bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Marketing mix formulation for higher education
Authors: Ho Hsuan‐Fu , Hung Chia‐Chi
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how a graduate institute at National Chiayi University (NCYU), by using a model that integrates analytic hierarchy process, cluster analysis and correspondence analysis, can develop effective marketing strategies.

Design/methodology/approach

This is primarily a quantitative study aimed at developing a marketing mix for a graduate institute at NCYU in Taiwan. A survey using stratified random sampling was conducted, with 14 universities from four different areas in Taiwan randomly selected for the study. Two questionnaires were conducted: a Likert's five‐scale questionnaire regarding school images and an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) questionnaire regarding school selection factors were administered to 640 undergraduate students. Of the total number of questionnaires, 602 (94 percent) valid school image questionnaires and 570 (89 percent) valid school selection factors questionnaires were used.

Findings

The results of AHP revealed that the five most important factors for students' school selection were: employability, curriculum, academic reputation, faculty, and research environment. The results of clustering analysis identified five student groups for market segmentation, and they are the Prominence group, the Less aware group, the Pragmatic group, the Austerity group, and the Fastidious group. Finally, the results of correspondence analysis suggested that students of the Pragmatic Group are more likely to be attracted by NCYU, and also, students perceived NCYU to be strongly associated with lower tuition, fewer entrance‐exam subjects, lower entrance‐exam pass rates, and easier graduation requirements.

Research limitations/implications

It would be better to conduct a factor analysis before using AHP.

Practical implications

Particularly, NCYU should establish new curricula relevant to internationalization, develop curricula in school finance and educational economics, and form study groups to enhance graduating student employment opportunities. Generally, higher educational institutions may adopt the research model developed in this study to develop their marketing mix for better results.

Originality/value

This paper documents research that was the first to integrate AHP, cluster analysis, and correspondence analysis in developing a marketing mix for higher educational institutions.
The relevance of aggression and the aggression of relevance
Authors: Lowrie Anthony
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how language functions to construct relevance at moments of articulation and how language functions as an aggressive marketing practice to promote a self‐regulated (production‐oriented) system of accreditation.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on the political theory of Laclau and Lacanian psychoanalytical theory of desire and aggressivity, a linguistic case study is used to illustrate the construction and promotion of accreditation and relevance.

Findings

Aggressive competitive behavior in the area of higher education accreditation sets up inter‐institutional antagonisms at the local and global level which may prove socially divisive and restrict the distribution of knowledge for the social good with the possible implication of restricting economic growth for competitively weaker countries.

Research limitations/implications

The micro analysis of language restricts the size of the data set considered in a single article.

Practical implications

Stakeholders of higher education institutions may wish to consider the strategic implications of accreditation beyond inter‐institution rivalry.

Originality/value

Methodologically, this paper provides an innovative application of political, psychoanalytical and linguistic theory. Empirically, the paper provides new insights into the accreditation of higher education.
Mothering or auditing? The case of two Big Four in France
Authors: Dambrin Claire , Lambert Caroline
Published: May 2008

Purpose

Women in public accounting firms are still proportionally much fewer in number in the highest levels of the hierarchy than men, whereas recruitment at junior level tends to be increasingly gender‐balanced. This paper aims to analyse the relationships between the glass ceiling and motherhood. The mechanisms explaining the difficulties encountered by auditor mothers in their hierarchical progression within the Big Four in France are identified.

Design/methodology/approach

From 24 interviews with male and female auditors of various hierarchical levels, one seeks to reveal the specificity of the difficulties encountered by auditor mothers.

Findings

It is argued that, throughout their careers, they are confronted with a dilemma that often leads to their being excluded and excluding themselves from the group of “those who may become partners”. It is shown that public accounting firms place both implicit and explicit obstacles in their way, tied to a desire to neutralise the effects, deemed costly, of motherhood. Moreover, the expectations of the organisation and society as a whole conflict on many points and confront female auditors with a dilemma: how to be a good mother and have a bright career? It appears that women who want to better manage this dilemma shape working practices imposed on the whole team and implement tactics to adapt their work‐life balance (specialisation and lateral move to staff departments). This leads to individual trajectories that break out of the organisational model and account for the scarcity of women in the upper management levels in audit firms.

