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Public leisure service providers have become increasingly conscious of the need to improve the quality of their service provision as a result of increasing customer expectations, growing competition and government legislation. This paper presents the findings of a survey carried out in the UK, investigating the role of quality schemes in public leisure services. The study shows that a significant proportion of public leisure service providers are using quality schemes to manage the quality of their facilities. In addition, the findings show that managers are using quality schemes to improve customer satisfaction and improve management effectiveness. Finally, the study provides evidence of the positive effect of quality schemes upon service delivery aspects of these facilities, but little evidence of the financial advantages of such schemes.

The scope of this study is to explore and summarize the pool of dimensions, models and measurement techniques of service quality used in healthcare services and to propose a comprehensive conceptual model for practitioners and researchers.

This research employs a comprehensive review of available literature by using multiple keywords on different electronic repositories using the recommendations of the PRISMA approach for the selection of articles. A critical analysis of available studies helped in compiling a list of core service quality dimensions in healthcare services.

This paper presents a comprehensive account of different dimensions and their measurement items used by various researchers to assess service quality in healthcare systems. Most of the researchers have used SERVQUAL model either in its original or modified form while the others have proposed and used totally different dimensions to assess the service quality in healthcare. Many dimensions are just an existing dimension of SERVQUAL that has undergone a name change while others are completely new. The dimensions used by many researchers have items drawn from more than one dimension of SERVQUAL model. The availability of so many dimensions and models adds to the confusion that researchers and practicing managers experience when determining the appropriate model to be used in their work. To mitigate this confusion, there is a need to develop a comprehensive model; the current work is an attempt to meet this need. Through our analysis, we identify four major service quality dimensions: clinical quality, infrastructural quality, relationship and managerial quality and propose a model named CIRMQUAL.

After exploring all available models in the domain of healthcare, this research presents the best possible areas to enhance the quality of healthcare services. It also enhances the research insights for academicians and working professionals by developing and proposing a comprehensive model for measuring healthcare service quality. The proposed model covers almost all of the service quality dimensions used by other researchers and will make the choice of dimensions/model easy for the future researchers/practitioners interested in measuring and improving the quality of services offered by their healthcare units. Such a comprehensive model has not been developed by any researcher thus far.

An area of increasing importance has been the use of quality measures in the study of health care. One specific application involves the performance of nursing homes. Previous studies using data envelopment analysis (DEA) methodology to study this problem have revealed several problems, including the selection of quality output measures and the assignment of weights to these measures that result in minimizing their impact. In this chapter, we will use weight restrictions as an effective means of including important quality measures in the DEA model and allowing the DEA results to discriminate among high- and low-quality performing nursing homes.

This research aimed to verify how the performance measurement system (PMS) and the quality management system (QMS) work in small and medium Brazilian enterprises in the light of the typology proposed by Garengo (2009).

Using a qualitative approach PMS’s and QMS’s managers were interviewed. The data from the first interview were analyzed using the technique of content analysis and have been subsequently triangulated with other data collected. The study was conducted by means of two questionnaires, two semi-structured interviews, and the analysis of the performance measures used by five small/medium manufactures based in the State of São Paulo.

It was found that in four out of five companies, PMS does not function singly, but along with QMS, mainly with respect to performance indicators. In spite of that intrinsic operation, the systems are in different stages of evolution. It was also found that in three out of five companies, quality management area is responsible for coordinating the process of PMS use, without effective participation from the controlling and/or accounting areas in this process.

The typology of Garengo (2009), used to check the stage of the PMS, was validated and can be used by practitioners to diagnose and improve the PMS in their enterprises; companies with QMS certified by ISO, particularly with higher degree of quality management maturity, can be encouraged to implement or improve the PMS in their organizations.

Construction projects require a range of documents (e.g. drawings and specifications) prepared by built environment professionals. In recent years, there has been a perception amongst professionals that quality of documentation has declined. “Low” professional fees were cited as one of the reasons for poor quality documentation. However, most studies on the topic contained inappropriate methodologies. Therefore, the purpose of this paper was to develop a conceptual methodology to comprehensively examine the relationship between fees and professional service output quality.

A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted to evaluate the limitations of previous methodologies and identify variables in the relationship between fees and quality of professional service outputs. Findings from the SLR were used to develop a conceptual methodology to investigate the relationship between fees and quality of professional service outputs.

Based on a frequency analysis of factors in the construction literature, the three main variables influencing professional service output quality were fees, coordination and amount of time available for project tasks. The SLR and shortcomings in previous studies informed the development of a conceptual methodology to examine the relationship between fees and professional service output quality.

