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1 – 10 of over 246000A COQ model plays an important role in the total quality cost survey. Based on the methodology of continuous quality improvement, a dynamic COQ model for different quality level…
Abstract
A COQ model plays an important role in the total quality cost survey. Based on the methodology of continuous quality improvement, a dynamic COQ model for different quality level is developed in this paper. A quality level is defined by Six Sigma level that can be measured by two indicators. The relationships among the four major quality costs are analyzed. Finally, the curves of total quality costs for different quality level are presented.
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Moral hazard and adverse selection often exist in asymmetric information environment. In this paper, quality investment decision problem is studied under moral hazard. A basic…
Abstract
Moral hazard and adverse selection often exist in asymmetric information environment. In this paper, quality investment decision problem is studied under moral hazard. A basic model for quality investment level decision is developed with the supplier as a principal and the buyer as an agent. And then we regard the supplier and the buyer’s rational limitations to set up a model when the buyer’s quality evaluation and processing activities are hidden. The model is optimized and the results under different backgrounds are discussed and compared. Results show that the buyer’s quality evaluation level and processing level are mostly influenced by the supplier’s quality assurance payment. Both the supplier and the buyer choose different quality investment levels under moral hazard because of the supplier’s payment to the buyer in case of internal failure and external failure.
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Frankie Wilson and J. Stephen Town
It remains unresolved from the literature whether benchmarking is a useful and appropriate tool for the library and information services sector. The aim of this research is to…
Abstract
Purpose
It remains unresolved from the literature whether benchmarking is a useful and appropriate tool for the library and information services sector. The aim of this research is to gather evidence to establish whether benchmarking provides a real and lasting benefit to library and information services.
Design/methodology/approach
The study investigated the long‐term effects of a benchmarking exercise on the quality level of three UK academic libraries. However, an appropriate framework for assessing the quality level of libraries is not present in the literature, and it was therefore necessary for such a framework to be developed. This article describes and provides initial characterisation of the framework developed – the Quality Maturity Model (QMM).
Findings
The evidence from the investigation showed that the two libraries which were at stage one on the QMM before the benchmarking exercise remained there; and the library which scored at the penultimate level, level four, before benchmarking, was, four years afterwards, at level five. The tentative conclusion drawn was that benchmarking may only be appropriate for organisations with a existing high level of quality maturity. Much further work is proposed.
Originality/value
The research provides evidence which establishes whether benchmarking provides a real and lasting benefit to library and information services.
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Markus Plewa, Gernot Kaiser and Evi Hartmann
The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence for competing representations of the prevention-appraisal-failure model of quality cost.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence for competing representations of the prevention-appraisal-failure model of quality cost.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conduct regression analysis on a secondary data set to reveal relationships among total cost of quality, its components and overall quality performance.
Findings
Total cost of quality and its failure cost component are significantly lower at higher levels of quality, while the prevention and appraisal cost components are not observed to be significantly higher at higher levels of quality. The authors propose a modification to the modern representation of the prevention-appraisal-failure model.
Practical implications
In manufacturing, ever higher levels of quality are associated with significantly lower quality cost.
Originality/value
Using a large, unique data set for secondary analysis, combined with employing a high-level measure for overall quality performance, the authors provide evidence for the aggregate explanatory power of prevalent representations of the prevention-appraisal-failure cost of quality model.
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Yongfu He, Harmen Oppewal, Yuho Chung and Ling Peng
This paper aims to study how price and sales level information influence consumer product perceptions and choices in online settings. It, in particular, tests whether displaying…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to study how price and sales level information influence consumer product perceptions and choices in online settings. It, in particular, tests whether displaying sales level information increases consumer price sensitivity, which is a potential strategic risk to retailers.
Design/methodology/approach
Study 1 uses eBay data to investigate whether the interaction effects between price and sales level can be observed in an existing market. Study 2 involves online experiments across three product categories. Participants choose from product pairs that are shown with either the same or different prices and with no, the same or different sales levels.
Findings
Study 1 shows strong effects of a product’s displayed sales and price level on its daily sales but finds no interaction effect. Study 2 shows strong effects of price and sales levels on product choice but similarly finds no evidence that sales level information influences consumer price sensitivity, although it reveals an effect on quality perceptions. The results show how perceptions of quality, sacrifice and popularity mediate the effects of price and sales level information on product choice.
Research limitations/implications
Study 1 has limited control over prices and sales levels. Study 2 involves only hypothetical choices.
Practical implications
These findings indicate that businesses can use sales level information to manage consumer product quality perceptions and choices without having to be concerned that this will make consumers more price-sensitive.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to investigate how sales level information affects consumer responses to price differences in online contexts.
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The study seeks to quantify the ability of consumer knowledge (both objective and subjective) and personal self‐confidence to moderate consumer reliance on price and country of…
Abstract
Purpose
The study seeks to quantify the ability of consumer knowledge (both objective and subjective) and personal self‐confidence to moderate consumer reliance on price and country of origin (COO) when evaluating wine quality, when all intrinsic cues are experienced through sensory perceptions.
Design/methodology/approach
Taste testing experiments were conducted (N = 263) using unwooded chardonnay wine as stimulus, in a three (COO) × three (price) by three (acid level) conjoint analysis fractional factorial design. Specific measures were employed to quantify consumer objective knowledge, subjective knowledge and personal self‐confidence as clearly delineated constructs, in order to investigate the ability of each to moderate extrinsic cue usage.
