bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Implementation of service profit chain initiatives in a franchise system
Authors: Maritz Alex , Nieman Gideon 
Published: March 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to evaluate the implementation of the service profit chain as an entrepreneurial marketing initiative within a defined franchise system. An objective is also to evaluate these initiatives against service quality dimensions. Despite recognition of the merits and advantages of service profit chain initiatives of retention, related sales and referrals, little research has empirically addressed the perceptions of franchisees regarding these initiatives.Design/methodology/approachMethodology includes the empirical analysis of evaluating the effectiveness of service profit chain implementation, primarily based on initiatives of retention, related sales and referrals. Research methodology comprises the survey approach, using electronic media and Surveypro analysis. This is facilitated by descriptive and inferential statistical techniques using SPSS version 11.0 data analysis. Inferential significance tests include the ANOVA Kruskal‐Wallis hypothesis test; and the Cronbach's coefficient alpha.FindingsHypothesis tests highlight the significance of a positive association between service profit chain initiatives and service quality. All service profit chain initiatives were deemed appropriate. Item analysis highlights specific dominant service profit chain initiatives, linking key relationship marketing and service quality themes.Research limitations/implicationsFindings are indicative of implementation opportunities, including measurement of loyalty within the system, developing customer feedback and complaint systems, and communicating the value of service profit chain enhancement within the franchise system.Originality/valueOriginality includes cognizance of entrepreneurial orientation, relationships and service quality when implementing service profit chain initiatives. Concurrent research opportunities include the implementation of other entrepreneurial marketing initiatives, including relationship marketing and benchmarking for best practice.
An empirical analysis of e‐service implementation: antecedents and the resulting value creation
Authors: Rapp Adam , Rapp Tammy , Schillewaert Niels 
Published: March 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the antecedents and perceived value associated with e‐business implementation in service firms. E‐business has enabled the development of e‐services and thus introduced a new vehicle for customer and supplier transactions.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from top managers in 231 Belgian business‐to‐business service firms crossing a broad spectrum of industries. The statistical techniques employed included a confirmatory factor analysis, and hierarchical regression analyses.FindingsThe findings of the study suggest that technical infrastructure and external drivers influence e‐business implementation. Additionally, e‐business was found to create value for firms through efficiency, novelty, lock‐in, and complementarities.Research limitations/implicationsThe results imply that a firm's behavior, while driven in part by external factors (e.g. shareholders, competitors, customers, etc.), is largely contingent upon a firm's internal infrastructure and environment. It should be noted that only the firm side of the dyadic relationships was surveyed and examined.Practical implicationsManagers should assess a firm's technological infrastructure before launching an e‐business venture. Also, since firms believe that implementing e‐business has positive outcomes that extend beyond firm performance, it can be logically posited that these value drivers will positively influence a firm's overall performance.Originality/valueThe first empirical examination of the work of Javalgi et al. and Amit and Zott is integrated and provided to present a robust conceptual framework that incorporates the antecedents and value creation associated with e‐business implementation.
Causes and consequences of grudge‐holding in service relationships
Authors: Bunker Matthew P. , Ball Dwayne 
Published: March 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to place grudge‐holding as a theoretical construct, measure it, and empirically place it in a nomological net and, additionally to discuss the consequences of grudge‐holding in this research.Design/methodology/approachA 2 × 2 scenario‐based experiment was performed using 320 subjects, approximately 80 people per condition. The size of the exit barrier (high/low) and the effectiveness of the service recovery (good/poor) were varied between each scenario to determine changes in grudge‐holding.FindingsSome consequences of grudge‐holding are retaliation desire and communication avoidance. Although trust was tested in this research, and is still an important relationship variable, the results show that loss of trust cannot explain these outcomes in the presence of grudge‐holding.Research limitations/implicationsThe results are limited by the fact that they are based on scenarios rather than real events. As such, they should be interpreted with some caution, and confirmed by later studies using cross‐sectional or natural experimental data.Practical implicationsA grudge‐holding item should be included in routine customer satisfaction surveys, especially since grudge‐holders are less likely to initiate communication. If grudge‐holding is suspected, this paper suggests steps that managers can take to defuse grudges.Originality/valueThe results of this research confirm that grudge‐holding is an important construct of service relationships. Understanding grudge‐holding is important because it predicts the desire for retaliation and the desire to avoid communication, both of which can increase expenses for the firm, and eventually lead to a mass exit of customers.
