Expectations and product performance as determinants of satisfaction for a high-involvement purchase

Customer satisfaction is a central issue for organizations wishing to create a sustainable competitive advantage in the 1990s. Empirical work to date, concentrating on low-involvement, nondurable products, has concluded that both prior expectations and postpurchase experience interact to influence the level of customer satisfaction. Only a few studies have examined the purchase of high-involvement, nondurable products. The current study employs a multiattribute approach using pre- and postpurchase questionnaires to assess determinants of customer satisfaction for a high-involvement product. Causal path analysis shows perceived product performance to be the most powerful determinant. Prior expectations did interact with performance to affect disconfirmation, which translated into only a minor impact on satisfaction. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

HRM as a predictor of innovation

There is growing evidence available to suggest that HR practice is an important predictor of organisational performance. In this article, we argue that HR practices also have the potential to promote organisational innovation. We describe a longitudinal study of 22 UK manufacturing companies and examine the relationship between such practices and product and technological innovation. Results reveal that training, induction, team working, appraisal and exploratory learning focus are all predictors of innovation. Contingent reward, applied in conjunction with an exploratory learning focus, is positively associated with innovation in technical systems. Furthermore, training, appraisal and induction, combined with exploratory learning focus, explain variation between companies in product and technological innovation above and beyond the main effects observed.     

Towards an understanding of older adult educational tourism through the development of a three-phase integrated framework

As a direct consequence of global ageing patterns, older travellers have become a significant proportion of annual total holiday spending. In addition, this has also brought with it a shift in the types of travel experiences that older travellers are now choosing. Educational and cultural touristic experiences are now becoming popular options for many older individuals, as they provide greater opportunities for meaningful engagement as well as tapping into their renewed interest for history and nostalgia. At the same time, older travellers are placing a greater value on lifelong learning that may help to enrich their life. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the educational travel experiences of older adults through the development of an integrated framework that links the three stages of educational travel: pre-travel, participation, and post-travel. It is envisaged that this framework will contribute to the development of a conceptual model for successful ageing that acknowledges the significant impact that educational travel experiences will have on the well-being of older tourists.     

How different is carrier choice for third party logistics companies?

The purpose of this paper is to test whether third party logistics companies (3PLs) are different from other end-shippers with respect to how they choose their carriers. The results of carrier choice models developed in this paper suggest that 3PLs are more biased against intermodal shipping than other end-shippers. The principal conclusions are as follows: mode and carrier choice modeling needs to take into consideration differences between 3PLs and other end-shippers; and with the increasing role of 3PLs in choosing carriers, their stronger bias against intermodal shipping will present further challenges to increasing freight rail mode share.     

A systems approach to the relationship between consumption and wealth

The single-equation approach to the determination of consumption, due to Hendry and von Ungern-Sternberg (HUS), is extended to a multi-equation system which links decisions on consumption and the components of wealth. The original HUS approach has proved to be a very durable one, being applicable to a number of countries and macroeconomic models. This approach is extended to allow a role for rates of return as well as income, and it is shown how this extension results in an error correction system. The empirical analysis used is based on Johansen's maximum likelihood extension of the co-integration approach of Engle and Granger.     

Is consumption too smooth? The case of the United Kingdom

This study consider whether, for the UK, the restrictions of the rational expectations permanent income (REPI) model of consumption are consistent with the data and whether consumption is too smooth given innovations in labour income. Some of the findings confirm those for the USA: the REPI restrictions are rejected. However, in marked contrast to the result of Campbell and Deaton (1989), little is found to support the view that consumption is too smooth; indeed there is some support for the view that consumption is too volatile. Some insight is given as to how such results can arise.     

Panama's exports and its sovereign debt

Conclusion Panama has a foreign debt that represents 81.2 percent of GNP. In absolute terms, this is not large by the standards established by countries such as Mexico. For countries like Panama, which are not in the severely indebted middle-income countries, there is a tendency to overlook them with debt assistance programs. In 1989, the Brady Initiative recognized the need to help SIMICs and the Paris Club also stepped in with rescheduling agreements primarily for SIMICs with high official debt. In the 1980s, Panama rescheduled $594 million in debt.That does not reduce the debt; rather, it gives the country more time to pay it off. Exports (or income) growth, if used exclusively to repay the debt, could accomplish that goal in 39 years. But the relationship between existing interest rates and export growth cannot be expected to endure for so long. In fact, it might be impossible for Panama to ever pay off its debt, particularly when its long-term and short-term sum exceed its GNP. If the ratio of debt-to-exports is indeed constant, then Panama will be able to outgrow the debt as long as export growth is greater than the cost of servicing the debt.