Manufacturer-supplier relationships: An empirical test of a model of buyer outcomes

Relational buyer-seller exchanges have been the focus of significant research in the past few years. In extending this recent research, the authors draw upon transaction cost analysis and symbolic interactionism to propose and test a model focusing on outcomes of manufacturer-supplier relationships from the perspective of the manufacturer. Data from 157 purchasing executives offer empirical support for the relationships proposed in the model. In the context of acquiring critical items, relational orientation is found to be negatively related to measures of acquisition and possession costs and positively related to perceived product quality, and these variables, in turn, are significantly linked to the buyer's satisfaction with the supplier. Model results also indicate that a relational orientation has both a direct and an indirect link to satisfaction. Implications for both marketing managers and researchers interested in collaborative relationships between buyer and supplier organizations are offered.     

Pictures vs. reality: Roles of disconfirmation magnitude,disconfirmation sensitivity,and branding

This study aims to increase our understanding of the effects of food pictures in formulating customers’ expectations and performance evaluation, which, in turn, affect customer satisfaction, trust, and behavioral intentions in the restaurant context. Extending the expectancy disconfirmation theory, we have conducted three experimental designed studies involving a total of 1105 customers. Specifically, study 1 explores three disconfirmation magnitudes (low, moderate, high) and their impact on customer evaluations and behaviors. Study 2 demonstrates the interactive effects of disconfirmation magnitude and branding on customer trust, suggesting that branding mitigates the negative effect of disconfirmation magnitude on trust. Study 3 includes individual differences of disconfirmation sensitivity to explain the variation of the expectancy disconfirmation model, revealing that customers with higher disconfirmation sensitivity are less likely to be satisfied and trust a restaurant as the disconfirmation magnitude increases. Theoretical and managerial implications are provided.     

Effects of campus foodservice attributes on perceived value,satisfaction, and consumer attitude: A gender-difference approach

This study explores a conceptual framework incorporating interrelationships among campus foodservice attributes, perceived value, satisfaction, and effects of these on consumer attitude. Mediating roles of perceived value and satisfaction as well as gender differences in attitude formation process also are investigated within the conceptual framework. Results confirm that enhanced performance in service and product quality, menu, and facility have favorable effects on perceived value, satisfaction and, ultimately, on consumer attitude. However, the attitude-formation process and mediating roles of perceived value and satisfaction differ notably between male and female consumers.     

Leadership dyads in the cruise industry: the impact of cultural congruency

Multiculturalism continues to permeate the management literature as an imperative issue in today's workplace. The cruise industry is highly diverse, with leaders often interacting with subordinates whose national origin is different from their own. Past research suggests that differences in national culture may significantly impact the process of leadership evaluation and subsequently how subordinates respond to their leaders. The purpose of this investigation was to determine if such a process takes place in the cruise industry. Using a diverse sample of cruise line managers (n=367), a comparison of congruent and incongruent leaders/subordinate dyads was conducted. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to determine how cultural congruence impacted perceived leadership style (consideration and initiating structure), trust, satisfaction and commitment to the leader. The results indicate that subordinates in congruent dyads evaluated their leaders significantly higher on consideration behaviors, and reported higher levels of trust and satisfaction with their leader, than those in the incongruent group. These findings suggest that national culture systematically impacts how subordinates within the studied sample evaluate, and subsequently feel about their leaders. The results are discussed and recommendations are made for leaders within the cruise environment.     

The impact of customers’ prior online experience on future hotel usage behavior

Service experience model stipulates the importance of service experience in increasing satisfaction, price acceptance, revisit intentions, etc. It has been extensively tested and validated in hotel management studies. However, the online service experience which, in these days, precedes the physical service experience has not be considered together in most hotel service experience studies. In hotel management literature, studies on online experiences are largely segregated from physical service experience model. In this study, prior online experience model is proposed which includes online experience preceding the physical service encounter, and a survey is administered. Result indicates the strong influence of online experience as a leading construct of the service experience model in hotels. Online experience strongly conditions the customers’ perception of physical service experience and, also, provides good ground for price acceptance. Interestingly, the influence of physical service experience on price acceptance seems to be rather alleviated with online experience, indicating the important role the online experience plays in managing customer perception on hotel service experience. Hotel management needs to pay close attention to their customers’ online experience beyond simple esthetics as the online experience seems to influence all the subsequent components of hotel service model.     

