bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Is there a correlation between knowledge management maturity and organizational performance?
Authors: Kruger Cornelius Johannes (Neels) , Johnson Roy D.
Published: August 2011

Purpose

Beyond critique of current maturity models, the research literature has neglected to supply empirical evidence of the value knowledge management (KM) holds for organizations. The majority of studies, in common with other emergent business philosophies, are focused on large organizations of developed economies, where readily available implementation resources are an underlying assumption. This paper aims to address this issue and to assess the correlation between the successful institutionalization of KM and organizational performance (OP) in a developing economy.

Design/methodology/approach

From a large urban South African university engaged in numerous collaboration programs with industry, the authors gained insight into KM maturity and organizational performance (OP) of three industry groups, over a five‐year period. The authors apply an inventory developed by Kruger and Snyman to a set of nine organisations distributed over three economic sectors in South Africa.

Findings

By evaluating the relationship between KM maturity and OP from within three “time dependent” perspectives, insight was gained to answer the aim of the research undertaken, “Is there a correlation between KM maturity and OP in South Africa?” Diagrammatic presentation of OP scores and KM maturity growth revealed that in five out of the nine organizations there is a clearly identifiable relationship between KM maturity and OP in South Africa in both entities over the period under investigation. In certain instances, the correlations were not easily noticeable and/or were non‐existent. From a mathematical perspective, in comparing the correlation between growth in KM maturity and year‐on‐year growth in OP, it was revealed that six of the eight companies that recorded positive growth in KM maturity also recorded positive (year‐on‐year) growth in OP. In a similar manner, it was established that the company recording negative growth in KM maturity also recorded negative (year‐on‐year) growth in OP.

Research limitations/implications

Because the South African scenario can be considered a benchmark for developing economies characterized by continued change, diversity and even elements of silent intolerance and conflict, this study may be viewed as a “pilot study” to provide a baseline and insight into future research of KM for enabling OP.

Originality/value

This paper is of relevance to strategic managers and KM practitioners interested in gaining insight into the correlation between KM maturity and organisational performance.
Exploring the information technology contribution to service recovery performance through knowledge based resources
Authors: Mjahed Hammami Samiha , Triki Abdelfattah
Published: August 2011

Purpose

The objective of this paper is to highlight the importance of information technology in service recovery performance through the exploration of its influence on service recovery performance components and determinants.

Design/methodology/approach

A general inductive approach for analyzing qualitative data was adopted since the main research question of “How can information technology enable successful service recovery?” has not been examined in the complaint management literature. Data were collected through in‐depth interviews with key executives working in the Tunisian banking sector.

Findings

Drawing on the knowledge‐based view (KBV), the authors develop a general framework to understand the differences in service recovery performance (SRP). The research shows that various knowledge‐based resources such as customer orientation (CO), internal orientation (IO), and information technology (IT) complement one another to impact on SRP. Ignoring the complementarities of these resources in assessing SRP can seriously underestimate the impact of IT on the knowledge assets that are embedded in the firm recovery competency. This distinctive business competency is labelled knowledge enabled recovery effectiveness (KERE).

Research limitations/implications

Given the exploratory nature of this study, these preliminary results need quantitative research to refine theory and measurement of service recovery capabilities and for future validation of the proposed framework.

Practical implications

The findings provide important implications for the effective design and the automation of complaint management and for the intervening mechanisms that govern the IT business value.

Originality/value

The paper examines the issue of complaint management from a knowledge based view and calls for the need to consider specific customer relationship management (CRM) areas as a set of knowledge based activities.
Impact of knowledge management dimensions on learning organization across hierarchies in India
Authors: Chawla Deepak , Joshi Himanshu
Published: August 2011

Purpose

Organization hierarchy plays a crucial role in the effective management of knowledge and learning. Typically, the organization hierarchy includes employees at the top, middle and lower levels. Employees possess a wealth of knowledge but often knowledge‐driven learning across organization hierarchies is not uniform due to various factors pertaining to the employees such as their literacy levels, available‐time, access to resources, reward and recognition, mindset, level of empowerment etc. This paper attempts to compare how employees at the top and middle level hierarchies in Indian organizations perceive a learning organization (LO). It also attempts to understand how the dimensions of knowledge management (KM) influence LO and tests whether this is significantly different for the aforementioned two hierarchy levels.

