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Horizontal referrals--when suppliers recommend other suppliers--are a common phenomenon in complex B2B markets. For the referring supplier, giving the best possible horizontal referral may strengthen the relationship with its customer, yet it may also threaten the referring supplier's future revenues and cross-selling opportunities. Instead, the supplier could make an obligatory referral, one that fulfills the obligations of recommending another supplier while keeping the referring supplier's own interests paramount. The authors rely on role theory and its antecedents (mutual trust and referring supplier's dependence) to determine when a referring supplier adopts the role of a friend (vs. a businessperson) and gives the best possible referral (vs. an obligatory referral). Study 1, an experiment, supports the theoretical model. Study 2, a conjoint study, links the observable antecedents of the referring supplier-customer relationship to the choice of horizontal referrals. Study 3, another experiment, looks at the consequences of the horizontal referral on the referring supplier-customer relationship and shows that providing an obligatory referral can hurt the customer's intent to continue the relationship with the supplier. This effect is mediated by the customer's perceived alignment of interest with the supplier. For B2B marketing research and practice, the authors report that the supplier's dependence is critical in predicting the quality of horizontal referrals, even though an exploratory survey showed that customers overlook that dimension and focus on mutual trust when seeking referrals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies a novel social commerce practice known as "help-and-haggle," whereby an online consumer can ask friends to help her "haggle" over the price of a product. Each time a friend agrees to help, the price is cut by a random amount, and if the consumer cuts the product price down to zero within a time limit, she will get the product for free; otherwise, the product reverts to the original price. Help-and-haggle enables the firm to promote its product and boost its social reach as consumers effectively refer their friends to the firm. We model the consumer's dynamic referral behavior in help-and-haggle and provide prescriptive guidance on how the firm should randomize price cuts. Our results are as follows. First, contrary to conventional wisdom, the firm should not always reduce the (realized) price-cut amount if referrals are less costly for the consumer. In fact, the minimum number of successful referrals the consumer must make to have a chance to win the product can be nonmonotone in referral cost. Second, relative to the deterministic price-cut benchmark, a random price-cut scheme improves firm payoff, extracts more consumer surplus, and widens social reach. Additionally, in most instances, it also reduces the promotion expense while increasing profit from product sales at the same time. Third, help-and-haggle can be more cost effective in social reach than a reward-per-referral program that offers a cash reward for each successful referral. However, using the prospect of a free product to attract referrals cannibalizes product sales, potentially causing help-and-haggle to fall short. Yet, if consumers are heterogeneous in product valuations and referral costs or face increasing marginal referral costs, help-and-haggle can outperform the reward-per-referral program. This paper was accepted by Elena Katok, operations management. Funding: L. Yang acknowledges the Berkeley Haas Center for Growth Markets [2022 Grant Award]. C. Jin acknowledges the Singapore Ministry of Education Academic Research Fund [Tier 1 Grant 251RES2101]. Z. Shao acknowledges support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant 72071188]. All authors acknowledge the Networks, Electronic Commerce and Telecommunications (NET) Institute [2022 Summer Research Grant]. Supplemental Material: The data files and online appendix are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.4948. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shared coupons, a new form of coupon, differ from coupons distributed directly from businesses (i.e., direct coupons) in that shared coupons combine two influential components: economic savings (e.g., $5 off) and social sharing (e.g., from friends). Using two lab experiments and two large-scale field experiments on social media, the authors find that regular shared coupons underperform direct coupons in terms of coupon redemption because of the norm conflict between economic incentives and communal relationships (i.e., friendships), whereas shared coupons with experience cocreation, in which coupon givers and coupon receivers must invest joint efforts to create a shared experience before redeeming the coupons, outperform direct coupons. Experience cocreation can advance social goals (e.g., building friendships), reduce the norm conflict, and thereby make customers more likely to share and to redeem coupons. The authors further investigate the effects of two strategies for driving the redemption of shared coupons with experience cocreation: changing the coupon's face value (low vs. high) and using ex post communication (social messages vs. economic messages). They find that social messages can make low-value coupons as effective as high-value coupons, thereby enabling the firm to "do more with less." