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The paper seeks to examine both management and psychological literature on strategic decision making.

A review of the management and psychological literature is undertaken, with particular focus on factors affecting strategic decision making.

The literature review reveals that managerial cognition as well as individual and corporate values can have an impact on strategic decision making. The review also finds that strategic competencies are important although there is no agreement within the literature on what those competencies are.

Strategic thinking and strategic decision making have been discussed within the psychological and management literature for decades. Psychological and management theoretical perspectives and empirical research have been discussed separately and failed to consider both together. The current paper reviews both psychological and management literature to provide an understanding of the strategic thinking and decision making process and factors that may affect the process.

When the brilliant and solitary author of “The house with the green shutters” died young, not a little tidying‐up remained to be done. That, in the absence of a public library in rural Ayrshire, is what the librarian of Ayr Burgh set out to do.

The paper provides a step-by-step guide in the guise of a roadmap for service improvement initiatives using importance performance map analysis (IPMA).

To empirically illustrate how IPMA can be applied to any service industry, three sectors are considered; sports and fitness (study A), hospitality (study B) and higher education (study C). Following the proper selection of measuring instruments and their evaluation using structural equation modeling-partial least squares (Smart-PLS), IPMA is applied to identify those attributes having strong total effects (high importance) over the targeted construct (satisfaction) but which also have low average latent variable scores (low performance).

For sports and fitness (study A), the physical aspects and programme quality require managerial attention. For the hospitability sector (study B), it is service commitment, interaction quality and internal sense of happiness. Whereas for higher education (study C), it is administrative quality as well as the element of transformative quality, namely the university’s role in adding to its students’ emotional stability, which needs the attention of the top management.

This study provides researchers and practitioners with a roadmap for applying PLS-SEM and IPMA for continuous service quality improvement. The roadmap extends upon Ringle and Sarstedt’s (2016) work. It highlights critical decisions that need to be considered in the pre-analytical stages of the IPMA application, i.e. at the research design phase in selecting the most appropriate service quality measurement model specifications. It not only contributes to the existing body of knowledge by providing empirical evidence to advance theory development in the quality management field but also has implications for the practitioners in any service sector on where to focus their attention for an effective service improvement.

BRISTOW Helicopters has now recorded over 15,000 operational AS332L Bristow Tiger and Sikorsky S‐61N flying hours with its combined Cockpit Voice and Flight Data Recorder (CVFDR). Developed in conjunction with GEC‐Plessey Avionics as part of an Integrated Health and Usage Monitoring System (IHUMS), the system received United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority approval in December 1991, well in advance of regulations requiring its installation in all UK registered public transport helicopters by 31 July 1992.

The purpose of this paper is to explore and compare the benefits sought by three different types of wellness tourists: beauty spa, lifestyle resort, and spiritual retreat visitors.

Based on the findings from 27 semi‐structured interviews with wellness tourists a benefits of wellness tourism scale (BWTS) was developed. It was used to measure 46 benefit items and was mailed to people included on the client/member lists of three Australian wellness tourism organisations.

In total, six benefit factors emerged from a principal axis factor analysis: transcendence; physical health and appearance; escape and relaxation; important others and novelty; re‐establish self‐esteem; and indulgence. A one‐way MANOVA, followed by a series of ANOVAS, revealed significant differences between the three types of tourists regarding the importance attributed to each of the six benefit factors. While all participants in the study sought transformation of the self, each identifiable group of tourists placed different emphasis on physical, psychological or spiritual transformations. Moreover, each group differed significantly in terms of demographic and travel behaviour characteristics.

The relevance of this paper lies in its adoption of a comprehensive approach to the investigation of the potential differences between three wellness tourist groups regarding the socio‐demographic profile, travel behaviour, and the benefits sought. Previous studies have focused on a single particular wellness tourist group. Furthermore, the BWTS may be applicable for use in future comparative studies of wellness tourist motivation.

Financial technology (fintech) refers to using new technology to improve and automate the delivery and use of financial services. This chapter provides a brief introduction to fintech. It also includes the book's purpose, distinguishing features, intended audience, and structure. A synopsis of Chapters 2 through 23 is offered. The chapter concludes that fintech is constantly evolving and is reshaping finance. Fintechs offer a new paradigm of growth.

This article aims to explore public‐public partnership issues arising when public sector organisations work together in order to deliver a new government sponsored initiative.

A qualitative approach was adopted for this study, employing in‐depth interviews across four UK case study sites. The rich qualitative data gathered from these interviews is analysed utilising a thematic framework.

The findings indicate that most of the participants did not feel that they were involved in a partnership and had little or no contact with their partner. The key role of inter‐personal relationships amongst individual members is emphasised.

The findings presented represent the pilot sites utilised in a government sponsored initiative. As future public‐public partnerships develop, further research should be undertaken to explore this phenomenon and establish the generalisability of these findings.

The study indicates that while there are clear benefits of partnership working, achieving successful collaboration is not straightforward. Improvements need to be made to develop partnerships using both formal and informal communication methods.

This paper demonstrates the importance of the relationships between, and perceptions of, personnel at an individual level in the success of public‐public partnerships.

This paper aims to examine the effect of service quality dimensions and customer satisfaction on customer repurchase intention, word-of-mouth, complaining behaviour and price sensitivity, as well as the effect of service quality dimensions on customer satisfaction.

A public intercept survey collected data from 480 supermarket customers. Statistical package for the social sciences was used to provide descriptive and inferential analysis.

Results reveal the predominance and magnitude of effect of empathy positively on customer satisfaction, customer repurchase intention and word-of-mouth, and negatively on customer complaining behaviour and price sensitivity. Customer satisfaction also significantly affects these customer loyalty and disloyalty dimensions.

This research was conducted in the supermarket sector of only one country.

Insights have been provided to increase customer satisfaction and customer loyalty outcomes, and negate customer disloyalty outcomes, in the supermarket sector.

This study provides suggestions to supermarket executives regarding the significance of empathetic, customer-oriented behaviour by front-line supermarket service employees.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the significance and impact of strategic knowledge management (SKM) practices and organisational change capacity (OCC) in improving strategic thinking and strategic orientation in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their contribution in overall improvement of entrepreneurial performance.

Quantitative research methodology using partial least square structural equation modelling with data of 296 sample from the target group as managers and owners from various SMEs in the UK has been used in the study.

The findings suggest that SMEs that invest in SKM and OCC are more proficient at adjusting to fluctuations in the business landscape and develop effective strategies that lead to improved entrepreneurial performance. The study provides evidence that SKM encompasses more than just the acquisition and use of information. It also involves the establishment of a learning and innovation culture that facilitates strategic thinking and direction. Similarly, OCC is not just about implementing change but also about developing the agility and flexibility to adapt to market changes, consumer demands and technology.

According to the research, SMEs may boost their entrepreneurial performance and keep a competitive advantage in the modern, dynamic business environment by investing in SKM and OCC. The capacity of SMEs to implement SKM and organisational change should be encouraged and supported by policymakers and practitioners, who should also offer the necessary tools and assistance to do so.

This study offers a valuable addition to the previously published works on SKM and OCC within SMEs. It offers empirical data that highlights the significance of SKM and OCC in fostering strategic thinking, strategic orientation and ultimately, boosting entrepreneurial performance. The study also highlights the challenges faced by SMEs in implementing SKM and OCC and provides recommendations for overcoming these challenges.