Design/methodology/approach

A convenience sample of 57 top and middle level executives from India participated in the study. The extent of learning practices was compared and tested for significant differences across the top and middle level hierarchies.

Findings

A comparison of the mean scores shows that there is hardly any difference in the way executives at the two levels perceive LO. All the mean scores are below five on a scale of six, pointing to scope for improvement. Further, no statistical difference is found in the mean scores. The impact of KM dimensions on LO was found to be statistically insignificant for the two levels. Most of the KM dimensions were found to positively impact the LO as per the proposed hypothesis.

Research limitations/implications

The sample comprises 34 responses from top and 17 from middle level executives. This small sample size can be largely attributed to respondents' reluctance, especially of those from the public sector organizations, to openly share their views. A larger representation of respondents from the middle level hierarchy would certainly enhance the generalization of results. This low response rate has limited the use of the regression analysis technique as against any other powerful explanatory techniques.

Practical implications

The findings of this study can provide insights to organizations on the role of hierarchies in the management of knowledge and learning which can, in turn, help in developing best practices to manage the same.

Originality/value

The paper addresses the paucity of empirical research done to examine whether top and middle level executives perceive LO differently. It also studies the impact of KM on LO and provides evidence to demonstrate the difference in perception among different hierarchy levels. The value added is in identifying future areas of research by extending this synergy between KM and LO to enhance performance and competitiveness. This approach could be adopted to examine the relationship in different socio‐economic contexts and cultures.
Web site search engine optimization: a case study of Fragfornet
Authors: Gandour Aurélie , Regolini Amanda
Published: August 2011

Purpose

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a set of techniques used by websites in order to be better indexed by search engines. This papers aims to focus upon “white hat”, “in page” SEO: techniques to improve one's site content, hereby making it more attractive to human visitors as well as search engines, by making changes within the site's pages while focusing on chosen themes and keywords. The final goal is for the site to be better ranked by one or several targeted search engines and therefore appearing higher in their results lists for specified requests. This paper seeks to describe the steps one must take to reach such a goal, while focusing on the example of the website Fragfornet.

Design/methodology/approach

Fragfornet web pages have been generated through a “website factory” allowing the creation of dynamic websites on demand for the employees of Cemagref. This explains the steps to take to optimize for search engines any website using Zope Plone; even more broadly, the general recommendations described can be used by any website at all to gain more visibility on search engines. After a literature review about search engine optimization, the paper describes the methods used to optimize the website before exposing the results which were quickly obtained.

Findings

It was not long before the first effects of the SEO campaign were experienced. One week later, as soon as the Googlebots had crawled the site and stored a newer version of it within their databases, it immediately went up in the results pages for requests concerning forests fragmentation. This paper describes some of the parameters that were monitored and some of the conclusions drawn from them..

Originality/value

This paper's goal is to explain which steps to take for search engines to optimize any website elaborated through Cemagref website factory, or any website using Zope Plone. Even more broadly, the general recommendations described in this paper can be used by any librarian on any website to gain more visibility on search engines.
Effect of web searching on the OPAC: a comparison of selected university libraries
Authors: Kumar Shiv
Published: August 2011

Purpose

The paper seeks to evaluate the effect of web searching on online public access catalogue (OPAC) users in the university libraries in India. It is a comparative study of the three universities in the Union Territory of Chandigarh and Punjab State.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopted a questionnaire‐based survey. A structured questionnaire was administered to 500 users comprising faculty, research scholars, and postgraduate students of selected university libraries to collect data regarding the influence of web search engines on OPAC users.

Findings

The study showed that a majority of the users in all three universities made use of the web‐based resources. Ready access to information through search engines considerably increased the expectations of library users while searching OPAC. Web searching influenced their OPAC searching process greatly, as the majority of searches were performed on OPAC‐like popular search engines. Simultaneously, users did not know the difference between inner‐workings of OPAC and common search engines such as Google.

Originality/value

The paper provides useful information about how search engines influence OPAC users in India. The study recommends that OPACs need to include the modern features of present search engines to improve their practices. University libraries should communicate user expectations to OPAC designers. Further, the library community should collaborate with OPAC designers to develop a user‐friendly OPAC system, keeping in view the needs of the users of the internet age.
Collaborative marketing for electronic resources
Authors: Kennedy Marie R.
Published: August 2011

Purpose

The project outlined in this seeks to answer the question: “Is a collaborative model of benchmarking the marketing of electronic resources feasible?”

