bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
… and justice for all – cost fairness in Volkswagen’s product family
Authors: Müller David
Published: March 2017

Purpose

Product families offer companies economic advantages in the development and the production stage while satisfying a wide range of customer needs. This concept generates economies of scale and scope, which lead to a significant cost reduction. The realization of product families by several autonomous firms highlights the problem of fair cost sharing. Despite broad agreement on fairness as a highly desired aim, in practice there is a lack of precise terms of operationalization. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to use a game theoretical framework to achieve fair cost sharing. It is shown that the cooperative game solution ensures fairness and therefore should be accepted by all the partners.

Design/methodology/approach

Therefore, this study uses a game theoretical framework to reach a fair cost sharing. All family members are modeled as players in a cost reduction game. Using a cooperative game lens allows the identification of fair cost shares. It is shown that cooperative game solution ensures fairness and therefore should be accepted by all partners.

Findings

It is shown that the average cost assignment method is not fair and therefore not stable. Moreover, the authors show that the game theoretical solution ensures fairness and therefore will be accepted by all partners.

Research limitations/implications

One main problem of the game theoretic solution concepts is the fact that the benefits of the PFD must be known for the various possible coalitions. By means of suitable forecasts, however, this can be avoided and is not a special problem of the game theoretical solution. The other two main problems are the assumption that the participating companies reach binding agreements ex ante, which are also met ex post, as well as the assumption that side payments between the participating companies are possible.

Practical implications

It has been demonstrated that game theoretic instruments deliver a fair solution. With the calculated shares, all firms have an incentive to join the grand coalition what ensures a positive motivation and long-term stability.

Originality/value

This paper’s main contribution is the analysis of a real-life product family through the lens of cooperative game theory.
An examination of innovative consumers’ playfulness on their pre-ordering behavior
Authors: Byun Kyung-Ah , Dass Mayukh , Kumar Piyush , Kim Junghwan
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of playfulness on innovative consumers’ pre-order behavior for new products.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing upon self-congruity theory and early adoption literature, the effects of playfulness and innovativeness on pre-order behavior and the role of self-congruity are tested using four experimental studies that are analyzed using generalized linear model (GLM) and structural equation modeling.

Findings

Results indicate that playfulness amplifies the advance-purchasing propensity, especially when the pre-launch information cues come from a credible source.

Originality/value

This paper refines playfulness measurement scales and proposes how both enjoyment- and creativity-based playfulness amplify the purchase intention among innovative consumers. The results assist product managers in developing advanced marketing plans before a new product is launched.
The effect of female celebrity spokesperson in FMCG advertising: neuromarketing approach
Authors: Pileliene Lina , Grigaliunaite Viktorija
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop guidelines for the selection of a female advertising spokesperson and brand position regarding the selected spokesperson in the context of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) advertising.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents findings using both neuromarketing and traditional marketing research methods.

Findings

The findings are based on the results of P300 event-related brain potentials, eye-tracking experiments and a questionnaire research. It was concluded that a famous female spokesperson indeed has a significant effect on FMCG advertising effectiveness.

Practical implications

The selection of a female celebrity spokesperson when seeking FMCG advertising effectiveness depends on the primary determined aim of marketing communication. If the aim of the advertising campaign is to form attitude, then selecting a celebrity as the FMCG advertising spokesperson is recommended, but if the aim of the FMCG advertising campaign is to enhance brand awareness, it is recommended to select a non-celebrity spokesperson. Furthermore, the brand should be presented at the top of the advertisement’s layout, particularly when a celebrity is chosen as a spokesperson because this allows lowering the possibility of the “vampire effect” occurrence.

Originality/value

As a study on the effect of a female spokesperson on FMCG advertising effectiveness, this research will be of academic interest, integrating both marketing theory and neuroscience to analyze and evaluate consumer behavior. This research is also relevant to businesses, because it provides guidelines for the selection of female advertising spokespersons in the context of FMCG advertising.
Brand experience and customer citizenship behavior: the role of brand relationship quality
Authors: Xie Lishan , Poon Patrick , Zhang Wenxuan
Published: March 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the mediating role of brand relationship quality in the relationship between brand experience and customer citizenship behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

Two studies were conducted in China. Data were collected via questionnaire surveys. Structural equation modeling and bootstrapping methods were used for data analyses.

