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1 – 10 of over 1000Behavioral research is an accepted research paradigm in business disciplines outside of finance including management, marketing and accounting. This paper looks at these…
Abstract
Behavioral research is an accepted research paradigm in business disciplines outside of finance including management, marketing and accounting. This paper looks at these disciplines and proposes goals for increasing acceptance of this form of research in real estate. Primary goals include investigation of actual heuristic use, concentration on expert decision makers, either as a group or in comparison to novices, incorporation of additional theory advocating functional heuristics, incorporation of real estate specific theory and identifying both theoretically and empirically when, why and how heuristic use may bias the decision process.
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Explores the extent to which the form of the relationship between customer satisfaction and customer behaviour is different under conditions of “low” satisfaction and “high”…
Abstract
Explores the extent to which the form of the relationship between customer satisfaction and customer behaviour is different under conditions of “low” satisfaction and “high” satisfaction. Three behavioural variables (word‐of‐mouth, feedback to the supplier, and loyalty) were examined. The results point to the fact that differences in the form do exist. Moreover, the results show that differences exist between the differences, in the sense that different patterns emerge for each behavioural variable.
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Chris Ellegaard, Ulla Normann and Nina Lidegaard
The purpose of this paper is to create knowledge on the intuitive global sourcing process applied by small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) managers.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to create knowledge on the intuitive global sourcing process applied by small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) managers.
Design/methodology/approach
This study reports on qualitative inquiries with experienced sourcing managers from 10 SMEs in the textile industry. The study follows a three-step semi-structured interviewing process, allowing us to gradually unveil the detailed nature of the intuitive supplier selection process.
Findings
Nine of the 10 SMEs rely on a highly intuitive supplier selections process, where one supplier at a time is gradually taken into the exchange while testing the supplier’s behavior. The process consists of an early heuristics sub-process, which gradually switches over to a more advanced intuiting behavioral pattern-matching process.
Practical implications
Most OM/SCM research has treated global sourcing and supplier selection as a highly rational, analytical and deliberate optimization problem. This study uncovers a completely different, and frequently successful, intuitive process, which could inspire managers in companies of all sizes, faced with high uncertainty about global supplier selection decisions.
Originality/value
Intuition has recently been adopted in the global sourcing literature. However, this study is the first to offer detailed insights into a predominantly intuitive global sourcing process, specifically as it is managed by SMEs.
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Aikaterini Vassilikopoulou, Irene Kamenidou and Constantinos-Vasilios Priporas
The current paper aims at exploring negative aspects in reviews about Airbnb listings in Athens, Greece.
Abstract
Purpose
The current paper aims at exploring negative aspects in reviews about Airbnb listings in Athens, Greece.
Design/methodology/approach
The aspect-based sentiment approach (ABSA), a subset of sentiment analysis, is used. The study analyzed 8,200 reviews, which had at least one negative aspect. Based on dependency parsing, noun phrases were extracted, and the underlying grammar relationships were used to identify aspect and sentiment terms.
Findings
The extracted aspect terms were classified into three broad categories, i.e. the location, the amenities and the host. To each of them the associated sentiment was assigned. Based on the results, Airbnb properties could focus on certain aspects related to negative sentiments in order to minimize negative reviews and increase customer satisfaction.
Originality/value
The study employs the ABSA, which offers more advantages in order to identify multiple conflicting sentiments in Airbnb comments, which is the limitation of the traditional sentiment analysis method.
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Vikas Gupta and Saurabh Kumar Dixit
This study aims to determine whether the branded luxury guestroom amenities provided in five-star hotels of Delhi influence the guest's hotel purchase decisions. It also…
Abstract
This study aims to determine whether the branded luxury guestroom amenities provided in five-star hotels of Delhi influence the guest's hotel purchase decisions. It also identified the amenities which are found to be most and least influential in affecting the guest's hotel selection and purchase behaviour. The study was conducted in the three upscale five-star hotels of Delhi. The selection of amenities and brands to be considered as luxury was based upon three focus group interviews with the room's division manager of the hotels. A structured questionnaire was drafted to identify the most and least useful hotel amenities among the respondents, influencing their hotel selection and purchase behaviours. Wi-Fi in the guestroom was found to be the most valuable amenity, with stationery items regarded as least valuable. It was also found that the guest's hotel selection and purchase decisions were significantly influenced when luxury branded amenities were placed in the guestroom. Guests were even found to pay extra when the hotel provided access to luxury branded amenities in the guestrooms. This is a novel attempt to find how the guests' hotel selection and purchase intentions are influenced by the placement of branded luxury amenities in guestrooms.
