Multigroup validation of the service quality,customer satisfaction and performance links in higher education

The notion of ‘students as customers’ continues to be prominent, yet is insufficiently explored, especially from the standpoint of various stakeholders. To address this inadequacy, the present study employs a multigroup analysis of the service profit chain (SPC) model in higher education (HE). Its purpose is to examine the complete SPC model regarding stakeholder perceptions in order to inform its validation and implementation. A cross-sectional survey was employed in order to enable multigroup comparison of a comprehensive research model on subsamples of employees and students by means of structural equation modeling (SEM). Results provide support for the proposed SPC model within the sample of vocational colleges. Besides strongly linked constructs (quality–satisfaction–loyalty), some notable weaknesses (cracked ‘satisfaction mirror’) are found. Multigroup analysis also indicates some important differences between employees and students. Implications are provided for strategic service management in HE, which should acknowledge the differences among stakeholder perceptions.     

The Case for Economic Reasoning in MBA Education Revisited

Laurence S. Moss was a great scholar and author of countless articles and books. During his long career he continued to be excited by economics and history and made these subjects interesting to his students. For almost 30 years, undergraduate students enrolled in his Scams and Frauds class and Contemporary Economic Systems class in large numbers. Larry would engage students to think, to independently question prevailing truths, and to probe further. This essay is a reflection of our shared experience teaching in the full-time MBA program at Babson College.     

Being passionate about the mobile while travelling

People interpret the availability of their mobile phone similar to their personal (social) relationships (friends, family, and pets). Hence, mobile phones are appliances that provide continuous functional and emotional support. Also, in the field of tourism, the integrated use of mobile phones is indicated by words such as ‘catalyst’ and ‘travel buddies’, enhancing tourists’ experiences. This study goes one step further by incorporating the concept of passion and affective outcomes of using the mobile phone while travelling. Perceived socialness of the mobile phone significantly effects passionate behaviour and affective outcomes. For practitioners aiming for digital innovation in the field of tourism, these findings provide insight into the development of tailor-made travel-related applications. Furthermore, affective feelings derived from mobile phone usage will be enhanced by effective travel-related applications encouraging the modern tourists while travelling.     

Women managers in Poland and the United States: a comparative analysis

This paper compares women managers in Poland and the United States in the context of their contrasting political and economic systems—the socialism of Central and Eastern Europe and the liberal democratic tradition of the West. We discuss the two political philosophies and their impact on gender roles and labour markets, and then compare this theory to the reality of Poland's transition. Finally, this background is used to analyse differences between Polish women managers and their American counterparts.     

Endogenizing exogenous default barrier models: The MM algorithm

In this paper, we propose a Maximization–Maximization (MM) algorithm for the assessment of hidden parameters in structural credit risk models. Step M1 updates the value, volatility, and expected return on the firm’s assets by maximizing the log-likelihood function for the time series of equity prices; Step M2 updates the default barrier by maximizing the equity holders’ participation in the firm’s asset value. The main contribution of the method lies in the M2 step, which allows for ‘endogenizing’ the default barrier in light of actual data on equity prices. Using a large international sample of companies, we demonstrate that theoretical credit spreads based on the MM algorithm offer the lowest CDS pricing errors when compared to other, traditional default barrier specifications: smooth-pasting condition value, maximum likelihood estimate, KMV’s default point, and nominal debt.     

Cost management and value creation: the missing link

Understanding of the relationship between the costs of the firm and the value the firm provides to its customers is the key to the ability of the firm to reach its profit potential. From this perspective the firm needs to have a thorough understanding of its activities, their costs and their relation to market prices. Advanced cost management studies and practices suggest a variety of different tools that help us understand the relationship between value and cost. However, most of these studies provide us with qualitative tools only. An exception is studies related to product cost planning, as in the case of target costing or value analysis/value engineering. This paper, while being a part of emerging literature on strategic cost management, extends the existing knowledge of the relationship between costs and value by introducing the value creation model (VCM). In particular, the VCM model defines the firms' cost structure in terms of value added, non-value added but required activities, as well as of waste. A firm's cost structure is aligned with value attributes embedded in products and services. The VCM model seeks to understand the trade-off between what the customer is willing to pay for a product/service bundle (value) and the cost the firm bears to provide what the customer desires. Based on these trade-offs, VCM defines value multipliers, which help the firm determine which activities the firm should focus on in order to develop a competitive advantage.     

Demand–supply imbalances in the credit default swap market: empirical evidence

This paper empirically examines demand–supply imbalances in the credit default swap (CDS) market and provides evidence of its effect on the CDS spread dynamics. Analysis is conducted on a large and homogenous data set of the 92 non-financial European companies with the most quoted Euro-denominated CDS contracts during the 2002–2008 period. Main findings indicate that short-term CDS price movements, not related to fundamentals, are positively affected by demand–supply imbalances when protection buyers outstrip protection sellers. Results illustrate that CDS spreads reflect not only the price of credit protection, but also a liquidity premium for the anticipated cost of unwinding the position of protection sellers, especially during stress periods.     

Do the stock and CDS markets price credit risk equally in the long-run?

In this paper, we examine the existence and stability of the long-run equilibrium relation between the price of credit risk in the stock and CDS markets for a sample of non-financial iTraxx Europe companies during the 2004–2017 period. We show that standard cointegration tests with no breaks frequently fail to detect cointegration. Once we formally account for the breaks in the cointegrating vector, we are able to detect cointegration over the entire sample period for the vast majority of the companies considered. An application of these results to CDS-equity trading shows that the profitability of traditional trading strategies crucially depends on the presence of cointegration and on the stability of the cointegrating vector. Finally, we find that CDS illiquidity factors decrease the likelihood of the stock and CDS market cointegration.     

Compensation and Employment Impact of a Full-time MBA Program

The changing Master of Business Administration (MBA) marketplace and considerable direct and indirect costs for an MBA degree mean that school administrators and other stakeholders need a better understanding of what factors may influence the rate of return to their MBA programs. We investigated the potential of using analytical frameworks to identify those variables that may predict employment probabilities and starting salaries of full-time MBA graduates, in the context of a single, private MBA program. Our results suggest that for graduates of this particular program, pre-MBA salary and work experience in accounting, banking, finance, and consulting industries predicted higher post-MBA salary levels, as did having a liberal arts major as an undergraduate. Other human capital measures, such as Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) scores or elite undergraduate education, were not associated with higher employment probabilities or salary levels for this program’s students, while having an undergraduate business major was associated with lower employment probability. Although our study has limited inference to determine the value of an MBA education more generally, it has potentially important implications for administrators of MBA programs, who could gain useful insights on applying empirical analysis to their own programs. Although this process can be costly and time consuming without a supportive institutional environment, it could provide useful evidence-based guidelines for practice with substantial payoffs for both the program and the students.