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Data gathered from routine clinical settings is complementary to evidence garnered from controlled efficacy trials. The purpose of this paper is to present individual-level analysis of changes in a group of patients discharged from psychological therapy within an outpatient pain service. The service had recently shifted from a traditional cognitive-behavioural approach to one underpinned by Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.

Reliable and clinically significant change methodology was applied to CORE-10 outcomes for 27 patients discharged during 2013-2014. Outcomes were compared to 2012-2013. A patient satisfaction questionnaire was administered and functional outcomes were collated.

Outcomes were not adversely affected by the shift in service focus as clients demonstrating reliable improvement increased from 2012-2013; 81 per cent reliably improved, 44 per cent made a clinically significant improvement. Increases in returning to work/unpaid activities at post-treatment were noted. The service met a number of NICE quality standards concerning the “relational” aspects of care.

Clinical effectiveness is evaluated through one outcome measure thereby limiting conclusions. The longer term effectiveness of the service remains unclear. Narrow demographic information limits an assessment of any systematic biases in findings. Little is known about treatment drop-outs.

A number of recommendations concerning data collection and future service evaluations are made.

Returning to paid or unpaid activities has a high public health impact.

This paper contributes towards the evidence base for using psychological therapies with clients experiencing chronic pain and related distress. Importantly, the paper complements evidence for general efficacy (from large-scale controlled studies) through an evaluation of real-world effectiveness (i.e. practice-based evidence).

The importance of alignment between users’ and providers’ expectations of accounting services has long been recognized as paramount in the auditing profession. The importance of expectations, and especially expectations gaps, is even more compelling for new assurance services, where the importance of marketing the service is pronounced. This paper develops the Assurance Gaps Model, which describes expectations gaps in general, defining these holistic differences between users’ and providers’ perceptions of assurance services as assurance gaps. The model suggests that assurance gaps really have a number of components – expectations, evaluations of performance and disconfirmation – all of which impact users’ satisfaction with the service. The magnitude of each of these components, as well as the emphasis placed on each one, is important in describing the nature of the gap. This model is consistent with previous research in auditing as well as a large body of research in marketing studying expectations and the satisfaction process (Oliver, 1997). To illustrate potential applications of the Assurance Gaps Model, hypotheses are developed and tested using an online simulation of the ElderCare assurance service proposed by the AICPA/CICA. Results indicate that users and providers demonstrate similar magnitude of each of the factors in the model, but differ in that users emphasize performance in forming satisfaction judgments while providers emphasize expectations. The study and results illustrate the usefulness of the model for performing detailed analysis of assurance gaps and for suggesting appropriate courses of action to manage the factors that contribute to them.

The purpose of this study is to examine the satisfaction formation process under conditions of varying involvement for new, nontraditional, credence‐based service offerings.

Hypotheses were tested using an on‐line simulation of a service encounter, beginning with perceptions of an advertisement and continuing through satisfaction with the completed service report. ElderCare, an assurance service provided by Certified Public Accountants to the children of an elderly parent, was the context of study.

The findings indicated expectations were not influential in the satisfaction formation process for these services, regardless of involvement. Under conditions of high involvement, performance evaluation was the dominant predictor of satisfaction. Low‐involvement subjects used disconfirmation to assess satisfaction.

Limitations of the research stem from the use of a convenience sample in a simulated service encounter. Future research should examine the influence of individual characteristics, particularly innovation, on the results. Additional research examining the determinants of model variables, from disconfirmation to involvement, across subjects in a variety of situations would also be valuable.

This research suggests a heightened need to guide the consumer experience where expectations are hard to develop and performance is hard to evaluate. Providers should carefully spell out key service dimensions, provide tangible information about performance outcomes for high‐involvement individuals, and focus on emotional appeals, provider qualities and sensory aspects of the service for low‐involvement individuals.

This paper helps researchers and practitioners better understand the applicability of expectancy disconfirmation theory and role of involvement in the context of new, nontraditional, credence‐based services.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of the choice of an assurance service provider on financial and social performance in an emerging economy. The study also examines whether the chief executive officer’s (CEO) characteristics influence the choice of an assurance service provider.

