness to purchase counterfeit luxury products.

Download Full-text

Factors Influencing Consumers Buying Intentions Towards Electric Cars: The Arab Customers’ Perspective

International Journal of Marketing Studies ◽

10.5539/ijms.v12n2p127 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 127

Author(s):

Nidal Ismail Abu-Alkeir

Keyword(s):

Fuel Economy ◽

Purchase Intention ◽

Brand Image ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Impact Factors ◽

Electric Cars ◽

Marketing Activities ◽

The Impact ◽

Customers Perspective

The main objective of the study is to examine the impact factors on consumer’s intention towards purchasing hybrid cars from Arab Buyers perspective. Data were collected from a sample of 200 customers in Amman Capital. The study findings are analyzed by IBM SPSS (v22). After testing the five hypotheses using various techniques, it was found that there is a positive impact of price, Reputation of manufacturer, Fuel economy on purchase intention. It also indicates that there is a negative impact of brand image and safety rating on customer intention towards purchasing electric cars. According to these results, the study suggested several recommendations to sales & marketing managers of electric & hybrid cars to improve buyer intentions by take in consideration the price and fuel economy factors and reinforcement the reputation of manufacturer in their marketing activities.

Download Full-text

The Analysis of Company Growth Determinants Based on Financial Statements of the European Companies

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su14020770 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 770

Author(s):

Bojana Vuković ◽

Kristina Peštović ◽

Vera Mirović ◽

Dejan Jakšić ◽

Sunčica Milutinović

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Technological Development ◽

Financial Statements ◽

Return On Assets ◽

Pricing Policy ◽

Animal Resources ◽

Company Growth ◽

The Impact

The primary aim of this paper is to determine the indicators that have an influence on the company growth in the field of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries during the six-year period (2014–2019). This sector is very important for sustainable development, bearing in mind the need to preserve natural resources, i.e., land, water, plant, and animal resources. Sustainable development of this sector is of satisfactory technical-technological development, economically sustainable, and socially acceptable. The sample consists of 1333 observations of active companies on the European market. Multiple regression analysis was used in order to thoroughly analyze the variables of growth. The obtained results showed that company size has a negative impact on growth, while return on assets and leverage have a positive impact on growth. The impact of these variables was statistically significant. Along with the influence of observed determinants based on data from financial statements, the future growth and development of companies in this sector will certainly depend on the volume of investments, pricing policy, credit and natural conditions, agricultural policy measures, and adequate institutional support through the provision of financial support and encouragement of exports of products. Institutional incentives for more intensive integration of the agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sector are aimed at achieving the concept of integrated sustainable development.

Download Full-text

The Impact of International Trade on Sustainable Development in Saudi Arabia

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12135421 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (13) ◽

pp. 5421 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Mounir Belloumi ◽

Atef Alshehry

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

Sustainable Development ◽

Saudi Arabia ◽

Environmental Quality ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Trade Openness ◽

Annual Data ◽

The Impact

This study examines the impact trade openness has on sustainable development in Saudi Arabia. It does so by employing the autoregressive distributed lag cointegration framework, using annual data over the period 1971 to 2016. Overall, the findings suggest the existence of a long-term relationship between trade openness and two indicators of sustainable development—are economic growth and environmental quality. Results indicate that trade openness does not affect both indicators of economic growth and environmental quality in the short-term. However, in the long-term, trade openness has a significant negative impact on economic growth when it is proxied by the variables the ratio of exports plus imports to GDP, and the ratio of exports to GDP; but a significant positive impact for the variable the ratio of imports to GDP. In addition, trade openness negatively affects environmental quality in the long-term. The tests used for diagnosing models show that they are valid, and thus, our findings are robust. Comprehensively, we find that trade openness could have led to the degradation of sustainable development in Saudi Arabia for the past fourteen years.

