The meaning of commitment in professional service relationships: a study of the meaning of commitment used by lawyers and their clients

Several authors have identified the importance of commitment in successful business relationships. However, few studies have considered the meaning of commitment, especially within the context of customer-supplier relationships.

Most studies of commitment within the marketing literature use existing conceptualisations developed within the psychology and organisational behaviour literatures. The purpose of this paper is to explore the meaning of commitment in a customer-supplier relationship context, and to compare this with traditional conceptualisation of commitment.

This study investigates the meaning of commitment used by both lawyers and their clients, within the context of their relationship. The findings show that the meaning of commitment used in professional relationships may be more complex than its traditional conceptualisation and should be extended to include at least three additional components including: 'partnership commitment', 'impression management commitment' and 'personal commitment'. It is argued that it is inappropriate to 'borrow' the conceptualisation of the construct of commitment from other disciplines, without considering the market-based context in which it is used. Implications for professional service relationships include that professionals and clients would benefit from sharing a similar meaning of commitment and this meaning may be influenced by the culture, systems and processes of their organisation.     

意义维度的组织理论初探

本文对有关意义维度的理论观点进行了一个综述性的介绍,并在吸收前人研究成果的基础之上,尝试性地给出一个意义维度的组织理论的初步框架.     

The meaning of the tindemans report

In INTERECONOMICS No. 3, 1976, we published an Interview with Professor Dr Walter Hallstein, former President of the EEC Commission, on the Belgian Prime Minister’s, Leo Tindemans’, “Report on the European Union”. Meanwhile the Report has been discussed on occasion of the last European Council meeting in Luxembourg whose unfortunate outcome pointed out in a dramatic way the weakness of the political will of the Community. In the following article the President of the Council, Gaston Thorn, explains his views of the significance of the so-called “Tindemans Report”.     

浅谈品牌与品牌资产评估的意义

新经济时代的到来.使品牌发展面临着更大的机遇和挑战.开展品牌价值评估和实施品牌战略业已成为企业经营活动的重要内容之一.品牌资产作为企业最有价值的资产,同时又是一项独具魅力的无形资产,有关品牌资产价值的理论不仅指出了品牌发展的方向与途径,更为品牌的经营提供了决策依据.集无形性、价值性与功能性于一身的品牌资产极大地激发了人们对它的研究兴趣,对品牌资产价值的评估亦成为当前关注的一大热点.     

从抽象的意义到具象的符号——论广告编码的意识形态化

随着消费社会的形成,消费者对商品的需求由物质属性向精神属性转变,商品本身的功能性使用价值逐渐由商品的社会性象征意义所取代。为适应或推动这种消费理念的转变,广告在创意编码的过程中,扮演着为商品填充意识形态领域里各项元素的角色．这些元素以大众文化和流行时尚为主,广告商力图对这些文化内涵、价值理念和伦理道德予以个性化的诠释并通过具象的视觉符号向目标受众传播以期得到他们的认可,从而达成最终的商品销售目的。     

In search of the meaning of entrepreneurship

This paper is an attempt to build a bridge between the popular and the academic usage of the terms entrepreneur and entrepreneurship, and to identify the raw materials needed to construct an interpretive framework capable of illuminating the nature of entrepreneurship and its role in economic theory. We review briefly the contributions made to this topic by Cantillon, Schumpeter, Schultz and Kirzner. We advance a synthetic definition of the entrepreneur as someone who specializes in taking responsibility for and making judgemental decisions that affect the location, the form, and the use of goods, resources, or institutions. We then conclude with some observations on the basic choice confronting economics regarding the place of entrepreneurship in economic analysis.     

Psychological meaning: Empirical directions for identification and strategy development

Meaning is important in attitude and perception research. Consumers can assign meanings to product attributes that do not conform to standard usage or have not been considered by the researcher, and a misunderstanding of that meaning can result in ineffective marketing strategy. This paper explores different levels of meaning and, through empirical example, presents a methodology for investigating the psychological meaning of attributes. Alternative methodologies for studying psychological meaning are discussed, and techniques for investigating the strategic operationalization of empirical semantic meaning results are illustrated using a mass transit study.     

