Ulf Schrader

VHB-JOURQUAL2: Method, Results, and Implications of the German Academic Association for Business Research’s Journal Ranking

VHB-JOURQUAL represents the official journal ranking of the German Academic Association for Business Research. Since its introduction in 2003, the ranking has become the most influential journal evaluation approach in German-speaking countries, impacting several key managerial decisions of German, Austrian, and Swiss business schools. This article reports the methodological approach of the ranking’s second edition. It also presents the main results and additional analyses on the validity of the rating and the underlying decision processes of the respondents. Selected implications for researchers and higher-education institutions are discussed.

Consumer reactance against loyalty programs

Purpose – Although relationship marketing has developed into the prevailing marketing paradigm, it frequently encounters resistance from the demand side. Both management practitioners and academics indicate that at least some consumers show reactance against loyalty programs, i.e. against tactical instruments of relationship marketing. Nevertheless, relationship marketing has widely neglected reactance theory. This paper attempts to close this gap.Design/methodology/approach – Based on the fundamental principles of loyalty programs and reactance theory the paper presents a set of hypotheses on the determinants and effects of situational consumer reactance against loyalty programs. It tests these hypotheses on the basis of 388 face‐to‐face interviews with bookstore customers. These interviews include a between‐subject manipulation on the reactance effect of economic, social‐psychological, and contractual bonding potentials. To test the proposed hypotheses, the paper applies structural equation modeling wit...

VHB-JOURQUAL: Ein Ranking von betriebswirtschaftlich-relevanten Zeitschriften auf der Grundlage von Expertenurteilen

SummaryIn light of shrinking budgets and growing international competition, universities are required to become transparent with respect to their teaching and research performance. In terms of research evaluation, the assessment of journal articles plays a vital role. However, existing journal rankings suffer from weaknesses that limit their usability for German-speaking universities. The main aim of this article is to introduce VHB-JOURQUAL, a valid, comprehensive ranking of academic journals in the field of business administration which is apt to be used in evaluation across different universities. After highlighting extant ranking approaches, the concept of VHB-JOURQUAL and its empirical application are discussed. 651 members of the Association of University Professors of Management and post-doctoral researchers assessed the quality of both articles and review processes of business administration journals that they are familiar with. Key results are reported and implications for university management are discussed.

Enabling Responsible Living

This book is a compilation of the best papers presented at the 1st International Conference of The Partnership for Education and Research about Responsible Living (PERL). The Conference, held in March 2011 in Istanbul, Turkey, had the same title as the present book: “Enabling Responsible Living”. Thus, this book – like the related conference – claims to be programmatic for the newly established network PERL.

Transparenz über Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) als Voraussetzung für einen Wandel zu nachhaltigerem Konsum

Die Bedeutung des Konsums fur eine nachhaltige Entwicklung findet in den letzten Jahren zunehmende Beachtung (siehe auch Kapitel 2 in diesem Band). Diese Aufmerksamkeit ist allein schon deshalb verstandlich, da in modernen Volkswirtschaften private Haushalte in der Regel uber die Halfte der erzeugten Guter und der erbrachten Dienstleistungen in Anspruch nehmen. So entfielen etwa in Deutschland 2004 59% des Bruttoinlandsprodukts (BIP) auf den privaten Konsum (Statistisches Bundesamt 2005). Diese Inanspruchnahme von Leistungen geht immer auch einher mit dem Verzehr von Ressourcen. Zwar lassen sich aus monetaren Grosen nicht direkt okologische oder gar soziale Belastungen ableiten, jedoch stehen beide Bereiche in engem Zusammenhang. Dabei wurden im Konsumbereich in den letzten Jahren im Vergleich zum gewerblichen Bereich relativ wenige okologische Effizienzpotenziale erschlossen, so dass mittlerweile private Haushalte mehr Energie verbrauchen als die Industrieunternehmen (BMU 2002: 21). Allerdings ist der direkte Anteil privater Haushalte am Verzehr okologischer Ressourcen im Vergleich zu ihrem Anteil am BIP unterproportional. So kommt das Umweltbundesamt in seiner letzten, bereits etwas alteren Schatzung des Anteils des Konsums an den gesamten okologischen Schaden auf eine Grosenordnung von 30–40% (UBA 1997: 221). Diese quantitative Abschatzung wird allerdings der eigentlichen Bedeutung des Konsums fur eine nachhaltige Entwicklung nicht gerecht.

Collaborative fashion consumption and its environmental effects

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide the conceptual basis of collaborative fashion consumption (CFC) as a possible path toward more sustainable clothing. A definition and a typology of CFC are introduced and possible environmental effects of CFC are structured and discussed. This provides a solid conceptual basis for future empirical studies on CFC as an element of more sustainable consumption. Design/methodology/approach This paper is written mainly based on a review of the more recent literature on collaborative consumption, as well as of older papers about related concepts like sustainable service systems and eco-efficient services. The proposed CFC typology and the structure of environmental effects are developed using both a deductive and an inductive process, and then by transferring existing structures to this specific field and challenging them by assigning practical examples. Findings The main contributions of this paper are the definition and typology of CFC and the structure for assessing its environmental effects. Research limitations/implications The findings provide a conceptual basis for future empirical research on CFC. Practical implications For practitioners, the CFC typology and the structure of environmental effects could be used as checklists for future development of more sustainable collaborative consumption offers. Originality/value This paper makes a unique contribution to the concept of CFC. To the knowledge of the authors, this is the first paper that has been explicitly dedicated to examining different types and environmental effects of CFC.

