Zone of tolerance for banks: a diagnostic model of service quality

Service quality has become an increasingly important factor for success and survival in the banking sector. Provision of high-quality service aids in meeting several requirements such as customer satisfaction and its consequent loyalty and market share, soliciting new customers, financial performance, and profitability (Cui, C.C., Lewis, B.R., & Park, W. (2003). Service quality measurement in the banking sector in South Korea. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 21(4), 191–201.). This paper presents the bank service quality measurement in its extended form. It deals with the concept of ‘zone of tolerance’ in judgments of service quality proposed by Zeithaml, Berry, and Parasuraman (1993, The nature and determinants of customer expectations of service. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 21(1), 1–12.). The ‘zone of tolerance’ is recognized in the service quality literature as representing a range of expectations and an area of acceptable outcomes in service interactions. The present study describes the zone of tolerance for young customers’ service expectations and determines the customer satisfaction level for banks. The study focusses only on the youth market to formulate long-term strategies because young customers tend to keep themselves up to date with latest technological developments. A conceptual model BANKZOT is presented in this study, and the results demonstrate that evaluation of services can be scaled according to different types of expectations – ‘desired' and ‘adequate’ – and that customers use these two types of expectations as a comparison standard in evaluating bank services. The findings reveal that young customers have a narrow zone of tolerance with regard to the services provided by the banks. The results with respect to gap analysis reveal that there was a shortfall in the service quality provided by the banks in the sample, with the largest gap being found in tangibles and empathy of service quality dimensions. The results of exploratory factor analysis reveal that the SERVQUAL model is found to be uni-dimensional in this study. The results, managerial implications, and future research implications are discussed in detail.     

EU's competition policy and the GE‐Honeywell merger fiasco: Transatlantic divergence and consumer and regulatory issues

This article discusses and analyzes the European Union's (EU's) competition policy and the 2001 General Electric‐Honeywell merger fiasco within the areas of global business and transatlantic issues. Based on a brief literature review of marketing, competition policy/antitrust law, vertical/horizontal integration, and global business, the article tries to explain those conditions that led to this failed merger. It is expected that in the coming years, the EU's competition policy and the United States' antitrust law will continue to differ and may create problems for those multinationals seeking large‐scale mergers and acquisitions in North America and Europe. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The pattern of deaths in road traffic crashes in Sindh, Pakistan

The objectives of this study were to examine the pattern and magnitude of deaths in road traffic crashes (RTCs) in Sindh province of Pakistan. This cross-sectional study used data obtained from government documents and content analysis of daily newspapers' reports on incidents of deaths in RTCs. Results showed that the total annual number of RTCs, fatal RTCs and deaths in RTCs were 2272 (+/-293), 1104 (+/-89) and 1321 (+/-136) respectively. On average, there were four deaths per day in RTCs. The victims were 85% male and the majority were between 15 and 49 years of age. Pedestrians, passengers, motorcyclists and drivers were most commonly the victims. Deaths in RTCs were double in rural areas compared to urban areas. The most common causes of fatal RTCs were by being hit by a vehicle, breakdown and collision of motor vehicles and speeding. The frequent involvement of the men of working age in RTCs may have serious social and economic implications; therefore, the prevention of RTCs, as far as possible, is imperative.     

Foreign direct investments in developing countries: The openness hypothesis and policy implications

A cross-sectional time series model was estimated to explain the influence of the openness of an economy and political instability on gross inflow of foreign direct investments into developing countries. Results indicate positive relation between the openness of developing economies and the inflow of foreign direct investments and negative relation between political instability and the inflow of foreign direct investments. Research findings and policy implications are presented.     

Chinese State Enterprises and their Reform

The far-reaching changes in the economic environment in China since the start of the reform period have directly affected enterprise behaviour and have important implications for future enterprise reform. The growth of market transactions has been accompanied by an increase in competition which has forced State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) to cut costs and upgrade quality. The growing exposure of Chinese enterprises to international markets and foreign business practices has led to an upgrading of their organization and management structure. The multiplication of the sources of external funds for investment has facilitated the establishment of new enterprises and provided enterprises with wider opportunities for diversifying risk. And the rapid growth of the economy has provided room for the non-state sector to expand without a major contraction of the state sector. But many problems still remain, notably with regard to government interference in the day-to-day management of the SOEs, the development of appropriate and effective governance structures, the need for efficiency-enhancing industrial restructuring, and reform of employment relations and the social security system. This article considers these problems and makes recommendations regarding future reform initiatives particularly with regard to loss-making enterprises.     