Download Full-text

043 Sleep Restriction Affects Memory in Healthy Adults: Preliminary Findings

SLEEP ◽

10.1093/sleep/zsab072.042 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 44 (Supplement_2) ◽

pp. A18-A19

Author(s):

Molly Zimmerman ◽

Christiane Hale ◽

Adam Brickman ◽

Lok-Kin Yeung ◽

Justin Cochran ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Healthy Adults ◽

Task Demands ◽

Sleep Restriction ◽

Neuropsychological Function ◽

Wake Time ◽

Sleep Condition ◽

The Impact

Abstract Introduction Sleep loss has a range of detrimental effects on cognitive ability. However, few studies have examined the impact of sleep restriction on neuropsychological function using an experimental design. The goal of this study was to examine the extent to which maintained insufficient sleep affects cognition in healthy adults compared to habitual adequate sleep. Methods This study used a randomized, crossover, outpatient sleep restriction design. Adults who regularly slept at least 7 h/night, verified by 2 weeks of screening with actigraphy, completed 2 phases of 6 weeks each: habitual sleep (>7 h of sleep/night) or sleep restriction (habitual sleep minus 1.5 h) separated by a 6-week washout period. During the sleep restriction phase, participants were asked to delay their bedtime by 1.5 hours/night while maintaining their habitual wake time. Neuropsychological function was evaluated with the NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery at baseline (week 0) and endpoint (week 6) of each intervention phase. The NIH Toolbox evaluates a range of cognitive abilities, including attention, executive functioning, and working memory. General linear models with post hoc paired t-tests were used to assess demographically-adjusted test scores prior to and following each sleep condition. Results At the time of analyses, 16 participants were enrolled (age 34.5□14.5 years, 9 women), 10 of whom had completed study procedures. An interaction between sleep condition and testing session revealed that individuals performed worse on List Sorting, a working memory test, after sleep restriction but improved slightly after habitual sleep (p<0.001). While not statistically reliable, the pattern of test results was similar on the other tests of processing speed, executive function, and attention. Conclusion In these preliminary results from this randomized experimental study, we demonstrated that sleep restriction has a negative impact while stable habitual adequate sleep has a positive impact on working memory, or the ability to temporarily hold information in mind while executing task demands. This finding contributes to our understanding of the complex interplay between different aspects of sleep quality (i.e., both sleep restriction as well as the maintenance of stable sleep patterns) on cognition and underscores the importance of routine sleep screening as part of medical evaluations. Support (if any):

Download Full-text

Exploring the Relationship between Communication and Success of Construction Projects: The Mediating Role of Conflict

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13084513 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (8) ◽

pp. 4513

Author(s):

Summaira Malik ◽

Muhammad Taqi ◽

José Moleiro Martins ◽

Mário Nuno Mata ◽

João Manuel Pereira ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Project Success ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Construction Project ◽

Project Team ◽

Relationship Conflict ◽

Team Members ◽

Mediating Role ◽

The Impact

The success of a construction project is a widely discussed topic, even today, and there exists a difference of opinion. The impact of communication and conflict on project success is an important, but least addressed, issue in literature, especially in the case of underdeveloped countries. Miscommunication and conflict not only hinder the success of a project but also may lead to conflicts. The focus of this paper was to examine the impact of communication on project success with the mediating role of conflict. By using SPSS, demographics, descriptive statistics and correlation were determined. Smart PLS version 3.0 was used for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), internal accuracy and validity estimates, hypothesis checking and mediation testing. The results showed that formal communication has a negative impact on the success of a construction project, resulting in conflicts among project team members, whereas informal communication and communication willingness have a positive impact on project success because people tend to know each other, and trust is developed. Task, process and relationship conflicts were used as mediating variables. It was found that task conflict effects the relations positively because project team members suggest different ways to do a certain task, and, hence, project success is achieved. On the contrary, process conflict and relationship conflict have a negative impact on communication and project success. Both of these conflicts lead to miscommunication, and project success is compromised. Hence, it is the responsibility of the project manager to enhance communication among project team members and to reduce the detrimental effects of process and relationship conflict on project success.