Findings

Results show that brand relationship quality mediates the effects of the four dimensions of brand experience (i.e. sensory, affective, behavioral and intellectual) on the two aspects of customer citizenship behavior (i.e. toward other customers and toward the organization). In addition, service provider ratings can moderate the effect of brand relationship quality on customer citizenship behavior.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that marketing or service managers should build high quality of customer–brand relationship to enhance customer citizenship behaviors by providing memorable and pleasurable brand experiences. Brands with high ratings can facilitate the effect of brand relationship quality on customer citizenship behavior.

Originality/value

This research sheds light on the mediating role of brand relationship quality in the relationship between brand experience and customer citizenship behavior.
The effect of perceived risk on information search for innovative products and services: the moderating role of innate consumer innovativeness
Authors: Zhang Zhe , Hou Yuansi
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of the study is to explore the effects of two dimensions of perceived risk (functional and emotional risk) on two types of consumer information search (ongoing and pre-purchase search) in the context of innovative products and services and examine the moderating effect of innate consumer innovativeness.

Design/methodology/approach

The findings in this study are generated with a quantitative design using a multiple linear regression model and a residual centering method on data-collected survey responses related to tablet PC adoption in an online community and laboratory experiment on online bike-renting services.

Findings

The results show that functional and emotional risks influence on-going and pre-purchase search differently in innovative products and services context. On the one hand, functional risk affects on-going search negatively, whereas emotional risk affects on-going search positively; on the other hand, the effect of functional risk on pre-purchase search is not significant, and the effect of emotional risk on pre-purchase search is positive. Furthermore, these relationships are moderated by innate consumer innovativeness. For on-going search, consumer innovativeness moderates the negative effect of functional risk negatively and moderates the positive effect of emotional risk positively; for pre-purchase search, consumer innovativeness moderates the positive effect of emotional risk negatively on pre-purchase search.

Originality/value

Unlike established products and services, innovative products and services possess some elements that are unfamiliar to consumers. Companies typically pre-release innovative products and services long before officially launching them in the market, enabling consumers to assess potential risks and seek information in advance, thereby priming the market. Since innovative products and services are becoming more ubiquitous, research on the impact of perceived risk on information search is crucial for marketers. The present work is designed to be the first to consider the effects of two dimensions of perceived risk (functional and emotional risk) on two types of consumer information search (ongoing and pre-purchase search) and the moderating effect of innate consumer innovativeness. The present research is, therefore, intended to make contributions to the literature on perceived risk, information search and innovation management.
Leading learning in Asia – emerging empirical insights from five societies
Authors: Hallinger Philip , Walker Allan
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to synthesize findings from studies of principal instructional leadership conducted in five East Asian societies. The authors first identify similarities and then differences in approaches to instructional leadership across the societies. Then the findings of the synthesis are compared with broad findings from the global literature on principal instructional leadership.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper employs a thematic approach to synthesizing findings from the five qualitative studies.

Findings

The authors identified numerous similarities in practices of instructional leadership across the five societies. These included first, a top-down approach to defining the mission and goals of schools whereby principals worked within a fairly narrow zone of discretion. Second, principals devoted relatively little attention to coordinating the curriculum due to working within strict national curriculum frameworks. Third, principals executed their instructional leadership practices with an ever-present sense of the need to honor hierarchical relations and maintain harmony among staff and other stakeholders. Differences across the five societies centered on the extent to which the instructional leadership role of principals was explicitly defined and the extent to which they received training for the role.

Originality/value

This synthesis sought to build upon reviews of research published in a special issue of this journal two years ago. The synthesis and this body of research papers have contributed toward moving empirical research on educational leadership broadly, and instructional leadership in particular, forward in East Asia.
Exploring principals’ instructional leadership practices in Malaysia: insights and implications
Authors: Harris Alma , Jones Michelle , Cheah Kenny Soon Lee , Devadason Edward , Adams Donnie
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to outline the findings from a small-scale, exploratory, study of principals’ instructional leadership practice in Malaysian primary schools. The dimensions and functions of instructional leadership, explicitly explored in this study, are those outlined in the Hallinger and Murphy’s (1985) model.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is part of a larger international, comparative research project that aims to identify the boundaries of the current knowledge base on instructional leadership practice and to develop a preliminary empirically based understanding of how principals conceive and enact their role as instructional leaders in Hong Kong, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand. Using a qualitative research design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 primary school principals in Malaysia. The sample comprised principals from 14 Government National schools (SK), nine principals from Chinese schools (SJKC) and seven principals from Tamil schools (SJKT). The qualitative data were initially analysed inductively, and subsequently coded using ATLAS.ti to generate the findings and conclusions.

