bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Reconstructing the Sales and Fulfillment Cycle to Create Supply Chain Differentiation
Authors: Wouters Marc J. F. , Sharman Graham J. , Wortmann Hans C.
Published: June 2007

Redesigns of supply chains have been largely limited to the differentiation of delivery processes to offer customers different delivery lead‐times on different products. In the future, differentiation will go much deeper, back into the supply chains within and across companies. Companies, together with partner companies in a supply chain, will increasingly have to design business processes that meet many different kinds of customer needs. This article describes how differentiated service will be realized through the reconstruction of the traditional sales and fulfillment cycle, whereby the traditional process is broken down and reconstructed in a manner that maximizes the overall efficiency of the chain. The article is based on the results of a year‐long study to develop supply chain improvements within two sectors ‐ electrical installations and pharmaceuticals. Distinctive aspects of this study were that it looked at supply chains that connected three echelons of independent companies in a project environment. The major players in the industries were involved in the project. The article describes three elements for reconstructing the sales and fulfillment cycle: i) reallocating activities to most efficient players; ii) reallocating inventory to reduce duplication; and, iii) using knowledge of end‐user demand to streamline (parts of) the supply chain. The article also examines two barriers to implementation and how to deal with these: the need for openness between supply chain partners; and the fact that current systems cannot handle the degree of differentiation and cooperation required.
Use of the Z Transform in Assembly Planning and Error Recovery
Authors: Monkman G.J.
Published: June 2007

The modelling and analysis of robotic assembly cells and production
lines usually relies on sophisticated software packages designed to
simulate the operation of systems normally represented by mathematically
intractable network notations. Describes how a mathematical transform
normally used in the design of digital filters can be utilized in
conjunction with a very simple network notation to provide an
easy‐to‐use tool applicable to both manual and computer analysis of
production systems.
Paying for Transport through New Technology
Authors: Clark John
Published: June 2007

Briefly reviews the modern history of transportation and reasons for
road pricing via toll roads (reducing congestion and generating
revenue). Examines new technology to avoid delays, namely automatic
debiting by “smartcard”, and similar technology for public transport.
Debates various advantages and disadvantages of such innovation, holding
the main advantage to be access to information on service provision.
Draws the conclusion that technology is always implemented, for better
or worse.
Finished Stock: The Piggy in the Middle
Authors: Steele William , Plunkett Kevin
Published: June 2007

Recently there has been a proliferation of interest in the topic of
total supply chain management. This interest has prompted many companies
in the fast moving consumer goods sector to review their inventory
policies and, in particular, levels of finished stock. Responsibility
for finished stock often falls between production and distribution
leaving it rather like a “piggy in the middle”. Unilever and Insight have
pooled their resources in order to perform joint research into how stock
levels can be reduced across the total supply chain and how
responsibility for finished stock can be shared between production and
distribution. Describes the strengths and weaknesses of different
techniques in this field. Findings from the research show that
simulation, when combined with mathematical theory, is a powerful and
practical tool for both reducing stock through improved inventory
policies and bridging the gap between production and distribution. An
analogous approach may be applied to the control of stock levels of raw
materials and packaging.
People Empowerment
Authors: Austen‐Smith Jerry
Published: June 2007

Describes the launch by the Hays Distribution Service of a programme
aimed at becoming an empowered organization. The company′s objectives
were redefined, the role of each team was clarified and the structure
was reviewed. The five current areas of development are: customer
interface; changing managers′ roles; improving communication; improving
information flows; and training. Concludes with two case examples of how
this programme has worked out in practice.
Order completion accuracy ‐ a pragmatic approach
Authors: Galley Michael
Published: June 2007

The practice of measuring the efficacy and error rates in meeting customers’ orders is often restricted to the single activity of order picking. Extends the view that picking is just one of several activities undertaken in delivering goods to customers, and all activities need to be examined to give a true picture of error rates. To this end Vauxhall Aftersales introduced a number of inspection points and inspection types to cover the spectrum of their procedures designed to deliver product to their dealers. The ability to focus on problem (or potential problem) areas can lead to an apparent rise in error rate unless this concentration on problem areas is acknowledged. Rather than a slavish adherence to statistical methodology and charting expertise, Vauxhall is attempting to deal with a target that is not static, but regularly moving in reflection of day‐to‐day operational circumstances.
How to implement activity‐based costing
Authors: Jong No Joon , Kleiner Brian H.
Published: June 2007