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Incentivized customer referral programs (e.g., "Refer a friend, reward yourself!") are prevalent, yet they usually have low referring rates. One reason, the authors suggest, is that existing customers (referrers) view incentivized referring as an exchange activity that feels incompatible with their communal relationship with friends (referees), resulting in a psychological barrier (i.e., negative feelings such as discomfort, conflict, guilt, etc.). In seven studies (five preregistered, two in the field; N = 2,060) and one preregistered supplemental study (N = 176), the authors propose and find that disclosing the referrer reward in the invitation message—a not yet widely adopted method—can promote referring by making the referring action seem more compatible with communal norms and reducing the experienced psychological barrier. They also document the potential of disclosing the referrer reward on increasing acceptance, conversion, and sales. The authors further identify three theoretically and practically relevant boundary conditions: (1) the relative reward amount (whether the referrer reward is greater than, equal to, or less than the referee reward), (2) the stated source of the referrer reward (the company or the referee's spending), and (3) the framing of the referral opportunity (whether it is already framed as a communal activity). The authors conclude by discussing the theoretical and practical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research demonstrated the effectiveness of referral programs in boosting firm performance. However, referrers' evaluations of such programs are under-examined. This study fills this gap by conducting two studies. Study 1 finds that psychological closeness between a referrer and a referee enhance the referrer's evaluation of the program. Study 2 reveals that the relationship between such psychological closeness and the referrer's evaluation is contingent on referral reward type (material vs. experiential). This study advances previous research in referral marketing by drawing on the experience recommendation theory and construal level theory. Referral marketing managers shall note that encouraging existing customers to refer their close others is particularly effective when referral messages highlight material rewards, instead of experiential rewards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Referral reward programs (RRPs), considered as a form of stimulated word-of-mouth (WOM), provide incentives to existing customers to bring in new customers. The research here adds to previous knowledge by exploring the usage of referral codes for high and low-involvement products in three stages of the consumer decision journey, on a sample of 218 consumers analyzed by regression analysis. Results show that components of the Theory of Planned Behavior influence the behavioral intention toward participating in an RRP, with perceived behavioral control having the strongest effect, followed by subjective norm and Attitude. Referral codes have a significant effect on respondents' behavior; high conformity of high-involvement products and low conformity of low-involvement products was found, with referral programs having a weaker effect on high-involvement products. Customers tend to follow all steps of the traditional consumer journey when buying a high-involvement product; in the case of low involvement products, low conformity was even lower when using a referral code. Low-involvement products at the need recognition stage, and high-involvement products at the active research stage, are the least affected by the RRP. Results provide insights for companies to optimize their marketing strategy through stimulated WOM, and with the usage of RRPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social media have significantly boosted the prevalence of online referral marketing, through which firms use referral reward programs (RRPs) to promote their existing customers to disseminate or refer product information within social connections. We start with the idea that customer referral motives include firm‐offered rewards and altruistic motives to examine the optimal RRPs by developing nested Stackelberg game models among a firm, a rational (absolute) altruistic sender, and a recipient. The findings show that both product factors and customer factors influence the effectiveness of RRPs, and taking customers altruistic motives into account helps avoid reward waste and makes the optimal reward structure shift away from rewarding the sender. Furthermore, the optimal reward structure is closely related to the tie strength between the sender and the recipient and varies with altruism preference differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened public awareness regarding the importance of health insurance. Several factors influencing the choice of an insurance brand include the plan value, agent characteristics, referrals, and consumer trust. Over the past five years, the use of influencers has expanded as they are believed to influence consumer intentions to purchase insurance services. Primary data was collected through a survey of 181 respondents who did not have an insurance policy but had seen the content of the insurance company's marketing communications presented by influencers. Using SEM-PLS to analyze the primary data, the study found that agent characteristics and influencer