The role of makerspaces in supporting consumer innovation and diffusion: An empirical analysis

Makerspaces are open communities for tinkering, innovating, and socializing: They are equipped with tools and training that support “making” by participants. It has been argued that makerspaces can be a powerful vehicle to enhance both innovation and innovation diffusion by consumers. This research note offers initial empirical evidence for these claims. Through a survey of 558 participants drawn from makerspaces worldwide, the study shows that the innovation rate is about 53% and that the diffusion rate is about 18% among these individuals – substantially higher than the innovation and diffusion rates found in national innovation surveys of general populations, i.e. individuals who innovate independently at home at their own discretion.These findings doubtless reflect both a selection and a treatment effect: Individuals inclined or motivated to innovate and/or diffuse, tend to join makerspaces; and once individuals do participate, the rich resources they find in makerspaces most likely will improve the opportunities to innovate and/or diffuse successfully. Since innovation by consumers is both personally and economically valuable, these findings support the case for further research into the nature of successful makerspaces, and suggest the potential social welfare value of public investment.     

NCAA football television viewership: Product quality and consumer preference relative to market expectations

The authors estimate the determinants of college football television viewership across the full quality spectrum of contests and test whether consumer preferences vary based on changes in the attributes of the core product. They utilize national television viewership data at the individual game level over a three season period and estimate numerous consumer demand models using zero-truncated negative binomial regression. The results indicate a lack of support for anticipated outcome uncertainty, but support for contests where actual outcomes are closer than market expectations. Consumer preferences are not consistent across game qualities, which may indicate that game type is linked to variation in the consumer base and reference-dependent preferences. The findings may also explain why the uncertainty of outcome hypothesis is supported in some contexts, but not others. Preference for absolute quality also dominates preference for relative quality. This finding has important implications for contest scheduling. Given the common practice of advance scheduling creates sub-optimal conference and network television schedules, stakeholders could be leaving television revenues on the table.     

The continued usage of business e-learning courses in Hong Kong corporations

Other research has investigated aspects of e-learning, e.g., comparing the effectiveness of e-learning with traditional classroom training and gauging the success of IT or computer skills training. This study focused on how to ensure that individuals continue their usage of business and management e-learning courses for self-development in Hong Kong corporations. This paper reports the development and testing of a theoretical model for continued usage. The proposed model was calibrated with a sample of 212 cases from five corporations in Hong Kong, and was subsequently validated with 15 questionnaires from a small e-commerce company of 50 staff. The data supported the model and the model had a moderate explanatory power (R ² = 37%) for continued usage. The structural model was not affected by different collection periods (first collection batch vs. last collection batch), sample (calibration vs. validation), gender (male vs. female), position (manager vs. nonmanager), or computer usage experience (10 years or more vs. less than 10 years). However, the model was different for groups of different ages (aged 36 and above vs. below 36) and educational levels (university graduates vs. nongraduates). Further research and the business implications for improving the continued usage of business e-learning courses are discussed.     

论消费领域公益诉讼之完善

随着我国消费领域群体性纠纷的日益突出和尖锐,引入公益诉讼已成当务之急,然而现行立法的缺陷却极大地制约了这一矛盾的解决.为了进一步推动消费领域公益诉讼机制的完善,该文着重从消费者协会职能的扩大这一关键点入手,探讨其成为公益诉讼原告的紧迫性、必要性和可行性,同时就当前消费领域公益诉讼中亟待解决的几个突出问题提出了建议.     

浅析温州房地产市场的住房需求

本文针对消费者消费倾向这一主题，经过市场调研与分析，从消费者角度客观认识温州房地产市场，为房地产企业与相关行业的人士提供一些有参考价值的信息。     

Exploring the Influence of Parasocial Relationships and Experiences on Radio Listeners’ Consumer Behaviors

The purpose of the present study was to explore the influence of radio listener experiences on radio listening behaviors, consumer perceptions and behaviors, and social media involvement. A national sample of listeners (N = 2,700) from a variety of small, medium, and large designated market areas (N = 9) throughout the United States revealed the presence of parasocial relationships (PSRs) and experiences of parasocial interaction (EPSI) with local and nationally syndicated radio personalities. Both PSRs and EPSI predicted radio listening, positive perceptions about, recall of, and purchasing of the brands, products, and services recommended by listeners’ favorite radio personalities. Results also show that PSRs and EPSI predicted listeners’ involvement with social media platforms.     

我国消费类期刊转型模式研究

消费类期刊作为我国期刊市场中最具商业价值的类别,其数字化转型具有十分重要的意义。本文梳理总结我国消费类期刊四种有代表性的转型模式,即以资本战略为主导的跨界整合模式、以文化传媒为主导的产业延伸模式、以垂直社区为主导的电商传媒模式和以终端市场为主导的移动平台模式。通过对这四种模式的深入分析与研究,旨在对期刊行业的转型提供参考与借鉴。     

电子商务中消费者权益保护初探

电子商务作为一种新型的市场交易方式,如同一把“双刃剑”,在给人们带来更多便捷、丰富的商品和资源信息的同时,也增加了消费者合法权益遭受侵害的危险。电子商务发展过程中出现的种种损害消费者权益的事件给现行消费者权益保护法律带来了严峻挑战,阻碍了电子商务的发展。本文分析了电子商务中消费者权益保护中出现的问题,并提出了几点建议。     

对我国企业品牌延伸问题的探讨

品牌延伸策略是21世纪企业广泛采用的品牌策略，但我国企业在运用中不顾自身品牌的实际情况，盲目仿效大企业，缺乏对理论知识的研究和消费心智在品牌延伸过程中的作用，评价品牌延伸策略是否成功的标准不一，从而使企业缺乏正确导向。因此，企业在实施品牌策略时应了解品牌延伸的理论知识，掌握品牌延伸的运行规律，重视消费心智所起的作用，同时用战略眼光评价品牌延伸策略是否正确，以是否增加品牌资产为标准来衡量其成败。     

论市场营销中的心理定价策略

价格是市场营销组合的重要组成部分,价格很大程度上决定着产品能否畅销,关系着企业和消费者的利益;根据不同消费者的购买心理,制定出买卖双方都能接受的价格,对提高市场占有率有很大的推进作用。