Narendra K. Sharma

Bilingualism and Lexical Representation

Forty-eight Hindi-English bilinguals completed two blocks of trials where each trial involved presentation of a letter string requiring a lexical decision. In the first block subjects were exposed to 22 words and 11 non-words in either English or Hindi. In the second block the original words were repeated in either the same language or in the alternative language. In this block the old (repeated) words were mixed with 22 new words, and 22 non-words. Twelve subjects were included in each of the four groups given by the factorial combination of blocks and languages. Reaction time in the lexical decision task was facilitated when words were repeated in the same language (109 and 125 ms in the English-English and Hindi-Hindi groups respectively), but little or no facilitation was observed in the inter-lingual conditions (-22 and 23 ms in the Hindi-English and English-Hindi conditions respectively). The results support the view that lexical representation in bilinguals is language-specific.

The role of script and phonology in lexical representation

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the role of script in lexical representation in bilinguals. The particular issue under investigation concerned the role of a script difference when the translations concerned are in all other respects identical. Does it provide a basis for the operation of unique functional entries in the lexicon, or is it, like case, treated as a pre-lexical attribute? The experiments contrasted the physically unrelated scripts used to depict Hindi and Urdu, North Indian languages which share a substantial vocabulary and which, with minor qualifications, are phonemically identical. The experiments used repetition effects in lexical decision and memory for language of presentation procedures, respectively, to assess the representational status of items common to the Hindi and Urdu vocabularies. Experiment 1 demonstrated that transfer is virtually complete between Hindi and Urdu translations, suggesting that the role of script is akin to that of case, and quite unlike phonology in its impact on lexical definition. Experiment 2 showed that whereas memory for language of presentation is reliable in tests involving language pairs such as Hindi and English, performance on this task is poor when script alone provides the distinguishing feature. Considered together, the results of the experiments are consistent with the proposition that when translations differ only with regard to script, a common lexical unit is involved in visual recognition and attribute retention. By implication, therefore, a morphophonemic distinction is a pre-requisite for the presence and use of distinct units for translations. The representational character of this interpretation was supported by the fact that complementary evidence was obtained from tasks involving qualitatively different retrieval processes.

Service Quality, Corporate Brand Image, and Switching Behavior: The Mediating Role of Customer Satisfaction and Repurchase Intention

The present study proposes a conceptual framework to investigate the relationship between service quality, satisfaction, repurchase intention, and switching behavior. It also intends to prove the importance of corporate image in terms of reputation and credibility in customer satisfaction. The conceptual framework was tested in the telecommunications industry with data collected from customers using the services of a leading global telecommunications company. The hypothesized relationship between variables was analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results indicated an indirect effect of service quality and corporate brand image on switching behavior via customer satisfaction and repurchase intention. The model confirms that delivering high quality service and a credible corporate image results in high customer satisfaction, which in turn leads to high repurchase intension and less switching behavior.

Website characteristics, user characteristics and purchase intention: mediating role of website satisfaction

Present research examines the mediation effects of website satisfaction on the relationship between website and user characteristics, and purchase intention. The website and user characteristics are presented in terms of their information and entertainment properties (i.e., profiles). The results reveal that website satisfaction mediates the relationship between purchase intention and website characteristics. The relevant characteristics of the website are informativeness, organisation of information elements, entertainment properties and organisation of entertainment elements. The significant mediating effect of website satisfaction is also obtained for the relationship between purchase intention and a user characteristic, namely, information seeking tendency.

Left-Arm Dominance in Active Positioning

The relative accuracy of the left and the right arms in active positioning was studied in a group of 24 male right-handed undergraduates. The task required active positioning of the left and right arms at each of the four angular positions (30°, 45°, 60°, and 75°). The left arm was more accurate in active positioning than the right arm. There was a progressive increase in error for both arms as the arms flexed more in reducing the angle at the joint. Results are discussed in light of suggestions concerning the superiority of the right hemisphere in the processing of kinesthetic and proprioceptive information.

