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Importance‐performance analysis (IPA) is a simple marketing tool commonly used to identify the main strengths and weaknesses of a value proposition. The purpose of this paper is to propose a revision of traditional IPA prompted by intuitions arising from the three‐factor theory of customer satisfaction. The ultimate goal is to propose a decision support method, which is as simple and intuitive as the original IPA, but more precise and reliable than the solutions proposed thus far.

In order to estimate indirect measures of attribute importance, the study uses the coefficients of a multiple regression with overall satisfaction ratings as the dependent variable. Additional calculations are then introduced in order to manage non‐linear effects.

Using empirical data from a survey among 5,209 customers of a European bank, the authors show how the proposed method can be more accurate than other solutions, especially as disregarding non‐linear effects can prompt sub‐optimal marketing decisions.

While the procedure in this study is applicable to any service business, the paper does not claim external validity for the numerical results of the empirical application: the authors acknowledge that only one dataset has been used. The authors' goal is merely to demonstrate a revised approach to IPA.

First, the authors assert the need for an explicit distinction between the use of IPA for customer acquisition vs customer retention purposes. These two cases refer to distinct moments in the customer relationship life cycle and thus require separate analyses. The authors then propose a specific method for customer retention IPA. On this basis, they generate two priority charts: one for the purpose of maximizing customer satisfaction and one for the purpose of minimizing customer dissatisfaction.

The present work aims at developing the laser cladding technology by means of an active fiber laser source applicable for hardfacing of martensitic steel turbine blades. It also aims to investigate two process parameter conditions to reproduce two different heat inputs, in order to highlight the effect of the thermal input on the thermal alteration and dilution of the substrate material and clad layer.

The experimentation was performed initially at a sample level, reproducing the material and thickness of the blade leading edge, then on an industrial real component. Cladding process parameters were experimentally selected and two different process parameter conditions, at different specific energy, were determined. The microstructural and geometrical features of the clad samples were analyzed both by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, in this latter case combining the information supplied by different probes, among which the EDX microanalysis to obtain chemical profiles. Hardness distribution was also evaluated by means of Vickers hardness tester.

All the two investigated conditions were suitable for laser cladding of the blade leading edge, since a crack and pore free clad layer with a strong metallurgical bond to the substrate was obtained. The experimented two different heat inputs affected the extension of the HAZ as well the chemical and geometrical dilution. The clad integrity was preserved in both cases. The condition at higher specific energy was chosen to clad the turbine blade. The high specific energy condition was preferred because the iron dilution in the clad layer was inferior.

Further research is needed to correlate the chemical dilution and the thermal alteration introduced by the laser cladding process on such a kind of substrate at different process parameter conditions to the wear and corrosion resistance of the turbine blade.

Laser cladding process with an innovative active fiber laser source of the leading edge of a steam turbine blade was developed. Progress achieved in laser cladding technology development is of practical value for manufacture of turbine blades, made of martensitic steels.

The paper investigates the effect of different energy input on the laser cladding of steam turbine blades, mainly used in coal, gas and nuclear plants to produce electricity by heating water to create steam. The laser cladding process is an effective technology to increase the steam blades toughness and resistance to creep, stress and corrosion. This increase in the turbine blade properties contributes to extend the life of such a critical components, decreasing cost and time of substitution and ensuring better service conditions.

The most original aspect of the paper is related to the focus on the difference between the chemical and the geometrical dilution, being the first one mainly related to the corrosion and wear resistance of the clad layer, while the later mainly regards the clad layer adhesion to the substrate. More in general the paper presents one of the first experiments accomplished while making use of the active fiber laser source.

We review the state of the literature concerning work–family conflict in the military, focusing on service members’ parenting roles and overall family and child well-being. This includes recognition that for many women service members, parenting considerations often arise long before a child is born, thereby further complicating work–family conflict considerations in regard to gender-specific conflict factors such as pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum, and breastfeeding. Subsequently, we consider more gender-invariant conflict factors, such as the nature of the work itself as causing conflict for the service member as parent (e.g., nontraditional hours, long separations, and child care challenges) as well as for the child (e.g., irregular contact with parent, fear for parent’s safety, and frequent relocations), and the ramifications of such conflict on service member and child well-being. Finally, we review formalized support resources that are in place to mitigate negative effects of such conflict, and make recommendations to facilitate progress in research and practice moving forward.

There is a pressing need for practitioners to adopt viable analytic procedures that may help them optimize resource allocation to strengthen customer satisfaction. This paper reviews a range of procedures used for measuring customer satisfaction that are identified in the literature and tests which procedures might be more useful to practitioners.

Customer satisfaction measurement procedures developed in the literature are reviewed to assess the non‐linear and asymmetric relationship between attribute performance and overall satisfaction. A convergent validity test between the two measurement procedures that the review suggests are the most suitable for application in practice is then conducted to discover the relative merits of each. The test is based on an empirical investigation carried out in the mobile communication industry.

Two measurement procedures were identified as the most appropriate to practitioners, “regression with dummy variables” and the “Importance Grid”. These were compared using a convergent validity test, which revealed a lack convergent validity between the two. Discussion about the reliability of the two procedures and the implications for practice is provided. On balance, the regression with dummy variables was identified as the better approach.