Originality/value

The paper gives voice to male auditors and shows that managing the professional life/private life dilemma is difficult for fathers as well as mothers, in the long term. Moreover, rather than thinking in terms of horizontal and vertical segregations, this paper invites one to question the concept of the glass ceiling and consider the construction of the scarcity of women in the accounting profession.
Moving the gender agenda or stirring chicken's entrails?
Authors: Haynes Kathryn
Published: May 2008

Purpose

This paper seeks to critique recent research on gender and accounting to explore how feminist methodology can move on and radicalise the gender agenda in the accounting context.

Design/methodology/approach

After examining current research on gender and accounting, the paper explores the nature of feminist methodology and its relation to epistemology. It explores three inter‐related tenets of feminist methodology in detail: power and politics, subjectivity and reflexivity.

Findings

The paper suggests that much research in the accounting is concerned with gender‐as‐a‐variable, rather than being distinctly feminist, thus missing the opportunity to radicalise the agenda. It makes suggestions for how a feminist approach to methodology could be applied to the accounting context.

Originality/value

The paper calls for a wider application of a feminist approach to accounting research and gives suggestions as to where this might be applied.
Enhancing performance through best HRM practices, organizational learning and knowledge management
Authors: Theriou Georgios N. , Chatzoglou Prodromos D.
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationships between best human resource management (HRM) practices, knowledge management (KM), organization learning and organizational capabilities (OC) and their impact on organizational performance. The proposed framework intends to add to the understanding of the specific processes that mediate between best HRM practices and organizational performance.

Design/methodology/approach

A range of relevant literature is explored and a conceptual model is proposed and discussed.

Findings

This paper proposes an answer to “how” best HRM practices can influence performance. It is suggested that KM and organizational learning (OL) play their own unique role in creating OC, which lead to superior performance.

Practical implications

The paper can help human resource managers to understand better the importance of OL and KM processes and the way best HRM practices, through the integration of these two processes, lead to superior and sustainable performance.

Originality/value

This paper attempts to shed some light on the processes through which HRM practices influence performance. The proposed conceptual framework is an original, complete model that will hopefully contribute towards the enrichment of the relevant literature. Moreover, it clarifies relevant terms and their relationship that seem to be surrounded by ambiguity.
A strategic approach to sustainable partnership development
Authors: Trim Peter R.J. , Lee Yang‐Im
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to make clear the role that marketing plays in the strategic decision‐making process; it highlights the influence that marketers have in the development of sustainable partnership arrangements; and outlines the link between organizational learning and strategy implementation.

Design/methodology/approach

A review of relevant literature and critical insights into various management theories are provided. A conceptual sustainable partnership development (SPD) model is outlined and placed in context.

Findings

In order to be successful, a partnership arrangement needs to be well resourced and effectively managed. Senior managers need to pay particular attention to the role that organizational learning plays and how strategic management knowledge is developed. They also need to understand the link between organizational learning and customer relationship management. The transformational leadership model can be embraced as it facilitates cultural change, promotes the collectivist decision‐making approach, and places product innovation within the context of a multi‐dimensional R&D strategy.

Research limitations/implications

Areas of management interest that need further attention include ways in which to assess an organization's level of vulnerability; the development and application of hybrid organizational models; and how marketing decisions influence R&D programmes. Industry specific corporate social responsibility models are of interest and can be researched also.

Practical implications

Hybrid organizational cultures are evident in partnership arrangements and give rise to various types of communication problems. Senior managers need to be fully aware of how a partnership arrangement is to be managed in the long term in order that it can be viewed as sustainable. Attention also needs to be paid to the technical knowledge and skills required at each stage of development of a partnership arrangement.

Originality/value

The work integrates a diverse range of management knowledge and provides insights into what makes a partnership arrangement sustainable. The SPD model highlights the link between marketing and strategic management, and the body of marketing knowledge is interpreted from a management perspective.
Alternative perspectives on service quality and customer satisfaction: the role of BPM
Authors: Kumar V. , Smart P.A. , Maddern H. , Maull R.S.
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to further investigate the linkages between business process management (BPM) and customer satisfaction. Also, to challenge the dominance of the customer contact perspectives on service processes and to propose a more systemic focus on the totality of service design.

Design/methodology/approach

The research builds on the existing work of Maddern et al. through the use of structured equation modelling (SEM) tool. The multiple SEM models described here provide a more robust statistical approach for confirming/refuting the constructs found in the earlier research.