A typology of Indian hypermarket shoppers based on shopping motivation

Purpose – Hypermarket is the most successful amongst organised retail formats in India. The purpose of this paper is to identify segments of hypermarket shoppers based on shopping motivation. The study profiles the identified segments on demographic characteristics and shopping outcomes, and compares the shopping motivation of hypermarket consumers with that of traditional store shoppers. Design/methodology/approach – The study involved a survey of 201 actual shoppers in a hypermarket and that of 117 actual shoppers in 20 traditional stores. Principal components analysis of the motives for shopping at hypermarket and traditional store identified the respective dimensions of shopping motivation. Cluster analysis of the factor scores obtained on shopping motivation at hypermarket revealed the typology of hypermarket shoppers. Chi-square test and MANOVA were used to profile the identified segments of hypermarket shoppers on demographic characteristics and shopping outcomes respectively. Findings – Results re...

Creativity Under Concurrent and Sequential Task Conditions

Two experiments were conducted to investigate creativity for realistic divergent thinking problems, under concurrent and sequential task conditions (CTC and STC, respectively). Creativity was judged on divergence, novelty, appropriateness, and fluency of solutions. Results of Experiment I revealed that creativity was significantly higher under CTC than under STC. Embedded Figures Test was employed to rule out a possible alternative explanation that better performance under CTC is due to difference in creative potential between individuals participating under the two task conditions. Experiment II employed a control group to investigate whether difference in creative performance under the two conditions is due to a facilitation effect or a distraction effect, as compared to the control condition. Results showed a significant distraction effect under STC, and indicated, though not significant, a facilitation effect under CTC. Findings are understood in light of the associative theories of creativity, which highlight the role of attentional mechanisms in the creative process. Some indexes for measuring creative performance on realistic divergent thinking tasks are validated against conventional measures.

Consumer attitude towards brand-extension incongruity: The moderating role of need for cognition and need for change

Abstract This paper integrates two contradictory predictions from the schema incongruity theory: a linear versus an inverted-U relationship between brand-extension incongruity and evaluation. It suggests two personality variables, namely, need for cognition and need for change that moderate the relationship. The major proposition that the relationship would be linear for individuals low in both personality dimensions and inverted-U for those high on both was supported by the data obtained through a questionnaire study. The highest evaluation was obtained for the moderately incongruent extension compared to the congruent and extremely incongruent brand extensions of an established brand for individuals high on both personality dimensions. Four innovative behaviour types identified on the basis of a combination of high and low categories of participants on the two personality dimensions also provided similar results. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings, limitations of the present study, and future possibilities are discussed.

Exploring the multidimensional role of involvement and perceived risk in brand extension

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose and test a conceptual framework specifying the multidimensional role of involvement and perceived risk in brand extension domain.Design/methodology/approach – A survey research design was applied to test the proposed hypotheses. Three hypothetical extensions of a real brand were selected. A total of 101 respondents participated in the study. Regression analyses was conducted to examine the role of involvement and perceived risk dimensions in brand extension evaluation.Findings – Results indicate that consumers evaluate brand extension more favorably when it is highly relevant, more pleasurable, and associated with less risk probability. In addition, each facet of perceived risk, namely, financial, performance and psychological, are found to be equally important in making decisions about brand extension.Research limitations/implications – This paper contributes to the growing body of literature of brand extension. The study provides a new direction to brand...

The influence of organisational cultural values, reward, time, self-esteem and job security on knowledge sharing intentions among managers

This article examines the impact of self-esteem, perceived job security, availability of time, reward and organisational cultural values on intention to share knowledge in Indian business organisations. It also investigates the impact of intention to share knowledge on knowledge sharing behaviour. Using a sample of employees from private organisations, the article finds support for the hypotheses. The results of regression analysis showed that employees self-esteem and time are significant predictors of knowledge sharing intention. Among organisational values, collaboration, proaction and experimentation values were found to be significantly related to intention to share knowledge. Results also indicated that intention to share knowledge positively contributes to knowledge sharing behaviour. These findings suggest that organisations have to infuse desirable values for knowledge sharing and have to align their practices conducive for knowledge sharing in organisations.