This study uses descriptive statistics, ordinary least square and probit regression to examine the 800 firm-year observations for the period 2010–2019 and with the Indian stock market as a testing ground.

The study shows that the engagement of assurance service providers reduces financial performance (stock price returns and Tobin’s q). The study also shows that consulting firms and auditing firms improve the social performance disclosure of the firm in an emerging economy. However, consulting firms outweigh auditing firms in improving social performance disclosure. Also, the implementation of mandatory reporting may slightly impede instead of an increase in social performance disclosure in an emerging economy. The study also shows that ageing CEOs prefer consulting firms over auditing firms in assurance service provision. Finally, the study shows that an extended stay in office by a CEO improves the choice of consulting firms, but the effect has a near-neutral significance.

The choice of CEO characteristics as an independent variable adds to the factors or drivers that cause the choice of an assurance service provider in an emerging economy. Also, the measurement variable of stock price returns and Tobin’s q expands the financial performance measurement in the relationship with assurance service providers.

The need for reliable information for decision makers is a fundamental principle underlying the demand for audit and assurance services. Yet, individuals and companies often do not understand the value that users place on independent third‐party assurance. This paper aims to address this issue.

This paper uses the market for baseball cards to provide an empirical analysis of the value users associate with third‐party assurance services. Paired observations for baseball cards are identified on eBay; one with a third‐party assurance regarding its quality and one with only the seller's statement.

Comparative analysis indicates that bidders are willing to pay significantly more for the items when third‐party assurance was provided.

These findings indicate that third‐party assurance is valued by consumers, and where information asymmetry exists between buyer and seller, sellers should consider the use of third‐party assurance to increase sale price.

This study aims to empirically examine a model of the halal logistic services, its impact on manufacturers’ trust and satisfaction.

This study was conducted through survey questionnaires after an extensive review of the literature. A total of 564 samples of the questionnaire were distributed to logistics management representatives of halal manufacturing companies in Malaysia. This survey was carried out to measure the respondents’ perception of halal manufacturers’ satisfaction with third-party logistic (3PL) service providers in Malaysia. The instruments/survey incorporate halal assurance services, halal service diversity and halal service procedure as the antecedents of halal manufacturers’ trust and satisfaction.

The findings indicate that halal assurance services and halal service procedure are positively associated with manufacturers’ trust and satisfaction, while halal service diversity is not associated with it. The study also shows that manufacturers’ attitude play a mediator role between the halal logistic service and manufacturers’ satisfaction.

The study provides useful information in understanding the importance of halal logistic services and more particularly aims at facilitating 3PL service providers to offer halal logistic services quality that suits the manufacturers’ needs.

In view of the significant deficiencies that have been observed in corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting practices, some companies have undertaken a new communication strategy based on a combination of the GRI guidelines and the IFC Performance Standards (termed the GRI-IFC strategy). This paper aims to analyse the role of the CSR committee and of assurance services in promoting this novel practice.

The authors use an unbalanced sample of 750 international companies that operate in emerging markets for the years 2011-2016, in which logistic and ordinal regressions are applied to the panel data to test the research hypotheses.

The results show that the existence of a CSR committee facilitates adoption of the GRI-IFC strategy, thus promoting sustainable management policies and systems and enhancing communication with stakeholders. In addition, these specialised committees often commission assurance for sustainability reports, to reinforce strategies aimed at improving corporate transparency.

The analysis of mediation shows that diverse characteristics of corporate governance mechanisms interact in improving sustainability and business transparency.

There is an evident need for greater commitment by institutions to sustainability, for example by requiring greater specialisation of the members of the CSR committee in social and environmental issues. In addition, consideration should be given to including the creation of a CSR committee as a good practice, within the code of corporate governance and to establishing a specific framework for the committee’s actions.

The previously cited impacts of this paper all contribute indirectly to a greater social welfare by generating higher levels of transparency, ethics and corporate performance. Specifically, higher quality verification services will have an impact on the improved functioning of the financial and capital markets, as well as in decision-making by internal and external stakeholders with more reliable information that will favour the implementation of more sustainable processes that in the short and long term will mean more companies who are responsible towards the environment and society.

This novel study explains why companies adopt voluntary strategies in compliance with GRI guidelines, seeking to provide better CSR disclosure.

