John Davidson Egan, Thomas S. Clark and Iolani M. Connolly
The purpose of this study was to explore the leadership competencies that are effectively transferring into the workplaces of recent military college alumni from both their…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to explore the leadership competencies that are effectively transferring into the workplaces of recent military college alumni from both their curricular and co-curricular experiences.
Design/methodology/approach
Through semi-structured interviews, this study explored 15 military college alumni’s perspectives on the leadership competencies they developed in college and currently apply in the workplace.
Findings
The findings indicated the 15 military college alumni participants developed and applied the following student leadership competencies at work: productive relationships, helping others, supervision, empathy, ethics, functioning independently, resiliency, positive attitude and scope of competence.
Originality/value
Limited research explores leadership learning at military colleges and service academies in the United States. Yet these collegiate military environments have a missional focus on leadership education and development. This article highlights the importance of the alumni lens in assessing leadership learning in collegiate military environments and provides recommendations to administrators of this institution type.
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Elisabeth Happ, Ursula Scholl-Grissemann, Mike Peters and Martin Schnitzer
Offline retail stores have been working on improving their in-store customer experience; they have begun to realise the physical advantage they have over online channels…
Abstract
Purpose
Offline retail stores have been working on improving their in-store customer experience; they have begun to realise the physical advantage they have over online channels. Especially sports products have a number of unique features, such as high emotional involvement or a sense of community; additionally, sports customers put emphasis on multisensory brand experience at the point of sale. This study examines the in-store customer experience (ISCX) in offline sports retail stores, taking into account the commercial uniqueness of sport.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative study (focus groups; n = 16) and quantitative survey (cross-sectional survey design; n = 238) were conducted to measure ISCX in sports retail stores.
Findings
The results suggest that the customers' in-store experience has a significant influence on customers' satisfaction with the sports retailer and their likeliness to recommend the store to friends, which, in turn, is significantly affected by customers' satisfaction with the retailer. Moreover, social responses to actors involved in the service encounter, for example, the interaction with employees, play a significant role for the customer in-store experience. Accordingly, sports customers strive not only for functional benefits inherent in the interaction with customers and employees but also for social benefits.
Originality/value
This study extends the knowledge by (1) replicating the ISCX scale, (2) analysing ISCX in a sports retail environment and (3) examining the influence of ISCX on the Net Promoter Score. Moreover, the findings support managers' know-how about in-store setting and help to maintain the customer relationship.