Findings

The findings showed that the Malaysian principals, who were interviewed, understood and could describe their responsibilities relating to improving instructional practice. In particular, they talked about the supervision of teachers and outlined various ways in which they actively monitored the quality of teaching and learning in their schools. These data revealed that some of the duties and activities associated with being a principal in Malaysia are particularly congruent with instructional leadership practices. In particular, the supervision of teaching and learning along with leading professional learning were strongly represented in the data.

Research limitations/implications

This is a small-scale, exploratory study involving 30 principals.

Practical implications

There is a clear policy aspiration, outlined in the Malaysian Education Blueprint, that principals should be instructional leaders. The evidence shows that principals are enacting some of the functions associated with being an instructional leader but not others.

Originality/value

The findings from this study provide some new insights into the principals’ instructional leadership practices in Malaysia. They also provide a basis for further, in-depth exploration that can enhance the knowledge base about principals’ instructional leadership practices in Malaysia.
The west wind vs the east wind: instructional leadership model in China
Authors: Qian Haiyan , Walker Allan , Li Xiaojun
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a preliminary model of instructional leadership in the Chinese educational context and explore the ways in which Chinese school principals locate their instructional-leadership practices in response to traditional expectations and the requirements of recent reforms.

Design/methodology/approach

In-depth interviews were conducted with 22 selected primary school principals in Shenzhen and Guangzhou. A qualitative analysis was conducted to categorize the major leadership practices enacted by these principals.

Findings

An initial model of instructional leadership in China with six major dimensions is constructed. The paper also illustrates and elaborates on three dimensions with the greatest context-specific meanings for Chinese principals.

Originality/value

The paper explores the ways in which Chinese principals enact their instructional leadership in a context in which “the west wind meets the east wind”; that is, when they are required to accommodate both imported reform initiatives and traditional expectations. The paper contributes to the sparse existing research on principals’ instructional leadership in non-western cultural and social contexts.
Privatization and corporate entrepreneurship in telecommunication companies
Authors: Zarei Behrouz , Amanati Flora , Amanati Kasra
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of privatization on corporate entrepreneurship in Telecommunication Company of Iran (TCI). The study examines the five dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation including innovativeness, risk taking, proactiveness, competitive aggressiveness and autonomy, before and after privatization.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a “descriptive-survey” method, the required data were collected from a sample of 32 senior and middle managers with over ten years of management and work experience, who were project team members for business transformation working in TCI before and after privatization.

Findings

The results show that after privatization, the company acts more entrepreneurially. The most considerable dimension is its aggressive competition through entering competitive markets and increasing risk taking to develop new services, products and processes.

Originality/value

Although many studies have been performed on privatization and entrepreneurship in the past, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the effect of privatization on every dimension of entrepreneurial orientation has not been investigated in a large company.
Income inequality
Authors: Baron Robert Alan
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explain why (based on an extensive body of research findings) efforts to reduce income inequality may have negative effects on motivation and the desire to excel.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents the author’s personal perspective on income inequality and efforts to reduce it. However, these views are grounded in extensive literature concerning the nature of “fairness,” and the harmful effects of weakening the link between performance or effort on the one hand, and rewards on the other. Breaking this connection may be especially harmful for entrepreneurs, who have strong beliefs that the hard they work in building their new ventures, the more likely are these companies to be successful.

Findings

The paper presents what, it is hoped, provides a broadened framework within which to examine the causes and income inequality, definitions of “fairness,” and the potential effects of efforts to reduce such inequality.

Practical implications

By weakening the relationship between performance and rewards, efforts to reduce income inequality involving large tax increases may weaken the relationship between performance (accomplishment) and rewards, thus reducing motivation to work hard and achieve excellence.