credibility directly affect an insurance brand's consumer trust and purchase intention. Meanwhile, referrals have a significant direct effect on consumer trust but not directly on purchase intention. Conversely, the plan value offered by insurance companies directly affects purchase intention but has no direct influence on consumer trust. Despite finding that consumer trust was insignificant in mediating the effect of referrals, agent characteristics, plan values, and influencer credibility on purchase intention, this study validates the role of agent characteristics, plan values, and influencer credibility in influencing consumer's intention to purchase insurance products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online platforms provide sellers' products on their websites and earn a commission fee for each unit sold. Recently, many platforms have tried to refer customers to their direct competitors. In this paper, we explain this counter-intuitive practice by developing a game-theoretic model where two competing platforms contracting with one common seller or two competing sellers. We first analyze a benchmark case where platforms and sellers are integrated, finding that competitor referral will aggregate competition and thus neither platform is willing to refer its competitor voluntarily. However, when each platform serves as a marketplace for an independent seller, it is possible that a platform voluntarily refers its competitor. The rationale is that there exists a double marginalization problem when platforms set commission fees and sellers set prices, resulting in low efficiency of product selling. By referring visitors to their competitors, platforms can introduce cannibalization to cope with the double marginalization problem. We also investigate the case when the two platforms serve one common seller, finding that as long as the seller does not charge discriminated prices for the same product, the platforms may also apply referral. This is because the benefits of the two platforms are more aligned when the common seller sets a common price. Thus, online referral which helps the competitor may also help the referring platform itself. This paper also makes serval extensions to check the robustness of the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selfish incentives typically outperform prosocial incentives, and customer referral programs frequently use such "selfish" (i.e., sender-benefiting) incentives to incentivize current customers to recruit new customers. However, in two field experiments and a fully incentivized lab experiment, this research finds that "prosocial" (i.e., recipient-benefiting) referral incentives recruit more new customers. Five subsequent experiments test a process account for this effect, identifying two key psychological mechanisms: reputational benefits and action costs. First, at the referral stage, senders (existing customers) anticipate reputational benefits for referring recipients (potential new customers), who receive a reward for signing up. These reputational benefits render recipient-benefiting referrals just as effective as sender-benefiting referrals at the relatively low-cost referral stage. Second, at the uptake stage, recipient-benefiting referrals are more effective than sender-benefiting referrals: recipient-benefiting referrals directly incentivize recipients to sign up, providing a clear reward for an otherwise costly uptake decision. The preponderance of selfish, or sender-benefiting, referral incentives in the marketplace suggests these effects are unanticipated by marketers who design incentive schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Referrals are individuals' whose employment suitability for desired roles has been validated by referrers. Traditionally, referrers were individuals whom referrals know in real life (IRL). Referrers are also known to hiring authorities and can vouch for the referrals' employment credentials. Hence, referrals' employment applications are viewed more favorably than applicants who are not referrals. However, the internet/social media also serves as a referrer for applicants' employment qualifications. That is, people's employment attributes can be validated by their internet/social media activity and engagement with followers. They may not know their followers IRL and hiring authorities may not know the applicants' followers IRL, either. Nevertheless, applicants' internet/social media engagement can serve as a referral for their qualifications. This study investigates how early career individuals perceive internet/social media activity as evidence of applicants' employment attributes and, thus, a referral method for employment opportunities. The study broadens research on referrals by including applicants' internet/social media activity and provides practical strategies to enhance early career individuals' employment strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In business-to-business (B2B) competitive marketing, less reputable suppliers must find ways to outcompete more reputable ones. As a marketing strategy, suppliers may ask their business partners or affiliates to recommend them to potential customers (supplier-initiated referrals). Referrals may help reduce potential customers' uncertainty regarding suppliers' overall capabilities and subsequently influence their supplier selection decisions. Thus, the following question arises: What is the effect of