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Discusses the barriers to women′s advancement, identifying the “male equals management” paradigm as a constraint. Also considers the implications of women′s role in the family, individual characteristics and the importance of language. Notes the impact of the formal and informal organization as factors which create the “glass ceiling”, inhibiting women′s ability to climb the corporate ladder. Identifies initiatives such as Opportunity 2000 and training courses as potential solutions to the problem. Also suggests that male managers and organizations per se should be more flexible, which would create greater achievement opportunities for women managers.

Discusses the barriers to women′s advancement, identifying the “male equals management” paradigm as a constraint. Also considers the implications of women′s role in the family, individual characteristics and the importance of language. Notes the impact of the formal and informal organization as factors which create the “glass ceiling”, inhibiting women′s ability to climb the corporate ladder. Identifies initiatives such as Opportunity 2000 and training courses as potential solutions to the problem. Also suggests that male managers and organizations per se should be more flexible, which would create greater achievement opportunities for women managers.

Volume 7 Number 7 of this journal includes four useful articles. The first by Val Hammond, is entitled “Opportunity 2000: A Culture Change Approach to Equal Opportunity.”

Equal pay for men and women was a principle en‐shrined in the Treaty of Rome and was the subject of a European Directive in 1975. This investigation of progress towards equal pay in three member‐states, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom, reveals the importance of differences in employment structures and reward systems in determining relative pay for women. The author argues that differences in the structure and size of pay differentials among countries suggest that more attention needs to be paid to the general system of labour market regulation than to explicit equal‐pay policies. She concludes that women would be more likely to benefit from a strategy of establishing labour standards and regulation than from equal‐pay Directives which have little effect on the general practices and principles of pay determination.

The purpose of this article is to review the emerging literature of services business markets (SBMs) from 1974 to 2007 and analyse main themes that indicate the development of the literature. It also aims to provide an introduction to the special issue on services business‐to‐business markets by examining the context.

The literature of SBMs from 1974 through 2007 was searched in relevant databases. The articles were analysed using Glaser's grounded theory. The constant comparison method was used with in vivo coding to reveal themes in the literature. These themes were then analysed contextually.

The literature revealed seven themes which followed a trajectory from implicit to explicit consideration of SBMs, as well as to multi‐ and cross‐disciplinary focus with integration of variables from consumer services marketing. The landscape for SBMs has become blurred due to deregulation, globalisation and information technology, particularly the internet and e‐commerce. The complexity and diversity of the literature reflects this new, blurred reality.

This research is limited to indicative literature about SBMs as an introduction to the special issue on services business‐to‐business markets. The literature would benefit from a full critical review and research agenda.

The integration of theories coupled with the focus on specific service sectors and contexts, provide useful, applicable and transferable concepts which may be helpful to managers who are working in new contexts.

This article surveys the emergence of the literature on SBMs and defines its trajectory, themes and characteristics. It provides a useful background for academics and practitioners who would find a guide to the fissiparous literature on SBMs useful.

Deciding the best course of treatment for a drug or alcohol user can be a complex one. Continuing our look at harm reduction and abstinence, we ask what the best plans are for Nigella, a young woman with mental health problems who uses heroin to prevent recurring self‐harm. In a refreshing and challenging critique Lesley Don explores the decision‐making process towards that treatment. Should Nigella stop her heroin use? If she does, will she self‐harm? Which harm is more desirable? And why, as professionals, do we seek one solution over another?

The purpose of this paper is to examine the level of physical preparation for bushfire among Victorian residents in established high risk bushfire locations, and to assess whether these levels of preparation changed over time.

Data were analysed from a telephone survey among Victorian residents (n=614-629) living in high risk bushfire locations over a three-year period (2012-2014). The survey measured residents’ bushfire awareness, knowledge, planning, preparation and engagement with bushfire services. This paper focusses on the extent to which respondents undertook physical preparatory bushfire activities over the three-year period using: first, principal components analysis to generate a single preparation variable by identifying a smaller number of uncorrelated variables (or principal components) from a larger set of data, second, analysis of variance to assess differences in preparation scores between years, and third, Tukey’s honest significant difference test to confirm where the differences occurred between groups.

Results indicated only moderate levels of physical preparation for bushfires amongst respondents. The activities that respondents rated the lowest were: “having protective covers for windows” and “having firefighting equipment to protect the house”. A significant difference in total preparation scores over time was observed, F(2, 1,715)=6.159, p<0.005, with lower scores in 2012 compared with 2013 and 2014 scores.

This study found some marginal improvements in levels of physical bushfire preparation from 2012 to 2014. However, the results indicate only moderate levels of preparation overall, despite respondents living in established high risk locations.

This study provides evidence for the current levels of preparedness in high risk bushfire communities, and emphasises the need for future initiatives to focus on specific bushfire preparation activities but also to consider the broader range of interventions that are likely to contribute to desired safety outcomes.

The objectives of this paper are twofold: to add to the debate regarding conceptualisation and operationalisation of value within a professional service domain, and to contribute to the relatively sparse literature dealing with the functional relationship between determinants and outcomes of value with specific emphasis on the value to satisfaction and intention to re‐purchase relationship in professional services.

A theoretically grounded model has been developed that comprises three antecedents of value (conceptualised as a higher order construct of six dimensions) and satisfaction both of which impact on intention. The model has been tested, using partial least squares, on 78 responses obtained through an email survey carried out amongst executives of the top 300 UK‐based companies listed in the Times 1,000.

The results indicate that although perceived value is a multi‐dimensional construct treating value as a unified construct may lead to confounding effects. Although further research is needed it is suggested that different dimensions of value act at different levels of the value hierarchy and differentially reflect process and outcome value creation forces in professional services.

This paper adds to the debate surrounding conceptualisations of the value construct by offering empirical support as to its formative nature. Furthermore, this is the first attempt to examine differences in the nomological relationships of value when it is treated as a single higher order construct and when the higher order structure of value is relaxed allowing its dimensions to directly interact with antecedents and consequences.