A Web of Watchdogs: Stakeholder Media Networks and Agenda-Setting in Response to Corporate Initiatives

This article seeks to model the agenda-setting strategies of stakeholders equipped with online and other media in three cases involving protests against multinational corporations (MNCs). Our theoretical objective is to widen agenda-setting theory to a dynamic and nonlinear networked stakeholder context, in which stakeholder-controlled media assume part of the role previously ascribed to mainstream media (MSM). We suggest system dynamics (SD) methodology as a tool to analyse complex stakeholder interactions and the effects of their agendas on other stakeholders. We find that largely similar dynamics of interactions occur among stakeholders in these cases, and that the costs for managements of maintaining their agendas steadily rises. We conclude that the “web of watchdogs” comprises a powerful reason for managers to engage in responsibility negotiations with their stakeholders.     

Information richness on service business websites

Delivering rich information is the key success factor for service business websites. Numerous studies have investigated useful guidelines to deliver rich information. The implicit assumption made by these studies is individual homogeneity. This study argues that this is only one side of the story, as individual heterogeneity is also important. Specifically, this study questions relationships between personal dispositional factors and the person’s perception of information richness. Dispositional factors of interest are age and personality. This study adopted information processing theory as its theoretical lens. A review of literature through the lens leads to the development of six hypotheses. The insurance industry provided the context of this study. Data were collected from 110 potential customers of 10 insurance organizations. The Hierarchical Linear Modeling technique was utilized for model building and hypotheses testing. The result revealed that aging individuals often find information as low in richness. Furthermore, those with high consciousness and extraversion generally perceived information as higher in richness. Lastly, the other three dimensions of personality showed no association with information richness.     

The impact of HR configuration on firm performance in Singapore: a resource-based explanation

This study investigates how the characteristics of a firm's human resource practices and processes (HRPPs) are associated with firm performance. The results found that the extent to which HRPPs can be substituted by information technology or codified in employee manuals, made them easy to be imitated and were therefore associated with an attenuation of the firm's financial performance. On the other hand, constant positive investments into a firm's HRPPs were associated with enhanced firm performance. No significant relationships were found between the embeddedness of HRPPs with information technology or the uniqueness of the firm's HRPPs and firm performance. The results are explained in terms of the resource-based view of the firm.     

Comparing operationalizations of dual commitment and their relationships with turnover intentions

This study evaluates the meaning behind the different approaches to measuring dual commitment in a sample of 2568 unionized South Korean electronics employees. Results show that individuals can be simultaneously committed to both the union and the organization. We then examine the utility of dual commitment by examining its prediction of intention to stay. Analysis of variance provides support that individuals who are dually committed have significantly higher intentions to stay within the organization than those who are uncommitted or unilaterally committed. A new direction to reinvigorate the future of dual commitment research is offered.     

Auditor Market Share,Product Differentiation and Audit Fees

This study examines the effects of auditor market share and product differentiation on audit fees. Previous studies have attributed the price premium charged by the Big Eight (the Big Six in the present study) to Big Eight product differentiation. However, such a price premium could be partly due to monopoly pricing. In the present study, the Hong Kong audit market provides a unique setting in which a non-Big Six local auditor has a market share comparable to those of the third and fourth largest Big Six firms. This makes it feasible to control for the effects of market share via matching. Also, the wide disparity among the Big Six firms ‘market shares in Hong Kong makes it feasible to test for the effects of market power on audit fees. The results show that, consistent with prior studies, the Big Six audit firms charge higher audit fees than non-Big Six firms in the small auditee, but not the big auditee, market. This suggests that similar economic forces to those other audit markets are also at work in Hong Kong. Despite the Big Six firms’ widely different market shares, there was no price differentiation among them. Yet there was a Big Six price premium over the large local firm with a similar market share to those of two of the Big Six. Together, these results suggest that the Big Six price premium is a result of product differentiation rather than monopoly pricing.     

Segmentation of Mega Event Motivation: The Case of Expo 2010 Shanghai China

The purpose of this study was to examine the motives of Chinese nationals who attended the Expo 2010 in Shanghai, China, and to understand their perceptions about service quality, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions. The results of this study revealed six motivation factors and three mutually exclusive clusters based on their motives. In particular, the “multipurpose experience seekers” showed more favorable service quality perceptions and higher satisfaction than their counterparts. The three segments based on their motivation also demonstrated significant differences in selected sociodemographic variables, which could be used effectively by the event organizers. Marketing implications and suggestions for attracting visitors to a mega event were presented.     

How recreation involvement,place attachment and conservation commitment affect environmentally responsible behavior

This study examines a behavioral model using latent variables of place attachment, recreation involvement, conservation commitment and environmentally responsible behavior among tourists visiting wetlands. In total, 928 usable questionnaires were collected. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were applied to the data by using LISREL 8.70 for Windows. Analytical results, which further elucidate the behavioral models of nature-based tourism, suggest that place attachment, recreation involvement and conservation commitment critically impact environmentally responsible behavior. In this behavioral model, conservation commitment simultaneously and partially mediates the relationships between place attachment and environmentally responsible behavior and between recreation involvement and environmentally responsible behavior. A series of management implications are drawn, including the need to use this information via a visitor interpretation strategy, greater use of partnerships with local communities and businesses to spread the importance of wetlands and of environmentally friendly behavior, and the need to work with other wetlands to share the type of visitor motivations best suited to encourage environmentally friendly behavior.     

Interpersonal service quality,self-service technology (SST) service quality,and retail patronage

The main purpose of this study is to examine how two components of interactive service quality (interpersonal service quality and self-service technology service quality) are related to retail patronage. This study also aims to identify the moderating effects of individual characteristics. The results indicate that two components of interactive quality are greatly related to retail patronage intentions. The moderating effects of technology anxiety, need for interaction, and age are also partially supported. To increase retail patronage, it is very important to focus on improving self-service technology service quality as well as interpersonal service quality. The results from this study also provide retail managers with a detailed understanding of how individual characteristics influence retail patronage intentions.     

Entrepreneurial applications of the lean approach to service industries

Service industries have grown significantly in recent years, especially in the advanced economies. The applicability of the Toyota system for manufacturing excellence to other industries has been widely studied. This paper seeks to contribute to this growing body of research by exploring the applications of the Toyota approach, particularly the lean system in the service sector. The paper examines the information systems that have enabled benefit in the service industries, to include vendor-managed inventory systems and variants, and then compares the benefits from information systems in support of supply chains. We also review why enterprise systems provide more opportunities in aiding the implementation of the lean systems. We present a case study of a South Korean supply chain system to demonstrate the entrepreneurial application of such approaches.     

The destination competitiveness of Kinmen's tourism industry: exploring the interrelationships between tourist perceptions,service performance,customer satisfaction and sustainable tourism

Based upon an empirical investigation, the study draws upon the responses of 1623 tourists in Kinmen to explore the notion of destination competitiveness and how it is related to customer satisfaction with tourists’ perceptions, service performance and destination competitiveness. It also considers the question of destination competitiveness and sustainable tourism development. Variables such as tourists’ pre-visit perceptions, post-visit satisfaction toward destination attractions and resources, willingness to recommend and revisit, and competitiveness with foreign destinations are tested. The results of the study suggest that there is no correlation between tourists’ overall satisfaction and destination competitiveness. Implications of the study outcome illustrate that a destination's unique tourism characteristics can be the most important variables for destination competitiveness. In Kinmen's case, battlefields, historic relics, beautiful scenery and travel security gave it a competitive edge, despite high prices. In addition, developing the destination's brand image was found to be critical for tourism marketers and authorities in the context of increasingly global tourism competition.