Social implications

Understanding the negative implications of government-funded programs designed to reduce income inequality helps to clarify the potentially detrimental effects of such programs – effects that are neither intended not expected by proponents of such efforts.

Originality/value

The effects of efforts to reduce income inequality have not previously been examined in the context of their negative implications for human motivation to work hard and attain excellence in any endeavor – implications suggested by a large body of relevant research.
Exploring the case of The White Moustache
Authors: Yonk Ryan M. , Harris Kayla , Martin R. Chistopher , Anderson Barrett
Published: March 2017

Purpose

Small and emerging business failure rates are high for numerous reasons. Government regulation has been cited as a contributing factor, yet literature documenting the actual effects of government regulation on small business is limited. The purpose of this paper is to clearly outline the regulatory compliance costs and effects on small businesses in the California dairy industry.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper applies a public choice framework to the history of dairy regulation and performs a case study on a small business, The White Moustache (TWM). The case study traces the burdens and costs of state dairy regulations placed on TWM as they sought the necessary permits to sell their artisan yogurt.

Findings

Strict and unresponsive regulation restricted TWM from selling their product. To comply with state dairy regulations, the direct costs to TWM would have increased by 70 percent. In addition, regulation caused two and a half years of delay before the company decided to leave the state. California’s dairy regulations place burdens on small dairy businesses that work as a strategic barrier to entry in the marketplace.

Originality/value

This case study highlights the direct effects that strict and unresponsive regulation can have on entrepreneurs and emerging businesses through a case study. Improving the understanding of how regulation affects small business can highlight new paths forward and help improve the small business failure rate in the USA.
The role of satellite technologies in relief logistics
Authors: Delmonteil François-Xavier , Rancourt Marie-Ève
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The devastating impact of catastrophic disasters on terrestrial infrastructure requires the adoption of alternative technology solutions among humanitarian organizations. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the role of the most commonly used satellite technologies in relief logistics: imagery and mapping, portable global positioning system (GPS) positioning devices, telecommunications, and GPS vehicle tracking.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper examines both the benefits and limitations of satellite technologies in light of the existing literature and through a complementary questionnaire survey with field workers involved in humanitarian operations in the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

Findings

The results show that the use of satellite technologies can facilitate most of the key logistics challenges encountered by relief actors. However, they also highlight important barriers within humanitarian organizations such as the lack of skilled workers and high costs, underlining the need for long-term training, resource investments, and cooperation between users and technology providers.

Research limitations/implications

The research findings remain valid only in the context of catastrophic disaster responses, which lead to similar destructions, logistical problems, and needs for satellite technologies.

Practical implications

This paper shows how satellite technologies can support humanitarian professionals in the field. It also provides policy recommendations that can facilitate the use of these technologies.

Originality/value

The applications of satellite technologies within humanitarian supply chains are not well-defined in the literature. This paper is the first to be dedicated to analyze the role of the main satellite technologies used in a relief logistics setting.
Price protection policies with demand uncertainty and strategic consumers
Authors: Wang Tingting , Zhou Chuiri
Published: March 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to study a retailer’s decision on the price and inventory when facing strategic consumer behavior and demand uncertainty. Price protection is a kind of rebate that the retailer provides to consumers when the price drops during the selling season. The research investigates whether price protection can bring the retailer advantages. This paper compares price protection’s impact with price commitment. In addition, the paper studies the price protection’s impacts on supplier of the supply chain.

Design/methodology/approach

In this model, there are three alternative strategies for retailer: no price protection policy, full price protection policy and partial price protection policy. The selling season is divided into two periods: regular period and sale period. In the regular period, the products are sold at a regular price. In the sale one, the products are sold at a lower price. By adopting rational expectations equilibrium, this paper analyzes retailer’s optimal price and order quantity under each policy and compares optimal decisions and maximum profits of three policies.

Findings

This paper finds that the price protection has a positive influence on the retailer. Strategic consumers are induced to purchase at the regular period. It can simultaneously increase retailer’s profit and reduce inventory risk. Meantime, full price protection is chosen as the optimal policy. By comparing full price protection’s impacts with price commitment, full price protection is considered as the most profitable strategy, while price commitment can bring lower inventory risk. In addition, the profit of supplier would decrease because of price protection.

