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Managers of a sample of private and public banks in Greece were surveyed through the vehicle of agency theory. It was found that managers in private banks showed greater alignment of interests with those of the bank, their pay related to outcomes and they were more mobile in their jobs. Private banks also used more control mechanisms to align interests of their managers with those of the bank and displayed a different working climate. Given evolving organisation structures resulting from deregulation, the convergence of information technology and communications and the entry of firms from other industries, the implications of the findings for governance are important.

Manufacturing companies, in searching for new approaches to retain customers, are increasingly using service as a differentiator and as a means of integrating themselves into the customers’ supply chain systems. This study is pivotal in exploring the concept of employing service quality in a non‐service industry to raise switching barriers and to create customer longevity. A survey of the UK steel industry has revealed that the higher the level of perceived quality of service, the higher the expressed intended loyalty. For steel managers, this research has highlighted the importance of establishing a relationship strategy through service enhancement to foster customer loyalty.

Reports the findings of a survey among customers of private and public sector banks in Greece on service quality perceptions and expectations. Finds that quality expectations and evaluation of services received were marginally higher in the private than in the public sector in most of the dimensions measured; the relative importance attached to each quality attribute was, however, of a similar profile for the two sectors. The perception of the profile of services received was, however, different between sectors, thus suggesting that they did deliver a different quality of service. Discusses the implications for strategy since sectoral differentiation in banking is becoming blurred as a result of increasing overlap between services and competition from related and substitute industries. Identifies the distinctiveness of what is perceived as a service on offer as essential ingredient to competitive positioning in financial services.

Proposes that the challenges both for marketing specialists and for consumers, raised by the concept of green marketing, are due to several issues, such as the lack of an acceptable definition for green marketing, the absence of a clear understanding of cause‐and‐effect relationships in matters affecting the environment, and the overt and covert reasons for concern about such issues. Suggested that, in the hands of unscrupulous marketers, green marketing can turn into green gold.

As the European Union issues Directives to standardize measures taken by individual member states to reduce environmental waste in the process of packaging, examines the marketing of branded spirits in European duty‐free situations in order to determine whether consumers face a conflict between purchasing on the basis of environmental issues or the “giftability” of the product. Found that customers were more motivated by price and brand loyalty than on packaging or green issues.

Reports on a small‐scale study of 30 general practitioners and 30 specialists in Greece where pharmaco‐economic information was presented to these prescribers and an attempt made to observe changes in reported choice of treatment consequent on this exposure. Concludes with a credible level of statistical significance, that information which also takes into account economic performance criteria is likely to influence the prescription decision of the practitioners. Suggests, from a commercial point of view, that this offers the opportunity to pharmaceutical companies to complement their offerings so that they can be better targeted to those prescribers most likely to be influenced by this information. Notes that, from a general societal point of view, the question needs to be raised about the extent to which the independence of the prescriber might be eroded through the presence or absence of such information and thus the best interests of the patient safeguarded.

Interest in organisational climate and its link with corporate performance is gaining momentum. The aim of this paper is to contribute to this discourse by examining the extent to which “above” and “below” average performing companies also exhibit different climate measurements. A survey was conducted on a sample of electronic component manufacturers, as a sunrise industry in a growth phase, and hosiery and knitwear manufacturers, as a sunset industry, in decline. In turn, sub‐samples of companies that performed above or below average for each of these sectors were selected. Climate dimension measurements collected from staff of the sample companies were analysed against corporate performance measurements. The results showed a consistent association between climate and performance. Independently of sector, companies performing above average showed higher values on climate dimensions than those performing below average. Although a link was shown to exist between climate and performance, it would be premature to conclude that this connection is causal and, if so, in which direction.

Reports the findings of a small‐scale survey undertaken with a view to establishing the extent to which customers of retail banks are influenced in their expectations of quality and in their perceptions of service received according to their awareness of service charges imposed by banks. Finds that customers who were aware of banking charges had higher expectations of quality than those who were not. Further, customers who were aware of banking charges perceived receiving a higher quality service than those who were not aware. Although the findings were not statistically significant, the general direction of the relationship was maintained across all the variables measured.

Asian immigrant entrepreneurs in the UK have been used as examples of what can be done through free enterprise. Academic interest is developing in the changes taking place as newer generations emerge. Seeks to address these issues.

A small‐scale qualitative study was undertaken with interviews of five men and five women entrepreneurs of the second generation. The issues explored included their background, the factors that have influenced, facilitated or inhibited their decision to become self‐employed, their experiences of entrepreneurship and the particular issues that confronted them. Female entrepreneurs in the sample were older and felt inhibited and more constrained than their male counterparts in their freedom to act.

Both males and females of second generation entered business through attraction for the opportunities rather than as their only option in an unknown environment. Notwithstanding expectations, later generations did not enter activities adding much greater value than those of the first generation, even though they were better integrated with their environment. Boundary stresses between first and second generation are likely to lead to further studies of succession planning and of the influence of culture and gender on attitudes to enterprise.

Methodologically the study is novel in so far as the researcher (an Asian female from a typical family business background) has taken care to observe the cultural proprieties often noted within this particular group. Hence, the data are arguably more authentic than previous studies undertaken by distant researchers.

Reports that concern with selection of high‐performing salespeople has a long pedigree, but the results of research have not been encouraging. Test one composite instrument, the Caliper Profile, on a sample of 90 salespeople employed by a company in the financial services sector. After comparing the predictions of the instrument against the records, it was concluded that there was some consistency between how line managers in that company appraised the sample and the Caliper predictions. There was, however, little relationship between the salespeople quantified performance against agreed sales targets and the predictions of that instrument. Thus Caliper predicted better the managers’ assessment of overall performance. Advances a number of methodological considerations are advanced with a view to exploring the subject further.