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The purpose of this paper is to report the results of an experimental study designed to better understand the role of online product reviews, both valence and volume, in the formation of initial online trust during a consumer’s exploratory stage with an e-tailer. This is done within the context of simultaneously varying e-tailer reputation and product type.

Participants take part in a conjoint task that involves viewing fictitious web pages and indicating their level of trust in using the site to purchase the product displayed. The web pages are developed by manipulating four attributes (e-tailer reputation, product type, summary product star rating and number of online reviews) according to a full factorial design. Conjoint models are estimated to determine the relative influence of each attribute on trust perceptions, the significance of selected two-way interactions among the four attributes, and potential moderating effects of varied prior online experiences, including previous usage frequency of online reviews.

Results reveal that e-tailer reputation has the greatest impact on initial trust perceptions, followed by the summary review star rating of the product. Significant two-way interactions show that a large number of reviews enhance the effect of a positive summary review on trust while shopping for high priced experience products diminishes the positive influence of e-tailer reputation. Prior online experiences moderate the relationship between these website attributes and perceived trust by interacting with the two strongest trust cues in the model. The effects of these attributes on trust perceptions are less for those with higher levels of prior online experiences.

The study uses conjoint analysis, which requires participants to implicitly “tradeoff” among website attributes in making overall judgments about e-tailer trustworthiness. Consequently, the relative influence of online reviews (both valence and volume) on initial trust perceptions is derived empirically in a realistic setting that involves online shopping contexts with different risk (by varying product type). Moreover, the authors are able to estimate interaction effects. A significant interaction between summary product star rating and number of reviews implies that online review volume may be more important to perceived e-tailer trustworthiness than earlier studies suggest.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the state of S&P 500 companies’ transparency by analyzing their Bloomberg ESG (Environmental-Social-Governance) disclosure scores. Additionally, the effects of industry sector, firm size, and governance practices on transparency are examined.

Data were retrieved from Bloomberg using the financial analysis environmental, social and governance function for companies comprising the S&P 500 index. Descriptive statistics are provided on each of the three components separately (ESG). Nonparametric procedures are used to test for significant differences in transparency within each of these three areas based on industry sector. Additionally, nonparametric tests are used to determine the impact of firm size (market capitalization) and governance factors (board size, board gender diversity, chief executive officer (CEO) duality, and linking executive compensation to ESG disclosure) on the composite ESG score.

Descriptive statistics reveal that S&P 500 companies differ in their level of disclosure across the three areas (ESG). The highest level of transparency is found on Governance and the lowest on Environmental. Moreover, there is much variability in the percentage of S&P 500 companies disclosing information about specific Social policies (e.g. child labor). Significant differences in transparency on both the Social and Governance dimensions are found between certain industry sectors. The results also reveal that large-cap companies have significantly higher ESG disclosure scores than mid-cap companies and that governance factors impact ESG disclosure. Significantly, higher ESG disclosure scores are observed for S&P 500 firms with larger boards of directors, with boards that are more gender diverse, that allow CEO duality, and that link executive compensation to ESG scores.

This study focuses on corporate transparency through a granular analysis of ESG disclosure scores when most other studies have been primarily conducted at the macro level. Stakeholders, analysts, and shareholders are increasingly scrutinizing firms’ sustainability disclosures in their assessment of management quality, as it reflects on the practices/policies that are employed to improve firms’ environmental and social footprints.

Dimensions of critical factors that impact online retailing (e‐quality) are synthesized from the literature and organized along the four phases of a consumer’s online shopping experience: encountering the online retailer’s home page, selecting a product from the online catalog, completing the order form and accessing customer service and support. Using a random sample of 55 online retailers, the study benchmarks real online transactions against these e‐quality dimensions. Findings suggest several areas that e‐retailers should target for improvement. These areas include increasing the speed of home page loading, providing the ability to translate into multiple languages, enhancing the capabilities of search engines, displaying security policies more conspicuously, offering multiple payment options, and reducing the minimum number of clicks to complete a transaction. The final phase of the online shopping experience, customer service and support, seems to offer the most room for improvement in the areas of instant automated merchant notification of orders and on time delivery.

Uses survey results from a national sample of quality managers to examine the relationship between how a firm defines quality and what product quality dimensions it considers important to its competitive strategy. Garvin proposed a well‐known framework for thinking about product quality based on eight dimensions: performance, features, reliability, conformance, durability, serviceability, aesthetics, and perceived quality. Alternative definitions of quality have evolved from five different approaches: transcendent, product‐based, user‐based, manufacturing‐based, and value‐based. Of the five approaches to defining quality, the manufacturing firms in our sample subscribed most often to the user‐based definition. Using regression analysis within a factor analytic framework, some empirical support was found for hypothesized linkages between the product quality dimensions and the alternative definitions of quality. Specifically, the user‐based definition was related significantly to aesthetics and perceived quality, the manufacturing‐based definition to conformance, and the product‐based definition to performance and features.

The purpose of this paper is to report results from an experimental study in which participants rank e-tailer quality on the basis of descriptions involving five attributes (reputation of retailer, site usability, security, delivery and customer support). The paper further explores how the relative importance of these attributes to perceived e-tailer quality is impacted by customer demographic and behavioral characteristics (such as gender, age, frequency of online purchasing and use of online reviews).

Individual-level conjoint models are estimated to determine the relative importance of these five attributes to perceptions of e-tailer quality.

The relative importance of these five attributes to perceived e-tailer quality are impacted by customer specific characteristics and online behaviors, namely, age, the frequency of prior online purchasing, the frequency of use of online reviews and the importance attached to the availability of a large number of online product reviews.

Managerial implications that help e-tailers develop more effective, targeted strategies for enhancing the quality of their websites and increasing customer loyalty are presented.