The European Standards and Guidelines (ESG) for quality assurance (QA) adopted at the Bergen Ministerial Meeting in 2005 in the scope of the Bologna process call upon higher education institutions to take up a systematic approach to internal QA. Standard 1.1 of the ESG establishes that institutions should have a policy and associated procedures for the assurance of the quality and standards of their programmes and awards. University of Minho (UMinho) has a longstanding experience on innovative methods for the coordination and management of the teaching and learning processes, including, since 1991, systematic mechanisms for the evaluation of teaching. However, to fulfil the new demands raised by the ESG UMinho felt the need to define a formal institutional quality policy, building upon the existing procedures and mechanisms in order to set up a comprehensive internal QA system (SIGAQ-UM) fully compatible with the ESG. The purpose of this paper is to present the distinctive features of SIGAQ-UM, the procedures involved in its certification by Agency for Assessment and Accreditation of Higher Education (A3ES), as well as on the perceived impact on the university’s activities, including some comments on the difficulties to develop and consolidate a quality culture embedded in all the academic community.

Case study approach.

SIGAQ-UM is a fully operational comprehensive internal QA system certified by the Portuguese Agency A3ES in January 2013, with considerable impact on the university’s operation.

Disclosure of best practices on QA in higher education.

This study aims at investigating the extent of SysTrust’s framework (principles and criteria) as an internal control approach for assuring the reliability of accounting information system (AIS) were being implemented in Jordanian business organizations.

The study is based on primary data collected through a structured questionnaire from 239 out of 328 shareholdings companies. The survey units were the shareholding companies in Jordan, and the single key respondents approach was adopted. The extents of SysTrust principles were also measured. Previously validated instruments were used where required. The data were analysed using t-test and ANOVA.

The results indicated that the extent of SysTrust being implemented could be considered to be moderate at this stage. This implies that there are some variations among business organizations in terms of their level of implementing of SysTrust principles and criteria. The results also showed that the extent of SysTrust principles being implemented was varied among business organizations based on their business sector. However, there were not found varied due to their size of business and a length of time in business (experience).

This study is only conducted in Jordan as a developing country. Although Jordan is a valid indicator of prevalent factors in the wider MENA region and developing countries, the lack of external validity of this research means that any generalization of the research findings should be made with caution. Future research can be orientated to other national and cultural settings and compared with the results of this study.

The study provides evidence of the need for management to recognize the importance of the implementation of SysTrust principles and criteria as an internal control for assuring the reliability of AIS within their organizations and be aware which of these principles are appropriate to their size and industry sector.

The findings would be valuable for academic researchers, managers and professional accounting to acquire a better undemanding of the current status of the implementation of the SysTrust principles (i.e., availability, security, integrity processing, confidentiality, and privacy) as an internal control method for assuring the reliability of AIS by testing the phenomenon in Jordan as a developing country.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how firms can influence customer loyalty through customer commitment by leveraging two constructs of service quality: service assurance and service reliability.

The analyses are based on 138 responses retrieved from experienced users of mobile phone services in one of the big cities in the South-eastern part of Nigeria through a survey questionnaire. The validity and reliability of the measurement model as well as the proposed hypotheses were examined through the partial least squares structural equation modelling procedure.

Service reliability is a direct predictor of customer loyalty while service assurance is not. Affective commitment has a direct positive effect on customer loyalty and partially mediates the relationship between service reliability and customer loyalty. In contrast, the mediating effects of affective and continuance commitment on the relationship between service assurance and customer loyalty were positive but insignificant. Finally, affective commitment mediates the effect of continuance commitment on customer loyalty.

The mediating role of the individual components of commitment in the links between the individual dimensions of service quality and customer loyalty is largely untested in the literature. This line of inquiry can form the basis for future research proposals. Additionally, the outcomes that emerged from this research must be interpreted with caution due to the size of the sample on which analyses were based. Future research should employ larger samples.

Services organisations especially telecommunication firms may benefit from customer loyalty by pursuing a combined strategy of increasing service assurance, service reliability, affective commitment and continuance commitment both independently and in tandem.

As far as could be established, this paper is the first to explore the mediating effects of affective and continuance commitment on the links between service quality dimensions and customer loyalty.