Gregory Strydom, Michael T. Ewing and Campbell Heggen
This study aims to present an extended service-profit chain (SPC) framework for assessing service performance. This framework is then used to investigate non-linear and asymmetric…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to present an extended service-profit chain (SPC) framework for assessing service performance. This framework is then used to investigate non-linear and asymmetric links between service delivery investments and customer satisfaction, as well as time lags in organisational performance outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
The study draws on panel data with repeated measures from a sample of automotive after sales service departments. Data collected comprises both objective and survey-based data, including operational inputs, productivity, service quality, service experience, behavioural intentions, customer retention and organisational performance.
Findings
Non-linear and asymmetric effects are identified, suggesting that customers’ evaluations of service performance are more sensitive to negative performance (dissatisfaction) than positive performance (satisfaction). Accordingly, focusing on attributes for which customers are experiencing negative performance first, and then allocating resources to attributes for which customers are experiencing positive performance, can be far more consequential for improving customer satisfaction.
Practical implications
From a practical perspective, the findings deepen current understanding of the relationships between service performance metrics. They also provide guidance for managers seeking to better deploy service resources to enhance service quality, customer satisfaction and customer retention to improve profitability over time.
Originality/value
Drawing on a unique and rich data set, this study provides a significant improvement on previous SPC frameworks by adding new dimensions identified in recent meta-analyses and addresses calls for more research into non-linear, asymmetric and longitudinal effects within the SPC.
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Charlotte Ryan and Gregory Squires
We argue that by conducting systematic research with communities rather than on communities, community-based research (CBR) methods can both advance the study of human interaction…
Abstract
We argue that by conducting systematic research with communities rather than on communities, community-based research (CBR) methods can both advance the study of human interaction and strengthen public understanding and appreciation of social sciences. CBR, among other methods, can also address social scientists’ ethical and social commitments. We recap the history of calls by leading sociologists for rigorous, empirical, community-engaged research. We introduce CBR methods as empirically grounded methods for conducting social research with social actors. We define terms and describe the range of methods that we include in the umbrella term, “community-based research.” After providing exemplars of community-based research, we review CBR’s advantages and challenges. We, next, summarize an intervention that we undertook as members of the Publication Committee of the URBAN Research Network’s Sociology section in which the committee developed and disseminated guidelines for peer review of community-based research. We also share initial responses from journal editors. In the conclusion, we revisit the potential of community-based research and note the consequences of neglecting community-based research traditions.
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This article looks at how people with learning disabilities, including people with learning disabilities who develop dementia, make the transition to old age. It identifies key…
Abstract
This article looks at how people with learning disabilities, including people with learning disabilities who develop dementia, make the transition to old age. It identifies key issues in understanding the transition to old age for people with learning disabilities, including how the ageing process may be different for this group, lack of agreement as to what constitutes old age for people with learning disabilities, the heterogeneity of this population and the inadequacy of service responses to their changing needs. It advocates a number of clinical and service responses that might help make the transition easier for people.
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Pauline Heslop, Liz Folkes and Jackie Rodgers
Psychotropic medications are a treatment commonly used for people with learning disabilities. Legislation and guidance suggest that, for a person to give informed consent to…
Abstract
Psychotropic medications are a treatment commonly used for people with learning disabilities. Legislation and guidance suggest that, for a person to give informed consent to treatment, they must have knowledge of the potential treatment. This study of 21 people with learning disabilities, and their carers and prescribers, living in four different regions of England, suggests that few of the people with learning disabilities were fully informed about their treatment. Many of their carers said that although they knew how to administer the medication, they knew little about why the person was taking it and what the implications might be. Despite this, people with learning disabilities made the general assumption that carers would, or should, know everything about their medication. The current provision of information to people with learning disabilities and carers was found to be poor. Four key strategies identified in supporting people with learning disabilities in obtaining information about medication were spending more time providing and reiterating key information, providing accurate, up‐to‐date, accessible information about medications, providing training for carers in wider aspects of medication usage, and tailoring information to each person's individual needs.
