Showing papers on "Quality (business) published in 2011"

Purposeful sampling in qualitative research synthesis

Abstract: Informed decisions about sampling are critical to improving the quality of research synthesis. Even though several qualitative research synthesists have recommended purposeful sampling for synthesizing qualitative research, the published literature holds sparse discussion on how different strategies for purposeful sampling may be applied to a research synthesis. In primary research, Patton is frequently cited as an authority on the topic of purposeful sampling. In Patton’s original texts that are referred to in this article, Patton does not make any suggestion of using purposeful sampling for research synthesis. This article makes a unique contribution to the literature by examining the adaptability of each of Patton’s 16 purposeful sampling strategies to the process of qualitative research synthesis. It illuminates how different purposeful sampling strategies might be particularly suited to constructing multi‐perspectival, emancipatory, participatory and deconstructive interpretations of published research.

Wine Online: Search Costs and Competition on Price, Quality, and Distribution

Abstract: A fundamental dilemma confronts retailers with stand-alone sites on the World Wide Web and those attempting to build electronic malls for delivery via the Internet, online services, or interactive television Alba et al. 1997. For consumers, the main potential advantage of electronic shopping over other channels is a reduction in search costs for products and product-related information. Retailers, however, fear that such lowering of consumers' search costs will intensify competition and lower margins by expanding the scope of competition from local to national and international. Some retailers' electronic offerings have been constructed to thwart comparison shopping and to ward off price competition, dimming the appeal of many initial electronic shopping services. Ceteris paribus, if electronic shopping lowers the cost of acquiring price information, it should increase price sensitivity, just as is the case for price advertising. In a similar vein, though, electronic shopping can lower the cost of search for quality information. Most analyses ignore the offsetting potential of the latter effect to lower price sensitivity in the current period. They also ignore the potential of maximally transparent shopping systems to produce welfare gains that give consumers a long-term reason to give repeat business to electronic merchants cf. Alba et al. 1997, Bakos 1997. We test conditions under which lowered search costs should increase or decrease price sensitivity. We conducted an experiment in which we varied independently three different search costs via electronic shopping: search cost for price information, search cost for quality information within a given store, and search cost for comparing across two competing electronic wine stores. Consumers spent their own money purchasing wines from two competing electronic merchants selling some overlapping and some unique wines. We show four primary empirical results. First, for differentiated products like wines, lowering the cost of search for quality information reduced price sensitivity. Second, price sensitivity for wines common to both stores increased when cross-store comparison was made easy, as many analysts have assumed. However, easy cross-store comparison had no effect on price sensitivity for unique wines. Third, making information environments more transparent by lowering all three search costs produced welfare gains for consumers. They liked the shopping experience more, selected wines they liked more in subsequent tasting, and their retention probability was higher when they were contacted two months later and invited to continue using the electronic shopping service from home. Fourth, we examined the implications of these results for manufacturers and examined how market shares of wines sold by two stores or one were affected by search costs. When store comparison was difficult, results showed that the market share of common wines was proportional to share of distribution; but when store comparison was made easy, the market share returns to distribution decreased signi.cantly. All these results suggest incentives for retailers carrying differentiated goods to make information environments maximally transparent, but to avoid price competition by carrying more unique merchandise.

Judging Borrowers by the Company They Keep: Friendship Networks and Information Asymmetry in Online Peer-to-Peer Lending

Abstract: We study the online market for peer-to-peer (P2P) lending, in which individuals bid on unsecured microloans sought by other individual borrowers. Using a large sample of consummated and failed listings from the largest online P2P lending marketplace - Prosper.com, we find that the online friendships of borrowers act as signals of credit quality. Friendships increase the probability of successful funding, lower interest rates on funded loans, and are associated with lower ex-post default rates. The economic effects of friendships show a striking gradation based on the roles and identities of the friends. We discuss the implications of our findings for the disintermediation of financial markets and the design of decentralized electronic markets.