Originality/value

This research provides a new method to address the negative effects of strategic consumer behavior. It also brings some managerial insights to some retailers, especially online ones, on whether to adopt price protection.
Identifying meaningful neighbors for an improved recommender system
Authors: Kumar Rahul , Bala Pradip Kumar
Published: March 2017

Purpose

Collaborative filtering (CF), one of the most popular recommendation techniques, is based on the principle of word-of-mouth communication between other like-minded users. The process of identifying these like-minded or similar users remains crucial for a CF framework. Conventionally, a neighbor is the one among the similar users who has rated the item under consideration. To select neighbors by the existing practices, their similarity deteriorates as many similar users might not have rated the item under consideration. This paper aims to address the drawback in the existing CF method where “not-so-similar” or “weak” neighbors are selected.

Design/methodology/approach

The new approach proposed here selects neighbors only on the basis of highest similarity coefficient, irrespective of rating the item under consideration. Further, to predict missing ratings by some neighbors for the item under consideration, ordinal logistic regression based on item–item similarity is used here.

Findings

Experiments using the MovieLens (ml-100) data set prove the efficacy of the proposed approach on different performance evaluation metrics such as accuracy and classification metrics. Apart from higher prediction quality, coverage values are also at par with the literature.

Originality/value

This new approach gets its motivation from the principle of the CF method to rely on the opinion of the closest neighbors, which seems more meaningful than trusting “not-so-similar” or “weak” neighbors. The static nature of the neighborhood addresses the scalability issue of CF. Use of ordinal logistic regression as a prediction technique addresses the statistical inappropriateness of other linear models to make predictions for ordinal scale ratings data.
Accounting for asymmetry between strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in outranking methods
Authors: Dehouche Nassim
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper consists in discussing and modeling the asymmetrical nature of evaluation criteria that are notably relevant in strategic planning, project portfolio management and complex systems management.

Design/methodology/approach

The author guarantees the theoretic validity of the proposed approach, by showing that it possesses desirable properties such as monotonicity. This allows for a reduced implementation time and thus a real-time use of the model.

Findings

The author conducts a comparative study with two other multicriteria decision aid models on a set of real data regarding a power plant sitting problem and highlights some of the limitations of previous models compared to the proposed approach.

Originality/value

This paper describes a novel multicriteria decision aid model, entitled SPADE (which is an acronym for Structuring Preferences to Aid DEcisions). It aims at consolidating SWOT analysis with sound decision-theoretic techniques, and making use of its results to support decision-making.
How do women’s self-report symptoms impact on identification of perinatal mental health problems?
Authors: Jarrett Patricia M.
Published: March 2017

Purpose

Perinatal depression is common and increases the risk of adverse outcomes for both the mother and child. Despite regular contact with midwives and GPs during the perinatal period less than 50 per cent of women with depression are identified and treated. A number of reasons for this have been proposed; however, failure of health professionals to recognise the symptoms women present with may contribute. The purpose of this paper is twofold: to explore women’s self-report symptoms of perinatal depression and understand how the symptoms women present with might impact on identification.

Design/methodology/approach

Women were invited to post their experiences of perinatal depression on one of two online discussion forums over a nine-month period. Data were analysed using a process of deductive thematic analysis informed by cognitive behavioural therapy.

Findings

Women’s symptoms were presented using five headings: triggers (for perinatal depression), thoughts, moods, physical reactions and behaviours. Women believed having a previous mental health problem contributed to their depression. Women’s self-report symptoms included intrusive and violent thoughts; emotional responses including fear, worry and anger; and somatic symptoms including insomnia and weight changes. Women also reported aggressive behaviour and social withdrawal as part of their depressive symptomatology. Symptoms women present with may negatively impact on identification as they often overlap with those of pregnancy; may not be included in the criteria for mental health assessment and may involve undesirable and socially unacceptable behaviour, making disclosure difficult.

Practical implications

A more inclusive understanding of women’s self-report symptoms of perinatal depression is called for, if identification is to improve.

