The Interrelationship between Culture and Capital Structure:Evidence from International Retailers

The present study investigates the influence of cultural factors in 2022 on the capital structure of global retailers.There are sixteen retailers from eight countries in the sample.In recent times,numerous academicians have taken an interest in examining the capital structure and business model of retailers,owing to their swift and consistent growth.However,the fact that the majority of research originates from the retailers’host country gives rise to debate regarding the applicability of the capital structure of said retailers to countries with distinct cultural environments.Consequently,academics have begun to investigate whether the capital structure of multinational retailers is impacted by the diversity of national cultures.

Optimization of Electricity Purchase and Sales Strategies of Electricity Retailers under the Condition of Limited Clean Energy Consumption

In the process of my country’s energy transition,the clean energy of hydropower,wind power and photovoltaic power generation has ushered in great development,but due to the randomness and volatility of its output,it has caused a certain waste of clean energy power generation resources.Regarding the purchase and sale of electricity by electricity retailers under the condition of limited clean energy consumption,this paper establishes a quantitative model of clean energy restricted electricity fromthe perspective of power system supply and demand balance.Then it analyzes the source-charge dual uncertain factors in the electricity retailer purchasing and selling scenarios in the mid-to long-term electricity market and the day-ahead market.Through the multi-scenario analysis method,the uncertain clean energy consumption and the user’s power demand are combined to form the electricity retailer’s electricity purchase and sales scene,and the typical scene is obtained by using the hierarchical clustering algorithm.This paper establishes a electricity retailer’s risk decisionmodel for purchasing and selling electricity in themid-and long-term market and reduce-abandonment market,and takes the maximum profit expectation of the electricity retailer frompurchasing and selling electricity as the objective function.At the same time,in themediumand longterm electricity market and the day-ahead market,the electricity retailer’s purchase cost,electricity sales income,deviation assessment cost and electricity purchase and sale risk are considered.The molecular results show that electricity retailers can obtain considerable profits in the reduce-abandonment market by optimizing their own electricity purchase and sales strategies,on the premise of balancing profits and risks.

Enhancing Software Effort Estimation:A Hybrid Model Combining LSTM and Random Forest

Effort estimation plays a crucial role in software development projects,aiding in resource allocation,project planning,and risk management.Traditional estimation techniques often struggle to provide accurate estimates due to the complex nature of software projects.In recent years,machine learning approaches have shown promise in improving the accuracy of effort estimation models.This study proposes a hybrid model that combines Long Short-Term Memory(LSTM)and Random Forest(RF)algorithms to enhance software effort estimation.The proposed hybrid model takes advantage of the strengths of both LSTM and RF algorithms.To evaluate the performance of the hybrid model,an extensive set of software development projects is used as the experimental dataset.The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed hybrid model outperforms traditional estimation techniques in terms of accuracy and reliability.The integration of LSTM and RF enables the model to efficiently capture temporal dependencies and non-linear interactions in the software development data.The hybrid model enhances estimation accuracy,enabling project managers and stakeholders to make more precise predictions of effort needed for upcoming software projects.

Omni-Channel Retailing and Firm Performance from a Customer Lifetime Value Perspective

In the digital era,retailers are keen to find out whether omni-channel retailing helps improve long-term firm performance.In this paper,we employ machine learning techniques on a large consumption data set in order to measure customer lifetime value(CLV)as the basis for determining long-term firm performance,and we provide an empirical analysis of the relationship between omni-channel retailing and CLV.The results suggest that omni-channel retailing may effectively enhance CLV.Further analysis reveals that this process is influenced by heterogeneous consumer requirements and that significant differences exist in the extent to which the omni-channel transition may influence CLV depending on consumer preferences for diversity of commodities,sensitivity to the cost of contract performance,and sensitivity to warehousing costs.Hence,retailers should provide consumers with a complete portfolio of goods and services based on target consumers’heterogeneous requirements in order to increase omni-channel efficiency.

