Towards a richer understanding of consumers in social marketing contexts: Revisiting the stage of change model

Abstract

In this paper, we present data from an 18-month-long longitudinal study of a sample of 40 people who received a test for cancer and who were subsequently advised by health professionals on the dietary changes that would lead to improved health. This study investigates the ways that behaviour change is instigated (or not) and how people cope with these changes. We use the Stages of Change model to categorise people by their dominant behavioural response to the test (maintainers, recyclers, no change). From these categorisations, we develop an in-depth understanding of the experience of their behavioural response. By looking at the three possible behavioural responses in this way, we provide insights into the different cognitive, emotional, and behavioural response to the disease trigger. We evaluate the implications for social marketing theory and public policy makers.     

Human resource management and performance in the Barbados hotel industry

This article measures the effect of human resource management (HRM) on performance in the hotel industry in Barbados. It used a quantitative survey covering 46 hotels out of a population of 75 hotels. The respondents were hotel's management, being either a general manager, human resource (HR) manager or line manager. Similar to Hoque's study of UK hotels, the impact of internal and external fit and the universal relevance of HRM were tested. The findings showed no major support for external fit, universal relevance and internal fit in the Barbados hotel industry. All the hotels perceived themselves as performing well, given the focus on quality and targeting high spending tourists. A quest for high service pushes the industry more towards best-practice ‘HRM’ rather than best fit.     

ARCHSECRET: a multi‐item scale to measure service quality within the voluntary sector

This paper provides an overview of the application of SERVQUAL reflecting the theoretical criticisms concerning disconfirmation model, process orientation, role of expectations and portability. The original SERVQUAL framework was found to be inappropriate for services that had no close analogue with the private sector. A qualitative research study was undertaken to establish the sector‐specific criteria used by customers to evaluate service quality. The study identified 40 potentially unique features of the service as perceived by service recipients. These features were developed into a pilot survey instrument that comprised 40 questions, covering expectations, perceptions and importance. A pilot study was undertaken to test the instrument among disabled customers and their carers across the main centres of a national voluntary organisation. Analyses of the pilot survey data resulted in a set of 27 distinct statements across ten hypothesised service quality dimensions. These are Access, Responsiveness, Communication, Humaneness, Security, Enabling/Empowerment, Competence, Reliability, Equity, and Tangibles, giving rise to the acronym ARCHSECRET. The ARCHSECRET instrument is potentially a powerful diagnostic tool for managers in their pursuit of continuous quality improvement within voluntary sector organisations. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications     

Networks In Open Systems Of Governance

Abstract

This article focuses on an abortive attempt to co-ordinate a local governance network in the domain of older persons' care in England. It locates a key source of failure in pressures in the policy context. Exogenous factors are analysed using a tiered (macro-/meso-/micro-) model linking context and agents. People occupy specific positions in the policy system and can respond differently to erratic contextual prompts. This putative autonomy imposes limits on the assumed trajectory and ontology of whole-networks in socially contested arenas and delimits the strategic space for network governance. Networks are thus as often effects as causes of social change.     

The Cross-Section of Expected Stock Returns: New Evidence from an Emerging Market

Over 300 factors have been found to explain the cross-section of expected stock returns. Empirical studies also show that findings from multifactor asset-pricing models have not been consistent in an emerging market. Using DuPont analysis and a residual income valuation model for 284 nonfinancial companies on Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange during the period 2008–2014, findings suggest that the return on equity and its change are informative for stock returns in Vietnam. In addition, the level of capital turnover, financial cost ratio (FCR), and changes in capital and in the FCR contain incremental explanatory power for stock returns.     

Integrating the environmental and economic consequences of converting to organic agriculture: evidence from a case study

In the current debate about the future of food quality, the merits of organic agriculture are frequently championed, but few studies have sought to integrate the changes in soil conditions, biodiversity and socio-economic welfare linked to the conversion from non-organic to organic production. This article aims to undertake this approach with respect to one case study. Its conclusions may not be representative for all organic conversions, but the findings are of relevance at a time of debate over changing patterns of subsidies and other incentives in agricultural policy. The study showed that there were demonstrable differences in overall environmental conditions in the comparison of organic and non-organic farming, with field evidence of increased species diversity, and an eventual improvement in the profitability of the organic farming regime. The broad conclusion is that there are definite environmental and economic advantages arising from organic agriculture that are not fully reflected in the present pattern of agricultural incentives. The study also showed that variations in farm management practice strongly influence the notion of on-farm and off-farm environmental consequences. The implications of these findings for the future of sustainable agriculture and for interdisciplinary science are also discussed.     

Understanding how service learning pedagogy impacts student learning objectives

Service learning (SL) is gaining popularity in business schools as a way to supplement traditional pedagogies. Research indicates that SL improves particular learning outcomes, but little is known about how this happens. Using Kolb's theory of experiential learning, the authors develop and test a conceptual model that explains how SL activates the four cycles of experiential learning and affects the learning outcomes of academic knowledge, career development, personal growth, and civic responsibility.