Originality/value

This paper offers an analysis of women’s self-report symptoms of depression, in the context of identification of perinatal mental health problems.
Information richness and trust in v-commerce: implications for services marketing
Authors: Chesney Thomas , Chuah Swee-Hoon , Dobele Angela R. , Hoffmann Robert
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The potential for e-commerce is limited by a trust deficit when traders do not interact in a physical, bricks-and-mortar context. The theory of information richness posits that equivocal interactions, such as ones requiring trust, can be facilitated through communication media that transmit multiple cues interactively. This study aims to examine the potential of information-rich virtual worlds to reduce this trust deficit compared with more traditional Web-based e-tailing environments.

Design/methodology/approach

Rather than focusing on stated intentions, the authors adopt an experimental approach to measure behaviour. Participants receive performance-related financial incentives to perform trust games in different information-rich treatments that represent three retail environments: a physical environment representing bricks-and-mortar trade, an electronic environment representing Web-based online retailing and a virtual environment representing virtual world retail.

Findings

The authors find that the two dimensions of trust significantly differ between the treatments. In particular, as hypothesised, both trustingness and trustworthiness are higher in the virtual than in the electronic environment. However, contrary to the hypotheses, physical trade is not associated with greater trust than virtual trade.

Research limitations/implications

The authors extend previous research by demonstrating how the information richness of the virtual world interface can promote e-commerce by deepening trust between trading partners. This research also complements existing work that approaches product and service interfaces through the lens of servicescapes.

Practical implications

The findings also contribute towards the development of services marketing practice and the design of e-commerce environments.

Originality/value

Much of the work in this space considers purchase intentions and attitudes around trust, whereas this study looks at actual trust behaviour in the virtual space.
Rethinking functionality and emotions in the service consumption process: the case of funeral services
Authors: Korai Bernard , Souiden Nizar
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the service literature by investigating post-consumption evaluation in the context of unwanted services. In particular, it intends to delineate the main characteristics of funeral services.

Design/methodology/approach

Given the lack of substantive literature on funeral services, a qualitative exploratory design was used from in-depth interviews with ten managers of funeral services companies in Quebec (Canada).

Findings

The study shows that compared to other traditional services, funeral services are characterized by their strong emotiveness, non-recurrence, irreversibility, uncommonness, high level of symbolism and personalization and emotion control of the service provider. The study also argues that funeral services quality is strongly dependent on funeral houses’ integrated logistics, proximity and integrity.

Practical implications

Because of consumers’ lack of competency, funeral companies need to guide and educate consumers about the criteria they should use to evaluate the service quality. Because funeral consumers are strongly emotion-driven at the purchase time, funeral services providers should find the right balance of emotions to express. Thus, more staff training is needed.

Originality/value

Because funeral services are emotionally challenging and deal with grief and distressed clients, the present study contributes in shedding light on service quality assessment in the funeral industry. Although they have some characteristics of traditional services (intangibility, perishability and variability), funeral services are also different in many ways.
Editorial: the role of the editor – managing fair play
Authors: Russell-Bennett Rebekah , Baron Steve
Published: March 2017

Purpose

This editorial aims to highlight the challenges and dilemmas faced by journal editors and the implications for the editorial process.

Design/methodology/approach

A sporting metaphor has been used. A soccer referee is used to highlight the tasks, roles and dilemmas faced by editors.

Findings

Editors need to identify the role they wish to play in the editorial process, and this role involves balancing the dilemmas and identifying trade-offs.

Originality/value

This research offers insight into the editorial role for authors to assist them in understanding both the process and the decisions that are made in a complex, competitive environment of publishing.
An empirical examination of the services triangle
Authors: Anderson Sidney , Smith Jeffery
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The “services triangle” is a dynamic model in which three interlinked entities (customer, employee and firm) combine to create three dyads [employee-firm (EF), customer-firm (CF) and customer-employee (CE)] that work together to deliver services. This study aims to determine whether significant differences existvis-à-visthe impact of EF, CF and CE dyads on the service experience.

Design/methodology/approach

Empirical evidence from data garnered from 398 surveys was used to test a conceptual model. To test the hypotheses, like-signed first-order dyads were constructed and combined to create second-order dyads, and analysis of variance and post-hoc tests (least significant differences) were used to investigate whether differences among the second-order dyads exist.

Findings

The analysis reveals the differential impact of the three services triangle dyads on the service experience. Specifically, customers’ perception of EF fit appears to have the greatest impact on customers’ evaluation of the service experience, followed by CF and CE fit.