As the manufacturing environment moves to computer‐integrated manufacturing and the products that are manufactured are diverse, conventional cost systems can report seriously distorted product costs. Discusses the solutions to these problems. Activity‐based costing, initiated and popularized by Robin Cooper and Robert S. Kaplan, can solve these distorted problems. Activity‐based costing (ABC) is defined as “the collection of financial and operation performance tracing the significant activities of the firm‐to‐product cost”. Discusses the ABC system design and ABC implementation. The five steps in the design of an ABC system are: aggregate actions into activities; report the cost of activities; identify activity centres; select first‐stage cost drivers; and select second‐stage cost drivers. The implementation plan consists of seven phases: an ABC seminar; a design seminar; design and data gathering; progress meetings; an executive seminar; result meetings; and interpretation meetings.
Information technology in logistics: a Spanish perspective
Authors: Gutiérrez Gil , Durán Alfonso
Published: June 2007

Looks at empirically evaluated information technology (IT) utilization in the logistics process in the Spanish detergents and electrical appliances sectors, focusing on the issues around information integration with third‐party logistics providers. IT utilization was higher among larger companies. The outsourcing level was significantly correlated with the utilization of electronic data interchange; it was also significantly but negatively correlated with the level of satisfaction with the information integration currently achieved. Surprisingly, satisfaction was also negatively correlated with the overall utilization of IT. This is attributed to the raised expectation levels in the larger, more sophisticated companies.
Time to Market
Authors: Pawar Kulwant S. , Menon Unny , Riedel Johann C.K.H.
Published: June 2007

Over the last two decades, Japanese products have challenged Western
ones, not only in terms of cost but also on quality, reliability and
delivery. This has meant that meeting customer needs on time has now
entered the competitive equation. Hence, in the 1990s, time to market
(TTM) has become a focal point in achieving competitive advantage in the
marketplace. Presents an overview of TTM and of how to do it. Considers
the costs and benefits of TTM, and uses two case studies to compare and
contrast the effect of adopting TTM and ignoring it. Looks at the key
factors of: tools and techniques; technology; team management and
logistics, with practical examples of the main points in achieving TTM
successfully.
Predictors of parents' satisfaction with their children's school
Authors: Friedman Barry A. , Bobrowski Paula E. , Markow Dana
Published: June 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify factors of parent satisfaction, then identify predictors of overall school satisfaction among three groups of variables: district characteristics, parent demographics, and school satisfaction factors. Despite the importance of parents in the success of schoolchildren, few empirical studies address the complexities and factor structure of parent satisfaction with their children's school.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper reports findings from a survey of 30,279 parents from 121 schools in 27 school districts across the USA conducted by Harris Interactive, Inc. The researchers employed factor analysis to identify factors of parent satisfaction, and then regressed overall satisfaction on district characteristics, demographic variables, and satisfaction factors.

Findings

In this paper three parent satisfaction factors were found: the extent to which parents received adequate information from the school about their children, and the degree of involvement the school and teachers afforded them, the adequacy of school resources, and the extent to which school leadership (Board of Education and School Superintendent) was effective and managed the school budget well. These factors significantly predicted overall parent/school satisfaction even after district and demographics were controlled.

Originality/value

The study increases one's understanding of the underlying factors that explain parent satisfaction, and demographic, and district characteristics that predict parents' satisfaction. The findings suggest factors that school administrators manage these factors in order to improve parent satisfaction.
Examining the effects of role stress on customer orientation and job performance of retail salespeople
Authors: Knight Dee K. , Kim Hae‐Jung , Crutsinger Christy
Published: June 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine causal relationships between role stress, customer orientation, selling orientation, and job performance of retail salespeople.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample (n=259) was salespeople in eight units of a national department store located in the USA. Participants in the clothing, accessories, shoe, and home furnishings departments completed self‐administered questionnaires. To test the hypotheses, structural equation was employed using AMOS 4.0.

Findings

Role stress (i.e. role conflict and role ambiguity) affected customer orientation and also had direct and indirect effects on job performance mediated by customer orientation. The impact of role conflict was negative on customer orientation, but positive on selling orientation and job performance.

Practical implications

Retail managers are instrumental in creating a culture conducive to the practice of customer orientation and the degree to which retail salespeople experience role stress.

Originality/value

This study is notable because it investigated the intuitively plausible question of whether customer‐orientated behavior mediates the effects of role stress on retail salespeople's job performance.
An integrative framework capturing experiential and utilitarian shopping experience
Authors: Fiore Ann Marie , Kim Jihyun
Published: June 2007

Purpose

In line with changes in consumer demand, models used in empirical study of the shopping experience have expanded. Reflecting the integrative (experiential and utilitarian) nature of shopping experience, the paper aims to propose an overarching stimulus‐organism‐response based shopping experience framework.