Design/methodology/approach

The project is designed as a national working group of approximately 100 college and university libraries all moving together through the process of a typical marketing cycle, running a brief marketing campaign, and reporting findings. All participating institutions will perform these steps at the same time, beginning in October 2011 and completing the project at the end of February 2012.

Findings

Based on the data gathered as the result of the project, it is hoped to determine if college and universities working together and sharing data could help to define “best practices” in the marketing of electronic resources using a collaborative model.

Originality/value

The literature in the area of marketing of electronic resources in libraries is sparse and, as a result, a path for the successful marketing of the resources cannot be easily determined. This project proposes a model to quickly educate and gather data to begin building best practices in the area of marketing electronic resources.
A US academic library promotes pluralism with technology
Authors: Margolis Deborah J.
Published: August 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to share how a US university library used technology to promote pluralism after a desecrated Qur'an was found near the local Islamic Center in September 2010.

Design/methodology/approach

Efforts undertaken by library staff are described in this case study. Special attention is paid to the technology used by various library committees and units.

Findings

Institutional support for diversity enabled a swift and unified response. Partnerships with community and campus organizations enriched a library display and engendered a public program. LibGuides, QR codes, a public service announcement, social media, web features, and an audio recording were used to publicize and extend the reach of the exhibit and panel discussion.

Originality/value

Libraries can promote pluralism through exhibits and public programming. Impact can be magnified through the use of technology.
Is the balanced scorecard right for academic libraries?
Authors: Reid Michele M.
Published: August 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to consider the potential utility for higher educational institutions, and in particular libraries, of the balanced scorecard (BSC) performance measurement tool, originally developed by Kaplan and Norton for use in businesses and since adapted for the public and non‐profit sectors.

Design/methodology/approach

The relevant literature was reviewed to ascertain key aspects and functionalities of the BSC framework, survey implementations and determine perceptions of the system's effectiveness and weaknesses, and – while the BSC has as yet been put into practice only infrequently in libraries – treat its appropriateness for information service.

Findings

The BSC supplements financial accounting with non‐financial leading indicators to link performance drivers and outcome measures in cause and effect relationships that can predict future performance and drive a single organizational strategy. Also intended as a straightforward reporting “dashboard” revealing whether improvements in one area have been at the expense of another, the BSC is considered more effective as an aid in forecasting the overall health of an organization than traditional accounting‐based models. It provides a capacity to monitor obligations to stakeholders and to produce transparent and reliable financial information, and the resulting internal control environment can promote integrity and ethical values.

Originality/value

Academic libraries may find the BSC a useful approach in determining service value, in demonstrating fiscal responsibility, and – through metrics focused on organizational goals and strategy – in validating their role, as knowledge‐based and networked environments, in the delivery of a quality educational product to their customers.
Selecting foreign language books donated by Asia Foundation and Asian‐US Bridge Foundation
Authors: Wang Juan
Published: August 2011

Purpose

Many Chinese libraries have limited budget to buy foreign language books. The purpose of this paper is to introduce an available and cheaper suggestion for the budgets of small libraries' foreign language books acquisition.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper discusses the benefits of selecting donated books and takes some small libraries in China as examples to conduct the case study.

Findings

Advantages of selecting donated books include: quick arrival, lower cost, and a variety of title selections. Disadvantages are: no book list, long distance, unsatisfied selection.

Practical implications

Donated books in one's purchasing program can substantially expand the range and amount of materials that libraries are able to collect.

Originality/value

This paper will be useful to any library facing budget cuts as well as looking for ways to continually provide a wide variety of library materials.
Directing the personnel search part III: preliminary interviews
Authors: Fitsimmons Gary
Published: August 2011

Purpose

This article's purpose is to outline what goes into a well‐done library personnel preliminary interview.

Design/methodology/approach

The article discusses the elements and considerations involved in orchestrating preliminary interviews and then gives a suggested outline for them.

Findings

The article finds that preliminary interviews can be designed to run smoothly and offer both the interviewers and interviewees the chance to elicit the information they need.

