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That someone can make us feel good is a quality in itself. There has been much talk within British government circles, for example, about “the feelgood” factor, which is…
Abstract
That someone can make us feel good is a quality in itself. There has been much talk within British government circles, for example, about “the feelgood” factor, which is constantly reminding us that it is just around the corner! Whether or not we can believe in this is another matter but it certainly displays an awareness that making other people feel good can also have positive benefits for ourselves. How this can be achieved will differ depending on our particular line of business. Having a good‐quality product does not in itself guarantee success as service quality must also be taken into account. This is where the feel‐good factor comes into play. It is all very well, for example, going to a restaurant to have a top‐class meal (in that the food was good), only to have it thrown at you. Quality, therefore, must not be seen as a separate entity, but more as a package deal. Service quality is important if you wish to retain your customer base as acquiring new customers can be both time‐consuming and costly. It quite often takes very little apart from good manners to keep customer loyalty as in the case of the restaurant. Other factors can, however, start creeping into the framework such as efficiency, timeliness and good communication. Is there, for example, a time limit on how long you can reasonably be expected to wait for your meal before it arrives at the table, and if there is a delay is this communicated to you? In other words, we all have expectations as to what is acceptable and what is not. The clever part is for the organization to learn by what criteria the customer judges its service quality performance.
Ann Veeck, Fang Grace Yu, Hongyan Yu, Gregory Veeck and James W. Gentry
– This study aims to examine the major influences of food choices of Chinese teenagers within a dynamic food marketing environment.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the major influences of food choices of Chinese teenagers within a dynamic food marketing environment.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reports findings from semi-structured interviews with high school students which examine teenagers’ guidelines for selecting food, along with their actual eating behavior.
Findings
The results reflect on how four major influences – personal, family, peer and retailer – may intersect to affect the eating behaviors of Chinese adolescents, as they navigate an intense education schedule during a time of rapidly changing cultural values. Different norms of food choice – nutrition, food safety, taste, body image, price, convenience, sharing, friendship and fun – are evoked according to the social context and concurrent activities of the teenagers.
Social implications
The findings offer tentative insights related to the potential for promoting healthier eating habits for adolescents in urban areas of China.
Originality/value
The study demonstrates how, within this rapidly changing food environment, food retailers are creating alliances with teenagers to meet needs of convenience, speed, taste and social interaction.
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Marilyn F. Johnson and Ram Natarajan
We hypothesize that a CEO’s responsiveness to security analysts’ demands for information about the firm is influenced by the structure of the CEO’s compensation package. Our…
Abstract
We hypothesize that a CEO’s responsiveness to security analysts’ demands for information about the firm is influenced by the structure of the CEO’s compensation package. Our analysis is based on a sample of 469 CEO presentations to security analyst societies by 149 firms during the period 1984‐1988. Consistent with the argu ments of Nagar (1999; 1998) that CEO shareholdings and golden parachutes reduce the cost to the CEO of disclosing proprietary information, we find that CEO share holdings and the presence of golden parachutes are positively associated with the total amount of information that a CEO discloses at an analyst society presentation. Consistent with the argument that CEOs whose cash compensation is sensitive to firm performance have incentives to release bad news so as to lower expectations about future performance and, hence, bonus targets, CEO cash compensation performance sensitivities are positively associated with the CEO’s willingness to disclose bad news.
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Direct government participation in the Taiwanese economy has produced a bipartite polarised network based essentially on allegiance, possibly caused through appointment of…
Abstract
Direct government participation in the Taiwanese economy has produced a bipartite polarised network based essentially on allegiance, possibly caused through appointment of managers who identify with the government. An integrative mechanism is required to facilitate co‐operation among all institutions, according to questionnaire respondents from enterprises, consultants and consulting firms, universities and governmental agencies. An institution dedicated to improving management practices in all types of organisations, allowing access to multiple management information channels, could be the answer.
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