An experimental evaluation of rate-adaptation algorithms in adaptive streaming over HTTP

Abstract: Adaptive (video) streaming over HTTP is gradually being adopted, as it offers significant advantages in terms of both user-perceived quality and resource utilization for content and network service providers. In this paper, we focus on the rate-adaptation mechanisms of adaptive streaming and experimentally evaluate two major commercial players (Smooth Streaming, Netflix) and one open source player (OSMF). Our experiments cover three important operating conditions. First, how does an adaptive video player react to either persistent or short-term changes in the underlying network available bandwidth. Can the player quickly converge to the maximum sustainable bitrate? Second, what happens when two adaptive video players compete for available bandwidth in the bottleneck link? Can they share the resources in a stable and fair manner? And third, how does adaptive streaming perform with live content? Is the player able to sustain a short playback delay? We identify major differences between the three players, and significant inefficiencies in each of them.

Reviews, Reputation, and Revenue: The Case of Yelp.com

Abstract: Do online consumer reviews affect restaurant demand? I investigate this question using a novel dataset combining reviews from the website Yelp.com and restaurant data from the Washington State Department of Revenue. Because Yelp prominently displays a restaurant's rounded average rating, I can identify the causal impact of Yelp ratings on demand with a regression discontinuity framework that exploits Yelp’s rounding thresholds. I present three findings about the impact of consumer reviews on the restaurant industry: (1) a one-star increase in Yelp rating leads to a 5-9 percent increase in revenue, (2) this effect is driven by independent restaurants; ratings do not affect restaurants with chain affiliation, and (3) chain restaurants have declined in market share as Yelp penetration has increased. This suggests that online consumer reviews substitute for more traditional forms of reputation. I then test whether consumers use these reviews in a way that is consistent with standard learning models. I present two additional findings: (4) consumers do not use all available information and are more responsive to quality changes that are more visible and (5) consumers respond more strongly when a rating contains more information. Consumer response to a restaurant’s average rating is affected by the number of reviews and whether the reviewers are certified as “elite” by Yelp, but is unaffected by the size of the reviewers’ Yelp friends network.

Capital Flows, Push versus Pull Factors and the Global Financial Crisis

Abstract: The causes of the 2008 collapse and subsequent surge in global capital flows remain an open and highly controversial issue. Employing a factor model coupled with a dataset of high-frequency portfolio capital flows to 50 economies, the paper finds that common shocks – key crisis events as well as changes to global liquidity and risk – have exerted a large effect on capital flows both in the crisis and in the recovery. However, these effects have been highly heterogeneous across countries, with a large part of this heterogeneity being explained by differences in the quality of domestic institutions, country risk and the strength of domestic macroeconomic fundamentals. Comparing and quantifying these effects shows that common factors (“push” factors) were overall the main drivers of capital flows during the crisis, while country-specific determinants (“pull” factors) have been dominant in accounting for the dynamics of global capital flows in 2009 and 2010, in particular for emerging markets. JEL Classification: F3, F21, G11

Estimating Cross-Country Differences in Product Quality*

Abstract: We develop a methodology for decomposing countries’ observed export product prices into quality versus quality-adjusted-price components. In contrast to the standard approach of equating export price with quality, our methodology accounts for cross-country variation in product prices induced by factors other than quality, e.g. comparative advantage or currency misalignment. Even though variation in quality-adjusted prices is unobserved, it can be inferred from countries’ trade balances with the rest of the world. Holding observed export prices constant, for example, countries exhibiting trade surpluses must be offering higher quality (i.e., lower quality-adjusted prices) than countries running trade deficits. We implement the methodology by estimating the evolution of manufacturing product quality among the United States’ top 45 trading partners. Preliminary results reveal substantial cross-sectional variation in product quality growth between 1980 and 1997 that is not apparent in export prices alone. China and Ireland, in particular, experience relatively rapid gains in manufacturing quality.

