Determinants of holistic passenger experience in public transportation: Scale development and validation

Transportation literature is shifting its focus from passengers’ perception of transit quality to understanding passenger experience from a holistic perspective. Few studies have investigated passenger experience factors from a holistic perspective; however, they are explored independently. A holistic approach can help the transport service providers to understand the complete journey of the passenger. This study proposes the concept of holistic passenger experience (HPX) and identifies the determinants of HPX in the context of public transportation with specific reference to Indian Railways. The study develops a comprehensive scale that measures the influence of these determinants on HPX to address this gap. Following a systematic scale development process, this study identified and validated (content, construct, convergent, and discriminant validity) a seven factor structure scale that determines HPX. Of these seven factors, four factors (vehicle maintenance, comfort & security, off board service, and travel information) constitute the core services offered by the transport service provider. Interestingly these four factors can be effectively managed by the service provider. The other three factors (social environment, supporting services, and accessibility) cannot be entirely managed by the transport service provider effectively, as these factors fall beyond the scope of the service provider.Nomological validity results are explained by constructing a matrix (holistic passenger experience Matrix) which reveals that most of the constructs that are can be managed by the transport service provider can be mapped to the cognitive component of customer experience, whereas most of the factors which go beyond the scope of the transport service provider could be mapped to the emotional component of customer experience. The findings can assist the transport sector executives to identify the key determinants to deliver superior passenger experiences throughout the journey.     

学者型CEO更加自律吗?——学术经历对高管在职消费的影响

本文选取2010—2016年中国沪深A股上市公司样本,实证检验CEO学术经历对高管在职消费行为的影响。研究发现,学术经历有助于CEO强化道德自觉、增强道德自律,形成内在的自我约束与监督机制,进而抑制了其所在企业的高管在职消费活动。当CEO拥有高层次学术经历或来自内部晋升时,CEO学术经历对高管在职消费的抑制效应更为显著。该结论在采用双重差分模型、Heckman两阶段模型控制潜在的内生性问题及其他稳健性检验之后仍然成立。进一步研究表明,在自由现金流较多、董事会规模较大或独立性较低、外部审计监督较弱以及产品市场竞争程度较低等公司内外部治理环境较差的情景下,学者型CEO的自律品质所能发挥的治理作用更大,对高管在职消费的抑制效应也更为明显。此外,在党的十八大之后,随着“八项规定”等多项高压反腐政策的出台,政策效应在国有企业高管在职消费的治理中发挥着主导性作用,CEO学术经历对国有企业高管在职消费的抑制效应有所下降。本文为高管学术经历的治理效应假说提供了证据支持,对于上市公司规范和治理高管在职消费行为、选聘合适的高管人才具有重要的借鉴意义。     

水利工程造价控制及管理措施的几点体会

水利工程造价管理是全寿命、全过程、全要素、全方位的造价管理,在投资决策、设计、建设、竣工验收各个阶段,都会受到诸多因素的影响和制约,因此水利工程造价控制是一个动态管理,本文分析水利工程造价控制及管理中存在的问题,论述自己对水利工程造价控制及管理的几点体会。     

Exploring the use of content analysis methodology in consumer research

Content analysis is a viable way to thematise consumer experiences. The purpose of this review study is to examine the use of content analysis in consumer research (1977–2017). The authors explore how content analysis has been used. The reviewed studies address consumer experiences. The results show that qualitative content analysis is not used as a method in its own right; it is more often applied as a supplement to quantitative testing. There is also a lack of rigorous reporting of methodologies in many studies. The systematic review provides four propositions, content analysis studies: 1) vary in execution and reporting; 2) have a tendency towards methodological vagueness; 3) do not apply content analysis as a sole method; 4) are versatile. The study can also serve as point of departure for novice researchers wishing to engage with content analysis research. We suggest that further research is needed to explore the use of qualitative methodologies in consumer research.     

Environmental Multi‐dimensionality and Staff Localization in Multinational Enterprises: The Case of Korean Firms

The person–environment fit theory posits that the term “environment” can be defined at different levels. This study delineates two environmental dimensions (strategic and organizational) and empirically examines the potential moderating effects of two strategic factors (intra‐ and inter‐regional diversification) on the relationship between two organizational factors (subsidiary ownership and host‐country experience) and MNE subsidiary staffing composition. The results indicate that strategic and organizational dimensions have impacts on subsidiary staffing composition. This study also finds that the interaction effects between strategic and organizational factors are significant only when there is congruence between demands from different environmental dimensions.     

