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Describes the “educational partnership” between the University of Central England and the Rover Group. Outlines the background and explains the nature of the developing links between the two. Identifies the precise benefits accruing to both sides as a result of the partnership. Finally, provides a detailed synopsis of a project sponsored by Rover in 1993, as an example.

Professional training courses play an important role for higher education instructors and their teaching quality. However, participants strongly differ in how much they learn in these courses. The present study seeks to explain these differences by focusing on attention as a central aspect of their behavioral engagement that can stem from participants' achievement motivations.

The authors investigated the attention of participants in full-day higher education professional training courses and how differences therein are associated with their achievement goals. Prior to course participation, 117 university instructors (49.6% male, 79.5% with PhD, average age 31.4 years) reported their achievement goals. Using an adapted observational instrument (Hommel, 2012a), two raters subsequently observed and coded the participants' attention during the course (ICC2 = 0.83).

The results documented very high attention levels, although with substantial interindividual differences. Multilevel analyses indicated that learning goals positively and work avoidance goals negatively predicted observed attention.

The findings provide insight into the value of an observational approach to measuring a fundamental aspect of learning engagement, and contribute to the understanding of interindividual differences in an important higher education learning environment. The study illuminates the relevance of personal predictors for university instructors' successful learning. Specifically, the findings point to the significance of goals as a relevant, but surprisingly hitherto uninvestigated, premise of learning engagement.

Given the absence of a formal forecasting model of property insurance surtax revenue for the state of Kentucky, this paper presents the insample and out-of-sample forecasts of four models: Holt linear trend algorithm, autoregressive model, linear trend/autoregressive model, and economic activity model based on annual fiscal year data from 1984 to 2001. The Holt linear trend algorithm and the linear trend/autoregressive model were reasonably close in their respective forecasting performance for both the in-sample and out-ofsample forecast horizons. However, the linear trend/autoregressive model exhibited some evidence of instability for the period 1992 to 1994. With respect to the out-of-sample forecasts, the Holt linear trend algorithm provided a better fit to the actual surtax data. Moreover, as time passes and additional data on the surtax becomes available, the models presented can easily be updated and reevaluated.

The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize, construct, refine and empirically validate a multiple‐item scale for measuring customers' service experience (EXQ).

The authors present exploratory research developing a conceptualization of service experience based on a two‐stage approach: initial item generation through qualitative research, initial purification of these findings through exploratory factor analysis, and validation through the use of confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling.

The paper conceptualizes and validates the concept of customer/service experience. In total, 19 items in four dimensions of the EXQ scale were identified: product experience, outcome focus, moments‐of‐truth and peace‐of‐mind. These dimensions reflect service experience perceptions. The findings support the conclusion that the service experience has a significant impact on customer satisfaction, loyalty and word‐of‐mouth intentions. The scale demonstrates good psychometric properties based on the variety of reliability and validity tests utilized and builds upon extant research.

The research provides managers with the dimensions of service experience that influence purchase behavior and provides researchers with a sought‐after conceptualization of service experience.

The authors believe that this is the first empirically founded conceptualization and measurement of the service/customer experience.

Chemistry as an applied science suffers from the fact that its necessarily close connection with various branches of industry is ill defined and generally very unsatisfactory in character. One result of this is that those who have made chemistry their profession find themselves more often than not in the position of having to subordinate their professional instincts to the temporary exigencies of some particular branch of trade and to find their professional status called in question and criticised by those who are not in the profession itself and who have no right to criticise.

The paper evaluates the international linkage of Indonesian stock market during pre‐crisis and post‐crisis periods using time series techniques of cointegration and vector autoregression (VAR). We find evidence for lack of cointegration among the Indonesian market, other ASEAN markets (Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand) and two advanced markets (the US and Japan) during both pre‐crisis and post‐crisis periods. Looking at short run dynamics, we document evidence for substantial interactions among the ASEAN markets. However, it seems that the Indonesian market becomes more segmented from other ASEAN markets during the post‐crisis period. Additionally, while most ASEAN markets respond quickly to shocks in the US regardless of the sample period and seem to be less influenced by the Japanese market post crisis, the Indonesian market becomes more responsive to the developed markets of the US and Japan during the post crisis period.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how financial services (FS) organizations manage the customer experience. It aims to establish what practices are used, to articulate the role of the FS context in influencing the choice of practices, and to identify how these practices support experience co-creation from the perspective of the organization.

The authors adopt a multiple case study approach. In total, 23 cases provide a rich understanding of the phenomenon studied which permits grounding the findings on robust data.

The authors identify five practices that are consistently used by FS organizations to manage the customer experience. The findings suggest that four industry-specific characteristics affect the choice of these practices. The results also reveal how these practices support the co-creation of the customer experience.

The authors focus on the FS context only, do not examine the impact of the practices on performance, and do not explore experience co-creation from the perspective of the customer.

Adopting these practices can facilitate a more co-created customer experience, which in turn can provide FS organizations with a competitive differentiator.

The paper advances current knowledge by revealing five customer experience management practices that are specific to the FS context. Moreover, this is one of the first studies to explore experience co-creation from the perspective of the organization and to identify ways in which organizations can support customers in co-creating the experiences.

The purpose of this study is to (a) develop a conceptual framework exploring the relationships between perceived negative firm customization, unfairness perceptions, and customer loyalty intentions, and (b) investigate the moderating effects of trust in these relationships. The study explores how customizing offers to match customers’ individual needs and how treating customers differentially provoke unfairness perceptions among those not being considered most important. While the literature discusses unfairness perceptions of pricing, promotion, and service, less is known about unfairness in customization practices.

Using a survey approach, 443 completed questionnaires we collected. Following validation of our item measures, a hierarchical linear regression analysis was conducted to test the conceptual model and hypothesized linkages between our constructs.

The results demonstrate that customers’ negative perceptions of customization increase their unfairness perceptions. Unfairness perceptions drastically reduce customer loyalty intentions with trust acting as a significant moderator. Trust increases loyalty intentions even when unfairness perceptions are present. Our findings provide a foundation for understanding how firms may improve their perceived fairness. This increase in perceived fairness creates positive attributions, reduces negative customer experience perceptions and increases loyalty intentions.

Key contribution is the development and validation of a conceptual model explaining the linkages between firm customization and unfairness perceptions, firm customization and customer loyalty intentions and the moderating role of trust between these relationships. This study extends the understanding of how customization practices impact unfairness perceptions and, subsequently, influence consumers’ perceptions, intentions and behavior.

Well‐founded complaint has recently been made concerning the characters of the various forms of “candy,” or, as we should term them, “sweets,” that are manufactured in great quantities in the United States.