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This paper reports the findings of a survey on 24 commercial tools for ISO 9000 certification. We analyse these tools along several dimensions: certification stages supported, targeted industry sectors, and features. Each tool typically provides assistance for several stages of the certification process. Most tools provide some kinds of support for the system analysis, system implementation, system review and maintenance stages. As expected, many tools (about 33 per cent) are targeted specifically for the manufacturing sector. Another 60 per cent of the tools aim at the general business sector. Sixty per cent of the tools support assessment activities while about half support documentation template. No single tool covers all activities of the certification process. It is recommended that any company which is planning or is in the process of implementing a QMS should seriously consider the opportunity of using some of these automated tools.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review and critique of what we already know about pay systems in Chinese state‐owned enterprises, to identify the gaps in the literature and to stimulate more research in this area.

The paper first describes the policy issues at the macro‐level (government policies) in order to put micro‐level pay practices in a pertinent context. Then the paper provides a detailed review and critique on current empirical studies on pay practices in Chinese enterprises, their antecedents and consequences. Finally, the paper identifies potential research questions and provides some directions for future research.

The paper concludes from the extensive review of the current literature that the following research areas merit attention: Why do some firms pay their employees more than other firms? Why do we observe different types of internal pay structures among firms? What are the consequences of these different structures? Why is the link between pay and performance weak in some firms but strong in others? Under what conditions pay‐for‐performance enhances firm performance?

The paper is one of the most comprehensive reviews of the literature on compensation practices of Chinese companies.

The population of the United States is aging. Throughout most of the twentieth century, the older population of this country has grown far more rapidly than any other age group. During the past two decades alone, the population over sixty‐five years of age has grown fifty‐four percent, while the under sixty‐five age group has increased only twenty‐four percent.

The following is an annotated list of materials dealing with information literacy including instruction in the use of information resources, research, and computer skills related to retrieving, using, and evaluating information. This review, the twenty‐second to be published in Reference Services Review, includes items in English published in 1995. After 21 years, the title of this review of the literature has been changed from “Library Orientation and Instruction” to “Library Instruction and Information Literacy,” to indicate the growing trend of moving to information skills instruction.

Marketing and branding literature has provided important insights into the context, environment and individual factors that shape customer brand experience. However, a holistic view on context and environmental influence on enhancing brand experience, specifically in the online social media network context, has not been considered. In addition, main focus of the previous research is on antecedent and consequence of brand experience rather strategy for enhancing brand experience. This paper aims to propose a contingency model for enhancing brand experience to provide a more holistic framework in the uncertain and complex nature of online social media network.

The proposed framework is based on previous literature that is identified and integrated to propose effectiveness of the contingent determinants on brand experience in different interactional circumstances.

The proposed framework implies that brand characteristics and interactive complexities of online social media networks cause contingency to the marketers or brands’ strategic attempt in delivering superior brand experience in online social media network context. These forces are as follows: online social media network characteristic (interactivity); brands’ co-creation characteristics (consumers’ and stakeholders’ participation); brand’s technical and operational competency (brands’ knowledge, ease of interactive platform); internal human resource characteristics (employees’ behaviour, brands culture, brands reputation); and customer interactive characteristics (customer demographic characteristics, customer motivation, customer attitude). These identified forces can be optimized to formulate strategies in the interactive medium for enhancing brand experience.

This paper proposes a contingency model as well as research propositions that need to be validated and confirmed empirically. While narrowing down the current identified gap in brand experience literature by proposing a novel perspective to the concept, this research broadens and deepens understanding of the concept of brand experiences, how it is linked to the context and contextual factors. This contingency framework elucidates the resources that marketers, practitioners can use to enhance, limit or maintain all the dimensions within brand experience.

A holistic view on context and environmental influence on enhancing brand experience, specifically in the online social media network context, has not been considered so far. Although literature demonstrates the positive outcome of brand experience, little attention has been paid to enhancing customer brand experience, specifically in the context of online social media networks with various complex forces acting and influencing the way customers experience a brand.