Abstract The purpose of our thesis was to comprehend how organizations approach the Corporate Social Contract that exists between them and society. The empirical data was gathered to reflect a comprehension of the Corporate Social Contract as a whole and as the product of its components, i.e.: Corporate Social Responsibility and Reciprocity. Other concepts interconnected with our main topic were also used in order to better comprehend the concept of Corporate Social Contract as well as our interpretations of the collected empirical data. These interconnected concepts were Corporate Sustainability, Corporate Citizenship, Shared Value, and Willingness to Pay.   The research work was approached from the qualitative standpoint. Considering that the perspective of our thesis was an organizational one, we approached 5 organizations within which to conduct interviews on the stated topic. Our aim was merely to understand the organizational perspective and approach to the concept of Corporate Social Contract, not to compare these perspectives and approaches.   Each of the chosen organizations met certain basic criteria mentioned in our work that permitted us to include them in our sample. The thesis’ conclusion reflected various organizational approaches towards Corporate Social Contract from the angle of Corporate Social Responsibility as well as varying perspectives on, and expectations of, society’s reciprocity. The study has shown that our view of the equal importance of the concepts of CSR and Reciprocity, within the framework of CSC fulfillment, is an under investigated area in both academics and in the practical business world. This has also been supported by our interviewees’ view on expectations, placed on society, as an implicit area in their organizations’ policies. Through our study we have uncovered practical reasons as to why CSC cannot be fulfilled all the time, how expectations between both organizations and society differ from project to project, and the importance of societal reciprocity in the aim of CSC fulfillment. And thus, through our study, we endeavor to comprehend how organizations fulfill the CSC and how they view society’s attempts to fulfill its end of the contract.   As a result of our work, future students and researchers stand to gain insights into the mentalities of organizations that hail from different industries and are based in different parts of the world. Future students and researchers could also derive their own interpretations of our respondents words based on the culture prevalent in the country in which the respondents are based. Apart from this, one can note that the respondents were also from a range of departments and their professionally skewed perspective on our topic makes for an interesting contribution to those seeking insights into our topic and those interlinked.   Key Words: Corporate Social Contract, Corporate Social Responsibility, Reciprocity, Corporate Sustainability, Corporate Citizenship, Shared Value, and Willingness to Pay.

The bison industry has limited resources for increasing market share. Exploring how consumers react to information about bison and discovering what people know about bison is important to determine the most efficient way to increase market share and ensure the sustainability of the bison industry. <p> This thesis examines the impact of three different information treatments on willingness-to-pay for bison. The three treatments are a nutritional comparison chart of negatively-perceived nutrients, a bison taste testimonial from a chef and a statement concerning the absence of growth hormones and antibiotics in the processed bison product used in the research. The hypothesis tested is that nutritional information about bison would elicit the greatest increase in willingness-to-pay for the processed bison product. <p> A random nth-price auction was conducted in December 2002 in Guelph, Ontario with 57 participants to elicit willingness-to-pay values for the processed bison product. Participants initial bids for the processed bison product were elicited without being given any information and a second round of bidding was conducted once participants had reviewed an information treatment. The mean difference in the bids between round two and round one are $0.221 for the nutritional comparison treatment, $0.210 for the taste testimonial treatment and $0.185 for the natural aspects treatment. ANOVA results indicate no statistically significant difference between the mean difference in bids between the three treatments. Further analysis with a regression model using the difference in bids as the dependent variable, dummy variables representing treatment types and survey data for the other relevant independent variables, shows that the coefficient for the nutritional comparison treatment is not significantly different from zero. Therefore, the hypothesis that nutritional information about bison would elicit the greatest increase in willingness-to-pay for the processed bison product has been rejected. The other independent variables examined in the regression are not significant. <p> This thesis does not clearly indicate which information treatment would be the most effective for the bison industry to utilize in a bison information campaign. However, each information treatment did increase the group mean willingness-to-pay so any information relevant to consumers about bison may be beneficial in increasing market share for bison products. Industry participants may need to work together to simultaneously increase awareness, distribution and consumption of bison products to ensure the sustainability of the bison industry.