Comparing three signals of service quality
Authors: Dean Dwane H. , Lang Jane M. 
Published: March 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate a relatively new signal of service quality, third‐party evaluation of a service brand.Design/methodology/approachThe meaning of the third‐party signal to consumers was studied and the third‐party signal was compared with two other signals, word‐of‐mouth communication about a service brand and popularity of a service brand, for the ability to influence anticipated satisfaction with a homeowners' insurance product.The three signals appeared as factors in two experiments. The factor levels were favorable, absent, or unfavorable.FindingsAll three signals exhibited significant main effects. Of the three signals, third‐party evaluation accounted for the greatest proportion of variance in the dependent variable, and this signal also had the strongest negativity effect. Also, a significant two‐way ordinal interaction was found between word‐of‐mouth communication and third‐party evaluation. The boosting effect of a favorable versus an unfavorable word‐of‐mouth communication was less in the presence of a favorable third‐party evaluation than in the circumstance where the two signals conflicted.Research limitations/implicationsQuality signals other than those under study were excluded from stimuli in this investigation. The ability to generalize the findings of this study to the real world is limited by the fact that the effects of other quality signals (brand, price, etc.) on the three signals studied are unclear.Originality/valueThis study strongly suggests that third‐party evaluation is perceived as a product quality signal by consumers. Incorporating a favorable third‐party signal into advertising may allay consumer uncertainty of service quality and increase the likelihood of service brand purchase.
An exploration of happy/sad and liked/disliked music effects on shopping intentions in a women's clothing store service setting
Authors: Broekemier Greg , Marquardt Ray , Gentry James W. 
Published: March 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to determine which two dimensions of music, happy/sad or liked/disliked, have significant effects on shopping intentions, thereby providing guidance for decision‐makers in service environments.Design/methodology/approachSubjects viewed videotapes of an unfamiliar store in an experimental research design. Subjects were exposed to one of several musical treatments while viewing and were asked to speak their thoughts about the store aloud. Happy/sad musical treatments were determined through pretests while subjects' unprompted comments were used to assess like/dislike for the music. Subjects also reported intentions to shop in the stimulus store. The hypothesized model was then tested.FindingsHappy/sad music had a significant direct effect on shopping intentions while the direct effect of liked/disliked music was marginally significant. However, the combination of the two music dimensions investigated is perhaps most noteworthy. Shopping intentions were greatest when subjects were exposed to happy music that was liked.Research limitations/implicationsOnly a women's clothing store service setting with a limited target market was utilized. Care should be taken when generalizing beyond this setting and subject group.Practical implicationsHappy music that is liked by the target market can significantly increase intentions to shop in a retail service environment.Originality/valueLittle research has been done investigating the effects of the affective, or happy/sad, component of music in service settings. This study helps fill that gap in the literature. In addition, studies investigating music's effects in retail environments often examine only one dimension of music. The value of assessing effects of multiple dimensions of music is demonstrated.
The Napoleonic tradition
Authors: Guy Peters B. 
Published: March 2008

PurposeThis paper intends to provide a framework for understanding the concept of administrative tradition, and then applies it to Napoleonic administrative systems.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis involves the creation of a number of dimensions that can be used to analyze traditions, and the paper demonstrates the range of application of the dimensions.FindingsProvides findings from a number of studies of public administration.Originality/valueThis framework is applied primarily to industrialized democracies in this paper but can be used across the full range of administrative systems, and is a significant augmentation of existing frameworks for comparative analysis.
Reform without doctrine: public management in France
Authors: Rouban Luc 
Published: March 2008

PurposeThis paper aims to give an overview of the public management process in France and tries to explain why it is specific as compared to other countries.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based upon a sociological and comparative methodology. It reports the empirical findings of a European survey.FindingsManagement reforms in France are fragmented and do not fit in a general doctrine or a new philosophy of the state. The French managerial reform style is due to the domestication of management tools by Napoleonic structures. Nevertheless, management innovations are used in order to draw new frontiers within public administration between what is the centre and what is the periphery.Research limitations/implicationsThe methodology as well as the findings of the paper could be used for a more systematic comparative work in order to understand why and how public management tools fit in national political as well as professional traditions. There is scope for connecting public management research with broader historical and sociological studies of public administration.Originality/valueThe paper shows that both political values and work practices have to be taken into account in order to understand why public sector management reforms are easier in some countries even within the Napoleonic tradition.
