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A context‐aware system is a system that uses context to provide relevant information or services to its users. While there has been a variety of context middleware infrastructures and context‐aware applications, little work has been done on integrating context into database management systems. The purpose of this paper is to consider a preference database system that supports context‐aware queries, that is, queries whose results depend on the context at the time of their submission.

The paper proposes using data cubes to store the dependencies between context‐dependent preferences and database relations and on‐line analytical processing techniques for processing context‐aware queries. This allows for the manipulation of the captured context data at various levels of abstraction, for instance, in the case of a context parameter representing location, preferences can be expressed, for example, at the level of a city, the level of a country or both. To improve query performance, the paper uses an auxiliary data structure, called context tree. The context tree stores results of past context‐aware queries indexed by the context of their execution. Finally, the paper outline the implementation of a prototype context‐aware restaurant recommender.

The use of context is important in many applications such as pervasive computing where it is important that users receive only relevant information.

Although there is much research on location‐aware query processing in the area of spatial‐temporal databases, integrating other forms of context in query processing is a rather new research topic.

This research has three research objectives. First, this research will demonstrate that the link between consumers' attitude towards a region and their intention to purchase products from that region is not direct but indirect. Second, this research will establish that perceived value of regional products and consumers' preference for these products are mediating variables of the relationship between consumers' attitude towards a region and their intention to purchase regional products. Lastly, this research will highlight cognitive (through perceived value) and affective (through preference) routes or paths, from consumers' attitude towards a region to their purchase intention of products from that region.

As previous works in the authors’ field of research, the authors conducted a field study, combined with a questionnaire survey. 398 consumers responded to the authors’ questionnaire in a hypermarket (belonging to the retailer Système U) in Vendée (a region in France). The authors measured their attitude towards this region, their preference for regional food products and their purchase intention of these products as well as the perceived value of regional food products.

The perceived value of regional products and consumers' preference for these products are full mediating variables of the relationship between consumers' attitude towards a region and their intention to purchase products from that region.

This research supplements prior works. It shows that the link between consumers' attitude towards a region and their intention to purchase regional products is indirect. Consumers' purchase intention of regional products is not directly attributable to their attitude towards the region of origin of these products. Regional products and their features have to be reintegrated into this equation.

This study identifies several routes or paths to explain consumers' purchase intention of regional products. A cognitive route or path, from consumers' attitude towards a region to their purchase intention of products from that region, mediates by perceived value. An affective route or path, from consumers' attitude towards a region to their purchase intention of products from that region, mediates by preference. A hybrid path that combines cognitive and affective paths, as this research established a link between perceived value and preference.

This research foregrounds regional products and their features, too often neglected in favour of consumers and their characteristics.

This paper aims to examine and compare the strength of personality and values in predicting brand preferences. It seeks to accomplish three main objectives. First, it will evaluate the strength of personality and values in predicting consumers' brand preferences. Second, it will examine whether values exercise a mediating role between personality and brand preferences. Finally, it will examine the mediating role of prestige sensitivity in influencing brand preferences.

The study opted to use a quantitative approach involving 251 undergraduate students as the study participants. The constructs used in the study are taken from existing scales as well as self‐developed branding scales. Structural equation modeling technique is utilised for data analysis.

The paper provides empirical insights about how personality and values together affect brand preferences. It suggests that values are indeed better predictors of brand preferences and exercise both direct and indirect effects on brand preferences through the mediating role of prestige sensitivity.

Because of the self‐report method used for personality assessment, there may be bias in terms of the nature of respondents' personality as expressed in the questionnaire.

The paper suggests implications for the development of a strong brand personality which can appeal to both consumer personality and values.

This paper poses interesting insights and empirical evidence with regard to the predictive power of personality and values on brand preferences within a fashion context.

This study investigates drivers and dynamics of preferences for brand prominence among the Chinese little emperors (LEs) residing in the US, a unique but powerful consumer group with dual-cultural characteristics.

Using an online survey, the proposed model was tested with a convenience sample of the Chinese LE generation residing in the US

Susceptibility to normative influence was a significant cultural driver of conspicuous, social, and unique value perceptions of luxury consumption among the Chinese LE generation residing in the US Perceived conspicuous and social values of luxury consumption were the primary drivers of this group's brand prominence preference for luxury fashion bags. However, perceived unique value of luxury consumption did not necessarily lead these consumers to prefer prominent logos or marks on a luxury bag. Furthermore, sociodemographic factors (gender, age, and time lived in the US) significantly affected perceptions and preferences related to luxury consumption among this consumer group.

This study advances the luxury literature by examining the drivers and dynamics of brand prominence preference among the Chinese LE generation residing in the US By testing the role of different sociodemographic factors, we demonstrate heterogeneity within this group and the evolving nature of their perceptions and preferences related to luxury consumption as they are acculturated to Western culture. We used a convenient sample and focused on luxury fashion bags for measuring preference for brand prominence, limiting the generalizability of the findings.

Luxury brands should effectively convey conspicuous and social values in product designs, advertising and promotions as these values play integral roles in determining the Chinese LE generation's preference for brand prominence. Our findings also highlight the importance of fine-tuned approaches to different segments within the LE generation cohort.

This study fills several gaps in the luxury literature by empirically investigating various factors affecting preference for brand prominence among the Chinese LE generation residing in the US, an important but under-researched luxury segment.