This thesis contains six papers closely related to current research topics in the field of economic evaluation in health care. The thesis discusses methodological features of cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) and cost-benefit analysis (CBA). It further relates to issues of modelling and how to account for uncertainty in economic evaluations. The thesis contributes both with an analysis of the costs and benefits of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and new approaches for analysing uncertainty in economic evaluations. The first part of the thesis (Papers 1-4) analyses the costs and benefits of HRT in the prevention and treatment of postmenopausal women’s health problems. The second part of the thesis (Papers 5-6) analyses issues of uncertainty in economic evaluations. Contents: Paper 1: Willingness to Pay for Hormone Replacement Therapy. (A revised version of this paper has been published in Health Economics, Vol. 7 No. 1, 1998, pp 31-38.) Paper 2: The Impact of Hormone Replacement Therapy on Quality of Life and willingness to Pay. (Co-authored with Magnus Johannesson, Peter Henriksson and Roland T. Strand.) (This paper was published in British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Vol. 104, 1997, pp 1191-1195.) Paper 3: Estimating Hip Fracture Costs and Potential Savings. (Co-authored with Ulf-G Gerdtham.) (This paper was published in International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care, Vol. 14, 1998, pp 255-267.) Paper 4: A Computer Model to Analyse the Cost-Effectiveness of Hormone Replacement Therapy (Co-authored with Magnus Johannesson and Bengt Jönsson.) (A revised version of this paper has been published in International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care, Vol. 15, No. 2, Spring 1999, pp 352-365.) Paper 5: Bootstrap Confidence Intervals for Cost-Effectiveness Ratios: Some Simulation Results. (Co-authored with Magnus Tambour.) (A revised version of this paper has been published in Health Economics, Vol. 7, No. 2, pp 143-147.) Paper 6: Non-Parametric Willingness to Pay Measures and Confidence Statements. (Co-authored with Magnus Tambour.) / <p>Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögsk.</p>

The bison industry has limited resources for increasing market share. Exploring how consumers react to information about bison and discovering what people know about bison is important to determine the most efficient way to increase market share and ensure the sustainability of the bison industry. <p> This thesis examines the impact of three different information treatments on willingness-to-pay for bison. The three treatments are a nutritional comparison chart of negatively-perceived nutrients, a bison taste testimonial from a chef and a statement concerning the absence of growth hormones and antibiotics in the processed bison product used in the research. The hypothesis tested is that nutritional information about bison would elicit the greatest increase in willingness-to-pay for the processed bison product. <p> A random nth-price auction was conducted in December 2002 in Guelph, Ontario with 57 participants to elicit willingness-to-pay values for the processed bison product. Participants initial bids for the processed bison product were elicited without being given any information and a second round of bidding was conducted once participants had reviewed an information treatment. The mean difference in the bids between round two and round one are $0.221 for the nutritional comparison treatment, $0.210 for the taste testimonial treatment and $0.185 for the natural aspects treatment. ANOVA results indicate no statistically significant difference between the mean difference in bids between the three treatments. Further analysis with a regression model using the difference in bids as the dependent variable, dummy variables representing treatment types and survey data for the other relevant independent variables, shows that the coefficient for the nutritional comparison treatment is not significantly different from zero. Therefore, the hypothesis that nutritional information about bison would elicit the greatest increase in willingness-to-pay for the processed bison product has been rejected. The other independent variables examined in the regression are not significant. <p> This thesis does not clearly indicate which information treatment would be the most effective for the bison industry to utilize in a bison information campaign. However, each information treatment did increase the group mean willingness-to-pay so any information relevant to consumers about bison may be beneficial in increasing market share for bison products. Industry participants may need to work together to simultaneously increase awareness, distribution and consumption of bison products to ensure the sustainability of the bison industry.

This study assessed the desirability for High-Occupancy/Toll (HOT) lanes in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) through stated preference and revealed traffic volume data gathering and analysis techniques. 4,000 surveys, distributed in five sample areas, asked respondents how much they would be willing to pay to escape congestion in eight unique trip conditions. Stated preference results found considerable public support for HOT-lanes in the GTA. In six out of eight trip conditions, a majority of respondents preferred to pay to travel in express lanes rather than endure congestion. Respondent willingness to pay (WTP) mean values varied considerably by trip condition. Willingness to pay to escape congestion was influenced by trip characteristics and driver factors. Trip urgency, traffic speed, and freeway trip distance were found to be statistically significant trip characteristic indicators of WTP. Previous exposure to electronic tolling and annual household income were found to be significant driver factor indicators of WTP in most trip conditions. Respondent gender and freeway travel frequency were found to be statistically significant driver factor indicators of WTP in some trip conditions. The presence of Hwy 407-ETR, an electronically tolled by-pass to Hwy 401, allowed for an examination of the effects of Hwy 401 volume and trip urgency on driver choice to use the tolled alternative. Results indicated that trip urgency and Hwy 401 volume were correlated with Hwy 407 throughput share. During periods of high trip urgency and high Hwy 401 volume, a substantial proportion of Hwy 401/407 corridor drivers chose to pay approximately $0.20/km to escape congestion.