Financial Reporting Quality and Investment Efficiency of Private Firms in Emerging Markets

Abstract: Prior research shows that financial reporting quality (FRQ) is positively related to investment efficiency for large U.S. publicly traded companies. We examine the role of FRQ in private firms from emerging markets, a setting in which extant research suggests that FRQ would be less conducive to the mitigation of investment inefficiencies. Earlier studies show that private firms have lower FRQ, presumably because of lower market demand for public information. Prior research also shows that FRQ is lower in countries with low investor protection, bank-oriented financial systems, and stronger conformity between tax and financial reporting rules. Using firm-level data from the World Bank, our empirical evidence suggests that FRQ positively affects investment efficiency. We further find that the relation between FRQ and investment efficiency is increasing in bank financing and decreasing in incentives to minimize earnings for tax purposes. Such a connection between tax-minimization incentives and the...

What signal are you sending? how website quality influences perceptions of product quality and purchase intentions

Abstract: An electronic commerce marketing channel is fully mediated by information technology, stripping away much of a product's physical informational cues, and creating information asymmetries (i.e., limited information). These asymmetries may impede consumers' ability to effectively assess certain types of products, thus creating challenges for online sellers. Signaling theory provides a framework for understanding how extrinsic cues ᾢ signals ᾢ can be used by sellers to convey product quality information to consumers, reducing uncertainty and facilitating a purchase or exchange. This research proposes a model to investigate website quality as a potential signal of product quality and consider the moderating effects of product information asymmetries and signal credibility. Three experiments are reported that examine the efficacy of signaling theory as a basis for predicting online consumer behavior with an experience good. The results indicate that website quality influences consumers' perceptions of product quality, which subsequently affects online purchase intentions. Additionally, website quality was found to have a greater influence on perceived product quality when consumers had higher information asymmetries. Likewise, signal credibility was found to strengthen the relationship between website quality and product quality perceptions for a high quality website. Implications for future research and website design are examined.

Who creates jobs

Abstract: There is a consensus that jobs are vital in translating economic growth into lasting poverty reduction and social cohesion. But who creates jobs is an understudied field. This economic premise argues that there is a strong link between initial levels of young and small firms and subsequent job growth, as evidenced in India. The economic geography of entrepreneurship in India is still evolving. It is worrying that there are too few entrepreneurs in India for its stage of development. Yet there is no question that entrepreneurship works cities and states that have embraced entrepreneurship have created more jobs. However, the link between entrepreneurship and job growth is not automatic. Cities that have a higher quality of physical infrastructure and a more educated workforce attract many more entrepreneurs. Supportive incumbent industrial structures for input and output markets are strongly linked to higher entrepreneurship rates. There are many policy levers that can be used by policy makers to promote entrepreneurial growth. Instead of being preoccupied with firm chasing attracting large mature firms from other locations policy makers should focus on encouraging entrepreneurship in their communities.

Minimum quality standards, fixed costs, and competition

Abstract: I investigate the consequences of imposing a minimum quality standard on an industry in which firms face quality-dependent fixed costs and compete in quality and price. Even though the high-quality sellers would satisfy the standard in the absence of regulation, imposing a standard leads these sellers to raise qualities. They do so in an effort to alleviate the price competition, which intensifies as a result of the low-quality sellers' having raised their qualities to meet the imposed standard. However, by its very nature, a minimum quality standard limits the range in which producers can differentiate qualities. Hence, in the end, price competition intensifies, and prices- "corrected for quality change "-fall. Due to the better qualities and lower hedonic prices, and compared to the unregulated equilibrium, all consumers are better off more consumers participate in the market, and all participating consumers-including those who would consume qualities in excess of the standard in the absence of regulation-select higher qualities. When the consumption of high-quality products generates positive externalities-as in the case of safety products-these results favor minimum quality standards. I also show that even in the absence of externalities an appropriately chosen standard improves social welfare.

