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This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

You are the son or daughter of a well‐heeled family and studying at an exclusive and expensive university. Your affluence is such that your watch and sunglasses are more likely to be branded with the Calvin Klein or Chanel name than with that of a cheaper, downmarket product. But why do people choose such brands – apart from the fact they can afford them – at a time when brands are becoming less and less different in terms of product attributes? How can marketers of luxury goods develop or enhance brand images via non‐product attributes? It's a challenge which is becoming increasingly important for marketing any brand, luxury or not.

The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy‐to digest format.

A group of Japanese tourists arrive at a 4-star hotel, situated in the city center of Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. Upon arrival, the Danish-born Japanese tour guide is the first to enter the hotel, while leaving his group of tourists in the bus. He then spends about 15 minutes with the front desk agent, checking details of the stay. Finally, after he is satisfied, he assists the tourists with checking in to their rooms. Afterwards, the guide overhears the front desk agent discussing and venting about the “annoying and time-consuming” process with a coworker in Danish. What should the hotel management do?

Within the customer value literature there is a lacuna of theoretical frameworks and models that underlie consumers’ overall product valuation. This paper addresses this limitation and presents a model integrating consumer values, product benefits, and various costs of consumption. In the proposed model, benefits and costs are defined in terms of consumers’ perceptions in the activities of acquisition, consumption, and maintenance, as well as consumers’ expectation of value satisfaction before buying.

Traces the development of a quality impetus in the Training and Employment Authority in Ireland. Considers how the focus on quality in a state‐sponsored organisation survived during a period of major change. Discusses the origins of the quality imperative and its implementation. Examines the constraints on the quality focus, and the quality initiatives. Asserts that the challenge was to integrate and rationalise these schemes. Contends that the adoption of quality as a core value of organisational culture is crucial to quality improvement. Concludes that experience indicates the need to develop one′s own system, particularly for an organisation operating in the non‐profit public sector.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the similarities and differences in single‐ and dual‐parent family households in their selection and acquisition of children's clothing. Respondents included 247 parents of students enrolled in grades K‐12. Significant differences were found in the following items considered. Lack of money was more of a problem for single‐parent families than for dual‐parent families, p = 0.002. Single‐parent families paid for clothing more often by cheque or cash than did dual‐parent families, p=0.009; dual‐parent families used store credit cards more frequently than single‐parent families, p=0.03. No significant differences were found in sources, important purchase factors or satisfaction when selecting and acquiring children's clothing. For all parents, the four most important factors considered when selecting children's clothing were fit, what the parent likes, care required and price. Please note that in the US most children begin school at age 5 in kindergarten (K); ele‐mentary school continues through age 10 at grade 5; middle school encompasses ages 11–13 in grades 6–8; and high school includes ages 14–17 in grades 9–12.

The concept of company culture is now playing an ever‐increasing role in the continuing endeavour to work towards ever better company management, particularly in the industrial field. This monograph reviews the history and development of both national and company cultures, and then goes on to demonstrate the significance of a culture to proper company management. Well‐managed companies will have both a “quality culture” and a “safety culture” as well as a cultural history. However, it has to be recognised that the company culture is subject to change, and effecting this can be very difficult. Of the many national cultures, that of Japan is considered to be the most effective, as is demonstrated by the present dominance of Japan on the industrial scene. Many industrialised nations now seek to emulate the Japanese style of management, but it is not possible to copy or acquire Japan′s cultural heritage. The text is illustrated by a large number of practical examples from real life, illustrating the way in which the company culture works and can be used by management to improve company performance.

In the preceding article “Consumer research in the restaurant environment, Part 2”, the operationalisation of the theoretical model of dining satisfaction and return patronage (IJCHM, Vol. 11 No. 6), was developed and described. This was preceded by Part 1 (IJCHM, Vol. 11 No. 5), in which a model of dining satisfaction and return patronage was proposed and conceptualised. Based on an extensive review of the relevant consumer behaviour literature, proposed model (Part 1), the development of the research instrument, sampling frame and procedures (Part 2), and the analytical analysis used in the study, this paper is the final contribution to the three‐part series and it reports on the findings of the study. Overall, the encouraging results of this study can be summarised as having provided: a clearer understanding of customers’ dining satisfaction perceptions; a clearer understanding of restaurants attribute performance that determine satisfaction as a consequence of dining experience; and a robust prediction of return as a result of dining satisfaction.

In this article we will discuss the link between systemic thinking, organizational learning and knowledge management. We will develop a conceptual model to illustrate and explain this link, which will be further discussed throughout the article. The main entities of this model are: emphasis on internal motivation, relations in and among systems, in addition to the development of vision, generation of ideas and creativity. The philosophical basis for this model is systemic thinking. We will thus explain the meaning of this way of thinking, before we discuss the individual elements of the conceptual model.

Increasing competition on international markets has led many companies to consider quality as a strategic tool capable of influencing market share and return on investment. Yet a review of the marketing literature reveals a serious lack of explanatory and empirical studies on the concept of quality and its related phenomena as it applies to the service sector. This article presents the results of an exploratory study on service quality in a financial institution setting, using data collected from 1,224 respondents. A set of six factors that explain perceived quality is identified, namely the degree of customer satisfaction, the contact personnel, the internal organisation, the physical environment and instruments, the corporate image, and the personnel/customer interaction during the service encounter.

Proposes that service quality can be improved by focusing on customer problems. Describes a problem‐centred research program used to establish the types and pervasiveness of customer problems and to evaluate the effect of each on customer satisfaction. Makes it possible to identifycritical problem areas and to establish service priorities accordingly. Offers recommended guidelines for designing and conducting problem‐centred consumer research.