The conceptual methodology will assist in comprehensively investigating the effect of fees on the quality of professional service outputs. This is particularly relevant in countries where clients procure built environment professional services based on the lowest fee tendered but are concerned about quality. The methodology can establish how and to what extent “low” fees impact on professional service output quality. Industry professionals can also use variables identified in this paper to mitigate quality-related risks when producing professional service outputs.

This paper adds to the body of knowledge by identifying variables in the relationship between fees and professional service output quality. The identified variables can be monitored and controlled by researchers during future investigations. Additionally, a conceptual methodology was proposed to assist researchers to determine the effect of fees on professional service output quality. The flexibility of the conceptual methodology enables it to comprehensively investigate other key variables (apart from fees) impacting on professional service output quality.

The purpose of the study is to examine the research problem that represents an attempt to approximate the importance of quality costing in managing a modern enterprise using the selected enterprises from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Poland.

The primary goal of the research is a need to acquire knowledge about the use of quality cost accounts in enterprises operating in Poland. The research has been conducted in the SMEs of production and services. From October 2018 to December 2018, survey-based research was carried out in the selected SMEs of production and service in Poland. The targeted participants of the study are from the medium-sized enterprises, employing 50–250 people.

The pilot studies conducted in companies indicate that modern enterprises are focused on quality. Many enterprises declare to be continuously improving quality system and quality costing. However, generally, these are large companies that have implemented ISO standards, often part of international corporations. The survey result of the study shows that medium-sized enterprises still make little use of modern cost accounting variants. Based on the study, only 9.75% (39 enterprises) from a representative group of 400 companies from the sectors of manufacturing, services and production as well as service companies apply quality costing. Some of the other enterprises are only taking measures to implement quality cost accounting.

The research has been conducted in randomly selected SMEs in the form of a questionnaire interview. In order to further analyze the construction of quality cost management (QCM) systems and the use of information from QCM by enterprises, case study method should be used more widely.

The results of the study provide useful help for companies that are quality-oriented and want to implement quality costing. The survey has been conducted in 400 enterprises, and the survey results of considered SMEs reveal the most important aspects of the application of quality costing.

The questionnaire used, the answers provided and the resulting conclusions fill the identified research gap. In the author's opinion, findings of research are relevant and useful, not only for accounting practice but also for theory. They show that although TQM and quality costing have been very popular in the literature since the 1990s, the degree of application of quality costing in practice (except for large, often international companies) is too low. So, the suitability of QCM in managing a modern enterprise from the SMEs should be promoted.

Manufacturing companies can competitively be recognized among the most advanced and influential companies in the world by successfully implementing Quality 4.0. However, its successful implementation poses one of the most relevant challenges to the Industry 4.0. According to recent surveys, 80%–87% of data science projects never make it to production. Regardless of the low deployment success rate, more than 75% of investors are maintaining or increasing their investments in artificial intelligence (AI). To help quality decision-makers improve the current situation, this paper aims to review Process Monitoring for Quality (PMQ), a Quality 4.0 initiative, along with its practical and managerial implications. Furthermore, a real case study is presented to demonstrate its application.

The proposed Quality 4.0 initiative improves conventional quality control methods by monitoring a process and detecting defective items in real time. Defect detection is formulated as a binary classification problem. Using the same path of Six Sigma define, measure, analyze, improve, control, Quality 4.0-based innovation is guided by Identify, Acsensorize, Discover, Learn, Predict, Redesign and Relearn (IADLPR²) – an ad hoc seven-step problem-solving approach.

The IADLPR² approach has the ability to identify and solve engineering intractable problems using AI. This is especially intriguing because numerous quality-driven manufacturing decision-makers consistently cite difficulties in developing a business vision for this technology.

From the proposed method, quality-driven decision-makers will learn how to launch a Quality 4.0 initiative, while quality-driven engineers will learn how to systematically solve intractable problems through AI.

An anthology of the own projects enables the presentation of a comprehensive Quality 4.0 initiative and reports the approach’s first case study IADLPR². Each of the steps is used to solve a real General Motors’ case study.

The main purpose of this study is to revisit Dr. Ishikawa's statement: “95% of problems in processes can be accomplished using the seven quality control (QC) tools” from his book “What is Quality Control?”. The authors are interested in critically investigating if this statement is still valid nowadays. It involves the analysis of the usage of the seven QC tools in the manufacturing and service sectors and the benefits, challenges and critical success factors (CSFs) for the application of the seven QC tools.

In order to evaluate Kaoru Ishikawa's statement and how valid his statement is for manufacturing and service industries nowadays, an online survey instrument was developed, and data collection was performed utilising a stratified random sampling strategy. The main strata/clusters were formed by senior quality professionals working in operational excellence, quality consultants, quality directors, quality engineers, quality managers and quality supervisors working in both manufacturing and service sectors from South American companies. A total of 97 participants from different countries in South America responded to the survey.