Findings

This paper presents the results of an empirical analysis, based on longitudinal data from a large UK bank on drivers of customer satisfaction. The results confirm that process management is a critical driver of technical service quality. This suggests that companies with reliability/dependability issues should not emphasise customer satisfaction programmes based on SERVQUAL intangibles until substantial improvements in process design have been achieved.

Research limitations/implications

The research is limited to a single case study of a UK bank over a five year period. The generalisibility of these findings is therefore limited. Further work in other sectors and over longer periods would establish the reliability of the findings. The paper also highlights some limitations in the service operations literature, particularly the emphasis on customer presence within the service process.

Originality/value

The paper uses time series data to identify the importance of BPM in achieving higher levels of customer satisfaction. The authors provide a platform for further research based on the design of service delivery systems and their impact on customer satisfaction.
Examining the role of service climate in health care
Authors: Steinke Claudia
Published: May 2008

Purpose

Using a modified version of the service profit chain, the purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of service climate (SC) by exploring predictors of SC (i.e. service training (ST), managerial practices (MP), physical design (PD), and job design ( JD), job satisfaction ( JS), and employee empowerment) on service quality (SQ), client satisfaction (CS) with service, and client empowerment (CE). The larger proposition being that certain structural variables, through their impact on SC have the potential to positively influence outcomes in health care.

Design/methodology/approach

Registered nurses (N=180) from emergency departments across one province in Canada provided information about internal SQ (i.e. ST, MP, PD, and JD), JS, feelings of empowerment, and SC. Furthermore, these nurses provided information on external SQ, CS with service, and CE by responding to questions from the vantage point of the client. The data were analyzed using statistical package for the social sciences; structural equation modelling (SEM) was implemented using LISREL.

Findings

SEM analyses showed that JS and empowerment only partially mediated the relationship between MP, PD, and JD and SC. In addition, SQ, CS with service, and CE were fully mediated by SC.

Research limitations/implications

A limitation of this study is that the researcher used only employee (nurses) data rather than employee and client data simultaneously in the research model. Future research should be done on the service profit chain theory to incorporate both viewpoints. In addition, research could be carried out in other service occupations and organizations to test the invariance of the research model.

Practical implications

The results should lead health care managers to consider the importance of emphasizing internal SQ features that facilitate SC in health care.

Originality/value

This contribution of this research is apply the service profit chain framework in exploring the role of SC in health care. In addition, emphasize the importance of the PD of emergency department to creating a climate for service in health care.
The supply base reduction process: an empirical investigation
Authors: Ogden Jeffrey A. , Carter Phillip L.
Published: May 2008

Purpose

This research seeks to better understand the supply base reduction approaches and processes utilized by organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

In‐depth case studies were conducted with ten organizations that recently reduced their supply bases. These organizations represented a variety of industries, type of product or service being purchased, and number of suppliers reduced from the supply base.

Findings

Three different types of supply base reduction approaches are identified (systematic elimination, standardization, and tiering), examples of each are provided, and guidance is provided about situations in which each would be useful. A basic supply base reduction process is developed and outlined based on the similarities observed among these three different approaches.

Practical implications

A better understanding of these supply base reduction approaches and processes can help organizations successfully implement such efforts by learning from the experiences of other organizations.

Originality/value

Many of the case study respondents commented on the lack of literature pertaining to supply base reduction approaches and processes. Consequently, many of the case study organizations had to perform extensive benchmarking or hire outside consultants to learn more about supply base reduction approaches and processes prior to implementing them within their various organizations. This paper is the first step in filling the void in the literature concerning supply base reduction approaches and processes.
Port‐centric logistics
Authors: Mangan John , Lalwani Chandra , Fynes Brian
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine traditional, current and emerging roles played by ports in the context of logistics and supply chain management practice and strategy. The paper also seeks to elaborate the emerging concept of port‐centric logistics.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws its insights and conclusions from a review of the literature, and an analysis of current trends and data concerning the ports and maritime transport sector.

Findings

The paper shows that ports can play a variety of different roles within supply chains and that they are not restricted to their traditional role of simple transhipment point for freight.

Research limitations/implications

While the paper reviews the roles played by ports in logistics and supply chain management generally, a useful next step would be to analyse specific flows and activities at/through ports within selected supply chains, thus allowing validation of a framework of roles for ports in the context of various supply chain strategies.

Practical implications

The paper highlights the potential, which in many cases is still latent, for ports to engage in port‐centric logistics activities.