Originality/value

The value of the article is to help the leader design preliminary interviews that are constructive and move the search process along.
The value of transparency
Authors: Crumpton Michael A.
Published: August 2011

Purpose

This paper seeks to discuss the need for transparency in leadership during tough financial times.

Design/methodology/approach

This point‐of‐view is enhanced with related literature references from the business community.

Findings

This point‐of‐view demonstrates the long‐term benefits to transparent behavior.

Practical implications

The development of leadership skills related to transparency can lead to improved effectiveness as a leader.

Originality/value

This article is reflective of the author's personal experiences in providing effective leadership during tough times.
Ripe for the plucking: centralized and consolidated library budgets as revenue streams for profit
Authors: Cross Roger L.
Published: August 2011

Purpose

The rise of academic librarian professionalism coincided with the consolidation and centralization of university libraries. The resulting consolidation of the materials budget offered a revenue stream exploited by increasingly large publishers. Since publishers will always attempt to maximize their profits, the only way to restrict unlimited access to library funds is through reverting to decentralization. One such method is the creation of modules without overlapping funding. The purpose of this paper is to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper relies on a wide range of academic library economic literature in an attempt to clarify the structural problem of library budgeting as well as to find means to reverse the slide into budgetary collapse.

Findings

Professional librarians have over‐centralized academic libraries. This has provided publishers in the past with profitable revenue streams that continue to expand even while the library's ability to maintain funding has contracted. Since publishers will not impose limits on maximizing their profits, it is up to the librarian to impose strictures on available funding.

Originality/value

This paper argues that there is a causal relation between the rise of increasingly large for‐profit publishing and the rise of the centralized big academic library run by library professionals. It proposes the decentralization of academic library budgets as a means to regain fiscal control.
Crowd‐funding: transforming customers into investors through innovative service platforms
Authors: Ordanini Andrea , Miceli Lucia , Pizzetti Marta , Parasuraman A.
Published: August 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the emerging crowd‐funding phenomenon, that is a collective effort by consumers who network and pool their money together, usually via the internet, in order to invest in and support efforts initiated by other people or organizations. Successful service businesses that organize crowd‐funding and act as intermediaries are emerging, attesting to the viability of this means of attracting investment.

Design/methodology/approach

The research employs a “grounded theory” approach, performing an in‐depth qualitative analysis of three cases involving crowd‐funding initiatives: SellaBand in the music business, Trampoline in financial services, and Kapipal in non‐profit services. These cases were selected to represent a diverse set of crowd‐funding operations that vary in terms of risk/return for the investor and the type of payoff associated to the investment.

Findings

The research addresses two research questions: how and why do consumers turn into crowd‐funding participants? and how and why do service providers set up a crowd‐funding initiative? Concerning the first research question, the authors' findings reveal purposes, characteristics, roles and tasks, and investment size of crowd‐funding activity from the consumer's point of view. Regarding the second research question, the authors' analysis reveals purposes, service roles, and network effects of crowd‐funding activity investigated from the point of view of the service organization that set up the initiative.

Practical implications

The findings also have implications for service managers interested in launching and/or managing crowd‐funding initiatives.

Originality/value

The paper addresses an emerging phenomenon and contributes to service theory in terms of extending the consumer's role from co‐production and co‐creation to investment.
Strategy and structure configurations for services within product‐centric businesses
Authors: Raddats Chris , Burton Jamie
Published: August 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how product‐centric businesses (PCBs), operating in a business‐to‐business environment, configure their organizations to align services strategy with structure. PCBs are companies whose businesses were historically based on the products, rather than services, they sold.

Design/methodology/approach

A UK‐based study was undertaken which comprised 40 interviews with managers in 25 PCBs from 11 sectors.

Findings

The main parameter which determines the appropriate organizational configuration for services within the PCB's structure is strategy. A new framework is developed from the empirical research which identifies a number of PCB configurations, based on PCBs' services strategies (services engagement, extension, penetration and transformation) and organizational structures aligned to strategic business units (SBUs), i.e. combined product and services, independent services and customer‐focused. The framework is used to show how organizational structure changes in response to changes in strategy. For certain strategies, the degree of product differentiation (services engagement) and future product sales potential (services transformation) also plays a part in determining strategy/structure configurations.

Research limitations/implications

Future research could confirm and compare the effectiveness of the identified structural configurations.