Download Full-text

eWOM in C2C Platforms: Combining IAM and Customer Satisfaction to Examine the Impact on Purchase Intention

Journal of theoretical and applied electronic commerce research ◽

10.3390/jtaer16050091 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (5) ◽

pp. 1612-1630

Author(s):

Salvador Bueno ◽

M. Dolores Gallego

Keyword(s):

Least Squares ◽

Partial Least Squares ◽

Purchase Intention ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Source Credibility ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

Research Model ◽

Argument Quality ◽

The Impact

This study is focused on communications that come from consumer-to-consumer (C2C) ecommerce relationships. This topic is directly associated with the electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) phenomenon. eWOM is related to the set of positive or negative opinions made by potential, actual, or former customers about a seller. The present study proposes a structural equation modeling with partial least squares (PLS-SEM) research model to analyze consumers’ opinions impact on attitude toward purchasing. This model is based on the Information Adoption Model (IAM) in combination with an ecommerce satisfaction perspective, comprising five constructs: (1) service quality, (2) ecommerce satisfaction, (3) argument quality, (4) source credibility and (5) purchase intention. The model was tested by applying the Smart Partial Least Squares (SmartPLS) software for which 116 effective data from customers of the Taobao C2C platform were used. The findings reveal that all of the defined relationships were supported, confirming the positive impact of all the proposed constructs on the purchase intention. In this respect, the findings suggest that C2C platforms should strengthen the analyzed connections to grow the business and to promote transactions. Finally, implications and limitations related to the explanatory capacity and the sample are identified.

Download Full-text

Environmental Regulation, Environmental Awareness and Environmental Governance Satisfaction

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13073960 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (7) ◽

pp. 3960

Author(s):

Meng-Meng Geng ◽

Ling-Yun He

Keyword(s):

Environmental Regulation ◽

Environmental Governance ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Subjective Evaluation ◽

Environmental Awareness ◽

General Social Survey ◽

Probit Model ◽

The People ◽

The Impact

It is a problem worth thinking about whether the government’s environmental regulation policies can meet the residents’ requirements for environmental quality, and benefit the people. The study of the public’s subjective evaluation can more intuitively judge whether the government’s environmental regulation has realized “ecological benefits for the people”. Based on the data of the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) in 2013, this paper studied the impact of environmental regulation and environmental awareness on environmental governance satisfaction by an ordered probit model. The study found that environmental regulation has a significant positive impact on environmental governance satisfaction, while environmental awareness has a significant negative impact on environmental governance satisfaction. We also found that when public environmental awareness is taken into account, the positive relationship between environmental regulation and environmental governance satisfaction is affected. The robustness test proved this conclusion.

Download Full-text

The Impact of the Business Environment on the Formalization of Informal Firms. The Case of Kosovo

Südosteuropa ◽

10.1515/soeu-2020-0035 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 68 (4) ◽

pp. 505-529

Author(s):

Kujtim Zylfijaj ◽

Dimitar Nikoloski ◽

Nadine Tournois

Keyword(s):

Negative Impact ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Business Environment ◽

Positive Influence ◽

Policy Implications ◽

Tax Reforms ◽

Firm Level ◽

Characteristics Analysis ◽

Significant Negative Impact ◽

The Impact

AbstractThe research presented here investigates the impact of the business environment on the formalization of informal firms, using firm-level data for 243 informal firms in Kosovo. The findings indicate that business-environment variables such as limited access to financing, the cost of financing, the unavailability of subsidies, tax rates, and corruption have a significant negative impact on the formalization of informal firms. In addition, firm-level characteristics analysis suggests that the age of the firm also exercises a significant negative impact, whereas sales volume exerts a significant positive impact on the formalization of informal firms. These findings have important policy implications and suggest that the abolition of barriers preventing access to financing, as well as tax reforms and a consistent struggle against corruption may have a positive influence on the formalization of informal firms. On the other hand, firm owners should consider formalization to be a means to help them have greater opportunities for survival and growth.

