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A Decision Support System (DSS), specifically designed to address the needs of small‐to medium‐sized make‐to‐order companies, is currently being developed. It includes two of the most important features in such a system. First, it aims to integrate the production and marketing functions within a firm. Second, it is a hierarchical system which addresses two decision levels – the customer‐enquiry stage and the job‐release stage. That part of the DSS developed for the job‐release stage is described. At this stage the aim of the system is to maintain low work‐in‐progress inventory levels whilst ensuring that all jobs are released in time to be delivered by their promised delivery dates. An approach which uses input/output control is proposed to achieve these objectives. The major advance of the proposed approach is its ability to control the total manufacturing lead times of jobs rather than just considering the shopfloor throughput time.

In 1986 a study was carried out in a number of small companies in the UK that manufacture to customer requirements. The primary objective was to assess the relevance and importance to industry of ideas developed in earlier research at Lancaster University, relating the order quotation process to production and sales. However, in the course of the study a great deal was learnt about the industrial sectors examined.

Presents a new taxonomy for the non make‐to‐stock sector to enable a like‐with‐like comparison, arguing that existing taxonomies within the literature are inadequate for strategic research purposes. Presents empirical evidence which has been collected from 22 companies in three European countries – the UK, Denmark and The Netherlands. The data support the structure of the proposed new taxonomy and provide insights into competitive advantage and customisation issues in the non make‐to‐stock sector. Finally, two new labels for this sector of industry are proposed. “Versatile manufacturing company” is used to describe those manufacturers which are involved in a competitive bidding situation for every order which they receive, customisation by individual order. In contrast, the “Repeat business customiser” may only be in this position for the first of a series of similar orders from a particular customer, customisation by contract.

Takes a fresh look at the nature of the problem of allocating costs and control processes for a variable product mix. Adopts a novel approach called the “Unit of Production Effort” method. The method creates a common measure throughout the production process which can then be used in all costing, planning and comparison activities. Describes the initial stages of a practical implementation of the method to a small manufacturing company to illustrate the way in which it can be applied in a real situation. The results suggest that the method provides a radical simplification of the multi‐product environment which will be of interest to a broad cross‐section of professionals ranging from theorists to practising financial and production managers.

The purpose of this paper is to better predict customers’ behavioral intentions (BI) by developing and empirically testing an integrative conceptual framework that allows us to investigate the mediating role of corporate image (CI) and switching barriers (SB) in the interrelationships among service evaluation constructs (i.e. service quality (SQ), perceived value and customer satisfaction (CS)) and customers’ future intentions. These relationships are explored in the mobile telecommunications service context.

Around 1,000 customers of mobile telecommunication services were questioned using a structured questionnaire. To test the proposed hypotheses, a model was constructed and estimated using the method of partial least squares path methodology.

Findings indicate that the provision of high-SQ and the creation of superior value, through the development of reasonable costs, can result in high-CS; enhanced CI, and either directly or indirectly through SB, in customers’ favorable BI. However, given the price-competitive structure of the industry under investigation, customers’ loyalty decisions are mainly based on service-related criteria. The value of and satisfaction from delivered services are far more important decision criteria, than image and SB.

This study was limited to one service setting and the proposed model should be cross-validated in other service contexts before the relationships among its components are fully clarified. Also the use of cross-section design reduces inference ability regarding temporal changes in research constructs.

Results suggest that marketers, in their effort to develop more customer-oriented marketing plans in mature markets, should consider both the pool-in factors, reflecting the value of the provided services; CS, and CI, and the interactions among them as well as with the push-back factors, reflecting SB, as they all impact on customers’ BI.

This paper contributes to the body of existing knowledge by considering both CI and SB, along with other service evaluation constructs, as antecedents of consumers’ BI. The interrelationships among SB, service evaluation and CI has not been adequately addressed in the existing literature.

The purpose of this paper is to extend the well-established nomological network of service quality-relationship quality-customer loyalty by introducing service fairness – a distinct service evaluation concept. Specifically, the study aims to investigate the impact of service fairness on relationship quality as a complementary to service quality driver, and the direct and indirect effect of service fairness on customer loyalty in the presence of service quality and relationship quality in a no failure/recovery effort service context.

A telephone survey of a random sample of 408 customers of auto repair and maintenance services was implemented using a structured questionnaire with established scales. Data were analyzed with partial least squares path methodology, a structural equation modeling methodology.

Interactional fairness is the most important formative determinant of customers’ overall fairness perception, followed by procedural and distributive fairness. Relationship quality measured as a higher order construct, made of satisfaction; trust; affective and calculative commitment, is the main determinant of customer loyalty. Also, it partially mediates, along with service quality, the relationship between service fairness and customer loyalty and fully mediates the effect of service quality on customer loyalty. Finally, service fairness has the highest overall effect on customer loyalty.

The sample is industry-specific and this may affect generalizability of findings. Also, the cross-sectional design adopted does not reflect temporal changes.

Interactional fairness is of utmost importance to customers of the investigated industry. So, customers should be fairly treated at every point of contact. Also, service quality is heavily affected by service fairness. Thus, fair service leads to high-perceived service quality. Third, service quality affects customer loyalty only through relationship quality. Only when service quality is coupled by long-term quality relationships, signs of customer loyalty appear. Finally, service fairness influences customer loyalty mainly through service and relationship quality and has the highest overall effect on customer loyalty. So, fairly treating customers is crucial for developing long-term relationships that lead to customer loyalty.

The role of service fairness in the service quality-relationship quality-customer loyalty chain is investigated and using a higher order construct for relationship quality.

In this century of enormous growth in medical knowledge and skill, and the wide public interest in medical conditions, we have seen a spate of special clubs and societies whose main object is to help sufferers from some of the intractible diseases and addictions which still beset man—the Hemophilics, Alcoholics, Diabetics, Poliomyelitis victims, Multiple or Disseminated Sclerosis sufferers. The interest taken in these activities may sometimes be morbid, but in the main these societies have helped those afflicted and occasionally have contributed something to medical knowledge. For instance, from the association of hemophilics for their mutual help, it was learned that this condition has a seasonal incidence. In more recent years, other groups have been formed whose aim is prevention rather than help to those affected. The anti‐smoking clinics springing up in many areas are an example. They seek to check the rising incidence of lung cancer by helping people to give up smoking cigarettes. The latest in this field would seem to be the anti‐coronary clubs, established in the U.S.A., where the rising mortality among relatively young males is causing as much concern as in this country.

The earlier version of this Bill which had already passed through the House of Lords and reached the Committee stage in the Commons had to be withdrawn because of lack of time to proceed with it this session. The new (No. 2) version of the Bill, however, contains the several amendments which were made to the old Bill and this will be revived by the Queen's Speech in the new session of Parliament. In stating this, the President of the Board of Trade also said that the full discussion in the Lords and by the public had not been wasted and the publication of the No. 2 Bill would keep the subject alive. It could still be profitably discussed by trade interests and local authorities before its re‐introduction next session.