China Stimulates Economy to Keep Deflation at Bay

Experts predicted the Chinese economy to slow down for the last five years but it never happened-until now. Instead, the economy continued to grow and develop moving from copying technology to inventing some of their own. As the world’s No. 2 economy it has recently recognized that significant slowing in Asia and Europe may be hampering its own growth and it is taking precautionary measures to prop up its position. 

In an attempt to support development and investment it slashed interest rates at the time when American’s have weaned themselves off easy money policies. By injecting credit into their financial system they hope that their banks will lend more money and encourage higher levels of investment. The interest rate on the one-year loan has been reduced to 5.6% while the rate of pay on a one-year savings rate is now 2.75%. 

A low interest and saving rate combination incentivizes borrowing money for growth while discouraging the hoarding of cash by more profitable businesses. Through keeping the money flowing in and out of large banks it sparks higher levels of economic activity. It is believed that lower lending and borrowing rates will spark higher levels of investments. 

China’s economy has been growing through cheaper production costs and higher levels of investment. As the world experiences a slowdown and major nations are stimulating their economies China has decided to jump onboard.  Only the U.S. is projected to keep growing. 

With a growth rate of 7.3% and a decline in housing value the Chinese economy slowed. It is still an impressive number and the Chinese sought to weather into more sustainable growth pattern but a global slowdown has them on edge. China must continue to export at significant levels or risk moving into a deflationary position.

Call for Papers: Advances in Business-Related Scientific Research Conference

Dates:  March 25th to 27^th, 2015
Location: Venice, Italy
Website: http://www.absrc.org

Enquiries: chair@absrc.org

ABSRC is an important international gathering of business and business-related sciences scholars and educators. In addition to scientific papers, the focus is on various best practices and solutions, which are important for business activities.

ABSRC is a global conference. Researchers and practitioners from 50 different countries participated at the past ABSRCs.

Business and business-related issues are covered including the following topic groups:
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Entrepreneurship
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Industrial organization
International business
Language in organizations
Law and business
Macroeconomics
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Management education, training and development
Managerial and organizational cognition and psychology
Marketing and consumer behavior
Microeconomics
Natural sciences and business
Organizational behavior
Organizational information and communication systems
Organizations and financing
Production and operations management
Research methods
Social sciences and business
Technology and innovation management

Improving Multi-Channel Outcomes in Online Marketing

Companies don’t always exist exclusively in the real or virtual world and neither should their marketing campaigns. Some consumers prefer buying products through physical channels while others prefer online channels. Companies find themselves managing the complexity of both broad channels to improve sales. These sales may not be based in a single marketing channel and may be more associated with the use of multiple marketing channels working together.

An article in the Journal of Marketing Research offers greater insight into cross-channel effects on traditional, online display and paid search advertising. They found that a single marketing channel cannot account for the total purchase rate of products/services (Dinner, Van Heerde, & Neslin, 2014).

Consumers may have a particular on or off line preference for purchasing but regularly use the Internet to search out and research their chosen items. The totality of both online and offline purchases is a combination of using different marketing channels and should be measured as such.

Think about how a consumer processes information. They see or hear about a product that relates to their self-image and develop an internal need for that product. If the product has value they may search out its benefits and detractors online. When a decision has been made they will either purchase online or from a ground store.

In today’s marketing world it is important not to evaluate marketing effectiveness in a silo. Even though the success of each marketing channel should be considered like the success of each purchasing channel it is still important to consider the total marketing effectiveness.

Different forms of exposure from multiple events create the total impression and experience for the consumer. Sometimes it may take multiple exposures from varying channels to grab their selective attention and finally make a decision to purchase.

Marketing is more than simply having customers see images and impressions on a webpage. There is a lot of competition out there in the cyberspace and the physical world that leads to advertising overload. A single marketing channel is unlikely to draw significant interest and improve market position.

To improve upon exposure companies will often use paid search positions. As consumers search out information on a product the paid search engine sites come up first. Usually it is the home company that reaches the top based search algorithms. In many cases there are multiple companies competing for the top position.

Paid search positions have less effect than originally thought. No one is sure why this is the case other than the click-thru rates decrease over time making the marketing method less effective. Mitigating factors could include the search engines, competition within specific industries, and the sensitization to these ads.

As the different channels work together it was found that they push potential customers into certain purchasing behaviors. Using multiple channels to direct customers to successful purchasing channels may be beneficial for raising the overall conversion rate. Channels then become augmentation and support for preferred channels that work the best.

Dinner, I., Van Heerde, H. & Neslin, S. (2014). Driving online and offline sales: the cross-channel effects of traditional, online display, and paid search advertising. Journal of Marketing Research, 51 (5).

Positive Outlook and Proactivity Leads to Positive Business Outcomes

There is nothing wrong with a little optimism in your life; especially if that positive outlook ends with good things. Optimism can lead to promotion through positive interactions with others and a willingness to handle workplace challenges using a level of grace. When you are positive you are less likely to wait for problems to raise their head making you more proactive in handling issues. The very way in which we view the world may determine what type of fruit we can pick from it. 

When one is reasonably optimistic about life they have something called a positive orientation. Positive orientation is a basic disposition to view life and experiences from a positive disposition that leads to higher self-esteem (Alessandri, et. al. 2012). A positive orientation leads to higher in-role job performance and self-evaluations. 

Those who view life positively outperform pessimists within the workplace. They not only attract people to their cause but were also able to whether the daily grind better than others. A positive outlook adds up to higher levels of performance over time through many smaller actions. 

Having a positive outlook also creates greater connectivity and influence in one’s environment. Networking ability, interpersonal influence, and social astuteness mediated relationships between proactive personality and in-role performance (Shi, et. al. 2011). People who have confidence in engaging others and their personality are more likely to accomplish their career goals. 

Having a positive outlook is more than simple positive psychological outlook and can have real benefits for your career and life. Positive people are easy to like and more able to influence others around them. They have more confidence with problems that arise and are more likely to tackle problems that haven’t arisen yet. Proactive and positive outlook on life adds up to a great career. 

Alessandri, G. et. al. (2012). The utility of positive orientation in predicting job performance and organizational citizenship behaviors. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 61 (4). 

Shi, J. et. al. (2011). Testing differential mediation effects of sub-dimensions of political skills in linking proactive personality to employee performance. Journal of Business & Psychology, 26 (3).