Ethical Products = Less Strong: How Explicit and Implicit Reliance on the Lay Theory Affects Consumption Behaviors

21st December 2017
KCG Secretary
Authors: Robert Mai, Stefan Hoffmann, Wassili Lasarov and Arne Buhs (Journal of Business Ethics, 2019, Vol. 158, 659–677)

Many consumers implicitly associate sustainability with lower product strength. This so-called ethical = less strong intuition (ELSI) poses a major threat for the success of sustainable products. This article explores this pervasive lay theory and examines whether it is a key barrier for sustainable consumption patterns. Even more importantly, little is known about the underlying mechanisms that might operate differently at the implicit[…]

The Tenure-Based Customer Retention Model: A Cross-Cultural Validation

21st December 2017
KCG Secretary
Authors: Carolin Krauts and Stefan Hoffmann (Journal of International Marketing, 2017, Vol. 25(3), 83-106)

International businesses and their marketing managers face complexity in the targeting of different customer groups in multiple countries, with different purchase histories and brand relationship tenures. Thus far, no customer retention model has been suggested to sufficiently reduce such complexity. To fill the gap, this study distinguishes three global customer groups—brand stayers, brand switchers, and category novices[…]

Consumer Response to Unethical Corporate Behavior: A Re-Examination and Extension of the Moral Decoupling Model

21st December 2017
KCG Secretary
Authors: Kristina Haberstroh. Ulrich Orth, Stefan Hoffmann and Berit Brunk (Journal of Business Ethics, 2017, Vol. 140(1), 161-173)

This research replicates Bhattacharjee et al. (J Consum Res 39(4):1167–1184, 2013) moral decoupling model and extends the original along the dimensions of theory, method, and context. Adopting a branding perspective and focusing on the corporate domain rather than the public figures investigated by Bhattacharjee and colleagues, this research examines the proposition that consumers dissociate judgments of morality from judgments of performance to justify purchasing from companies deemed to act immorally[…]

Holger Görg Gave a Radio Interview on Brexit and the Irish Border

21st December 2017
KCG Secretary
Public Contributions
Public Contributions
The Brexit talks between the UK and the European Commission stalled early this month on the issue of a post-Brexit border between the Republic of Ireland and Northerd Ireland. While both parties in the talks agreed that a hard border should be avoided, how this is to achieve after the UK leaves the EU’s single market and customs union remains debated[…]

Jana Stöver Joins KCG with a Research Project on the Role of Technology Diffusion for Sustainable Development

14th December 2017
KCG Secretary
News
News
Dr. Jana Stöver joins the KCG to collaborate with the research group of Professors Katrin Rehdanz and Aiofe Hanley in a research project on environmental regulation and technology diffusion. She receives funding from the DAAD’s P.R.I.M.E. program to investigate the topic in Kiel and at MINES ParisTech using firm-level data from Germany and France[…]

Leibniz ScienceCampi Coordinators met last week

7th December 2017
KCG Secretary
News
News
The Leibniz Association held a meeting for the coordinators of the 19 Leibniz ScienceCampi on the 29th of November in Berlin, as part of the Leibniz Association Annual Meeting 2017. The purpose of the meeting was to bring together the coordinators of the ScienceCampi from all over Germany and inform them about important recent developments in the Leibniz Association. The KCG was represented by Deputy Coordinator Cecilia Hornok[…]

Two New Working Papers of KCG Professor Horst Raff Are Now Online

1st December 2017
KCG Secretary
News
News
Professor Horst Raff and his co-authors have recently finished two working papers. Both papers examine, with the help of microeconomic models, some important aspects of inventory management within supply chains.

The first paper “Centralized versus Decentralized Inventory Control in Supply Chains and the Bullwhip Effect”, co-authored with Zhan Qu from the Technical University Dresden, looks at how demand volatility is passed upstream through the value chain. In particular, they look at under which circumstances this volatility is enhanced so that the variance of upstream production[…]