Focuses on the difficulties faced by department stores in Singapore. Losing their prominence as a favourite shopping concept this retail format will need to adapt quickly or…
Abstract
Focuses on the difficulties faced by department stores in Singapore. Losing their prominence as a favourite shopping concept this retail format will need to adapt quickly or further ground will be lost to foreign competitors and new retailing formats. Creative strategies include tighter cost control, more recreational value, better customer service programmes, market expansion and niche marketing.
Details
Keywords
In this fiercely competitive local retailing environment filledwith countless identical retail offerings, the use of good customerservice can help retailers gain competitive edge…
Abstract
In this fiercely competitive local retailing environment filled with countless identical retail offerings, the use of good customer service can help retailers gain competitive edge over the others. Customer service is often overlooked as a strategic tool when compared to the other retail operational variables which have direct impact on sales. However, the time has come when shoppers, because of their increasing sophistication and affluence, are demanding better customer service. Factors leading to the increasing importance of customer service in the Singapore context include maintaining a regular clientele through goodwill, increased expectation of shoppers, impact of customer service on purchase decision at the shopfloor and as a differentiation tool. Adopts a case study approach on a leading clothes retailer named Giordano Originals (Singapore) Private Limited to illustrate the use of customer service as a major retailing tool.
Details
Keywords
Kerstin Bremser, Lynda Crowley-Cyr, Villy Abraham, Maria J. Moreno-Martin and Mercedes Carreño
This paper uses a supplemented health belief model (HBM) to explain the risk perception of COVID-19 coronavirus infection by potential and actual domestic and international…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper uses a supplemented health belief model (HBM) to explain the risk perception of COVID-19 coronavirus infection by potential and actual domestic and international travelers (from primarily European countries) in the early pre-vaccine phase of the pandemic and its influence on their travel intentions, decisions, and actions. With a health crisis of this magnitude, it is vital to understand the effect of COVID-19-associated containment measures and safety industry strategies in abating public fear and apprehension associated with non-essential travel.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used a sequential transformative design consisting of a (QUAN + Qual) survey to explore the HBM dimensions. The questions in the quantitative part of the survey were disseminated online examine perceptions of the severity and susceptibility of the disease, travel risks and willingness to travel. The questions in the qualitative face-to-face survey examined, how international/cross-border travelers (from Spain and Germany) perceive the benefits and barriers of personal protective behavior and the potential influence of cues to action.
Findings
Results suggest that despite potential fear arousal and confusion associated with this infectious disease, people were willing to travel during periodic on-and-off travel restrictions and perceive the benefits of such travel as outweighing barriers like wearing masks, social distancing and other containment measures.
Research limitations/implications
The conceptual model enabled the capture of real-time traveler's feelings about the benefits of traveling in the presence of the coronavirus and their perceptions of COVID-19 safety strategies used at destinations. This study adds to the lack of existing knowledge about potential psychological factors influencing travel decisions and behavior, including self-protective behavior. As borders reopen and we progress towards tourism and hospitality recovery, the results of this study can assist organizations, including health officials and governments, by reminding them of the likelihood of residual public fear when planning their COVID-19 safety strategies.
Originality/value
Given the scarcity of COVID-19 research on people's travel intentions and behavior following periods of social isolation due to lockdowns and border closures, this study captures sample public perceptions at two stages early in the pandemic. It is the first to apply all of the HBM dimensions with the addition of travel risk as a construct to investigate people's travel intentions and behaviors without vaccinations or treatments and to include cues to action in the investigation.
Details
Keywords
Hao Chen, Lynda Jiwen Song, Wu Wei and Liang Wang
The purpose of this study is to test the mechanism of visionary leadership on subordinates' work withdrawal behavior through cognitive strain and psychological contract violation…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to test the mechanism of visionary leadership on subordinates' work withdrawal behavior through cognitive strain and psychological contract violation, and also to reveal the possible dark side of visionary leadership. The moderation effects of subordinates' facades of conformity and leader behavioral integrity in the cognition–affect dual-path process are also discussed.
Design/methodology/approach
This study conducted a three-wave longitudinal survey. The data were collected from 574 employees and their superiors in several Chinese enterprises. The authors used Mplus 7.4 and adopted a bootstrapping technique in the data analysis.
Findings
Visionary leadership has positive effects on cognitive strain and psychological contract violation; cognitive strain and psychological contract violation mediate the relationship between visionary leadership and work withdrawal behavior, respectively. Subordinates' facades of conformity and leader behavioral integrity moderate the positive effects of visionary leadership on cognitive strain and psychological contract violation, as well as the indirect effect of visionary leadership on subordinates' work withdrawal behavior through cognitive strain and psychological contract violation.
Originality/value
This study reveals the underlying mechanism of visionary leadership's negative impact on job outcome through the cognition and affective reaction of subordinates to visionary leadership, and broadens the scope of visionary leadership research. It also provides some practical suggestions on how to transmit the organizational vision effectively and reduce subordinates' work withdrawal behavior.
Details
Keywords
Zubair Akram, Abdul Gaffar Khan, Umair Akram, Saima Ahmad and Lynda Jiwen Song
While the rapid adoption of information communication technologies (ICT) in organizations has been linked with a higher risk of cyberbullying, research on the influence of…
Abstract
Purpose
While the rapid adoption of information communication technologies (ICT) in organizations has been linked with a higher risk of cyberbullying, research on the influence of cyberbullying on interpersonal behaviors in the workplace remains limited. By drawing on the ego-depletion theory and the leader-member exchange (LMX) theory, this research investigates how, why and when workplace cyberbullying may trigger interpersonal aggression through ICT.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors collected data from 259 employees and 62 supervisors working in large ICT organizations in China through a multi-wave survey. The authors performed multilevel analysis and used hierarchical linear modeling to test the proposed moderated mediation model.
Findings
The results revealed that workplace cyberbullying has a significant and positive influence on interpersonal aggression in the workplace via ego depletion. The authors found that differentiation in LMX processes at group level moderates the indirect relationship between workplace cyberbullying and interpersonal aggression (via ego depletion). Furthermore, the positive indirect effect of workplace cyberbullying was found to be stronger in the presence of a high LMX differentiation condition in comparison to a low LMX differentiation condition.
Research limitations/implications
The data were collected from Chinese ICT organizations, which may limit the generalization of this study’s findings to other cultural and sectoral contexts.
Originality/value
This paper provides the first step in understanding how, why and when workplace cyberbullying triggers interpersonal aggression by investigating the role of ego depletion as a mediator and LMX differentiation as a boundary condition. This is the first study to empirically examine the relationships between workplace cyberbullying, ego depletion, LMX differentiation and interpersonal aggression in ICT organizations using multi-level modeling.