bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Fostering independent learning and engagement for postgraduate students
Authors: Blount Yvette , McNeill Margot
Published: May 2011

Purpose

As educational technologies are more widely adopted in higher education teaching and learning, publishers often include online resources to accompany their textbook offerings. The purpose of this paper is to report the results of a study forming part of a larger ongoing evaluation of the third party software product WileyPLUS.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper describes the integration of the publisher's tools into a specific curriculum context and takes a critical look at the pedagogical effectiveness of the software in this context. A mixed‐methods approach is taken in the study, using a small postgraduate accounting unit as a case study.

Findings

While many students reported positive experiences with the third party resources, technical issues were a barrier to their effectiveness and many students did not engage with the optional resources. The unit convenor's experience was largely positive.

Practical implications

Although it may be tempting for unit convenors to adopt these tools and resources as readily available and easy to use, it is important that they are integrated into the curriculum and that students are supported in their use.

Originality/value

Outcomes include a list of critical success factors and an evaluation framework that could be of use to other academics seeking to embed third party resources into their teaching.
Public service productivity: how to capture outputs?
Authors: Jääskeläinen Aki , Lönnqvist Antti
Published: May 2011

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the micro‐level (managerial) measurement of service productivity in the context of public services, in particular, the role of different output elements.

Design/methodology/approach

Current knowledge on the issue is summarised based on the existing literature on service productivity and public sector performance. Measurement challenges and potential solutions are studied in four different services of the city of Helsinki, Finland.

Findings

The case study demonstrates that complex service outputs can be divided into components (both tangible and intangible) that can be utilised in designing more sophisticated productivity measures. The findings add to the existing understanding about issues related to public service output definition.

Research limitations/implications

This study provides knowledge to support the application of a disaggregated approach to service productivity measurement. However, more research is needed in order to fully utilise this approach in practice.

Practical implications

The findings of the study may help managers identify service output components in public/social services. This can be used as a starting point for developing novel productivity measures.

Originality/value

A key challenge in examining service productivity relates to the intangible nature of services; it is especially difficult to define the actual outputs produced. The challenges seem to be most severe in the public sector due to its specific characteristics. Many of the existing studies examine the issue at macro level. In large multi‐service organisations there is a managerial need to gather micro‐level information on productivity. This paper demonstrates how a disaggregated approach presented in the earlier literature can be operationalised. The approach yields a detailed understanding of different output components, which is a necessary step in designing relevant productivity measures for operative‐level management.
The risks and returns of new public management: political business
Authors: Luke Belinda , Kearins Kate , Verreynne Martie‐Louise
Published: May 2011

Purpose

This article aims to consider success in terms of the financial returns and risks of new public management (NPM) in state‐owned enterprises (SOEs).

Design/methodology/approach

Financial returns of New Zealand SOEs were examined through a review of their annual reports over a five‐year period. Dimensions of risk were examined through interviews conducted in two phases over a two‐year period with senior executives from 12 of the (then) 17 SOEs operating in New Zealand.

Findings

Findings indicate the potential for SOEs to operate as profitable government investments, with clear support for positive financial returns under NPM. However, variations noted within individual SOEs also indicate that profitable and commercial operations may not be possible in all cases. An examination of the risks associated with SOEs' operations reveals a number of dimensions of risk, encompassing financial, political (including regulatory), reputational, and public accountability aspects.

Practical implications

There is a need for an enhanced awareness on the part of internal and external stakeholders (such as the government and general public) of the risks SOEs face in pursuing higher levels of profitability. Also required, is a more acute understanding on the part of internal and external stakeholders (e.g. government and the public) of the need for SOEs to manage the range of risks identified, given the potentially delicate balance between risk and return.

Originality/value

While previous studies have considered the financial returns of SOEs, or the risks faced by the public sector in terms of accountability, few have addressed the two issues collectively in a single context.
Targeted criteria performance improvement
Authors: Barton Harry , Beynon Malcolm J.
Published: May 2011

Purpose

The paper is set in the context of the impact of new public management (NPM) on the police service in the UK. Specifically, it aims to describe a modelling based approach to targeted police performance improvement within a specific area of measured operational policing namely sanction detection levels. It draws upon nationally available crime statistics, which have been utilised in a novel way in order to provide the police with an additional performance management technique.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses secondary data and the PROMETHEE ranking technique to exposit performance rank improvement of a police force amongst their most similar forces group.