Download Full-text

Modeling the Impact of Climate Changes on Crop Yield: Irrigated vs. Non-Irrigated Zones in Mississippi

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13122249 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (12) ◽

pp. 2249

Author(s):

Sadia Alam Shammi ◽

Qingmin Meng

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Crop Yield ◽

Crop Yields ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Information Criterion ◽

Growing Season ◽

Maximum Temperature ◽

Linear Regression Models ◽

The Impact

Climate change and its impact on agriculture are challenging issues regarding food production and food security. Many researchers have been trying to show the direct and indirect impacts of climate change on agriculture using different methods. In this study, we used linear regression models to assess the impact of climate on crop yield spatially and temporally by managing irrigated and non-irrigated crop fields. The climate data used in this study are Tmax (maximum temperature), Tmean (mean temperature), Tmin (minimum temperature), precipitation, and soybean annual yields, at county scale for Mississippi, USA, from 1980 to 2019. We fit a series of linear models that were evaluated based on statistical measurements of adjusted R-square, Akaike Information Criterion (AIC), and Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC). According to the statistical model evaluation, the 1980–1992 model Y[Tmax,Tmin,Precipitation]92i (BIC = 120.2) for irrigated zones and the 1993–2002 model Y[Tmax,Tmean,Precipitation]02ni (BIC = 1128.9) for non-irrigated zones showed the best fit for the 10-year period of climatic impacts on crop yields. These models showed about 2 to 7% significant negative impact of Tmax increase on the crop yield for irrigated and non-irrigated regions. Besides, the models for different agricultural districts also explained the changes of Tmax, Tmean, Tmin, and precipitation in the irrigated (adjusted R-square: 13–28%) and non-irrigated zones (adjusted R-square: 8–73%). About 2–10% negative impact of Tmax was estimated across different agricultural districts, whereas about −2 to +17% impacts of precipitation were observed for different districts. The modeling of 40-year periods of the whole state of Mississippi estimated a negative impact of Tmax (about 2.7 to 8.34%) but a positive impact of Tmean (+8.9%) on crop yield during the crop growing season, for both irrigated and non-irrigated regions. Overall, we assessed that crop yields were negatively affected (about 2–8%) by the increase of Tmax during the growing season, for both irrigated and non-irrigated zones. Both positive and negative impacts on crop yields were observed for the increases of Tmean, Tmin, and precipitation, respectively, for irrigated and non-irrigated zones. This study showed the pattern and extent of Tmax, Tmean, Tmin, and precipitation and their impacts on soybean yield at local and regional scales. The methods and the models proposed in this study could be helpful to quantify the climate change impacts on crop yields by considering irrigation conditions for different regions and periods.

Download Full-text

The nexus between financial development and energy consumption: Estimating the role of foreign direct investment, economic growth and urbanization

Energy & Environment ◽

10.1177/0958305x211045375 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 0958305X2110453

Author(s):

Jaleel Ahmed ◽

Shuja ur Rehman ◽

Zaid Zuhaira ◽

Shoaib Nisar

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

Foreign Direct Investment ◽

Energy Consumption ◽

Financial Development ◽

Latin American ◽

Direct Investment ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Supply And Demand ◽

The Impact

This study examines the impact of financial development on energy consumption for a wide array of countries. The estimators used for financial development are foreign direct investment, economic growth and urbanization. The study employed a panel data regression on 136 countries with time frame of years 1990 to 2019. The model in this study deploys system GMM technique to estimate the model. The results show that financial development has a significant negative impact on energy consumption overall. Foreign direct investment and urbanization has significant impact on energy consumption. Also, economic growth positive impact on energy consumption its mean that economic growth promotes energy consumption. When dividing further the sample into different groups of regions such as Asian, European, African, North/Latin American and Caribbean countries then mixed results related to the nexus between financial development and energy consumption with respect to economic growth, urbanization and foreign direct investment. The policymakers in these different groups of countries must balance the relationship between energy supply and demand to achieving the sustainable economic development.

Download Full-text