bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Multiple roles of brands in business‐to‐business services
Authors: Roberts Jane , Merrilees Bill 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThe paper seeks to investigate the role of branding in a B2B service context.Design/methodology/approachThis paper focuses on a particular B2B service industry, namely leasing mall space to retail tenants. A quantitative study is undertaken of 201 mall tenants using SEM analysis.FindingsThe main finding was that brand attitudes were the most important influence on the contract renewal. Another major finding was that brand attitudes were mainly explained by service quality. Branding also played another, albeit minor role, in building trust between the supplier and the customers.Practical implicationsThe results can be used by industrial firms to build stronger brands and, in turn, to use these brands to maximize customer retention.Originality/valueThis is one of the first studies to examine service B2B brands. It is also one of the first studies to examine the multiple roles that brand can play in B2B marketing.
The role of corporate brand image in the selection of new subcontractors
Authors: Blombäck Anna , Axelsson Björn 
Published: September 2007

PurposeDespite the increased focus on brands in B2B markets, little research to date has focused on understanding the role brands play in different B2B contexts. To make a contribution in this area, the article aims to investigate whether, why and how corporate brand image plays a role in the selection of new subcontractors. This category of firms is particularly challenging to explore from a branding perspective, as their market offering is defined and designed by their customer and, further, not recognized by the customer's customer.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative interview study with respondents from nine companies (three subcontractors and six of their customers) was conducted. The interviews were semi‐structured and focused on considerations made by both buyers and sellers in sales and purchasing processes.FindingsThe study reveals that corporate brand image can be especially important when buyers need to identify new subcontractors. This process is only partly formalized, and due to limited resources and perceived risk, buyers need to rationalize the selection process. The brand's primary role is to attract interest and provide trust with regard to capacity, on‐time delivery and competence. Explicit communications, utilizing various elements such as plant orderliness, previous clients, the firm's website, etc., help build up the brand.Originality/valueThe paper illustrates that a corporate brand and branding perspective can be fruitfully applied in a subcontractor context. It promotes a deeper understanding of the complexity of decision making in B2B markets. The findings suggest that more conscious and proactive branding efforts could improve a subcontractor's business.
The internationalization of hospitality firms: factors influencing a franchise decision‐making process
Authors: Altinay Levent 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThe paper's purpose is to evaluate the factors which influence a multinational hospitality organization's franchise decision‐making process.Design/methodology/approachA single embedded case study of an international hotel firm was the focus of the enquiry. Interviews and document analysis were used as data collection techniques.FindingsFindings suggest that the two important contextual variables which have a bearing on the franchise decisions are the key stakeholders of the organization and different country markets. Decisions with regard to franchising are driven by capital market systems trying to meet the demands of shareholders and also by a strong desire to protect the core competences to meet the expectations of international customers. The growth through franchising mode however faces strong cultural challenges in different hotel markets in Europe.Research limitations/implicationsConducted on a single case study basis, with the hotel industry chosen as its focus the applicability of the research findings to other industries is therefore debatable. The findings are also limited to franchisors versus firms pursuing other growth strategies.Practical implicationsThis paper illuminates the socio‐cultural challenges international service organizations face, and highlights the types of practices required to enable growth through franchising in different country markets.Originality/valueThis paper investigates a franchise decision‐making process and examines different factors that interact and exert influence on each other while a service organization decides to choose the most appropriate franchise project. The paper identifies the key stages and the variables to the process that could be verified in the future.
Service quality and satisfaction: an international comparison of professional services perceptions
Authors: Ueltschy Linda C. , Laroche Michel , Eggert Axel , Bindl Uta 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThis study aims to examine the applicability of key measures of service quality and customer satisfaction in a cross‐cultural setting, first establishing measurement equivalence and then investigating the impact of culture on these measures.Design/methodology/approachUsing scenarios involving a visit to the dentist's office, respondents from Germany, Japan, and the USA participated in a 2 × 2 factorial experiment in which the authors manipulated both expectations (low/high) and service performance (low/high).FindingsRegardless of expectations, when performance was low, the low‐context respondents (USA and Germany) perceived lower quality than did the respondents from the high‐context country (Japan), but gave higher quality ratings than did the Japanese respondents when the performance was high.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study highlight the necessity of considering culture when interpreting customer satisfaction ratings.Originality/valueThis research adds credence to the paramount role culture plays in consumers' ratings of perceived service quality and customer satisfaction.