Practical implications

Managers in PCBs can identify appropriate organizational structures based on their services strategies and products. They can configure organizational design in light of evolving strategies that enable services‐led growth.

Originality/value

The paper presents a large pan‐sector study of organizational design for services as it related to PCBs, providing a new framework through which appropriate strategy/structure configurations can be identified and investigated as services‐led growth takes place.
The relationship among participative management style, strategy implementation success, and financial performance in the foodservice industry
Authors: Ogbeide Godwin‐Charles A. , Harrington Robert J.
Published: August 2011

Purpose

This study aims to consider how the degree of participation at various hierarchical levels impacts action plan implementation success and firm financial performance. Specifically, the study seeks to assess the relationship among organizational structure, involvement by top management, middle management, lower management and frontline employees and its effect on firm performance; and, when controlling for firm size and industry segment membership, the effect of the relationship among direct involvement effects and interacting involvement effects on performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used survey methodology and a random sample of members in a US state restaurant association. The analysis included comparisons between groups using independent sample t tests and hierarchical regression to assess direct and interacting effects.

Findings

The findings indicate that, regardless of firm size or industry segment, the direct effects of greater top management involvement and the interaction effects of one three‐way interaction (middle management, lower management, and frontline staff) and the four‐way interaction led to higher levels of action plan success. For the longer‐term impact on financial performance, higher participative approaches used by top management and frontline staff were significantly associated with higher overall profits and financial success.

Research limitations/implications

The sample was drawn from a specific region in the USA and may not be generalizable. The study attempts to minimize the potential for non‐response bias and to ensure inter‐rater reliability but these potential threats to validity cannot be totally ruled out.

Practical implications

In general, higher top management participatory approaches are important to enhance financial and strategy implementation success, regardless of firm size. The interaction of participation by all levels of the firm is a useful approach to increase the likelihood of strategy implementation success. Top management and frontline employee participation are critical organizational levels for enhancing participative management approaches and ultimately increasing financial performance for all foodservice firms.

Originality/value

The value of this study is the consideration of the impact of participation by degree across four hierarchical levels on firm performance and plan execution success.
Behaviors linked to high levels of hotel managers' work‐related learning
Authors: Nicely Annmarie , Palakurthi Radesh , Denise Gooden A.
Published: August 2011

Purpose

The goal of this study is to identify behaviors linked to hotel managers who report a high degree of work‐related learning. To achieve this the researchers seeks to determine whether the extent to which managers were intrinsically motivated to learn, their perceived risk‐taking abilities, their attitudes towards learning and their attitudes towards the hospitality industry could determine their level of individual work‐related learning.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was conducted on the island of Jamaica. The survey was completed by 154 hotel managers and multiple regression analyses were used to analyze the data.

Findings

Of the four behaviors examined, two predicted the hotel managers' individual work‐related learning levels, i.e. their perceived risk‐taking abilities, and their attitudes towards learning. Managers who reported high work‐related learning levels also reported high risk‐taking abilities and more positive attitudes towards learning. The extent to which they were intrinsically motivated to learn and their attitudes towards the hospitality industry were not significant determinants of their work‐related learning levels.

Research limitations/implications

The exercise had a number of limitations and these should be taken into consideration when reviewing the findings.

Practical implications

The study therefore pointed to two behaviors linked to intense individual learning amongst managers in hotels. Hotel managers wishing to display high levels of work‐related learning should therefore determine the extent to which they possess the behaviors connected and make the adjustments necessary.

Originality/value

The study was one of a small number which examined objectively individual learning in hospitality business.
The effects of employee empowerment on employee job satisfaction
Authors: Pelit Elbeyi , Öztürk Yüksel , Arslantürk Yalçın
Published: August 2011

Purpose

The main objective of this study is to determine the impact of employee empowerment on job satisfaction. To serve this purpose, empowerment is taken into consideration as two dimensions – i.e. behavioral and psychological – and the effect of employee empowerment on the level of job satisfaction was examined by taking these two dimensions into consideration as a whole and separately.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire was employed in order to collect data on job satisfaction as well as behavioral and psychological empowerment. The data collected were analyzed through correlation and regression analyses. The study covered 1,854 participants employed at five‐star hotels in Turkey.