Originality/value

The paper both highlights (given the fact that the vast majority of freight at some point transits ports) and extends the understanding of the role(s) of ports within supply chains.
Modularity in developing business services by platform approach
Authors: Pekkarinen Saara , Ulkuniemi Pauliina
Published: May 2008

Purpose

This study aims to explore the literature related to modularity in developing and manufacturing physical products in order to employ the idea of modularity into the business services context.

Design/methodology/approach

In order to answer the defined research question, the authors construct an empirically grounded model for modular service platform. The research design follows an abductive logic beginning with the construction of a theoretical pre‐understanding and elaborating upon it empirically. Streams of literature that are applied are service marketing and operations and product development and modularity research including product architecture design. In the empirical part of the study, the authors elaborate on these issues through a qualitative single case study.

Findings

The results show that the developed modular service platform including four modularity dimensions: service, process, organisational and customer interface dimensions can be used to create value in business services.

Originality/value

With a reviewing literature of modularisation of manufacturing products and processes, an empirically grounded model of this paper shows how the business service providers can use modularisation in platform approach to identify, develop and deliver new services cost efficiently and more flexibly.
The mistreated teacher: a national study
Authors: Blase Jo , Blase Joseph , Du Fengning
Published: May 2008

Purpose

This study seeks to identify 172 American elementary, middle, and high school teachers' perceptions of the major sources and intensity of the experience of mistreatment by a principal, the effects of such mistreatment, how these perceptions varied by demographic variables, teachers' coping skills, and teachers' perceptions of contributing factors.

Design/methodology/approach

Participants completed a piloted, validated online questionnaire.

Findings

The participants reported experiencing a wide range of abusive principal behaviors that resulted in serious or extensive harmful psychological/emotional, physical/physiological, and work‐related effects to themselves, their work, and their families. An overwhelming majority (77 percent) indicated they would leave their job for another because of the harm caused by the principal's mistreatment. Mistreated teachers typically did not enact problem‐focused coping strategies. Differences were found among teachers of various demographic categories for several variables.

Originality/value

The findings of this current, quantitative study expand the authors' earlier qualitative research on the topic of teacher mistreatment; these are the only studies on this topic completed in the USA. Practical implications and suggestions for future research are included.
School context and individual characteristics: what influences principal practice?
Authors: Goldring Ellen , Huff Jason , May Henry , Camburn Eric
Published: May 2008

Purpose

As they operate in complex schools principals must allocate their attention to numerous responsibilities. This paper seeks to ask three questions: how do principals allocate their attention across major realms of responsibility; to what extent do principals in different contexts emphasize different realms of responsibility; and to what extent do individual attributes affect how principals allocate their attention across realms?

Design/methodology/approach

A cluster analysis is applied to data from a daily log of principal practices to identify principals who allocate their attention across major realms of responsibility in similar ways. With the three groups identified in the cluster analysis a discriminant analysis is then used to examine the individual attributes of the principals and the contexts within which these groups work to identify those individual characteristics and contextual conditions that best predict each principal's cluster membership.

Findings

The data from the log indicate that principals are not as fragmented across numerous realms of responsibility as previous research suggests. Some principals do spend considerable time on instructional leadership. The cluster analysis revealed three groups: “Eclectic” Leaders (their activities are distributed more evenly across different activities); Instructional Leaders (they focused most on Instructional Leadership); and Student Leaders (they emphasized student affairs). In the paper's discriminant analyses no individual attributes distinguished amongst the three types of principals; only contextual conditions predicted membership.

Research limitations/implications

The results point to the influence that context plays on school principals' practice; principals appear to prioritize and focus their actions under more challenging contextual conditions. The next step in the analysis is to determine how the leadership clusters and principal practices relate to important school outcomes.

Originality/value

The paper provides useful information on influences on school principals' practice.
Strategy in educational leadership: in search of unity
Authors: Eacott Scott
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine knowledge of strategy within the field of educational administration. It is intended to be the basis for future empirical research and inquiry into strategy in education by suggesting alternate ways of defining and researching strategy.

Design/methodology/approach

The study examines the contemporary context of educational administration, the evolution of strategy as an educational construct, its definition and need within educational administration. Using this information the author identifies key conceptual and methodological issues in current research.

Findings

The paper finds that knowledge of strategy in education is incomplete and muddled because research and writing in the field have approached strategy from a narrow and conceptually flawed position.

Research limitations/implications

The advancement of knowledge in the area will only advance with alternate conceptualisations and methodological approaches.