The attributes of services can be categorised as service quality and service preference. While studies have addressed the importance of service quality, shippers’ service preference and its relationship to perceived value and purchase intentions remain unexplored. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to propose a causal model in the context of short sea shipping services to investigate the influence of purchase intention through the shipper’s service preference and perceived value.

Structural equation modelling is applied to assess the empirical strength of the relationships in the proposed model. The model is validated through empirical testing by taking samples from shippers in Taiwan.

The results show that service attributes, namely, timing related, pricing related, warehousing, sales, door-to-door, information and advertising, positively affect shippers’ service preference. Service preference significantly affects customer perceived value as well as purchase intentions. Moreover, perceived value strongly affects purchase intentions.

Matching between the product offered and the diversified customer need is key to the business operation’s success. This study suggests that carriers should position themselves to both self-competence and market values.

Examines the relationships between cultural values and preferences for human resource management (HRM) policies and practices in a sample of Taiwanese employees. Specifically, seeks to examine patterns of Chinese national culture in Taiwan, to identify the preferences of employees for specific HRM policies and practices, and to explore the extent to which individual cultural value orientations shape individual preferences for HRM policies and practices. Presents findings from data based on 452 employees from the shopfloor to senior management positions in seven Taiwanese organisations. By controlling the measure of national culture in terms of value orientations, it is found that they account for from only 5 per cent to 10 per cent of the total individual variance in HRM preference. A factor analysis supports the view that national culture value orientations represent a separate construct to both work values and more traditional measures of work outcomes, such as job satisfaction and commitment.

Consistent with dual-process models of behaviour, Miles (2015) has shown that Schwartz’ basic values can provide a valuable framework for empirically analysing the role of values and cultural contexts in driving human behaviour. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to this line of research by distinguishing individual values from macro-level values, as well as from other micro- and macro-conditions, in order to test whether individual values shape women’s work-family orientations in ways predicted by Hakim’s preference theory.

The authors make use of the second round of the European Social Survey (ESS) collected in 2004, where a battery of questions on human values and work-family preferences were posed, and apply a multilevel approach to take into account national cultural and economic conditions across 25 European countries.

In line with the dual-process model and preference theory, the authors show that internalised values, particularly conservatism, shape work-family orientations much more than national social and cultural conditions; in addition, the effect of women’s education on work-value orientations is stronger in countries with more conservative national cultures, suggesting that education may help women overcome social barriers in the choice of their work-career preference.

While values may shape work-family orientations differently in non-European or less affluent cultures, these findings reveal the importance of bringing values back into the analysis of individual preferences and behaviours towards the labour market.

Details a method for uncovering the direct and indirect influences of human values on consumer decisions. The procedure is quantitative, uses large samples and employs widely known statistical techniques such as correlations, regression and (optionally) factor analysis. Uses a study of Toyota Corolla as an example. Describes the four steps involved: development of the questionnaire; administration to sample of market; assessment of general preferences; and assessing the extent to which individuals in the sample apply their human values directly or indirectly when forming product preference. The main marketing strategies for which this method can yield useful information are: solidifying consumers’ current perceptions and evaluations of the product; and changing consumer perceptions of the product. Implications for marketing professionals are discussed.

Prior research suggests that cultural values affect individuals’ preferences in whether work rewards (i.e. pay and benefits) are allocated according to rules based on equity, equality, or need. However, this research has focussed primarily on societal-level values or individual-level operationalizations of values originally conceptualized at the societal level. Drawing on equity and social exchange theories, the purpose of this paper is to present a theoretical model and nine propositions that incorporate both individual and societal values as determinants of these reward allocation rule preferences.

The author briefly reviews of the relevant literature on values and reward allocation preferences and present arguments supported by prior research, leading to a model and nine propositions.

The author proposes that societal values and individual values have main and interactive effects on reward allocation preferences and that the effects of societal values are partially mediated by individual values.

The model and propositions present relationships that could be tested in future multi-level studies. Future conceptual/theoretical work may also build on the model presented in this paper.

The proposed relationships, if supported, would have important implications for organizational reward systems and staffing.

Prior research on reward allocation preferences focusses mostly on the effects of societal or individual values. This theoretical paper attempts to clarify and distinguish values at these two levels and to better understand their main and interactive effects on individual reward allocation rule preferences.

Most decision-making problems in construction are complex and difficult to solve, as they involve multiple criteria and multiple decision makers in addition to subjective uncertainties, imprecisions and vagueness surrounding the decision-making process. In many instances, the decision-making process is based on linguistic terms rather than numerical values. Hence, structured fuzzy consensus-reaching processes and fuzzy aggregation methods are instrumental in multi-criteria group decision-making (MCGDM) problems for capturing the point of view of a group of experts. This chapter outlines different fuzzy consensus-reaching processes and fuzzy aggregation methods. It presents the background of the basic theory and formulation of these processes and methods, as well as numerical examples that illustrate their theory and formulation. Application areas of fuzzy consensus reaching and fuzzy aggregation in the construction domain are identified, and an overview of previously developed frameworks for fuzzy consensus reaching and fuzzy aggregation is provided. Finally, areas for future work are presented that highlight emerging trends and the imminent needs of fuzzy consensus reaching and fuzzy aggregation in the construction domain.