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The concept and practice of e-services has become essential in business transactions. Yet there are still many organizations that have not developed e-services optimally. This is especially relevant in the context of Indonesian Airline companies. Therefore, many airline customers in Indonesia are still in doubt about it, or even do not use it. To fill this gap, this study attempts to develop a model for e-services adoption and empirically examines the factors influencing the airlines customers in Indonesia in using e-services offered by the Indonesian airline companies. Taking six Indonesian airline companies as a case example, the study investigated the antecedents of e-services usage of Indonesian airlines. This study further examined the impacts of motivation on customers in using e-services in the Indonesian context. Another important aim of this study was to investigate how ages, experiences and geographical areas moderate effects of e-services usage.

The study adopts a positivist research paradigm with a two-phase sequential mixed method design involving qualitative and quantitative approaches. An initial research model was first developed based on an extensive literature review, by combining acceptance and use of information technology theories, expectancy theory and the inter-organizational system motivation models. A qualitative field study via semi-structured interviews was then conducted to explore the present state among 15 respondents. The results of the interviews were analysed using content analysis yielding the final model of e-services usage. Eighteen antecedent factors hypotheses and three moderating factors hypotheses and 52-item questionnaire were developed. A focus group discussion of five respondents and a pilot study of 59 respondents resulted in final version of the questionnaire.

In the second phase, the main survey was conducted nationally to collect the research data among Indonesian airline customers who had already used Indonesian airline e-services. A total of 819 valid questionnaires were obtained. The data was then analysed using a partial least square (PLS) based structural equation modelling (SEM) technique to produce the contributions of links in the e-services model (22% of all the variances in e-services usage, 37.8% in intention to use, 46.6% in motivation, 39.2% in outcome expectancy, and 37.7% in effort expectancy). Meanwhile, path coefficients and t-values demonstrated various different influences of antecedent factors towards e-services usage. Additionally, a multi-group analysis based on PLS is employed with mixed results. In the final findings, 14 hypotheses were supported and 7 hypotheses were not supported.

The major findings of this study have confirmed that motivation has the strongest contribution in e-services usage. In addition, motivation affects e-services usage both directly and indirectly through intention-to-use. This study provides contributions to the existing knowledge of e-services models, and practical applications of IT usage. Most importantly, an understanding of antecedents of e-services adoption will provide guidelines for stakeholders in developing better e-services and strategies in order to promote and encourage more customers to use e-services. Finally, the accomplishment of this study can be expanded through possible adaptations in other industries and other geographical contexts.

In childlessness literature, researchers often engage in a discussion of why some women (and men) intend or choose to remain childless, with an emphasis on macro-level or interpersonal experiences. However, further research is needed to identify the ways in which voluntarily childless (VC) adults actively negotiate the social world among structural influences that simultaneously value parenthood and place complex burdens on parents. Utilising the Bourdieuian concepts of habitus, capital and field, this chapter contributes to a shift in the conversation from ‘why’ individuals remain childless towards an understanding of ‘how’ childbearing preferences impact individuals’ lives in practice.

This research compares experiences and characteristics of non-parents in relation to childbearing preferences. This study explores a sample of 972 participants’ responses to two open-ended questions addressing particular social arenas or experiences where they feel pressured or encouraged to have children as well as those where they feel pressured or encouraged not to have children. Responses were coded using a general inductive approach to identify emerging themes regarding the social fields and the nature of the interactions relevant to childbearing preferences. A between group comparison of temporarily childless (TC) and VC participants indicated a number of similarities and differences that highlight the contradictions, hardships and benefits of actively deciding to delay or forgo having children.

Both groups frequently indicated family, friends, work or school, public spaces and other structural and cultural factors pressuring or encouraging them to have children, but also indicated pressures or encouragement within similar fields advising them not to have children. For both groups, many of the responses highlighted the contradictory nature of these messages. The similarities and differences between groups also highlight ways in which the current status of non-parent can lead to certain similar social experiences, regardless of personal preference for the future, while also showing a number of ways these encounters are experienced or perceived differently, based on this preference.

Competition in the managed care industry has intensified as the industry has reached maturity. The current competitive environment of the industry and an increasing industry-wide ephasis on cost containment have resulted in declining profits, lower levels of member satisfaction, and increasing member disenrollment. Many health maintenance organizations (HMOs) have begun to reorient their approach to competitive advantage in the industry by offering theiry members open access to specialits. HMO executives believe that open access will reduce the degree of differentiation achieved by free-for-service (FFS) plans and thereby will allow HMOs to attract additional employers and members away from FFS plans and to improve overall member retention. Unfortunately, there is no empirical evidence to support this assumption. This study is the first empirical test of the strategic importance of member autonomy and open access in a managed care environment. The study expands the model of consumer satisfaction with a health care system proposed by Luft 1981 and tested by Mummalaneni and Gopalakrishna 1997 and incorporates Porter's 1980 theory of competition in mature industries. The model utilized in this study assesses the relative importance of autonomy in selecting specialists (open access), service convenience, value/pricing, and HMO resources on member satisfaction with care and intentions to remain with the HMO. Results show that all four factors significantly influence satisfaction and that subsequently, satisfaction influences intentions to remain enrolled in the plan. In addition, the importance of autonomy is demonstrated by significant direct and indirect paths to intentions to remain in the plan.

We chose to analyse Hungarian childlessness in order to map whether there is any voluntary childlessness at all in a society which is characterised by strong traditional family values and the widely accepted social norm that everyone should become a parent.

