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.     

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.     

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.     

Refashioning Organizational Boundaries: Outsourcing Customer Service Work*

abstract In recent years there has been a discernible trend towards the outsourcing and subcontracting of work. However, there has been very little empirical research on employees' attitudes to work in outsourced firms. This study is conducted in the area of call centre services where there has been a substantial growth in the provision of external market suppliers. It examines employees' perceptions of their work and employment arrangements in both an in‐house producer and an external service provider and identifies and compares the factors that shape their organizational commitment and intentions to quit. The research found that the character of the internal labour market and the nature of the work regime were more important explanations of organizational commitment and intentions to quit in the external market supplier than in the in‐house producer. The paper discusses the implications of these findings for the quality of customer service provided under subcontracting arrangements.     

Robert Beachy, Beatrice Craig, and Alastair Owens, eds. Women, Business and Finance in Nineteenth-Century Europe: Rethinking Separate Spheres

This volume consolidates a session at the European Social ScienceHistory Conference in 2002. It comprises case studies of women'sactivities in various sectors of the European economy, fromfinancial investment to varied business and entrepreneurialroles, from women artisans to women in the more traditionalshop-keeping and retail trades and the time-honored, domesticand prostitution services. Their scope covers a variety of countries,including Germany, England, The Netherlands, Sweden, Austria,Spain, and