Originality/value

Rather than merely review literature, this paper proposes a redefinition of strategy as an educational administration construct, focusing on key features not words and actions. The hope is that fellow scholars and practitioners will continue to question and focus on the key features of strategy and the issues that confront them.
The power of femininity
Authors: Abu‐Rabia Quader Sarab , Oplatka Izhar
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The current paper aims to tell the stories of six female supervisors who have successfully managed to access this high‐level position in the Bedouin educational system, putting forward some implications for understanding and exploring the lives and career of women in patriarchal, minority groups.

Design/methodology/approach

Six female Muslim supervisors, who work in the Bedouin pre‐school system in Israel, participated in semi‐structured interviews conducted by the authors.

Findings

The stories illustrated a connection between “power” and “femininity” in leading positions in a patriarchal, tribal society different from the one constructed in the western literature on leadership. Thus, in spite of the inferiority of femininity in the traditional Bedouin society, the female supervisors perceived their femininity to be an advantage and powerful in, among other things, minimizing tribal‐professional conflict characterized by a contradiction between traditional and rational codes, and in taking on a social role in the empowerment of Bedouin women in all spheres of life.

Practical implications

The paper puts forward some implications for the recruitment and employment of women leaders living and working in patriarchal social groups within a multicultural society.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is a first attempt to document the lives and careers of female leaders in Bedouin society which is embedded with entrenched norms in respect to gender and the “place” of women in the society. The paper, then, provides insights into alternative interpretations of female leadership, power and career.
RFID and buyer‐seller relationships in the retail supply chain
Authors: Boeck Harold , Fosso Wamba Samuel
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to understand why a collaborative innovation, such as radio‐frequency identification (RFID) technology, engenders seemingly opposite buyer‐seller relationship reactions among members of a supply chain.

Design/methodology/approach

The researchers carried out a three year exploratory multiple case study using the grounded theory approach through participant‐observation and collaborative action research. The research project culminated in a fully functional RFID proof of concept solution which involved multiple layers of a retail supply chain. The researchers chose the retail industry for the study because it provided the ideal conditions to answer the research question.

Findings

The results highlight the role of supplier‐buyer relationships as both crucial antecedents that shape RFID infrastructure and the consequence of RFID implementation. Specifically, the impact on and of eight key dimensions was considered, namely communication and information sharing, cooperation, trust, commitment, relationship value, power imbalance and interdependence, adaptation, and conflict. The paper also positions open‐loop RFID projects as supply chain inter‐organizational systems and presents a model to analyze such initiatives.

Research limitations/implications

The choice of methodology has provided the insight necessary to answer the research question. Other researchers are encouraged to validate these findings through replication with other case studies or through quantitative data to reach analytical and statistical generalizability. The authors also encourage future research on this topic in other industries.

Originality/value

As more supply chains move forward with collaborative RFID initiatives, it is important that these companies be aware of the strategic role of supplier‐buyer relationships as both crucial antecedents that shape RFID infrastructure and a consequence of RFID implementation.
The influence of general trust and specific trust on buying behaviour
Authors: Kenning Peter
Published: May 2008

Purpose

In the last perhaps ten years the interest of marketing research in the subject of trust increased dramatically. Although well known in several scientific disciplines, in marketing research trust is often conceptualized without the concept of general trust. Therefore, one main aim of this paper is to broaden marketing research understanding of trust by showing how general trust (which has the character of a personal trait) and, in comparison, specific trust (which is associated with a specific retailer) affects buying behaviour.

Design/methodology/approach

After a review of trust‐literature the paper identifies two subcategories of trust, which might be relevant for buying behaviour: general trust and specific trust. It then aims to test their influence on retail food buying behaviour empirically. To do so, it uses for the first time in marketing research the ITS‐Rotter‐scale for measuring general trust.

Findings

The results, including data from about 331 subjects in the German food‐retailing market, indicate that general as well as specific trust positively affects buying behaviour. In contrast to expectations, it was found general and specific trust to be unrelated. Moreover, it was found that, the influence of specific trust on buying behaviour increases when customers scored lower on the ITS‐Rotter‐scale indicating lower levels of general trust.

Originality/value

This paper is the first in marketing literature which integrates the concept of general trust and uses the ITS‐Rotter‐scale for measuring general trust in a marketing related context. Accordingly, it provides for the first time evidence on the positive influence of general trust on buying behaviour. It shows that general trust is able to substitute lacking specific trust.
Characterisation of Spanish store brand consumers
Authors: Martínez Eva , Montaner Teresa
Published: May 2008

Purpose

This paper seeks to carry out a profile of the current buyer of store brands in Spain.

