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Article
Publication date: 15 January 2020

Heli Hallikainen, Saku Hirvonen and Tommi Laukkanen

The purpose of this paper is to examine how the perceived trustworthiness of a B2B service provider relates to a business customer’s intention to use digital services from that…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how the perceived trustworthiness of a B2B service provider relates to a business customer’s intention to use digital services from that provider. The study investigates whether perceived trustworthiness, composed of ability, integrity and benevolence, explains behavioral intentions equally among all business customer segments, and how characteristics such as job level, decision-making role, technology readiness age and gender moderate these effects.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on a model of trust transfer mechanism, the study explores how perceived trustworthiness established in face-to-face interaction influences the use of digital services in making B2B purchases. Hypotheses are tested using a sample of 1,866 responses collected from customers of four B2B firms.

Findings

Ability is the most influential on the customer’s intention to transact through digital channels, while the effects of integrity and benevolence show more variation. The effect of perceived trustworthiness on the intention to use digital services is remarkably stronger among senior and middle management, high-level decision makers, the younger age segment, men and individuals high in technology readiness, compared to other segments studied.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the scant research on B2B customer behavior in the digital environment and incorporates individual characteristics specific to the industrial domain.

Details

Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol. 120 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-5577

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 October 2007

Nina Specht, Sina Fichtel and Anton Meyer

Do customers recognize the effort and abilities of employees in service encounters? If so, to what extent do their perceptions influence customer satisfaction? The paper seeks to…

7071

Abstract

Purpose

Do customers recognize the effort and abilities of employees in service encounters? If so, to what extent do their perceptions influence customer satisfaction? The paper seeks to answer these questions.

Design/methodology/approach

Two empirical studies, including a critical incident study and a video‐based experiment. Theoretically, this paper builds on motivation theory, naïve psychology, and attribution theory.

Findings

Customers spontaneously and explicitly judge service encounters on the basis of service employees' effort and abilities, perceived through certain behavioral cues. The specific, direct impact of perceived effort and abilities on customer satisfaction varies for different service types.

Research limitations/implications

Taking different dependent variables into account (e.g. customer emotions, customer loyalty and brand perceptions) might offer a valuable contribution to the fields of service or brand research.

Practical implications

Companies must examine customers' perceptions of their employees' encounter behavior in depth to evaluate and effectively and efficiently manage perceived effort and abilities as the main determinants of customer satisfaction. They should acknowledge behavioral training represents a significant satisfaction management approach.

Originality/value

The paper offers interdisciplinary theoretical foundation, brings in innovative research methods and combines content and methodology to a new scientific framework for the field of service research as well as practical application for companies.

Details

International Journal of Service Industry Management, vol. 18 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0956-4233

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 July 2023

Veronica Mukyala and Rehema Namono

Resilience has been emphasised by researchers as a probable framework for overcoming challenging circumstances and fostering organisational innovation. Universities have had to…

Abstract

Purpose

Resilience has been emphasised by researchers as a probable framework for overcoming challenging circumstances and fostering organisational innovation. Universities have had to shift to a blended learning system which includes online learning. Prior scholars have studied resilience as a reactive aspect which focuses on organisation's ability to bounce back from a downfall. This study aims to establish the antecedent role of resilience capacity which is a proactive ability to preparedly respond to a downfall.

Design/methodology/approach

The research adopts an explanatory study design to establish the hypothesised antecedent role of organisational resilience capacity in enhancing organisational innovation. Drawing a sample from Ugandan Universities, hierarchical regression was used to test the role of organisational resilience capacity on organisational innovation. The study also tested the influence of organisational characteristics of ownership, age and size on innovation.

Findings

The study findings show that the three dimensions of organisational resilience capacity (cognitive capacity, behavioural preparedness and contextual capacity) significantly enhance organisational innovation. The findings further reveal that ownership has a significant effect on innovation. The results show that organisational size and age do not influence innovation.