Herding behaviour in P2P lending markets

We explore lender behaviour on Renrendai.com, a leading Chinese peer-to-peer (P2P) crowdlending platform. Using a sample of around five million investor-loan-hour observations, and applying a high-dimensional fixed effect estimator, we confirm evidence of herding behaviour: the investors in our sample prefer assets that had attracted strong interest in previous periods. The herding behaviour relates to both the experience level of the investor and the length of time of an investment session on the platform. We also provide evidence of significant herding behaviour in the first hour of experienced investors’ sessions. Our results are robust to the use of alternative specifications.     

Unraveling the dynamic and contingency mechanism between service experience and customer engagement with luxury hotel brands

This study unravels the dynamic and contingency mechanism between service experience and customer engagement with luxury hotel brands by investigating a multi-step model linking these two variables, in which emotional attachment and relational quality constructs (i.e., brand satisfaction, brand trust, and brand commitment) act as a bridge, while customer involvement acts as a moderator. Based on a self-administered survey dataset of 249 international tourists who are customers of luxury hotel brands, partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) is used to test the hypotheses. The results indicate that all proposed hypotheses are supported. As such, this study discovers and clarifies the nature and dynamic mechanism underpinning the co-creation and reciprocation process of customer engagement with luxury hotels. In particular, the positive service experience is found to contribute to customer engagement via emotional attachment and relational marketing. Furthermore, the moderating role of customer involvement in the luxury hotel setting is confirmed.     

Perception value of product-service systems: Neural effects of service experience and customer knowledge

Digital trends in product-service system (PSS) development focus on developing win-win solutions for both companies and customers, particularly when considering human behavior issues. It is useful for the PSS provider to know the PSS value creation mechanism when customers are buying and utilizing a PSS, particularly in the service-dominant logic (SDL) and cognitive neuroscience perspective. This study solved the PSS implementation that satisfied the demands of both customers and manufacturers and the value cocreation mechanism during product and service configuration with the impacts of consumer learning and the service experience. The proposed neuroscience methodology is based on an ERP (event-related potential) experiment using PSS stimuli, representing the perception value creation process during customer decision making and the PSS configuration process. The effectiveness of the service experience is more important than customer knowledge during PSS value perception due to positive emotions with pleasant memories for the service experience and the conflicting cognition process of customer learning. The combination of service science and neurology may measure and observe human behavior and psychology through the brain science method and effectively solve the human factors in service science. The findings suggest a more objective and personalized understanding of PSS value perception, particularly the practical requirements of a resulted-oriented PSS and an application-oriented PSS.     

Five scale challenges in Ecuadorian forest and landscape restoration governance

The forest and landscape restoration (FLR) targets set as part of the Bonn Challenge draw attention to the governance arrangements required to translate national FLR targets into local action. To achieve the targets, actors at multiple levels of the governance scale aim to influence relevant processes on the ecological scale. In this article, we focus on the scale challenges relating to the implementation of Ecuador’s restoration targets, by analysing the implementation of the 2014–2017 National Forest Restoration Plan in the montane Chocó Andino and Bosque Seco landscapes. From 54 semi-structured interviews, a document review, and geographical data analysis, we identified two temporal (i, ii) and three spatial scale challenges (iii, iv, v): i) Political cycles mismatch with FLR timelines; ii) Planning horizons mismatch with FLR timelines; iii) National restoration objectives mismatch with decentralised land use planning realities; iv) The governance level of existing FLR efforts mismatches with the level receiving restoration funds; and v) Tensions exist between the spatial dimensions of biodiversity and water-related restoration efforts. The findings highlight that more attention must be given to scale-sensitive governance to make the process in which national FLR targets are translated into local action more effective.     

Improving interchanges in China: the experiential phenomenon

This paper examines the development of multimodal passenger rail hubs as part of the high-speed rail (HSR) network in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The instrumental, attitudinal and affective experience of the journey through the interchange is assessed from the user perspective. Surveys are used from three HSR stations: Beijing South, Chengdu East and Suzhou North (N = 150), representing three types of HSR stations, i.e. national capital, regional capital and sub-regional city. ‘Expected’ and ‘realised’ facilities are compared – with the difference representing the ‘disgruntlement’ factor (after Stradling et al., 2007).The unprecedented urbanisation process currently being witnessed in the PRC, together with the rapid development of the HSR network and associated multimodal interchanges, offers much opportunity to develop a leading-edge public transport system and urban development predicated on the use of public transport. Although the importance of intermodal interchange hubs is being increasingly recognised, the journey experience through the interchange often remains poor, with problems including Wi-Fi availability, waiting and seating, the availability of door-to-door ticketing, crowdedness, access to the hub, time of travel through and waiting in the hub. MANOVA analysis and factorial (three way) MANOVA analysis are used to explore the differences between intermodal hubs, with many instrumental and particularly attitudinal and affective factors being significantly influenced by location.