Design/methodology/approach

In the characterization of store brand consumer, the paper analyses socio‐demographic and psychographic variables. The psychographics considered are based on the study developed by Ailawadi, Neslin and Gedenk in the USA. A self‐administrated questionnaire was applied to a sample of 425 grocery shoppers.

Findings

The results of the study show that socio‐demographics are not powerful in identifying store brand consumers. However, psychographic traits are much more related to this behaviour. For example, these consumers are characterized by being market mavens, store loyal and price conscious; but they are not quality conscious.

Practical implications

The results of the present study have a practical interest and can be useful to both manufacturers and retailers. Manufacturers can develop strategies to retain no store brand prone consumers. Retailers should pay special attention to their brand management, in terms of quality, variety and price.

Originality/value

In view of the increasing relevance of store brands, this paper makes an updated assessment of variables considered in previous studies and contexts but not studied in Spain.
Evaluating the comparative efficiency of Chinese third‐party logistics providers using data envelopment analysis
Authors: Zhou Gengui , Min Hokey , Xu Chao , Cao Zhenyu
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a benchmark of performance standards for Chinese third‐party logistics providers (3PLs) in the emerging market. It also intends to identify various factors that significantly affect the operational efficiency of the Chinese 3PLs and propose ways to improve the competitiveness of 3PLs.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper proposes data envelopment analysis (DEA) to measure the operational efficiency of ten leading 3PLs in China, relative to prior periods and their key competitors. In particular, this paper develops both the Charnes, Cooper and Rhodes model and the Banker, Charnes and Cooper model that are designed to derive weights without being fixed in advance. It also uses step‐wise regression analysis to identify factors influencing the performances of Chinese 3PLs.

Findings

First, the declining efficiency within some Chinese 3PLs coincides with a steep decline in domestic transportation activities due to the SARS outbreak and the slow adaptation of state‐owned enterprise into a more market‐based economy. Second, the sales opportunity and the level of technical expertise are directly correlated with the operational efficiency of 3PLs, whereas the size of 3PLs has no direct bearing on the 3PL's performance. Third, in contrast with the 3PL industry in the USA, the Chinese 3PLs tend to focus on traditional service offerings such as port management, transportation, and warehousing rather than playing the role as the integrator or the lead service provider.

Originality/value

This paper is the first attempt to utilize DEA to develop performance benchmarks for 3PLs in the emerging foreign market. The proposed DEA can be easily modified or extended to similar settings in other Asian countries such as India and East European countries.
The impact of supply chain relationships and automatic data communication and registration on forecast information quality
Authors: Jonsson Patrik , Gustavsson Mattias
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explain the effects of the customer‐supplier relationship and of automatic forecast data communication and registration on the perceived information quality of forecasts.

Design/methodology/approach

A conceptual model and three hypotheses are derived. The empirical analysis is based on survey data from 219 Swedish manufacturing companies.

Findings

Findings show that the customer‐supplier relationship and automatic data communication and registration have significant impact on the perceived quality of forecast information received from a downstream customer in the supply chain. The reliability and timeliness of the forecast information are affected to about the same extent by both the relationship type and the data communication and registration strategy. Credibility is correlated with the relationship type, while the completeness, validity and conciseness of the received forecast are operative issues depending mainly on the communication strategy.

Research limitations/implications

Using single informants, focal customers and some single‐item constructs in research design.

Practical implications

The paper explains how various dimensions of forecast information quality are affected by different factors, thus guiding how to differentiate information quality improvement work in diverse situations.

Originality/value

Detailed empirical studies of supply chain information exchange, especially focusing on explaining causes of high‐quality information exchange, are lacking in the literature and demanded in industry.
Shopper age and the use of self‐service technologies
Authors: Dean Dwane H.
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of shopper age on attitudes toward and use of retail self‐service technology (SST). The age variable has received relatively little attention in the literature.

Design/methodology/approach

Questionnaire responses from three age groups are compared. Also, cluster analysis is used to group subjects based on similarity in attitudes toward and use of SST.