Pamela Leyva-Townsend, Wilson Rodriguez, Sandra Idrovo and Fredy Pulga
This study aims to elucidate the relationship between women's participation on the board of directors and the company's financial performance in a sample of 45 Colombian companies…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to elucidate the relationship between women's participation on the board of directors and the company's financial performance in a sample of 45 Colombian companies listed on the Colombia Stock Exchange (CSE) (Bolsa de Valores de Colombia).
Design/methodology/approach
Using 50,214 financial records of 45 companies listed on the CSE during 2008–2016, the authors performed panel data regressions to explore the relationship between the measures of gender diversity on boards and the impact on corporate financial performance.
Findings
The authors show that the participation and presence of at least one woman on the board of directors are positively associated with firm financial performance as measured by return on equity (ROE), but not as measured by Tobin’s Q. This second indicator is positively associated with firm financial performance when there are at least three female directors on boards of 10 or more individuals.
Practical implications
The findings also provide evidence supporting the development of managerial and organizational mechanisms that strengthen female presence at the highest level of governance.
Originality/value
The study demonstrates that female presence on boards has a positive impact on firms’ financial performance, but the degree of diversity impacts differently ROE and Tobin’s Q. These findings are based on a study of an emerging economy in Latin America, and data on similar economies are scarce.
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Kayoumars Irandoost, Milad Doostvandi, Todd Litman and Mohammad Azami
This paper aims to present a critical analysis of placemaking by the urban poor based on the Right to the City, Henri Lefebvre’s influential theory regarding the production of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present a critical analysis of placemaking by the urban poor based on the Right to the City, Henri Lefebvre’s influential theory regarding the production of space and placemaking.
Design/methodology/approach
This study reflects Lefebvre’s production of space and the right to the city theories and containing three main pillars including holism, the urban and praxis, and the use of spatial dialectics. Also, for collecting information in this research, along with scrutiny of documents and books, residents of the poor settlements of Sanandaj have also been interviewed.
Findings
In Sanandaj, urban poor who lack formal housing reclaim the Right to City by creating informal settlements. Such settlements, such as Shohada, Baharmast and Tagh Taghan, cover 23% of the city’s area but house 69% of the urban population.
Originality/value
This research seeks to understand placemaking in urban slums by low-income inhabitants using Henry Lefebvre’s critical theory of social production of space and the Right to the City. This case study examines the city of Sanandaj, Iran, where most residents are poor and live in cooperative informal settlements. It illustrates how the urban poor, as marginalized inhabitants, overcome the constraints of conventional planning and property ownership to creatively and cooperatively develop communities that reflect their needs. This indicates a schism between formal and informal sectors.
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Natalie Elms and Pamela Fae Kent
The authors investigate the adoption of nomination committees in Australia and identify the managerial power perspective as one explanation for firms not establishing nomination…
Abstract
Purpose
The authors investigate the adoption of nomination committees in Australia and identify the managerial power perspective as one explanation for firms not establishing nomination committees. A positive outcome of establishing a nomination committee from the perspective of board diversity is also examined.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors adopt an archival approach by collecting data for firms listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) during the period 2010 to 2018. The authors establish the prevalence of nomination committees for small medium and large Australian firms. Regression analyses are used to determine whether the power of the chief executive officer (CEO) influences the adoption of a nomination committee. The association between having nomination committee and board diversity is also analyzed using regression analyses.
Findings
Less than half of firms adopt a nomination committee. Larger firms are more likely to adopt a nomination committee than medium and smaller sized firms. Firms with less powerful CEOs are more likely to adopt a nomination committee. Adoption of a nomination committee is also associated with greater board tenure dispersion and board gender diversity in medium and smaller sized firms.
Originality/value
Evidence on nomination committees provides original research that extends previous research focusing on the audit, risk and remuneration committees and samples restricted to large firms. The nomination committee has an important role to play in the appointment of directors yet limited evidence exists of the adoption rate, explanation for non-adoption and benefits of adoption. The authors add to this evidence.