Research limitations/implications

The main implication is that this paper extends conceptual research by providing empirical evidence that the EF dyad is the foundation of the services triangle. The limitations are based primarily on methodology, where the use of a survey to collect data rules out the potential generalizations of true cause and effect while also potentially being subject to common method bias.

Practical implications

Managers should realize that fit within some dyads is more instrumental in determining the service experience than fit within others. A number of managerial implications are proposed and discussed.

Originality/value

Prior research has neither empirically examined the services triangle nor whether significant differences exists among the impact of its dyads on the service experience. Insights from various literatures, the application of the balance theory and the construction of first- and second-order dyads enables an investigation of the various relational patterns contained in the services triangle.
Customer experience – a review and research agenda
Authors: Jain Rajnish , Aagja Jayesh , Bagdare Shilpa
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on customer experience to develop a better understanding of the concept and propose a research agenda.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on a thorough review of 69 full-text articles, 12 books and one published dissertation related to customer experience.

Findings

The review describes the relevance of experiential perspective, service experience and customer experience to attract, delight and retain customers. Customer experience is regarded as a holistic interactive process, facilitated through cognitive and emotional clues, moderated by customer and contextual characteristics, resulting into unique and pleasurable/un-pleasurable memories. The study provides a deeper understanding of the concept and research issues for customer experience.

Research limitations/implications

It provides important insights into the emergence, development, management and measurement of customer experience-related issues for future research.

Practical implications

Customer experience needs to be considered and managed as a holistic strategic process for creating customer value, differentiation, customer satisfaction, loyalty and competitive advantage.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the understanding of customer experience and research agenda based on a thorough review of literature spanning 25 years.
Does cooperating with customers support the financial performance of business-to-business professional service firms?
Authors: Siahtiri Vida
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationship between Business-to-business professional service firms (B2B PSFs) customer cooperation capability (CCC) and its financial performance. This study explores how deep and broad expert and customer knowledge assist PSFs to enhance CCC and increase financial performance.

Design/methodology/approach

A multiple informant survey was designed and administered to B2B PSFs’ managers in Taiwan.

Findings

The results indicate that customer and expert knowledge improve PSFs’ CCC and that CCC has a positive U-shaped relationship with financial performance. Importantly, the ability to control for the efficiency of customer cooperation moderates the U-shaped relationship between CCC and financial performance by diminishing the negative effect of low levels of CCC.

Originality/value

The contribution of this study rests on the theory developed and empirical support disclosing the complex relationship between PSFs’ CCC and financial performance. The study further contributes to the literature by presenting different effect of deep and broad expert and customer knowledge on development of CCC. The study extends the literature by introducing control for efficiency of customer cooperation as a mechanism that has the capacity to compensate for lower levels of CCC.
The role of expectations on consumer interpretation of new information
Authors: Tan Lina , Roberts John Heath , Morrison Pamela Danvers
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of consumers’ expectations and their antecedents on beliefs, attitude and behavioral intentions when they respond to new corporate social responsibility (CSR) information about a service firm.

Design/methodology/approach

Empirically, the authors measure prior beliefs, and then calibrate how those beliefs change in response to a piece of news. The authors develop a conceptual model articulating the nature and antecedents of three types of expectations: would, could and should. The authors use structural equation modeling to test how these expectations influence the consumer evaluation process.

Findings

The results show that the effect of could expectations on the evaluation process is felt via their influence on would expectations; that is, would expectations fully mediate the relationship between could expectations and attitude toward news. Similarly, attitude toward news fully mediates the relationship between would and should expectations and updated beliefs about the firm.

Research limitations/implications

In the selected service industry, the findings show that expectations are mediated by the new information that consumers receive when they are updating their prior beliefs. The authors demonstrate the ability to understand the antecedents of expectations, which provides a vehicle by which the organization can influence the consumer evaluation process.

Practical implications

In practice, managers can identify the antecedents of consumer expectations and thus influence the reference points against which those consumers will evaluate news about their product.

Social implications

CSR has important implications for multiple stakeholders and the authors calibrate the determinants of how news about the organization’s performance on it may affect consumer decision processes.