Findings

The findings suggest that the most positive aspects related to job satisfaction are relations with the colleagues and physical conditions, while the most negative aspect is the wage issue, i.e. unfair payment. Furthermore, correlation and regression analyses indicate that psychological and behavioral empowerment has a significant effect on job satisfaction, and the effect is much greater when psychological and behavioral empowerment are taken as a whole.

Research limitations/implications

The major limitation of this study is that it covers the employees of five‐star hotels only. Another important limitation of the study is the exclusion of variables mentioned in the literature. This apart, it is thought that the study will provide some insights for managers in terms of enhancing job satisfaction and the effect of empowerment on job satisfaction as well as making a contribution to the literature.

Originality/value

Studies into the relation between employee empowerment and job satisfaction on the whole focus on only one aspect of empowerment, i.e. either behavioral empowerment or psychological empowerment. This study incorporates behavioral and psychological empowerment together as the components of empowerment, unlike previous studies in the literature, in determining their effect on job satisfaction.
An examination of the curvilinear relationship between capital intensity and firm performance for publicly traded US hotels and restaurants
Authors: Lee Seoki , Xiao Qu
Published: August 2011

Purpose

This study sets out to examine the potential curvilinear relationship between capital intensity and firm value for the US hospitality industry, specifically including publicly traded US hotels and restaurants, during the period 1990‐2008.

Design/methodology/approach

This study performs a pooled regression analysis to examine the proposed relationship. The sampled companies are from the period 1990‐2008, consisting of 281 and 1,406 observations for the hotel and restaurant industries, respectively. The study additionally performs the analysis for the 1990s and the 2000s separately for a comparison purpose.

Findings

The findings support the U‐shaped relationship between capital intensity and firm performance during the 2000s for both hotels and restaurants, while no relationship exists during the 1990s.

Research limitations/implications

While the results may not be generalizable to private or non‐US hotels and restaurants, the findings should provide hotel and restaurant executives and managers with valuable information for developing their strategies with regard to the capital intensity level.

Originality/value

Based on the two perspectives regarding capital intensity's impact on a firm (i.e. positive and negative), a possible proposal suggests that the relationship between capital intensity and a firm's value may not be linear, but possibly curvilinear. Considering the importance of capital intensity in the hospitality industry, examinations of the issue would be beneficial for the hospitality industry.
Complaints‐handling procedures of human services charities
Authors: Bennett Roger , Savani Sharmila
Published: August 2011

Purpose

The purposes of the study are: to determine the prevalence of complaints systems within human services charities (HSCs); to identify the determinants of the adoption of complaints procedures; and to assess the outcome of strategic (rather thanad hoc) approaches to complaints management.

Design/methodology/approach

A review of the literature is used to propose a model of the antecedents and outcomes of the adoption of a formal complaints‐handling system. A questionnaire survey is then conducted among a sample of 251 HSCs in the UK with annual incomes in excess of £1 million. The data are utilised to assess the prevalence of formal complaints procedures, potential antecedents to the adoption of such a system, and whether the application of strategic approaches to complaint management leads to greater managerial satisfaction with the system.

Findings

The prevalence of formal complaints‐handling procedures in UK charities is increasing. Such systems are less common in smaller HSCs with little statutory funding and low levels of listening orientation. In contrast, strategic approaches to formal complaints systems tend to be high in charities characterised by: learning, listening and client orientation; sectors in which beneficiaries can easily switch to alternative service providers; and clients who depend heavily on the charity's assistance.

Research limitations/implications

Fewer than half of the charities in the research population returned the questionnaire. The data were self‐reported. Only one category of charities (HSCs) was considered. The study was undertaken in a single country.

Practical implications

Organizational antecedents of the adoption of strategic approaches to complaint management should be encouraged. Steps should be implemented to remove frequent causes of complaints against HSCs.

Originality/value

This is the first study to model and test potential antecedents of strategic approaches to the implementation of formal complaints‐handling procedures within the charity sector and to relate strategic approaches to satisfaction with complaints systems.
Consumer responses to online retailer's service recovery after a service failure
Authors: Lin Hsin‐Hui , Wang Yi‐Shun , Chang Li‐Kuan
Published: August 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate consumer responses to online retailer service recovery remedies following a service failure and explores whether the phenomenon of the service recovery paradox exists within the context of online retailing.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper reports on the results of two studies. Study I explores the main and interaction effects of the various dimensions of service recovery justice (i.e. distributive justice, procedural justice, and interactional justice) on customer satisfaction, negative word‐of‐mouth (WOM), and repurchase intention based on the justice theory. Study II investigates whether the phenomenon of the service recovery paradox exists (i.e. whether customers have higher satisfaction, higher repurchase intention, and lower negative word‐of‐mouth after experiencing an effectively remedied service failure as compared to if the service failure had not occurred). A laboratory experimental design is used to test the research hypotheses.