International market selection: measuring actions instead of intentions
Authors: Alexander Nicholas , Rhodes Mark , Myers Hayley 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThis paper aims to consider factors that determine the direction of international market selection. It does this with specific reference to service companies operating in the retail sector.Design/methodology/approachThe paper draws on general, services and retail specific literature and considers the debate surrounding market selection issue. Hypotheses are formulated and econometrically tested using an extensive database of retailers' international activity within Western European markets.FindingsThe results show that previously identified determinants of market selection are valid. However, the results clearly indicate that some factors are more important than the literature has suggested and that the selection of markets is determined in great part by relatively few but crucially important factors.Originality/valueThe paper shows that language and hence, by implication, culture plays a fundamental role in determining direction of expansion. This has important implications for the way psychic distance is understood and service company response to psychic distance.
Positioning strategies of international and multicultural‐oriented service brands
Authors: Blankson Charles , Kalafatis Stavros P. 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThis article aims to examine positioning strategies of international and multicultural‐oriented service brands.Design/methodology/approachFollowing review of the literature and pilot study, three main populations (executives and experts, companies' marketing communications, and the target group of consumers) were examined. The methodology concerned triangulation research involving face‐to‐face long interviews, secondary data, content analysis and mail survey.FindingsThe paper highlights that while no single positioning strategy is significant across the four card brands (Visa, MasterCard, Amex and Diners Club), “the brand name” positioning strategy appears to be the most preferred among Visa, MasterCard and Amex and not Diners Club. The findings also show that “top of the range” positioning strategy is favored among Amex and Diners Club card brands. However, “country of origin” positioning strategy is incompatible within the study setting.Research limitations/implicationsApart from the low response rate from survey of the general public, another limitation of this study is the concentration on a single sector of the services industry. The latter poses difficulties for generalization across all service brands.Practical implicationsService managers now have an insight into the positioning activities of the plastic card brand sector. These serve as building blocks and benchmarks for appreciating and operationalizing the concept of positioning – a research issue that is missing in the extant literature.Originality/valueThis study is a step forward in the operationalization of the concept of positioning. The research also provides diagnosis of the congruence between management's presumed positioning strategies, firm's actual positioning practices and target group's perceptions of the positioning strategies. Without such knowledge, managers cannot expect to choose the best competitive options to defend or enhance their positions in the market place.
The service encounter in a multi‐national context
Authors: Keillor Bruce D. , Lewison Dale , Tomas M. Hult G. , Hauser William 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThis study seeks to devise a research instrument designed to test the direct effects of technical and functional elements of the service encounter on behavioral intentions.Design/methodology/approachUsing data collected from eight different countries, the survey instrument was tested for reliability and validity using confirmatory factor analysis. Hypotheses were then developed related to the service encounter across countries which were then tested using structural equation modeling.FindingsThe findings showed that, in the case of physical good quality, in some cultures the “experience” of the service encounter itself outweighs the tangible “product aspect” of the encounter. This is particularly true in cultures where a higher emphasis is placed on human interactions than the acquisition of materially‐oriented products. In the case of service quality, there was a significant relationship between levels of service quality and purchase intentions in the developed markets in the study but not in the developing markets. Servicescape was found to significantly affect purchase intentions in seven of the eight countries in the study, with India being the exception.Research limitations/implicationsThe primary limitation of the study is that of the eight countries sampled, five were either European or English‐speaking.Practical implicationsThe study discusses how to maximize service success in a wide range of market environments.Originality/valueAlthough aspects of service have been heavily studied in the US market, much less research exists across markets. This paper redresses this imbalance.