Public management reform in Italy: explaining the implementation gap
Authors: Ongaro Edoardo , Valotti Giovanni 
Published: March 2008

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to outline the sets of factors influential on the implementation of public management reform in the politico‐administrative context of Italy.Design/methodology/approachProvides a combination of different research designs, multiple case studies on regional governments.FindingsSome broad sets of factors affecting implementation of public management reform have been identified They include: characteristics of the administrative tradition and features of the politico‐administrative context; the design of the reform package and the coalition of interests sustaining the reform; behavioural triggers; and the building over the time of management capacity at the level of individual public sector organisations.Research limitations/implicationsResearch limitations include the availability of empirical evidence given the width of the phenomenon under investigation, as well as the broader caveats that apply to researching vast and complex problems like those concerning management reforms at nation‐wide level. Some implications for the development of a broader comparative research agenda on countries in the Napoleonic administrative tradition are proposed.Originality/valueProvides an interpretation of the dynamics of the process of implementation of public management reforms in Italy by combining a plurality of theoretical sources.
Public management reform in Portugal: successes and failures
Authors: Corte‐Real Isabel 
Published: March 2008

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to address the question of the influence of the administrative tradition and the politico‐administrative context on the formulation and implementation of public management reform in Portugal.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on empirical evidence collected from various sources. It reflects the personal experience of the author, who was personally involved in the reform process, and is also the result of a wide‐ranging review of literature on public administration and public management reform in Portugal and other European countries.FindingsThe paper identifies different phases of reform, and acknowledges the existence of a recurrent problem with public expenditure and increasing public employment. It concludes that there has been no lack of great reforms, and suggests a different approach – one that does not require special speeches or special doctrine, but is based on discreet work by politicians and managers seeking to fulfil the traditional values of the public service.Research limitations/implicationsMainly due to a lack of both studies and evaluation practices – make it difficult to assess the actual impact of the different waves of reforms. However, administration has managed to cope with the process of change while maintaining a key orientation towards the citizen and society.Originality/valueThe value of the paper is that it is the first time the whole cycle of reforms, from 1974 until 2007, has been covered and also related to the politico‐administrative tradition. It contains summarised but complete information and suggests a new approach based on the ethical values of the public service.
Two types of learning environment
Authors: Ellström Eva , Ekholm Bodil , Ellström Per‐Erik 
Published: March 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to first elaborate on the notion of a learning environment based on an empirical study of care work. Second, to explore how aspects of a learning environment may differ between and within units in the same organization, and how to understand and explain such differences.Design/methodology/approachThe study was based on a multiple case‐study design including four departments within two care units. Data were collected through direct observation of working conditions and work practices as well as semi‐structured interviews with all care‐workers within the two units (29 persons), and with the head and deputy head for each of the two units.FindingsIt was possible to distinguish between two qualitatively different patterns of working conditions and practices within the four teams. These patterns of practice were interpreted as representing an enabling and a constraining type of learning environment as these concepts were defined in this study. The evidence suggests that the emergence of an enabling learning environment was an outcome of a dynamic interplay between a number of factors that had the character of a virtuous circle.Originality/valueThe article adds to previous research through a distinction between two types of learning environment (enabling and constraining), and by linking these two types of learning environment to different conceptions of learning and to different working conditions and practices.