Positive Emotions : The Connection between Customer Quality Evaluations and Loyalty

Abstract: Although customer quality evaluations is a recognized precursor to loyalty, several studies have indicated that loyalty also depends on favorable customer emotions toward a hotel or restaurant. Thi...

Aggregates in monoclonal antibody manufacturing processes.

Abstract: Monoclonal antibodies have proved to be a highly successful class of therapeutic products. Large-scale manufacturing of pharmaceutical antibodies is a complex activity that requires considerable effort in both process and analytical development. If a therapeutic protein cannot be stabilized adequately, it will lose partially or totally its therapeutic properties or even cause immunogenic reactions thus potentially further endangering the patients' health. The phenomenon of protein aggregation is a common issue that compromises the quality, safety, and efficacy of anti- bodies and can happen at different steps of the manufactur- ing process, including fermentation, purification, final formulation, and storage. Aggregate levels in drug substance and final drug product are a key factor when assessing quality attributes of the molecule, since aggregation might impact biological activity of the biopharmaceutical. In this review it is analyzed how aggregates are formed during monoclonal antibody industrial production, why they have to be removed and the manufacturing process steps that are designed to either minimize or remove aggregates in the final product. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2011;108: 1494-1508.

An Interaction-Based Approach to Enhancing Secondary School Instruction and Student Achievement

Abstract: Improving teaching quality is widely recognized as critical to addressing deficiencies in secondary school education, yet the field has struggled to identify rigorously evaluated teacher-development approaches that can produce reliable gains in student achievement. A randomized controlled trial of My Teaching Partner–Secondary—a Web-mediated approach focused on improving teacher-student interactions in the classroom—examined the efficacy of the approach in improving teacher quality and student achievement with 78 secondary school teachers and 2237 students. The intervention produced substantial gains in measured student achievement in the year following its completion, equivalent to moving the average student from the 50th to the 59th percentile in achievement test scores. Gains appeared to be mediated by changes in teacher-student interaction qualities targeted by the intervention.

Adopting sustainable innovation: what makes consumers sign up to green electricity?

Abstract: This paper investigates what encourages consumers to adopt a green electricity tariff. When people decide to adopt an innovation, such as green electricity, they consider not only functionality, usability, costs and intended outcomes, but also what the innovation means to them, for example, the way it reflects their identity, image, memberships, values and norms. The study reviews the theoretical frameworks of innovation adoption and consumption, and cognitive and normative behaviour, relevant to consumer adoption of pro-environmental innovations, and develops a research framework. Through focus group discussions, a questionnaire survey with 103 respondents and an interview with 10 people, the study finds that consumers sympathetic to environmental issues do not necessarily adopt green electricity. This is due to lack of strong social norms and personal relevance, inconvenience of switching, uncertainty about the quality of green electricity and lack of accurate information. The implications of these findings for strategy, policy and future research are explored. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Crowdsourcing Translation: Professional Quality from Non-Professionals

Abstract: Naively collecting translations by crowd-sourcing the task to non-professional translators yields disfluent, low-quality results if no quality control is exercised. We demonstrate a variety of mechanisms that increase the translation quality to near professional levels. Specifically, we solicit redundant translations and edits to them, and automatically select the best output among them. We propose a set of features that model both the translations and the translators, such as country of residence, LM perplexity of the translation, edit rate from the other translations, and (optionally) calibration against professional translators. Using these features to score the collected translations, we are able to discriminate between acceptable and unacceptable translations. We recreate the NIST 2009 Urdu-to-English evaluation set with Mechanical Turk, and quantitatively show that our models are able to select translations within the range of quality that we expect from professional translators. The total cost is more than an order of magnitude lower than professional translation.