Findings

The modelling approach is a proven tool that could be used in partnership with other police performance management techniques in their attempt to meet the public interest and Home Office demands for improvements in base sanction detection levels.

Research limitations/implications

The paper presents a theoretical approach that seeks to address a complex and multifaceted operational issue affecting all police forces. The theoretical nature in itself presents a potentially idealistic scenario.

Practical implications

The paper demonstrates that innovative modelling has the potential to add value to techniques that are currently used in the area of police performance improvement, in this case sanction detection levels. At the fundamental level this could be viewed in terms of “Where to start first, and from there?” with respect to targeting certain types of crime.

Originality/value

This paper uses a modern ranking technique previously unused in this area.
Australian Federal Police drug investigations: benefit‐cost analysis
Authors: McFadden Michael , Porter Toni‐Lee
Published: May 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess the social impact, i.e. the estimated return to the Australian community, of Australian Federal Police (AFP) drug law enforcement effort in general and the relative success of specific policy initiatives.

Design/methodology/approach

Benefit‐cost analysis (BCA) was employed in the assessment of 2,716 drug investigations that took place between 2000 and 2005. Costs associated with the Australian Customs Service, the legal process and prisons were included. Benefits related to the economic estimate of reduced harm in terms of death and injury, crime, reduced productivity, and pain and suffering associated with the use of illicit drugs.

Findings

The results suggest that the Australian community receives $5.80 of benefit in terms of potential harm avoided for every dollar invested in drug law enforcement. Specific policy initiatives were found to result in higher than average returns: investigations involving domestic and international partners ($6.00 and $9.20 respectively), an emphasis on serious and complex crime ($9.20), and intelligence‐led policing ($7.90).

Research limitation/implications

The estimation of economic benefits is the most contentious area of the study. The AFP is undertaking a review of its estimation of benefits.

Originality/value

The results suggest that AFP drug law enforcement provides a positive contribution to the wellbeing of the Australian community. Furthermore, the findings indicate that specific drug law enforcement initiatives enhance the relative effectiveness of drug law enforcement in Australia. The study also provides an example to other public sector agencies of the use of BCA to determine the social impact of their policies.
Corporate governance and strategic information on the internet
Authors: García Sánchez Isabel‐María , Rodríguez Domínguez Luis , Gallego Álvarez Isabel
Published: May 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this study is twofold: to evidence the disclosure practices of Spanish companies in relation to a voluntary typology of strategic information; and to determine the factors that explain these practices. Among the factors considered, the study seeks to focus on the role of the Board of Directors in depth. According to Agency Theory, strategic information has positive consequences on external funds costs. On the other hand, Proprietary Costs theory limits these practices, given that they can lead to competitive disadvantages.

Design/methodology/approach

First, online strategic information disclosure practices are analysed by examining non‐financial quoted Spanish firms. A disclosure index is created, and subsequently, certain factors related to corporate governance – Activity, Size and Board Independence – as well as other factors traditionally analysed, are used to explain the volume of strategic information disclosed on the internet.

Findings

The results indicate that Spanish companies, on average, give out little strategic information, mainly related to objectives, their mission, and the company's philosophy. “Company annual planning” and “Information on risks” are scarcely disclosed. The findings also emphasise that companies where the Chairperson of the Board is the same person as the CEO and, moreover, in which there is a lower frequency of meetings, disclose a greater amount of strategic information on their web sites.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that the disclosure of strategic information is a decision taken by executives with the aim of satisfying the demands of creditors and investors. The Board of Directors represents the shareholders' interests, but it does not participate in strategic decision‐making disclosure, maybe due to the fact that the proprietary costs lack influence.

Originality/value

The link between corporate governance and strategic information disclosed online has scarcely been analysed in previous literature. This study provides interesting insights into how several Board characteristics can affect the disclosure of strategic information on the internet.
Does patient satisfaction affect patient loyalty?
Authors: Kessler Daniel P. , Mylod Deirdre
Published: May 2011

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate how patient satisfaction affects propensity to return, i.e. loyalty.

Design/methodology/approach

Data from 678 hospitals were matched using three sources. Patient satisfaction data were obtained from Press Ganey Associates, a leading survey firm; process‐based quality measures and hospital characteristics (such as ownership and teaching status) and geographic areas were obtained from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The frequency with which end‐of‐life patients return to seek treatment at the same hospital was obtained from the Dartmouth Atlas. The study uses regression analysis to estimate satisfaction's effects on patient loyalty, while holding process‐based quality measures and hospital and market characteristics constant.