Reaching beyond disciplines through collaboration
Authors: Karlsson Jan , Anderberg Elsie , Booth Shirley , Odenrick Per , Christmansson Marita 
Published: March 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyse and describe the learning that takes place in the interaction between academics from different disciplines and perspectives in collaboration with practitioners.Design/methodology/approachThe research draws on theories of learning that view it in relation to context, where the most significant features of the learning process concern discerning new aspects of a phenomenon. The study focuses on the workplace learning of researchers in a multidisciplinary programme at the National Institute for Working Life in Sweden (NIWL). Data was collected from semi‐structured interviews. In the analysis the learning experienced was discerned by identifying how the participants spoke of developing and changing in their work as researchers.FindingsThe investigation identified five categories of learning of the academics in the multidisciplinary research programme, namely: deepened awareness of perspectives and concepts; practical development; new awareness of one's competences and professional learning process; flexible professionalism and practical usefulness; insights into research and development processes.Practical implicationsThe study contributes to an increased understanding of how knowledge production and academics' workplace learning is constituted in multidisciplinary contexts and research programmes involving practitioners from outside academia.Originality/valueIn organising and supporting learning and knowledge exchange in inter‐ or multidisciplinary research programmes with (or without) practitioners, it is essential to be aware of the importance of relational and contextual implications for academics' learning processes.
The knowledge system of a firm: social capital for explicit, tacit and potential knowledge
Authors: Smedlund Anssi 
Published: March 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to bring clarity to the concept of social capital in the value creation in firms from the knowledge management perspective. To discuss the social characteristics of different types of knowledge.Design/methodology/approachBased on a review of the literature, it is argued that different types of knowledge have the distinctive logic of value creation and social capital. Social capital is seen as a network of individuals with shared norms, beliefs and trust.FindingsThe social network structure for explicit knowledge is centralized and maintained by clearly defined rules, beliefs in high quality and trust in organizational hierarchy. The social network structure for tacit knowledge is distributed and maintained by the norms of reciprocity, beliefs in lifelong learning and an incremental trust. Finally, the social network structure for emergent, potential knowledge is decentralized and maintained by liberal norms, beliefs in innovativeness and an enabling type of trust.Practical implicationsThis paper helps to understand the role of social capital in the value creation of a firm and the connections between different types of knowledge and their corresponding types of social characteristics.Originality/valueThis paper presents a holistic approach to explicit, tacit and potential types of knowledge and the argument that all are needed. It is stated that these three types of knowledge form a basis for three management systems of firms.
The effect of tacit knowledge on firm performance
Authors: Harlow Harold 
Published: March 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to propose the use of the tacit knowledge index (TKI) to assess the level of tacit knowledge within firms and its effect on firm performance.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 108 US and Canadian firms that are using knowledge management was surveyed to determine each firm's TKI. This measure includes both the degree of usage and the tacitness of the knowledge management method. Regression and correlation were used to statistically analyze the innovation and financial outcomes.FindingsSignificant relationships were found between a firm's level of TKI and the firm's innovation performance. Less clear is the relationship between a higher TKI and financial measures.Research limitations/implicationsThis research gives managers a way to structure their use of knowledge management methodology and use of resources in a way that may maximize performance, either as stand alone systems or as part of the Balanced Scorecard.Practical implicationsThe use of this research could greatly reduce the uncomfortable gut feeling that many managers have in funding so‐called soft tacit‐based knowledge management systems rather than invest in easier to assess hardware systems.Originality/valueThis pioneering research develops tacit knowledge as a measurable quantity and links this metric to firm performance.
Managerial foresight: concept and measurement
Authors: Amsteus Martin 
Published: March 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to establish what foresight is, to review past usages and definitions of foresight and to synthesize them into one generic definition, in order to make the concept measurable.Design/methodology/approachA discussion on how to classify variables in the social sciences serves as the starting‐point. Next, a review of past definitions and usages of the concept foresight is followed by further analysis and then synthesizing of the generic definition. The generic definition is finally compared and contrasted with the related concepts of forecasting, strategic analysis, and intuition.FindingsForesight is defined as behavior along three dimensions: degree of analyzing present contingencies and degree of moving the analysis of present contingencies across time; degree of analyzing a desired future state or states a degree ahead in time with regard to contingencies under control; and degree of analyzing courses of action a degree ahead in time to arrive at the desired future state.Research limitations/implicationsThe article makes foresight quantitatively measurable, which in turn makes it possible to empirically measure the existence of foresight among managers and to test the relationship between foresight and organizational performance.Practical implicationsPractical foresight tools and programs, etc. can now be assessed and compared by both practitioners and researchers.Originality/valueIn identifying three fundamental behavioral dimensions of foresight, the article conceives and advances foresight as a distinct concept that can be related to several research areas, both on individual (e.g. managerial) and organizational levels.