Originality/value

The paper introduces “could” expectations into the services literature, examines the antecedents of the different types of expectations, and studies how their effect is felt through the evaluation process.
Decision quality of the research project evaluation mechanism by using particle swarm optimization
Authors: Seo Young Wook , Lee Kun Chang , Lee Sangjae
Published: March 2017

Purpose

For those who plan research funds and assess the research performance from the funds, it is necessary to overcome the limitations of the conventional classification of evaluated papers published by the research funds. Besides, they need to promote the objective, fair clustering of papers, and analysis of research performance. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to find the optimum clustering algorithm using the MATLAB tools by comparing the performances of and the hybrid particle swarm optimization algorithms using the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm and the conventional K-means clustering method.

Design/methodology/approach

The clustering analysis experiment for each of the three fields of study – health and medicine, physics, and chemistry – used the following three algorithms: “K-means+Simulated annealing (SA)+Adjustment of parameters+PSO” (KASA-PSO clustering), “K-means+SA+PSO” clustering, “K-means+PSO” clustering.

Findings

The clustering analyses of all the three fields showed that KASA-PSO is the best method for the minimization of fitness value. Furthermore, this study administered the surveys intended for the “performance measurement of decision-making process” with 13 members of the research fund organization to compare the group clustering by the clustering analysis method of KASA-PSO algorithm and the group clustering by research funds. The results statistically demonstrated that the group clustering by the clustering analysis method of KASA-PSO algorithm was better than the group clustering by research funds.

Practical implications

This study examined the impact of bibliometric indicators on research impact of papers. The results showed that research period, the number of authors, and the number of participating researchers had positive effects on the impact factor (IF) of the papers; the IF that indicates the qualitative level of papers had a positive effect on the primary times cited; and the primary times cited had a positive effect on the secondary times cited. Furthermore, this study clearly showed the decision quality perceived by those who are working for the research fund organization.

Originality/value

There are still too few studies that assess the research project evaluation mechanisms and its effectiveness perceived by the research fund managers. To fill the research void like this, this study aims to propose PSO and successfully proves validity of the proposed approach.
Investigating the determinants of e-book adoption
Authors: Hsu Chia-Lin , Lin Yu-Hsiang , Chen Mu-Chen , Chang Kuo-Chien , Hsieh Ai-Yun
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the key factors that affect users’ adoption of e-books using an extension of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) that includes the following factors: environmental concerns, perceived benefits, and benevolence trust.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors analyzed survey responses from 343 participants using structural equation modeling to examine the hypothesized relationships in this research model.

Findings

The results show that users’ adoption of e-books is determined by performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, environmental concern, perceived benefit, and benevolence trust.

Research limitations/implications

The authors restricted this study to consumers’ adoption of e-books. Further studies could examine consumer’s adoption of other mediums, such as cutting-edge information technologies.

Practical implications

The results suggest that marketers should consider altering their methods of promoting e-books to attract consumers and further affect their usage intention.

Originality/value

This study proposes and tests an extended UTAUT model that includes the additional factors of environmental concern, perceived benefit, and benevolence trust in order to examine the influence of these factors on e-book adoption. The findings are particularly useful for assisting managers to increase e-book adoption.
Instrument development and contextualization for perceived characteristics of e-transactions
Authors: Abunadi Ibrahim , Alqahtani Fayez
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify and develop a contextualized model and instrument to assess citizens’ transactions with government organizations, with a view to predicting and elucidating acceptance of e-transactions. For this purpose, a research model (perceived characteristics of e-transactions acceptance) is developed.

Design/methodology/approach

In order to analyze e-transaction acceptance and identify the requirements of the research context, several models were considered. An approach was employed to contextualize or localize the theoretical model, questionnaire items, and the instrument. An online survey gathered the responses of 663 Saudi citizens.

Findings

Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses showed that the measurement model was the most suitable for the collected data. In addition to developing a conceptual research model and instrument, the present study provides a rigorous methodology for contextualizing the model, questionnaire items, and the instrument.

Originality/value

This paper develops an original instrument derived from rigorous information systems methodology research. The research model could also be utilized in emerging economies that are implementing e-government to improve the development of e-government services and facilitate acceptance of electronic government transactions, ultimately enhancing citizens’ lives.