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Identifies two empirically derived measures of internal customer support used to assess team effectiveness from the perspective of the team’s internal customers. The measures, personal service and technical competence, are based on analysis of the responses of 465 individuals representing 150 internal customer teams. When compared, the expected (self) ratings of the members of internal intact work teams were more positive than those ratings actually attributed to them by their internal customers. The findings reveal members of work teams tend to over estimate the effectiveness of their team’s performance when compared with the ratings the same teams receive from their internal customers. The measurement of internal customer satisfaction is a tool that can be a useful aid for managers of service quality and their work teams to help them more accurately measure the effectiveness of their units.

To survive in increasingly competitive markets, customer focused organizations are challenged to create and sustain long term loyal and supportive customers. To ensure long term service quality, organizations need to have quality focused internal structures and processes in place to support those on the front line who make or break the organization’s reputation with their customers. This paper introduces nine scientifically developed measures of internal structures and processes that are associated with service quality. These measures are applicable to organizations in a variety of industries in both the public and private sectors and can serve to benchmark “best in class” practices. They were developed from ratings obtained from 8,924 employees from over 100 organizations. When organizations provide supportive structures and processes for their front line employees, these employees are better able to provide top quality products and services to their external customers.

The purpose of this study is to examine the degree to which differences and similarities exist between female and male business professionals.

A total of 1,164 students from three English‐speaking countries completed a 75‐item multi‐dimensional tool that consists of 17 empirically independent work preference constructs associated with psychological learning styles, work values, work interests, and personality temperament.

There are few notable or significant differences between the work preferences of female and male business professionals within each country. Differences between the work preferences of female and male business professionals are not consistent from nation to nation.

Additional research on gender differences of work preferences needs to include larger samples of college students majoring in non‐business subjects as well as working adults drawn from related occupational fields.

Managers need to understand that biological sex may be irrelevant when it comes to the selection, placement, training, development, and appraisal of employees.

Contrary to prior research, the results refute the existence of work‐related differences between females and males.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effects of diffusional pressures as they relate to organizational performance (OP) across public, private, and not-for-profit sectors in two different national contexts.

A review is conducted of institutional forces in the environment of two nations; one highly developed and the other developing to identify isomorphic pressures in each of the countries. An organizational performance assessment (OPA) tool is used to analyze the differences in the performance of the three sectors in the two national contexts identified. The research relies on Pearson correlation, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and MANCOVA statistical applications to validate the assessment instrument and shed light on differences across nations and sectors that can be attributed to organizational diffusion as a result of institutional pressures that exist in the countries in which the organizations are embedded.

The findings indicate there is greater need to adapt to local ways of doing things when working cross-nationally within developing countries than with those that are developed where management practices are more alike than dissimilar. The results of the study suggest that when managing organizations cross-nationally, in the more developed nations organizations will perform more effectively and more alike than when working with organizations in less developed countries where the conditions for the diffusion of organizational practices are weaker.

The research focussed on two countries for comparative purposes. Due to sampling limitations, the findings are more relevant to the sectors the authors studied within countries than between the countries per se. It is recommended further research be conducted using larger samples across many national cultures. While relying on broad societal institutional dynamics, the study design does not permit the analysis of the effects of specific contextual characteristics on OP. Such an undertaking is undoubtedly a “next step” that the authors recommend.

The extant literature finds that managing systems cross-nationally requires adaptation to local national contexts. Where there is less economic and technological development, less opportunity for free market competition (capitalism), educational opportunities, and shared standards from which the performance of organizations are judged, the more unlikely organizations will employ commonly applied management practices. A new tool is introduced that can be used to further research on OP cross-nationally.

The study provides empirical evidence to demonstrate that in nations where stronger diffusional pressures exist, fewer differences will be found among the performance of the three sectors. Additionally, the effectiveness of organizations in these national contexts will be greater. While research among the three sectors has identified performance differences, such differences are less likely to be discernible in developed nations due to isomorphic pressures. The study is especially relevant to those who manage global organizations cross-nationally. It introduces a new tool to measure OP across national boundaries.

This paper seeks to identify service satisfaction measures that can be used across industries.

The paper attempts to identify empirically core characteristics of customer satisfaction ratings across six industries based on the ratings of 10,835 respondents within the USA. The industries included are banking and finance, retail, government, grocery stores, hospitality/sports, and restaurants.