Design/methodology/approach

This conceptual paper offers a framework that integrates components of both the hedonic experience related consciousness‐emotion‐value model and the utilitarian experience‐related cognition‐affect‐behavior model. In this paper, articles crossing hedonic and utilitarian boundaries are briefly presented, and the array of variables used in empirical studies of shopping experience, with an emphasis on brick‐and‐mortar shopping experiences, are synthesized for each component of the framework.

Findings

The resulting framework is an inclusive overarching structure that explains the consumer shopping experience. This framework is useful for both academia and industry. It may help orient academics to the diverse body of existing shopping experience literature and help researchers develop empirical studies blurring hedonic and utilitarian boundaries of consumer experience. For industry professionals, it may be used to guide development of successful shopping experiences.

Research limitations/implications

The paper does not provide empirical testing of the proposed framework. However, the paper suggests directions for future research, including empirically examining the framework's structural relationships.

Originality/value

The paper presents the framework as a means of giving order to the ever‐expanding body of shopping experience literature.
Consumers online: intentions, orientations and segmentation
Authors: Jayawardhena Chanaka , Tiu Wright Len , Dennis Charles
Published: June 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the purchase intentions of online retail consumers, segmented by their purchase orientation.

Design/methodology/approach

An e‐mail/web survey was addressed to a consumer panel concerning their online shopping experiences and motivations,n=396.

Findings

It is empirically shown that consumer purchase orientations have no significant effect on their propensity to shop online. This contradicts the pervasive view that internet consumers are principally motivated by convenience. It was found that aspects that do have a significant effect on purchase intention are prior purchase and gender.

Research limitations/implications

There are two limitations. First, the sample contained only UK internet users, thus generalisations about the entire population of internet users may be questionable. Second, in our measurement of purchase intentions, we did not measure purchase intentper se.

Practical implications

These findings indicate that consumer purchase orientations in both the traditional world and on the internet are largely similar. Therefore, both academics and businesses are advised to treat the internet as an extension to existing traditional activities brought about by advances in technology, i.e. the multi‐channel approach.

Originality/value

The paper adds to the understanding of the purchase orientations of different clusters of e‐consumers.
The Body Shop and the role of design in retail branding
Authors: Kent Tony , Stone Dominic
Published: June 2007

Purpose

To demonstrate how a company's retail store design relates to its brand and is influenced by, and contributes to, its corporate values.

Design/methodology/approach

The case study briefly summarises the significance of corporate values, branding and design in the retail industry, and subsequently explores The Body Shop's application of these elements to its business. The case study is contextualised by The Body Shop's retail environment forming a particularly important communication channel for the company.

Findings

The Body Shop has in many ways been the victim of its own success. Being a unique proposition, and having effectively created its own retail category, it has appeared slow to evolve its brand identity. The strong association between the company and its campaigning founder, increasing competition and changing consumer attitudes, have been significant factors in the company's struggle to re‐align and update its brand.

Research limitations/implications

The case study largely draws on secondary sources. However, it is informed by one of the authors' experience and knowledge of The Body Shop's design process, which has previously remained unpublished.

Practical implications

The problems of planning and managing store design as a communications channel are highlighted. In particular, it demonstrates the difficulties in aligning a retailer's visual identity with its brand and market.

Originality/value

The case study examines the under‐researched relationship between retail branding and design, and contributes to knowledge of the problems created over time by strongly held ethical values, for both branding and design.
Corporate brand image, satisfaction and store loyalty
Authors: Martenson Rita
Published: June 2007

Purpose

To study the impact of the corporate store image on customer satisfaction and store loyalty in grocery retailing. Corporate (store) image is defined as the combined effect of how the retailer as a brand, manufacturer brands, and store brands are perceived. The reason for including store brands and manufacturer brands in this definition is that the image and equity of retailer brands depends on the product brands they carry and the equity of those product brands.

Design/methodology/approach

A mail survey to consumers, 1,000 usable answers. The test of the proposed model was based on a simple path model that related the latent variables to the dependent manifest variable store loyalty.

Findings

Most important for customer satisfaction is the store as a brand. Retailers must be good at retailing. Customers are satisfied when the store is neat and pleasant and when they feel that the store understands their needs. Only certain customer segments are interested in store brands. Satisfied customers are loyal.