The Influence of Academic Self-Efficacy on Learning Engagement in Online Education in China:The Mediating Role of Effort

The shift towards online intelligent learning has become the norm in education and is now a fundamental part of modern educational activities.However,this new model can influence students’learning behavior and lead to changes in their approach to learning.Based on online intelligent learning,we investigated how the academic self-efficacy of nursing students affects their engagement with learning and explored the role of academic attribution as a mediator.Five hundred fifty-three nursing college students from Hebei and Hunan provinces in China participated in the online questionnaire.The results revealed that effort plays a mediating role in the relationship between academic self-efficacy and learning engagement.

Impact of Shipping Distance on Online Retailers' Sales:A Case Study of Maiyang on Tmall

Many studies have qualitatively explained that information and communication technology(ICT) has loosened the restrictions of distance and space on retailers' sales. Few empirical studies, however, have explored the impact of shipping distance on online retailers' sales. This study examined the Maiyang(M-Y) store on Tmall in China as a case study to investigate the relationship between shipping distance and sales. The results showed that sales volume in 2014 at the county level did not strictly obey the distance decay law. The shipped distance of high-priced commodities may not be much longer than that of low-priced commodities. Within the scope of investigation, the relationships between income, cost, and net profit curves do not follow central place theory. Goods have neither thresholds nor ranges. The key factor in the spatial discrepancy of sales is the size of market. The impact of shipping distance on sales is not as strong as that of traditional retailers in Information Era.

Pricing decision of green supply chain under the game competition of duopolistic retailers

In order to evaluate the impact of green production introduced by the manufacturer and study the competitive strategy between two retailers,four strategic models among diverse retailers,i.e.,Cournot,Stackelberg and two cases of collusion,are constructed.The optimal decision is obtained by the game theory and numerical analysis.The results indicate that the manufacturer's marginal profitability is no less than that of the two retailers.However,due to the manufacturer's green cost,the downstream profitability of the supply chain may exceed the upstream manufacturer's profitability.The retailers'Cournot behavior causes the manufacturer to acquire the highest profitability and set the highest green level.However,there is an opposite result in collusion.Two retailers will choose Cournot pricing when the consumer's green sensitivity is higher than a threshold.When consumers are more sensitive to the price difference of products,retailers prefer collusion,and then choose the Stackelberg behavior.Manufacturers'profitability will increase as competition among retailers intensifies.Proper competition allows two duopolistic retailers to acquire a higher profitability.

Identifying the Geography and Determinants of O2O Online Retailers in Megacity in Central China:A Case Study of Zhengzhou City

In recent years,O2O e-commerce,represented by online group-buying,has developed vigorously,which had significant impacts on urban commercial space.Zhengzhou City is a rising national central city in China,and its e-commerce development level is ahead,but relevant researches are rare.Therefore,the data of online retailers of Meituan.com was collected and combined with Baidu map and Baidu heat map data.Then,we adopted the methods such as spatial statistics and geodetector to explore the geography and determinants of O2O online retailers in Zhengzhou urban area.The main conclusions are 1)The spatial development of O2O online retailers is characterized by significant global high-value agglomeration.2)The agglomeration areas of different types of O2O online retailers are different.Most of them are concentrated in the old urban area within the Third Ring Road of Zhengzhou City,forming five comprehensive agglomeration areas.3)The areas with the high e-commerce development level are mainly concentrated in the northeast and southwest of the x-shaped region formed by the intersection of Lianyungang-Lanzhou and Beijing-Guangzhou railways.Erqi Square and Guomao 360 Plaza are at the highest development level,followed by Zhongyuan Wanda Plaza and Daxue Middle Road.The development level at other areas is relatively low.4)Zhengzhou’s O2O commercial pattern is highly dependent on physical business.The population distribution,especially the population distribution during the nightlife period,plays a vital role in its spatial development,followed by accessibility.The influences of physical distance are slightly larger than that of time cost,but the difference between them is little.In addition,travelling costs have the least impact.This paper could provide certain references for urban commercial planning.