The paper finds that banking and finance and hospitality/sports entertainment were rated highest by their patrons. Those dealing with government, general retail and moderately priced fast food restaurants received lower service satisfaction ratings. Differences were also found among respondent characteristics (i.e. age, gender, education and ethnicity/race).

The study sample was selected from organizations readily available to the research team. Future studies based on systematic random samples would enhance the generalizability of the findings.

The results provide a basis from which cross industry benchmarking and the identification of best practices can be captured and used by practitioners.

This paper develops a concise customer satisfaction survey instrument to help organizations measure satisfaction with their services. A seven‐stage process was used to develop the instrument. Following pilot studies, a preliminary instrument of 24 items was administered to consumers of a variety of business firms and government agencies providing service to customers or clients. After further analysis, a revised instrument was developed consisting of 18 statements. Additional analysis and further purification led to an even more parsimonious final version of the customer satisfaction survey, employing nine statements in two factors; satisfaction with the personal service (SatPers) and satisfaction with the service setting (SatSett). Organizations could use the scale internally to identify their strengths and weaknesses, as well as measuring their customer satisfaction.

In today's ever‐increasing globalization of services and brands, service‐oriented businesses need to attend to the satisfaction of their customers both domestically and abroad while transcending unique cultural differences from country to country. This study provides a cross‐cultural comparison of service satisfaction of fast food establishments in four English‐speaking countries. It is based on data collected from customers of five globally‐franchised fast‐food chains, using a previously developed service satisfaction instrument. The study reveals two empirically derived, cross‐cultural fast‐food customer satisfaction dimensions: satisfaction with the personal service and satisfaction with the service setting. Should future research support this study's findings, the measurement of cross‐cultural service satisfaction among franchised brands and services could aid business managers’ efforts to assess the quality of the services they provide across national boundaries and on a more real time, practical basis.

This study examines the equivalence of the use of a customer satisfaction survey in four culturally divergent contexts.

It is based on 6,776 responses collected from fast food customers in Greece, Jamaica, the UK and the USA.

The results reveal that the similarities in the measurement of satisfaction in these contexts are more than the differences, and suggest that the development of measures to examine and compare consumer satisfaction across cultures and languages is, indeed, feasible.

The data reveal considerable promise that rather simple, cross‐cultural measures can be identified and used to gain valuable insight about the viability of business products and services. This implies that researchers might be able to use the same instruments for measurement in different contexts. However, additional research is necessary to firmly support the suitability of the consumer‐related measures across cultures that were the focus of this study.

The findings of this study are particularly useful for multinational companies, which might want to measure and compare the level of their consumers' satisfaction in various countries.

This paper adds to the literature assessing the challenges of cross‐cultural research.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a multidimensional work preference research instrument, and to relate scores on these dimensions with subjects' real world work choices.

Repeated samples of 1,002 and 975 adult subjects were used to identify 17 empirically derived constructs, using both EFA and CFA statistical applications. The CFA revealed measurement invariance among the predicted and measured constructs. The 17 validated constructs were culled from career development‐related psychology that has variously been identified with learning styles, work interests, work values, and temperament. Using a third sample of 590 subjects, MANOVA analyses of work preference scores were conducted with working adults, representing ten different types of work. When the scores on the 17 measures were compared with occupational choices made by the subjects, significant differences in outcomes were identified, indicating commonality within specific work types.

Because the work preference construct is relatively new and fluid, continuous research is needed to gain greater understanding of the construct and its characteristics. Additional sampling and tests for measurement invariance are indicated using cross‐national samples, as well as non‐English‐speaking languages. Samples from younger, pre‐career subjects in secondary schools and representing a wide array of demographic characteristics are also needed as the research progresses. In addition, more studies are needed to test for predictive validity, using other unobtrusive performance measures taken at different points in time.

Multiple measures embedded in one tool may prove useful aids to people when making career choice decisions that are associated with the selection of short‐term work placement, long‐term career occupations, and academic fields of study. The development of this tool will enable career development researchers to examine the relationships of psychological constructs identified with different fields of psychological measurement, and examine these constructs as they relate to classroom, organizational and cross‐national contexts.

The creation of a tool consisting of measures from multiple psychological fields for use in short‐term career planning, job placement, and enrichment is novel. When combined, the multiple constructs used in this instrument have been found to provide a constellation of useful indicators that are related to career choice and work placement decisions. The measures are also likely to be useful in cross‐national research contexts.