Charles W. Neale, Yesim T. Akis and Christopher L. Pass
Countertrade (CT) is often treated as an inefficient and largely undesirable trading medium. The former Council for Mutual Economic Assistance countries were major exponents of CT…
Abstract
Countertrade (CT) is often treated as an inefficient and largely undesirable trading medium. The former Council for Mutual Economic Assistance countries were major exponents of CT both among themselves and also when dealing with Western nations. Following liberalization of “Eastern” politico‐economic systems, more orthodox commercial relationships are being established. This prompts the thesis that CT has been used by Western firms to gain a toe‐hold in difficult Eastern markets to be converted into a more secure relationship, such as a joint venture, when market circumstances become less harsh. Recent events have allowed testing of this hypothesis both by observing the behaviour of a small group of UK countertraders and also via a two‐stage study of Turkish companies. Although there is limited evidence that CT presages more formal modes of market servicing, concludes that CT will probably persist as long as access to hard currencies by Eastern organizations is limited, and so long as entrepreneurs with vision seek out new market opportunities.
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Investment project post‐completion auditing (PCA) is capable ofyielding significant benefits to firms wishing to tighten the control ofexisting projects and also to improve their…
Abstract
Investment project post‐completion auditing (PCA) is capable of yielding significant benefits to firms wishing to tighten the control of existing projects and also to improve their decision‐making and planning procedures. An increasing proportion of large companies now operates post‐audits in pursuit of these benefits. However, adoption and implementation of PCAs is not problem‐free. Among the likely drawbacks is the possibility of deterring staff from advancing proposals for new investment. However, evidence from an empirical study shows that there appears to be no significant relationship between adoption of PCA and level of investment expenditure, in either absolute terms or when adjusted for disposals or size of firm. This suggests that some of the difficulties typically associated with PCAs may be overstated. Concludes with a survey of the issues which would‐be adopters of PCAs should address and offers a checklist of action points designed to lubricate the introduction of PCAs.
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President, Charles S. Goldman, M.P.; Chairman, Charles Bathurst, M.P.; Vice‐Presidents: Christopher Addison, M.D., M.P., Waldorf Astor, M.P., Charles Bathurst, M.P., Hilaire…
Abstract
President, Charles S. Goldman, M.P.; Chairman, Charles Bathurst, M.P.; Vice‐Presidents: Christopher Addison, M.D., M.P., Waldorf Astor, M.P., Charles Bathurst, M.P., Hilaire Belloc, Ralph D. Blumenfeld, Lord Blyth, J.P., Colonel Charles E. Cassal, V.D., F.I.C., the Bishop of Chichester, Sir Arthur H. Church, K.C.V.O., M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S., Sir Wm. Earnshaw Cooper, C.I.E., E. Crawshay‐Williams, M.P., Sir Anderson Critchett, Bart., C.V.O., F.R.C.S.E., William Ewart, M.D., F.R.C.P., Lieut.‐Colonel Sir Joseph Fayrer, Bart., M.A., M.D., Sir Alfred D. Fripp, K.C.V.O., C.B., M.B., M.S., Sir Harold Harmsworth, Bart., Arnold F. Hills, Sir Victor Horsley, M.D., F.R.C.S., F.R.S., O. Gutekunst, Sir H. Seymour King, K.C.I.E., M.A., the Duke of Manchester, P.C., Professor Sir Wm. Osler, Bart., M.D., F.R.S., Sir Gilbert Parker, D.C.L., M.P., Sir Wm. Ramsay, K.C.B., LL.D., M.D., F.R.S., Harrington Sainsbury, M.D., F.R.C.P., W. G. Savage, M.D., B.Sc., R. H. Scanes Spicer, M.D., M.R.C.S., the Hon. Lionel Walrond, M.P., Hugh Walsham, M.D., F.R.C.P., Harvey W. Wiley, M.D., Evelyn Wrench.
David M. Gray, Steven D’Alessandro, Lester W. Johnson and Leanne Carter
This paper aims to examine the antecedents of customer inertia (i.e. knowledge, confusion, perceptions of competitor similarity and switching costs) and their relationship to…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the antecedents of customer inertia (i.e. knowledge, confusion, perceptions of competitor similarity and switching costs) and their relationship to customer satisfaction, service providers’ switching intentions and actual switching behavior. Customer inertia is said to reduce the incidence of service provider switching; however, little is known about the antecedent drivers of inertia.
Design/methodology/approach
The conceptual model was tested by a longitudinal/discontinuous panel design using an online survey research of 1055 adult (i.e. +18 years old) subscribers to cell phone services. Partial least squares (PLS) path modeling was used to simultaneously estimate both the measurement and structural components of the model to determine the nature of the relationships between the variables.
