Ethics support through rapport: Elaborating the impact of service provider rapport on ethical behaviour intention of the tourists

Tourism research is concerned about increasing tourist visits yet simultaneously reducing the negative impact of tourism activities for the local communities by promoting the ethical behaviour of the tourists built upon the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, this research aims to test the influence of tourism service provider rapport on ethical behaviour intention of the tourists. Specifically, we propose that service provider rapport induces happiness that broadens moral cognition and build personal resources to perform ethical behaviour. Using a scenario-based survey, we found that happiness induced by service provider rapport can improve ethical behaviour. Moreover, happiness also elevates tourist's moral identity centrality, leading to ethical judgment and ethical behaviour intention. Thus, moral identity and ethical judgment are not stable for an individual. The theoretical contributions and practical implications are discussed further.     

A study on the competitive strategy of the universal postal service provider

We analysed how the universal postal service providers could employ their specificities to achieve an advantage over the growing competition. The basic input for the model is expert opinions. We interviewed 18 experts in five stages. As a multiple criteria decision support method, we used an analytic hierarchy process. Further, we proposed a geometric method for determining the business area where a company should focus its biggest attention to achieve the best result. By implementing the proposed model, a company should obtain two types of business directions, the first related to the proposed activities and the second to the business areas. To demonstrate the applicability of the proposed methodology, we tested and verified it in the case of the Serbian universal postal service provider which is a state-owned company called the Post of Serbia.     

Connecting with prospective medical tourists online: A cross-sectional analysis of private hospital websites promoting medical tourism in India,Malaysia and Thailand

Websites of private hospitals promoting medical tourism are important marketing channels for showcasing and promoting destinations' medical facilities and their array of staff expertise, services, treatments and equipment to domestic and foreign patient-consumers alike. This study examines the websites of private hospitals promoting medical tourism in three competing Asian countries (India, Malaysia and Thailand) in order to look at how these hospitals present themselves online and seek to appeal to the perceived needs of (prospective) medical tourists. The content and format of 51 hospitals are analyzed across five dimensions: hospital information and facilities, admission and medical services, interactive online services, external activities, and technical items. Results show differences between Indian, Malaysian and Thai hospital websites, pointing to the need for hospital managers to improve their hospitals’ online presence and interactivity.     

The Market Orientation of Internet Support Companies

ABSTRACT

Several studies have expanded the work by Jaworski and Kohli (1993) by using their market orientation framework model and applying it to a variety of industries. The results of recent studies have uncovered moderate to strong relationships between the concepts of market orientation and organizational performance. Although there is a large body of research on the topic of market orientation, there is a gap pertaining to market orientation across organizations that comprise fast-paced environments such as those that exist within the Internet commerce environment. This study explores market orientation in the context of Web Hosting and Internet service providers to understand the impact market orientation can have on new and emerging industries. The study results indicate that market orientation is positively related to performance. Implications for theory construction and managerial practice are discussed.     

网络服务提供商版权间接侵权问题探讨

与传统版权侵权的分类一致，网络服务提供商版枳侵叔也可分为直接侵权与间接侵权两类。从《关于审理涉及计算机网络著作权益纠纷案件适用法律若干问题的解释》、《信息网络传播叔保护条例》到《中华人民共和国侵权责任法》，有关网络服务提供商版权间接侵权的法律规定逐步完善。不同类型的网络服务提供者，包括技术服务提供者、内容服务提供者、兼有技术与内容的综合服务提供者，其承担侵权责任的请求权基础亦应有所不同。网络服务提供商版权间接侵权又可分为帮助侵权和引诱侵权，其与网络服务提供商版权直接侵权、替代责任共同构成全部的网络服务提供商版权侵权行为的责任认定形式，三者又分别适用于不同的网络服务提供商版权侵权行为情形，司法实践中应当区分类型加以注意。     

The Decentralisation of Airbus Production and Services

Airbus has been multisourcing production since the first rollouts in the late 1970s, spawning clusters of suppliers around its locations in Bristol, Hamburg, Madrid and Toulouse. Moreover, both the A380 project and globalisation of the aircraft market pointed up the need and value of outsourcing. This paper analyses the outlook for supplier clusters in Toulouse and elsewhere based on Airbus thinking and practices before identifying the ingredients of successful outsourcing.     

Air cargo revenue management under buy-back policy

Few researches address the application of financial “buy-back” concept in the air cargo revenue management. This paper examines the air cargo booking and execution procedure to measure the applicability of the buy-back policy in the air cargo revenue. By applying buy-back policy during the period of order release and order execution, a revenue model is built which incorporates Hellermann's capacity option model into the Black-Scholes pricing model. The results demonstrated that buy-back policy not only answers the questions of whether to buy-back, when to buy-back and how much to buy-back, but also increases the revenues of both asset provider and intermediary. Further study is extended in the overbooking and partial buy-back scenarios. The buy-back policy showed better performance in these two scenarios compared with current approach.     

基于战略联盟的物流外包研究

物流业务外包可以给用户带来利益，是物流发展的趋势所在。但目前物流业务外包，无论是从广度、深度还是满意度都不如人意。文章重点介绍了目前企业物流外包的现状及存在的问题，提出供需双方如何建立长期的战略同盟的关系，推进物流外包的发展。     

Network configuration,customer centricity,and performance of open business models: A solution provider perspective

While research has shown a positive impact of open business models on value creation, it has remained silent on the configuration of the corresponding partner networks and their effect on performance. Studying three cases of solution providers which involve external service partners for solution delivery, we find that solution customer centricity – the degree to which the focal firm focuses on solution customers in the joint delivery of solutions – moderates the relationship between partner networks and open business model performance. For open business models with low solution customer centricity, a network configuration characterized by many weak ties to service partners leads to superior performance. Conversely, for open business models with high solution customer centricity, few but strong ties to partners lead to superior performance. Based on these findings, three ideal configurations of networks for open business models are derived: the controlled, the joint, and the supported model.     

Service worker appearance and the retail service encounter: the influence of gender and age

This study explores how the age and gender of service workers influence customers' perceptions of the retail service encounter in a health and beauty retailer. An analysis of qualitative interviews with 40 customers and 20 service workers suggests that customers seek reassurance in the service encounter by ‘matching’ and ‘mirroring’ the age and gender of customer-facing staff with their expectations of who should deliver appropriate service during the retail service encounter. These non-verbal cues, as a way of assessing the credibility of the service provider, are particularly important when customers are involved in high-involvement purchase occasions.