Findings

There is a statistically significant link between satisfaction and loyalty. Although satisfaction's effect overall is relatively small, contentment with certain hospitalization experience may be important. The link between satisfaction and loyalty is weaker for high‐satisfaction hospitals, consistent with other studies in the marketing literature.

Research limitation/implications

The US hospitals analyzed are not a random sample; the results are most applicable to large, non‐profit teaching hospitals in competitive markets.

Practical implications

Satisfaction ratings have business implications for healthcare providers and may be useful as a management tool for private and public purchasers.

Originality/value

The paper is the first to show that patient satisfaction affects actual hospital choices in a large sample. Because patient satisfaction ratings are also correlated with other quality measures, the findings suggest a pathway through which individuals naturally gravitate toward higher‐quality care.
Factors affecting nurses' perceptions of patient safety
Authors: Mwachofi Ari , Walston Stephen L. , Al‐Omar Badran A.
Published: May 2011

Purpose

Nurses heavily influence patient care quality and safety. This paper aims to examine socioeconomic and organizational/system factors affecting patient safety and quality perceptions.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire was constructed to gather demographic, managerial support, information technology implementation and integration information. Data were collected from nurses in five Riyadh hospitals, Saudi Arabia. Registered nurses working in hospital departments participated in the survey. A total of 566 completed questionnaires were returned. Subsequent data were analyzed through binary logistic regression.

Findings

Factors that improve patient safety and the likelihood that nurses use their own facility include: fewer visible errors; ability to communicate suggestions; information technology support and training; and a confidential error reporting system.

Research limitations/implications

The survey was a cross‐sectional study. Consequently, it is difficult to establish causation. Furthermore, nursing in these hospitals is dominated by foreign nationals. Also, as with all surveys, this research may be subject to response bias. Although the questionnaire was randomly distributed, there were no mechanisms to assure privacy and minimize peer influence. The high positive patient safety perceptions may be influenced by either individual or peer biases.

Practical implications

Nurses are important communicators; especially about hospital safety and quality. The research informs leaders about areas that need considering and improving. Findings indicate that system factors, including functional feedback, suggestions, and error reporting significantly affect patient safety improvements. Likewise, nurse education to operate their information systems has positive effects. Healthcare leaders need to understand factors that affect patient safety perceptions when creating a patient safety culture.

Originality/value

Few international articles examine the factors that influence nurses' patient safety perceptions or examine those factors that affect these perceptions. This paper adds value by researching what influences patient safety perceptions among Riyadh nurses.
A computerized surveillance system for asthma
Authors: Karakis Isabella , Blumenfeld Moshe , Yegev Yaron , Goldfarb Dan , Bolotin Arkady , Weiler Zeev , Carel Rafael
Published: May 2011

Purpose

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory airways disease characterized by acute exacerbations interspaced by symptom‐free periods. Its management imposes a substantial burden on healthcare services, as well as personal suffering and significant financial tolls. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate links between routinely used computerized databases and to establish an automatic mechanism for monitoring asthma patients.

Design/methodology/approach

The study population was all adult subscribers to a major health maintenance organization (HMO) in Southern Israel (230,000 adults, age 20‐65 years). Relevant data for this retrospective analysis (2000 to 2004) were extracted from several computerized databases routinely used in the service: pharmacy; administrative; and each person's personal computerized medical file in the primary care clinic.

Findings

Based on data from 72 regional primary care clinics, during the study period, 11,054 adults were treated simultaneously by β2 agonists and steroids – assumed to be asthmatics. In contrast, asthma diagnosis was recorded in only 4,061 personal files. The intersection between two databases yielded 2,569 persons recorded in both. These findings attest to the feasibility of developing computerized automatic surveillance systems for monitoring asthma patients with certain algorithms to assure service quality.

Research limitations/implications

Data extracted from the various databases were unequal quality, a factor that imposed data management difficulties.

Practical implications

Similar surveillance systems can be developed relatively easily by using comparable algorithms for monitoring different chronic diseases or introducing management indices to secure quality of services.

Originality/value

The paper focuses on developing an automatic asthma monitoring model, using information from routinely used computerized HMO DBs.
Hospital cost structure in the USA: what's behind the costs? A business case
Authors: Chandra Charu , Kumar Sameer , Ghildayal Neha S.
Published: May 2011

Purpose

Hospital costs in the USA are a large part of the national GDP. Medical billing and supplies processes are significant and growing contributors to hospital operations costs in the USA. This article aims to identify cost drivers associated with these processes and to suggest improvements to reduce hospital costs.

