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1 – 10 of 21This article compares the use of deep packet inspection (DPI) technology to the use of cookies for online behavioral advertising (OBA), in the form of two competing paradigms. It…
Abstract
Purpose
This article compares the use of deep packet inspection (DPI) technology to the use of cookies for online behavioral advertising (OBA), in the form of two competing paradigms. It seeks to explain why DPI was eliminated as a viable option due to political and regulatory reactions whereas cookies technology was not, even though it raises some of the same privacy issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The paradigms draw from two-sided market theory to conceptualize OBA. Empirical case studies, NebuAd's DPI platform and Facebook's Beacon program, substantiate the paradigms with insights into the controversies on behavioral tracking between 2006 and 2009 in the USA. The case studies are based on document analyses and interviews.
Findings
Comparing the two cases from a technological, economic, and institutional perspective, the article argues that both paradigms were equally privacy intrusive. Thus, it rejects the generally held view that privacy issues can explain the outcome of the battle. Politics and regulatory legacy tilted the playing field towards the cookies paradigm, impeding a competing technology.
Originality/value
Shifting the narrative away from privacy to competing tracking paradigms and their specific actors sheds light on the political and the regulatory rationales that were not considered in previous research on OBA. Particularly, setting forth institutional aspects on OBA – and DPI in general – the case studies provide much needed empirical analysis to reassess tracking technologies and policy outcomes.
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Antje Cockrill, Mark Goode and Daniel Emberson
The concept of servicescape and its effect on consumer behaviour has been studied extensively in numerous areas of retailing. However, the role of servicescape in non‐traditional…
Abstract
Purpose
The concept of servicescape and its effect on consumer behaviour has been studied extensively in numerous areas of retailing. However, the role of servicescape in non‐traditional service settings has received comparatively little attention. The aim of this paper is to fill in some of this research gap by testing the effects of servicescape (ambience, layout and functionality) on consumer behaviour within UK betting shops, as part of the wider UK gambling industry.
Design/methodology/approach
In order to achieve this objective an exploratory research methodology was chosen. Firstly, three betting shops in the same metropolitan area were chosen as the base for interviews with managers and structured observations. This was complemented by fifty semi‐structured customer interviews from the same three betting shops. The use of these different methods allowed triangulation and validation of the results.
Findings
The key finding of this paper are that customers in betting shops appear to be unaffected by some of the elements of the servicescape. However, this research has found that signs, symbols and artefacts were regarded as critically important by consumers.
Research limitations/implications
Further, larger scale research is needed on the effects of servicescape in environments where consumption behaviour could be considered compulsive. This could includes, e.g. betting shops, arcades, casinos, bingo halls and National Lottery “shops.” Furthermore, this paper could also be used as the basis for further research on the e‐servicescape of the online gambling industry.
Practical implications
Some servicescape elements do not appear to affect betting shop customers greatly, but staff knowledge is important. Therefore, resources should be spent on improving staff knowledge rather than on other elements of the servicescape.
Originality/value
No prior empirical research has been found in this area.
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Juhaida Abu Bakar, Michael Daniel Clemes and Kathryn Bicknell
The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a comprehensive hierarchical model of behavioural intentions in the Malaysian retail banking industry.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a comprehensive hierarchical model of behavioural intentions in the Malaysian retail banking industry.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were analysed using EFA, CFA and structural modelling.
Findings
The findings illustrate that customer satisfaction is the most important determinant of behavioural intentions, followed by switching costs, corporate image and perceived value. Service quality is indirectly related to behavioural intentions and customer satisfaction mediates the relationship between the two constructs. Customer satisfaction is strongly influenced by service quality, corporate image and perceived value. Service quality is also an antecedent of perceived value, corporate image and switching costs. The empirical results also support a hierarchical and multidimensional approach for conceptualising and measuring customers’ perceptions of service quality.
Research limitations/implications
The comprehensive hierarchical model developed in this research can be used as framework for additional studies on the banking industry.
Practical implications
The findings provide Malaysian bank managers with empirically-based insights into behavioural intentions and offer guidelines for assessing and improving service quality.
Originality/value
This is the first study that uses comprehensive hierarchical modelling to synthesise the effects of service quality, customer satisfaction, perceived value, corporate image and switching costs on the behavioural intentions of retail bank customers.
