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The purpose of this study is three-fold: first, to examine the extent to which service quality (SQ) affects the three components of emotional brand attachment (EBA) (brand passion, brand affection and self-brand connection); second, to investigate the extent to which these three components influence brand loyalty; and third, to test the mediation effect of the components of EBA on the SQ–loyalty relationship.

Survey data were collected from 355 respondents using an online panel in the UK. Smart PLS2.0 was used to analyze the data.

Three key findings emerge: first, compared to staff behavior, physical environment tends to have a stronger and more significant effect on the three elements of EBA. Second, brand passion and self-brand connection fully mediate the SQ–loyalty relationship, whereas brand affection partially mediates the same relationship. Finally, the SQ–EBA–loyalty relationship is significantly stronger for repeat visitors compared to first-time visitors.

Hotel brands need to design their facilities and décor and develop guest experiences based on symbolic values and deep emotional aspects. Offering employees customer care training and adopting a consumer-centric, relational, storytelling approach are particularly important to inspire and captivate hotels’ customers and to build and shape profound and enduring affective ties between the hotel brand and its customers.

The findings offer new insights through examining the symbolic consumption and emotional aspects of a guest’s hotel experience as mediators to the SQ–loyalty relationship. The findings also add to the growing body of knowledge of the antecedents of EBA through identifying physical environment and staff behavior as key determinants of EBA.

Research on the relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty has advanced to a stage that requires a more thorough examination of moderator variables. Limited research shows how moderators influence the relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in a service context; this article aims to present empirical evidence of the conditions in which the satisfaction‐loyalty relationship becomes stronger or weaker.

Using a sample of more than 700 customers of DIY retailers and multi‐group structural equation modelling, the authors examine moderating effects of several firm‐related variables, variables that result from firm/employee‐customer interactions and individual‐level variables (i.e. loyalty cards, critical incidents, customer age, gender, income, expertise).

The empirical results suggest that not all of the moderators considered influence the satisfaction‐loyalty link. Specifically, critical incidents and income are important moderators of the relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.

Several of the moderator variables considered in this study are manageable variables.

This study should prove valuable to academic researchers as well as service and retailing managers. It systematically analyses the moderating effect of firm‐related and individual‐level variables on the relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty. It shows the differential effect of different types of moderator variables on the satisfaction‐loyalty link.

The purpose of this study is to explore the factors that influence the reporting of adverse events related to elder abuse and neglect in nursing homes from nursing home leaders' perspectives. Good leadership requires in-depth knowledge of the care and service provided and the ability to identify and address problems that can arise in clinical practice.

A qualitative explorative design with data triangulation was used. The sample consisted of 43 participants from two levels of nursing home leadership, representing six municipalities and 21 nursing homes in Norway. Focus group interviews were undertaken with 28 ward leaders and individual interviews with 15 nursing home directors. The constant comparative method was used for the analyses.

Both ward leaders and nursing home directors described formal and informal ways of obtaining information related to elder abuse and neglect. There were differences between their perceptions of the feasibility of obtaining formal reports about abuse in the nursing home. Three main categories of influencing factors emerged: (1) organisation structural factors, (2) cultural factors and (3) abuse severity factors. A main finding is that in its present form, the Norwegian adverse event reporting system is not designed to detect abuse and neglect.

This paper provides an in-depth understanding of patient safety and factors related to reporting elder abuse in nursing homes in Norway.

This paper develops an outline framework which conceptualises customer retention in financial services retailing. Preliminary investigations through interviews with managers responsible for retention were conducted. These supported further investigation of the framework. The organisations surveyed appear not to have embraced the dimensions of retention as identified, although they recognised the issues. Problematic areas involve cultural change and maintaining staff commitment in an uncertain labour market. Reasons for the slow adoption of retention are suggested and some proposals put forward for further consideration.

Presents and discusses findings from a major study of changing employment practices in UK banking. Uses case studies to explore different patterns of reaction to a fast and radically changing business environment. Addresses important questions including the nature of the changes to human resource management practices, the extent and depth of these changes and, most importantly, the degree to which the different banks are following similar or divergent paths. Offers explanations for the findings under each of these headings.

Among the large number of currently available approaches for studying customer satisfaction, a very promising one is that adopted in the European customer satisfaction index (ECSI) model. Yet, in spite of its various contributions to customer satisfaction research, this approach exhibits certain limitations, of which we will emphasise one: contrary to compelling evidence, the model does not consider the service climate or, more specifically, the cause and effect relationship between employee behaviour and customer satisfaction. The main goal of the present paper is to contribute to counteracting such a limitation. A reformulation of the ECSI model is suggested, integrating it into key components of employee satisfaction models (employee satisfaction, loyalty and commitment) as they are perceived by customers. Both the ECSI model and the ECSI revised model are estimated with data from a survey carried out among supermarket customers. The results show that some variables such as perceived quality, customer satisfaction and loyalty are better explained by the ECSI revised model. Also, statistically significant interactions between the new variables (with the exception of employee loyalty) and some of the ECSI model variables (perceived product quality and perceived service quality) were discovered.

Over the past decade, the public sector in the UK has made great effort in adopting business excellence thinking. To what extent have such practices taken root and what has been their impact? Presents some of the key results from a recent empirical study of 119 public sector organisations in North‐East England. They show considerable strengths in some of the related HR practices, leadership issues, service delivery and quality matters. Equally, many of them face major challenges in adopting appropriate performance measurement systems, in eliminating waste and reducing costs, and in being innovative in service design.

The purpose of the paper is to use a case study setting involving the implementation of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to expose and analyze the conflicts in the characterizations of the post bureaucratic organisation (PBO) in the literature. ERP implementations are often accompanied by increasing levels of stress in organizations that place pressures on organizational relationships and structures. Additionally, ERPs are regarded as introducing their own techno‐logic of centralization, standardization and formalization that provides an apparent contrast to the exhortations about employee empowerment.

A case study of ERP implementation in a medium‐sized entity is presented. The paper explores aspects of ERP and PBO from the context of postmodern organization theory.

Some concerns about PBO identified in the literature are reflected in the case situation. For example, there is a commitment to give up private time and work flexibly by some employees. The paper also provides evidence of the way the management team substitute their reliance on a key individual knowledge worker for that of an ERP system and external vendor support. Paradoxically, trust in that same knowledge worker and between core users of the system is essential to enable the implementation of the system.

This paper adds empirical insight to a predominantly theoretical literature. The case evidence indicates some conflicting implications in the concurrent adoption of PBO and ERP.

Banks and other financial services providers are increasingly developing service quality initiatives. In this article some of the research literature on service quality is considered to include definitions, determinants and measurement of quality. Attention is also given to research applications which focus on management, employee and customer perspectives. In addition, a number of continuing service quality concerns are highlighted, relating to changing customer expectations, the need for an integrated approach to service quality and the development of service quality measurement tools.

Investigates the perception of and attitudes towards competitive tendering for ancillary services of the hospital populations in three Scottish NHS hospitals. Results suggest that: there is a discrepancy between the Government′s stated objectives and those perceived by the public; it is unclear precisely what this and other Government initiatives mean; the role of ancillary staff in the ward team has not been fully recognized in the contracting exercise. Argues for broadening of the concept of cost‐effectiveness to include some non‐financial measures.