CSR and service quality in nonprofit organizations: the case of a performing arts association

• The relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and marketing performance has been widely investigated recently, but mostly in relation to for-profit companies. This paper highlights the importance of this topic for nonprofit organizations (NPOs). Focusing on an Italian NPO operating in the performing arts and entertainment industry, two empirical studies (a quantitative survey and a qualitative exploratory enquiry) prove the strategic relevance of CSR in nonprofit contexts. The results demonstrate that CSR can be considered an additional dimension of the customer perception of service quality in NPOs and reveal that customer perception of the social responsibility of the studied NPO is strongly linked to its institutional mission and to the modalities through which it pursues that mission.

Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Corporate Sustainability and Ethical Codes Effectiveness

In the last years, the issues regarding both sustainable development and business global responsibility have qualified the corporate governance effectiveness. Many international institutions have intervened and the companies, at least formally, have increased their attention to the interaction between stakeholder relationship management and economic, social, and environmental responsibility. The numerous and frequent scandals underline the discrepancy between the firms＇ formal statements and the substantial behaviors. Most of the companies, in the industrialized country, publish well-structured code of ethics and conduct, explicating the strategic values assigned to the global responsibility. The research considers the capability of the code of conduct to influence effectively the behaviors, in relation with the needs of transparency, sharing, coherent individual behavior, and control. In relation to the importance conferred to the sustainable development by the European Union （EU）, the analysis examines listed companies with the greatest market capitalization operating in the Great Britain, Germany, and Italy, in order to verify the firms＇ behavioral uniformity and the effectiveness of sustainability policies. The analysis shows that the codes of ethics seem to remain only formal declarations. Conscious and rational governance not only transfers values and principles of sustainability to the firm＇s behaviors and its result system, but also goes beyond a mere diffusion and formalization of codes of ethics and conducts. To achieve that, it is necessary to develop productive behaviors focused on the risk control and on managing behaviors of all the organization＇s members, in particular in reference to the stakeholder relationship management. The codes of ethics, in fact, seem to assume a poor relevance for the corporate sustainability promotion if a correct formal structure does not occur integrated with strategies and processes which assure a constant workability. It requests especially： the ethic cu     

The epistemic claim to the life-world: Alfred Schutz and the debates of the austrian school of economics

The aim of this article is to make a contribution to the reflection on the “interpretive turn” within Austrian economics going back to Alfred Schutz’s notion of life-world sketched out in his first book The Phenomenology of the Social World. In the context of the discussions on how hermeneutics can enrich economics, the problem of objectivism in the production of knowledge is emphasized, i.e., the danger of substitution of social reality upheld by social scientists. Although Schutz’s links with the Austrian School are well known, specialized literature, has not found in Schutz’s work comprehensive solution to the problem that objectivism sets forth regarding the production of knowledge in social sciences. In this article we aim to recover the radical character that Schutz granted his project on phenomenological foundation of social science concepts based on a thorough philosophical analysis of the features of the life-world. We will argue that Schutz sets off based on the problem objectivism in the production of knowledge and offers an answer geared towards the epistemic claim to the life-world. In this regard Schutz draws up a solution that brings together both at the life-world level and at the scientific reflection level, the subjective and objective, the aprioristic and the historical aspects of experience in a phenomenologically based continuum. Finally, and deeply connected to these considerations, new conceptual elements are brought forth to think of the problem of social order.     

A review of consumer decision-making models and development of a new model for financial services

It is recognised that existing theories of Consumer Decision Making (CDM) are not well suited for financial services and there have been calls for development of a new conceptual model. This article reviews prominent models of CDM and identifies strengths and limitations. A new conceptual model that is applicable to financial services is developed. An important element of the model is the recognition that the components interact rather than a consumer following a linear progression through a series of stages. The new model better reflects the iterative decision-making process relevant to financial services and enhances marketers’ understanding of the process and thus their ability to influence it to increase the likelihood of positive outcomes for all. The model has three main components: inputs, processes and outcomes. Inputs include the purchase situation (contextual and environmental variables), consumer characteristics (psychological and social influences) and information sources (marketing mix and interpersonal). Processes include need arousal, information utility, criteria development and evaluation of alternatives. Outcomes include the decision (that may be to abort the purchase), the purchase itself and post-decision evaluation. Further research is required to test the relationships between the variables in different contexts, and thus enable refinement and/or validation of the model.     

Cost-effectiveness analysis of a sealing hemostat patch (HEMOPATCH) vs standard of care in cardiac surgery

Background: A recent randomized controlled trial showed that patients undergoing ascending aorta surgery treated with HEMOPATCH to control bleeding had a significantly better hemostasis success rate than with dry or wet gauze compression or similar standard of care (SOC).

