An experiment with 236 children, ages 6 to 11, tested whether providing nutrition information (calories and fat grams) or healthy heart symbol on fast food menus influenced the calories and fat content of the items they chose to order. There was evidence that children exposed to menus with heart symbols chose healthier meals than children exposed to menus with calories and fat content or menus with no nutrition information. Children of parents with inaccurate perceptions of their child's weight tended to make poorer food choices, as did children who visited fast food restaurants more frequently.

Supply chains can improve their performance by developing competitive priorities in a specified sequence: quality, reliability, flexibility, agility, and finally, cost efficiency. This paper extends Ferdows and De Meyer's (1990) sand cone model and Vokurka and Fliedner's (1998) sand cone model extension incorporating agility to supply chain management priorities. This work provides a framework for a cumulative and sustainable improvement process by which supply chains can build a strategic competitive advantage.

Purpose Assuming that supplier knowledge can either strengthen the partnership by nurturing the commitment and trust between partners or allow the buyer to be more calculative, this study aims to propose two types of knowledge sharing in supplier relationship – a type benefiting the partnership and another privately benefiting only one partner. Design/methodology/approach Using structural equation modeling and a surveyed dataset from 352 buyer–supplier partnerships, this study tested the research model of dual mechanism, where two types of knowledge sharing co-exist and have opposite effects on partnership longevity. Findings This study found that the two types of knowledge sharing create divergent effects on partnership continuation. For a buyer firm developing supplier knowledge, its supplier firm reciprocates by sharing knowledge with the buyer. While relation-specific knowledge promotes partnership longevity through developing trust, institutionalized knowledge hampers partnership longevity. Research limitations/implications Findings overall indicate that knowledge plays a more instrumental role in sharing knowledge in a buyer–supplier relationship, and alternative forces simultaneously work in the partnership. Although this study explicates two mediating mechanisms for the effect of supplier knowledge, there remain many unknown aspects of the effect. Practical implications From the buyer’s perspective, it is possible its institutionalized knowledge can facilitate its relationship with a current supply chain partner so that it can gain more benefits from the relationship. From the supplier’s perspective, caution should be exercised in selecting the type of knowledge to share. Social implications This study may have a broad impact on public policy by theorizing and testing why some partnerships last longer/shorter than others in association with the dynamics of the relationship initiated by one’s relational knowledge and the other’s knowledge sharing. Originality/value What this study contributes to involves the theorizing and testing the effects of the dual mechanism of knowledge sharing on partnership longevity. This study provides an example of a private investment in knowledge that is reciprocated with each type of knowledge – benefiting the partner and also benefiting the focal buyer firm.

Many foods, including margarines and sugary cereals that were once viewed as unhealthy, are being reformulated and repositioned as healthier. A number of companies have launched new products touting fiber. Critics express concern that the increased interest in fiber as a marketing claim is not necessarily a good thing for consumers because many companies are using isolated fiber that does not have all the health benefits as naturally occurring fiber. This research examines whether consumers understand information related to fiber claims by specifically examining their perceptions of the nutrition level and health benefits of products with these claims. Additionally, consumption frequency of these products and consumer knowledge about fiber is assessed. Direction for public policy is provided.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an integrative review of coaching research from different contexts (e.g. athletics, executive coaching, project management and sales), delineate professional sales coaching from other developmental activities and develop a research agenda for stimulating research on professional sales coaching. Professional sales coaching is considered an important sales force developmental program by both sales practitioners and researchers. Yet, research on sales coaching remains fragmented in the extant literature. Design/methodology/approach – An extensive literature review of extant research and theoretical perspectives on coaching as well as insights gathered from exploratory, in-depth interviews of ten sales managers were used to develop the research agenda. Findings – The review and research agenda identify a number of sales coaching-related topics that warrant further research. Specifically, the research agenda addresses salesperson characteristics, sales manager and coach characteristics, selling organization characteristics, sales coaching approaches, nature and effectiveness of the sales coaching process and, finally, outcomes of sales coaching. For each topic, extant research, relevant insights from exploratory interviews and directions for future research are discussed. Originality/value – This paper is the first integrative review of coaching-related research in the sales literature. It offers an updated conceptualization of sales coaching and identifies opportunities for future research.