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The purpose of this work is to identify commonalities that exist within the contracts between customer and vendor companies, the nature of the problems commonly associated with these contracts, and to provide a theoretical model that exists between customer and vendor companies.

This research uses multiple sources of previous research to isolate the key elements and form a theoretical model for the ideal outsourcing contract. The common problems identified were also derived from previous research.

The paper finds that there is a common set of key contractual elements that exist between most outsourcing contracts. The nature of the particular industry the companies exist within and the specific needs within each customer‐vendor relationship can be accommodated within the contract by tailoring these key elements to fit each scenario. A set of common problems may arise when any of the key elements are not sufficiently addressed. These problems can greatly devalue the customer‐vendor relationship and supply chain as a whole.

Future research should examine the theoretical model presented within the context of various industries. Each of the key elements presented and its implications for the customer‐vendor relationship should also be further examined.

This research may provide a better understanding of the importance of the outsourcing contract to the customer‐vendor relationship and/or the contract itself for management.

Previous research has not fully addressed the nature of the outsourcing contract and its associated problems. Where this research attempts to identify all key elements of the contract, previous research usually addresses a single contractual element at a time. There has also been little research that discusses the problems that commonly arise within the contractual relationship. The theoretical model within this research may be useful.

XML Schema Definition (XSD) is in the logical level of XML model and is used in most web applications. At present, there is no standard format for the conceptual level of XML model. Therefore, we introduce an XML Tree Model as an XML conceptual schema for representing and confirming the data semantics according to the user requirements in a diagram. The XML Tree Model consists of nodes representing all elements within the XSD. We apply reverse engineering from an XSD to an XML Tree Model to assist end users in applying an XML database for information highway on the Internet. The data semantics recovered for visualization include root element, weak elements, participation, cardinality, aggregation, generalization, categorization, and n‐ary association, and which can be derived by analyzing the structural constraints of XSD based on its key features such as key, keyref, minOccurs, maxOccurs, Choice, Sequence and extension. We use the Eclipse user interface for generating a graphical view for XML conceptual schema.

To better respond to today’s volatile and changing fashion market, the purpose of this paper is to develop a web-based design support system that enables users to design realistic and interesting skirts in the form of technical sketches over the internet.

The proposed system mainly consists of a sketch representation and composing method (SRCM), a graphic user interface (GUI) and a controller. The SRCM is implemented at the server end that generates technical sketches according to user defined parameters and features via the web-based GUI at the client side. The controller manages the workflows between the server and the clients.

To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed system, a survey was conducted by inviting 30 subjects (professional designers or undergraduate students studying fashion design) to have trial run of the system in Hong Kong and in the USA. Positive comments and feedbacks were received, and valuable suggestions were also obtained in regard to the prototype system.

Compared with traditional computer-aided design (CAD) systems, the proposed system is more effective and easier to operate as users can create technical sketches in accurate proportions with simple computer operations in a few mouse clicks. Besides, the output sketches are fully compatible with most commercial CAD software. The system is developed based on web technologies, thus fashion sketches can be easily designed using any computer connected to the internet; it can be implemented on Android or iOS platform in the future.

The paper aims to investigate the main aspects of perceptions of the Mini brand in the UK. Given that consumers' perceptions of a brand are represented by brand awareness and brand image, this research undertakes an in‐depth investigation of the image of the BMW Mini brand in its most established market.

The study consisted of 55 in‐depth interviews with a cross‐section of important stakeholders with high brand awareness and knowledge.

The research identifies the importance of the symbolic elements of the brand's image, in particular its fun, sporty, fashionable and stylish image. The study reveals that the brand's appeal is largely at an emotional level based on the brand's symbolic image and key associations. A model is developed to reflect these findings. The study concludes that associations are key to stakeholders' perceptions of the brand. In particular associations related to the brand's heritage and product‐related associations such as the car's aesthetics and handling.

The research identifies the importance of maintaining the brand's heritage, including its British origins, and the product's core appeal. In light of the importance of the brand's British origins, the research identifies possible challenges created through the brand's new German BMW ownership, and the launch of the new Mini.

The study develops a unique insight of this historic and valuable brand, as perceived by key stakeholders with high brand awareness and knowledge. In the light of these findings a model is developed that offers an improved understanding of how brand perceptions are developed.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to extend transformative service and social marketing practitioners’ and academics’ understanding of how gamification and serious m-games are designed, and second, to model the effects of game design elements on key transformative service and social marketing outcomes, satisfaction, knowledge, and behavioural intentions.

The research adopted a two-study, mixed-method research design, encompassing focus groups (n=21) and online surveys (n=497), using four current marketplace serious m-games. Study 1 was qualitative and the data were analysed in two cycles using an inductive and deductive approach. Study 2 was quantitative and the data were analysed using PLS-SEM.

The qualitative results of Study 1 discovered a framework of five game design elements for serious m-games. In Study 2, a conceptual model and hypothesised relationships were tested at a full sample level and by each serious m-game. Results show different significant relationships for each serious m-game and moderate to high levels of explanation for satisfaction and knowledge, and low to high levels of explained variance for behavioural intentions. The findings are therefore not only robust across four different serious m-games, but also demonstrate the nuances of the relationships.