Informationsrecht und Informationsverhalten der Konsumenten — zentrale Bedingungen eines nachhaltigen Konsums

Nachhaltige Entwicklung (sustainable development) ist erklartes politisches Leitbild fast aller Regierungen weltweit. Mehr als 170 Staaten haben 1992 in Rio de Janeiro die Agenda 21, das globale Aktionsprogramm zur Nachhaltigkeit, unterzeichnet (BMU 1992) und fast alle haben dieses Bekenntnis 2002 auf der Rio-Nachfolgekonferenz in Johannesburg bekraftigt. Sie verpflichten sich damit zu einer nachhaltigen Entwicklung beizutragen, die zur Befriedigung der Bedurfnisse aller heute lebenden Menschen fuhrt (Prinzip der intragenerativen Gerechtigkeit) und gleichzeitig die Bedurfhisbefriedigungsmoglichkeiten zukunftiger Generationen nicht verschlechtert (Prinzip der intergenerativen Gerechtigkeit). Das Prinzip der Nachhaltigkeit betrifft dabei gleichzeitig die Dimensionen Okonomie, Okologie und Soziales.1

Nachhaltigkeitsinnovationen durch Nutzerintegration

Nachhaltigkeitsinnovationen, die einen sozialen und/oder okologischen Mehrwert stiften, stehen im Wettbewerb mit herkommlichen Marktangeboten. Ist der wahrgenommene Nettonutzen von Nachhaltigkeitsinnovationen kleiner als der wahrgenommene Nettonutzen von herkommlichen Produkten, werden die Konsument/- innen mehrheitlich an letzteren festhalten (altruistisch gepragte Konsument/-innen stellen die Ausnahme von der Regel dar). Dabei sind verschiedene Nutzen- und Kostendimensionen zu berucksichtigen: Neben dem Gebrauchsnutzen eines Produktes spielt bspw. auch der symbolische Nutzen eine grose Rolle und neben dem Preis sind auch die Transaktionskosten und die Gebrauchskosten in Betracht zu ziehen. Viele Nachhaltigkeitsinnovationen besitzen zwar einen sozial-okologischen Mehrwert und stiften damit einen gesellschaftlichen Nutzen, halten aber einem individualistisch gepragten Nutzen-Kosten-Vergleich nicht stand. Aus Sicht der Nachfrageseite liese sich argumentieren, dass darin der zentrale Grund fur das Nischendasein von vielen Nachhaltigkeitsinnovationen liegt. Nutzerintegration in Nachhaltigkeitsinnovationsprozesse kann dabei moglicherweise Abhilfe schaffen: Wird Nutzer/-innen die Gelegenheit gegeben, sich fruhzeitig im Innovationsprozess mit ihren eigenen Ideen und Vorstellungen aktiv einzubringen, ihre Bedurfnisse und Wunsche zu artikulieren, entstehen idealerweise nachhaltige Produkte, die nicht nur einen hoheren sozial-okologischen Mehrwert aufweisen, sondern auch einen hoheren Kundenwert versprechen. Diese Idee ist der Ausgangspunkt des Verbundprojekts „Forderung Nachhaltigen Konsums durch Nutzerintegration in Nachhaltigkeitsinnovationen“, welches vom BMBF im Sozial-Okologischen Forschungsschwerpunkt 2008–2011 gefordert und unter Leitung von Frank-Martin Belz (TU Munchen) durchgefuhrt wurde.

Empowering Responsible Consumers to be Sustainable Intrapreneurs

Responsible consumers are often employees, spending more time in their professional life than in their private life. Many of them are willing to live up to private values, attitudes and experiences during working hours as well. Some even would like to act as sustainable intrapreneurs and pull and push colleagues and management towards increased sustainability of their organisation. Empowering responsible consumers to act as sustainable intrapreneurs has the potential to support job satisfaction and retention, i.e. typical goals of human resource management (HRM). It can in addition prevent that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is considered to be greenwashing only. In this chapter we will show—after a short introduction—how private life and working life generally interact with each other. Then, we will concentrate on the outside-in spill over effects, i.e. on how private responsible behaviour might be utilized by HRM and CSR management. For that purpose, we will first present the concept of sustainable intrapreneurship and then the determinants of psychological empowerment. We combine these two by showing how relevant HRM measures might create and increase empowerment for sustainable intrapreneurship. After that, we will discuss chances and risks of this approach before we finally give some conclusions for managers and researchers.

Education for Sustainable Consumption through Mindfulness Training: Development of a Consumption-Specific Intervention.

Abstract Several widespread approaches to Education for Sustainable Consumption (ESC) have emerged from the tradition of consumer information. A major shortcoming of such cognitive-focused approaches is their limited capacity to facilitate reflection on the affective processes underpinning people’s engagement with consumption. More holistic pedagogies are thus needed to increase the effectiveness of ESC. The concept of mindfulness has recently received growing attention in research on sustainable consumption, given its potential to address both cognitive and affective processes and to stimulate reflection on the drivers of often routinized consumption practices. Despite this recent interest, mindfulness has to date not been systematically connected to ESC. This paper provides a reflexive case study of the development of mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) specifically tailored to ESC (“BiNKA-training”). It elaborates the conceptual connections between mindfulness and ESC, offers insights into the process of adapting MBI to ESC and concludes with lessons learnt and an outlook on future work seeking to tap the potential of MBIs to form more holistic approaches to sustainability education.