Smartphone display size can influence perceptual judgments

Classic research in perception has suggested that visual context can impact how individuals perceive object characteristics like physical size. The current set of studies extends this work to an applied setting by examining whether smartphone display size can impact the perception of objects presented on smartphones. Participants viewed several target items, on two different sized virtual device displays based on actual consumer devices and were asked to make simple judgments of the size of presented objects. Results from both experiments confirm that display size impacts perceived size, such that larger displays cause users to significantly underestimate the size of objects moreso than smaller displays. This is the first study to confirm such an effect, and suggests that beyond aesthetics or cost, one’s personal choice of device might have additional performance consequences.

A Pilot Study of Gender Differences in Sexual Arousal of Patients With OCD: The Moderator Roles of Attachment and Contamination Symptoms

Sexual arousal is often impaired in patients with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). However, little is known about the factors related to this impairment: no study focused on the role of gender-based effects of attachment styles and contamination symptoms. The Dual Control Model assumes three processes driving sexual arousal: sexual excitation (SE), sexual inhibition (SI) due to threat of performance failure, and SI due to threat of performance consequences (e.g., getting contaminated with sexually transmitted diseases). In a group of OCD patients, we hypothesized that (a) women report lower SE and higher SI than men; (b) patients with insecure (both anxious and avoidant) attachment styles show lower SE and higher SI; (c) attachment styles moderate the relation between gender and sexual arousal (respectively, for women, higher attachment anxiety, and for men higher attachment avoidance were related to impaired sexual arousal (higher SE and SI) controlling for OCD severity); and (d) contamination symptoms moderate the relation between gender and sexual impairment (women with contamination symptoms show impaired sexual arousal). Seventy-two OCD patients (37.50% women) completed the Obsessive–Compulsive Inventory-Revised, Attachment Styles Questionnaire and Sexual Inhibition/Sexual Excitation Scales. In contrast with our hypotheses, women reported higher SE and lower SI due to threat of performance consequences than men. Patients with higher attachment avoidance (discomfort with intimacy) but also confidence in self and others had higher SE. Women with attachment avoidance (i.e., discomfort with intimacy) had lower SE, while women with attachment anxiety (i.e., preoccupations with relationships) had higher SI due to negative performance consequences. Women with contamination symptoms had higher SI due to performance failure but lower SI due to performance consequences. The present preliminary findings suggest that sexual arousal impairment should be evaluated during the assessment of OCD patients, and gender-based effects of attachment styles and contamination symptoms should be considered during personalized treatment planning.

Alliance experience and performance outcomes: A meta-analysis

Alliance experience has been a frequent topic in strategic alliance research in recent decades. Nonetheless, its performance consequences, either as a whole or differentiated into general versus partner-specific alliance experience, are neither theoretically clear nor empirically consistent. We use a range of meta-analytic techniques to integrate the empirical findings of 143 studies and provide a more conclusive assessment compared to prior research. Our study thus addresses a long-standing, understudied, and controversial topic: the distinction between the two types of alliance experiences. Going beyond traditional sub-group analysis, we reveal the contextual contingencies by examining how different types of alliance experiences and performance outcomes jointly affect the alliance experience–performance relationship. Moreover, we identify critical country-level institutional contingencies that moderate the focal effect.

No conversion, no conversation: consequences of retail salespeople disengaging from unpromising prospects

On encountering a prospect whom they believe unlikely to make a purchase, some retail salespeople adopt a sales strategy of limiting engagement with the customer, relying on a “no conversion, no conversation” (NC2) sales strategy. Is this a good or bad sales strategy? Based on a multisource dataset combining salespeople and objective sales performance data, the authors examine retail salespeople’s performance consequences of disengaging from a customer, i.e., of the NC2 sales strategy. Higher sales performance and sales growth arises from the use of an NC2 sales strategy when (1) salespeople are experienced professionals skilled in gauging customers’ purchase likelihood, (2) store traffic is high, and (3) salespeople are oriented to building lasting customer relationships. However, (4) when store traffic is low and peers use the NC2 sales strategy as well, this customer disengagement strategy yields lower returns for salespeople.

Lead firm’s reconfiguration decision and performance of the value chain

Purpose This paper aims to trace the performance consequences of within-lead firm reconfigurations of global value chains with respect to business performance and upgrading. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on two detailed company case studies which are analysed in an organizational design approach. Findings Lead firms systematically separate and internalize high value-added activities in otherwise low value-added processes leading to constant reconfigurations and reorganizations of the production processes in global value chains. The study finds that similar reconfigurations may trigger different changes and changes and performance consequences may differ considerably according to the level of analysis. The two cases help to understand the specific roles of the outsourcing and offshoring decisions in shaping actual global value chain structures. Originality/value The consequences of within-lead firm reconfigurations are rarely analysed in the literature.