Using Information as a Basis for Segmentation and Relationship Marketing: A Longitudinal Case Study of a Leading Financial Services Firm

An important concern for service businesses is how to develop an appropriate segmentation and relationship marketing strategy that is tied to the value contribution of the customer base. This article presents a case study of the relationship marketing strategy for a division of a leading, worldwide financial services provider. The case firm segments customers into three tiers, using a framework similar to the one established by Berry and Parasuraman. Potential revenue from the customer is the primary segmentation variable used to assign customers to one of the three tiers, while the customer service response is tailored for each tier based upon customer information capabilities and needs. Although information is normally thought of as a supplemental service, rather than a core service, this case study shows how information is central to providing effective customer service and is a key to relationship marketing. The study also demonstrates how social and structural bonds can be used to refocus a customer's thinking from a cost perspective to a value perspective.     

Editorial: Special issue on tax education

In accounting education, most Student Approaches to Learning (SAL) research has investigated the relationship between students' performance and their approaches to learning. Relatively limited research has been conducted on how assessment practices influence the quality of students' learning from the students' perspective. This paper seeks to address this gap in the accounting education literature. The research is centred on a large Australian undergraduate accounting degree delivered in Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong. Focus group interviews were conducted with students across the three locations. The research results reveal that: (1) it is the English competency of students that has the most important impact on students' completion of set assessment tasks and thus their approach to learning; (2) it is the way in which assessment is designed and written and the way lecturers convey their expectations about how assessment will be undertaken that is crucial to how students from various countries perform in that assessment; and (3) students' approaches to assessment and their preferred assessment tasks are not homogeneously based on cultural background.     

The Challenges Faced by Reporting Entities on Their Transition to International Financial Reporting Standards: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

This study explores the challenges of implementing International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) at the organisational level. Based on interviews with experts with aggregated experience relating to the transition projects of over 170 reporting entities, this paper highlights the main challenges in delivering a successful implementation of IFRS. The findings show that the problems faced in implementation include lack of education and training, securing executive-level support, identifying and responding to the wider business-related implications of the transition, and issues with capturing the necessary information for reporting under IFRS.This paper complements the existing literature and offers a qualitative alternative to considering the transition to IFRS, offering insight into the organisational context of IFRS implementation. These insights are useful not only from a historic perspective, but also for organisations and regulators in the many jurisdictions where IFRS is permitted but not required, where more reporting entities will voluntarily move to IFRS-based reporting in the future. More broadly, they are also applicable to the challenges faced in implementing new and significantly revised IFRSs.     

Leadership and control system design

Little attention has been given to the role of leadership characteristics in the organization design literature despite significant evidence of its importance in explaining firm behavior. This study develops and tests a model to assess the effects of leadership style on three control choices that are considered integral elements of a firm's management control system; namely the delegation choice, the use of planning and control systems and the performance measurement system. Our results, based on data collected from 128 profit center managers, indicate that leadership style is a significant predictor of senior management's use of the planning and control system and their use of the performance measurement system for rewarding lower-level managers. After controlling for operating contextual factors (namely, subunit interdependencies and knowledge asymmetries) we find no effect of leadership style on delegation choices but do find that leadership style influences the use of planning and control systems as predicted.     

Older people and convenience in meal preparation: a European study on understanding their perception towards vegetable soup preparation

A sample of 768 seniors over 65 years, living in eight European countries, was interviewed to investigate perceptions, preferences and attitudes towards convenience in preparation of vegetable soups. In each country, a range of seven vegetables soups varying in preparation levels required before consumption was identified. The first part of the interview (in‐depth interview) was carried out by using the Repertory Grid Method, an effective method to describe perceptions of foods using consumers' own language. Overall, vegetable‐related foods with convenience in preparation were perceived in similar ways across the countries. Older adults tended to describe ready vegetable soups mainly making associations related to preparation, rather than on their own preferences and evaluations. Conversely, fresh vegetables requiring all preparation or considerable preparation (cut fresh vegetables) were mainly associated with attributes such as taste, freshness, health benefits and familiarity with the product. The second session of the interview was based in part on the Theory of Planned Behaviour. A component measuring the extent to which it is felt necessary to eat convenience foods (perceived need) was assessed as well. Generally speaking, older people did not seem to view positively the consumption of convenience foods. Additionally, they did not feel the need to consume these products nor do they have the intention to consume them in the forthcoming month. Pleasure associated with performance of the behaviour was the most important determinant of intention to eat convenience foods in Germany, Denmark and Sweden. Perceived need was the most important factor in determining the intention to eat convenience foods in the UK, Poland and Portugal. Perceived control and subjective norms were the most important factors influencing the intention to eat convenience foods in Italy. The encouragement of consuming ‘ready‐meals’ might represent an opportunity to have healthier food choices and to reduce the risk a monotonous diet for older people who cannot or do not know how to cook, combined with a low interest in food‐related activities such as cooking.     

Changes in Host Community Reactions to a Special Sporting Event

Special events are a popular component of tourism and economic development strategies for communities and regions in many parts of the world. Researchers continue to develop an understanding of the positive and negative aspects of the events, and to assess residents' support for these events and their views about impacts. The main objective of this paper is to assess residents' reactions over a one-year period to hosting a special sporting event. The analysis is based on three community surveys, one undertaken before the event, the next immediately following the event, and the final one six months later. The research found that support remained high over this period, though a decline in overall support was evident. Over time, views about changes to facilities and services in the community shifted and there were distinct differences in residents' opinions on the impacts of hosting the event. The paper concludes that longitudinal studies must include a time-frame that extends beyond the immediate post-event period and, further, that a comprehensive event hosting impact scale would be useful for research in this field.     

Community development using a sustainable tourism strategy: a case study of the Jordan River Valley touristway

This paper presents the results of a 10‐year collaboration among Yarmouk University, the University of Arkansas and the Jordanian government to develop a sustainable tourism strategy against the backdrop of political and economic uncertainty. It reports our efforts to develop a touristway through the Jordan River Valley that integrates the valley's heritage, archeology, and Christian and Islamic religious sites. It also analyses our community development work in Umm Qais, the touristway's northern anchor, and how our plan contributes to Northern Jordan's economic development. We conclude with a discussion of the specific insights gained from our experiences that may serve others addressing similar issues. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.