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Research in economics, finance and decision science has shown that consumers are familiar with unit‐to‐unit variability, and in the context of services it has been demonstrated that consumers often anticipate and perceive performance heterogeneity. However, satisfaction models to date have failed to explicitly treat expectations as distributions. In this study, expectations were modeled along two dimensions – mean and variance of expected performance – which were manipulated together with actual performance in a true experimental design. The findings indicate that the expected variance in performance had an impact on perceived disconfirmation. Specifically, at low levels of incongruity (i.e. small absolute performance deviations from the expected mean), a high expected variance in performance reduced the level of perceived disconfirmation. Conversely, at high levels of incongruity (large absolute performance deviations from expectations), the expected variance in performance exerted minimal influence over perceived disconfirmation. These findings are reconciled and discussed using the zones of indifference and tolerance, and assimilation processes.

The purpose of this paper is to construct innovative exact and approximative sampling plans for acceptance sampling in statistical quality control. These sampling plans are determined for crisp and fuzzy formulation of quality limits, various lot sizes and common α- and β-levels.

The authors use generalized fuzzy hypothesis testing to determine sampling plans with fuzzified quality limits. This test method allows a consideration of the indifference zone related to expert opinion or user priorities. In addition to the exact sampling plans calculated with the hypergeometric operating characteristic function, the authors consider approximative sampling plans using a little known, but excellent operating characteristic function. Further, a comprehensive sensitivity analysis of calculated sampling plans is performed, in order to examine how the inspection effort depends on crisp and fuzzy formulation of quality limits, the lot size and specifications of the producer’s and consumer’s risks.

The results related the parametric sensitivity analysis of the calculated sampling plans and the conclusions regarding the approximation quality provide the user a comprehensive basis for a direct implementation of the sampling plans in practice.

The constructed sampling plans ensure the simultaneous control of producer’s and consumer’s risks with the smallest possible inspection effort on the one hand and a consideration of expert opinion or user priorities on the other hand.

The purpose of the paper is to position Chester I. Barnard as a “management pioneer,” someone who offers an example of management theory through moral persuasion, authenticity, and trust in his “acceptance view of authority” and “zone of indifference.” The work of Barnard is supported by philosophical foundations that provide prophetic lessons for present day leaders.

The approach used to research the topic was inductive reasoning and constructive hermeneutics. Primary resources relied upon Barnard's foundational work in The Functions of the Executive as well as books and journal publications by scholars such as Isocrates, Aristotle, Smith, Kant, Weber, Follett, Gadamer, Bennis, Drucker, Cartwright, Heames, Harvey, Lamond, Wolfe, and Wren.

The research demonstrates the significance of Chester I. Barnard as a “management pioneer.” Barnard provides wisdom for effectively navigating the twenty‐first century organization under the auspices of the “acceptance view of authority” and “zone of indifference.” These concepts are predicated on Barnard's moral persuasion, authenticity, and trust as foundations for leadership. His work is a testament for bridging the gap between theory and practice and provides a model from which business schools can educate present and future leaders.

The paper examines the underpinnings of Barnard's “acceptance view of authority” and his “zone of indifference” as predicated on morality, authenticity, and trust in creating effective organizational leadership for the twenty‐first century. The work has practical applications in the education of present and future business leaders by academic institutions.

In support of Chester I. Barnard as a “management pioneer,” this paper explores some of the less commonly discussed implicit qualities and philosophical foundations for Barnard's moral persuasion, authenticity, and trust that promote the success of his “acceptance view of authority” and “zone of indifference” in the twenty‐first century. The timeless quality, application, and potential for leadership education, ensure Barnard's position as a “management pioneer.”

The purpose of this paper is to apply Chester Barnard's ideas about authority in organizations to the modern phenomenon of “whistle‐blowing” and highlight insights that can advance contemporary theory in business ethics. The paper coins a new term “the whistle‐blowing zone,” and uses it as a way to capitalize on Barnard's insights and to offer a conceptual framework that can help business ethics scholars explain the phenomenon.

By comparing and contrasting Barnard's ideas with contemporary research, the authors argue that he provides a number of insights that can advance modern business ethical theory and research. Implications about the origin and mechanism of whistle‐blowing are discussed.

First, it is found that Barnard's theory of authority, specifically the notion of a “zone of indifference” is applicable to the modern phenomenon of whistle‐blowing. Second, the paper coins a new term “the whistle‐blowing zone,” to explain why and how whistle‐blowing occurs. Finally, the paper develops a conceptual framework to capitalize on Barnard's insight to explain the phenomenon of “whistle‐blowing.”