supplier-initiated referrals in B2B competitive marketing environments? To answer this question, we constructed a theoretical framework and conducted a quasi-experimental study. The results indicate that supplier-initiated referrals have a significant positive impact. Interestingly, the overall impact of referrals on a potential customer's decision is nonlinear. In other words, the marginal effect of referrer credibility on potential customers' supplier selection decisions decreases at a certain point, creating a ceiling effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate circumstances in which referral-based hiring can exacerbate rather than mitigate agency problems. When incentive contracts cannot fully align employees' incentives with the interests of the firm, employees may behave opportunistically. Referred job candidates likely obtain inside information from existing employees about opportunistic incentive responses, and it is this information that exacerbates agency problems. Our research setting enables us to distinguish between referred and nonreferred employees. It also features a context in which the incentive contract consists of two measures with different properties (efficiency and quality), which allow for opportunistic incentive responses, i.e., sacrificing quality for efficiency. We find that referred employees focus more on efficiency and less on quality than nonreferred employees. We further document the persistence of this behavior and the differential departure likelihood of referred and nonreferred employees. Our findings suggest that referral-based hiring can exacerbate agency problems when incentive contracts allow for opportunistic gains. Data Availability: All data are proprietary. Confidentiality agreements prevent the authors from distributing the data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal Of the College of Law /Al-Nahrain University is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Over the past 10 years, there have been many financial scandals in the financial advice industry, which has caused substantial losses for investors. Large wealth institutions controlled by major Australian banks have significantly contributed to investor losses by promoting their products which were not always in the best interests of clients. The aim of this study was to explore the factors affecting the current and future growth of small privately‐owned financial planning businesses as a competitive marketplace provides better consumer outcomes. The study undertook a qualitative approach using an exploratory research design which involved the recruitment of 51 privately‐owned financial planning practice owners who were personally interviewed with semi‐structured interview questions. Using a theoretical framework based on Michael Porter's five competitive forces model, the study found that the main factors enhancing growth were differentiation of service, technology enhancement, target marketing and business and client referral arrangements. Factors that negatively affected growth included the affordability of providing advice due to regulatory changes and the negative public perception associated with various industry scandals. The results provide existing and new entrant adviser practices with valuable knowledge to make informed decisions in the areas of practice management and direction. Additionally, the study provides policymakers and regulators with further knowledge to better support the privately‐owned financial planning sector, thus enabling consumers to benefit from a more competitive marketplace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Contemporary Accounting Research is the property of Canadian Academic Accounting Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Contemporary Accounting Research is the property of Canadian Academic Accounting Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Intuition suggests that a salesperson should not refer consumers to a competitor for products that they both sell. However, myriad examples reveal salespeople doing just that. The authors study specialist competitor referrals, a sales strategy by which one increases consumers’ purchase likelihood of a focal product (e.g., a painting at an art gallery) by (1) referring consumers to a competitor (e.g., a frame warehouse store) that offers a nonfocal product (e.g., a frame) at a lower price, while (2) stating that the stores differ in their specializations (i.e., the stores concentrate their efforts on different goods). Using a study and survey with salespeople, experimental studies, an incentivized negotiation experiment, and a field study, the authors show that specialist competitor referrals can indeed benefit sellers. Specifically, they build on equity theory to show that specialist competitor referrals increase focal product sales by reducing consumers’ perceived overpayment risk for the focal product via increasing perceived equity in the exchange. The authors also show that competitor referrals for nonfocal products that do not justify the price difference on the nonfocal product are ineffective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Customers acquired through a referral program have been observed to exhibit higher margins and lower churn than customers acquired through other means. Theory suggests two likely mechanisms for this phenomenon: (1) better matching between referred customers and the firm and (2) social enrichment