Practical implications

The study's conclusions help contemporary managers decide how to set up numerous strategic initiatives to activate organisational resilience towards innovation. To deal with disruption, organisations should use dependable innovation systems and best practices in a robust and adaptable way. Organisational managers ought to integrate the doctrines of resilience into various organisational activities such as training and development and simulation activities, so that organisational managers learn resilience skills to deal with environmental changes.

Originality/value

This research shows how the three dimensions of organisational resilience capacity (cognitive capacity, behavioural preparedness and contextual capacity) influence innovativeness since most studies have been directed to the aspect of resilience (which only focuses on ability to recover from a downfall) as opposed to resilience capacity that relates to the ability of an organisation to successfully absorb disruptive events that may endanger organisation survival, develop situation-specific remedies and eventually evolve in transformative activities. The study further intensively extends the body of knowledge by delving deeper into establishing the influence of the individual dimensions of resilience capacity on innovation.

Details

International Journal of Innovation Science, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-2223

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 April 2024

Budi Setiawan, Umi Muawanah, Addin Maulana, Fauziah Khoiriyani, Marhanani Tri Astuti and Imam Nur Hakim

This study aims to analyze the capacity of ecotourists to exhibit behavior that aligns with the ecotourist scale using the Rasch model measurement.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to analyze the capacity of ecotourists to exhibit behavior that aligns with the ecotourist scale using the Rasch model measurement.

Design/methodology/approach

The data was gathered using an online survey incorporating the five tenets of ecotourism using a seven-point rating scale on domestic tourists in Indonesia. Descriptive statistics, cross-tabulation and Rasch model measurement were used to analyze the data.

Findings

The ecotourist identification scale measurement items were reliable and satisfactory. The most challenging behavior for ecotourists was using the services of a tour guide who was concerned about the environment. Meanwhile, respecting cultural differences around the tourist destination was the most accessible behavior. Most respondents demonstrated a fit response pattern and satisfactorily met the validity and reliability criteria.

Research limitations/implications

This study did not compare ecotourists’ ability to behave by the type of conservation visited as its limitation. However, it provides a significant methodological contribution to developing a measurement of ecotourist behavior implemented in well-established behavioral theories.

Practical implications

Integrating ecotourism into education, incentivizing eco-friendly tourism practices, promoting awareness, supporting local businesses, respecting local values and ensuring safe travels.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first of its kind to be conducted in Indonesia. It uses a unique and innovative method to reveal the unobserved variables in ecotourists’ behavior. The findings confirm that tourists’ behaviors align with the five tenets of ecotourism.

Details

The Bottom Line, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0888-045X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 June 2014

Vijaykumar Krishnan, Karen A. Machleit, James J. Kellaris, Ursula Y. Sullivan and Timothy W. Aurand

The purpose of the paper is to develop and test a psychometrically valid scale for musical intelligence as an individuating variable. This scale can elicit individual differences…

2507

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to develop and test a psychometrically valid scale for musical intelligence as an individuating variable. This scale can elicit individual differences on reactions to sonic branding stimuli such as audio logos, radio jingles and commercial music.

Design/methodology/approach

A two-step confirmatory factor analysis followed by structural equation modeling was used to develop and test the scale. Data were collected across three studies consisting of 470 participants. The scale was developed and nomologically validated.

Findings

Findings suggest that musical intelligence discriminates reactions to music as evidenced by the three component conceptualization of musical intelligence.

Originality/value

This study offers an original, three-component conceptualization of musical intelligence, proposes a measurement scale and then presents evidence of construct validity. Finally, the paper discusses potential applications of the scale in personality research.

Details

Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol. 31 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0736-3761

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 December 2021

Eric Van Steenburg and Nancy Spears

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how individuals respond to messages asking for donations in broadcast advertising. It does so by considering both preexisting attitudes…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how individuals respond to messages asking for donations in broadcast advertising. It does so by considering both preexisting attitudes and beliefs related to donating, as well as message processing. The goal is to uncover messages that may help nonprofit organisations increase donations.

