Is There Any Change in the Public Service Values of Different Generations of Public Administrators? The Case of Turkish Governors and District Governors

In recent public administration literature, much attention is paid to changes in public service values, including ethical values, that guide public service. This paper reports on the results of an empirical survey conducted among a group of Turkish governors and district governors (including those in service and retired) who are from different generations. By focusing on the transformation of value preferences of Turkish governors and district governors, this study tries to identify variations in values, particularly about public service ethics, in accordance with the age and the length of tenure in public service. The findings of the research show a traditional and more or less consistent value pattern for Turkish governors and district governors. The most important public service values expressed by the respondents are consistent with often-mentioned crucial public service values in the literature. New or emerging values have not been present enough among the most important public service values. In brief, the results do not lend support to the often-assumed hypothesis that traditional public service values are devaluated or degraded by the emergence of businesslike values. In other words, new emerging values could not sneak into the public service culture in any convincing manner in spite of many years of NPM rhetoric and recipes.     

企业捐赠行为与公司价值重构——基于公众价值观的分析

对现代公司而言,社会公众的道德诉求能否与公司经济利益相兼容,是企业捐赠行为研究中难以回避的一个重要问题。由于引入投资者效用函数使得公众利益与"股东"利益保持一致,因而可以通过建模从理论层面上探讨企业捐赠行为与实现公司价值重构的可能性及其相关条件。结果表明:虽然捐赠减少了公司的现金流量,但投资者的价值认同使其在资本市场上依然能够实现较高的公司价值。因此,公众价值观的偏好程度及投资者对公司的溢价激励直接决定了公司价值的高低,即企业捐赠存在的合理与否。而培育理性的公众价值观是实现这种激励的重要保障。     

Investigation of the relationship between service values and loyalty behaviors under high commitment

The aim of this study is to investigate to relationship between service values, commitment, and customer loyalty. Based on self-administrated survey from 440 mobile service users in South Korea, the proposed model was estimated by a hierarchical regression. First, the price and the quality values have a positive effect on repurchase intention under high calculative commitment. Second, price value also has a positive effect on positive word of mouth under high calculative commitment. Finally, and social value has a positive effect on positive word of mouth under high affective commitment. We discuss the implications of these findings for commitment management strategies on the relationship between service values and customer-loyalty link. Limitations and recommendations for future research are also presented.     

Shopping values of clothing retailers perceived by consumers of different social classes

With the advent of diverse forms of retailing, competition among retailers is becoming more intense. Due to this phenomenon, retailers now require marketing strategies that can differentiate themselves from other retailers. However, there is a lack of research on what kind of shopping values consumers perceive from the retailers they visit. This paper analyzes dimensions of shopping values consumers perceive and variations in perceived shopping values according to the types of clothing retailers, be it a department store, discount store, or internet shopping mall. More specifically, the paper analyzes the moderating effect of consumers’ different social class in perceiving the shopping values of each retailer. The results show that shopping value consists of five major constructs: experiential, diversional, reliable, efficient, and self-expressive shopping values. We also found that consumers perceive more experiential, diversional, and reliable shopping values in department stores and internet shopping malls than in discount stores, and self-expressive shopping value is highly perceived in department stores. However, consumers’ social class can moderate the perception of shopping values for department stores and internet shopping malls, but not for discount stores. Discount store shopping is likely to provide consistent shopping values to consumers of all classes. Based on these findings, managerial implications are then presented.     

残疾人均等享有公共服务的经济学分析

残疾人均等享有公共服务是在政府主导下的生产和分配过程,它与各种组织和公民的经济活动密切相关。从经济学视角分析残疾人均等享有公共服务,可有效防止由经济因素造成的残疾人均等享有公共服务方面的偏差,降低服务供给成本和提高其社会效益。市场体制、行政体制与社会体制的合作能为此服务奠定坚实的物质基础,公民与残疾人家庭是落实服务的最终主体。残疾人均等享有公共服务要基于社会主义市场经济体制、政府宏观调控和引导以及各类组织与公民,在市场机制、行政机制、社会机制与公民主体的共同维护与努力下,坚持供求关系的动态均衡原则,努力降低服务的经济成本,不断提高其社会效益,确保残疾人有＂尊严的生存＂,并促进社会和谐。     

Public service quality and customer satisfaction: exploring the attributes of service quality in the public sector

Beyond the existing SERVQUAL-based research, the authors develop an alternative model of public service quality. The various sources of public service quality are explored and a new classification scheme formulated by using critical incidents technique. Four main qualities of public service are identified: process quality, outcome quality, design quality, and relationship quality. The findings suggest that the critical attributes of public service quality for customer satisfaction differ according to the types of customers in the public sector. Final customers (beneficiaries) give priority to the process and outcome qualities, whereas intermediary customers (social workers) have high regard for the design and relationship qualities.     

