Towards an empirically based taxonomy of buyer–seller relations in business markets

To develop appropriate theories of business relationship management we need to understand what types of relations exist and the differing types of problems they pose for the firms involved. We report the results of research to develop an empirically based taxonomy of buyer–seller business relations from data that include both buyer and seller firm perspectives. Cluster analysis is used to identify five types of relations based on measures of relationship atmosphere that share similarities and some important differences with previous typologies. A comparison of typologies shows that some obscure and confound relationship types by forcing them into predefined groups, that the same type of relationship atmosphere is compatible with more than one pattern of behavior and that the estimated correlations among relationship variables are sensitive to the mix of relations included in the sample. Future research that can build on this work, the challenges that this kind of research presents and the methodologies to help address them are then discussed.     

Weather Risk Hedging in the European Markets and International Investment Diversification

This article analyses weather risk hedging efficiency in three European countries using weather derivatives traded at Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and explores the potential of weather derivatives as a new investment asset to further diversify investors’ portfolios. The results document that the CME European weather contracts are generally effective in hedging the temperature risk in the three European countries. However, for a specific country, weather risk hedging using other countries’ weather indexes is generally not effective. Zero or little correlation among international weather indexes and stock market indexes indicates that weather derivatives should be an efficient investment diversifier. This research provides important insights to both weather risk hedgers and investors.     

Exploration and development of U.S. oil and gas fields, 1955-2002

We study the exploration and development of oil and gas fields in the U.S. over the period 1955-2002. We make four contributions to explain the economic evolution of the oil and gas industry during this period. First, we derive a testable model of the dynamics of competitive oil and gas field exploration and development. Second, we show how to empirically distinguish Hotelling scarcity effects from effects due to technological change. Third, we test these hypotheses using statewide panel data of exploration and development drilling. We find that the time paths of exploration, development and total wells drilled are dominated by Hotelling scarcity effects. Finally, we offer an explanation for why fixed costs from exploration can make the contracting equilibrium in the mineral rights market efficient.     

Work unit transformation to welcome new graduate nurses: using nurses' wisdom

While providers, consumers, and administrators recognize the need to attract and retain nurses, recruiting, transitioning, and retaining new graduate nurses (NGRNs) remains problematic. The first 3-12 months of NGRN employment is a perilous and stressful time, with experiences during the transition period profoundly influencing their careers. The purpose of this project was to develop a dedicated transition unit using a theory-driven approach. It addressed employee on-boarding and practice environment issues and it focused on attracting and retaining experienced and newly graduated RNs on an active inpatient unit. Implications are described for those interested in improving the work environment for hospital nurses.     

Working with nurse educators' collective wisdom: implications for recruitment and retention

Very few studies have been undertaken to consider the impact of nurse education environments on faculty retention and recruitment at a time when numbers of nursing faculty are falling to significantly low levels. The purpose of this article is to deconstruct nurse educators' experience, illuminate what nurse educators think is important to a quality work environment, and offer some critical questions that lead to the potential for change. The findings of this study suggest recruitment and retention of nurse educators are best addressed by a critical reexamination of organizations. Paying attention to what nurse educators believe is a quality work environment is a starting point for the process of deconstruction and reconstruction. This study contains compelling information that speaks to nurse educators' experience in what they believe is important in their workplace.     

Antecedents of Customer E-loyalty With the Effect of Trustworthiness in Malaysia Context

The rapid growth of online shopping has led to inspire customer e-loyalty among Malaysians, especially living in this digital environment. Commitment-trust theory is applied as the theoretical base to explain the factors influencing customer e-loyalty. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the direct impact of customer interface quality, service quality （SERVQUAL）, website quality, technology acceptance factors, and technology trust on customer e-loyalty. This study also aims to examine the indirect effect of independence variables on customer e-loyalty through the effects of trustworthiness. SmartPLS 2.0 （M3） is applied as analytical tool to study the impact. A survey is conducted with 395 respondents who had online purchase experience. The findings indicated that customer interface quality, SERVQUAL, website quality, technology acceptance factors, and technology trust have positive impact on customer e-loyalty. Additionally, trustworthiness is used as mediator exclusive of SERVQUAL. Several implications of the findings, limitations of the study, and recommendations for future research are highlighted.     

Sound taxation? On the use of self-declared value

In the 16th century, foreign ships passing through the Sound had to pay ad valorem taxes, known as the Sound Dues. To give skippers an incentive to declare the true value of their cargo, the Danish Crown reserved the right to purchase it at the declared value. We show that this rule does not induce truth-telling, but does allow the authorities to effectively implement a given tax rate.     

Implementing the third way

This article examines the transfer of NPM strategies by comparing Service Charter initiatives in the United Kingdom, United States and Australia. These three countries, together with Canada and New Zealand,are partofwhathas beendescribedas the ‘core’ new public management (NPM) policy community (Common 1998). Service Charters are an NPM strategy intended to change the culture of public service delivery to focus on the needs of the users, identified as ‘clients’ or ‘customers’. The objectives are to make service providers more responsive to users by guaranteeing specific standards for service delivery, providing a substitute for competition and a benchmark for measuring service quality. The first section examines the historical and political context of the development of the Citizen's Charter and Service First programmes in the UK, customer service plans in the USA and Government Service Charters in Australia. The second section explores the similarities and differences between these charter initiatives based on analysis of public documents. There is evidence of convergence at the ideological level as managerial values underpin the service charter frameworks in all three jurisdictions (Walsh 1994; Pollitt 1995; Kettl 1997). Despite drawing from a similar toolkit influenced by private sector techniques, significant differences between the country contextshaveresultedindivergent strategies. Timing in the three countries examined suggests that national politics rather than global policy convergence is more significant in explaining the development of service charters. This case study provides evidence of policy transfer rather than policy convergence (Common 1998). The final section considers the limitations of the customer service model. Monitoring quality iscentral to theprogrammes in all three countries. Performance monitoring is essentially a quantitative methodology that requires criteria and indicators for measuring the quality of service delivery and programme outcomes. Two problems are considered. The first is the difficulty of specifying and measuring service quality. The second is that quality indicators derived from services marketing and management research do not take into account the characteristics of public services.