Findings
Findings of the PLS structural model provide support for the direct relationship between customer inertia and its antecedents (i.e. knowledge, confusion, perceptions of competitor similarity and switching costs). The results show that customer inertia has a moderate negative effect on the intention to change service providers but had no measurable effect on the actual behavior of changing service providers, other than indirectly, by influencing the perception of difficulty in switching some 11 months later. Further results from an analysis of indirect pathways of the antecedents to inertia show that switching costs are the only variable which indirectly reduce intentions to change service providers. The results also show that the effect of satisfaction on switching service providers is partially moderated by inertia. Importantly, these relationships are reasonably robust given past switching behavior and contract status of consumers.
Research limitations/implications
The authors find evidence which explains some of the causes of inertia, and show that it has both direct and moderating effects on service provider switching intentions, though not necessarily the behavior of changing service providers. However, support was found for its indirect role through intent as an influence on switching behavior. Importantly, the authors find that inertia has lingering effects, in that it influences the perception of switching difficulties and, hence, behavior up to 11 months in the future.
Practical implications
Managerial implications are that service firms can profit from customer inertia through a reduction in churn. However, high levels of customer inertia over the longer term may increase the level of customer vulnerability to competitor offers and marketing activities, as satisfaction with the provider does not in itself explain switching intentions or behavior.
Originality/value
This study is the first study to contribute to an understanding of the antecedent drivers of customer inertia with respect to service provider switching and to empirically evaluate a variety of antecedent factors that potentially affect switching intentions. Importantly, the long lasting latent effect of inertia in indirectly influencing service switching behavior was found to persist some 11 months later.
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The Howard Shuttering Contractors case throws considerable light on the importance which the tribunals attach to warnings before dismissing an employee. In this case the tribunal…
Abstract
The Howard Shuttering Contractors case throws considerable light on the importance which the tribunals attach to warnings before dismissing an employee. In this case the tribunal took great pains to interpret the intention of the parties to the different site agreements, and it came to the conclusion that the agreed procedure was not followed. One other matter, which must be particularly noted by employers, is that where a final warning is required, this final warning must be “a warning”, and not the actual dismissal. So that where, for example, three warnings are to be given, the third must be a “warning”. It is after the employee has misconducted himself thereafter that the employer may dismiss.
We understand that at the Annual Meeting of the Iron and Steel Institute it was decided to expel all the alien‐enemy members of that body. In commenting upon this action The…
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We understand that at the Annual Meeting of the Iron and Steel Institute it was decided to expel all the alien‐enemy members of that body. In commenting upon this action The Engineer observes that it is some time since the name of the German Emperor was removed from the list of honorary members of the Institution of Civil Engineers, but that up to the present time ordinary alien‐enemy members of this Institution have not been expelled. The same observation applies to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
April 20, 1971 Negligence — Duty of care — Manufacturer — Exposure to chemical containing carcinogen — Whether danger foreseeable.
Life studies are a rich source for further research on the role of the Afro‐American woman in society. They are especially useful to gain a better understanding of the…
Abstract
Life studies are a rich source for further research on the role of the Afro‐American woman in society. They are especially useful to gain a better understanding of the Afro‐American experience and to show the joys, sorrows, needs, and ideals of the Afro‐American woman as she struggles from day to day.
Lesley Murray, Liz McDonnell, Katie Walsh, Nuno Ferreira and Tamsin Hinton-Smith
This chapter introduces the argument that pervades the collection that families are in motion both conceptually and in practice. It articulates the motion of family and families…
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This chapter introduces the argument that pervades the collection that families are in motion both conceptually and in practice. It articulates the motion of family and families, which are made through space and time, and explains the ways in which the book develops current thinking on family. It also situates the concept and practices of family within wider debates and contexts. The chapter then details the contribution of each of the chapters to this argument, which are organised around three thematic parts: moving through separation and connection; uneven motion and resistance; and traces and potentialities. The chapter draws out six conclusions from the chapters in the collection.
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The librarian and researcher have to be able to uncover specific articles in their areas of interest. This Bibliography is designed to help. Volume IV, like Volume III, contains…
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The librarian and researcher have to be able to uncover specific articles in their areas of interest. This Bibliography is designed to help. Volume IV, like Volume III, contains features to help the reader to retrieve relevant literature from MCB University Press' considerable output. Each entry within has been indexed according to author(s) and the Fifth Edition of the SCIMP/SCAMP Thesaurus. The latter thus provides a full subject index to facilitate rapid retrieval. Each article or book is assigned its own unique number and this is used in both the subject and author index. This Volume indexes 29 journals indicating the depth, coverage and expansion of MCB's portfolio.