Customer satisfaction measurement: comparing four methods of attribute categorisations

The issue of how to weight and categorise service attributes has attracted great attention from academics as well as practitioners. The application of an inappropriate method could lead to misleading interpretations and useless or costly actions. We first review several streams of literature concerning the theoretical background of attribute categorisations in relation to customer satisfaction. We then identify four methods that have been developed to categorise attributes into four classes. In the next step we apply these methods in an empirical study. Criteria for distinguishing the considered approaches conceptually and methodologically are proposed, and implications for future research are discussed.     

Learning about monetary policy rules when the cost-channel matters

We study how monetary policy may affect determinacy and expectational stability (E-stability) of rational expectations equilibrium when the cost channel of monetary policy matters. Focusing on instrumental Taylor-type rules and optimal target rules, we show that standard policies can induce indeterminacy and expectational instability when the cost channel is present. A naïve application of the traditional Taylor principle could be misleading, and expectations-based reaction function under discretion does not always induce determinate and E-stable equilibrium. This result contrasts with the findings of Bullard and Mitra [2002. Learning about monetary policy rules. Journal of Monetary Economics 49, 1105–1129] and Evans and Honkapohja [2003. Expectations and stability problem for optimal monetary policies. Review of Economic Studies 70, 807–824] for the standard new Keynesian model. The ability of the central bank to commit to an optimal policy is an antidote to these problems.     

An Empirical Study of Servqual's Dimensionality

This paper describes a scale, called SERVQUAL, which measures Service Quality. First, the scale's conceptual framework and the steps of its development are described. Second, criticisms arising from several replication studies of SERVQUAL are reviewed. The last part focuses on the dimensionality of the scale. Do the 22 items of the SERVQUAL scale clearly evoke, in the clients’ mind, the five Service Quality dimensions defined by Parasuraman et al. [1988]? An empirical study shows that one dimension, ‘Tangibles’, is clearly perceived followed by ‘Empathy’. The three other dimensions, ‘Reliability’, ‘Insurance’ and ‘Responsiveness ', are confused in the client's mind.     

Dual equilibrium and growth cycle in Argentina

Argentina’s GDP growth cycle, tracing the high exchange rate volatility in 1970–2008, is discussed. Growth depends on foreign exchange availability. The country’s comparative advantage is in agriculture, but manufactured exports are grow faster. Two remarkably different PPP exchange rates coexist – one appropriate for agriculture and one for manufacturing – destabilising the market exchange rate. Thus, two unstable growth equilibria coexist generating GDP fluctuations. Currency devaluation sets the cycle’s ceiling and the end of devaluation sets the cycle’s floor. Chronic government deficits widen the cycle, harming institutions and decelerating growth. A land tax to finance rural investment would facilitate a high and stable exchange rate (AR$/US$) and convergence to the high growth equilibrium.