Design/methodology/approach

A Monte Carlo simulation model that uses @Risk software facilitates cost analysis and captures variability associated with the medical billing process (administrative) and medical supplies process (variable). The model produces estimated savings for implementing new processes.

Findings

Significant waste exists across the entire medical supply process that needs to be eliminated. Annual savings, by implementing the improved process, have the potential to save several billion dollars annually in US hospitals. The other analysis in this study is related to hospital billing processes. Increased spending on hospital billing processes is not entirely due to hospital inefficiency.

Research limitations/implications

The study lacks concrete data for accurately measuring cost savings, but there is obviously room for improvement in the two US healthcare processes. This article only looks at two specific costs associated with medical supply and medical billing processes, respectively.

Practical implications

This study facilitates awareness of escalating US hospital expenditures. Cost categories, namely, fixed, variable and administrative, are presented to identify the greatest areas for improvement.

Originality/value

The study will be valuable to US Congress policy makers and US healthcare industry decision makers. Medical billing process, part of a hospital's administrative costs, and hospital supplies management processes are part of variable costs. These are the two major cost drivers of US hospitals' expenditures that were examined and analyzed.
Understanding the effects of addition of copper nanoparticles to Sn‐3.5 Ag solder
Authors: Nadia Aemi , Haseeb A.S.M.A.
Published: May 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the fabrication of SAC nanocomposites solder and discuss the effects of nanoCu addition on the structure and properties of resulted nanocomposite solder.

Design/methodology/approach

Ball milling is a nonequilibrium processing technique for producing composite metal particles with submicron homogeneity by the repeated cold welding and fracture of powder particles. This method is believed to offer good processablity, precise control over the solder composition, and produce more homogeneous mixture.

Findings

It is found that the melting temperature, the wetting behaviour, and hardness are improved when the Cu nanoparticles are added.

Originality/value

So far, no work has been done on the preparation of Cu nanoparticle added composite by ball milling. This paper presents the fabrication of Sn‐Ag‐Cu nanocomposite solders in a planetary ball mill process, and the data are compared with related researches done.
Enhanced thermal fatigue endurance and lifetime prediction of lead‐free LGA joints in LTCC modules
Authors: Nousiainen O. , Salmela O. , Putaala J. , Kangasvieri T.
Published: May 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe the effect of indium alloying on the thermal fatigue endurance of Sn3.8Ag0.7Cu solder in low‐temperature co‐fired ceramic (LTCC) modules with land grid array (LGA) joints and the feasibility of using a recalibrated Engelmaier model to predict the lifetime of LGA joints as determined with a test assembly.

Design/methodology/approach

Test assemblies were fabricated and exposed to a temperature cycling test over a temperature range of −40‐125°C. Organic printed wiring board (PWB) material with a low coefficient of thermal expansion was used to reduce the global thermal mismatch of the assembly. The characteristic lifetime, θ, of the test assemblies was determined using direct current resistance measurements. The metallurgy and failure mechanisms of the interconnections were verified using scanning acoustic microscopy, an optical microscope with polarized light, and scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM/EDS) investigations. Lifetime predictions of the test assemblies were calculated using the recalibrated Engelmaier model.

Findings

This work showed that indium alloying increased the characteristic lifetime of LGA joints by 15 percent compared with Sn3.8Ag0.7Cu joints. SEM/EDS analysis showed that alloying changed the composition, size, and distribution of intermetallic compounds within the solder matrix. It was also observed that a solid‐state phase transformation (Cu,Ni)6Sn5(→ (Ni,Cu)3Sn4 occurred at the Ni/(Cu,Ni)6Sn5 interface. Moreover, the results pointed out that individual recalibration curves for ceramic package/PWB assemblies with high (≥ 10 ppm/°C) and low (≈ 3‐4 ppm/°C) global thermal mismatches and different package thicknesses should be determined before the lifetime of LGA‐type assemblies can be predicted accurately using the recalibrated Engelmaier model.