This study assessed the desirability for High-Occupancy/Toll (HOT) lanes in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) through stated preference and revealed traffic volume data gathering and analysis techniques. 4,000 surveys, distributed in five sample areas, asked respondents how much they would be willing to pay to escape congestion in eight unique trip conditions. Stated preference results found considerable public support for HOT-lanes in the GTA. In six out of eight trip conditions, a majority of respondents preferred to pay to travel in express lanes rather than endure congestion. Respondent willingness to pay (WTP) mean values varied considerably by trip condition. Willingness to pay to escape congestion was influenced by trip characteristics and driver factors. Trip urgency, traffic speed, and freeway trip distance were found to be statistically significant trip characteristic indicators of WTP. Previous exposure to electronic tolling and annual household income were found to be significant driver factor indicators of WTP in most trip conditions. Respondent gender and freeway travel frequency were found to be statistically significant driver factor indicators of WTP in some trip conditions. The presence of Hwy 407-ETR, an electronically tolled by-pass to Hwy 401, allowed for an examination of the effects of Hwy 401 volume and trip urgency on driver choice to use the tolled alternative. Results indicated that trip urgency and Hwy 401 volume were correlated with Hwy 407 throughput share. During periods of high trip urgency and high Hwy 401 volume, a substantial proportion of Hwy 401/407 corridor drivers chose to pay approximately $0.20/km to escape congestion.

Introduction Movies are considered entertainment goods. Entertainment is one of the experience industries. Intangibility, perishability and heterogeneity are the most significant characteristics of the movie industry. An emotional reaction of consumers cannot be calculated in the same sense that most other physical goods can. If the movie succeeded in meeting the expectations, ticket price decreases will not necessarily indicate further purchases in the future. There are high risks and uncertainty in the movie industry. Purpose The purpose of this paper is to define through a hedonic price theory establishing whether the recognition is a significant factor to the global success of movies. The global success of the movies is determined by the global box office revenue. There are eight independent variables tested in this paper: global movie popularity, global popularity of the directors, global popularity of the authors, fame (determined by wining Academy Award), major studios, sequel, family genre and animation genre. Only one control variable, which is year of release, is included. Method The paper uses empirical model and the data set along with the results of the empirical analysis to achieve the purpose. Only secondary data were collected for the paper. Conclusion To reduce uncertainty in movie industry box office revenue, according to the data collected, recognition is significant to the consumers’ willingness to pay. The willingness to pay is determined by the global box office revenue. Only four independent variables, namely: sequels, Academy Award, the global popularity of the directors and the global popularity of the authors of the original script, are significant recognition factors to the global box office revenue. Movie producers shall be aware that consumers have to make sure utility gained from the consumption exceeds the costs in order to make purchases. Based on the sample collected, it can be summarized that consumers of the movie industry in general rely on previous consumption and recognition to reduce risks and uncertainty in terms of making purchases.

<p>In the first chapter of this dissertation, I outline a hedonic equilibrium model that explicitly controls for moving costs and forward-looking behavior. Hedonic equilibrium models allow researchers to recover willingness to pay for spatially delineated amenities by using the notion that individuals "vote with their feet." However, the hedonic literature and, more recently, the estimable Tiebout sorting model literature, has largely ignored both the costs associated with migration (financial and psychological), as well as the forward-looking behavior that individuals exercise in making location decisions. Each of these omissions could lead to biased estimates of willingness to pay. Building upon dynamic migration models from the labor literature, I estimate a fully dynamic model of individual migration at the national level. By employing a two-step estimation routine, I avoid the computational burden associated with the full recursive solution and can then include a richly-specified, realistic state space. With this model, I am able to perform non-market valuation exercises and learn about the spatial determinants of labor market outcomes in a dynamic setting. Including dynamics has a significant positive impact on the estimates of willingness to pay for air quality. In addition, I find that location-specific amenity values can explain important trends in observed migration patterns in the United States.</p><p>The second chapter of this dissertation describes a model which estimates willingness to pay for air quality using property value hedonics techniques. Since Rosen's seminal 1974 paper, property value hedonics has become commonplace in the non-market valuation of environmental amenities, despite a number of well-known methodological problems. In particular, recovery of the marginal willingness to pay function suffers from important endogeneity biases that are difficult to correct with instrumental variables procedures [Epple (1987)]. Bajari and Benkard (2005) propose a "preference inversion" procedure for recovering heterogeneous measures of marginal willingness to pay that avoids these problems. However, using cross-sectional data, their approach imposes unrealistic constraints on the elasticity of marginal willingness to pay. Following Bajari and Benkard's suggestion, I show how data describing repeat purchase decisions by individual home buyers can be used to relax these constraints. Using data on ozone pollution in the Bay Area of California, I find that endogeneity bias and flexibility in the shape of the marginal willingness to pay function are both important.</p><p>Finally, in the third chapter of this dissertation, I combine the insights of the Bajari-Benkard inversion approach employed in second chapter with more standard estimation techniques (i.e., Rosen (1974)) to arrive at a new hedonic methodology that allows for flexible and heterogeneous preferences while avoiding the endogeneity problems that plague the traditional Rosen two-stage model. Implementing this estimator using the Bay Area ozone data, I again find evidence of considerable heterogeneity and of endogeneity bias. In particular, I find that a one unit deterioration in air quality (measured in days in which ozone levels exceed the state standards) raises marginal willingness to pay by $145.18 per year. The canonical two-stage Rosen model finds, counter-intuitively, that this same change would reduce marginal willingness to pay by $94.24.</p> / Dissertation