To answer to this question, we applied both quantitative and qualitative methods. First, we analysed the first three waves of the Hungarian panel survey ‘Turning Points of the Life Course’ conducted in 2001, 2004 and 2008. The focus is on men and women who were childless in 2001 and were still childless in 2008. To have a better understanding of the background of the quantitative results, we have also analysed 55 life-history interviews conducted with heterosexual men and women, who were recruited by using chain-referral sampling.

According to the qualitative findings the categorisation of childless people is quite fluid. For example, postponers became definitely childless while some originally voluntarily childless respondents became parents. However, the qualitative analysis allowed us to understand the mechanism behind this. In addition, using mixed methods also highlighted some inconsistencies between the qualitative and quantitative results.

In the present times, volunteers constitute a critical element of the human resources (HR) of non-profit organizations. All over the world, non-profit organizations work in complex environments, which are why non-profit organizations are facing increasing pressures to adopt contemporary HR management practices, not just in terms of their paid employees, but also with respect to managing their volunteers. It is frequently believed that volunteers are central to the functioning of non-profit organizations. Volunteers perform their responsibilities for the non-profit organization only because they care about its beneficiaries; however, a vital part is played by HR in facilitating their involvement, dedication and efficiency. Previously, non-profit organizations concentrated on developing and executing their objectives for the future; however, they are now starting to accept the significance of adopting a more professional approach regarding managing the volunteers so as to accomplish those objectives. In this regard, the purpose of the chapter is to: (1) analyze the factors that encourage volunteering in non-profit organizations; (2) offer theoretical anchoring through which it can be comprehended how HR practices draw, involve and sustain volunteers; (3) describe the HR practices that are most appropriate for volunteers and (4) offer the pathway for subsequent research regarding how HR and volunteering are related to each other.

Increased competition amongst the hotel industry players has challenged managers not to focus their attention exclusively on ways to attract and satisfy their customers, but to invest in customer retention strategies with the potential to ensure superior performance of their hotels. This study aims to determine strategies to retain customers in hotels in Ghana, an emerging market. A cross-sectional survey was employed to collect data from 677 hotel employees in 56 Ghanaian licensed hotels. Based on SmartPLS, study findings indicate that customer satisfaction, loyalty and retention embedded in the tangibility and reliability dimensions of the lodging quality index are important for customer retention among hotels in Ghana.

This study focuses on assistant principals, the “forgotten future workforce” of educational leadership. We explored the current landscape of assistant principalship within the context of work performance, including both task and discretionary performance, and the future career aspirations of assistant principals from a cross-national perspective. Specifically, the study aimed to fulfill the following objectives: (a) to identify the factors affecting the task and discretionary performance of assistant principals, (b) to identify the factors affecting three future career aspirations of assistant principals, and (c) to determine whether the influences of these factors differ by national origin. Personal initiative and perceived organizational support (POS) were the independent variables. This study also examined the demographic attributes of the participants and their schools. Two randomly selected samples, which composed of 227 Turkish and 144 American assistant principals were the participants. The data-gathering instrument incorporated the revised versions of the Personal Initiative Scale (Fay & Frese, 2001), the Perceived Organizational Support Scale (Eisenberger, Huntington, Hutchison, & Sowa, 1986), and the School Organizational Citizenship Behavior Scale (DiPaola & Tschannen-Moran, 2001). The findings of the study showed that personal initiative and POS significantly predicted the task performance, discretionary performance, and certain future career aspirations of assistant principals. National origin appeared to be a significantly differentiating factor of the assistant principals' task performances, discretionary performances, and future career aspirations. We drew conclusions and provided suggestions for future research.

Industry publications abound with tips on how to create and nurture customer evangelism. Scholarly publications note the effects of evangelism to firms. Consultants promote evangelism creation as part of their skill set. Yet the existence customer evangelism and its effects remain unsupported by empirical evidence. The purpose of this paper is to quantitatively explore customer evangelism.

This paper takes one of the first steps towards empirical analysis of customer evangelism by using a formative composite latent variable model to identify customer evangelists from a survey population. The authors then compare customer evangelists against non-customer evangelists on key characteristics, as per the claims in the qualitative literature, to verify the accuracy of the selection model.

The analysis demonstrates that key claims in the qualitative literature in regard to customer evangelists are supported by quantitative data in this study, namely that customer evangelists are focused on authenticity, cultishness and sharing knowledge, and have a deep emotional and spiritual connection to the brand. They also have higher intentions to purchase the product in future than do non-customer evangelists. However, other claims in the qualitative literature – such as that customer evangelists are more socially oriented, knowledge-seeking, experientially oriented or idealistic than are non-customer evangelists – are not supported by the data in this study, or are inconclusive.

This study is one of the first to attempt to empirically identify customer evangelists, and is part of a movement to study consumer religiosity in an empirical context. This study paves the way for further empirical research into customer evangelism, consumer religiosity and consumer collectivism.

This study examines whether Lifestyle Preferences affect attrition or influence career attitudes of early-career public accountants. The research follows an initial sample of 253 newly-hired, entry-level public accountants (133 male accountants and 120 female accountants). Analysis of data on career attitudes and Lifestyle Preference collected after three-years indicates an association for female accountants' data but not for male accountants. The research also finds that career attitudes have higher explanatory power for intentions to remain in public accounting for female accountants than male accountants. While job satisfaction, liking one's job, and intentions to remain in public accounting were all associated with female accountants' level of effort to be successful, there was no association between effort and these variables for male accountants. The level of effort to be successful was significantly lower at the three-year point than for the same individuals at the entry point across the sample. Finally, the data indicate that, after two years of career experience, Lifestyle Preference and attrition were associated for female accountants.