Task‐Relationship‐Self: A Framework for Understanding Service Encounter Behaviors

Research conducted over past decades has investigated selected service encounter behaviors from either a customer or service provider perspective. However, a comprehensive, dual‐perspective framework is lacking. Such a framework is needed to organize knowledge of these behaviors, and thereby provide structure, clarity, and parsimony to the field. This paper describes a three‐tier framework of service encounter behavior that was developed by applying grounded theory principles to interviews with customers, service employees, and other stakeholders. These informants described many ways in which they behave when executing service exchanges, dealing with service difficulties, and managing themselves in the process. Using an iterative inductive approach, a conceptual framework was developed in which specific (Tier 1) behaviors were placed within broader (Tier 2) categories, and these lower classification levels were, in turn, interpreted within a conceptual space defined by the (Tier 3) dimensions of task, relationship, and self. This framework was then elaborated and refined by reference to the psychology and marketing literature, a set of 157 audio‐recorded service interactions, and an expert panel study. The paper includes comparisons between the framework and those previously proposed, propositions regarding service encounter processes and outcomes, and implications for future research and practice.     

Market development in practice: A case study of user‐initiated product innovation

User‐initiated innovation refers to the inauguration of new industrial processes and products by their users rather than by manufacturers. The marketing literature has recently been enhanced by the reconceptualisation of industrial innovation to include the possibility of this customer‐active approach. But the accounts of customer‐active innovation which have so far appeared confine the role of the user to the development of internally‐applied process innovations, leaving their wider commercial exploitation entirely to manufacturers. This article presents a case study of the development of flexible manufacturing systems in a major British company and demonstrates the importance of recognising the active role of users in product innovation.     

Technology Adoption and Its Impact on Production Performance of Dairy Operations

Data from the 1993 Agricultural Resource Management Study were used to examine the impact of technology adoption on production performance of a sample of dairy farms. Findings showed that the adoption of a capital- or a management-intense technology would measurably lower the likelihood of a farmer being in the lowest quartile of production performance. The economic costs of milk production by the top-performance group were estimated to be 53% lower than those by the low-performance group, providing evidence of the importance of improved production practices to the viability of many dairy operations.     

The Taiwanese love motel - An escape from leisure constraints?

The paper reports research derived from over 800 respondents who self-completed questionnaires while patronising love motels in the Taipei greater metropolitan region, Taiwan. The paper provides a brief history of Taiwanese love motels and distinguishes them from western massage parlours. Five clusters are found that are based on two primary canonical discriminate functions that explain 83 percent of the variance - the dimensions being sexual conventionality-adventurousness and comfort seeking. These dimensions are wholly consistent with the basic premise of the love motels, although additionally privacy for intimate relationships is also important. The survey questionnaire was based on a concept of physical and relationship constraints on leisure, and generally it was found that the ‘push’ factors based on a need to escape these constraints was weaker than the ‘pull’ factors of comfort and privacy.     

An evidence-based review of e-HRM and strategic human resource management

One stated purpose of electronic human resource management (e-HRM) is to make the HRM function more strategic. The goal of this paper is to examine the research on e-HRM to provide evidence-based guidance to researchers and practitioners on the relationship between e-HRM and strategic HRM. We review 40 studies published from 1999 to 2011 using integrative synthesis as our evidence-based methodology. Results reveal that theoretical and empirical research in this area is still at an early stage. We find no empirical evidence showing that e-HRM predicts strategic outcomes. There is evidence suggesting that strategic HRM predicts e-HRM outcomes and that the relationship appears context dependent, however, research designs are not sufficient to establish causal direction. Our review highlights the need for more empirical studies on e-HRM and strategic HRM outcomes at a macro level.     

Quality management practices and their relationship to buyer’s supplier ratings: a study in the Korean automotive industry

This research explores if quality management practices are different among suppliers whose performance is rated high, medium, or low by a common buying company and identifies which specific practices contribute to the differences. The entire population of first-tier suppliers to a Korean auto assembler was surveyed to measure use of quality management practices. Useable returns were received from 25% of the suppliers surveyed. To measure conformance quality and overall rating, suppliers were categorized into high, medium, and low performing groups based on the buying company’s data. Multivariate analysis of variance was done using general linear model (GLM-MANOVA) to explore differences in the high-, medium-, and low-performing supplier groups based on their use of quality management practices. No statistically significant differences were found when suppliers were categorized based on conformance quality. However, when categorized based on overall rating, the highest rated suppliers were found to emphasize process management and employee satisfaction to a greater degree than the lowest rated suppliers.     

Alleged instability of the Okun's law relationship in Australia: an empirical analysis

The determinants of the long run equilibrium unemployment rate are modelled through a cointegrating regression. The residual term, which represents the error correction mechanism, is used in the testing of a general dynamic model to obtain a simplified representation of the data generation process over the period 1968(2)–1989(2). The long period equilibrium unemployment rate, which is I(1), is shown to be related to the rate of capacity utilization, a structural change variable and the rate of capacity growth. Steady state rates of unemployment are calculated which are based on different assumptions about the magnitudes of the independent variables. In contrast to the other two variables, changes in the rate of capacity utilization are shown to have only modest effects on the steady state unemployment rate. The Okun coefficient is inversely related to the steady state unemployment rate, which accords with intuition. The statistically significant decline in the trend growth rate of non-farm GDP in the 1970s explains, in part, the apparent instability of the Okun's law relationship which is revealed in recent studies. These studies can be criticised for their conometric methodologies.     

The relationship between technology adoption and strategy in business-to-business markets : The case of e-commerce

Firms have been traditionally advised to adopt information and communication technologies (ICT) to support the achievement of existing business objectives. However, entry into business-to-business e-commerce may require the concurrent adoption of new business strategies. This paper argues, therefore, that ICT analysis needs to be considered at the same time and at the same strategic level, as internal, competitor and market analysis. This is because the source of the competitive advantage brought by ICT has changed, to be largely obtained through increase in customers' perceived value. The literature presents a confused picture of the likely consequences to a firm of its adoption of e-commerce. This paper concludes that any such adoption must be evaluated in the environment of the individual firm. A multidimensional analytical framework, taking a combined informational and marketing perspective, is presented to assist with such evaluations.     

The effect of land-use restrictions on market values of single-family homes in Houston

This paper analyzes the effects of zoning and restrictive covenants on single-family housing prices in and around Houston, Texas. The calculation of a hedonic price index reveals that higher prices are paid for homes in neighborhoods with either type of land-use control than for comparable houses in neighborhoods without these controls. The premiums paid for these restrictions are not statistically distinguishable, but institutional constraints on these controls may explain why both forms continue to exist and to command market premiums.