Research limitations/implications

A limitation is the way store loyalty was measured, i.e. as an estimate of how much the respondent's household spent in the main store. Another limitation is the fact that the study is based on “manufacturer brands” and “store brands,” rather than specifically mentioned real brands.

Practical implications

The growth rate for store brands in grocery retailing is twice as high as for manufacturer brands. Wisely launched, store brands may be profitable to retailers. However, although gross margins are much higher for store brands than for manufacturer brands, net margins are equal. It is therefore important to find out how important store brands are in a customer perspective. After all, retailers prosper when they have satisfied and loyal customers.

Originality/value

The paper is based on a more holistic definition of corporate store image than prior studies, which should give a more accurate picture of the relative importance of the store as a brand, and manufacturer as well as store brands.
Shopping motivation revised: a means‐end chain analytical perspective
Authors: Wagner Tillmann
Published: June 2007

Purpose

Shopping motivation is one of the key constructs of research on shopping behavior and exhibits a high relevance for formulating retail marketing strategies. Previous studies of shopping behavior as well as research in the areas of psychology and organizational behavior point towards a need to investigate the hierarchical nature of shopping motivation. The present study intends to take the first steps towards the development of a hierarchical theory of shopping motivation.

Design/methodology/approach

Means‐end chain theory is adopted to explore the hierarchical nature of shopping motivation. A total of 40 in‐depths interviews with apparel shoppers were conducted using the laddering technique. Results are depicted in three hierarchical value maps.

Findings

Evidence is provided relating to the social, experiential, and utilitarian aspects of shopping as represented by four dominant motivational patterns referring to the issues of shopping pleasure, frictionless shopping, value seeking, and quality seeking. Concrete retail attributes are presented which allow retailers to correspond to these motivations.

Originality/value

The paper identifies the need to introduce a hierarchical perspective to provide an increased understanding of consumers' shopping motivation. First, empirical evidence is provided regarding how consumers' cognitive structures relating to the benefits of shopping are hierarchically organized.
Rethinking Southampton and town centre futures
Authors: Lowe Michelle
Published: June 2007

Purpose

Designed to update research work carried out in the early 2000s on the development and impacts of Southampton's West Quay retail development on the urban milieu of the city.

Design/methodology/approach

Summarises the findings of detailed research work carried out at West Quay over a five year period.

Findings

Suggests that developments that have taken place at West Quay have been overwhelmingly positive for the city and that, as such, the Southampton example supports the case for retail‐led urban regeneration.

Practical implications

Southampton's position – as one of the first cities in the UK to embark on a city centre retail‐led regeneration scheme – finds it extremely well‐placed to provide important lessons to other local authorities currently in the process of developing large‐scale retail developments in their city centres.

Originality/value

This paper updates a detailed study of the history and development of the West Quay retail scheme in the city of Southampton. It seeks to draw a series of wider conclusions from the case and is offered in the spirit of generating debate on this issue.
Perspectives on retail format innovation: relating theory and practice
Authors: Reynolds Jonathan , Howard Elizabeth , Cuthbertson Christine , Hristov Latchezar
Published: June 2007

Purpose

Neither retail formats nor business models are static entities. Retailers develop new formats, manage existing formats and discard formats over time, as a consequence of many contributory factors in the retail environment. The paper provides a brief summary of our existing understanding of the retail innovation process and of the longer term retail format lifecycle, before placing this alongside recent UK research into the contemporary practice of format innovation. It explores four features of recent format change in the UK that provide the basis for distinctive business models.

Design/methodology/approach

Analysis is derived from interviews with retail practitioners and supported by quantitative evidence from government statistical sources.

Findings

The paper concludes that whilst existing models of retail format change can risk oversimplifying and formalising what are often experimental, incremental and often accidental processes, they can complement our understanding of longer term trends in UK retail formats.

Practical implications

The evolution of retail formats, together with the retail business models of which they are an expression, has been a continuing source of interest amongst stakeholders ranging from consumers, developers and investors. Findings demonstrate that innovation is seen as providing an important source of diversity and renewal for urban and suburban spaces.

Originality/value

The paper is of interest to practitioners and students of retail management.
New shopping centres: is leisure the answer?
Authors: Howard Elizabeth
Published: June 2007

Purpose

Consumers are spending more on leisure, and retailers and shopping centre developers are seeking ways to make shopping more of a leisure pursuit. This paper deals with the questions: what is leisure shopping, who are leisure shoppers, what is leisure retailing, and how are shopping centres providing for them?

