A Structural Model of Leisure Constraints Negotiation in Outdoor Recreation

A conceptual model tested the leisure constraints negotiation process of outdoor recreation: motivation and the constraints to participate likely influenced by negotiation efforts. Higher motivation to participate encourages using negotiation strategies and resources to overcome constraints. Experiencing constraints was thought to trigger negotiation efforts. Drawing from social cognitive theory, negotiation-efficacy was proposed to encourage motivation, diminish the perception of constraints and promote negotiation efforts, which indirectly influenced positive participation. The model tested used data collected from a random sample of Arizona residents through hierarchical confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Results support the conceptual model and suggest the constraints negotiation process is a dynamic interaction of influences promoting outdoor recreation participation.     

The Borneo company limited: origins of a nineteenth-century networked multinational

The origins of British-based trading companies are to be found in the international mercantile networks which linked together Britain's commercial centres with the rest of the world during the nineteenth century. One such network, drawing together participants with operations in Singapore and Sarawak, was formalized under the title of The Borneo Company Limited (BCL) between 1851 and 1856. To function effectively, these inter-personal networks of merchants required a high degree of trustworthiness among the participants in order to overcome principal/agent problems, since direct supervision from the headquarters in London was not feasible. However, in order to expand, it was necessary to widen the circle of network participants and to incorporate new types of competence. This contribution analyses the early history of BCL with a view to understanding the way in which the process of growth was managed, distinguishing between three different types of expansion: engaging in production as well as trade; extending the geographical scope of the organization; and diversifying into new markets.     

Married couples’ involvement with family vacations

Abstract

The involvement construct has received a great deal of attention in recent years. However, the majority of research on this topic has focused on the individual and has ignored spouses’ shared leisure involvement. In addition, little work has been done on involvement in the product‐class context of family vacations. This study examined the underlying dimensions of married couples’ involvement with family vacations and how these dimensions relate to selected personal variables. Factor analysis revealed two underlying dimensions. Stepwise multiple regression revealed that pleasure‐importance was positively related to gender role ideology and education and negatively related to presence of children in the home. A positive relation existed between the second dimension, sign value, and age. The study provides insight into both the nature of the involvement construct and how it might be used in future research.     

An experimentally confirmed resource planning model of services under production function uncertainties

The way in which service firms transform inputs into outputs is typically uncertain or unknown. Consequently decision makers, at best, can only make estimates of the underlying production function. The purpose of this study is to offer policy recommendations to service providers and to examine experimentally the sensitivity of estimates of production functions. The primary result of this study is a foundation for modeling manpower planning decisions for co-produced services when production functions are mis-estimated and/or mis-specified.     

MNE home country cultural norms and conflict strategy fit in transnational business contract disputes

The increasing frequency and complexity of transnational business relationships has been commensurate with an increase in contractual disputes. In such situations, home country cultural norms will often influence how MNEs resolve contractual disputes in foreign markets. This begs the question: does fit between an MNE's choice of conflict strategy and its home country cultural norms affect monetary payouts (costs) in transnational business contract disputes? We apply organizational imprinting theory and the fit paradigm to a model employing data from U.S. court cases involving 316 MNEs from 47 countries. We find that choosing a conflict strategy that fits home country cultural norms will result in higher monetary payouts for MNEs. Additionally, cultural distance, but not legal distance, enhances the positive relationship between MNE conflict strategy fit and monetary payouts. Implications and future research directions are discussed.     

In-transit perishable product inspection

We determine the value of monitoring perishable freight in-transit for a single vehicle traveling from an origin to a destination. We develop a computationally practical approach for determining the optimal expected cost function and an optimal policy, based on an infinite horizon partially observed Markov decision process model. Structural properties of the optimal expected cost function and optimal policy are determined. These results can lend insight when deciding whether to acquire the capacity to monitor freight status in transit and what actions to take, based on the data from the in-transit monitoring, that optimally increase expected supply chain productivity.     

Towards an Understanding of the Relationship between Mood,Emotions, Service Quality and Customer Loyalty Intentions

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between mood states, emotions, perceptions of service quality and consumer loyalty in an extended service context. A quantitative research design, using multivariate statistical techniques, facilitated the data analysis. The sample consisted of 220 students from a private university in Switzerland. The results indicated that all of the variables were significantly correlated and mood state was demonstrated to influence the way judgements were formed. The contribution of mood to explaining the variance in loyalty was however minimal.