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Carmen Guzmán‐Alfonso and Joaquín Guzmán‐Cuevas
The aim of this research is to determine whether entrepreneurial intention models explain the entrepreneurial behaviour of individuals regarding venture creation in Latin America…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this research is to determine whether entrepreneurial intention models explain the entrepreneurial behaviour of individuals regarding venture creation in Latin America, as well as to test if the three factors usually taken into consideration in these models (attitudes, perceived social value, and perceived self‐efficacy, as defined by Ajzen) really determine entrepreneurial intentions in this part of the world.
Design/methodology/approach
By using panel data from Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Global Report for the years 2008, 2009 and 2010, referring to Latin America, the paper employs two linear regression models to examine determinants of entrepreneurial intentions in Latin America and the role of the entrepreneurial intentions in the entrepreneurial initiative.
Findings
According to the results obtained, it can be stated that, also for the case of Latin America, entrepreneurial intentions are once more confirmed as a previous step of entrepreneurial behaviour with regard to venture creation. However, even though the three variables taken into consideration are significant as determinants of entrepreneurial intentions, evidence suggests a negative relationship between the perception of social value about entrepreneurship and the entrepreneurial intention, which contradicts the previous literature review. A further investigation regarding this result is planned for the near future.
Originality/value
The originality of this research arises from bringing together in a model three of the main elements in the research field of entrepreneurship – entrepreneurial intention models, global entrepreneurship monitor and Latin America (one of the most important places where the entrepreneurship phenomenon takes place).
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Milos Bujisic, Joe Hutchinson and H.G. Parsa
– The purpose of this paper was to investigate the relationships between restaurant quality attributes and customer behavioral intentions.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper was to investigate the relationships between restaurant quality attributes and customer behavioral intentions.
Design/methodology/approach
An experimental design was chosen to provide a high level of internal validity. Three separate 3 × 2 factorial design experiments were conducted through 18 separate vignette scenarios for three levels of quality (below average, average and above average) of three common restaurant attributes (food, service and ambience) in two types of restaurants (quick service and upscale).
Findings
The results indicated that the type of restaurant moderated the relationship between restaurant service and ambience quality and customer behavioral intentions.
Practical implications
The results of this study suggest that management of quick-service and upscale restaurants should focus on food quality, but establish different resource allocation priorities with respect to service and ambience quality.
Originality/value
This study examined the linearity of the relationships between three common restaurant attributes (food, service and ambience) for three levels of quality (below average, average and above average) in two types of restaurants (quick service and upscale).
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Mohit Yadav and Santosh Rangnekar
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of participation in decision making (PDM) and job satisfaction (JS) in supervisory support and the organizational citizenship…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of participation in decision making (PDM) and job satisfaction (JS) in supervisory support and the organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
Two models with PDM and JS as mediators were tested on the supervisory support-OCB relationship. A sample of 198 Indian business executives was collected exclusively through management development programs (MDPs). To test the hypotheses in this research, correlation and regression analysis were both used. Furthermore, to test the mediation level, Baron and Kenny’s (1986) method was deployed.
Findings
All variables in the study were found to be significantly related to each other. Both models were supported by the findings, suggesting that supervisory support promotes both PDM and JS. This, in turn, increases OCB in employees. PDM was found to be the better mediator within the relationship. Implications of these results are also discussed.
Research limitations/implications
Self-reported responses could give biased results; peers should also have been included in the data gathering. Variables in the study cannot be analyzed in isolation. Hence control variables need to be included to arrive at more accurate and informative results.
Practical implications
The findings contribute to better understanding of the supervisory support/OCB relationship, and the ways of improving this through PDM and JS. As an outcome of this research, organizations should aim to support, empower and involve their employees. Satisfying their needs will lead to them becoming more effective citizens within the organization. Businesses can harness the potential of OCB in employees by giving them a “voice” in decision making and by encouraging them to share ideas.
Originality/value
The use of PDM and JS in this relationship is unprecedented. The establishment of PDM as a better mediator of the relationship is also unique. The study draws its strength from a multi-organizational sample and the use of MDPs to provide unbiased responses. Since the study is based on an Indian sample, it also adds to the growing literature of OCB from non-western economies.
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Under this heading are published regularly abstracts of all Reports and Memoranda of the Aeronautical Research Council, Technical Reports and Translations of the United States…
Abstract
Under this heading are published regularly abstracts of all Reports and Memoranda of the Aeronautical Research Council, Technical Reports and Translations of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration and publications of other similar Research Bodies as issued.
Lanndon Ocampo, Venus Acedillo, Alin Mae Bacunador, Charity Christine Balo, Yvonne Joreen Lagdameo and Nickha Shanen Tupa
The purpose of this paper is to provide a historical account of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) based on the existing literature.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a historical account of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) based on the existing literature.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper performs keywords search of published articles from 1930 to 2017 in widely used research databases.