Design/methodology/approach

Brief reviews of key research domains establish various meanings for leisure shopping and give some indications of who leisure shoppers are. Recent developments in shopping centres are considered. The last section discusses conceptual models, building on earlier empirical work on the functioning of shopping centres which incorporate leisure activities.

Findings

Leisure shopping is not best conceptualized as part of a continuum from purposive to leisure oriented. Rather, it may exist in a variety of circumstances, dependent on individual characteristics, trip motivations, the social setting of the trip and the nature of the destination. Leisure centres are not a separate category of centre, but the classification of shopping centres should be modified to incorporate consideration of leisure. Catering may be the most important provision.

Research limitations/implications

Shopping centre managers and owners should note the complexity of leisure shopping. The best unit of analysis may be the trip, rather than other forms of customer segmentation. Synergistic benefits for retailers from some forms of adjoining leisure activity may be small.

Originality/value

The paper provides two models which may be used to analyse both shopping activity and shopping centres from the leisure point of view.
Enterprise architectures: enablers of business strategy and IS/IT alignment in government
Authors: Gregor Shirley , Hart Dennis , Martin Nigel
Published: June 2007

Purpose

Drawing on established alignment and architectural theory, this paper seeks to present the argument that an organisation's enterprise architecture can enable the alignment of business strategy and information systems and technology (IS/IT).

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents a detailed case study of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), where a high degree of alignment and international recognition of excellence in business and enabling IS/IT performance are documented.

Findings

The ABS enterprise architecture was developed in 1999‐2001 and describes the organisation's physical business and IS/IT elements, and the connective relationships that inform the alignment condition. The ABS architecture is robustly holistic in form, and is characterised by a strong and equal focus on business operations, the deliberate inclusion of an IS/IT governance framework, the structuring and hosting of corporate information for business delivery, and the efficient reuse of IS/IT components.

Originality/value

The ABS case study also examined empirically the social aspects and formal mechanisms of organisational alignment, and shows how a formal enterprise architecture mechanism can integrate into a successful alignment process.
Implementing an integrated system in a socially dis‐integrated enterprise
Authors: Elbanna Amany R.
Published: June 2007

Purpose

Organisational integration has been presented as a key imminent outcome of implementing ERP systems. This study aims to examine critically this notion of integration by focusing on the role of the social fabric of the organisation in the implementation of ERP systems and, in particular, its integration capability.

Design/methodology/approach

This study examines the case of a successful ERP implementation in a large international organisation through the analytical lens of actor network theory and the introduction of the concept of “organisational othering”.

Findings

The study argues that the institutionalised marginalisation of some business units within the organisation created a highly political and largely dis‐integrated social context for the ERP implementation, which contrasts with the system logic of integration, transparency, and coordination. It reveals that this organisational practice of dis‐integration can be reproduced and inscribed in the implemented ERP system, thereby hindering the realisation of its integration capability.

Originality/value

The research contributes to the emerging critical studies of ERP systems and the ongoing discussion on IS implementation politics and intra‐group conflict by suggesting that configuring integrated systems such as ERP in such a context requires careful consideration and delicate management in order to achieve a workable version of integration that is socially and organisationally acceptable.
Internet and the lifeworld: updating Schutz's theory of mutual knowledge
Authors: Zhao Shanyang
Published: June 2007

Purpose

The paper seeks to understand the formation of mutual knowledge in the online world using the phenomenological framework that Alfred Schutz and his associates constructed for the examination of the lifeworld.

Design/methodology/approach

This study consists of three parts: reviewing Schutz's theory of the constitution of intersubjectivity in the lifeworld; extending Schutz's analysis to the acquisition of mutual knowledge in the online world; and applying the extended version of Schutz's theory to the booming blogosphere on the internet.

Findings

Schutz divided the contemporaneous lifeworld into two realms – consociates and mere contemporaries. Schutz maintained that people came to know one another based on shared life experiences through “growing older together” in the realm of consociates and based on objectified schemes of interpretation through “ideal typification” in the realm of mere contemporaries. This article extends Schutz's analysis to human interaction on the internet, showing that in the emergent online world people become mutually familiar based on the biographic narratives they recount to one another through self‐disclosure. Mutual knowledge obtained online also contributes to the total stock of knowledge people come to accumulate in an increasingly distanciated lifeworld.