Originality/value

The results proved that indium alloying of LGA joints can be done using In‐containing solder on pre‐tinned pads of an LTCC module, despite the different liquidus temperatures of the In‐containing and Sn3.8Ag0.7Cu solders. The characteristic metallurgical features and enhanced thermal fatigue endurance of the In‐alloyed SnAgCu joints were also determined. Finally, this work demonstrated the problems that exist in predicting the lifetime of ceramic packages with LGA joints using analytical modeling, and proposals for developing the recalibrated Engelmaier model to achieve more accurate results with different ceramic packages/PWB assemblies are given.
Effect of solder joint integrity on the thermal performance of a TEC for a 980 nm pump laser module
Authors: Takyi G. , Amalu E.H. , Bernasko P.K.
Published: May 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effect of solder wettability on the thermal performance of a thermo‐electric cooler (TEC) of a 980 nm pump laser module.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, TEC thermal performance has been evaluated using a heat pump test. The results were compared with scanning acoustic microscopy (C‐SAM) results in order to have a better understanding of the thermal behaviour of the TEC. In the C‐SAM experiments, images were taken at the interfaces between the housing and TEC, as well as at the interfaces between the chip‐on‐carrier (CoC) and TEC.

Findings

The heat pump test results indicate a strong correlation with the C‐SAM test results. The C‐SAM observations show good solder joint at the interface between the TEC and housing in the case of the device that yielded a good heat pump test result (11.5°C) and poor solder joints (gross de‐lamination) at the interface between the TEC and housing in the case of the device that yielded a poor heat pump test result (24.4°C). The C‐SAM observations did not show much difference at the interface between the CoC and TEC. The results from this study were used to qualify the post‐vacuum soldered laser pump devices at JDS Uniphase, Plymouth, UK.

Originality/value

The findings presented in this paper indicate that the level of solder wettability at the interfaces between the piece parts impacts the thermal performance of the TEC.
Understanding the roles of management accountants
Authors: De Loo Ivo , Verstegen Bernard , Swagerman Dirk
Published: May 2011

Purpose

The goal of this paper is to use a coherent conceptual framework to discern variables (triggers) that affect a management accountant's role in an organization, thereby generating a comprehensive empirical picture of the management accountant profession in The Netherlands. Similar research was conducted in 2004, which allows a comparison of the data to see if, and to what extent, developments in the profession have taken place.

Design/methodology/approach

Using survey data, groups of management accountants are distinguished based on coherent combinations of activities. Factor and cluster analyses are applied to obtain a segmentation of the data. By doing this, it is established if homogeneous groups of management accountants can be distinguished, how many groups there are and what the characteristics of these groups are in terms of activities.

Findings

It was found that controllers either operate as “reporting business analysts” or “business system analysts”. Whether someone is found to be a reporting business analyst or business system analyst is among other things affected by personality traits, a person's experience in finance and accounting, the financial status of an organization and changes in laws and regulations.

Research limitations/implications

The conceptual framework proposed integrates several previous studies on the roles of management accountants. It allows an analysis of their activities, yielding an empirically founded classification of management accountants in groups. In addition, possible factors underlying this classification can be discerned. As this is a generally applicable framework, it can, at a later stage, be used to make a comparison between countries, for instance in Europe.

Practical implications

The resulting picture of the management accountant profession provides information on how to form or even design the financial function in an organization. Apparently, the developments in the profession reflect changes in the business environment and society as a whole, as it seems that internal analysis and risk management have become more fundamental to the profession.

Originality/value

This research uses an original framework covering several previous studies to generate a comprehensive empirical picture of the management accountant profession in The Netherlands. The framework is used to track changes over a three‐year period.
Identifying the characteristics of small specialist international retailers
Authors: Hutchinson Karise , Quinn Barry
Published: May 2011

Purpose

This paper seeks to examine the internationalisation process of small, specialist retailers with the aim of identifying the key characteristics that define this specific category of international retailer.

Design/methodology/approach

Qualitative case studies of nine UK‐based small international retailers, coupled with interviews with government and consultancy organisations, form the empirical basis of the work.

Findings

The findings highlight five characteristics of small specialist international retailers: possession of a strong company brand image/identity with luxury/middle market appeal; niche strategy; dual strategy of expansion; ownership characteristics defined either by the founder or parent company; and vertical integration from manufacturing to retailing.

Practical implications

With the increasing internationalisation of retail operations, the specialist sector comprises a significant number of retailers operating in international markets or contemplating the move into the international marketplace. The findings of the current work highlight the key factors that characterise those small specialist firms that operate outside their domestic market.