Findings
Analysis revealed price and COO were both stronger contributors to perceptions of wine quality than taste, irrespective of knowledge (objective or subjective) or self‐confidence levels. Reliance was found to remain extremely consistent although objective product quality was manipulated to three differing levels in a controlled laboratory environment. The research clearly demonstrates that consumer belief in the price/value schema dominates quality assessment for consumers, with COO also found to be a strong influence. This is in spite of varying knowledge and self‐confidence levels.
Practical implications
Results show that marketers cannot assume that intrinsic product attributes, even when experienced, will be weighted and interpreted accurately by consumers – even those considered “knowledgeable”.
Originality/value
The research significantly advances our understanding of consumer knowledge (type and level) and their use of extrinsic cues (price and COO specifically), in relation to their respective influence in their determination of both expected and experienced quality.
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Derrald Stice, Han Stice and Roger White
This study aims to examine the effect of individual auditor quality (below the partner level) on overall audit quality.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the effect of individual auditor quality (below the partner level) on overall audit quality.
Design/methodology/approach
We aggregate audit employee-level individual performance evaluations to create a measure of auditor quality at the office level.
Findings
We find that high-quality audit offices are associated with a lower likelihood of client restatement, fewer client abnormal accruals and a higher likelihood of a client receiving a going concern opinion. We partition employees into low, medium and high level, based on job title, to investigate which employee levels drive these results. We find that the restatement results are driven by high quality high-level employees (Senior Managers/Directors), whereas the going concern results are driven by high quality low-level employees (Seniors). Furthermore, we find evidence that high-quality audit teams are associated with all aspects of audit quality and the magnitude of these team effects are much larger than those of the effects for any individual employee type.
Originality/value
Our findings are consistent with higher-level auditors preventing the most serious financial statement deficiencies, low-level employees contributing to audit firm independence and overall team quality creating synergy which has the strongest effect on all aspects of audit quality. These insights based on individual auditor evaluations are new to the literature. Overall, our empirical results suggest that individual auditor quality is associated with higher quality audits and that employees at all levels affect audit outcomes.
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The aim of this paper is to challenge the assumption that the relationship between service quality attributes and customer satisfaction follows a classic linear path. It suggests…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to challenge the assumption that the relationship between service quality attributes and customer satisfaction follows a classic linear path. It suggests the existence of a threshold level after which the strength of the relationship between the two constructs, for some service attributes, adjusts. Depending on the type of adjustment, service attributes can be classified as satisfier or dissatisfier. Each requires a distinct managerial action.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were collected via self‐administered questionnaire from customers of three service industries (i.e. banking service, hairdresser service, phone service). The type of impact of nine individual service quality attributes on customer satisfaction was investigated using multiple regression models with interaction terms.
Findings
The empirical findings provide evidence for the existence of satisfiers and dissatisfiers. Satisfiers exhibit initially no relationship with satisfaction, but after the acceptable level of quality (i.e. inflection point) has been reached, become positively related. Dissatisfiers follow initially a positive relationship path with satisfaction but after the inflection point exhibit no relationship, or at best a significantly weakened one, with satisfaction. The relationship patterns were found to be service attribute as well as service type dependent.
Originality/value
The findings suggest that, for dissatisfiers, increasing service quality ad infinitum may not be the most prudent approach. Here, gains in satisfaction can no longer be achieved after the acceptable quality level has been reached. However, for satisfiers, service firms must leap over the threshold before gains in satisfaction can be realized. This may require large investments in quality improvements.
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Reported studies on call centers emphasize efficiency and control, with possible implications for service priorities, customer orientation and service quality. However, there is…
Abstract
Reported studies on call centers emphasize efficiency and control, with possible implications for service priorities, customer orientation and service quality. However, there is little empirical research to test assumptions from the customer’s perspective. This study aimed to establish whether customers expected (predicted) low levels of service from a call center, how this level compared to the minimum level they considered adequate, and whether the perceived customer orientation of the call center was related to service quality expectations. Data were collected in Australia from two sources: end consumers (n = 289) of an insurance provider, and business customers (n = 325) of a bank. Key findings were similar for both samples. First, customers had very high levels of adequate (minimum) expectations, and adequate expectations behaved independently from predicted (forecast) expectations. Second, customer orientation was associated with predicted expectations but not adequate expectations. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research and managerial implications.
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Overview All organisations are, in one sense or another, involved in operations; an activity implying transformation or transfer. The major portion of the body of knowledge…
Abstract
Overview All organisations are, in one sense or another, involved in operations; an activity implying transformation or transfer. The major portion of the body of knowledge concerning operations relates to production in manufacturing industry but, increasingly, similar problems are to be found confronting managers in service industry. It is only in the last decade or so that new technology, involving, in particular, the computer, has encouraged an integrated view to be taken of the total business. This has led to greater recognition being given to the strategic potential of the operations function. In order to provide greater insight into operations a number of classifications have been proposed. One of these, which places operations into categories termed factory, job shop, mass service and professional service, is examined. The elements of operations management are introduced under the headings of product, plant, process, procedures and people.