Findings

The results show that distributive justice, procedural justice, and interactional justice have a significant positive influence on customer satisfaction. Among the three dimensions of service recovery justice, only distributive justice has a significant positive influence on repurchase intention, and only interactional justice has a significant negative influence on negative WOM. Additionally, both the interaction between distributive justice and procedural justice and the interaction between distributive justice and interactional justice are found to significantly influence customer satisfaction, negative WOM, and repurchase intention. The results also indicate that the service recovery paradox does not appear to exist in the online retailing context.

Practical implications

The findings will allow online retailers to develop more effective strategies for preventing service failure and improving customer satisfaction, negative WOM, and repurchase intention.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the understanding of consumer responses to online retailer's service recovery after a service failure.
Effects of an emotional intelligence training program on service quality of bank branches
Authors: Beigi Mina , Shirmohammadi Melika
Published: August 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of an emotional intelligence (EI) training program on: the EI of service providers; and the service quality provided by employees who have received such training.

Design/methodology/approach

Employees of five branches of a large public‐sector bank in Iran are randomly selected as the “treatment group” to undertake a tailored eight‐session EI training program, while employees of another homogenous sample of five branches are selected as the “control group” (involving no EI training). EI is measured by the ECI‐2 instrument before and after training. Two samples of customers (150 customers of the “treatment branches” and 150 customers of the “control branches”) are utilised to evaluate the perceived service quality of both groups of branches before the training and two months after the training.

Findings

One of four dimensions of EI (“relationship management”) is found to be enhanced by EI training. Moreover, the EI training program is shown to result in improved service quality in terms of both overall service quality and its four dimensions (“reliability”, “responsiveness”, “assurance”, and “empathy”).

Research limitations/implications

Operational constraints prevented a second assessment of the EI of employees in the control group. The post‐training evaluations had to be conducted shortly after the training finished, thus preventing an assessment of longer‐term effects.

Originality/value

This is one of the first studies to have undertaken empirical investigation of the effectiveness of EI training in a service setting.
Investigating the key factors influencing ICT adoption in South Africa
Authors: Kyobe Michael
Published: August 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate and empirically determine the influence on information and communication technology (ICT) adoption of three important factors (i.e. capacity to adopt and use ICT, exposure to international environment and state policies) in South Africa.

Design/methodology/approach

Data covering the period 2000‐2009 on the above influencing factors were collected from the World Bank databases and other sources. A logarithmic transformation of data was done, followed by a regression analysis in order to determine the significance of the influence of each factor.

Findings

The results show that capacity to adopt and use ICT has the most significant influence on ICT adoption in South Africa, followed by exposure to international environment. The effect of state policies was surprisingly not significant, deviating from the general claims that policy implementation and adoption of such policies are key determinants of adoption.

Research limitations/implications

The findings of this study are based on data collected from secondary sources which may be susceptible to measurement errors, missing values and inconsistent calculations. While the researcher made some effort to minimise these limitations, precautions need to be taken in using and generalising these findings.

Practical implications

This study confirms the need to increase levels of economic growth in South Africa if the country is to make technological advances that will ensure competitiveness in the global environment. Understanding the relative influence of these factors is important in directing policy and proper allocation of limited resources.

Originality/value

Many factors influencing ICT adoption have been identified in literature. However, these tend to be studied in isolation, are fragmented, and as such the key determining factors are not well understood in South Africa. While there is no doubt that human, social, economic, political and other factors impact on ICT adoption, the significance of the influence of each factor needs to be understood. The present study bridged this gap by identifying the factor with the most significant influence on ICT adoption. Understanding such significance would enable appropriate policy reviews and intervention strategies that support ICT adoption.
Towards a marketing communications model for small political parties
Authors: Thrassou Alkis , Vrontis Demetris , Kotabe Masaaki
Published: August 2011

Purpose

Through a comprehensive literature review and data analysis, the purpose of this paper is to adopt a multi‐perspective interrelation of different dimensions of existing theory to eventually bridge the fields of political and business marketing, identify the underlying causes of voter behaviour, and distil the critical factors of small political parties' (SPPs') strategic marketing communications (MCs) success. The research finally develops a preliminary conceptual strategic MCs model for SPPs that fits the context of developed countries and concentrates on the strategic aspects of MCs.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is largely conceptual and is based on an extensive literature review and secondary data; strengthened through additional and focused quantitative and qualitative data.