The main finding of this study is that only about 20% of respondents felt that the original seven basic tools of QC can solve above 80% of quality related problems in their businesses. This is quite different from the findings reported by Dr Ishikawa in his work in between 1970 and 1980s. Another relevant finding presented in this paper is that Pareto analysis, histograms and cause and effect analysis are the most used tools in both manufacturing and service sectors. This paper also revealed that the seven QC tools proposed by Dr. Ishikawa were least used by human resources (HR), information technology (IT) and finance functions. This work presents a list of critical success factors required for the proper application of the seven QC tools.

All data collected in the pilot survey came from professionals working for South American companies. So, this paper does present limitations in terms of generalisation of the results. Also, data were collected at an individual level, so parameters such as the inter reliability of judgements on a particular survey item could not be evaluated. It is important to highlight that n = 97 is a low sample size, enough for a preliminary survey but reinforcing the limitation in terms of generalisation of the results.

Authors understand that this is the very first research focused on challenging Dr. Ishikawa's statement: “95% of problems in processes can be accomplished using the seven quality control (QC) tools” from his book “What is Quality Control?”. The results of this study represent an important first step towards a full understanding of the applicability of these tools in manufacturing and service industries in a global scale.

This research aims to represent an initial exploration of how partitioned pricing influences consumers’ purchase decisions of new versus used products from the theoretical perspectives of prospect theory and gain/loss decision frames.

Four experiments to test the hypotheses with multiple product categories have been conducted.

Results from a series of experimental studies find that consumers prefer partitioned pricing over all-inclusive pricing for new products, whereas all-inclusive pricing is more preferred for used products. In addition, the authors demonstrate that a high-quality brand can reverse this effect for used products; specifically, consumers prefer partitioned pricing over all-inclusive pricing for a used product with a high-quality brand.

This research contributes to the literature on second-hand consumption by examining the impact of pricing strategies on consumer purchase decisions of new versus used products. This study deepens our understanding of consumer decision-making for new versus used products and it provides implications for bolstering sustainable consumption.

Due to wider acceptance of information technology (IT) and e-commerce among the consumers, firms belonging to agri businesses are rapidly redefining IT-driven stakeholders' centric completive strategy for their supply chain. This has forced the firms to understand the stakeholders' information needs and quality they expect from the electronic supply chains. Thus, the present study focusses on developing an information quality framework that ensures the success of stakeholders' centric e-agri supply chain. The study also attempts to investigate the interrelationship between formative endogenous latent variables, i.e. value of information (VoI), e-platform responsiveness (RESP), e-platform aesthetics (SAE), e-platform ease of use (EoU) and fulfillment of expectation (FoE) used in the developing the proposed framework.

Survey based data are obtained from 280 respondents using semistructured questionnaire to validate the proposed theoretical framework. The structural equation modeling is performed using IBM Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) 16.0 and Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) 24.0 package to establish structural model by accommodating determinants of information quality framework identified from extent literature. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) is employed to examine the robustness of manifesting variables that define the latent constructs. The robustness measuring items of constructs are also ensured through specified criteria of reliability, convergent validity and discriminant validity. At last the one-way ANOVA and post-hoc analysis are employed to investigate the stakeholders’ group difference on each study construct.

The results infer the impact RESP, VoI, SAE and EoU on the fulfillment of expectation (FoE). After applying the bootstrapping technique, it was observed that all causal relationships as proposed in hypotheses H1, H1a, H1b, H2, H3 and H4 have gained significant empirical support, thus verify the framework applicable to e-agri supply chain as the study outcome. Addition to this, SAE mediates relationship of RESP and VoI. The RESP and SAE have an indirect positive effect on “EoU.” Findings also suggest that the intermediaries expect better e-platform responsiveness and value of information from e-agri supply chain as compared to farmers and end consumers.

The findings of the study emphasized on the importance of five exogenous variables for e-agri supply chain in order to achieve stakeholders' expectation fulfillment on the information delivered through e-agri supply chain. The study is of great significance to the practitioners and management professionals by aiding strategic worth of market expansion by maximizing users' base by developing, deploying and facilitating a responsive and resilient stakeholders' centric e-agri supply chains. The study provides insights to the cross-domain researchers, firms, managers and policymakers to capture detailed and deeper understanding on the system design, stakeholders' behavior and in policy formulation so as to suggest remedial measures to strengthen the stakeholders' belief on relying e-agri supply chain.

The study considers the empirical model that shows the determinants and their relationship in the “information quality framework” as unique and novel contribution in the context of e-agri supply chain. The framework determines the quality and efficacious use of information that regulates the effectiveness of e-platform from stakeholders' perspective. The investigated constructs and their relationship depict their importance in creating systematic value chain of information across the supply chain.