Being of two minds: Ultimatum offers under cognitive constraints

We experimentally investigate how proposers in the Ultimatum Game behave when their cognitive resources are constrained by time pressure and cognitive load. In a dual-system perspective, when proposers are cognitively constrained and thus their deliberative capacity is reduced, their offers are more likely to be influenced by spontaneous affective reactions. We find that under time pressure proposers make higher offers. This increase appears not to be explained by more reliance on an equality heuristic. Analysing the behaviour of the same individual in both roles leads us to favour the strategic over the other-regarding explanation for the observed increase in offers. In contrast, proposers who are under cognitive load do not behave differently from proposers who are not.     

Mediation across generations: A tri-generational perspective

The meaning of mediation across generations was examined qualitatively in 20 grandparent–parent–grandchild triads.Parental mediation was the most dominant type of intergenerational mediation. However, evidence was found also regarding grandparent's and grandchild's mediation.The role of the mother as a mediator was recognized and accepted by all generations, although it was not always accepted happily by the mothers. Our results showed that grandparent's mediation is present in intact families, but mostly in cases of family crisis. Finally, grandchild's mediation emerged especially when the bond between the grandparent and the parent was weak or problematic.Findings of this study provide a first insight in examining intergenerational mediation from a tri-generational approach.     

Facility location decisions with environmental considerations: a case study from the petrochemical industry

The recently growing concerns of customers and governments about environmental protection and greenhouse gas reduction have forced companies to integrate the topic of environmental sustainability into their decision making. Facility location decisions are of special relevance in this respect because of their strategic nature. Furthermore, many different trade-offs must be considered, for example between operational costs and customer service. But as soon as environmental issues are concerned, other critical issues must be considered as well. Based on a case study from the petrochemical industry, this paper extends two basic facility location models and shows the impact of distribution network-design decisions on the economic and environmental performance of the company. The results show a trade-off between total (distribution) costs and transport carbon emissions.     

Satisficing in strategic environments: A theoretical approach and experimental evidence

The satisficing approach is generalized and applied to finite n-person games. We formally define the concept of satisficing and propose a theory that allows satisficing players to make “optimal” decisions without being equipped with any prior. We also review some experiments on strategic games illustrating and partly supporting our theoretical approach.     

An experimental study of the generosity game

We study ultimatum and dictator variants of the generosity game. In this game, the first mover chooses the amount of money to be distributed between the players within a given interval, knowing that her own share is fixed. Thus, the first mover is not confronted with the typical trade-off between her own and the other’s payoff. For each variant of the game, we study three treatments that vary the range of potential pie sizes so as to assess the influence of these changes on the first movers’ generosity. We find that removing the trade-off inspires significant generosity, which is not always affected by the second mover’s veto power. Moreover, the manipulation of the choice set indicates that choices are influenced by the available alternatives.     

Problems of points of inflection in trend functions as described by a model for the forecast of brand shares

Trends often have special points of uncertainty (surprises) which make forecasts by trend extrapolation impossible. Such points of uncertainty are found especially at points of inflection of functions. In many cases it will be possible to decompose the trend to be forecast into two or more (causal) time series which have no points of inflection. By extrapolating these individual time series it will then be possible to predict the trajectory of the trend function inclusive of the point of inflection. This method is represented and critically discussed by means of an example for the forecast of a brand share.Werner Kroeber-Riel, Dr. rer. pol., is full professor of business and head of the Institute for Research in Consumption and Behavior at the University of the Saar in Saarbrücken.Sighard Roloff is a certified mathematician and assistant at the Institute for Research in Consumption and Behavior at the University of the Saar in Saarbrücken.This contribution first appeared under the title: Zur Problematik von Wendepunkten in Trendfunktionen, dargestellt an einem Modell zur Prognose von Marktanteilen, Zeitschrift für betriebswirtschaftliche Forschung 24 (1972) 294–300.