Originality/value

This article argues that the spread of the internet has changed the structure of the lifeworld Schutz depicted, and such changes have produced ways of getting to know others that were previously impossible. In light of those changes, this article seeks to update Schutz's theory of mutual knowledge.
The introduction of information technology in the commercial banking sector of developing countries: voices from Sudan
Authors: Osman Shereif Mahdi Mohamed , Dawson Patrick
Published: June 2007

Purpose

This article sets out to draw on new empirical research to illustrate how the process of technological change is shaped by a combination of contextual elements that relate to the political and social history of Sudan. The developments in infrastructure, relationships with economically powerful industrialized countries, and the attitudes and perceptions of key decision makers are discussed

Design/methodology/approach

Primary data were collected from fieldwork conducted in Sudan for six months, and this was combined with secondary data that were collected from several conventional sources. The design adopted a dual methodological approach that comprised a combination of quantitative and qualitative techniques. This article draws mainly on the qualitative data set, although a summary is provided of some of the main results from the questionnaire survey.

Findings

The findings highlight the need for bank general managers and IT managers to collaborate in the establishment of IT strategies and in ensuring that there are sufficient staff and budgetary resources for successful implementation. There is also a need to develop comprehensive banking policies in Sudan in order to support the replacement of traditional manual methods of banking with more advanced computer‐based systems. Managing this process is not simply a technical issue, but a complex socio‐political challenge that requires management sensitivity to the context within which change is taking place.

Research limitations/implications

Fieldwork in Sudan was constrained by both time and limited financial resources, and further frustrated by a number of unanticipated access difficulties. Some of the survey findings may have been affected by missing data, and some of the interview data may have been affected by translation from Arabic into English. However, the multi‐strategy research employed in this study did prove effective in generating useful data.

Originality/value

In the case of developing countries, the data sets and literature available are in short supply, and as such the findings contribute to this limited knowledge base in presenting new empirical evidence and analysis. The study highlights the importance of three broad categories – social‐political context, business economic and technological environment, and the historical and cultural climate of Sudan and the banking industry – in shaping the uptake and introduction of new technology in the Sudanese banking industry.
How can the small to medium sized travel agents stay competitive in China's travel service sector?
Authors: Qiu Zhang Hanqin , Morrison Alison
Published: June 2007

Purpose

This research aims to extend knowledge pertaining to SMEs in general within the context of the tourism industry, and to establish a richer understanding relative to major factors affecting the development of SME travel agents in China.

Design/methodology/approach

In a pilot research project, exploratory in‐depth interviews were conducted with owner‐managers of SME travel agencies.

Findings

The findings indicate that being small in size and simple structure, short period of time in business operation, lack of management experience and market recognition have formed the major characteristics of these SMEs. Furthermore, they are facing an increasingly competitive environment and their sustainability is being threatened by a continuously decreasing market share and reducing profit levels.

Research limitations/implications

A total of nine in‐depth interviews were conducted and the results cannot be generalized to the whole travel agent sector in China.

Practical implications

The research results also indicate that a series of internal and external factors are affecting the development of SME travel agents in China. Co‐operative and collaborative networking is recommended designed to strengthen SME travel agency business models.

Originality/value

SME travel agents have a very short development history in China and very little is known about the nature of the SMEs. This study intends to provide enhanced understanding of the SMEs which can serve as the base for future study.
Measuring the cost of quality in a hotel restaurant operation
Authors: Ramdeen Collin , Santos Jocelina , Kyung Chatfield Hyun
Published: June 2007

Purpose

The objective of this research is to apply the cost of quality (COQ) concepts in a hotel restaurant environment using the PAF (prevention, appraisal, and failure costs) model. Then use the percentage of sales approach to evaluate the significance of the COQ measures in the PAF model.

Design/methodology/approach

This research involved reviewing available literature on the COQ framework. Then through the process of interviews and secondary data collection, an analysis of the COQ measures in the PAF model was accomplished.

Findings

While researchers suggested that the COQ should be 2 to 4 percent of sales, the actual findings were 12 to 16 percent over a two‐year period. These findings help the restaurant quality management team to reevaluate the quality of food and services, and provide justification for more investment in prevention activities.

Practical implications

The practical implication from this study was that an investment in prevention activities in the PAF model for the restaurant did lead to reduction in failure costs (internal and external) and appraisal costs.

Originality/value

This study demonstrates that the COQ measures used in the PAF model can improve the quality of food and services provided to the restaurant customers, and therefore, result in improvement in overall profitability.
Assessing lodging service down under: a case of Hamilton, New Zealand
Authors: Mohsin Asad
Published: June 2007

Purpose

The aim of the study is to assess customer perceptions of service quality delivered by front office, room service and an in house restaurant/café in the lodgings of Hamilton, New Zealand.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses a survey and interview technique. A survey questionnaire with the help of local managers in the lodging industry was structured for this study. The study was undertaken at different lodgings in Hamilton involving face‐to‐face administration of the survey instrument. A useable sample of 645 participants resulted.