by the referrer. The present study is the first to provide evidence of these two mechanisms in a customer referral program. Consistent with the theory that better matching affects contribution margins, (1) referrer–referral dyads exhibit shared unobservables in customer contribution margins, (2) referrers with more extensive experience bring in higher-margin referrals, and (3) this association between the referrer’s experience and margin gap becomes smaller over the referral’s lifetime. Consistent with the theory that social enrichment affects retention, referrals exhibit lower churn only as long as their referrer has not churned. These findings indicate that better matching and social enrichment are two mechanisms through which firms can leverage their customers’ networks to gain new customers with higher customer lifetime value and convert social capital into economic capital. One recommendation for the managers of the firm studied is to recruit referrers among their customers who have been acquired at least six months ago, exhibit high margins, and are unlikely to churn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

E-referral incentive programs are key instruments to carry out relationship marketing on social platforms. This study explores the effect of e-referral incentive programs on customer loyalty and its mechanisms. Two theories, the cognitive dissonance theory and the attention resource theory are adopted in this study, and therefore, referral dissonance and audience size are introduced as a mediator and a context variable separately. The results show that (1) the reward size and reward scheme have a significant interaction effect on customers' repurchase intention and their re-referral intention; (2) this kind of interaction effect can be mediated by cognitive dissonance; and (3) the effect of referral incentive programs on customer loyalty will be influenced by the audience size. This study also explains how the referral incentive programs influence customer loyalty in social platforms and therefore can serve as a theoretical guidance for enterprises aiming to develop e-referral incentive programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Incentivized referrals are frequently used by firms to recruit new customers. Currently, most companies use two-sided incentive plans that reward both the referrer and the target. This is sensible and likely popular since both parties (the existing customer and target of the referral) are rewarded, potentially increasing the likelihood of successful referral conversion. That said, a small number of firms use one-sided incentives that reward only the referrer or only the target, which tend to be of lower cost. In the current paper, we examine how to effectively use one-sided incentives from a cross-cultural perspective. Specifically, we posit that reward-target incentives are more effective than reward-referrer plans among consumers who are high (instead of low) in interdependence because reward-target plans can appease social concerns, which are more important to those high (vs. low) in interdependence. Across a series of studies, we confirm these predictions and show that managerially relevant variables that influence social concerns (e.g., opaqueness of the referral information, product-liking risk) moderate our effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: "Relationship benefits" (RBs) is an approach in relationship marketing. The concept highlights that both customer and firm must receive benefits from the relationship to establish and maintain it. This study aims to identify the impacts of three types of RBs on creating four kinds of customer engagement value (CEVs). Design/methodology/approach: This study synthesizes previous findings and proposes hypotheses with theoretical supports and reports results from a structural equation model that uses data gathered from 577 Iranian customers across a range of services- based on an extensive review of marketing literature related to RBs. Findings: Confidence benefits are the strongest driver of customer lifetime value and customer influence value, while special treatment benefits are the strongest driver of customer knowledge value (CKV) and customer referral value. Social benefits only affect CKV. Research limitations/implications: Future research should examine the role of other types of RBs in creating CEV, beyond the original three types of RBs. Originality/value: There is no research addressing the impact of delivering RBs on CEV. This study combines RBs and CEV into a single model and demonstrates the roles of different types of RBs in creating CEV for service firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The International Labour Organization (ILO) Classification of Radiographs of Pneumoconioses is used as the primary tool to determine compensation for pneumoconiosis in Turkey. Aims We aimed to evaluate how the ILO classification applied, but obtaining chest radiographs in the workplace for screening until the completion of compensation claim files by the referral centres, based on the ILO reading. Methods The study included 320 digital chest radiographs previously taken for screening from eight different ceramic factories and having finalised claim files by referral centres. We used an expert reference panel consisting of five ILO readers to re-evaluate all the radiographs independently using ILO standard films and reached a conclusion based on the