This paper is the first paper to examine Barnard's writings in the context of the modern business issue of whistle‐blowing. It is believed that the study of business ethics can be enhanced by applying Barnard's work. His concept of authority in formal organizations actually provides the theoretical foundation to examine and understand the phenomenon of whistle‐blowing in ways that have not appeared in the literature to date.

The purpose of this paper is to further research in the leader-follower relationship by focussing on followership. Given the need to increase organizational collaboration and cooperation, this research identifies the nature of follower buy-in behaviors and characteristics and develops a continuum of increasing follower compliance to stewardship with the organization.

This research integrates the insights of highly regarded researchers into a continuum of follower compliance to stewardship and proposes 12 propositions of leaders and followers that address the importance of creating an environment for improved collaboration and cooperation which ultimately leads to increased organizational competitiveness and profitability.

A continuum of increasing follower buy-in is proposed with the first four zones drawn from past literature (indifference, acceptance, trust, and commitment) and a fifth zone, follower stewardship, being introduced in the paper. The authors argue that understanding and fostering follower behaviors along the continuum improves organizational effectiveness.

This research offers a framework of follower behaviors and characteristics and proposes 12 hypotheses of leaders and followers to improve competitiveness and profitability that can be tested in future research.

This paper provides valuable insights to scholars and practitioners by creating a framework of follower buy-in behaviors and characteristics that will allow leaders to increase the effectiveness of organizational culture, practices, and procedures. The research proposes 12 hypotheses of leaders and followers that can be tested for improving organizational competitiveness and profitability.

The paper identifies barriers to creating followership including under-investing in human capital, treating followers as means rather than as ends, thinking short-term, breaking commitments, and so on.

The research develops a solid theoretical background for categorizing and measuring follower buy-in to organizations and introduces follower stewardship to management research.

Every writer, Nietzsche once commented, has an intellectual idiosyncrasy that, once grasped, can be used as a key to interpret their work. In Chester Barnard’s classic text on management theory, The Functions of the Executive, the use of dichotomy is such a key. Barnard uses dichotomy in all his major conceptual frameworks. Analyses his three central sociological concepts: society, organization purpose, and organization authority. Shows that the purpose behind Barnard’s use of dichotomy is political: he is attempting to legitimate the dominance of formal organization in society. His main means to accomplish this is by defining dichotomies in such a way that they either assume the dominance or demonstrate the superiority of formal organization. The result is that Barnard’s use of dichotomy is misleading and contradictory. He tries to conceal the contradictions by the use of complex and ambiguous discussions. Ultimately, Barnard’s theoretical method is shown to rest on the erroneous dichotomy that assumes organization rationality is autonomous from and superior to culture and society.

As conceptualizations of expectations in consumer evaluations continue to evolve, researchers have been exploring multiple levels of expectations in satisfaction and service quality evaluations. In 1993 Zeithaml, Berry and Parasuraman proposed that consumers use both desired and adequate expectations in service quality evaluations and a “zone of tolerance” separates these levels. This study extends the Zeithaml et alwork by investigating the zone of tolerance as it relates to consumer experience with the service provider, perceived competitive choice opportunities, and the essentialness of differing service dimensions. Results indicate that consumers readily distinguish between desired and adequate expectation levels; and understanding both expectation levels is important. Although perceptions of what a firm should offer remain relatively stable, perceptions of acceptable performance vary by service dimensions and as consumers acquire experience. In comparison with the traditional SERVQUAL framework, this multiple expectation conceptualization offers service marketers the opportunity to fine‐tune resource allocations.

With the proliferation of collective bargaining in public schools, administrative prerogatives have been assumed to be curtailed. The influence of the school administrator on teacher behavior has been viewed as beng diminished with the constraints and the formal relationship of the master agreement. This study, based on the notion that administrative influence is not diminished by the negotiation process, measured the teacher's professional zone of acceptance as the dependent variable and compared this measure among those teachers in schools with teacher oriented contracts and those with management oriented contracts. Further, the relationship of leadership style was examined both within and between those groups. It was found that personnel in districts with teacher‐oriented contracts reported a wider professional zone of acceptance than those in management‐oriented districts. In addition, teachers operating under task‐oriented leaders reported greater administrator influence than those whose administrators were high in consideration. It is concluded that task‐oriented leaders in districts with teacher‐oriented contracts have greater influence among their teachers than do people‐oriented leaders,and that leaders high in both task and people orientation have greater influence among teachers in systems with management‐oriented contracts.