Evaluation of the opinions of the school administrators about the effects of globalisation on education
Authors: Üstün Ahmet 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of globalisation on educational institutions in Turkey (to be specific, in the provinces of Amasya, Samsun and Tokat) by means of a series of inquiries carried out among secondary school administrators.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative method has been used in the study which attempts to lay bare the effects of globalisation on education via questions directed to school principals. A “configured questionnaire” has been employed as the method for collecting data, and all the administrators have been asked the same questions. The configured questionnaire form is made up of six open‐ended questions focusing on the effects of globalisation on education policies.FindingsThe findings gathered demonstrate that school administrators entertain different attitudes towards the effects of globalisation.Originality/valueThe most striking upshot is the finding that school administrators do have an awareness of the effects of globalisation, whether they hold a negative or positive stance towards the issue.
Using technology to enhance collaborative learning
Authors: Wasonga Teresa A. 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this research project is to explore the use of technology in enhancing and creating opportunities for collaborative learning by connecting prospective school leaders and practicing principals from multiple settings.Design/methodology/approachThis was a research project in which an internet‐based network system was created in “LiveText” (software) for cross‐collaborative learning among intern prospective school leaders, practicing school administrators from different school settings and university faculty. Data were gathered through focus group discussions, surveys, reflections and the interns' portfolios.FindingsResponses from participants indicated that the technology used in this project: created a forum for prospective school leaders to network and be involved in experiences spanning multiple settings and multiple mentors; enabled the participants to better understand issues of urban/inner‐city, suburban, rural, elementary, middle, and high schools; created opportunities for interns to assess their own knowledge, skills, and dispositions based on Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) standards; and enabled the development of web‐based electronic portfolios through “LiveText.”Originality/valueThe project demonstrated how technology can be used as a programmatic tool to enhance collaborative learning by: first, countering logistical and structural challenges of organizing multiple setting leadership experiences for aspiring school leaders; and second, dismantling barriers that separate prospective school leaders from diverse practicing school leaders and schools and, thereby, building both strong and weak ties.
Relationship among school size, school culture and students' achievement at secondary level in Pakistan
Authors: Salfi Naseer Ahmad , Saeed Muhammad 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThis paper seeks to determine the relationship among school size, school culture and students' achievement at secondary level in Pakistan.Design/methodology/approachThe study was descriptive (survey type). It was conducted on a sample of 90 secondary school head teachers and 540 primary, elementary and high school teachers working in the government boys secondary schools of Punjab province. Data was collected through three sources: first, statistics on education from Education Management Information System (EMIS) Punjab; second, annual results of grade 9 and 10 students of Boards of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISEs) Punjab; and third, a questionnaire which contained 39 items at five‐point rating scale and ten items in yes/no form. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were ensured through experts' opinions and pilot testing in early 2006; the overall reliability was established at 0.967.FindingsThere was a significant correlation between school size and school culture, and school size and students' achievement. Small schools revealed positive school culture and performed better than medium and large schools.Originality/valueThe policy makers, administrators and managers, and teachers at secondary level may improve school culture by bringing schools to a reasonable size, which may improve the students' achievement in Pakistan. The findings may be useful for other countries of almost similar socio‐economic status to improve the quality of teaching‐learning at secondary level.
Tension as an enabling characteristic of innovating in schools
Authors: Perillo Suzanne 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to argue that school innovation is a complex process requiring a detailed accounting of the relational activity characterising everyday innovating activity. It is further proposed that complex accounts of innovation practice that describe social factors only are insufficient.Design/methodology/approachUsing a case study methodology, a focus on ideas of resistance and tension is used to explore the character of actual innovating experiences. Underpinned by assumptions of relationality and indicative of a poststructuralist and postmodern perspective, Actor‐Network Theory is applied as an analytical tool to investigate the sociomaterial character of everyday enactments of innovation practice in four independent boys' schools in Australia.FindingsFour data stories describe multiple patterns of innovating activity that cannot accurately be accounted for in terms of a general notion of resistance. The idea that tension enables innovation practice is proposed.Research limitations/implicationsApproaches to school innovation that assume difference should be smoothed out or there is a risk of obstructing its practical accomplishment.Practical implicationsThis paper provides a case for school leaders to expect and cultivate conditions that enable innovative tension and the co‐presence of multiple patterns of innovating activity.Originality/valueIn addition to critically viewing managerial notions of school innovation, this paper draws on the cross‐disciplinary research to include materiality as an active agent shaping, as opposed to providing a context for, innovating in schools.
