Search results

This study aims to address customer focus as an important component of total quality management (TQM) and explore the key drivers of member satisfaction in tennis clubs via a novel theory-based member satisfaction index (MSI) model with high explanatory and predictive power. Furthermore, the study aims to investigate the relationship between satisfaction and behavioral intentions (willingness to stay; WTS) with consideration of the mediating effect of identification with the club.

This study uses variance-based partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to estimate the MSI model, which was tested in a leading tennis club in Germany (n = 185).

The results reveal that club atmosphere, club facilities and the price/quality ratio of the membership fee are the most important drivers of member satisfaction in tennis clubs. Member satisfaction has a large influence on the WTS of tennis club members. Identification with the club, when included as a mediator in the model, increases the variance explained in WTS considerably.

The small sample limits the generalizability of findings, and further research is recommended.

The MSI model is a useful benchmark tool for club managers who want to quantify the satisfaction and WTS of their club members. In addition, because of the integrated formative measurement models, the PLS-SEM results show which indicators can be used to positively impact satisfaction with each of the service quality dimensions, overall member satisfaction and WTS. The most important of these results are discussed in an importance-performance map analysis.

The MSI model is a multi-attribute index model through which members' evaluations of various dimensions of service and value are derived through multivariable linear function with each dimension weighted according to its importance in one holistic model. The model shows the strong impact of satisfaction on WTS of sports club members and reveals that findings of previous research on the relationship between fan and spectator identification and loyalty are transferable to sports club members. The MSI represents a new contribution to the literature; it was applied here to tennis clubs but is also suitable for application to other sports clubs.

This paper evaluates the level of the digital economy in Chinese cities based on digital industrialization and industrial digitalization. The research focuses on the effects of spatial mechanism of the urban digital economy on the quality of firms’ exported products.

The authors use the principal component analysis method to evaluate the level of China’s urban digital economy, and spatial metrology to measure the spatial effects of the digital economy on product quality.

The findings suggest that the urban digital economy can expand the quality of firms’ exports. The digital economy has spatial dependence, spatial spillover and spatial heterogeneity on product quality. At the same time, the spatial effect has a significant nonlinear effect and threshold effect. Further decomposition shows that industrial digitalization is the core factor of enterprises’ export products quality, and the micro-mechanism of this impact is mainly manifested in optimization of resource allocation.

The innovation of this paper is reflected explicitly in exploring the quality upgrading of export products from the background of the digital economy, providing a reference for the improvement of China’s export trade competitiveness and the cultivation of a trade power. The authors studied two different mechanisms (specialization division of labor and optimization of resource allocation) to explain the spatial imbalance of export product quality to provide empirical support for enterprises and government departments to formulate quality upgrading policies accurately.

Frugal innovation focuses on the core functionalities with the highest stakeholder benefits and directly targets user requirements. It has been widely adopted in developing countries, and extensively researched from both consumer and sustainable perspectives. However, few studies on frugal innovation consider “quality”, a seminal business management concept. This study focuses on this gap and uses a quality lens to understand frugal innovation.

This study adopts a mixed methodology. The Delphi focus group method is first applied to identify two cases of frugal innovation in the construction industry and a cross-case analysis done. Then, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is used to examine eight product quality dimensions to draw the final conclusions.

From Garvin’s concept of quality, frugal innovation focuses on performance and conformance. Furthermore, it prioritises a value-based approach the most.

This study examines frugal innovation from quality perspective. This opens up a new line of research which contributes to both streams. The study is based on construction which is a limitation of the study.

A quality-based frugal innovation understanding can be helpful in the conceptualisation, implementation and acceptance of the frugal innovation business model. It can provide clarity on the innovation's value proposition and also help in operationalisation of the business model.

Frugal encourages social entrepreneurs and understanding of the concept from quality perspective shall facilitate the operationalisation will become easier for them.

To the author’s knowledge, this is the first study at the interface of frugal innovation and quality management. Furthermore, the use of AHP to prioritise equality approaches and dimensions is an original contribution.

The purpose of this study is to explore how digital transformation helps enterprises achieve high-quality development, including the mediating mechanism of information transparency, innovation capacity and financial stability, the moderating role of financing constraints and government subsidies, and the heterogeneous effects of property rights, size and growth.