Bringing meaning to the sales job: The effect of ethical climate and customer demandingness

Top performing salespeople are attracted to organizations that provide opportunities to make full use of their abilities. Responses from 1450 sales directors from a leading direct selling organization were used to examine salesperson's experienced meaningfulness. Results show that experienced meaningfulness is critical to sales because it impacts salesperson's performance, turnover intentions and felt stress. Further, ethical climate and customer demandingness influence experienced meaningfulness perceptions.     

Perceived work conditions and self-directed learning in the process of work

Self-directed learning at work is becoming a megatrend in training and organisational development. However, there is a wide range of meanings subsumed under this concept. Referring to theoretical considerations in the domains of motivation, interest, strategies of learning and control, a conceptual model of self-directed learning, called the Two-Shell Model of Motivated Self-Directed Learning was developed and validated. The impact of selected perceived work conditions (experienced autonomy, competence and social integration) on this type of learning was structurally modelled with a sample of 67 employees in the fish processing industry. On the basis of these theoretical considerations and results the instrument ‘project group’ is analysed and recommended to support motivated self-directed learning.     

垄断行业改革的意义及思路

垄断行业改革已成为我国经济体制改革的重点和难点。打破垄断,对于提高企业综合竞争能力,保证我国经济持续、健康、快速发展具有重要意义。垄断行业与竞争性领域改革相比,具有自然垄断性、公益性、安全性、网络性、复杂性等特点。对垄断行业进行改革,既要借鉴国际经验,又要充分考虑行业及企业的特殊性,健全法律,注重发挥政府的主导作用。     

The meaning of German unification

Like most experiments, the merger of Germany will likely be messy. But in time, a united Germany will emerge that is an industrial and technological powerhouse like nothing Europe has seen before.     

浅议内部审计质量控制的必要性及重要意义

现代企业制度下,加强内部审计质量控制在企业治理中有着密不可分的关系.加强内部审计及其质量控制,能有效协助企业科学分析和正确评价影响企业发展的各种不确定因素,有效构筑企业经营风险的"防火墙",协助提升企业经营管理水平、综合绩效及可持续发展能力治理结构的有效运行,增强企业的竞争力.本文重点分析了加强内部审计质量控制的必要性与意义,并得出若干相关结论.     

Altering the fabric of work: Beyond the behavioral sciences

The author notes that there seems to be a pervasive dissatisfaction with the quality of working life today. Two approaches to management are considered: behavioral science and applied ethics. He points to management's lack of understanding of employees' need to feel that they are not just doing a job, but doing something that is both purposeful and morally right. In this article, he describes a plan to implement an ethical code within a corporation, one that is adhered to and is reached by a consensus of those who work there.     

科学投入对获取农业最大效益的意义

"三农"工作越来越受到党和政府的重视,如何引导农民科学致富,获取最大的收益,是我们当前必须思考的重要课题.蔬菜作为我国农业的一大支柱产业,经过多年的发展,已经取得了可喜的成果,人们一年四李都能吃到新鲜的各色蔬菜,过去白菜、土豆、萝卜一统天下的局面成为历史.蔬菜新技术的推广应用,特别是温室、大棚等设施蔬菜的发展,给农民创收致富带来了新的机遇.     

Country-image discourse model: Unraveling meaning, structure, and function of country images

The country-image discourse model provides an alternative theoretical framework to explain the meaning of country-of-origin (COO) effects. Unlike previous work, this research relies on the key principles underlying semiotics and discourse theory. The model integrates the semantic and pragmatic dimension of COO and provides hypotheses regarding the structure and function of country-images. Empirical verification through structural equation modeling indicates that the data offer substantial support for the proposed internal structure of the country-image construct, such that country-specific cognitions influence affect, which influences conation. Country-related conations also represent the predominant influence on subjects' beliefs, evaluation, and purchase intentions.     

Training effectiveness: Accounting for individual characteristics and the work environment

To ensure the effectiveness of training programs, hospitality managers should look beyond the usual factors (needs analysis, program design, and implementation). In addition, managers must examine such external matters as the work environment and the characteristics of the trainees themselves.