Effort Levels of Capital-constrained Retailer under Bank Financing

In a supply chain with a retailer confronted with financial constraints,impacts on profits of the supply chain can be alleviated by increasing the retailer's efforts and market demand through external financing( bank). If the cost of bank lending is not very high,the capitalconstrained retailer can borrow money and make efforts. The reduction of bank interest rates,however,increases the retailer's efforts. We prove that there is a unique equilibrium point between the retailers. We find out the optimal interest rate of the bank and the optimal efforts by the retailer through numerical analysis and verify validity of the results.

Decision-Making of a Single Supplier and Multiple Loss-Averse Retailers under Partial Trade Credit

Under partial trade credit,suppliers usually require retailers to pay a fraction of the purchase cost immediately when ordering and the remaining payment is deferred at the end of the sales period.Considering a supply chain consisting of a risk-neutral supplier and multiple loss-averse retailers,we develop models under partial trade credit.We analyze the optimal decisions of a supplier and retailers under decentralized decision-making.The study shows that there is a unique Nash equilibrium among the retailers,and the optimal total order quantity of retailers increases as the delayed payment ratio increases and as the degree of retailers'competition increases,but decreases with an increase in the loss aversion.Numerical studies are conducted to demonstrate the solution procedures and the effects of the parameters on decisions and profits.

Properties of Nash Equilibrium Retail Prices in Contract Model with a Supplier, Multiple Retailers and Price-Dependent Demand

Recently, price contract models between suppliers and retailers, with stochastic demand have been analyzed based on well-known newsvendor problems. In Bernstein and Federgruen [6], they have analyzed a contract model with single supplier and multiples retailers and price dependent demand, where retailers compete on retail prices. Each retailer decides a number of products he procures from the supplier and his retail price to maximize his own profit. This is achieved after giving the wholesale and buy-back prices, which are determined by the supplier as the supplier’s profit is maximized. Bernstein and Federgruen have proved that the retail prices become a unique Nash equilibrium solution under weak conditions on the price dependent distribution of demand. The authors, however, have not mentioned the numerical values and proprieties on these retail prices, the number of products and their individual and overall profits. In this paper, we analyze the model numerically. We first indicate some numerical problems with respect to theorem of Nash equilibrium solutions, which Bernstein and Federgruen proved, and we show their modified results. Then, we compute numerically Nash equilibrium prices, optimal wholesale and buy-back prices for the supplier’s and retailers’ profits, and supply chain optimal retailers’ prices. We also discuss properties on relation between these values and the demand distribution.

Online Grocery Brick and Mortar Retailers.State of the Art in Italy,But Is It a Profitable Strategy?

In contemporary entrepreneurial environment based on customer retention,the growth of the Internet has pushed the most dynamic businesses to compete in the electronic market.The recent evolvement of the Internet as a new major distribution channel has obtained much attention,as the online channel calls the viability of traditional stationary retailing into question.Today,since innovation is a key factor in the Digital Age,the presence in the digital marketplace is essential for retailers,also in the food retailing.The paper aims to analyze the online commerce for food groceries and compare the evolution from 2017 to 2019.The sample represents the 99%of Italian brands of brick and mortar supermarkets and hypermarket.The first study was conducted in 2017,after two years the paper has analyzed the same sample and reported how many groceries retailers have adopted the online selling.Through the visit of every Internet site and some interviews to managers,this paper proposes the reasons why only a limited number of grocery brands sell food over Internet.Moreover,this paper calculates the cost(in Italy)to prepare the expense and satisfy the order of a customer.Characteristics of goods(freshness,perishability,cold chain warranty,etc.),expensive operations needed to prepare the delivery,the cost of delivery,and difficult reverse logistics are the main causes of low adoption of e-commerce.Online groceries retailers are concentrated around big cities in particular in the north Italy(Milan,Turin,Genoa,etc.).Expense is prepared inside the retail by the employees.Some shops use the drive-in model and only a limited number of cases deliver to home.The few cases of food e-commerce offer the delivery only in a limited area of big cities.At the end,this paper demonstrates the logistics cost(picking,packing and transport)in Italy is higher than the price of the service and this strategy isn’t profitable for companies.