The use of conjoint analysis for decomposing overall judgments of e-tailer quality to derive the relative importance of specific e-tailing attributes offers a realistic way to understand how online customers perceive and evaluate e-tailer quality.

The quality management literature prescribes various critical quality improvement strategies. However, there have been few empirical studies that tested for the synergy or the relationships among these critical quality constructs. This study develops a second‐order factor model to test whether a set of critical quality management factors load on an overall construct that may be termed “Total quality management”. Using survey data collected from 173 manufacturing and service firms, the LISREL VII computer program is used to estimate and validate the proposed model. The results provide an initial empirical evidence of the importance of implementing the quality management strategies holistically rather than piecemeal.

The purpose of this paper is to present the results of an experiment in which participants view fictitious e-tailing web pages and indicate the likelihood of purchasing the products displayed by manipulating four attributes (familiarity with the e-tailer, product type, summary product review, and the number of customer reviews) in order to determine their relative importance.

Individual level conjoint models are estimated to determine the relative importance of the manipulated attributes. Furthermore, cluster analysis is used to group individuals into different segments.

The results suggest that the summary review star rating of the product and familiarity with the e-tailer are the two most important attributes. A three cluster solution is obtained and each segment is characterized by the derived relative influence each attribute has on likelihood of online purchase.

Understanding how consumers make choices among attributes especially when they are confronted with trade-offs has implications for e-tailers wishing to develop effective, targeted strategies for increasing the likelihood of online purchases.

The purpose of this paper is to build upon the conceptual model developed by Feldman et al. (1997) that demonstrated a link between improved environmental performance and increased market value for publicly traded corporations. ISO 14000 standards, not yet established at the time of their study, provide the framework for a strategic approach to environmental management with an emphasis on continuous quality improvement. Consequently, ISO 14000 certification is used as the basis for creating an investment portfolio of publicly traded companies. While previous research has examined short-term stock market reactions to ISO 14000 certification, this study evaluates the longer term impact on shareholder value by comparing the ISO portfolio’s performance against other funds. It adds to the existing literature on the “pay to be green” question.

The successful attainment of ISO 14000 certification is used as the basis for developing a portfolio that is followed over time in order to examine its value to shareholders. The portfolio consists of companies certified between 1996 and 2006, each added to the portfolio the month after its announced ISO 14000 certification date. The study covers the period from October 1996 through April 2011. Average monthly returns and standard deviations for a buy-and-hold strategy over various rolling periods (three, five, seven and ten year) are used to compare the ISO 14000 portfolio against the S&P 500 Index. In addition, the growth of an initial investment of $100,000 is tracked to compare the ISO 14000 portfolio against the S&P 500 Index and three other funds that are socially responsible and/or green (Domini Social Equity Fund (DSEFX), Winslow Green Growth Investment, and iShares KLD 400 Social Index).

The ISO 14000 portfolio outperformed the S&P 500 Index as well as selected socially responsible and/or green funds in the growth of an initial investment over time. It also consistently provided higher average monthly returns (along with higher standard deviations) than the S&P 500 Index when using a buy-and-hold investment strategy over all rolling periods considered. Moreover, monthly returns for the ISO 14000 portfolio were found to be significantly higher, at the 0.05 level, than for those of the S&P 500 Index and the DSEFX.

Companies that attained ISO 14000 certification after 2006 were not included in the portfolio due to the inability to obtain a complete listing after that time. Furthermore, causality cannot be established by analyzing fund performance. Nonetheless, ISO 14000 certification as the basis for creating an investment portfolio appears to be a strategy that pays off in the long term.

This paper fills a gap in the literature by examining longer term market reactions to ISO 14000 certification. The methodology employed has not been used in this context, although it has been used to examine the impact of ISO 9000 certification on stock prices. The findings support the argument that improved environmental performance is valued by the market and may provide long-term value for shareholders.

Aims to explore the role of management and control of quality in a process industry. Specifically, focuses on the current practices in the process of making cheese. Develops a survey instrument to measure managers’ perceptions regarding the extent to which various quality management procedures are implemented in the production of cheese. Reveals several interesting observations: for instance, many of the managers believed that implementing more quality control procedures positively contribute towards better quality, increased productivity, and improved exporting capabilities. Moreover, employee training was viewed as a critical factor to the success of TQM initiatives in organizations. Reports other interesting results relating to the different types of tests that are commonly employed during the production of cheese and whether every plant should have a separate quality control department.

The purpose of this study is to examine and extend Noer's theoretical model of the new employment relationship.

Case study methodology is used to scrutinise the model. The results of a literature‐based survey on the elements underpinning the five values in the model are analysed from dual perspectives of individual and organization using a multi‐source assessment instrument. A schema is developed to guide and inform a series of focus group discussions from an analysis of the survey data. Using content analysis, the transcripts from the focus group discussions are evaluated using the model's values and their elements. The transcripts are also reviewed for implicit themes. The case studied is Flight Centre Limited, an Australian‐based international retail travel company.

Using this approach, some elements of the five values in Noer's model are identified as characteristic of the company's psychological contract. Specifically, to some extent, the model's values of flexible deployment, customer focus, performance focus, project‐based work, and human spirit and work can be applied in this case. A further analysis of the transcripts validates three additional values in the psychological contract literature: commitment; learning and development; and open information. As a result of the findings, Noer's model is extended to eight values.

The study offers a research‐based model of the new employment relationship. Since generalisations from the case study findings cannot be applied directly to other settings, the opportunity to test this model in a variety of contexts is open to other researchers.

In practice, the methodology used is a unique process for benchmarking the psychological contract. The process may be applied in other business settings. By doing so, organization development professionals have a consulting framework for comparing an organization's dominant psychological contract with the extended model presented here.