The effect of precipitation and dissolution of Si on the thermal diffusivity in the Al-Si alloy system is reported in this study and solution heat treatment followed by aging treatment is carried out to determine the effects of heat treatment on the thermal characteristics. The solution treatment is performed at 535 oC for 4 and 10 h and then the specimens are cooled by rapid quenching. The samples are aged at 300 oC for 4 h to precipitate Si solute. The addition of 9 wt% silicon contents makes the thermal diffusivity decrease from 78 to 74 mm/s2 in the cases of solid solution treated and quenched samples. After quenching and aging, the Si solute precipitates on the Al matrix and increases the thermal diffusivity compared with that after the quenched state. In particular, the increase of the thermal diffusivity is equal to 10 mm/s2 without relation to the Si contents in the Al-Si alloy, which seems to corresponded to solute amount of Si 1 wt% in the Al matrix.

With the advancement of digital technologies, the importance of inbound marketing in the B2B is increasing rapidly. Previous studies on B2B marketing suggested that compelling content is a key component in B2B suppliers' inbound marketing. The most representative marketing content of B2B supplier firms is BRC (business reference content). BRC refers to a content, such as a ‘case study’ and/or a ‘success story’ that describes, in detail, deliveries of existing satisfied customers. Prior researchers argued that using existing customers as referrers enhances the confidence of potential customers, lowers perception of purchase risk. For these reasons, many B2B marketing experts consider BRC as the core of B2B digital marketing. Nonetheless, little is known regarding with researches on BRC in the academic domain. Therefore, there is urgent need for empirical research and an integrated model that can clarify the underlying mechanism of BRC. The focus of this study is to identify how BRC influences prospective customers' purchase decisions. To examine the underlying mechanism of BRC, our research focused on two unique aspects of BRC: 1) BRC format (narrative formant vs non-narrative format), and 2) ‘transportation’ to explain BRC effect process. Using a scenario-based online experiment, our results provide several interesting insights on the BRC. Results showed that stronger transportation takes place in narrative BRC (vs non-narrative BRC). In addition, narrative BRC has a positive impact on a favorable attitude toward referrer through transportation, which in turn lowers purchase risks (e.g. product performance risk, psychosocial risk, potential financial risk, and potential time risk). The results provide a clear basis for why it is important to use BRC in B2B supplier firms' marketing communication.

We study the differential effects of a variety of WOM and mass communication activities on the means and on the variances of individual preference parameters. Analyzing the effects of communication on the means of individual preference parameters provides useful information regarding how much WOM and mass communication activities increase or decrease consumers’ preference parameters. Such a study helps us better understand how communication activities influence consumer heterogeneity. This raises a new question: “Do WOM and mass communication activities make consumers homogeneous or heterogeneous in terms of their product preferences?” This important question has not been previously addressed in the marketing literature. We propose a two-level choice model using a hierarchical Bayesian probit to incorporate the differential effects of mass and WOM communication activities, and the proper interaction between communication activities and product attributes. Using actual movie choice data, we analyze the effects of WOM communication activities compared to those of mass communication activities. Furthermore, we measure the differential effects of communication activities and the interaction effects between communication and product attributes. Based on the empirical analysis, we provide relevant managerial guidelines about communication activities.