agreement among at least three readers. The evaluation primarily included technical quality and silicosis diagnosis with an ILO 1/0 or above small profusion. The results were compared with previous findings. Results Sixty-three (20%) chest radiographs were unacceptable for classification purposes according to the ILO technical quality grades. Among the remaining 257 chest radiographs, we diagnosed 103 with silicosis (40%), while the referral centres diagnosed 182 (71%). A discrepancy was found between our results and previous evaluations. We diagnosed silicosis in 50% and 17% of the previous silicosis and normal evaluations, respectively. Conclusions Our findings suggest that the use of the ILO classification for compensation claims may be problematic due to the way of its implementation in Turkey in addition to its subjectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Case T-227/21 Illumina, Inc. v European Commission, Judgment of the General Court (Third Chamber, Extended Composition) of 13 July 2022 The General Court held that the European Commission may accept a referral to investigate a concentration that is not subject to national merger control rules even when the referring Member State has introduced a merger control regime of its own. It also held that a concentration is 'made known' to a Member State pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 22(1) EUMR only when sufficient information enabling a preliminary assessment of the conditions laid down in the first subparagraph of the same Article is actively submitted to it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the internal mechanism by which comprehensive positive referrals in B to B marketing generate multiple effects. Author conducted 2 preliminary explorations. Practitioner note 1 analyzed the influence of ERV and IB on referral effect. Practitioner note 2 analyzed the influence of the interaction between them on referral effect. The data came from a questionnaire survey of 112 purchasing staffers from 40 fresh food supermarket chains operating in China. Referrals whose effective referral value (ERV) is lower than a certain level are more likely to produce negative effect, and vice versa. The boundary condition depends on the initial belief (IB) of potential customers on the comprehensive performance level of the referred suppliers. The author calls this mechanism the relative theory of referral effect. First, this practitioner note makes a theoretical contribution to the research literature related to WOM and referral effect. This is the first literature to introduce IB into the referral multiple effects analysis framework, and the first to reveal the mechanism of multiple effects from the perspective of the relative level of ERV and IB. Second, this paper contributes to the research on WOM. Rocklage and Fazio (2020) analyzed the mechanism of negative effects of positive emotions in positive WOM (PWOM) due to product categories, but it should be noted that the independent variable was positive emotions rather than the positive information content itself. In this sense, this practitioner note is the first to analyze the negative effects of positive information, which enriches the literature related to WOM. the preliminary findings of this practitioner note have guiding significance for marketing practice. That it is unlikely that the referrer will have a positive impact on high-reputation suppliers. For suppliers with low and medium reputation levels, the referrer is a double-edged sword. Therefore, it is not recommended that high-reputation suppliers implement supplier-selected-referral programs, and low and medium-reputation suppliers should be cautious in selecting referrers, for the referrer may have negative effects. The author makes up for this deficiency in the existing research by building a multiple effect analysis framework including ERV and IB, thus promoting the development of research theory related to WOM and referral effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For tourism-dependent communities, disaster recovery preparedness is essential for the retail and hospitality industries because they are often under the greatest threat of natural disasters. Using the National Disaster Recovery Framework, this study focuses on understanding natural disaster preparedness and recovery for small businesses within the tourism community of Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Researchers utilized an exploratory qualitative approach and conducted interviews via referrals with small business owners/managers (n = 11). Findings revealed a general, yet critical, lack of disaster preparedness that inhibited a swift and timely business recovery. Fundamental issues point to the need to prepare for unexpected disasters to aid recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research summary: We investigate entrepreneurial network activation—the processes by which entrepreneurs select specific contacts from their existing personal network and persuade the selected contacts to provide referrals to access targeted early‐stage investors (venture capitalists or angel‐investors). We differentiate between selection of entrepreneur‐centric contacts versus investor‐centric contacts. We also distinguish between persuasion tactics that induce contacts' cooperation through promises of reciprocity versus offers of monetary incentives. We conducted two field‐experiments in India and one