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This paper aims to explore the nature and the scope of whistleblowing in Kuwait and in the UK. Whistleblowing is when a person, usually an employee, in a government agency or private enterprise, discloses information to the public or to those in authority, of mismanagement, corruption or other wrongdoing. Due to the unpredictable consequences of whistleblowing, it is probable that many employees who witness wrongdoing do not consider blowing the whistle, because they fear the impact of such action on their relationship with their employers.

The author evaluated the whistleblowing systems in different countries. He first tackled the nature of whistleblowing in general, proceeded to analyse whistleblowing in Kuwait with mentions from other countries and finally evaluated the whistleblowing process in the UK.

The whistleblowing situation in the UK is clearer than that in Kuwait. Recent improvements have been made in the UK to protect whistleblowers. In the UK, the whistleblowing law under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 came into force in July 1999 to protect whistleblowers. Kuwait also has had some improvements, which were seen to offer legal protection for those raising concerns about corruption under Law no. 24 of 2012. However, the author recommends that the Kuwaiti Government should give more protection to whistleblowers, and there is a need to protect the whistleblowers.

Potential whistleblowers might feel discouraged from disclosing information against their organisation, fearing a backlash against them. This is where the law and the rights of employees must be clarified. This paper will, therefore, evaluate the system of whistleblowing in the UK under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 and examine this against the whistleblowing law in Kuwait under the Whistleblowing Act no. 24 of 2012.

A true marketing orientation is associated with superior performance in the UK retail financial services industry. This finding runs counter to some recent criticism of marketing influence on the banking sector. Empirical research in the UK retail financial service industry found that successful companies appear to balance a profit orientation with an orientation towards the most difficult market to satisfy, the wealthy. Successful companies focused on a distinct group of customers, and did not rely on traditional methods such as existing family links to attract business. They also maintained tighter control over profitability and costs. Utilizes expert assessment as the basis of performance measurement, and compares this technique with an alternative, peer assessment. Uses the Delphi technique to develop a performance measure, and both performance ratings and findings suggest that the performance of expert assessment and peer assessment as performance measurement methods is similar.

Examines the role of strategic marketing in public sector services. Looks at the strategic marketing planning process and identifies the barriers which hinder the utilization of synoptic marketing planning in library services. Concludes by putting forward an incremental model of marketing planning which it proposes is more applicable to this sector.

Extensions as forms of new product development strategy have been discussed to a great extent during the last decade, however, there have been limited reviews of the literature. This article reassesses the work on brand and line extensions and integrates it into a conceptual framework. The latter shows that extension and core brand evaluations are affected by consumer perceptions of fit. Moderating factors that influence the relationship between fit and consumer evaluations of the extension and the core brand are also identified. The framework is subsequently used to develop concrete research propositions to guide further research in the area.

To date, the brand equity literature has been limited by a gap in the measurement of a key driver of consumer based brand equity (CBBE). The authors ' aim is to address this gap by developing a new, consumer-based measure of brand association strength, a critical element of CBBE.

This paper, based on cognitive psychology, takes a recently developed brand mapping approach and uses its features, along with network analysis measures designed specifically by the authors for this particular analysis, to produce a novel measure of brand association strength.

Traditional network analysis measures (e.g. number of associations, density) neglect to take into account the underlying structure of consumers ' brand associations as reflected in concept maps. The authors use primary research on a well-known brand (McDonald ' s) to show that both number of associations and a modified density measure taking account of the special structure of concept maps can be used to generate an intuitive and readily understood measure of brand association strength.

The paper develops a new measure to analyse brand association strength for any given brand. As such it contributes to the methodological and practical development of the CBBE construct.

An overview of the relevance of marketing to the public sector is given and three main divisions of the UK public sector are identified. The focus of discussion is how and where marketing can be applied best to the public sector and local authority leisure centres are considered as a case example. The various marketing techniques and principles which could be applied in this situation are reviewed.

A report on the empirical findings of a research project examining the marketing practices, strategies and organisational characteristics of a sample of 23 banks and other companies in the UK retail financial services market. The better performing companies, which were identified by peer admiration, could be distinguished from the less successful companies by wealthier customers and greater skill at controlling the costs of supplying their services. The implications of these findings for banks and other financial companies are discussed.

A number of issues which are relevant to the introduction of marketing planning into a medium‐sized product‐oriented engineering business are addressed. In addition how a tailor‐made management development programme can be used as a means of stimulating and facilitating the individual and organisational changes necessary to achieve a marketing planning orientation are discussed. It is explained how the marketing planning approach requires modification to allow management to develop their skills and achieve success in small stages. This is necessary for both political and educational reasons. The case study described demonstrates how the gap between theory (academic) and practice (commerce) can be successfully bridged.

To investigate empirically the impact of brand extensions on brand personality, using Aaker's scale to measure the latter.

Experimental study manipulating extension fit (good/poor fit), controlling for brand familiarity and including a control group.

No adverse impact on brand personality of core brand as a result of introducing extensions (irrespective of fit).

Cross‐sectional study not capturing potential long‐term effects of extensions with poor fit. Longitudinal research is needed, as are replications with different brands, types of extensions and consumer segments.

Preliminary support for introducing extension for a quality brand without fear of adversely affecting its brand personality.

First study explicitly investigating impact of brand extensions on brand personality.

The purpose of the study is to report on an in‐depth exploration of service quality in an Information Technology service department in a Higher Education Institute (HEI) and to evaluate the instrument used.

The study surveys customers using the SERVQUAL instrument, which is one of the most widely used and applied scales for the measurement of perceived service quality.

A focused and rigorous examination of customers' views of the importance of the service elements is provided. The study confirmed previous research that the application of SERVQUAL in the public sector can produce different service quality dimensions from those found in private sector services. It was also found that the service quality gaps, and the relative importance of the five dimensions of service quality, were the same for students and staff, albeit with some specific differences. Reliability was the most important dimension for all customers and the greatest improvement in service quality would be achieved through improved service reliability.

The implications of these findings for the department are discussed, together with the value of SERVQUAL to the public sector, in general, and Higher Education, in particular, in assisting with improvement of services. Further research at the HEI which would benefit the department is identified as well as a broader project to survey service provision and approaches to quality measurement across HEIs.

In an increasingly consumerist environment, a serious approach to service quality can only enhance the reputation of HEIs which address the area in a coherent and consistent manner. This study details a useful approach.