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The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the effectiveness of systems for ensuring cooperation in online transactions is impacted by a positivity bias in the evaluation of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the effectiveness of systems for ensuring cooperation in online transactions is impacted by a positivity bias in the evaluation of the work that is produced. The presence of this bias can reduce the informativeness of the reputation system and negatively impact its ability to ensure quality.
Design/methodology/approach
This research combines survey and experimental methods, collecting data from 1,875 Mechanical Turk (MTurk) workers in five studies designed to investigate the informativeness of the MTurk reputation system.
Findings
The findings demonstrate the presence of a positivity bias in evaluations of workers on MTurk, which leaves them undifferentiated, except at the extremity of the reputation system and by status markers.
Research limitations/implications
Because MTurk workers self-select tasks, the findings are limited in that they may only be generalizable to those who are interested in research-related work. Further, the tasks used in this research are largely subjective in nature, which may decrease their sensitivity to differences in quality.
Practical implications
For researchers, the results suggest that requiring 99 per cent approval rates (rather than the previously advised 95 per cent) should be used to identify high-quality workers on MTurk.
Originality/value
The research provides insights into the design and use of reputation systems and demonstrates how design decisions can exacerbate the effect of naturally occurring biases in evaluations to reduce the utility of these systems.
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Word‐of‐mouth (WOM) communication, satisfaction and service quality are inextricably linked. However, despite much research, the shape of the satisfaction‐WOM relationship is not…
Abstract
Purpose
Word‐of‐mouth (WOM) communication, satisfaction and service quality are inextricably linked. However, despite much research, the shape of the satisfaction‐WOM relationship is not known. At present, three relationships are supported. This paper aims to develop and test a model of how the satisfaction‐WOM relationship varies depending on the type of service encounter, thus reconciling past conflicting findings.
Design/methodology/approach
A number of service quality indicators are manipulated and a fully factorial 2×3 experiment is conducted to test the hypotheses on 281 respondents.
Findings
All four hypotheses are supported; in certain types of service encounters high levels of satisfaction lead to greater WOM activity than low levels of satisfaction (positivity bias) and this relationship is reversed in a second type of service encounter (negativity bias).
Research limitations/implications
This research shows that relationships between constructs are highly context dependent and can change dramatically. Future research would do well to test the framework developed in this paper with different respondents and different types of encounters.
Practical implications
To best benefit from WOM, practitioners are advised to vary their management of service quality and customer satisfaction, depending on the type of service industry they operate in.
Originality/value
This paper reconciles three conflicting streams of research. This is also the first paper to empirically test a service taxonomy developed by Price et al. and to demonstrate consumers' vastly different reactions to the resulting two extreme types of services.
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Ability to identify and meet stakeholder expectations is seen as imperative for succeeding in corporate responsibility (CR). However, the existing literature of CR communication…
Abstract
Purpose
Ability to identify and meet stakeholder expectations is seen as imperative for succeeding in corporate responsibility (CR). However, the existing literature of CR communication treats expectations predominantly as positive constructions. The purpose of this paper is to address this positivity bias and offer insights for a more profound conceptual and empirical understanding of stakeholder expectations.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents findings from a targeted literature search and empirical illustrations from a thematic analysis of interview data with a focus on the media sector.
Findings
The conceptual understanding of expectations is advanced by exploring positive (optimistic and hopeful) and negative (cynical and pessimistic) expectations. The empirical examples portray expectation analysis and how it becomes more complex when expectations turn negative.
Research limitations/implications
The data are limited to one sector but implications are discussed with a wider lens to aid future studies in addressing expectations of CR with less positivity bias and, instead, with more conceptual and empirical precision.
Practical implications
The identification of different expectation types can help practitioners to map and analyze stakeholder expectations of CR, assess interlinking between positive and negative issues, and address stakeholder criticism in a meaningful way.
Social implications
A more precise understanding of stakeholder expectations has the potential to make organizations more sensitive to their societal context, especially concerning CR as social connectedness.
Originality/value
The paper addresses a gap in current literature concerning the positivity bias of expectations and offers conceptual and empirical tools for future research and practice.
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