Originality/value

The paper identifies the key characteristics that define a significant category of international retailer, hitherto unexplored in the literature.
Profiled fiber cross‐sectional shape characterization for identification
Authors: Wang Zhaoli , Zhong Yueqi , Wang Shanyan
Published: May 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to show how shape analysis and quantitative characterization of fiber cross sections, with the aid of image analysis techniques, provide a quick, powerful approach to automated profiled fiber identification.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, an effective method of cross‐sectional shape characterization for profiled fiber identification is reported with extraction of the distance fluctuation curve of fiber cross‐sectional boundary to the centroid. By calculating their cross‐correlations using signal processing techniques, the authors tackle the problem of calibrating the starting points of fiber objects orientated arbitrarily in image successfully, which are difficult to deal with by means of image processing, to finish the normalization of distance fluctuation curves. For two fiber cross‐sections, the similarity degree of their boundary fluctuation curves normalized can effectively reflect the similarity degree of themselves.

Findings

Based on this, the method presented extracts the curves of all fiber cross‐sections in one sample, compares the similarity degrees between each other, and creates clusters to identify profiled fiber.

Originality/value

Experimental results validate that this curve can effectively characterize profiled fiber cross‐sectional contour for profiled fiber identification and the normalization method is feasible.
Mesh topology in scanned garment reconstruction
Authors: Liu Hongyan , Zhong Yueqi , Wang Shanyuan
Published: May 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the draping behavior of a scanned garment model in irregular and regular mesh topology. 3D garment with high fidelity can be obtained via range data scanning. The original output of a body scanner is an unorganized points cloud. In this paper, the geometrical surface of 3D garment is reconstructed through a series of treatments.

Design/methodology/approach

The primary target of this work is to investigate the dynamic behavior of the corresponding physical model transferred from different mesh topologies. A mass‐spring model is constructed for both regular and irregular meshes. The performance under various integration methods is evaluated.

Findings

Experimental results reveal the procedure of regularization is suitable for the integrators that are sensitive to the physically‐based simulation of scanned garments.

Originality/value

The geometrical surface of 3D garment is reconstructed through a series of treatments solving the problem of points cloud data for high definition 3D data.
What makes service employees and customers smile
Authors: Lin Jiun‐Sheng Chris , Lin Cheng‐Yu
Published: May 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the phenomenon of emotional contagion in service encounters by proposing and testing an empirical model of the antecedents and consequences of affective service delivery by employees.

Design/methodology/approach

A theoretical framework of the antecedents and outcomes of employee affective delivery in service interactions is developed on the basis of relevant studies in marketing, psychology, and organization. In total, nine hypothesized relationships between the constructs in the conceptual model are proposed and tested by structural equation modeling using data collected from 217 employee‐customer pairs in ten service industries.

Findings

Results showed that employee inner emotion, work group mood, and service environment all have a positive influence on employee affective delivery, which, in turn, positively influences customer emotion and service outcomes.

Research limitations/implications

This study represents an early attempt at exploring the antecedents of employee affective delivery in service context. Future research is discussed, with an emphasis on characteristics of employees/customers, employee experiences, and service norm.

Practical implications

Managers of service firms should recognize the importance of the drivers of employee positive displayed emotion. Service firms can benefit from focusing their attention on enhancing affective service delivery.

Originality/value

This study described in this paper addresses important research gaps in the service marketing literature by: empirically examining the antecedents of employee affective delivery in service interactions; and providing the first test of emotional contagion and its related processes with data collected from ten different service industries, rather than a single industry.
Developing effective service compensation strategies
Authors: Huang Wen‐Hsien , Lin Tzu‐Da
Published: May 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to gain some insight into the effectiveness of different types of tangible compensation strategies for two different types of services: utilitarian and hedonic.

Design/methodology/approach

The hypotheses are investigated using a 2×2 between‐subject experimental design and two factors: service type (utilitarian vs hedonic) and compensation type (utilitarian – a price reduction vs hedonic – a free gift).

Findings

The results show that customers prefer to receive a form of compensation that matches the type of service involved. For example, customers who receive a utilitarian compensation (e.g. a price reduction) after experiencing a failure in utilitarian service (e.g. at a bank) report higher levels of satisfaction and repurchase intention than they would after experiencing a failure in hedonic services (e.g. at a restaurant), but that the reverse is true for a hedonic‐type compensation (e.g. a free gift).

Practical implications

The offering of either a price reduction or a free gift cuts into company profits. Organizations should, therefore, tailor their service recovery efforts, focusing on those resources in the bundle that will have the greatest positive impact and create the most favorable customer response.