Design/methodology/approach

The research combines the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to measure preexisting beliefs and the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) to measure involvement in an investigation of donation responses to broadcast-quality advertisements developed by a professional ad agency featuring the following two messages: one that leverages social norms and another that legitimises minimal giving. Two studies collected data from a total of 544 respondents in two between-subjects 2 × 2 × 2 experiments.

Findings

Injunctive norm messages affect the intended donation behaviour of individuals who are pre-disposed to donating, but only if they are highly involved with the ad. Social legitimisation messages affect donations from individuals who look to referents to direct behaviour, but unlike what was expected, only by those not highly involved with the ad. Similarly, individuals who do not think they can donate increased donations when they saw the legitimisation message and had low advertisement involvement.

Research limitations/implications

Results extend the ELM-TPB integrated framework by discovering when and how involvement drives intended donation behaviour. The research also sheds light on message processing by focussing on the preexisting characteristics of recipients.

Practical implications

The results provide nonprofit managers with strategies to increase donations with targeted messages. Those who pay attention to the ad and have a positive attitude toward giving are going to donate if they are told others support the cause. Therefore, the focus should be on those who are not involved with the ad but still believe giving is appropriate.

Originality/value

This research is the first to use the ELM-TPB framework to discover that ELM has varying utilities and values from TPB in different ad contexts.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 56 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 June 2017

Angelo Bonfanti, Vania Vigolo, Jackie Douglas and Claudio Baccarani

The purpose of this paper is to profile wayfinders into homogeneous sub-groups according to their wayfinding ability, and to investigate the differences between the clusters…

1249

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to profile wayfinders into homogeneous sub-groups according to their wayfinding ability, and to investigate the differences between the clusters identified and their evaluations of satisfaction.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses survey data collected in a hospital in the Northern part of Italy. The survey questionnaire assessed the participants’ self-estimation of wayfinding ability in terms of wayfinding competence, wayfinding strategy and wayfinding anxiety, as well as the wayfinder’s satisfaction.

Findings

The findings propose that three factors, namely, individual orientation skills, confidence in servicescape elements and anxiety control, contribute to defining wayfinding ability. Based on these factors, cluster analysis reveals three profiles of wayfinders, as follows: the Easy Goings, the Do-it-yourselves and the Insecures. Group differentiation comes from wayfinding ability and customer satisfaction levels.

Research limitations/implications

The results of this study advance the segmentation literature by analyzing different types of wayfinding ability that can lead to different satisfaction levels.

Practical implications

These findings will help service managers improve servicescape design and help them formulate effective targeting strategies.

Originality/value

While previous research outlined the importance of some factors such as gender differences, familiarity with the service environment and cognitive approaches, this study recommends the examination of the profile of visitors to the service setting to allow them to find their way more effectively.

Article
Publication date: 1 November 2011

Pradeep Waychal, R.P. Mohanty and Ajit Verma

The purpose of this paper is to construct an empirical model of innovation as a competence of individuals and validate it. The model takes into consideration the multidimensional…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to construct an empirical model of innovation as a competence of individuals and validate it. The model takes into consideration the multidimensional characteristics of individuals and the parameters of surrounding ecosystem and establishes their associations with the innovation as a competence.

Design/methodology/approach

The model is built based on an extensive review of literature relating to innovation. A diagnostic study is conducted in a large information technology (IT) company to validate the model. The experiment is conducted over a sample of 442 individuals and uses appropriate reliability measures and chi square analysis as a validation technique.

Findings

The study establishes association of various measures of innovation competency with individual characteristics and ecosystem parameters. Some of the salient findings are that individuals having a high degree of self‐belief, and an ecosystem where the habits of celebrating success and competitive market are found, do better on innovation as a competence.

