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The purpose of this paper is to examine consumer perceptions of airline quality indicators and compare them to actual data reported by the Department of Transportation, in the USA and the Association of European Airlines (AEA) in the EU. The objective is to determine whether there is a discrepancy between reported performance metrics of service quality and consumer perception.

This paper compares actual reported data on service quality with results of an exploratory questionnaire on the perceived frequency of service failures in three key areas of airline service quality; on time flight arrivals, baggage reports and flight cancellations. Similarities and differences both within and between the USA and EU markets are discussed.

Preliminary findings indicate that actual consumer perceptions of airline performance on key areas of airline service quality are in fact far worse than the data reported in the US Air Travel Consumer Report or AEA Consumer Report. Consumer perceptions fail to come close to many of the service standards the industry is actually reaching. The only exception to this can be seen in the EU where the perceived and actual scores are virtually the same for on time arrivals. It's also interesting to note that the EU perception scores are generally higher than those of the US sample, indicating a marginally more positive disposition towards the industry.

This paper represents a exploratory attempt to integrate the two dominant approaches to airline service quality –perceptual survey and reported secondary data – in an effort to understand the challenge facing international airlines. It also examines the perceptual and performance differences across key Western cultures.

The aims of this study are threefold: to examine the relationship between gender role stereotypes and requisite managerial characteristics, to test Lord and Maher's recognition‐based processes to determine whether familiarity with women in leadership positions decreases the “think manager‐think male” stereotype and to examine the nature of the attributes used to describe men, women and managers.

Schein's Descriptive Index was used in this study. A total of 1,236 surveys were included in the study. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC, r¹) were computed to determine the relationship between the different moderators and requisite managerial characteristics. Factorial analysis and agglomerative hierarchal cluster analysis were used to identify the traits attributed to men, women and managers.

Male respondents continue to gender type the managerial role in favour of men. Both males and managers continue to be viewed as agentic in nature while women are viewed in more androgynous terms by both male and female respondents.

This study expands our understanding of how males and females view women, men and managers. Based on the results of this study, the authors would argue that women are better equipped to adopt an androgynous leadership style and to practise transformational leadership.

This study looks beyond ICC scores and looks at how each of the traits is linked to men, women and managers. The findings are discussed in terms of how organisations need to look beyond the misfit between women and requisite managerial characteristics and focus on what females can contribute at board level and to management in general.

Branding in small companies is an emergent aspect of the literature which to date has been explored from the perspective of customers but not SME management. Increasing understanding of management perceptions of branding is essential, given the impact of the entrepreneurial personality on SME branding, the need to create sustainable value, the emphasis of differentiation, and nurturing the generation of growth. This paper seeks to enhance the understanding of brands in service small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from a management perspective.

A qualitative case study method was undertaken with five SMEs in Ireland over a period of 18 months to understand the context specific implementation of branding from the perspective of the owner/manager. The research approach utilized in‐depth interviews, historical data, and observation with diverse service SMEs to facilitate the theory building necessary for this study.

The findings demonstrate that from a management perspective, branding in service SMEs is dominated by four variables; characteristics of the SME, the role of customer importance, the role of management and staff and brand equity. Additionally, the case SMEs noted the impact on their branding of budgetary constraints, procrastination, the desire for success and the influence of the owner/manager on change.

While the importance of branding is well supported, service SME branding is an emergent area of the literature. This study explores management perspectives of branding in service SMEs culminating in a model of SME service branding.