Findings

The importance–performance analysis showed that responses related to front office, room service and in‐house café/restaurant, the importance is statistically significant, higher than the performance. Gender also reflected statistical significance. Overall, the results indicate that most responses show gaps in importance and evaluations and this suggests managerial implications.

Research limitations/implications

From a practitioners perspective the study provides an opportunity to recognize in ranking order general features that are considered important by the guest staying in lodgings in Hamilton in New Zealand. Additionally, the study also points out the evaluation of those guests, thereby identifying the areas of gaps in service and product quality.

Originality/value

The study has been the first attempt to gauge the importance and experience from the stay of lodging guests in Hamilton, New Zealand. The research also provides an opportunity for a comparative study of service quality offered by lodgings in New Zealand with other parts of the world.
Exploring the UK hospitality industry and age discrimination
Authors: Martin Emma , Gardiner Katherine
Published: June 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the steps the hospitality sector is taking to ensure compliance with the age discrimination legislation introduced in October 2006.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey of the five sub sectors of the hospitality industry, hotels, restaurants, pubs and clubs, contract catering and hospitality services, was conducted during April 2006.

Findings

It was found that ageism was considered a problem by respondents from hospitality services, largely public sector organisations, and the greatest impact from the legislation was considered to be within these firms. Overall, 45 per cent of respondents reported knowing “little” or “nothing” about the incoming legislation and the overwhelming majority felt they did not know enough.

Research limitations/implications

Out of the postal survey of 950 organisations there were 112 respondents, representing a response rate of just below 12 per cent. Perhaps the most prominent issue with surveys of this type are the concerns of employers about compliance and being caught out or, in this case, it may highlight a greater level of apathy or lack of awareness than the following results show.

Practical implications

The findings show the need to target the message about the age discrimination legislation particularly to the pub, club and hotel sector.

Originality/value

The paper highlights the desire for knowledge about the legislation across the sector and the lack of awareness of sources of information.
Improving employee dedication and pro‐social behavior
Authors: Gill Amarjit S. , Mathur Neil
Published: June 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between transformational leadership and employee dedication and the relationship between transformational leadership and pro‐social behaviour. This study seeks to extend Gill et al.'s findings regarding the impact of transformational leadership on job stress and the impact of job stress on burnout.

Design/methodology/approach

Hospitality industry employees were interviewed to find out if transformational leadership used by their managers improves employee dedication and pro‐social behaviour.

Findings

Results suggest that employee dedication and pro‐social behaviour are positively related to the improvement in the level of perceived transformational leadership implementation.

Practical implications

If employees perceive that their managers are using high‐level transformational leadership, employee dedication and pro‐social behaviour are perceived as higher level than if it is perceived as being used at lower level.

Originality/value

This paper offers useful insights for hotel managers based on empirical evidence.
Trends in the UK hotel industry
Authors: Hospitality Consulting BDO
Published: June 2007

Reviews UK hotel sector performance during 1995 with reference to prevailing economic conditions and political prospects. Considers the likely impact of changes in employment policy and European directives, general trends in the UK and reviews the hotel market in London and the English regions, Scotland and Wales.
Joint route planning under varying market conditions
Authors: Cruijssen Frans , Bräysy Olli , Dullaert Wout , Fleuren Hein , Salomon Marc
Published: June 2007

Purpose

To provide empirical evidence on the level of savings that can be attained by joint route planning and how these savings depend on specific market characteristics.

Design/methodology/approach

Joint route planning is a measure that companies can take to decrease the costs of their distribution activities. Essentially, this can either be achieved through horizontal cooperation or through outsourcing distribution to a logistics service provider. The synergy value is defined as the difference between distribution costs in the original situation where all entities perform their orders individually, and the costs of a system where all orders are collected and route schemes are set up simultaneously to exploit economies of scale. This paper provides estimates of synergy values, both in a constructed benchmark case and in a number of real‐world cases.

Findings

It turns out that synergy values of 30 per cent are achievable. Furthermore, intuition is developed on how the synergy values depend on characteristics of the distribution problem under consideration.

Practical implications

The developed intuition on the nature of synergy values can help practitioners to find suitable combinations of distribution systems, since synergy values can quickly be assessed based on the characteristics of the distribution problem, without solving large and difficult vehicle routing problems.

