Gender Differences in Service Quality Expectations in the Fast Food Industry

Abstract

Services marketers can influence the evaluation of service quality by “managing” customer expectations. Expectations can also provide insights into market segmentation strategies. Gender is often used as a segmentation variable since it is easily identifiable, accessible, and profitable. The purpose of this study was to examine if there are any gender-based differences in the expectations of service quality in the fast food industry. Hypotheses on gender differences in expectations were tested by an ANOVA, where the composite scores of each of the five dimensions of fast food service were used as dependent variables. The expectations of women were significantly higher than men in four of the five dimensions of fast food service quality.     

The link between innovation and productivity in Estonia's services sector

This paper investigates how the innovation–productivity relationship differs across various sub-branches of the services sector. The Crépon, Duguet and Mairesse structural model is used, consisting of equations for innovation expenditures, innovation output, productivity and exports. The data are taken from the Community Innovation Surveys for Estonia. It is shown that innovation is associated with increased productivity. The results indicate, surprisingly, that the association between technological innovation and productivity is stronger in the less knowledge-intensive service (KIS) sectors. Non-technological innovation plays a positive role especially in KISs. An indirect channel of the effects of innovation on productivity appears to function through increased exports.     

How professional service firms compete in the market: an exploratory study

Abstract

This study investigates how professional service firms (PSFs) compete in the market. Drawing on strategic marketing literature, a managerial rather than customer perspective is adopted. The study investigates the competitive positions sought by professional service providers and the specific marketing activities actually undertaken to achieve these positions. Thirty-seven depth interviews with senior management from a range of PSFs indicate that firms seek to differentiate themselves by developing long-term relationships, providing better service quality and greater value, and developing brands with strong reputations. Organisations typically seek such interrelated competitive positions simultaneously. A list of marketing activities used by the PSFs to achieve these competitive positions offers practical insights into the specific activities needed to achieve the various competitive positions sought.     

Hospital Marketing and Communications Via Social Media

Social media usage by health care organizations has increased dramatically. Findings from this research show that 95% of the top ranked hospitals use social media. The purpose of this study is to examine whether social media usage varies according to size of hospital and types of services provided. Since social media platforms appeal to different groups of people, this prompts the question of whether certain platforms are more appealing to people who partake in different health services. Findings reveal differences in social media usage depending on the services provided by a hospital.     

Transaction services and SME internationalization: The effect of home and host country bank relationships on international investment and growth

Building on the argument put forward by North and Wallis (1994) that the transaction sector enables economic growth by lowering the costs of transacting, we investigate how internationalizing firms’ host and home country bank relationships affect their international specific investments and growth. Banks provide payment, liquidity, and risk management services, which are essential to international business relationships, yet little is known about how banks affect international business relationships. In a sample of 255 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), we find that host and home country bank relationships affect the dependent variables differently. We contribute to the literature by explicating the role and effects of banks in international business relationships. Our findings have implications for understanding transaction services in international business as well as the choices made by their customers.     

黑龙江省农村公共服务共给问题分析及对策建议

黑龙江省的农村公共服务供给存在着总量不足、资源分配不平衡、资金利用效率低下、供需对接不一致等问题。针对这些问题,各级政府应该根据实际情况,在坚持政府主导的前提下,实现投资主体的多元化,积极引入市场机制以及慈善援助;通过完善供需双向传导机制,畅通自下而上的需求表达通道。通过鼓励建立基层非盈利的民间互助组织,提高农村公共服务质量,满足农村日益增长的个性化公共服务要求。     

德国专业化创业服务对我国的若干启示——以柏林经济技术促进机构柏林伙伴组织（BPBT）为例

柏林经济技术促进机构柏林伙伴组织是德国创业服务平台的成功典范,通过提供选址、创新、金融、人才以及国际化发展等专业化服务,加速企业创立、创新和壮大的过程,促进了柏林经济社会的发展。通过文献梳理,提炼其成功经验,提出要将专业化服务本身视作一种创新和创业,专业化服务应体现强大的战略判断能力、专注度和预见性,持续链接更广阔和更高价值的资源,形成更具普遍性的创业文化等若干观点。     

中国、日本、美国生产性服务业出口增长的效应分解及其对比分析——基于 CMS模型的分析

中国、美国、日本三国作为全球主要的经济实体和贸易大国,其生产性服务贸易出口近年来呈现出不同的绩效特点。本文通过借鉴固定市场份额(CMS)模型,把中、日、美三国生产性服务业出口绩效分解成国际需求引致效应、结构性效应和产业竞争力效应,并探讨各种效应对生产性服务贸易出口增长的真实影响。最后,提出改善中国生产性服务业出口绩效的政策建议。     

Rural-urban gradient analysis of ecosystem services supply and demand dynamics

Urban regions are important places of ecosystem service demands and, at the same time, are the primary source of global environmental impacts. Although there is broad agreement on the importance of incorporating the concept of ecosystem services into policy strategies and decision-making, the lack of a standardized approach to quantifying ecosystem services at the landscape scale has hindered progress in this direction. Moreover, tradeoffs between ecosystem services and the supply/demand ratio of ecosystem services in urban landscapes have rarely been investigated. In our paper, we present a method to quantify and map the supply and demand of three essential provisioning services - energy, food, and water - along the rural-urban gradient of the eastern German region Leipzig-Halle. This urban region has experienced significant socio-economic dynamics and land use changes since the German reunification in 1990. The results show that both the demand and the supply of ecosystem services changed considerably during the time span under consideration (1990-2007). We identified an increasing supply/demand ratio of food and water but a decreasing supply/demand ratio of energy. In addition, the pattern of ecosystem demands shows a levelling of rural-urban gradients, reflecting profound modifications of traditional rural-urban relationships. The changes of ecosystem service supply gradients are determined more by land use intensity, such as the intensification of agricultural production, than by land cover changes such as urban sprawl. The comparison of supply/demand ratios and rural-urban patterns of ecosystem services can help decision-makers in landscape management in striving for a sustainable balance between resource supply and demand.     

岷江上游森林生态系统服务条件价值评估

针对岷江上游森林生态系统服务现状,采用条件价值评估法(CVM),以支付卡形式设计了374份调查问卷,调查了岷江流域居民对上游森林生态系统服务的支付意愿(WTP)。结果表明:岷江流域60.80%的居民家庭对岷江上游森林生态系统服务存在支付意愿,平均支付意愿为每户每年44.00元。按照岷江流域现有家庭数量计算,岷江上游森林生态系统服务价值每年是5 507.48×104元。利用二元Logistic模型,对支付意愿与个人社会经济变量进行了较为详尽的分析,并对影响居民支付意愿的主要因素作了环境经济学解释。