Originality/value

The primary contribution of this paper to the service marketing literature is that it provides empirical results, which shed light on the interplay between the type of compensation and the type of service on the customer's post‐recovery judgment of that service.
Comparative cross‐cultural service quality: an assessment of research methodology
Authors: Morales Miguel , Ladhari Riadh
Published: May 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the methodological approaches adopted in cross‐cultural service quality (CCSQ) research and the extent to which these approaches have adhered to the general principles of established cross‐cultural research methodology.

Design/methodology/approach

A search was conducted to identify CCSQ papers published between 1995 and 2009. The authors searched four well‐known online databases: ABI Inform (Proquest Direct), Emerald Library, ScienceDirect, and EBSCOhost. This search identified 40 studies, which were examined according to three broad groups of methodological issues: research design, instrumentation and data collection, and data analysis and measurement.

Findings

Despite the acknowledged contributions that these selected studies have made to the services‐marketing field, it is evident from this review that researchers have frequently overlooked many important aspects of cross‐cultural research methodology. These methodological deficiencies are discussed and various remedies are suggested.

Originality/value

There has been a growing research interest in comparative cross‐cultural service‐quality in recent decades. As this relatively new branch of service‐quality research becomes more prominent, it seems opportune to examine the methodological approaches adopted in these studies and the extent to which these approaches have adhered to the general principles of established cross‐cultural research methodology. This is the first work to examine such a large number of CCSQ studies.
Applying standards for leaders to the selection of secondary school principals
Authors: Wildy Helen , Pepper Coral , Guanzhong Luo
Published: May 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report innovative research aimed at ascertaining whether standards for school leaders could be applied to the process of selecting senior secondary school principals for appointment. Specifically, psychometrically robust measures of performance are sought that would sufficiently differentiate performance to support judgement about whether or not to appoint candidates in the public educational authority in Western Australia.

Design/methodology/approach

Initially, the authors describe previous research in the application of standards to selection in education, followed by a brief review of selection practices undertaken in two international settings and the Western Australian educational setting. The authors then describe the innovative design of performance‐based assessment tasks for the selection process including task and rubric development, rater training and data validation. The Rasch measurement model is used to analyse the datasets gathered during three iterations of selection process for the Western Australian education authority.

Findings

The Rasch analysis of each dataset provides evidence of construct validity and a robust measure of reliability. The person and item location distributions indicate the tasks were better targeted for the highest performing candidates in the second and third iterations and that fine‐grained discrimination was evident across the candidate locations.

Originality/value

The paper describes psychometrically robust measures of performance that would sufficiently differentiate performance to support judgement about whether or not to appoint candidates in the public educational authority in Western Australia. Specifically, the paper describes the development of performance‐based tasks over three years and demonstrates the application of Rasch analysis to examine the psychometric properties of the assessment tasks.
Estimating technical efficiency and bootstrapping Malmquist indices
Authors: de Jorge Moreno Justo , Sanz‐Triguero María
Published: May 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this work is twofold: on the one hand, recent methodologies will be used to estimate efficiency and productivity in Spain's non‐specialized retail sector for the period of 1997‐2007. In particular, the order‐m approach proposed by Cazals et al., which is based on the concept of expected minimum input function. On the other hand, the results obtained applying the methods mentioned in the Spanish retail sector can contribute to opening up a new field of analysis since the results may be compared by means of the methodologies proposed as well as those which already exist in the literature.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper used data envelopment analysis stochastic (order‐m) and bootstrapping Malmquist index to measure productivity and efficiency in 12 sectors in Spanish retail trade 1997‐2007.

Findings

In order to illustrate the methodology proposed in this paper different phases involved; first, we have estimated the efficiency in 12 sectors of the retail sector four digits NACE, we found high levels of inefficiency in most of the sectors analyzed over the period of analysis. Next, we will deepen and simplify the analysis by concentrating on food‐predominant sectors in non‐specialised shops (5211). The evolution of the efficiency of firms belonging to this sector decreases over the period of analysis. Analyzing the relationship between firms and size, the results obtained in this work shows that the firm's size have a positive influence on efficiency that suggest that the management may have incentives to grow in order to improve their efficiency levels. Our second contribution has to do with the use of bootstrapping Malmquist productivity indices. Productivity decreased at an average rate of −4.1 percent over the entire period of 1997‐2007. On average, this deterioration was due to efficiency change −6.1 percent. Technical progress is increased at an average rate of 2.1 percent. All rates at global level are statistically significant at 95 percent.