Retailers Enliven Catalog Offerings Through Apps

New York Times reported on November 20 that when you browsed Anthropologie’s stores, you would feel as if you’re wandering through an artsy home, where there are sure to be closets full of eclectic outfits, bedrooms with bohemian quilts and kitchen tables with

An Analysis of the Impact of Charging for Plastic Shopping Bags to Retailers in Japan

In accordance with a revision of the Containers and Packaging Recycling Law, there is an accelerating trend towards charging for plastic shopping bags （PSBs） in Japan for the purpose of reducing their discharge. The objectives of this research were to gauge, by means of a questionnaire survey, the opinions of retailers with regard to charging for PSBs, and to consider future directions for reducing the quantity of waste discharged. A questionnaire survey on charging for PSBs was conducted for retail stores in Shizuoka City. The survey was carried out in two phases. The results of the first phase （August to October 2008） showed that supermarkets were generally positive, while conversely other retailer types were negative. The results of the second phase （November to December, 2010）, targeting only supermarkets that had introduced charging after the first survey, showed that there was no major confusion and the shift proceeded relatively smoothly. In addition, the number of customers did not decline on account of charging, and the ratio of shoppers bringing their own reusable ＂eco bags＂ jumped dramatically. On these accounts, it is evident that charging for PSBs is an effective means of reducing usage of PSBs. The authors view it as important for the relevant governmental agencies to work towards promoting charging at retailers and simultaneously repeatedly explaining to consumers the necessity for charging.

Retailers,You Can Get Omni-Shopper’s Satisfaction!

This paper evaluates the influence that information processing routes have on omni-shopping behavior,as well as analyzing the consequences of this behavior for retailers through a cognitive-affective approach.A sample of 705 mobile phone users was used for this purpose.The results obtained using the binomial logit model in a first phase and later with an application of structural equations,reflect that omni-shoppers have a more planned purchasing behavior than those who develop a one-stop shopping behavior.They search for information in a rational and deep way,spending time and effort.As for the consequences that the omni-channel behavior has for retailers,it has been found that those omni-shoppers who experience negative emotions with the retailer,have a low perceived value of the company and their satisfaction will also be negative.

The relationship between age,acceptable noise level,and listening effort in middle-aged and older-aged individuals

Objective:The purpose of the study was to evaluate listening effort in adults who experience varied annoyance towards noise.Materials and methods:Fifty native Kannada-speaking adults aged 41e68 years participated.We evaluated the participant's acceptable noise level while listening to speech.Further,a sentence-final wordidentification and recall test at 0 dB SNR(less favorable condition)and 4 dB SNR(relatively favorable condition)was used to assess listening effort.The repeat and recall scores were obtained for each condition.Results:The regression model revealed that the listening effort increased by 0.6%at 0 dB SNR and by 0.5%at 4 dB SNR with every one-year advancement in age.Listening effort increased by 0.9%at 0 dB SNR and by 0.7%at 4 dB SNR with every one dB change in the value of Acceptable Noise Level(ANL).At 0 dB SNR and 4 dB SNR,a moderate and mild negative correlation was noted respectively between listening effort and annoyance towards noise when the factor age was controlled.Conclusion:Listening effort increases with age,and its effect is more in less favorable than in relatively favorable conditions.However,if the annoyance towards noise was controlled,the impact of age on listening effort was reduced.Listening effort correlated with the level of annoyance once the age effect was controlled.Furthermore,the listening effort was predicted from the ANL to a moderate degree.

Fake Makes Chinese Retailers Lose Millions

On April 13,the judiciary of Brazil St.Paul under the help of the local police suddenly confiscated the wholesales market of Chinese clothing,located at Street 25 of the shopping center. In all,48 Chinese dealers were seized under allegation

More and More Retail Brands Integrate ESG into Development

Recently, Savills and the U.S. Green Building Council released Sustainable Retail-Staying on Track(hereinafter the report), which pointed out that the ranking of the 20-city retailer index in 2022 changed the most in the past five years, but that Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen and Chengdu are still among the top four retailers in 2022. The sustainable retail index of coastal cities including Ningbo, Qingdao and Xiamen has greatly improved.