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Common mistakes in designing and implementing service guarantees
No full textInternational audiencePurpose The purpose of this paper is to explore companies' experiences in designing and implementing service guarantees. Design/methodology/approach The methodology relied on 22 in‐depth personal interviews across a sample of ten Australian service firms. Findings The effectiveness of a service guarantee depends on how well a firm designs and implements it. It was found that service guarantees were generally not well conceived, implemented, or monitored after launch. Through a comparison of theory and practice, this study identifies a number of common mistakes, including inadequate or non‐existent pre‐launch market research; ambiguous definition of the role of the guarantee; inadequate market testing of alternative guarantee promises; a lack of consultation with key functional managers during development; a lack of CEO commitment; ambiguous assignment of responsibility for ongoing management of the guarantee; and an absence of performance evaluation. Research limitations/implications The study employs qualitative research techniques and considers only Australian firms. Practical implications While the common mistakes offer cautions for managers when planning a service guarantee, some outstanding examples of successfully implemented service guarantees also emerged. A notable example is the customer charter, a more comprehensive conditional guarantee that avoids many of the pitfalls associated with traditional service guarantees. Originality/value Previous studies do not address the experiences of a broad sample of companies that have designed and implemented a service guarantee. The findings in this paper extend the understanding of how service guarantees could become more effective and identify directions for future research
The design of reliable unpaced production lines with signle and double imbalance sources
No full textThis paper studies the behaviour and performance of reliable, unpaced serial production lines with either one source of imbalance (namely, unbalanced service time means (MTs), unequal coefficients of variation (CVs), uneven buffer capacities (BC)), or with two simultaneous sourced of imbalance (i.e. MT&CV, MT&BC and CV&BC). The lines were simulated with various values of line length, buffer storage size, degree of imbalance, coefficient of variation, along with a number of imbalance configurations. The primary measures of efficiency were midle time (IT) and average buffer level (ABL). Output data from the discrete event simulation of such lines under their steady-state mode of operation were analyzed using a set of statistical methods. The best, second best or good patterns in terms of IT and ABL were identified and compared to balanced line counterparts. Various relationships between the independent and response variables and rankings of the design factors with respect to their impacts on IT and ABL were also obtained
Potentials of knowledge management 2.0 and implications for corporate governance
No full textInternational audienceThis paper explores the corporate adoption of Web 2.0 technologies to enhance knowledge flows within and across firms. It first investigates the nature of the Web 2.0 phenomenon. As social mechanisms determine the use of technologies in corporate environments, a literature review is carried out to understand how governance models influence the use of Web 2.0 tools for knowledge sharing. The paper concludes that employees have to be empowered along the implementation of Web 2.0-based information systems. The potential of Web 2.0 technologies to foster collaboration depends on the creation of liberal work cultures and corporate governance structures which firms establish. Managers have to take these governance-related conditions into account when they aim to foster the use of collaborative Web 2.0 technologies for knowledge sharing in corporate networks
The allocation of buffer capacities in unreliable unpaced production lines using simulation
No full textThe performance of unpaced unreliable production lines that are unbalanced in terms of their buffer storage sizes is investigated in this article. Lines are simulated at different levels of line length, total buffer capacity and mean buffer capacity, and for each of these the configuration of buffer allocation is varied. Output data on throughput, idle time and average buffer level are analysed using a range of statistical tools, and relationships between the independent and dependent variables were determined. The best patterns in terms of generating higher throughput rates (or lower idle times) and lower average buffer levels as compared to a balanced line are those where total available buffer capacity is allocated as evenly as possible between workstations and to concentrate more buffer capacity towards the end of the line, respectively
Can Islamic Finance Constitute A Solution to Crisis?
No full textInternational audienceThe aim of this paper is to show that the Islamic finance is more stable than the conventional finance constituting, thus, a means to reduce the impact of financial crises. Using a VAR model for the financial indexes of France, United States, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, we show that the effect of a shock on the American market during the period of crisis is negatively transmitted on all other markets, but with a small extent on the market using the method of Islamic financing
Uncovering the relationships between aspirations and luxury brand preference
No full textInternational audiencePurpose This paper seeks to test the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations on luxury brand preference. The objective is to help luxury marketers better understand and anticipate the psychological needs of their customers. Design/methodology/approach Based on a thorough review of the literature, a series of hypotheses are derived and tested using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The final sample consists of a total of 615 participants. Findings The main findings show that aspirations can affect luxury brand preference depending on the type of aspirations: positive for extrinsic aspirations and negative for intrinsic ones. The findings also suggest that intrinsic aspirations play a more substantial role in luxury consumer behavior than had been previously thought. Practical implications The findings suggest that luxury marketers should take into consideration the duality of intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations when designing marketing campaigns. Particularly, focusing advertising campaigns on extrinsic values seems restrictive and discards consumers who are intrinsically motivated. Originality/value Aspirations are important in social psychology research because they have a strong influence on individuals' behavior. However, little research has been done in marketing to assess the potential effects of aspirations on consumer behavior, especially within the context of luxury goods
Gender and family background as predictors of entrepreneurial drive in France
No full textcahier de recherche n°2009-11 E4This study analyses the role played by gender and personal environment in the definition ans establishment of professional values and vision of entrepreneurship amongst Higher Education students in Franc
The effects of joint operations time means and variability unbalance on production line performance
No full textInternational audienceIn this paper unpaced, unbalanced lines with respect to both their mean operation times (MTs) and Coefficients of Variation (CVs) were simulated with different lengths, buffer capacities, degrees of imbalance, and patterns of imbalance. Idle Time (IT), throughput and Average Buffer Level (ABL) data were generated and analysed. The best unbalanced configurations in terms of IT/throughput and ABL were respectively found to be an MT inverted bowl combined with a bowl shaped CV pattern, and an MT decreasing order combined with a bowl CV arrangement. The best patterns provided generally superior performance to that of a balanced line counterpart
Testing U.S. Advertising Belief and Attitude Measures in France
No full textInternational audienceThis article aims at testing the cross-national equivalence of advertising belief and attitude measures from the Unites States and France and an initial cross-national comparison of beliefs and attitudes toward advertising in general between samples from the United States and France. A field study among 100 U.S. and 98 French respondents was conducted using established measures of advertising belief and attitude measures. The research at hand found that U.S. respondents exhibited significantly more favorable beliefs toward the economic and social effects of advertising as well as significantly more favorable attitudes toward the institution of advertising and the instrument of advertising in general. The findings suggest that existing advertising belief and attitude measures are equally applicable and yield similar structures in the United States and France. However, the results of structural equation modeling suggest that cross-cultural advertising belief and attitudes might be better measured using either a two-factor or three-factor measure rather than the one-factor approach proposed in the literature
Improving the efficiency of unpaced production lines by unbalancing service time means
No full textInternational audienceThis paper investigates the benefits of deliberately unbalancing operation time means for non-automated production lines. The lines were simulated under the steady state condition, with various line lengths, buffer storage sizes, degrees of imbalance and patterns of imbalance. Output data were analysed using a set of statistical methods resulting in various conclusions being made. It was found that the best configurations are a bowl arrangement and a monotone decreasing order, with the first resulting in lower idle times and the second leading to lower average buffer levels than those of a balanced line