This study conducts two-way fixed-effect model using 780 samples of China's Shanghai-Shenzhen A-share listed companies from 2012 to 2019.

The results show that digital transformation can effectively improve the total factor productivity (TFP) of enterprises through the triple channels of information transparency, innovation capability and financial stability. Meanwhile, financing constraints significantly inhibited the contribution of digital transformation to TFP, while government subsidies significantly increased the contribution of digital transformation to TFP. In addition, state-owned enterprises (SOEs), large enterprises and high-growth enterprises are more able to achieve high-quality development by increasing their digital transformation.

In the process of implementing digital transformation, companies should actively improve information transparency, financial stability and innovation capabilities, and choose differentiated paths based on intrinsic characteristics such as property rights, scale and growth. At the same time, the government should actively improve not only the digital institutional environment but also the financial policy and credit system.

This study enriches the theoretical research framework of digital transformation and high-quality development by identifying the channel mechanisms and boundary conditions through which digital transformation affects high-quality development and expands the consequences of digital transformation and the antecedents of high-quality development.

This study aims to explore the influence of health-care service quality on customers’ perceived value, satisfaction, effectiveness and behavioural intention concerning district health centres (DHCs) in Hong Kong. This research also intends to assess customers’ perception of the subsidy scheme and its influence on the relationships amongst the aforementioned constructs.

The convenience and snowball sampling approaches were adopted, and the self-administered questionnaire was sent to 309 customers of DHCs.

Service quality attributes in terms of staffing and procedures positively increased customers’ perceived value and staffing, procedures and operations. Physical facilities positively promoted customers’ satisfaction, consequently improving DHCs’ effectiveness and behavioural intention. However, core treatments and services of DHCs did not impact customers’ perceived value and satisfaction. Furthermore, customers receiving subsidies exhibited a more positive perception than those without subsidies.

Health-care organisations are advised to strategically allocate resources (staffing, facilities and procedures and operations management) to optimise overall performance outcomes. DHC operators could reinforce the core services of DHCs and health-care voucher subsidies to local citizens so as to enhance the effectiveness of DHCs and behavioural intention of customers.

This study integrates the input–process–output approach in measuring the effectiveness of and customers’ behavioural intention towards newly established DHCs.

Although the quality of health-care infrastructure and equipment influences patient’s overall health-care experience, health-care infrastructure and equipment are not always managed and maintained with the attention required. This is due mainly to the complexity of health-care infrastructure and equipment and shortage of maintenance budget. This study aims to determine if patient’s satisfaction of core health-care business is mediated by the quality of health-care infrastructure and equipment.

This cross-sectional study comprises 622 adult patients at the Physician OPD and Polyclinic of Komfo Anokye Teaching hospital, Tamale Teaching hospital and Cape Coast Teaching hospital in Ghana. Structural equation model Smart PLS was used to analyse the data.

The study results showed that the quality of health-care infrastructure and equipment has a positive significant influence (mediation) on the relationship between health-care delivery and patient’s satisfaction as well as the relationship between adequacy of health-care resources and patient’s satisfaction. However, it was shown not to have a positive significant influence (mediation) on the relationship between quality of health-care personnel and patients’ satisfaction as well as health-care administrative process and patient’s satisfaction.

First, the study findings are centred on cross-sectional data, which capture the opinion of the patients at a specific time period instead of over a period of time. Consequently, in future, though difficult to achieve, a longitudinal study can be piloted to provide more insight. Second, the data was collected from only one country (Ghana); thus, the ability to generalise the results may be a challenge.

The implication of this study is that there is the need to prudently maintain hospital infrastructure and equipment in good working condition as it has a positive effect on patients’ satisfaction of their overall health-care experience.

Most studies have concentrated on patient’s health-care experience. This study extends the knowledge of patient’s health-care experience by determining the mediating role of quality of health-care infrastructure and equipment on the relationship between patient’s satisfaction and core health-care business. There are limited studies of such nature in Ghana. Therefore, this study will provide invaluable empirical data for the health-care sector of a developing African country.

This study investigates the challenges and opportunities that organisations face in implementing Quality 4.0 as an approach to quality management and investigate the current state of Quality 4.0 implementation.