Findings

Compared to younger consumers, older consumers had experience with fewer types of SSTs, less confidence in using SST, reported missing human interaction to a greater degree, used self‐checkout less often when the option was available, were less willing to pay a premium for express checkout, and were more likely to attribute a corporate self‐interest for the introduction of SST. For the total sample of 718 subjects, 40 percent reported using store self‐checkout 15 percent of the time or less when the option was available. Only 25 percent of subjects reported using automated store checkout on more than half of their shopping occasions.

Research limitations/implications

Only eight types of SST were studied and only one technology was investigated in depth.

Practical implications

Based on the findings of this study, four managerial actions are recommended that may potentially increase traffic throughput at automated retail checkout.

Originality/value

This is believed to be the first study to find significant differences among age groups on multiple dependent variables associated with SST. Also, the identification of consumer clusters based on attitudes toward and use of SST may be novel.
Testing the role of service quality on the development of brand associations and brand loyalty
Authors: Alexandris K. , Douka S. , Papadopoulos P. , Kaltsatou A.
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The study aims to: measure brand associations in the context of a fitness club, test the influence of brand associations on the development of brand loyalty, and investigate the role of service quality on the development of brand associations.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 165 members of a managed‐owned fitness club, located in North Greece, participated in the study. They completed a 25‐item questionnaire to measure brand associations, and a 25‐item questionnaire to measure service quality.

Findings

The exploratory factor analysis revealed eight brand association factors: popularity, management, logo, escape, vicarious achievement, nostalgia, pride and affect. In terms of the relationships among brand associations, loyalty and service quality, the regression analyses revealed that: five of the eight brand associations (escape, nostalgia, pride, logo, and affect) significantly contributed to the prediction of loyalty, the service quality dimensions predicted significant amount of variances in all the eight brand associations.

Practical implications

The study provides support for the value of measuring brand associations in the fitness industry. Furthermore, various suggestions related to how fitness club managers can measure brand associations and design marketing strategies in order to develop them, are discussed.

Originality/value

The study provides empirical verification of the links among brand associations, brand loyalty and service quality, which have been theoretically proposed, but not empirically tested in the literature.
Verification of a numerical model of macrosegregation in direct chill casting
Authors: Založnik Miha , Xin Shihe , Šarler Božidar
Published: May 2008

Purpose

This paper aims to point out the critical problems in numerical verification of solidification simulation codes and the complexity of the verification and to propose and apply a procedure of generalized verification for macrosegregation simulation.

Design/methodology/approach

A partial verification of a finite‐volume computational model of macrosegregation in direct chill (DC) casting of binary aluminum alloys, including the coupled transport phenomena of heat transfer, fluid flow and species transport, is performed. The verification procedure is conducted on numerical test problems, defined as subproblems with respect to the complexity of the physical model, geometry, and boundary conditions. The studied cases are thermal convection with solidification in DC casting, thermal natural convection of a low‐Prandtl‐number liquid metal in a rectangular cavity and 1D directional solidification of a binary Al‐Cu alloy. Grid‐convergence studies, code comparison with an alternative Chebyshev‐collocation method, and comparison with a reference similarity solution are used for verification.

Findings

An excellent ability of the model to accurately resolve the thermal convection in the pertinent range of Prandtl and Rayleigh numbers is shown. Concerns regarding the solution of species transport in the mushy zone remain.

Research limitations/implications

The proposed verification procedure is not completed in its entirety. Further verification of the solutal and thermosolutal convection problems is required.

Originality/value

This paper proposes verification techniques for complex coupled solidification problems involving significant convection in the melt.
Numerical analysis and experimental validation of the free surface flow and heat transfer in electrical transformers moulding processes
Authors: Buliński Zbigniew , Nowak Andrzej J.
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a numerical and mathematical model of a moulding process of a dry electrical transformer. Moreover, the calculated results are reported and compared with experimental measurements.

Design/methodology/approach

An experimental rig, for carrying out and monitoring a moulding process, has been designed and built. Two experiments were preformed. First was an isothermal experiment in which an analog liquid was used. The second experiment was a non‐isothermal one in which an epoxy resin was used. For the rig geometry, the numerical mesh, with the use of the commercial code Gambit, was built. All necessary physical properties, including viscosity, surface tension and contact angle of fluids used in the experiments were measured.

Findings

The Euler approach for modelling multiphase flow with a free surface is addressed in the presented work. Comparison of the computational results with measurements on the designed experimental rig revealed good agreement. Comparison was carried out through measurements of free surface characteristic features captured with a digital camera and through temperature measurements for the nonisothermal case. Richardson extrapolation method was successfully applied to estimate the numerical discretisation error, proving that a grid independent solution was obtained.

