Unpacking the interplay between organisational factors and the economic environment in the creation of consumer vulnerability

ABSTRACT

Access to credit is a key enabler of modern life. Yet many consumers face factors beyond their control which sometimes render them unable to borrow from mainstream lenders. This paper documents how firm-related factors determine lending thresholds and shape who is, or is not, a creditworthy customer. The impact of the 2008 economic recession on lending decisions is explored, an aspect that has been insufficiently discussed even though recessions are cyclical events. Drawing on semiotics and using multiple case studies, the study captures not only the groups that were excluded but also the reasons for exclusion. Empirical support is offered for the notion of vulnerability as a fluid state and the role of the timing of decisions as a source of vulnerability is described.     

An evaluation of consumer participation in hospital breast services

Community expectations and research demonstrate that consumers play an important role in shaping services for women with breast cancer. Consumer contribution has been mandated recently in Victoria, Australia, to ensure the inclusion of consumer involvement in the planning and decision‐making processes within health organizations. As part of the redevelopment of breast services in Victoria, Southern Health has been funded to plan local improvements to care co‐ordination for women diagnosed with breast cancer in the southern metropolitan area of Melbourne. The establishment of effective consumer participation in breast services is an integral aspect of this project and a range of initiatives has been undertaken to achieve meaningful consumer involvement including the appointment of a consumer advisor; appointment of staff with extensive knowledge in women's health and community development to the project; establishment of a consumer reference group; and plans made to improve the receptivity of health service systems to consumer input. A preliminary evaluation of this ongoing project has indicated that a productive role for consumers in service practice review and policy and planning activities has been established and some change and engagement of staff has occurred. There is still work to be done to promote the involvement of a wider range of health professionals and to increase the level of trust between consumers and staff.     

Conceptual underpinnings for transformative research in a service ecosystems context to resolve social issues – framework foundations and extensions

ABSTRACT

A number of services within society are designed to improve the well-being of its members and transform lives. Some services focus on the protection and support of vulnerable members of society, for example, those suffering the effects of drug use, mental health conditions, violence or poverty. Clients of such social services may also come from minority or marginalised cultural backgrounds. Typically, social services aim to reduce disparities and enhance individual and population well-being. A major challenge for social policy-makers and social service providers is to establish and maintain constructive engagement between the social services and those they are intended to serve. Some of these vulnerable clients are deemed ‘hard-to-reach’ (HTR) by policy-makers and service providers. Yet, the transformation of lives requires the involvement of the focal actor (client) and their service or activity system, as well as the engagement of other actors, such as the social worker embedded in their service or activity system. This paper aims to further unpack a novel approach, called integrative transformative service framework. This contribution extends its conceptualisation which fuses mainly three different approaches, namely Transformative Service Research (TSR), (Cultural-Historical) Activity Theory (CHAT) and (Regulatory) Engagement Theory (RET).     

Social rights, essential services, and political mobilization in post-apartheid South Africa

This paper discusses movements that organize constituencies in order to allow them access to the consumption of goods and services, while rejecting at the same time their identity as consumers. Instead, they base their claims on people’s identities as citizens of the state and members of communities. Putting forward the notion of social rights, the paper examines how movements operating among marginalized communities in the post-colonial world work to define rights and entitlements, and use these to mobilize for enhancing the delivery of social services. In particular, the focus is on rights to land and to public utilities (water and electricity) in post-apartheid South Africa. Examining these in the context of political transition, the paper looks at different legal and political strategies, and the ways in which they draw on and shape discourses of power, rights, and social consumption. It concludes that meaningful social change and effective service delivery require a combined strategy, working with the courts and legal professionals, together with popular constituencies, the media, civil society organizations, academics, and state officials.     

关于服务外包理论与实践的几个问题

为推动中国服务外包业的发展,国务院已在"十一五"规划纲要中明确提出要在全国建设若干个服务外包基地,大力发展服务外包业务。对服务外包理论的全面深刻的认识,有利于我们更好地推进服务外包。本文初步探讨了服务外包的内涵、服务外包的发展、服务外包的分类、服务外包的市场和建设几个问题。     

我国乡村旅游存在的主要问题及对策

随着经济社会的发展,我国的乡村旅游出现了蓬勃发展的势头,但在其实践中也存在着一些亟待解决的突出问题。只有加强规划和管理,加大投入、培训和宣传力度,在改善硬件设施的基础上提高服务质量,建立起营销网络,才能促进乡村旅游的持续、健康发展。     

临时仲裁在我国金融仲裁机制中的引入分析

我国临时仲裁机制的缺失带来了种种弊端,作为完善路径的选择,我国可以采用"试点方式"逐步将临时仲裁机制引入仲裁体系。当前金融仲裁方兴未艾,金融纠纷解决的特性及其对临时仲裁的需求,使得金融仲裁成为进行临时仲裁"试点"工作的适当领域。在具体制度构建方面,可从临时金融仲裁的法律地位与基本原则、仲裁协议内容与效力、仲裁员选任与监督、与仲裁机构的支持及法院对临时金融仲裁的监督等方面进行。     

Shopping online for goods vs. services: where do experiential features help more?

This study investigates how the type of offer sold online (goods vs. services) moderates the relationships between perceived experiential values and customers' attitudes towards the website. A sample of 107 e‐shoppers of services and 110 e‐shoppers of physical goods responded to a survey on their most recent e‐shopping experiences. Results support the majority of hypotheses. It was found that although offering experiential values on the site improves customers' attitudes for both physical goods and services websites, the impact is much stronger in the case of services. Theoretical and managerial contributions are discussed.     

营销情境中的心理契约及其测量

心理契约发轫于组织行为学研究，但心理契约在企业与顾客的营销情境中同样存在。在文献回顾基础上，本文将心理契约应用到营销情境中，界定了特定的概念内涵，开发设计了相应的测度量表，并通过调查数据分析，对量表的信度与效度进行了实证检验。     

中国流通服务业影响力实证研究

本文运用多元回归分析方法,计量分析流通服务业对国民经济的直接与间接贡献,得出三个主要结论:流通服务业作为一个产业规模较小,传统方法的分析低估了流通服务业对经济增长的外溢作用;流通服务业对宏观经济的贡献力、对区域经济的辐射力、对上游产业的控制力以及对消费的服务力,使其在宏观经济中稳居基础产业地位;由于流通体制的制约和传导机制的阻塞,流通服务业对经济增长和社会发展的巨大作用还没有充分显现出来。