in Singapore. Our primary field‐experiment involved 42 Singapore‐based entrepreneurs seeking referrals from 684 network contacts to reach a panel of four investors. Our evidence suggests that selecting investor‐centric contacts leads to greater referral success; in addition, persuasion by promising reciprocity also leads to greater referral success. Managerial summary: A vital first‐step for resource‐starved entrepreneurs seeking funding for their scalable business‐idea is to obtain referrals to early‐stage investors, because such investors pay more attention to referrals from trusted contacts. Using field‐experiments, we examine how entrepreneurs' choices in selecting network contacts and persuading them to provide referrals drive their access to investors. Results suggest that compared with the habitual pattern of requesting referrals from contacts proximate to themselves, entrepreneurs are about six times more likely to secure successful referrals when they select investor‐centric contacts for referral requests. Furthermore, actively persuading contacts by promising future reciprocity results in about three times higher likelihood of securing successful referrals. Our findings show how thoughtful activation of existing contacts can enable even modestly connected entrepreneurs to gain investor access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, in the Romanian legal system, the judge interprets and adapts law to the actual realities, remedies normative gaps and discovers remedies to inspire the legislator. In this regard, we should emphasize the role of the judicial precedent substantiated by means of the decisions of the High Court of Cassation and Justice, ruled within the referral in the interests of the law, given that, such judgments create general rules of interpretation and application of the legal provisions which generate non-unitary practices. There are situations in which the interpretation of the legal texts, offered by the High Court of Cassation and Justice, is subject to a constitutional review exercised by the Romanian Constitutional Court. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following an ecosystem perspective and drawing on the stimulus-organism-response model, this research examines how experiential stimuli, including consumers' experiences with their smartphones, phone service providers, and smartphone applications affect satisfaction with smartphones, which then leads to referral behaviors. An online survey questionnaire was completed by 444 respondents, and structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed model. Findings recognize the stimulating role of experience with products and services (i.e., smartphone applications and service providers) that comprise the smartphone ecosystem, highlight the mediating role of satisfaction in the relationship between experiences and word-of-mouth (WOM) referrals, and shed light on the reciprocal power of WOM referrals in the context of smartphone satisfaction. As opposed to the majority of research focusing on smartphone adoption factors, the present research provides insights on post-adoption experiences of consumers with their smartphones. Moreover, the ecosystem view of the study moves beyond the mere phone features and considers the role of other technological products and services that interact with smartphone devices and shape consumers' experiences with smartphones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problem definition: This paper studies the optimal design of referral priority programs, in which customers on a waiting list can jump the line by inviting their friends to also join the waiting list. Academic/practical relevance: Recent years have witnessed a growing presence of referral priority programs as a novel customer-acquisition strategy for firms that maintain a waiting list. Different variations of this scheme are seen in practice, raising the question of what should be the optimal referral priority mechanism. Methodology: I build an analytical model that integrates queuing theory into a mechanism design framework in which the objective of the firm is to maximize the system throughput, that is, accelerate customer acquisition as much as possible. Results: My analysis shows that the optimal mechanism has one of the following structures: full priority; partial priority; first in, first out (FIFO); and strategic delay. A full-priority (partial-priority) scheme enables referring customers to get ahead of all (only some) nonreferring ones. A FIFO scheme does not provide any priority-based referral incentive. A strategic-delay scheme grants full priority to referring customers but artificially inflates the delay of nonreferring ones. I show that FIFO is optimal if either the base-market size or the referral cost is large. Otherwise, partial priority is optimal if the base-market size is above a certain threshold; full priority is optimal at the threshold base-market size; strategic delay is optimal if the base-market size is below the threshold. I also find that referrals motivate the firm to maintain a larger capacity and therefore can surprisingly shorten the average delay, even though more customers sign up and strategic delay is sometimes inserted. Managerial implications: My paper provides prescriptive guidance for launching an optimal referral priority program and rationalizes common referral schemes seen in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]