Fishery Products Distribution and Logistics in Greece

Greece has a population of 10.9 million people. The consumption of fish is high (approx. 25kg per capita per year), with many traditional Greek dishes being focused on fish. Fish farming has emerged as one of the fastest growing technologies in Greece and is now the country's third largest export sector and shows great potential for further development. For this reason, fishery products distribution and logistics is an issue of major significance in Greece. This article attempts to analyze the structure of the fishery products distribution and logistics system and identifies major problems within that system. The article is based on the findings of a survey of 186 companies. As one of the first studies in Greece ocusing on fishery products distribution and logistics, it will generate new insights and information for distribution and logistics academics and managers.     

Customer-driven philosophy in the banking industry under different ownership status: the case of Greece

Relationship banking (RB) philosophy has become a topic of increasing importance in strategic marketing management. RB concerns inter alia the applying of customer-driven strategies using advanced information technology. This study investigates RB in the Greek banking industry overall and also under different ownership status (privately owned vs. stated-controlled vs. foreign banks). Based on a wide field of research during the period 2005–2006, indeed, we find that banks in Greece apply the philosophy of RB; however, privately owned and foreign banks implement RB strategies more systematically and effectively in comparison with state-controlled banks. The usefulness of our results is twofold: they satisfactorily justify the considerable growth of the private banking sector in the Greek economy and significantly enrich the service-profit chain of this specific industry.     

Technical efficiency of alternative farming systems: the case of Greek organic and conventional olive-growing farms

Olive-growing is a major farming activity in Greek agriculture. This paper analyzes empirically the technical efficiency of organic and conventional olive-growing farms using a stochastic production frontier methodology and a translog functional specification. Findings indicate that the organic olive-growing farms examined exhibit a higher degree of technical efficiency (relative to their production frontier) than do conventional olive-growing farms. Reasons may include lower profit margins and restrictions on inputs permitted, thus forcing organic farmers to be more cautious with input use. However, both input- and output-oriented technical efficiency scores are still relatively low for both types of olive-farming. Thus there is considerable scope for cost reducing and farm income improvement in both farming modes. This could prove crucial for the long-run viability and the future course of the sector.     

Achieving Competitiveness in Greek Accommodation Establishments during Recession

The article examines the strategies that Greek hotels have implemented to strengthen their competitiveness during recession. The research is based on a nationwide e‐mail survey to hospitality managers/owners. The results reveal that the most important perceived competitiveness factor is cost reduction and implementation of actions against crisis, followed by innovation, human resource management and marketing. The study also proposes actions that can improve the competitiveness of accommodation establishments. The article helps fill the gaps in our understanding of how hospitality firms tackle competition during crises, and suggests managerial policies that can help hospitality firms to strengthen their positioning and competitiveness during crises. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Content vs. Process in the HRM‐Performance Relationship: An Empirical Examination

This study investigates the impact of a human resource management (HRM) system, which integrates both content and process of human resource (HR) practices, on organizational performance, through collective employee reactions. The analysis is based on a sample of 1,250 Greek employees working in 133 public‐ and private‐sector organizations, which operate in the present context of severe financial and economic crises. The findings of the structural equation modeling suggest that content and process are two inseparable faces of an HRM system that help to reveal a comprehensive picture of the HRM–organizational performance relationship. Based on the findings that collective employee reactions mediate the HRM content (i.e., organizational performance relationship) and HRM process moderates the HRM content (i.e., employee reactions relationship), the study has several theoretical and practice implications. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The effect of human resource practices on organizational performance: evidence from Greece

The present study addresses a central research question: how do human resource management practices contribute to organizational performance? We examined the following HR practices: (1) job security; (2) selective hiring; (3) self-managed teams and decentralization of decision making; (4) compensation policy; (5) extensive training; and (6) information sharing. We surveyed food managers in Greece and recorded their perceptions on HR practices and their relation to firm performance.

Results provide overall support for all HR practices except of job security. Selective hiring was found to be a key practice that improved organizational performance. Compensation policy, information sharing, decentralization of decision making and extensive training were significant predictors for all performance variables. Directions for further research are provided.     

The effect of extrinsic rewards on public and private sector employees' psychological empowerment: a comparative approach

This paper examines the impact of five extrinsic rewards (financial incentives, promotion opportunities, organisational prestige, relations with supervisor and relations with peers) on employees' psychological empowerment. Further, the present study compares these effects and the level of psychological empowerment between public and private employees. The results demonstrated that extrinsic rewards differentially affected both samples. Financial incentives, promotion opportunities and organisational prestige had a stronger effect on private employees' psychological empowerment, whereas relations with supervisor and peers were significant predictors of public employees' psychological empowerment. The results also indicated that private employees experience greater psychological empowerment, meaning and impact than public counterparts.     

Young tourists,gender and fear on holiday

This paper addresses, through in-depth interviews and long-term observations, how young men and women perceive fear of crime and violence on holiday. Although many studies have highlighted a difference between males and females with regard to the expression of fear, gendered differences and similarities in the perception and expression of fear have remained largely unexplored within the context of tourism. The results show that gender, despite having been traditionally constructed as a binary concept, did not play a major role in influencing tourists' perceptions of fear on holiday. Interestingly however, the findings reveal that although men and women differ in their perception and expression of fear, a more marked distinction exists among the various masculinities and femininities within the men–women dichotomy. This implies that the investigation of gendered perceptions of fear needs to take into account the non-homogeneous nature of the two groups. This paper rejects the often-assumed stereotypical images of masculinity and femininity.