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We developed an interdisciplinary model to examine how online consumers '

When I s a Preannounced NewProduct Likely t o Be Delayed?Consider that a firm announces a deadline for a new product introduction. Conditional on such a preannouncement, how must an external observer evaluate whether the product will be delayed beyond that deadline? Using data collected from managers in the computer hardware, software, and telecommunications industries, the authors present an analysis that demonstrates that delays in new product introductions beyond preannounced deadlines can be jointly explained by factors related to (1) the firm's motivations to delay the product, (2) the presence of constraints that prevent delay (or the availability of opportunities to delay the product), and (3) the firm's abilities pertaining to product development. When a product is preannounced, delays in introduction can cause a slew of problems for partner firms and customers. Delays can also hurt the announcing firm. Hendricks and Singhal (1997) study 101 firms that did not meet product introduction deadlines and find that delay announcements, on average, decreased the firms' market value by 5.25% (or, equivalently, by a substantial $119.3 million, measured in 1991 dollars).However, NPPAs can also be beneficial: They can advertise a firm's presence at the cutting edge of technology, enable customers and partners to prepare for the product, and provide information to the stock market. Preannouncements can also promote social welfare and increase competition ( (e.g., a customer, a manager in a firm that is a competitor or a partner/complementor), how should a preannounced product introduction deadline be evaluated? After all, talk is cheap.The literature lacks a systematic empirical analysis of the factors that lead to delays in the introduction of preannounced products; this article addresses the corresponding knowledge gap. Adopting the perspective of an outside observer who has the task of evaluating an NPPA, we theoretically motivate and empirically validate a framework that explains delays in NPPA fulfillment. a ante, such an accounting can help the outside observer arrive at more informed, better-reasoned conclusions about specific NPPAs. Ex post, such an accounting can facilitate a richer interpretation of a delay that has already occurred.In constructing the framework, we draw from the motivation-opportunity-ability (MOA) paradigm that has been employed in other contexts (e.g., Heer and Poiesz 1998; MacInnis, Moorman, and Jaworski 1991). We demonstrate that a robust accounting for product delays beyond the preannounced introduction date must incorporate explanatory variables related to motivation (i.e., whether the managers in the firm want to introduce the product on time), opportunity (i.e., whether certain forces constrain managers from delaying the product), and ability (i.e., whether the firm and its managers are capable of introducing the product on time).We do not focus here on either the motivations for preannouncements or the decisions regarding the lead time to product introduction (i.e., the length o...

Hepatitis-associated aplastic anemia (HAAA) is a variant of severe aplastic anemia (SAA) in which bone marrow failure follows an acute attack of hepatitis. Its pathogenesis is poorly understood. We investigated the prevalence of HAAA among cases of newly diagnosed SAA presenting to our hospital between January 1998 and February 2013, and analyzed the clinical and immune characteristics of HAAA and non-hepatitis-associated SAA (non-HASAA) patients. The prevalence of HAAA among cases of SAA was 3.8% (36/949), and the majority of patients (33/36) were seronegative for a known hepatitis virus. Compared with non-HASAA patients, HAAA patients had a larger proportion of CD8+ T cells, a lower ratio of CD4+/CD8+ T cells, and a smaller proportion of CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells. There was no significant difference in peripheral blood count, bone marrow cellularity, or the number of blood transfusions received between HAAA and non-HASAA patients. HAAA patients had a higher early infection rate and more infection-related mortality in the first 2 years after diagnosis than non-HASAA patients, and their 2-year survival rate was lower. The results demonstrate that HAAA patients have a more severe T cell imbalance and a poorer prognosis than non-HASAA patients.