Review: A review of data mining applications for quality improvement in manufacturing industry

Abstract: Many quality improvement (QI) programs including six sigma, design for six sigma, and kaizen require collection and analysis of data to solve quality problems. Due to advances in data collection systems and analysis tools, data mining (DM) has widely been applied for QI in manufacturing. Although a few review papers have recently been published to discuss DM applications in manufacturing, these only cover a small portion of the applications for specific QI problems (quality tasks). In this study, an extensive review covering the literature from 1997 to 2007 and several analyses on selected quality tasks are provided on DM applications in the manufacturing industry. The quality tasks considered are; product/process quality description, predicting quality, classification of quality, and parameter optimisation. The review provides a comprehensive analysis of the literature from various points of view: data handling practices, DM applications for each quality task and for each manufacturing industry, patterns in the use of DM methods, application results, and software used in the applications are analysed. Several summary tables and figures are also provided along with the discussion of the analyses and results. Finally, conclusions and future research directions are presented.

Multi-view reconstruction preserving weakly-supported surfaces

Abstract: We propose a novel method for the multi-view reconstruction problem. Surfaces which do not have direct support in the input 3D point cloud and hence need not be photo-consistent but represent real parts of the scene (e.g. low-textured walls, windows, cars) are important for achieving complete reconstructions. We augmented the existing Labatut CGF 2009 method with the ability to cope with these difficult surfaces just by changing the t-edge weights in the construction of surfaces by a minimal s-t cut. Our method uses Visual-Hull to reconstruct the difficult surfaces which are not sampled densely enough by the input 3D point cloud. We demonstrate importance of these surfaces on several real-world data sets. We compare our improvement to our implementation of the Labatut CGF 2009 method and show that our method can considerably better reconstruct difficult surfaces while preserving thin structures and details in the same quality and computational time.

Quality of Care Management Decisions by Multidisciplinary Cancer Teams: A Systematic Review

Abstract: Background Factors that affect the quality of clinical decisions of multidisciplinary cancer teams (MDTs) are not well understood. We reviewed and synthesised the evidence on clinical, social and technological factors that affect the quality of MDT clinical decision-making.

(three types of interaction (3ti) in online learning of curriculum and teaching capacities (ctcs) of teachers of the canary islands' educational system)

Abstract: The study undertaken seeks to detect the differences in learning ten curricular and teaching capacities (CCDs) of 119 teachers of Canary Islands in the course model of Three Types of Interaction (3TI): reflective practice, collegial dialogue and technological inquiry. The results of the e-learning course were measured through questionnaires on demographics, computer literacy, inclusion and assessment, quality assurance of online courses and attitudes, as well as assessment rubrics. Significant differences were found in some explanatory variables and between the 3TI groups in different quality criteria of teachers’ attitudes as measured by the questionnaire Convictions on Online Learning (COL). The results of our analysis have led us to the rejection of the null hypothesis.

Quantification of YouTube QoE via Crowdsourcing

Abstract: This paper addresses the challenge of assessing and modeling Quality of Experience (QoE) for online video services that are based on TCP-streaming. We present a dedicated QoE model for You Tube that takes into account the key influence factors (such as stalling events caused by network bottlenecks) that shape quality perception of this service. As second contribution, we propose a generic subjective QoE assessment methodology for multimedia applications (like online video) that is based on crowd sourcing - a highly cost-efficient, fast and flexible way of conducting user experiments. We demonstrate how our approach successfully leverages the inherent strengths of crowd sourcing while addressing critical aspects such as the reliability of the experimental data obtained. Our results suggest that, crowd sourcing is a highly effective QoE assessment method not only for online video, but also for a wide range of other current and future Internet applications.

A review of theoretical and empirical advancements

Abstract: In this article, we review both theoretical and empirical advancements in retirement adjustment research. After reviewing and integrating current theories about retirement adjustment, we propose a resource-based dynamic perspective to apply to the understanding of retirement adjustment. We then review empirical findings that are associated with the key research questions in this literature: (a) What is the general impact of retirement on the individual? and (b) What are the factors that influence retirement adjustment quality? We also highlight important future research directions that may be fruitful for psychologists to pursue in this area. keywords: retirement adjustment; older workers; resource perspective.