Findings
The historical review shows that the OCB, as a field of study, was slow to develop. Although it has been introduced in the late 1970s and officially defined in the 1980s, its origins can be traced back to the 1930s. Despite this, OCB is generally regarded as a relatively new construct and has become one of the biggest subjects studied in the literature. OCB has reached far and wide into the business and management domains, supporting the fact that the well-being employees and their behaviors can greatly affect organizations’ effectiveness and performance. Having been the topic of a significant number of studies, there have been inconsistent research findings regarding the concepts. Furthermore, some concepts have been noted to overlap, with several scholars using different terms for essentially similar concepts.
Originality/value
The advent of technology and globalization has greatly affected organizations today which resulted in increased competition in the global business. Firms have started to look into the behavior exhibited by employees as a means of achieving competitive advantage, such as OCB. Voluminous works have been conducted regarding the study of OCB; however, none have been recorded to make an in-depth exploration of when and how it first surfaced. Since its official introduction, explorations regarding OCB have dramatically increased, most especially in the twenty-first century. Unfortunately, this has resulted in an increasing difficulty to keep up with the theoretical and empirical developments in the literature. As interest in OCB continues to grow, coherent integration of the concept becomes progressively more complex and necessary. This paper looks into the chronological evolution of the OCB, giving precise details of its development from the time it was first conceptualized up until the present wherein OCB has been used to indicate organizational effectiveness and performance.
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Ali Akbar Abbasian Arani and Ali Memarzadeh
Present investigation conducts a study on the hydrothermal features of a double flow Parabolic Trough Solar Collector (PTSC) equipped with sinusoidal-wavy grooved absorber tube…
Abstract
Purpose
Present investigation conducts a study on the hydrothermal features of a double flow Parabolic Trough Solar Collector (PTSC) equipped with sinusoidal-wavy grooved absorber tube and twisted tape insert filled with nanofluid. This paper aims to present an effectual PTSC which is comprised by nanofluid numerically by means of finite volume method.
Design/methodology/approach
The beneficial results such as pressure drop inside the absorber tube, mean predicted friction factor, predicted average Nusselt number and hydrothermal Performance Evaluation Criteria (PEC) are evaluated and reported to present the influences of numerous factors on studied interest outcomes. Effects of different Reynolds numbers and environmental conditions are also determined in this investigation.
Findings
It is found that using the absorber roof (canopy) can enhance the heat transfer ratio of PTSCs significantly during all studied Reynolds numbers. Also, it is realized that the combination of inner grooved surface, outer corrugated surface and inserting turbulator can improve the thermal-hydraulic characteristics of PTSCs sharply.
Originality/value
Novel PTSC (N.PTSC) filling with two Heat Transfer Fluids (HTFs), inner and outer surface corrugated absorber tube, absorber roof and inserting twisted tape (N.PTSC.f) has the highest PEC values among all novel configurations along all investigated Reynolds numbers which is followed by configurations N.PTSC with two HTFs and inserting twisted tape (N.PTSC.e), N.PTSC with two HTFs and outer surface corrugated absorber tube (N.PTSC.b) and N.PTSC with two HTFs and inner surface corrugated absorber tube (N.PTSC.c), respectively. N.PTSC.f Nusselt number values can overcome the high values of friction factor, and therefore is introduced as the most efficient model in the current study.
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Adopting an evidenced‐based approach, this paper seeks to examine the usage of external business services by small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in China.
Abstract
Purpose
Adopting an evidenced‐based approach, this paper seeks to examine the usage of external business services by small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in China.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical data are based on the first large‐scale survey of small businesses (around 500 in each city) and service providers (90‐200 in each city) designed and organised by the authors in Chengdu, Lanzhou and Shenzhen between November 2005 and March 2006, as part of a DFID project. The three cities were selected to enable the market conditions to be assessed in cities that are at different levels of economic development.
Findings
There is a variety of business services market in China. Using logistic models it is found that firm size, sector, exporter and growth‐intention appear to be important factors influencing demand side of services. It is also indicated that professional staff, referral via local SME bureau and networking appear to be the main variables influencing supply‐side behaviour.
Research limitations/implications
In order to specify the nature of business service market, it is important to understand the needs of (small) firms and how these are currently being addressed. This will enable policy measures to be designed that meet the needs of businesses.
Originality/value
This is an empirical study that utilises the logistic model to examine the relationship of service usage with demand variables and supply variables. In this context, the value of the research is to assess the supply‐demand gap in a developing country.
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