Originality/value

This paper addresses a major impediment to horizontal cooperation: estimating operational savings upfront.
Product‐process‐supply chain: an integrative approach to three‐dimensional concurrent engineering
Authors: Ellram Lisa M. , Tate Wendy L. , Carter Craig R.
Published: June 2007

Purpose

The primary purposes of this paper are to add support to the existing three‐dimensional concurrent engineering (3DCE) theoretical framework and to identify issues that currently hinder the adoption of 3DCE.

Design/methodology/approach

While 3DCE has been suggested as a way to improve new product development success and supply chain performance, the research on 3DCE is in its infancy, largely conceptual, or based on two, rather than all three aspects of 3DCE. To help bridge the gap between concept and theory for 3DCE, this paper provides a cross‐disciplinary perspective, incorporating literature from supply chain management (SCM) and logistics, operations management, marketing channels, and general management and strategy, to help ground the theory of 3DCE. Based on this literature, testable research propositions are developed.

Findings

Based on the review of the literature, there is substantial theoretical grounding for 3DCE and evidence that it should provide beneficial outcomes to organizations. 3DCE is also a very useful theoretical lens as researchers become more concerned with taking a systemic view of supply chain and organizational performance. Effectively using 3DCE as a lens may require different research approaches, such as systems dynamics and supply chain mapping.

Practical implications

This research provides insights into the relatively low adoption rates of 3DCE in practice. Successful 3DCE requires top management support as well as functional support. It is not simply a SCM tool.

Originality/value

From a research perspective, this paper helps provide support for using 3DCE as a theoretical lens for grounding future research. It also provides an insight into research methods that might be most useful in gaining greater understanding of 3DCE practices.
The differential value of information in industrial purchasing decisions
Authors: Bienstock Carol C. , Royne Marla B.
Published: June 2007

Purpose

This research integrates recent work on customer information acquisition in services marketing and economics of information research with literature on industrial buying behavior for the purpose of proposing and empirically testing a model that explores information acquisition in industrial purchasing.

Design/methodology/approach

To test the proposed model, an online survey was prepared using WebSurveyor and an introductory e‐mail with a link to the survey was sent to a sample of members of a professional organization of industrial purchasing managers.

Findings

Results indicated a differential use of information sources across differing purchase situations. When purchasing situations were perceived to be easy to evaluate, there was a significantly greater use of impersonal information sources. In addition, we offer evidence that the use of both personal and impersonal information sources does, in fact, increase the perception of goal clarity with respect to the purchasing task among industrial purchasers.

Originality/value

If marketers can help provide key information – both personal and impersonal – to their customers, they are helping to clarify the purchasing task. These communication efforts can then contribute to that satisfying outcome which might ultimately enhance the relationship between the two parties.
Household waste collection as a reverse channel
Authors: Jahre Marianne
Published: June 2007

Of great concern today is how to collect and recycle post‐consumer
waste efficiently. Reports the results of a study of 47 collection
schemes for household waste which examined their logistical
characteristics. An extensive literature review revealed that much
recycling research suffers from a lack of theory. Discusses why and how
logistics theory can contribute to the understanding of what is
happening in reverse distribution channels. Suggests a number of
propositions on relationships between logistical characteristics and
performance. Of particular interest is whether separation of waste is to
take place at the source by the consumer or in a central processing
facility. Suggests that postponing separation to a separation facility
can enhance performance by reducing cost and increasing service.
Strategic logistics management
Authors: Sandelands Eric
Published: June 2007

Looks at strategic logistics management and technology strategies for manufacturing and groups the contents under four main headings: logistical future; information challenge; 21st century manufacturing; 21st century service industries. Aims to look at the many challenges facing logistics practitioners and researchers.
Logistics management at the threshold of the new millenium
Authors: Pollitt David
Published: June 2007

Summarizes several strategic briefings, conference presentations and reports on the topic of logistics management. Covers in turn logistics in China and Japan, including a profile of Braun Electric; methods of improving the supply chain, highlighting new technology, the “bullwhip effect” of distorted information and a case study of Tektronix; logistics in retailing, including direct mail in Japan, home shopping and distribution networks; and applications of the Internet in the logistics field, focusing on “knowledge logistics” (electronic publishing). Concludes with a summary of research conducted by McKinsey which suggests that doing business in a world of plentiful and cheap interactions will require new skills and new ways of thinking and those who anticipate and understand the fundamental nature of the changes will be best placed to exploit the opportunities.