University of Texas at Arlington

About: University of Texas at Arlington is a education organization based out in Arlington, Texas, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Large Hadron Collider. The organization has 11758 authors who have published 28598 publications receiving 801626 citations. The organization is also known as: UT Arlington & University of Texas-Arlington.

Distribution and logistics development in China: The revolution has begun

Abstract: Prior to the economic reform movement, China’s centrally planned, three‐tier system dominated the distribution sector. After the 1980s, this system gradually shifted away from the socialist mode to the free market mode. Today, China’s distribution system lies somewhere between these two modes. Since the reform, China’s government has been encouraging export‐oriented foreign firms’ investments in free trade zones along the coast. Foreign firms do not enjoy the same inland distribution and logistics rights as their Chinese counterparts. However, the distribution puzzle is not only faced by foreign firms, but also by Chinese firms that operate nationwide. China’s undeveloped infrastructure, government regulations, and regional protectionism fragment distribution channels throughout China. However, there are three main forces that are changing and modernizing China’s distribution and logistics system. These are the booming economy, entering the WTO and e‐commerce. The inevitable revolution of China’s distribution and logistics system is on the way.

Rleliability Benefit Analysis of Adding WTG in a Distribution System

Abstract: Wind turbine generators (WTG) used as altenative supply in a distribution system have different impacts on the system reliability performance than conventional altemative supplies due to the variable wind speed. This paper investigates the system reliability benefits of adding WTG as an alternative supply in a rural distribution system. The wind generation interrupted energy benefit (WGIEB), the wind generation interruption cost benefit (WGICB), the equivalent number of conventional generators (ENCG), and the equivalent conventional generator capacity (ECGC) of one MWWTG are introduced. These indices provide direct reliability benefit indicators on the addition of WTG and are important information for system planners to make planning decisions such as the selection of a wind site and the number of WTG. A test rural distribution system is utilized to illustrate the proposed technique. The effects on the system reliability benefits of the wind site selection and the number of wind units are investigated.

Convenience Food Packaging and the Perception of Product Quality

Abstract: PACKAGING often plays a critical role in a firm's marketing mix. A negative packaging attribute can sometimes enhance product quality. As part of the product and distribution mix, it performs the functions of protection and containment. Perhaps more importantly, packaging serves as a vehicle for promotion. In today's self-service economy, packaging provides the manufacturer with the final opportunity to persuade prospective buyers prior to brand selection. Shoppers, as they pass down the aisles, are "exposed" to packages just as they are to print media or other forms of promotion.

On self-selection biases in online product reviews

Abstract: Online product reviews help consumers infer product quality, and the mean (average) rating is often used as a proxy for product quality. However, two self-selection biases, acquisition bias (mostly consumers with a favorable predisposition acquire a product and hence write a product review) and underreporting bias (consumers with extreme, either positive or negative, ratings are more likely to write reviews than consumers with moderate product ratings), render the mean rating a biased estimator of product quality, and they result in the well-known J-shaped (positively skewed, asymmetric, bimodal) distribution of online product reviews. To better understand the nature and consequences of these two self-selection biases, we analytically model and empirically investigate how these two biases originate from consumers' purchasing and reviewing decisions, how these decisions shape the distribution of online product reviews over time, and how they affect the firm's product pricing strategy. Our empirical results reveal that consumers do realize both self-selection biases and attempt to correct for them by using other distributional parameters of online reviews, besides the mean rating. However, consumers cannot fully account for these two self-selection biases because of bounded rationality. We also find that firms can strategically respond to these self-selection biases by adjusting their prices. Still, since consumers cannot fully correct for these two self-selection biases, product demand, the firm's profit, and consumer surplus may all suffer from the two self-selection biases. This paper has implications for consumers to leverage online product reviews to infer true product quality, for commercial websites to improve the design of their online product review systems, and for product manufacturers to predict the success of their products.