Drug testing in the transportation industry: The maritime case

The maritime industry provides an interesting case study of the design and implementation of drug-testing programs in the transportation industry during the 1980s. It is clear that such programs were designed and implemented less because of empirical evidence of safety problems than for political reasons. The results in the maritime industry are indicative of a program that is expensive to operate, intrusive with regard to employee privacy, and which will have little or no impact on safety. Focusing such programs on the issue of impairment rather than on the issue of drug usage per se is likely to improve the outcome of the programs. Although, despite common belief, there is little evidence that drug usage or the “drug problem” in U.S. society as a whole had gotten worse in the preceding years (Schonsheck, 1989, 250–251).     

Invisible costs in offshoring services work

Offshoring service work is an accelerating trend. While the cost-savings from offshoring service work are usually clear, operating at a distance also brings with it certain “invisible costs.” We combine existing service operations theory with insights from the literature on communications and culture to present a new conceptual framework, organized around interaction intensity and interaction distance. We identify the drivers of these costs. We conclude with recommendations for controlling or attenuating invisible costs in offshoring service work.     

The future of in-store technology

Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science - This paper introduces a conceptual framework for understanding new and futuristic in-store technology infusions. First, we develop a...