The paper highlights the importance that recognition is given to the non‐linear and asymmetric response of customer satisfaction to the performance of different product/service attributes if appropriate decisions are to be made for allocating marketing resources. While research on customer satisfaction has emphasized the need to account for the non‐linear and asymmetric relationship between attribute performance and overall satisfaction, no effort has been made to disseminate these insights fully among practitioners. Since understanding the relationship between attribute performance and overall satisfaction is paramount if resource allocation to improve attribute performance is to be prioritized correctly, there is a pressing concern to move customer satisfaction programs closer to the theory predictions. A range of measurement procedures is reviewed and compared. Through this work, academics and practitioners may gain further insight into procedures for measuring customer satisfaction and an understanding of the relative benefits and limitations of the procedures that may be adopted.

Over the past decade, in Europe the attention of scholars, as well as the focus of the political debate on the ‘urban social cohesion’, has become increasingly oriented to the issue of immigrants’ spatial segregation. This concern has gradually led to the promotion of urban policies oriented to fight against the residential segregation on ethnic basis, although the effects of residential concentration per se and social inclusion are not clearly identified, and minor attention has been devoted to understand and fight against the casual factors leading immigrants to occupy the most residual part of the social and physical urban space. By proposing a comparative analysis of two urban contexts – Copenhagen, Milan – that are different in terms of immigrants’ presence and legal status, as well as labour market integration and general welfare regime, the study explores some mechanisms promoting the social and spatial marginalization of immigrants in Europe. It also analyses the most important urban policies dealing with residential segregation, evaluating their capacity of facing the phenomenon or promoting (unexpected) negative consequences.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the nonlinear impact of users’ memories on their general evaluation of outpatient healthcare services by the integration of two methodologies: critical incidents technique (CIT) and penalty-reward contrast analysis (PRCA).

The authors carried out a survey with 356 respondents, users of seven outpatient clinics located in the city of Blumenau/SC, Brazil, during 2016. The participants were asked about their perceptions of positive and negative aspects of the service; and, using CIT, the answers were categorized according to the following dimensions: empathy, communication, facilities, access, promptness, medicines availability, complementary services, safety/confidentiality and service performance. Then, the authors evaluated the nonlinear impact of critical incidents on users’ general evaluation of the service using the identified incidents as input variables in a PRCA.

The findings show that users of healthcare services tend to remember emotion and health aspects positively, while technical and formal aspects tend to be more negatively than positively remembered. On the other hand, PRCA identifies that incidents of three dimensions positively influence the overall perception of the service (empathy, complementary services and privacy) and five negatively (empathy, facilities, speed, drugs/pharmacy and health performance), explaining 26.3 percent of the variation in clients’ general satisfaction.

The present paper explores the integration of two methodologies, showing how we can use open listening to healthcare service users to identify the nonlinear impact of different incidents on their general evaluation of the service. The results show that what customers remember does not necessarily influence overall customer satisfaction. The present approach allows companies to improve the process of listening to customers. There are no other papers exploring this approach, particularly in relation to healthcare services.

This chapter develops a conceptual taxonomy of five emerging digital citizenship regimes: (1) the globalised and generalisable regime called pandemic citizenship that clarifies how post-COVID-19 datafication processes have amplified the emergence of four intertwined, non-mutually exclusive and non-generalisable new technopoliticalised and city-regionalised digital citizenship regimes in certain European nation-states’ urban areas; (2) algorithmic citizenship, which is driven by blockchain and has allowed the implementation of an e-Residency programme in Tallinn; (3) liquid citizenship, driven by dataism – the deterministic ideology of big data – and contested through claims for digital rights in Barcelona and Amsterdam; (4) metropolitan citizenship, as revindicated in reaction to Brexit and reshuffled through data co-operatives in Cardiff; and (5) stateless citizenship, driven by devolution and reinvigorated through data sovereignty in Barcelona, Glasgow and Bilbao. This chapter challenges the existing interpretation of how these emerging digital citizenship regimes together are ubiquitously rescaling the associated spaces/practices of European nation-states.

The purpose of this paper is to test the weak-form efficiency of listed European football stocks in the sample period 2012–2020.

Three powerful tests for randomness are performed, that is, autocorrelation of returns analysis via the Ljung and Box (1978) test, variance ratio test by Lo and MacKinlay (1988) and runs test (Wald and Wolfowitz, 1940).

Results are mixed. Autocorrelation analysis and variance ratio test reject the random walk hypothesis and are, therefore, in line with the findings of Ferreira et al. (2017). In contrast, the runs test only leads to rejection of the random walk hypothesis for five out of 20 football stocks. Interestingly, this applies to shares with the lowest trading volume.

The market for stakes in football clubs can be expected to continue to grow in the future. Thus, the issue whether the price signals derived from listed football clubs are reliable inputs when negotiating the price for a football club stake in a private transaction is of increasing importance.

This study complements, and partly challenges, the results of Ferreira et al. (2017), the only other study in this field, by applying other methods and analyzing a more recent sample period.

Purpose – This chapter provides a roadmap for future research and evaluation on violent extremist risk analysis.

Methodology/Approach – The authors synthesize the lessons learned from process evaluations of general violence risk assessment, bias research, survey designs, linguistic analyses, and spatial analyses, and apply them to the problem of violent extremist risk assessment and management.

Findings – The next generation of violent extremist risk assessment research will necessitate a focus upon process, barriers to effective implementation and taking the human element of decision-making into account. Furthermore, the development of putative risk factors for violent extremist attitudes and behaviors necessitates a movement toward more survey-based research designs. Future risk assessment processes may additionally take language and spatial components into account for a more holistic understanding.

Originality/Value – Based on existing literature, there is a paucity of research conducting process evaluations, survey designs, linguistic analyses, and spatial analyses in this area. The authors provide several roadmaps, assessments of respective strengths and weaknesses, and highlight some initial promising results.