This study uses a qualitative research methodology to interview senior managers from globally based manufacturing and service industries.

The study explicates that most organisations implemented Quality 4.0 to improve their flexibility, efficiency, transparency and productivity while focusing on improving service quality, customer satisfaction and reducing cost. In terms of sustainability of Quality 4.0 the key factors found were a consistent effort from the top management, continuous training to employees, building leadership quality and creating a habit of using Quality 4.0.

The findings of this study offer useful guidance to organisations desirous of implementing Quality 4.0. In addition, the findings have identified key sustainability factors, helping organisations ensure a successful implementation and long-term returns from Quality 4.0.

The findings of this study contribute to the body of knowledge related to Quality 4.0 and help organisations in their digital transformation journey. In addition, it is one of the first studies to investigate the key factors for Quality 4.0 sustainability.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the high-quality development (HQD) strategy of Chinese mineral resource enterprises, which is important for Chinese mineral resource enterprises to improve the efficiency and benefit of resource utilization, reduce the intensity of resource and energy consumption and gradually form resource-saving and environment-friendly enterprises.

This study establishes an evaluation index system with four dimensions: economy, environment, society and management innovation. The entropy value method assigns weights to them and then uses the system dynamics (SD) model for case simulation.

The results of the SD simulation conclude that the fulfillment of social responsibility and the implementation of management innovation can accelerate the realization of HQD of mineral resource enterprises; profitability plays a crucial role in economic indicators; the improvement of energy-saving volume has the most significant impact on environmental benefits; the social contribution is the key element to measure social indicators; and the sales rate of core products has the most significant impact on the benefits of management innovation.

Based on the few studies on the evaluation of the development strategy of mineral resource enterprises, this study establishes an evaluation index system that considers the interactions between indicators, combines the entropy value method with SD and uses the SD model to comprehensively and systematically analyze the impact and degree of each factor on the HQD of mineral resource enterprises.

The purpose of this study is to analyse and discuss the influencing factors of user experience in university mobile libraries and the improvement path of user experience in the context of mobile learning.

The study adopted the grounded theory research method, and the sample included 28 students from five universities, with mobile libraries as the research objects and semi-structured interview as data acquisition method. A step-by-step coding analysis of the original interview materials was conducted, which comprehensively identified the main concerns and problems encountered by users of the university mobile library apps especially in the mobile learning behaviour mode, and then a theoretical model of the influencing factors of the app user experience of the university mobile library was constructed.

A theoretical model of influencing factors was constructed, which determined that system quality, interaction quality, content quality, interface quality and function quality were the key elements of mobile library user experiences. Furthermore, based on the research results and user feedback obtained in the research process, the content and key points relating to the user experience can be elaborated in detail. In addition, this study was able to determine users' perspectives and their behavioural characteristics when engaging in mobile learning.

This study establishes a theoretical model of the factors influencing of the user experience of university mobile libraries based on mobile learning, which could provide a valuable reference for the design of other programs and strategies to promote user learning experiences of mobile library app in colleges and universities.

The core of the successful implementation of the integrated project delivery (IPD) mode is to establish a high-quality relationship of cooperation, trust and sharing among participants. This paper proposes recommendations to improve the relationship quality of participants from the owner's perspective. The results provide the theoretical basis and practical guidance for the popularization and application of the IPD mode.

This paper analyzes the dynamic relationship among participants in IPD mode based on supply chain theory and similarity theory. A tripartite game model of the owner, designer and the contractor is constructed to obtain the evolutionary equilibrium strategies under different parameter constraints. Then, numerical simulations under various scenarios are conducted to explore the dynamic evolution and the influencing factors of the relationship quality among the participant in the IPD mode.

The results show that (1) the relationship quality under certain conditions gradually improves as the project progresses until stable and high-quality cooperation is formed and (2) the owner's positive supervision cost, the distribution coefficient of incentive and punishment of participants and the scale of incentive pool are important factors influencing the relationship quality.

This study incorporates the following three innovations. First, analyzing the relationship quality among the participants of IPD mode based on supply chain theory. Second, the evolutionary game theory is applied to the relationship quality analysis. Third, conclusion innovation. The authors conclude that the relationship quality may progress, decrease or cycle with the progress of the project and targeted recommendations are presented based on the results.