Objective: To compare the cost-effectiveness using two different agents for hemostasis (HEMOPATCH vs dry or wet gauze compression or similar SOC) in cardiac surgery from the European hospital perspective.

Methods: A literature-based cost-effectiveness model estimating average cost per successful hemostasis event was developed based on the hemostasis efficacy difference (HEMOPATCH?=?97.6%, SOC?=?65.8%, p?<?.001). Additional clinically significant end-points studied in the trial (blood transfusions and surgical revisions) were also analyzed. It was assumed that each surgery utilized two units of HEMOPATCH (dimensions of 4.5?×?9?cm) and two units of SOC. Product acquisition costs for HEMOPATCH and SOC were included along with outcome-related costs derived from the literature and inflation-adjusted to 2017 EUR and GBP. Results are presented for an average hospital with an annual case load of 574 cardiac surgeries. One-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed.

Results: Considering only product acquisition cost, HEMOPATCH had an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of €1,659, €1,519, €1,623, and £1,725 per hemostasis success when compared to SOC for Italy, Spain, France, and the UK, respectively. However, when considering the cost and potential difference in the frequency of transfusions and revisions compared to SOC, the use of HEMOPATCH was associated with an annual reduction of six revisions and 60 transfusions, improving the ICER to €1,440, €1,222, €1,461, and £1,592, respectively. Sensitivity analysis demonstrated model robustness.

Conclusions: This analysis supports the use of HEMOPATCH over SOC in cardiac surgery in European hospitals to improve hemostasis success rates and potential cost offsets from reduced transfusions, complications, and surgical revisions.     

The role of top management teams in transforming technology-based new ventures' product introductions into growth

The literature highlights the importance of top management teams (TMTs) for technology-based new ventures' success in achieving growth, which is often achieved through product introductions. The human capital theory suggests that TMT members' skills, which are typically derived from their education and experience, can facilitate the transformation of new product introductions into growth. We also propose that multiple products that must be managed and brought to the marketplace smoothly and flexibly benefit from the lower coordination needs and conflicts that are typical of functionally homogeneous teams. Using a unique, multi-source dataset on 374 US technology-based new ventures during the period from 2005 to 2014, we find that new product introductions help technology-based new ventures grow only when the TMT has startup experience and is not functionally diverse. Our findings lead us to echo calls in the TMT literature to move away from simple direct-effect models to more situation-dependent analyses of TMT diversity.     

Do social networking sites contribute for building brands? Evaluating the impact of users' participation on brand awareness and brand attitude

Social networking sites (SNSs) have attracted increasing attention from brands, which look at the platform as a privileged communication channel to reach their audiences. Despite their growing adoption, few research efforts have been devoted to evaluate SNSs' concrete implications for the brands. The current study addresses this opportunity, proposing a model that evaluates the impact of users' participation in SNSs on brand awareness and brand attitude, the two main pillars of brand knowledge. The study focuses on brand like pages in Facebook, the most used SNSs platform for brands. An online quantitative survey with brand like page users of leading brands in Facebook was implemented. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to estimate the measurement model and structural equation modelling was used to test the proposed research hypotheses. The results identify a significant, positive and direct impact of users' participation on brand awareness. Brand attitude also substantially benefits from users' participation, but this relationship is mediated by brand awareness. The findings help to validate SNSs' significant role on building brand knowledge and to position users' participation at the core of brands' SNSs objectives. Furthermore, the study provides a practical research framework, easily adapted for monitoring purposes and managerial guidance. Future research directions are discussed.     

A two-country NATREX model for the euro/dollar

This paper develops a NATREX (NATural Real EXchange rate) model for two large economies, the Eurozone and the United States, which are fully specified and allowed to interact. The theoretical framework, grounded on dynamic disequilibrium modelling approach in continuous time, provides the basis for empirical estimation. The model is estimated in its structural form as a simultaneous nonlinear differential equations system for the 1975–2003 period. The estimated parameters are then used to derive the simulated Euro/USD NATREX series in- and out-of-sample that offers the benchmark against which the misalignements of the actual real exchange rate are measured.     

Searching for Relationship Value in Business Markets: Are We Missing Something?

Economic value has always been the main consideration in decisions regarding alternative courses of action in management. The relationship perspective that became popular in service and business marketing research and practice involves the application of the value concept to business relationships. Recent research in marketing on the value of relationships has been concerned with identifying the various dimensions of relationships content that can, in principle, give origin to costs or benefits for the parties involved. The way in which parties in a business relationship perceive and interpret value and how their perceptions affect their behaviors have not been at the center of this research. We will argue in this paper that perceptions impact parties' behaviors and the way business relationships develop, and report findings of a longitudinal study of how buyers and suppliers perceive and interpret value of business relationships. We then revisit the concept of value and formulate three propositions regarding the meaning of value in the context of supplier-customer relationships.