We reported the results from a simple experiment where participants (n = 646) picked their preferred winter holiday from three possible alternatives. To make the experiment as realistic as possible, the alternatives among which participants could choose, were very similar to actual winter holidays offered by an existing travel agency. Our results are consistent with predictions made by prospect theory: alternatives that compare favorably to a reference option are chosen more often than alternatives that compare unfavorably to a reference option. The reference option, experimentally manipulated in this paper, was one of the three alternatives available to participants. Including different reference alternatives into the available choice set changed relative preferences over the remaining alternatives. Our findings provide further evidence that prospect theory can have practical implications for marketers who can influence consumer choice by merely presenting specially composed sets of alternatives.

This article analyses the possibilities of the practical utilization of Critical Chain Project Management methodology. Our study analyzed key processes related to the implementation and utilization of such a tool in a concrete company. For this purpose an original program was created. The logic of this program is based on the fundamental principles of the CCPM methodology. The impetus for the design and creation of such a program stemmed from the almost non-existence of such a tool on the Czech market. The theoretical part of the article focuses concisely on the Theory of Constraints and Critical Chain principles, which the conceptual ideas of all algorithms included in the new program come from.The system was used for two years and it enabled the processing of requests significantly faster than before. The evaluation of economical and practical benefits based on real project data demonstrates that after implementation of the Appello system and corresponding rules of usage, project managers completed more tasks in the first year than in the previous two years in which the CCPM was not applied and nearly 85% of planned requests were either on time or delayed up to 30 days in comparison with the amount of work from the preceding two years.Currently, a significant number of project oriented companies are looking for competitive advantages which, allow for the mastering of the largest number of projects that have a delivery time specified within agreed time frames. The use of our system or similar ones designed according to CCMP rules fully ensures the fulfilment of such requirements.