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This study provides a comprehensive framework of adaptation in triadic business relationship settings in the service sector. The framework is based on the industrial network approach (see, e.g., Axelsson & Easton, 1992; Håkansson & Snehota, 1995a). The study describes how adaptations initiate, how they progress, and what the outcomes of these adaptations are. Furthermore, the framework takes into account how adaptations spread in triadic relationship settings. The empirical context is corporate travel management, which is a chain of activities where an industrial enterprise, and its preferred travel agency and service supplier partners combine their resources. The scientific philosophy, on which the knowledge creation is based, is realist ontology. Epistemologically, the study relies on constructionist processes and interpretation. Case studies with in-depth interviews are the main source of data.

This research explores perceptions of knowledge management processes held by managers and employees in a service industry. To date, empirical research on knowledge management in the service industry is sparse. This research seeks to examine absorptive capacity and its four capabilities of acquisition, assimilation, transformation and exploitation and their impact on effective knowledge management. All of these capabilities are strategies that enable external knowledge to be recognized, imported and integrated into, and further developed within the organization effectively. The research tests the relationships between absorptive capacity and effective knowledge management through analysis of quantitative data (n = 549) drawn from managers and employees in 35 residential aged care organizations in Western Australia. Responses were analysed using Partial Least Square-based Structural Equation Modelling. Additional analysis was conducted to assess if the job role (of manager or employee) and three industry context variables of profit motive, size of business and length of time the organization has been in business, impacted on the hypothesized relationships.

Structural model analysis examines the relationships between variables as hypothesized in the research framework. Analysis found that absorptive capacity and the four capabilities correlated significantly with effective knowledge management, with absorptive capacity explaining 56% of the total variability for effective knowledge management. Findings from this research also show that absorptive capacity and the four capabilities provide a useful framework for examining knowledge management in the service industry. Additionally, there were no significant differences in the perceptions held between managers and employees, nor between respondents in for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. Furthermore, the size of the organization and length of time the organization has been in business did not impact on absorptive capacity, the four capabilities and effective knowledge management.

The research considers implications for business in light of these findings. The role of managers in providing leadership across the knowledge management process was confirmed, as well as the importance of guiding routines and knowledge sharing throughout the organization. Further, the results indicate that within the participating organizations there are discernible differences in the way that some organizations manage their knowledge, compared to others. To achieve effective knowledge management, managers need to provide a supportive workplace culture, facilitate strong employee relationships, encourage employees to seek out new knowledge, continually engage in two-way communication with employees and provide up-to-date policies and procedures that guide employees in doing their work. The implementation of knowledge management strategies has also been shown in this research to enhance the delivery and quality of residential aged care.

The role of tourism/hospitality industry management in ensuring service quality is now generally regarded as being of considerable importance. Notwithstanding this, relatively little is known about the preconceptions and expectations regarding the management role that potential tourism/hospitality industry employees bring to the workplace. This study has examined the expected problem‐solving styles of hospitality industry management when faced with a complaint about visitor‐staff conflict. The sample was drawn from school leavers in a major district community, many of whom would soon seek employment and careers in the tourism/hospitality industry. Two major problem‐solving styles were identified, one involving Investigation of the complaint, and one involving Avoidance and possibly rudeness. Major Service Quality Ideals were also identified as predictors of each management problem‐solving style. Finally, the implications of these findings for tourism/hospitality industry management and for employees are explored.

Despite the potential benefits of total quality management (TQM) articulated by quality experts and practitioners, these benefits are not easy to achieve in practice. Many service industries have found difficult to implement TQM successfully. The present study investigates and categorizes the barriers to a successful implementation of TQM program in the service industry. The purpose of this paper is to understand TQM barriers and prioritize their relative importance by ranking them in the service industry.

Based on previously published literature on TQM barriers in service industry and after discussions with quality experts, this study utilizes a set of 12 barriers to TQM as identified by the authors of TQM barriers to accomplish the objectives of the present study. The 12 barriers were divided into three categories. These barriers were prioritized and ranked using an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) approach, a multi-criteria decision-making process.

In this research, the category “managerial issues” was found to be the most important, followed by “people-oriented issues” and “organizational issues” based on their priority weights. The results have also highlighted that the barrier “lack of communication” was the most significant among all the other barriers. It was followed by “lack of top-management commitment,” “employee’s resistance to change,” and “lack of coordination between departments.” The least significant barrier was “high turnover at management level.”

The study ranks the barriers, from the most important to the least important, which will allow managers and practitioners in the service industry to decide which barriers they need to pay attention to and work on for a successful implementation of TQM.

The strength of this study is the development of a comprehensive model for the investigation and prioritization of barriers that the service industry experiences when implementing a TQM program. Presenting TQM barriers in the form of AHP-based model and categorizing barriers is a new effort in the area of TQM.