Systems thinking: a case for second‐order‐learning
Authors: Gharajedaghi Jamshid 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to show that changes in social systems do not occur randomly. They are consistent with what has gone on before, with the history and identity of the system. As long as the organizing principles of a dominant culture remain unchallenged, behavior of all the social‐units originating from this culture will remain unchanged.Design/methodology/approachThe concepts developed in this paper are the results of 30 years of real life experimentation with organizations and cultural transformations in different cultures. The paper demonstrates how an analytical culture, despite its well‐known shortcomings, keeps reproducing the same set of non‐solutions all over again.FindingsTo change, systems need to go through an active process of unlearning. Unlearning is an iterative and collective process of the second‐order learning. A participative and iterative design process with the aim of replacing the distorted shared images is the most effective learning tool to produce a second‐order learning and a desired change in the behavioral pattern of a social system.Originality/valueThe value is to appreciate the real source of resistance to change.
Some new theoretical issues in systems thinking relevant for modelling corporate learning
Authors: Minati Gianfranco 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe fundamental concepts and theoretical challenges with regard to systems, and to build on these in proposing new theoretical frameworks relevant to learning, for example in so‐called learning organizations.Design/methodology/approachThe paper focuses on some crucial fundamental aspects introduced in the literature in order to establish a general rather than generic usage of the systems concept. Issues of definition and theoretical frameworks are clarified before introducing new theoretical challenges for Systems Thinking, such as the perspective of a General Theory of Emergence (GTE), new modelling approaches and new concepts including Multiple Systems (MSs) and Collective Beings (CBs).FindingsNew approaches for modelling management and corporate learning are described. The paper also explains the Dynamical Usage of Models (DYSAM) developed to deal with MSs and CBs for managing learning systems able to self‐design evolutionary strategies.Originality/valueThe paper expands understanding of the notion of system and underlines the relevance of systems thinking in modelling and facilitating corporate learning.
Learning to think systemically: what does it take?
Authors: Zulauf Carol Ann 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this action research is to gain insight into how people learn to think systemically. An examination of the themes that emerged from this action research will be undertaken.Design/methodology/approachAn action research approach was adopted which involved the collection and reading of 120 journals that were kept by graduate students in their systems thinking course.FindingsA theory of practice identified and supported three significant areas in systems thinking: how the structure of the system influences the behavior of its members; the consequences of decisions on other parts of the system and a shift from blaming to seeing how one is contributing to the situation; and insights gleaned from actually learning to think systemically: meta‐learning of systems thinking.Research limitations/implicationsThe positive implications that emerged from this action research indicate that, once students are introduced to systems thinking theory, tools and application, they are able to link their decision‐making abilities to consequences; see the delays in a system; move away from blaming external “others” and look to see how they are contributing to an issue or problem. Limitations include other areas that could have been included: challenges, stories, and questions that emerged from the action research. Data from other groups would also be warranted.Practical implicationsThe paper shows that systems thinking can be taught…that the benefits are being realized on different levels!Originality/valueThis action research presents one of the first attempts to actually gather data on how people learn to think systemically and to begin to categorize the themes and patterns that emerged from the data.
Light bulbs and change: systems thinking and organisational learning for new ventures
Authors: Hebel Misha 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to revisit the practical worth of different systems thinking tools applied to three different business clients, which may be dismissed by academic researchers as theoretically old fashioned.Design/methodology/approachThe methodologies used are systems‐based (SSM, VSM and causal loop diagrams), culminating in reflective practitioner in action.FindingsBy maintaining a simple application of tools but a more complex act of reflection, learning can occur for client and consultant. This may be the basis of a more formal research programme.Originality/valueThe material presented here is just a sample of business clients chosen to present the broadest selection of systems tools within the constraints of this paper. Reflection rather than pre‐structured research is the emphasis.