Search results

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of national culture in terms of power distance and uncertainty avoidance on service provision in terms of information flow and communication policy within the Takaful industry (Islamic insurance) in Kuwait and Egypt. Second, to validate Hofstede's claim regarding the homogeneity of Arab culture which he believes is dominated by the Islamic religion.

The study was undertaken among 462 employees from three Takaful organizations in Kuwait and Egypt. The sample was randomly selected from all levels within Takful companies operating in both countries. The data were analyzed using two different statistical packages. The first tool was SPSS version 17 with which the first hypothesis of the differences between Kuwait and Egypt was tested. Second, the analysis of moments structure was utilized to find the effect of national culture based on two cultural dimensions of power distance and uncertainty avoidance on two service mechanisms of information flow and communication policy within the Takaful industry.

Results demonstrate that: more differences than similarities exist between Kuwait and Egypt in terms of power distance and uncertainty avoidance, which implies that the differences in national culture between the two countries are in contrary to Hofstede's claim of homogeneity of Arab culture, and national culture in terms of power distance and uncertainty avoidance affects service provision in terms of information flow and communication policy, respectively.

The paper contributes to the body of knowledge in service marketing literature at the theoretical and practitioner level. First, it provides empirical investigation to an existing theory that links national culture to service provision through service quality gaps. Second, it provides evidence that disputes Hofestede's claim of homogeneity in Arab culture, as it evidently proves the cultural differences between Kuwait and Egypt. On other hand, practitioners of Takaful may comprehend how power distance and uncertainty avoidance might affect information flow and communication policy for which managers can eliminate their information gap, which in turn will strengthen the Takaful operator service quality in information gathering, sharing and disseminating. Takaful Policy makers and institutions might benefit from this research by understanding the effect of national culture on service provision and taking this as an important factor when designing regulations.

Money Laundering Reporting Officers (MLROs) carry out day-to-day anti-money laundering (AML) tasks while directors ultimately remain responsible for AML compliance. Therefore, directors’ expectations of what their MLROs do should ideally coincide with what their actual tasks to minimise liability risk. This paper aims to test for gaps between MLROs and their directors in terms of knowledge, expectations and performance of AML tasks. Likewise, it is researched whether MLROs and directors communicate well with regard to MLROs’ tasks.

This paper first develops a model for analysing the dyadic relationship between MLROs and their directors, based on the audit expectation-performance gap. Second, a paired electronic survey of MLROs and directors of German companies was conducted in autumn 2020, testing for participants’ knowledge, expectations and performance of possible AML tasks (n = 136 pairs).

While there is no knowledge or performance gap among MLROs and directors, expectations among them are partially unreasonable and their communication needs to be improved. Additionally, this study suggests that MLROs of German non-financial businesses are less knowledgeable, perform AML duties more poorly, and communicate less effectively with their directors.

Training of MLROs and communication with their directors need to be improved. Especially in the non-financial sector, action is urgently required.

This paper reports the results of the first paired survey of MLROs and their directors, offering unique insights into their relationship and the status of private AML efforts.

The aim of this chapter is to investigate factors affecting four of the gaps encompassed in the GAP model, which then results in Gap 5, the so-called customer gap, related to the variance between customer expectations and the perception of service quality (SQ). Four predictors were selected based on the literature review – marketing research orientation (MRO), service specification design (SSD), integrated technology (ITC) and integrated communication (ICO) – to examine their relationship with the customer gap. A valid and reliable questionnaire, developed for the purpose of the study, was used to collect data from a sample consisting of 600 employees from six hotels located in Amman, Jordan. The findings show that MRO, SSD, ITC and ICO significantly predict the four gaps in SQ on the provider side, which in turn significantly predict the customer gap. For companies, more attention should be paid to the four gaps that induce the customer gap.

Organizations put their reputations at risk when they misunderstand what their stakeholders expect from them. People expect specific behavior from an organization regarding societal issues or questions, and when an organization ignores or denigrates issues and in the worst case contributes to making conditions worse, stakeholders will react. The purpose of this paper is to propose the PZB model of service quality as a tool that organizations can use to align expectations and perceptions with organizational behavior and communication.

The paper provides two cases of the use of CSR communication as a marketing mechanism to position an entity as environmentally friendly. In both instances, the messages were declared illegal and had to be removed. The PZB model of service and the co‐orientation model are used to illustrate the principles discussed.

The cases illustrate the need for organizations to not only be more aware of the expectations of their stakeholders but also to implement organizational practices that ensure they are abreast of expectations and operate accordingly.

The value of the paper is that it provides organizations with a proven tool that can be used not only for customers but for other stakeholders as well. Its real strength, however, is that it provides guidelines for internally‐ as well as externally oriented behavior and communication.

The paper extends the PZB model to a more stakeholder approach and demonstrates its usefulness when it comes to a deeper understanding of legitimacy by organizations.

European industry, academia and potential end users for future solutions are widely involved in applying for European Union (EU) funding of research and innovation and implementation of the projects. Funding instrument requirements emphasise the influence of skills and know-how of these project consortia professionals. This chapter proposes a co-creative model for communication and dissemination, or project PR, based on the experiences of both planning and coordinating dissemination activities of three EU funded projects. Multidisciplinary international project Public Relations (PR) offers strategic opportunities for PR professionals.

The model employs the co-creation methods based on the pedagogical model called Learning by Developing (Laurea, 2011). In addition to the pedagogical model, the proposed conceptualisation of co-creation for public relations and dissemination utilises a media evaluation framework, which is adapted from Vos and Schoemaker’s model (2004), combining elements of both balanced scorecard and quality management.