The growing importance of dogs in people’s lives and in high-density urban environments has increased demand for a place where people and their dogs can interact and exercise together. The recent increase in the number of dog parks across the country is evidence of these demands of dog owners and their companions. However, due to the absence of empirical study on dog parks and their attribute of non-market values, the benefits of dog parks are often underestimated and considered less in the decision making process regarding resource allocation. A post-occupancy evaluation at four dog parks was conducted to investigate use patterns of dog parks and user activities, to identify user preferences and the environmental factors influencing activities, to provide insights and guidelines in developing effective dog parks, and to estimate users’ willingness to pay for dog parks using contingent valuation method. A multiple-method approach was used to collect data including site observations and analysis, a questionnaire and behavioral mapping. The results indicated that dog parks received considerable use, served a variety of demographic groups and supported their exercise and social activities. Dog-park users were generally satisfied with dog parks but they expressed various preferences and needs. It is evident that dog parks are not only a place for dogs to exercise but a place for people to exercise, socialize, relax and enjoy greenery just like other parks. Proximity of dog parks was found to be a critical factor in encouraging frequent dog park use and satisfying users’ needs. Over eighty percent of survey respondents expressed that they were willing to pay an annual fee for dog parks, indicating the importance of visiting dog parks as outdoor recreation. Conservative estimate of average willingness to pay was $56.17/ household/ year. Satisfaction with maintenance and facilities, income, education and family size were found to be significantly associated with willingness to pay. These results could assist local governments and park planners in estimating aggregate monetary value of the dog parks and cost-benefit analysis to justify the development and maintenance of dog parks. Design guidelines and recommendations were generated based on the empirical findings for future design of dog parks.

The Research on Revaluing the Development of Taiwan in Feng Shang Reservoir in Kaohsiung Abstract Since weekend holidays were carried out, the government has emphasized the tourist recreation and advocated making state-run enterprises with special scenic spots open to the public for promoting use value of their resources. With a trend of economic liberalization, government businesses such as TSC, TPC, and TSIC need operating in diversification and start investing in the tourist industry, each of which is owned based on the government¡¦s initiating plans for increasing the number of tourists. The protective areas of water resource that belong to TWSC are abundant in the ecological environment; however, forbidding people to go there has led to an obvious phenomenon against the unique sources shared by the masses. On one hand, this research, by opening Feng Shang Reservoir in Kaohsiung, can make people closed to water, realize the processing water, understand the importance of water resources to construct a society concerning about water. On the other hand, by using the natural resources there well and multiplying services to attract tourists, it not only has the educational function implied in entertainment but also augments income. But running the protective area of water resources as a tourist site will cause some negative effects of environment and water pollution as well as the anxiety about scaring migratory birds. Therefore, the protection and management of water resources must be under the cautious control. Making use of CVM, this research regards Feng Shang Reservoir as a fictitious market, and the visitors there as research objects of the investigation questionnaire. Besides analyzing the topics like the Development Market Potential, Future Use Benefits, Non-User Benefits¡Ketc, the aims of the research include inspecting the attitudes of customers toward the willingness to participate in and to pay according to the interviewees¡¦ different attitudes of social experiences, different preferences of outside recreations, different identifications of the nature¡Ketc. The results are the followings: 1. Feng Shang Reservoir possesses the market potential. 2. Future use Benefits estimated between $NT30,000,000 and $NT50,000,000 every year are high. 3. Non-User Benefits estimated between $NT160,000,000 and $NT220,000,000 every year are quite high. 4. For the attitudes of customers, labors, government employees, staffs of public school, and people of middle and old age who recognize more about the nature have high willingness to participate in; the common people who recognize less about the nature need to inspire their willingness through educational advocacy. Judging from the above results, this research advises that after appropriately developing Feng Shang Reservoir to the masses, the educational functions of water resources and the social benefits of environment are shared by all the society, which are equal to the return for society and even to TWSC¡¦s positive performance. Keywords¡GCVM(Contingent Valuation Method), WTP(Willingness To Pay), Tourism, Revalue, Feng Shang Reservoir.