Information and communications technology (ICT) offers enormous opportunities for individuals, businesses and society. The application of ICT is equally important to economic and non-economic activities. Researchers have increasingly focused on the adoption and use of ICT by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as the economic development of a country is largely dependent on them. Following the success of ICT utilisation in SMEs in developed countries, many developing countries are looking to utilise the potential of the technology to develop SMEs. Past studies have shown that the contribution of ICT to the performance of SMEs is not clear and certain. Thus, it is crucial to determine the effectiveness of ICT in generating firm performance since this has implications for SMEs’ expenditure on the technology. This research examines the diffusion of ICT among SMEs with respect to the typical stages from innovation adoption to post-adoption, by analysing the actual usage of ICT and value creation. The mediating effects of integration and utilisation on SME performance are also studied. Grounded in the innovation diffusion literature, institutional theory and resource-based theory, this study has developed a comprehensive integrated research model focused on the research objectives. Following a positivist research paradigm, this study employs a mixed-method research approach. A preliminary conceptual framework is developed through an extensive literature review and is refined by results from an in-depth field study. During the field study, a total of 11 SME owners or decision-makers were interviewed. The recorded interviews were transcribed and analysed using NVivo 10 to refine the model to develop the research hypotheses. The final research model is composed of 30 first-order and five higher-order constructs which involve both reflective and formative measures. Partial least squares-based structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) is employed to test the theoretical model with a cross-sectional data set of 282 SMEs in Bangladesh. Survey data were collected using a structured questionnaire issued to SMEs selected by applying a stratified random sampling technique. The structural equation modelling utilises a two-step procedure of data analysis. Prior to estimating the structural model, the measurement model is examined for construct validity of the study variables (i.e. convergent and discriminant validity).

The estimates show cognitive evaluation as an important antecedent for expectation which is shaped primarily by the entrepreneurs’ beliefs (perception) and also influenced by the owners’ innovativeness and culture. Culture further influences expectation. The study finds that facilitating condition, environmental pressure and country readiness are important antecedents of expectation and ICT use. The results also reveal that integration and the degree of ICT utilisation significantly affect SMEs’ performance. Surprisingly, the findings do not reveal any significant impact of ICT usage on performance which apparently suggests the possibility of the ICT productivity paradox. However, the analysis finally proves the non-existence of the paradox by demonstrating the mediating role of ICT integration and degree of utilisation explain the influence of information technology (IT) usage on firm performance which is consistent with the resource-based theory. The results suggest that the use of ICT can enhance SMEs’ performance if the technology is integrated and properly utilised. SME owners or managers, interested stakeholders and policy makers may follow the study’s outcomes and focus on ICT integration and degree of utilisation with a view to attaining superior organisational performance.

This study urges concerned business enterprises and government to look at the environmental and cultural factors with a view to achieving ICT usage success in terms of enhanced firm performance. In particular, improving organisational practices and procedures by eliminating the traditional power distance inside organisations and implementing necessary rules and regulations are important actions for managing environmental and cultural uncertainties. The application of a Bengali user interface may help to ensure the productivity of ICT use by SMEs in Bangladesh. Establishing a favourable national technology infrastructure and legal environment may contribute positively to improving the overall situation. This study also suggests some changes and modifications in the country’s existing policies and strategies. The government and policy makers should undertake mass promotional programs to disseminate information about the various uses of computers and their contribution in developing better organisational performance. Organising specialised training programs for SME capacity building may succeed in attaining the motivation for SMEs to use ICT. Ensuring easy access to the technology by providing loans, grants and subsidies is important. Various stakeholders, partners and related organisations should come forward to support government policies and priorities in order to ensure the productive use of ICT among SMEs which finally will help to foster Bangladesh’s economic development.

This special “Anbar Abstracts” issue of the European Business Review is split into six sections covering abstracts under the following headings: Top management issues; Marketing and distribution; Personnel and training; Information management and technology; Operations and production management; Accounting and finance.

Given the ways in which the research pressures on university staff are becoming seemingly ever greater, an issue of the European Journal of Marketing that is given over to a survey of the kinds of research initiatives which are currently being carried out is timely. The study which provides the basis for this was conducted between December 1994 and February 1995, with questionnaires being sent to staff in universities throughout Europe. At the time the final selection was made, a total of 150 responses had been received from 18 countries.

This special “Anbar Abstracts” issue of the Marketing Intelligence & Planning is split into nine sections covering abstracts under the following headings: Business Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Customer Service; Sales Management; Promotion; Marketing Research/Customer Behaviour; Product Management; Logistics and Distribution; Sundry.

The purpose of this conceptual paper is to examine key operational tradeoffs and challenges that call center managers face.

To support the concepts advanced in this paper, an embedded case study is used from an inbound call center for a regional wireless phone company that operates in the USA. The research involved: a review of available service quality and call center management literature; development of a resource‐based framework to understand key operational tradeoffs; use of a case study approach with structured interviews of key managers and employees; and synthesis of this data in order to understand why and how these managers made key operational tradeoff decisions. The case study was done on an inbound customer service call center for a regional wireless phone company that operates in the Southeastern USA.

This research suggests that there are four key resource management decisions that must be addressed in order to improve service quality and effectively manage call center operations: the efficient deployment and use of labor, effective leveraging of technology, capacity management, and demand management.

The use of a single case approach limits the generalizability of results; however, this methodology is effective in providing rich data and a research framework to both build theory and advance future research in this arena.

It is noteworthy that while technology, capacity management, and demand management systems are essential, labor remains a key differentiator in achieving high service quality. A call center must provide dependable service with knowledgeable, honest, polite and empathetic employees who can efficiently answer customers' questions while also promoting more products and services to improve profitability.

While this research is primarily conceptual, it also uses a case study to explain why and how managers make key tradeoffs in order to compete effectively on service quality in the call center industry.