Findings

The findings indicate an increasing association between business and political marketing, an environmental context that stimulates and nurtures a symbiotic relationship between parties and voters, an enhanced role of “perception management”, and substantial divergence of SPP reality from classical theory.

Research limitations/implications

Further and focused primary research is required towards model testing.

Practical implications

A scientific basis is provided for practical strategic implementation of MCs by SPPs.

Originality/value

The research value stems from its focus on SPPs, its contribution to the generic discussion on business marketing theory applicability to politics; its reinforcement of existing research on the subject through further data and analyses; and additionally to existing researches' focus, its concentration on the strategic aspects of the subject and its contribution to literature of an analogous strategic political marketing model.
The progressive model, an economic reconciliation process for regions in conflict
Authors: Bijaoui Ilan , Sultan Suhail , Yedidia Tarba Shlomo
Published: August 2011

Purpose

The main purpose of this paper is to propose a model of economic development able to generate a cross‐border sustainable economic development, in regions in conflict. The Italian industrial district model implements a community industry synergy process led by the authorities according to a top‐down approach. The cluster model implements a clustering specialization process led, in the American version, by a bottom‐up approach and in the European version by a top‐down approach. The regional innovation system (RIS) provides the regional and international innovation networking required for both models in order to confront the global competition. The proposed progressive model creates the industrial specialization (industrial district) required for the development of the clustering process supported by the RIS.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors have selected, from the list of producers (growers and producers of olive oil), a random sample of 103 growers of olives and producers of olive oil from both groups from the Northern regions (Galilee in Israel and the Northern West Bank): 26 Palestinian growers, 25 Palestinian producers, 13 Israeli growers and 39 Israeli producers of olive oil, and interviewed them.

Findings

The results show that the community‐industry synergy of the industrial district model is supported by the economic actors from both sides of the border but refused for political reasons by the regional authorities and professional associations. The raw material (olives), the human capital and the knowledge required in order to start the clustering process exist.

Practical implications

The study has evaluated the Israeli‐Jewish and Arab and the Palestinian olive sector, and clearly indicates that bottom‐up decision‐making process is the only way for the moment for initiating the cluster and RIS models in the olive sector. The intervention of a third party is required in order to start the bottom‐up implementation of the industrial district model and launch the clustering process.

Originality/value

The main contribution of this paper lies in organizing the industrial district in such a way that it will generate a cluster in the long run. Thus, it is called progressive model.
Cross‐cultural negotiations revisited
Authors: Vieregge Michael , Quick Simon
Published: August 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore possible changes in national culture for generations X and Y members from selected Asian national cultures and the impact on cross‐cultural negotiations.

Design/methodology/approach

An interpretivist epistemology is combined with an ontology of subjectivism for this exploratory study which does not seek generalization. Emphasis is placed on the development of new survey items by members of generations X and Y for Hofstede's dimensions. An online survey yielded n=224 responses. Data were collected from members of generations X and Y, but also Baby Boomers as the control group, to test differences.

Findings

For national culture dimensions, only individualism/collectivism tests for significant differences between Asian GenY and Baby Boomers. GenX and GenY show little interest in pre‐opening relationship building and focus on positioning and compromising.

Research limitations/implications

The study is exploratory in nature and future studies should revisit this topic. The items developed to measure national culture might be biased by the 39 focus group participants. Future studies should consider differentiating Asian groups.

Practical implications

Western negotiators need to prepare for multiple scenarios when entering negotiations with Asian partners. Depending on the age of the Asian negotiator, emphasis on different phases of the negotiation process needs to be reevaluated.

Originality/value

This research holds immediate lessons for cross‐cultural negotiations. Results support that generations X and Y members in some Asian cultures do not differ from their elders across all Hofstede dimensions, however they display different negotiation behaviors.