Antecedents and interrelationships of three types of pro-environmental behavior

Models used in previous environmental studies focused on only one type of pro-environmental behavior (e.g., purchase of green products) and failed to examine a relationship among the different types of pro-environmental behavior. This study employs the three types of pro-environmental behavior (green purchase behavior, good citizenship behavior, and environmental activist behavior) and examines their drivers and the interrelationship. The study proposes and tests a model in which value orientation, perceived consumer efficiency/effectiveness (PCE) and environmental concern have an influence on the three types of behavior. The model is tested on the data collected via survey in South Korea. The study finds that altruistic value has no direct influence on behavior, but has an indirect impact through PCE and environmental concern. The study finds that PCE and environmental concern are positively related to citizenship behavior and purchase behavior. Activist behavior is explained by a single predictor (PCE).     

Service value and switching barriers: a personal values perspective

This research aims to investigate how customers, the key actors in a service relationship, perceive service value and switching barriers. The study is framed along the means-end-chain theory of personal values and theory of customer resources in the service-dominant logic. Hypotheses about the impact of personal values on customer value, switching barriers and customer loyalty were tested using structural equation modeling of survey data obtained from the health care and retail banking sectors in Vietnam. The results show that in both sectors, personal values have a significant impact on perceived process and outcome value as well as on perceived economic and relational switching barriers. Economic barriers were found to affect loyalty in the banking sector, in the same way that relational barriers affect loyalty in the health-care sector only. Loyalty in both sectors is influenced by process but not by outcome value. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Gray Shades of Green: Causes and Consequences of Green Skepticism

Consumer skepticism of corporate environmental activities is on the rise. Yet research on this timely, intriguing, and important topic is scarce for both academics and practitioners. Building on attribution theory, we develop and test a theoretically anchored model that explains the sources and consequences of green skepticism. The study findings reveal that consumers’ perceptions of industry norms, corporate social responsibility, and corporate history are important factors that explain why consumers assign different motives to corporate environmental actions. In addition, the results show that while intrinsic motives exert a strong negative effect on green skepticism, extrinsic motives have no discernible effect. Furthermore, the findings indicate that green skepticism prompts consumers to seek more information about the products, sparks negative word of mouth to friends and acquaintances, and forestalls purchase intentions. The study offers several implications for corporate and public policy makers and presents fruitful research directions.     

Further insights into perceived value and consumer loyalty: A “Green” perspective

“Green consumption” is an increasingly important topic in today's society. The effect of the ecological value provided by traditionally non‐green products, such as automobiles, on their consumer's post‐purchase behavior, such as brand or model loyalty, requires further clarification. The present study provides qualitative and quantitative insights from car users on how the ecological aspect of consumption integrates into the link between perceived value and consumer loyalty intentions (value–loyalty link). In general, car usage is accompanied by perceived functional, economic, emotional, and social value. Perceived ecological value is shown to have a significant impact on these four value dimensions. The relevance of “green to have quality,” “green to save money,” “green to feel good,” and “green to be seen” in relation to loyalty intention is discussed. Results of a structural equation model and multigroup analysis provide the opportunity to derive both theoretical and applied implications. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

公益广告是电视媒体承担社会责任的重要表现

电视媒体已经成为社会主要传播渠道,成为当之无愧的第一媒体。因此,电视媒体应当承担社会公民应尽的社会责任和义务。在履行好"内容把关人"的职责,传播先进内容的同时,公益广告是电视媒体承担社会责任的重要表现。中央电视台不仅播出大量公益电视广告,而且积极组织、策划与创意各项公益内容与活动,主动承担媒体的社会责任,有效地推动了中国电视公益广告的成长与发展。     

Effect of price increases on future intentions of sport consumers

This work analyzes the relationships between perceived value, satisfaction and future intentions among users of a public sport service who experience a price increase in the service they receive. A self-administered survey provides data from two samples (before and after the service price increase). After confirming the reliability and validity of the measures, hierarchical multiple regression provides the means for analyzing the data. The results show that the increase in the service price worsens the perception of service performance. As expected, satisfaction, perceived value and future intentions decrease following an increase in the service price. Perceived value also serves as a more effective predictor of future intentions than satisfaction. Finally, price increase has a low direct effect on predicting future intentions of sport users.     