Originality/value

This paper is useful for researchers and industrialists involved in the modelling of moulding processes, giving guidance on the available mathematical models appropriate for this kind of problem. Moreover, it provides valuable information as to how to perform validation and verification procedures for such real‐life processes.
Thermocapillary convection and phase change in welding
Authors: Amberg Gustav , Do‐Quang Minh
Published: May 2008

Purpose

In welding there is an intricate coupling between the composition of the material and the shape and depth of the weld pool. In certain materials, the weld pool may not penetrate the material easily, so that it is difficult or impossible to weld, while other seemingly quite similar materials may be well suited for welding. This is due to the convective heat transfer in the melt, where the flow is driven primarily by surface tension gradients. This paper aims to study how surface active agents affect the flow and thus the welding properties by surveying some recent 3D simulations of weld pools.

Design/methodology/approach

Some basic concepts in the modelling of flow in a weld pool are reviewed. The mathematical models for a convecting melt, with a detailed model for the surface tension and the Marangoni stress in the presence of surfactants, are presented. The effect of the sign of the Marangoni coefficient on the flow pattern, and thus, via melting and freezing, on the shape of the weld pool, is discussed.

Findings

It is seen that it is beneficial to have surfactants present at the pool surface, in order to have good penetration. Results from a refined surface tension model that accounts for non‐equilibrium redistribution of surfactants are presented. It is seen that the surfactant concentration is significantly modified by the fluid flow. Thereby, the effective surface tension and the Marangoni stresses are altered, and the redistribution of surfactants will affect the penetration depth of the weld pool.

Originality/value

The importance of surfactants for weld pool shapes, and in particular the convective redistribution of surfactants, is clarified.
Optical tomography with the equation of radiative transfer
Authors: Klose Alexander D. , Hielscher Andreas H.
Published: May 2008

Purpose

This paper sets out to give an overview about state‐of‐the‐art optical tomographic image reconstruction algorithms that are based on the equation of radiative transfer (ERT).

Design/methodology/approach

An objective function, which describes the discrepancy between measured and numerically predicted light intensity data on the tissue surface, is iteratively minimized to find the unknown spatial distribution of the optical parameters or sources. At each iteration step, the predicted partial current is calculated by a forward model for light propagation based on the ERT. The equation of radiative is solved with either finite difference or finite volume methods.

Findings

Tomographic reconstruction algorithms based on the ERT accurately recover the spatial distribution of optical tissue properties and light sources in biological tissue. These tissues either can have small geometries/large absorption coefficients, or can contain void‐like inclusions.

Originality/value

These image reconstruction methods can be employed in small animal imaging for monitoring blood oxygenation, in imaging of tumor growth, in molecular imaging of fluorescent and bioluminescent probes, in imaging of human finger joints for early diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis, and in functional brain imaging.
Analysis of macroscopic momentum equation in a columnar mushy zone
Authors: Furmański Piotr , Banaszek Jerzy
Published: May 2008

Purpose

This paper aims to tackle the problem of some ambiguity of the momentum equation formulation in the commonly used macroscopic models of two‐phase solid/liquid region, developing during alloy solidification. These different appearances of the momentum equation are compared and the issue is addressed of how the choice of the particular form affects velocity and temperature fields.

Design/methodology/approach

Attention is focused on the ensemble averaging method, which, owing to its stochastic nature, is a new promising tool for setting up the macroscopic transport equations in highly inhomogeneous multiphase micro‐ and macro‐structures, with morphology continuously changing in time when the solidification proceeds. The basic assumptions of the two other continuum models, i.e. based on the classical mixture theory and on the volume‐averaging technique, are also unveiled. These three different forms of the momentum equation are then compared analytically and their impact on calculated velocity and temperature distribution in the mushy zone is studied for the selected test problem of binary alloy solidification driven by diffusion and thermal natural convection in a square mould.

Findings

It is found that a chosen appearance of the momentum equation mildly affects temporal velocity/temperature, and shapes of the phase interface at longer times of the solidification.

Research limitations/implications

This mainly results from small variations of the liquid fraction across the mushy zone and from a low solidification rate, and it may change drastically when anisotropic properties of the mushy zone, solutal convection, different phase densities and cooling conditions are considered. Therefore, further comprehensive study is needed.

Originality/value

The paper addresses how the different focus of the momentum equation for liquid flow is compared.