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National Health Systems (NHS) experience low trust and lack of public confidence while receiving strong pressure from governments and societies to improve their quality and compete effectively. The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, to investigate how patients perceive service quality in Greek NHS hospitals. Second, to assess patients' perceptions, expectations and the relevant gaps concerning the quality provided by public hospitals. Third, to determine the relative importance of quality dimensions in influencing patients' overall quality perceptions.

Empirical research using the SERVQUAL instrument was conducted in six NHS hospitals located in North Greece. A total of 137 usable questionnaires were collected.

The research results revealed a three‐dimension SERVQUAL construct, which proved to be a valid, reliable and flexible tool for measuring quality in Greek hospitals. The human factor was revealed as being the most critical dimension of quality, reflecting the significance of the traditional view of the doctor‐patient relationship. Quality gaps are illuminated, suggesting that there is room for improvement initiatives.

The paper provides guidelines to hospital managers and policymakers as to developing strategies that aim at meeting patients' expectations of service quality and restoring trust in public hospitals.

The paper sheds light on service quality, a critical aspect of hospital performance, drawing attention to patients' orientations. The study gives support to the view that quality in hospitals can be determined, measured and systematically monitored with the goal of responding to patients' needs.

The purpose of this paper is to consider organisational climate as the vehicle to get an understanding, map and enhance the appropriate organisational culture for good clinical governance (CG). Based on this assertion, the purpose of this research is fourfold: to investigate CG attributes embedded in Greek hospitals' climate; to test the validity and reliability of the Clinical Governance Climate Questionnaire (CGCQ) and highlight the dimensions of CG climate in the Greek context; to illuminate the “red flag” aspects of hospital's climate and areas shaping the perceptions of the quality of the provided services; and to explore the influence of hospital's legal status on CG climate and service quality.

Empirical research using the CGCQ was conducted in three Greek NHS hospitals. A total of 214 usable questionnaires completed by the hospitals' personnel were gathered.

The validity and reliability tests proved that the study's five‐dimension structure of CGCQ is capable of conceptualising the basic elements of CG climate in the Greek context. Hospital's climate was found to be not supportive to successful CG implementation, and areas that demand attention were illuminated. Hospital's legal status seems to mediate CG climate and service quality.

CGCQ proved to be a useful tool for managers and policymakers to trace “problematic” areas of hospital's climate and develop strategies for successful CG initiatives.

The paper contributes to the field of health care management, since it demonstrates that CG climate can be used as a “gauge” of the prevailing CG culture. CGCQ is revealed as a valid, reliable and flexible tool.

The purpose of this research is to investigate the ethical orientations of undergraduate business students in Greece by exploring the relations among students' internalized code of ethics, anomia and students' judgment related to ethical problem situations within classroom as well as business context.

A conceptual framework was developed and a pilot empirical research was conducted based on a questionnaire addressed to a sample of 123 business school undergraduate students. Hypotheses were stated and tested.

The paper finds that internalised code of ethics (ICE) and anomia constructs proved to be reliable and captured the examined students' profile in terms of both their ethical orientations and their world view. Greek future business people's ethical judgement tends to incline towards the ethical side. The ICE appears to influence students' ethical judgment while anomia has no impact. Further, academic dishonesty is positively related to students' attitudes towards unethical managers' behaviors in the business context.

The nature of the research is explanatory, addressed to students of one semester and thus results cannot be generalized on a broader context. Also the construct developed by the authors need to be further tested to increase its validity.

Business schools need to empower students' internalized code of ethics towards the development of more socially responsible future managers and leaders.

The developed construct of the internalized code of ethics and its revealing key role on Greek business students' ethical judgment is considered by the authors as the main contribution of this study.

The purpose of this paper is to seek to provide support and extend work-family Border Theory (BT) in order to investigate organizational and individual factors that determine the complex nature of work-family balance (WFB).

Qualitative research was conducted in a company in Greece. In total, 20 in-depth interviews were conducted. Data analysis was guided by interpretative phenomenological analysis.

The key findings illustrate that strong borders protect the investigated, powerful, work domain and expand only to accommodate its’ needs. In congruence with BT, employees choose to be central participants in the powerful, highly impermeable and inflexibly bordered, work domain. The deeply entrenched organizational culture, as well as leaders’ behavior and leadership style, support the development of an array of positive work attitudes which boost central participation in the work domain. Due to the strongly bordered work setting, employees were found to choose segmentation as a WFB cope strategy; however, shifts in the participants’ life phase, as well as unfulfilled expectations, lead them to reset priorities and reevaluate their central participation in the dominant work domain.

The present study has implications for HR practitioners. Communication and open discussions on work-family themes reveal issues that can positively contribute to WFB. Further to this, organizations need to consider individual differences when they deal with WFB issues and frame interventions to facilitate this process.

This paper adds to current thinking in BT by illustrating that organizational culture, leadership and work attitudes have a strong impact on the nature of the work domain and its borders, as well as on employees’ central participation in the work setting and the attained WFB.