残疾人公共服务体系利益相关方的角色定位研究

在经济与社会转型时期,残疾人公共服务体系建设是政府在社会管理和公共服务方面必须承担的职能和责任。残疾人公共服务体系具有人本性、均等性、参与性、共享性、预防性、服务性等特征。在政府资源稀缺的现实情况下,必须发挥政府和社会组织以及民间资金的作用,要在解读国际残疾人公共服务的前提下,深入研究残疾人公共服务体系的支持网络,建好＂654321系统工程＂,准确定位残疾人公共服务体系的利益相关方即政府、管理机构、社会力量、社区与残疾人基层组织等角色,建立并发展残疾人事业的社会制度。     

Provision of Step-Level Public Goods with Uncertain Provision Threshold and Continuous Contribution

Common to most theoretical and empirical research on public goods is the assumption that the parameters of the game are common knowledge. Recent theoretical and empirical studies have questioned this assumption by arguing that many public goods situations are characterized by uncertainty regarding various aspects of the situation. In particular, Suleiman (1997) argued that members of production groups of step-level public goods are often uncertain about the value of the provision threshold. For this type of uncertainty he proposed three distinct models to account for the individual's contribution.The present study reports the results of an experiment designed primarily to test and contrast the predictions derived from two of these models – a subjective expected utility model and a cooperative model – regarding the effects of threshold uncertainty on contribution for the provision of step-level public goods. Other goals of the study were to test the joint effect of the threshold uncertainty level, and its mean (low vs. high), on contribution, and to examine the effect of threshold uncertainty on the individuals' estimates regarding the contributions of other group members.The results show that the effect of threshold uncertainty is moderated by the threshold mean: Contribution to the public good increased as a function of uncertainty for the lower threshold mean, and decreased (though not significantly) for the higher threshold mean. In contrast, for the two threshold means the subjects' estimates of the mean and variability of others' contribution increased with threshold uncertainty.The models' comparison revealed that the cooperative model was superior to the subjective expected utility model. This result adds to a substantial body of research on social dilemmas showing that under conditions of social (strategic) uncertainty, group members tacitly coordinate their choice behavior by anchoring their decisions on rules of fairness.     

Competitive Features in the Provision of Consumer Credit

The sub-prime crisis has rejuvenated a public dialogue about the regulation of financial systems. This paper examines the impact of culture on the regulation of bank entry. Based on data from 53 countries, the paper's empirical estimations are inconsistent with the prediction of ‘public choice theory’, while supporting the ‘social choice view’ that cultural value has significant influence on regulatory policy and bank performance. The estimated structural model also suggests that social context can affect the formulation of cultural values across countries.     

Influencing factors of customer loyalty in mobile payment: A consumption value perspective and the role of alternative attractiveness

The rapid development of mobile payment has attracted many competitors and made customer retention a crucial issue for mobile payment service providers. This study examines the influencing factors of mobile payment loyalty from a multi-dimensional value perspective by extending and integrating the Cognitive-Affective-Behaviour (C-A-B) model and the Theory of Consumption Values (TCV). We also incorporate alternative attractiveness as a moderating variable to reveal the potential influence of the competitive market environment. This study collected 427 questionnaires from mobile payment users in China. The empirical study results show that customers’ loyalty is determined by satisfaction, and satisfaction is influenced by functional, emotional, epistemic, and monetary value. The findings also demonstrate that satisfaction has mediated the consumption values and loyalty relationship, and alternative attractiveness has weakened the influence of satisfaction on loyalty. This study shifts the focus in mobile payment research from adoption to the post-adoption stage and establishes a new research model by integrating two fundamental theories in explaining customer behaviour. Our study could guide mobile payment providers to cultivate customer satisfaction and loyalty by determining the values that are worth investing in their marketing strategies and help them notice and neutralise the weakening effect of competitor attractiveness.     

