Search results

This article has been withdrawn as it was published elsewhere and accidentally duplicated. The original article can be seen here: 10.1108/08876040010327248. When citing the article, please cite: Walfried M. Lassar, Chris Manolis, Robert D. Winsor, (2000), “Service quality perspectives and satisfaction in private banking”, Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 14 Iss: 3, pp. 244 - 271.

This paper examines the phenomenon of market consolidation and integration, where competitors in localized, isolated markets are forced to compete with numerous new rivals in a unified market. In contemporary business experience, this deluge of new competitors and new competitive forms is the consequence of forces which have served to integrate formerly isolated national competitive arenas into a unified, interdependent whole, known as a globalized or regionalized market (Johnson, 1991). This evolution of global and regional markets is strategically significant to the extent that past market consolidations have typically resulted in devastating economic battles and competitive shakeouts. It is thus important to analyze the effects of national policy issues such as international trade agreements from the perspective of global or regional market consolidation.

Looks at the historical roots of TQM. Finds that TQM, while popularly attributed to W. Edwards Deming, can be linked in Japan to 1920s industrialization and to the importation of Taylor’s philosophy. Posits that TQM’s neo‐modernism. Concludes with post‐TQM ideas for managing change.

Recent innovations applied to the design and management of production in the United States have been termed “post‐Fordist”, in an effort to distinguish these methods from those of large‐scale mass‐production characteristic of earlier decades. These efforts, however, may be vulnerable to criticism from both a conceptual and also a practical position. Specifically, suggests that post‐Fordist methods not only fail to live up to their ideological promise, but are inappropriate to our current “post‐industrial” state of diminishing manufacturing output.

As the most common metaphor in organizational literature, the military perspective has greatly influenced business thought and practice. Delineates the various forms taken by the military metaphor in business, and discusses potential explanations for its increasing popularity. Considers the ethical and structural effects of military thinking on the organization.

Examines the effects of service quality on customer satisfaction from two distinct methodological perspectives. Specifically, a study utilizing a sample of international private banking customers is conducted wherein service quality is operationalized via two distinct and well‐known measures – SERVQUAL and Technical/Functional Quality. These two service quality measures are subsequently compared and contrasted as to their ability to predict customer satisfaction. To further assess the validity of these findings, two moderators of the service‐quality/customer‐satisfaction relationship are introduced and evaluated. Finally, this research examines the potential utility of employing separate measures for customer satisfaction from the perspectives of both technical and functional aspects of the service delivery process. Overall, our findings are of importance to service managers as they strive to identify efficient and effective approaches for improving quality. The paper explores the theoretical and practical insights of the findings, including potential strengths and limitations of current service quality models with regard to their ability to define and explain the quality/satisfaction relationship.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the importance consumers place on various types of socially responsible marketing practices, and whether the level of importance varies by gender, race, and consumers' income.

A survey was designed that asked subjects their attitudes toward the various social marketing practices that were uncovered through an analysis of recent literature from ABI-Inform, Fordham University's Center for Positive Marketing and focus groups. The survey was administered to 232 subjects and included information regarding race, gender, and income. Survey results were analyzed using latent class analysis (LCA). The results of the LCA were used to develop a correspondence analysis map.

The results confirm the importance of key demographic factors (income, gender, and race) in understanding consumers' perceptions of socially responsible marketing.

One limitation is that the sample was collected in Baltimore, Maryland and not entirely representative of the population of the USA. Another limitation is that consumers’ perceptions of socially responsible marketing are only captured at one point in time rather than showing the evolution of a belief.

Marketers need to target their messages carefully if they are promoting socially responsible marketing as a differentiating factor. Understanding how each demographic group responds to these socially responsible marketing messages can assist managers in their promotional efforts.

Limited research has been completed that segments the market with regards to socially responsible marketing options. The research explores these segments by surveying active consumers.

Recent research illuminates the important contribution of organizational culture and market orientation to organizational effectiveness. In an attempt to increase the conceptual and empirical body of knowledge, explores the links between organizational culture, market orientation, and marketing effectiveness in the context of strategic marketing alliances. Analyzes responses to self‐administered questionnaires returned by 128 such organizations. The findings suggest that organizational culture significantly affects marketing effectiveness, although the individual dimensions of organizational culture have varying degrees of influence upon the dimensions of marketing effectiveness. Among mechanistic or non‐adaptive cultural dimensions, increased internal culture enhances an internal market effectiveness dimension, whereas increased external culture enhances an external market effectiveness dimension. This internal/external alignment is not found for the organic or adaptive cultural dimensions. This same internal/external alignment is found, however, when examining the relationship between market orientation and market effectiveness. Internal aspects of market orientation enhance an internal market effectiveness dimension, whereas increased external orientation enhances an external market effectiveness dimension. Discusses managerial implications.

This paper examined engineers’ satisfaction with services of a building permission unit at a local municipality using a focus group, a questionnaire and follow‐up interviews. Obtained satisfaction indexes are reported. Differences in satisfaction levels were tested using parametric t‐tests and Kruskal‐Wallis non‐parametric tests according to engineer’s specialization, size of office and number of building projects submitted to the building permission unit. The results indicate no significant statistical differences in satisfaction levels based on specialization (civil engineers versus architectural engineers), size of the consulting office, or the number of projects submitted. However, satisfaction indexes were not high. They were about 60 per cent.

This chapter explores how hybrid organizations navigate the challenges (and opportunities) associated with advancing unconventional logic combinations. It draws from a study of the 180-year history of sheltered workshops in the United States. Sheltered workshops are hybrids that combine social and commercial logics to provide gainful employment to individuals with disabilities. This chapter theorizes a connection between the governance system – that is, country-based social norms and regulatory settlements – framing hybrids and the agency that allows them the discretion required to advance unconventional combinations. It introduces the term hybrid agency to describe this connection and identifies four types: upstream, midstream, downstream, and crosscurrent. Upstream agency draws from the entrepreneurial vision of charismatic founders. It allows hybrids the discretion to advance unconventional logic combinations in unsupportive times, but it also requires them to observe certain dominant cultural norms. Midstream agency draws from hybrids’ adaptation and advocacy skills and resources in periods of historical change. It allows access to resources and legitimacy for unconventional combinations. Downstream agency draws from organizational slack possible in supportive times. Slack eases tensions and tradeoffs between conflicting logics but may also fuel mission drift. Finally, crosscurrent agency also draws from hybrids’ adaptation and advocacy skills and resources. It provides hybrids with the opportunity to grapple with challenges in periods of contestation.