Research limitations/implications

This study has significant implications and its findings can facilitate individuals and ecosystem managers to undertake progressive actions. Although the findings are limited to the IT industry, the implications can spread over to formulating competence development strategy in any organizational setting. However, the scope exists to make the research broad based, including factors such as geography, culture, business area of operation, size of organization, etc.

Practical implications

Innovation as a competence of an individual is pivotal to an organization's competitive advantage. This study can facilitate competency management, such as competency planning, deployment, development, utilization and ecosystem up‐gradation.

Originality/value

The model is empirical in nature and has been tested in a large Indian IT firm and the managers have found this model pragmatic and practical.

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2024

Tao Pang, Wenwen Xiao, Yilin Liu, Tao Wang, Jie Liu and Mingke Gao

This paper aims to study the agent learning from expert demonstration data while incorporating reinforcement learning (RL), which enables the agent to break through the…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to study the agent learning from expert demonstration data while incorporating reinforcement learning (RL), which enables the agent to break through the limitations of expert demonstration data and reduces the dimensionality of the agent’s exploration space to speed up the training convergence rate.

Design/methodology/approach

Firstly, the decay weight function is set in the objective function of the agent’s training to combine both types of methods, and both RL and imitation learning (IL) are considered to guide the agent's behavior when updating the policy. Second, this study designs a coupling utilization method between the demonstration trajectory and the training experience, so that samples from both aspects can be combined during the agent’s learning process, and the utilization rate of the data and the agent’s learning speed can be improved.

Findings

The method is superior to other algorithms in terms of convergence speed and decision stability, avoiding training from scratch for reward values, and breaking through the restrictions brought by demonstration data.

Originality/value

The agent can adapt to dynamic scenes through exploration and trial-and-error mechanisms based on the experience of demonstrating trajectories. The demonstration data set used in IL and the experience samples obtained in the process of RL are coupled and used to improve the data utilization efficiency and the generalization ability of the agent.

Details

International Journal of Web Information Systems, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1744-0084

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 August 2014

Fergus Gracey, Suzanna Watson, Meghan McHugh, Andrew Swan, Ayla Humphrey and Anna Adlam

Clinically significant childhood acquired brain injury (ABI) is associated with increased risk of emotional and behavioural dysfunction and peer relationship problems. The purpose…

Abstract

Purpose

Clinically significant childhood acquired brain injury (ABI) is associated with increased risk of emotional and behavioural dysfunction and peer relationship problems. The purpose of this paper is to determine how emotional and peer related problems for children with ABI compare with those of children referred to mental health services, and to identify clinical predictors of peer relationship problems in a heterogeneous sample typical of a specialist community rehabilitation setting.

Design/methodology/approach

Participants were 51 children with clinically significant ABI (32 traumatic brain injury; 29 male) referred for outpatient neuropsychological rehabilitation. Emotional, behavioural and social outcomes were measured using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), and executive functioning was measured with the Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Functions. Correlational analyses were used to explore variables associated with peer relationships. A subgroup (n=27) of children with ABI were compared to an age and sex matched mental health group to determine differences on SDQ subscales.

Findings

The SDQ profiles of children with clinically significant ABI did not significantly differ from matched children referred to mental health services. Time since injury, peer relationship problems, metacognitive, and behavioural problems correlated with age at injury. These variables and SDQ emotional problems correlated with peer relationship problems. Linear multiple regression analysis indicated that only metacognitive skills remained a significant predictor of peer relationship problems, and metacognitive skills were found to significantly mediate between age at injury and peer relationship problems.

Research limitations/implications

The study confirms the significant effect of childhood ABI on relationships with peers and mental health, those injured at a younger age faring worst. Within the methodological constraints of this study, the results tentatively suggest that age of injury influences later peer relationships via the mediating role of poor metacognitive skills within a heterogeneous clinical sample.

Originality/value

This is the first study to examine the roles of emotional, behavioural and executive variables on the effect of age at injury on peer relationship problems in a sample with a wide range of ages and ages of injury.

Details

Social Care and Neurodisability, vol. 5 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-0919

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 79000