Dimentions of tourist satisfaction with a destination area

Pizam, Abraham, Yoram Neumann, and Arie Reichel.. “Dimensions of Tourist Satisfaction with a Destination Area,” Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. V, No. 3, July/September 1978, pp. 314–322. This paper empirically identifies eight factors of tourist satisfaction with Cape Cod, Massachusetts (USA) as a tourist destination area; and it suggests the means to measure them. By using a factor-analytic approach based on data obtained from a survey of 685 vacationing tourist, the following factors of tourist satisfaction were derived: beach oppurtunities, cost, hospitality, eating and drinking facilities, accommodation facilities, environment, and extent of commercialization.     

员工感知的企业员工责任会激发员工创新行为吗

随着知识经济和创造力时代的到来,基于员工视角的企业社会责任研究越来越受到社会的关注,但国内关于社会责任与员工创新的研究仍付之阙如。基于社会认同理论,利用国内4家大型食品企业员工与主管的匹配数据,探究了企业员工责任(Corporate Employee Responsibility)对员工创新行为(Employee Innovation Behavior)的作用机理。研究发现：员工感知的企业员工责任不仅可以直接正向影响员工创新行为,而且能够通过提升员工工作满足和工作投入对员工创新行为产生间接正向影响,员工工作满足和工作投入在员工感知的企业员工责任和员工创新行为之间具有完全中介作用。     

Analysis on inbound tourists satisfaction in China:an empirical study based on the investigation of 5 cities

In China,the tourism industry is regarded as one means of fostering local economic development.This paper tries to examine inbound tourism development in China in the last decade and analyze inbound tourism's satisfaction of their travel experience with tourist attractions,facilities,services and price by an empirical study based on the investigation of Lanzhou,Wuhan,Guangzhou,Shanghai and Beijing.This paper discusses the demographie characteristics of visitors from Hong Kong,Macao and Taiwan,US,Korea and Japan by surveying a sample of 528 visitors in five different cities.The survey showed that four provinces/autonomous region in western China ranked the top 10 popular destinations.Chinese natural landscape,culture and food were highly regarded by the tourists.At the same time,tourists expressed less satisfaction with tourist language convenience,tourist facility and nightlife in China.It was also found that only 7.4% of the tourists thought travel in China was far more than what they had paid,that 6.5% regarded they got what they paid for,and that 34.9% thought the travel cost was reasonable.Most tourists were satisfied with their travel experience in China;many of them would like to return to China and would like to recommend China.For the sustainable development of tourism,Chinese tourism authorities should strengthen the construction,propaganda and management of scenic spots,improve tourist facility and tourist edueation,especially language convenience,and strengthen the supervision of tickets,souvenir and hotel prtce.     

The role of quality in e-procurement performance: An empirical analysis

While the adoption and use of e-procurement has been prevalent in supply chain management, there is very little research examining the critical role of quality in this context. e-Procurement promises to cut operational costs all across the supply chain, but it also raises the expectations of buyers posing a challenge for buyer satisfaction and supply chain performance. Using the theoretical lens of Dynamic Capabilities Theory and Resource-Based View, we postulate that online information and process act as resources that result in logistics fulfillment capabilities. These capabilities in turn lead to satisfaction with e-procurement. We estimate our research model using structural equation modeling with survey data collected from 131 purchasing and procurement managers. We empirically examine these linkages by analyzing data collected from procurement managers. Our results indicate strong support for the relationships between information flow process quality, logistics fulfillment quality processes, and e-procurement satisfaction performance. One of the surprising findings of our study is that fulfilled order timeliness has a significantly greater impact on satisfaction than fulfilled order accuracy. This finding points to the increasingly important role that the dimension of time plays in today's competitive environment.     

组织顾客满意度测评指数模型(OCSI)的研究

顾客满意度指数(CustomerSatisfactionIndex,CSI),是运用统计的方法把顾客满意程度定量化。目前不少发达国家和地区已编制和发布顾客满意度指数(CSI),许多知名的跨国公司积极实施顾客满意战略,进行顾客满意度指数(CSI)的测评。本文主要研究如何建立组织顾客满意度指数(OCSI)模型,包括:OCSI模型的结构和结构变量、测量变量及它们的数学表达式,同时简要地讨论了设计OCSI的指标体系和调查表的一些事宜。