This research contributes to two service research priorities: leveraging technology to advance services, and improving well-being through transformative services. This research demonstrates that gamification through serious m-games is one form of technology that can be designed to create a satisfying and knowledge-creating service experience, which can also influence intentions to perform health and well-being behaviours.

The psychological analysis of strategic management issues has gained a great deal of momentum in recent years. Much can be learned by entering the black box of strategic thinking of senior executives and bring new insights on how they see, make sense of, and interpret their everyday strategic experiences. This chapter will focus on a powerful cognitive mapping tool called the Repertory Grid Technique and demonstrate how it has been used in the strategy literature along with how a new and more refined application of the technique can enhance the elicitation of complex strategic cognitions for strategy and Board of Directors research.

What is the nature of the key account management (KAM) approach? Various themes have been discussed under the title “key account management”, however, the approach seems to lack coherence and clearly requires further conceptualization. Based on an extensive literature analysis, this article identifies and describes the basic elements of KAM and offers a definition of it. What kind of managerial practices facilitate KAM at the company and individual levels? Although paying customers in the business‐to‐business market are organizations, they are always represented by individuals. Thus, successful KAM requires appropriate handling at both the organizational and the individual levels. This paper describes the nature of company‐ and individual‐level customer benefits in business‐to‐business relationships. As a synthesis, this paper suggests a framework for KAM practices deploying the main elements of KAM and the company and individual levels of business‐to‐business relationships.

The purpose of this paper is to show how consumer researchers have used experimental design of ideas to understand emotions.

The approach was “quali‐quant,” mixing the insights of qualitative research with the numerical rigor of quantitative research. Consumers were presented with small, easy to understand test concepts created by experimental design to obtain their reactions. The paper looks at the impact of emotion‐language on acceptance, through individual‐level regression modeling.

Models were developed for each respondent. It was found that the emotion elements are not key drivers of interest in the product. The paper did, however, find individuals who were sensitive to some emotion elements, but not to others, leading to the conclusion that responses to emotion in concepts may emerge out of the interaction of individual respondents and the concept elements.

The key limitation of this type of research is that it requires a specific internet‐based program (IdeaMap.Net) which does all the combinations, acquires the data, and then analyzes it.

The paper shows how to better understand the role of emotions in written concepts.

The paper presents a totally new treatment of emotion, by looking at emotion in terms of the stimulus and the respondent together. It shows that emotion is an emergent or new entity, not inherent in the predisposition of a group of individuals, nor in the nature of the stimulus.

The experience of safety as perceived by customers is a central issue in retailing, and its importance has increased because of the pandemic. Substantial literature exists addressing different factors related to safety/security experience in different types of retail channels. However, what is missing is a unified framework to guide safe customer experience initiatives across all channels. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the safety elements in omnichannel retailing as perceived by customers and how these safety elements affect customer experience (CX) judgments and consumer behavior in a post-pandemic context.

A systematic literature review on safety/security studies in a retail context is conducted, followed by a qualitative study driven by a means-end-chain laddering technique collecting data from 62 retail customers in Australia, the USA and UK.

Fourteen distinct safety elements in omnichannel retailing are identified. Four elements are relevant to the CX at the pre-purchase stage of the customer journey: social inclusiveness, role readiness, employment policy and safety policy enforcement. Six elements are relevant to the during-purchase stage: physical safety, personal hygiene, spatial distancing, fraud prevention, security surveillance and safety signal. The remaining four elements are relevant to the post-purchase stage: delivery safety, safety recall, mental health and data usage.

This study presents a new unified framework addressing safety and security in post-pandemic retail service settings. The SafeCX framework offers researchers and managers a holistic understanding of the distinct safety elements that shape customers’ perceptions across each customer journey stage of the retail CX.

Corporate apologies, relative to other responses to well-publicized past transgressions, have distinct implications, sparking a rich tradition of apology research. But in addition, each apology is unique, such that it becomes critical to address individual content (what), spokesperson (who), timing (when) and delivery (how) elements. This paper aims to clarify how people evaluate key apology elements (individually and collectively) and the associated trade-off between short-term risks (e.g. business costs) and long-term benefits (e.g. relational assets), in light of key contingency factors that represent the level of the transgression-related threat to the firm.

An in-depth conceptual review, analysis and synthesis of corporate apology theories, research, business practices and case examples underlie the development of a conceptual framework that features 6 key tenets and 16 formal, testable propositions.

The holistic apology framework details how and why different corporate apology elements individually and collectively influence firm performance, in the presence of key transgression-related factors. The outlined tenets and propositions, in turn, provide clear guidelines for how to design and implement effective corporate apology strategies in response to publicized transgressions, as well as a platform for academics to advance research in this domain.

This paper contributes to apology theories by proposing 6 key tenets and 16 formal, testable propositions, incorporating apology mechanisms, contingencies and strategies (i.e. corporate apology typology), thus providing a more comprehensive view of corporate apologies in the marketing discipline.

This paper introduces 6 official tenets and 16 associated propositions that collectively (and interactively) serve as strategic guidelines for managers and opportunities for academics to advance research in this domain.

The proposed conceptual framework offers a novel, holistic understanding of the fundamental components of a corporate apology.