Quality Differentiation Under Mixed Competition in Hospital Markets

We use a Hotelling-type model of two hospitals, one for-profit (FP) and the other not-for-profit (NFP) using quality to compete for patients. In an equilibrium that constrains the NFP to zero profits, the NFP share of the market decreases as fixed costs or patient’s marginal utility of quality increase, or as transportation and marginal quality costs decrease, conditions that make quality a more effective tool for attracting patients, improving the ability of the FP to compete for market share. We show that an NFP hospital cannot take the entire market without significant fundraising ability. The market shares predicted by our model are consistent with what is presently observed in Europe and the US.     

An Empirical Alternative to Sidani and Thornberry’s (2009) ‘Current Arab Work Ethic’: Examining the Multidimensional Work Ethic Profile in an Arab Context

While the concept of work ethic has been discussed in the Arab context (Sidani and Thornberry in J Bus Eth 91(1):35–49, 2009), the significant conceptual and methodological limitations of the existing work ethic and work value research elucidate the need for a more robust investigation of the multidimensional work ethic construct in the Arab context. Multidimensionality of the work ethic concept has gained considerable attention in recent years as researchers attempt to move away from the religiously labeled Islamic and Protestant work ethic conceptualizations. The current study examines the Arab work ethic through the use of the multidimensional work ethic profile (MWEP) on a sample of future business leaders in the United Arab Emirates. A total of 484 business students completed an Arabic version of the MWEP short form. The results show that centrality of work and hard work are the highest scoring work ethics followed by self-reliance, wasted time, and leisure. There are significant differences in work ethic dimensions across gender and categories of family breadwinner. No significant differences in work ethic dimensions are observed across categories of nationality and work preference groups. The findings are discussed in relation to the unique insight they offer on the nature of work ethic in an Arab context.     

Do Trade Agreements Increase Food Trade?

In addition to multilateral trade agreements under the World Trade Organization (WTO), the world has seen a remarkable proliferation of regional trade agreements (RTAs) in the last two decades. This study investigates whether these multilateral and regional trade institutions increase food trade and bring the world into a freer flow of food. The gravity model of international trade is used for the empirical analysis. The model is developed in a large panel data setting and attempted to address some potential problems in the estimations including multilateral trade resistances, zero trade values and endogeneity. The results suggest that both the WTO and RTAs have delivered significant positive effects on trade among the participant countries, but not food. Only RTAs are found to have increased food trade among the participant countries. However, although on average the WTO is found to have negative implications on food trade, it facilitates the developing countries more than the developed countries.     

Consumer ethics: A review and research agenda

Consumer ethics continues to draw the attention of academicians and practitioners as a significant economic and social issue globally. Consumer ethics refers to moral principles that govern a consumer's behaviour. This literature review seeks to enrich the discourse on consumer ethics through a comprehensive and detailed review of 106 articles, covering 21 journals from 2010 to 2020. Through an examination of theories, contexts, characteristics, and methodologies used in consumer ethics research, our review (1) presents a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the research in this field and (2) sets a future research agenda to spur scholarly research. We found studies have primarily relied on a single theoretical lens such as the theory of marketing ethics, planned behaviour, and neutralization theory. Further consumer ethics research focuses on advanced countries, with a narrow focus on developing countries. We have diagnosed the need to examine boundary conditions impacting consumer ethics. Finally, we provide actionable inputs to combat unethical consumer actions as well as promote ethical consumption.     

The internationalization of an Arab bank: The case of Ahli United Bank of Bahrain

Ahli United Bank of Bahrain (AUB) has “leapfrogged” over early stages of internationalization by means of multiple rapid acquisitions of competitors. Use of this high‐cost, high‐risk strategy is well known among companies with the resources to invest in international expansion, but its application has not yet been studied in depth among companies based in the Middle East. This theory‐driven case study examines the growth record of AUB, its place in the regional banking industry in the Gulf, and its successful internationalization as an Arab bank. The article concludes with a detailed assessment of managerial and theoretical implications arising from the case study, and proposes further research to understand better the process of internationalization by companies expanding from a base in the Middle East. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.