A green experience with eco-friendly cars: A young consumer electric vehicle rental behavioral model

Considering climate change and global warming, a transition from gasoline cars to electric vehicles (EVs) can progress toward reducing the carbon footprint and improving air quality. As young consumers prepare to become future automobile users, this research focuses on their EV perception, attitude, and cost considerations in a car-rental setting. Consumer confidence and affordability are the main barriers to the widespread adoption of EVs. Consumers remain skeptical about the functional and service quality of these new eco-friendly vehicles. The use of rental EVs can help consumers deal with these barriers because the stakes are relatively lower in a car-rental decision as compared to a vehicle purchase. Therefore, this study investigates the role of environmental protection attitude, subjective norms, perceived functional quality, post-rental service quality, price value, and willingness-to-pay regarding consumers rental intentions for EVs. Based on 502 survey respondents, this study tests the hypotheses using a covariance-based structural equation model. The results show that young consumers who are conscious of their environmental responsibilities, social norms, and quality are likely to rent an EV. The result also shows that price value does not directly impact the rental intention of young consumers, but rather indirectly through the mediating effect of willingness to pay. This finding is likely attributable to the fact that for this segment of the consumers, their household income determines their perceived price value and propensity to spend on eco-friendly vehicles.     

Learning to Be Job Ready: Strategies for Greater Social Inclusion in Public Sector Employment

‘Learning to be job ready’ (L2BJR) was a pilot scheme involving 16 long-term unemployed people from a range of backgrounds being offered a 6-month paid placement within the care department of a city council in Northern England. The project was based on a partnership with the largest college in the city specialising in post-16 education and training for residents and employees. The college targeted people as potential candidates for the programme through their prior attendance on or interest in care courses at the college, rather than the council employing more traditional methods of recruitment. Surveys, focus groups and interviews were utilised to capture the views and experiences of the participants, project workers and line managers, and also evidence of the project’s impact on service delivery in the care department. The article adds to our conceptual and practical knowledge of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the public sector in three distinct ways. From a social and business perspective, the findings of the research highlight a potentially more robust strategy for matching long-term unemployed citizens to training and job opportunities in the public sector than is otherwise possible through the more conventional route of the job centre. Secondly, through this approach and with appropriate pre-training, a greater understanding of and empathy for the service users can be developed in the new organisational members, strengthening the subsequent ethical delivery and quality of the service. Finally, a re-conceptualisation of Carroll’s influential model of CSR, which also specifically incorporates the ethical and social inclusion duties of public sector organisations not only as service providers but also as potential employers, offers a more tailored paradigm for understanding this unique yet under-researched element of CSR theory and practice.     

反倾销中公共利益问题的研究

我国加入WTO以来,越来越多的企业学会了运用反倾销的武器保护自己的经济利益。但是反倾销是一把“双刃剑”,在运用反倾销措施保护国内受倾销损害产业的利益的同时,可能损害到国内包括下游用户及最终消费者在内的各种利害关系方的利益,最终可能削减了整个社会的经济效益。因此,以公共利益条款来平衡各方之间的利益关系越来越引起人们的重视。     

共享服务系统体验价值共创行为的影响因素

由于共享经济的发展和信息技术的进步,共享服务系统中的共创行为变得越来越容易实现,消费者与企业协作共创价值成为新的发展趋势。在消费者需求和共享行为都不断变化的情况下,如果共享服务供应商不清楚何种因素能够加速消费者价值共创行为的生成,则会影响共创价值实现。基于服务主导逻辑的理论,构建共享服务系统体验价值共创行为及其影响因素的理论模型。依据收集的450份有效问卷,对数据进行分析后发现,共享服务系统中感知利益、感知信任和社会可持续性通过互动协作(价值共创过程)对顾客体验价值产生影响,顾客体验价值对顾客的价值共创行为意向产生影响。研究结果表明,顾客参与共创动机中的效益动机和信任动机显著正向影响互动协作,互动协作显著正向影响体验价值和共创行为意向,而体验价值在互动协作和共创行为意向之间起到显著部分中介作用。共享服务提供方和产品制造方应多从顾客视角考虑其效益需求和信任需求,定位顾客需求和偏好,提供更有吸引力和说服力的商品与服务,使顾客感知到更多的收益,并形成较高信任度;提升与顾客的互动水平,建立顾客对服务方的好感,激发顾客更多的主动交互行为、参与行为和个人创新行为;重视资源的整合、分配和调动,实行以顾客驱动为核心的开放创新模式;招募优质用户,通过倾听和观察了解其价值主张,促进价值共创行为的生成,改善共享服务系统的整体服务质量。