Originality/value

The main contribution of this paper is to provide an efficiency analysis using a non‐parametric approach with a robust estimator that has been suggested recently by Cazals et al. This methodology is that the first time that is applied in the analysis of retail sector. In addition, we analyze productivity growth using bootstrapping Malmquist indices. This methodology allows for a more careful analysis of what happens at firm level. Differences in conclusions between the original estimates and the bootstrap results are more evident when we scrutinize the sample firms and individual levels.
An empirical multi‐method investigation of price knowledge in food retailing
Authors: Kenning Peter , Hartleb Vivian , Schneider Helmut
Published: May 2011

Purpose

This paper aims to add insights on consumers' price knowledge in food retailing using a theory‐based multi‐method approach.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper provides data from one questionnaire and two experimental studies. The aim of the first study was to address price recall. To do so, data were collected on the accuracy of grocery‐shopper price knowledge for 20 carefully selected products. Using the mall intercept method, three trained interviewers queried 300 randomly selected people in the store, but prior to shopping. After a period of four weeks the subjects were contacted by phone and asked whether they would like to participate in a second two‐step experiment. A total of 105 of the original 300 shoppers agreed to take part in the second study, in which a recognition task in terms of a computer experiment was accomplished with and without financial incentives.

Findings

The results of these studies confirmed the authors' expectations, based on theoretical considerations that: the level of price recall is lower than the level of price recognition; incentives have no influence on price‐knowledge in the recognition task; and price‐knowledge for private labels is significantly higher in the recall, as well as in the recognition task. Moreover, in regression analyses it was found that there was no significant influence of age, gender, price‐consciousness, duration of customership, and shopping transactions per week on price recall and/or price recognition.

Research limitations/implications

The findings are limited with respect to branch, time period, and culture.

Originality/value

This paper is the first using a multi‐method approach to measure price‐recall and price‐recognition in food retailing. Moreover, it adds evidence concerning the differences of price‐knowledge due to the nature of the brand. Finally, it is shown that incentives and certain demographics have no influence on price‐knowledge.
Influence of social norms, perceived playfulness and online shopping anxiety on customers' adoption of online retail shopping
Authors: Çelik Hakan
Published: May 2011

Purpose

The previous studies examining the role of subjective norm (SN), online shopping anxiety (ANX) and perceived playfulness (PPL) in predicting the consumer's adoption of online shopping yielded fragmented and inconsistent findings. Also, a high proportion of these findings assessing the regarded behaviour of consumers in the West cannot be directly applied to a cross‐cultural context. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between these variables and the variables of technology acceptance model (TAM) associated with customer's online shopping intentions in an international environment.

Design/methodology/approach

The research model reflecting the effects of SN, ANX and PPL on TAM constructs has been proposed. In total, 278 cases were gathered from online shoppers through a web‐based survey. Structural equation modelling was used to evaluate the proposed research model in terms of path significance, overall model fit and explanatory power.

Findings

It was found that PPL had positive direct effects on both perceived ease of use of online shopping (PEOU) and behavioural intentions to shop online (BI). Nevertheless, SN and ANX appeared to exert significant positive and negative influences respectfully on only PEOU.

Research limitations/implications

The study findings were obtained from the single snapshot research, and the small dataset covering only actual online shoppers. Therefore, the future research should carry a longitudinal nature to show the temporal change effects and remedy the possibility of self‐selection bias with a broader research sample.

Originality/value

The paper provides additional insights for retailers and researchers into the effects of SN, ANX and PPL on online shopping intentions of Turkish consumers, which could be used in formulating online marketing strategies and considering future research directions.
The role of branded retail in manufacturers' international strategy
Authors: Ilonen Laura , Wren Jody , Gabrielsson Mika , Salimäki Markku
Published: May 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to clarify the different roles and implications of a manufacturer's branded retail operations on its international strategy. The roles are analyzed through two dimensions, brand strength and the role of branded retail as a sales channel.

Design/methodology/approach

A multiple case study approach is used to look at the international development of branded retail in four companies, LEGO, Nokia, Iittala and H & M.

Findings

This study finds that there are at least two approaches to implementing branded retail strategy internationally that can be and often are overlapping. Emphasis on branding appears to be important in both approaches. However, the role of the branded retail as a direct sales channel differs between the case companies. The paper discusses and demonstrates the importance and role of branded retail for companies not generally seen as retailers, from both sales and brand management perspectives.

Originality/value

The paper contributes by narrowing the evident research gap regarding this current and seemingly global phenomenon.