The findings demonstrate that commitment and active participation of end-user groups in the early stage of the project are needed for successful dissemination, which should be supported by each partner’s PR actions and networks. The dissemination process should start when the project begins, be ongoing, even extending to beyond the project. Dissemination is an expanding process, and it requires facilitation that supports PR and the engagement of key stakeholders. The European Commission can gain from modernised PR and dissemination activities, and from as many end users as possible adopting new innovations, which generate more business possibilities for the industry, and further research projects for the academia.

Effective internal communication is crucial for successful organisations as it affects the ability of strategic managers to engage employees and achieve objectives. This paper aims to help organisations improve internal communication by proposing theory with the potential to improve practice.

This paper identifies gaps in the academic literature and addresses calls for discussion and definition of internal communication, for theory on its mandates, scope and focus and to counteract the tendency to treat employees as a uni‐dimensional “single public”. To address these gaps, internal communication is defined and positioned within the corporate communication school of thought.

The paper proposes an Internal Communication Matrix which could be used to supplement other forms of internal situational analysis and as an analytical tool which may be applied to the strategic analysis, planning and evaluation of internal communication.

Strategic communication practitioners are offered a fresh perspective from which to consider internal communication. The Internal Communication Matrix proposed here could be used to supplement other forms of internal situational analysis and as an analytical tool which may be applied to the strategic analysis, planning and evaluation of internal communication. The internal corporate communication concept offers a lens through which communicators can consider communication strategy and tactics.

This paper's theoretical contribution is significant as it addresses gaps in the literature on internal communication. It does this by conceptualising a multidimensional stakeholder approach summarised in the Internal Communication Matrix. This approach is significant since it broadens previous approaches. The paper introduces the concept of internal corporate communication and argues that it should be a key focus for corporate communication theory and practice as it concerns all employees.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a comprehensive theory as to why academic research in accounting is said not to help practice.

The authors (1) present a comprehensive literature review in the academic/practitioner gap arena, and (2) develop a theoretical background for it. Further, they identify (3) the different information needs of these groups using value group theory and (4) the inherent factors and personality traits that influence career choice. Next, they (5) evaluate the values of each subgroup. They then (6) theorize what types of accounting research would interest each. They argue that (7) individuals who enter the academy differ from those who enter practice, and (8) the socialization processes and the impact of the professional setting (practice or academe) on behaviors further the separation of academic research from practitioner needs.

This paper is theoretical. It suggests that bridging the gap will be difficult. The study is theoretical. The limitation is that it does not empirically test the relationships hypothesized. By providing a comprehensive model of factors underlying the gap, however, it can be a fruitful source of research ideas for years to come. The implications are that it will be difficult to bridge the gap between accounting practitioners and academics. Having a greater understanding of the causes of the gap, however, may be very useful in fostering thought as to how to overcome it.

Prior literature on the topic is largely atheoretical. This paper is the first to develop a broad theory of the gap.

Companies are constantly striving for superior customer service that meets consumers' expectations. Products that do not provide consumers with good service quality are unlikely to meet the expectations of consumers. The aim is to maximize customer satisfaction and achieve financial success by closing gaps to provide high-quality service to consumers. Customers use quality of service to choose a service provider. This does not only include the quality of products or service but also the quality of customer service. The five essential elements (5Es) – experience, emotions, exclusivity, execution and engagement – must be used by companies to ensure that their products and services meet defined standards or customer's expectations. The customer's opinion of a service is formed immediately, regardless of whether it is positive or negative. The result of a negative customer experience is negative word of mouth, which would cause loss in business from dissatisfied customers as well as from potential customers who will no longer use the services. Using the gap model for service quality, this study proposes the essential 5Es of service quality. As a result of the synthesis of this current research, the company's service delivery will be improved by identifying weaknesses. The use of these 5Es for the control of service quality and monitoring of quality defects leads to better understanding and reduction of cost.

Training in interpersonal communication helps in enhancing customer service experience. The Functional Fluency model of transactional analysis provides training inputs by which employees can monitor their response with the customers and thereby improve this customer experience. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

The integration of the Functional Fluency model with “Gap 3” of the SERVAQUAL model.

The “Gap 3” in the SERVAQUAL model is about service delivery affected due to poor interpersonal communication by employees. Here the Functional Fluency model helps in identifying the dominant response style and the variables emergent for a group of frontline staff. This can help in designing training programs that will assist in employees enhancing their interpersonal communication from positive functioning and being cautious or exercise restraint on the negative functioning of Functional Fluency model.

The research limitation is that since the model provides a pen-picture on the communication response style of a large group of employees on the 54 descriptors of the Functional Fluency model, a broad training program may be designed for the group. Second, a large group is sought for implication to take shape.

General communication response style may be identified for different groups and based on this a training module or program based on Functional Fluency may be designed specific to each group.

The importance of the Functional Fluency model in providing an evaluation and resolve on the nature of communication responses, during customer-employee interactions, to enhance service delivery in bridging the Gap 3 of the SERVAQUAL model.

Drawing on recent research on communication for urban development and on new research on ’Localising the Habitat Agenda’, this article focuses on the communication aspects of transferring projects and good practices to different cultural contexts.

Communicating knowledge for the poor has been a research priority for development agencies in UK and USA for the last decade, as communicating best or good practices for achieving development has not been particularly easy or successful. In order to understand the reasons for these communication gaps, the Max Lock Centre at the University of Westminster, UK, undertook research into the complexity of the communication process, and developed methodologies to ensure the effective transfer of knowledge to differing contexts. There are two related challenges to this task. The first is the understanding that communication is a complex process involving actors and actions. The complexity of the interplay between these explains why the communication process suffers gaps that are difficult to bridge; this is why knowledge or best practices can be only communicated if certain conditions are met. The second involves finding a methodology for communicating projects and best practices to different contexts in which practices can be applied.