Pearl M.C. Lin, Wai Ching Wilson Au and Thomas Baum
Drawing on the mSERVQUAL model and spillover theory, this study aims to examine the mechanism through which food-ordering mobile app service quality influences users’ mobile app…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing on the mSERVQUAL model and spillover theory, this study aims to examine the mechanism through which food-ordering mobile app service quality influences users’ mobile app satisfaction, food satisfaction and repurchase intentions.
Design/methodology/approach
Online surveys were completed by 1,000 customers who used a food-ordering mobile app to order fast food on the day they completed the online survey. Structural equation modelling was then used to examine the proposed mechanism.
Findings
Results showed that the effects of food-ordering mobile app service quality on customer satisfaction (i.e. mobile app satisfaction and food satisfaction) and repurchase intention varied widely across service quality dimensions. Mobile app service quality had significant spillover effects on food satisfaction and repurchase intention.
Practical implications
Online food-delivery platforms should find the results insightful to better design their food-ordering mobile app. The findings can also assist restaurateurs and mobile payment companies with supporting the whole online food delivery process.
Originality/value
Rather than examining online food delivery service quality based on the service delivery process in the during-consumption stage or the service outcomes in the post-consumption stage, this study focused on the service quality in the pre-consumption stage to highlight the important role of online food delivery mobile apps. From a longitudinal perspective, this study drew on the associate network theory to explain the spillover effect of mobile app satisfaction in the pre-consumption stage on food satisfaction in the during-consumption stage and repurchase intention in the post-consumption stage.
Details
Keywords
This paper aims to present a method based on hidden Markov models (HMM) for extracting information from web news.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present a method based on hidden Markov models (HMM) for extracting information from web news.
Design/methodology/approach
The samples under study are derived from the contents of PROC “People's Daily Online,” a web‐based news publication containing non‐structured archives. This study focuses on developing HMM‐based tools for news filtering in order to retrieve terms of interest, such as “Geo‐location,” “System,” and “Personas.” The experiments are performed in two stages. In the first stage, each HMM being built is exclusively serving for extracting unique target term in order to evaluate the fundamental information extraction (IE) capability. In the second stage, the experiment is then extended to resolve a more complex, multi‐term extraction issue.
Findings
The results reveal that, by using HMMs as a basis, the accuracies (F‐measure) for unique IE tasks can achieve more than 70 per cent on average, while no fewer than 66 per cent accuracies are obtained for multi‐term extraction.
Originality/value
The study reveals the promising of using HMM for developing automatic tool in filtering free‐structured data.
Details
Keywords
Travel and tourism graduates are facing challenges in securing jobs within the travel and tourism industry, as their degrees have low recognition among travel and tourism…
Abstract
Travel and tourism graduates are facing challenges in securing jobs within the travel and tourism industry, as their degrees have low recognition among travel and tourism employers. Yet there are growing numbers of tourism courses provided by universities, and these are increasingly popular among students. This paper attempts an informed discussion of the relevance of travel and tourism degrees, comparing students' career expectations and aspirations with industry needs and perceptions of travel and tourism degrees and graduates. Students' perceptions were investigated, using a questionnaire survey, while the employers' perceptions and needs were explored through semi‐structured interviews. The results indicate a desire and optimism amongst current travel and tourism undergraduate students towards securing a job in the tourism industry, while the industry is not convinced, or at best unaware, of the benefits of tourism degrees and employing tourism graduates.
Details
Keywords
Seth D. Baum, Stuart Armstrong, Timoteus Ekenstedt, Olle Häggström, Robin Hanson, Karin Kuhlemann, Matthijs M. Maas, James D. Miller, Markus Salmela, Anders Sandberg, Kaj Sotala, Phil Torres, Alexey Turchin and Roman V. Yampolskiy
This paper aims to formalize long-term trajectories of human civilization as a scientific and ethical field of study. The long-term trajectory of human civilization can be defined…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to formalize long-term trajectories of human civilization as a scientific and ethical field of study. The long-term trajectory of human civilization can be defined as the path that human civilization takes during the entire future time period in which human civilization could continue to exist.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper focuses on four types of trajectories: status quo trajectories, in which human civilization persists in a state broadly similar to its current state into the distant future; catastrophe trajectories, in which one or more events cause significant harm to human civilization; technological transformation trajectories, in which radical technological breakthroughs put human civilization on a fundamentally different course; and astronomical trajectories, in which human civilization expands beyond its home planet and into the accessible portions of the cosmos.
Findings
Status quo trajectories appear unlikely to persist into the distant future, especially in light of long-term astronomical processes. Several catastrophe, technological transformation and astronomical trajectories appear possible.
Originality/value
Some current actions may be able to affect the long-term trajectory. Whether these actions should be pursued depends on a mix of empirical and ethical factors. For some ethical frameworks, these actions may be especially important to pursue.
Details
Keywords
Arvid Flagestad and Christine A. Hope
This paper presents some aspects of branding the Scandinavian snow tourism product. The authors argue that the Scandinavian suppliers to the non‐Nordic market need a stronger…
Abstract
This paper presents some aspects of branding the Scandinavian snow tourism product. The authors argue that the Scandinavian suppliers to the non‐Nordic market need a stronger image and more distinct differentiation, and that a Scandinavian umbrella brand might be helpful to serve the purpose of increasing the combined market share of Scandinavian suppliers in non‐Nordic markets. In support of their views empirical observations are presented which confirm the rational for a Scandinavian umbrella brand and a potential for differentiation not yet utilised. Branding is discussed within the context of a strategic alliance between Scandinavian suppliers. These suppliers are conceptualised as a strategic group. The conceptual and managerial complexity of branding a product associated with three different countries is noted. The paper concludes by indicating areas for future research.
Details
Keywords
Sanmugasundaram Thirukumaran, Paul Ratnamahilan Polycarp Hoole, Harikrishnan Ramiah, Jeevan Kanesan, Kandasamy Pirapaharan and Samuel Ratnajeevan Herbert Hoole
As commercial and military aircraft continue to be subject to direct lightning flashes, there is a great need to characterize correctly the electrical currents and electric…
Abstract
Purpose
As commercial and military aircraft continue to be subject to direct lightning flashes, there is a great need to characterize correctly the electrical currents and electric potential fluctuations on an aircraft to determine alternative design approaches to minimizing the severity of the lightning-aircraft dynamics. Moreover, with the increased severity of thunderstorms due to global warming, the need arises even more to predict and quantify electrical characteristics of the lightning-aircraft electrodynamics, which is normally not measurable, using a reliable electric model of the aircraft. Such a model is advanced here. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The case considered in this paper is that of an aircraft directly attached to an earth flash lightning channel. The paper develops a new approach to modelling the aircraft using electric dipoles. The model has the power to represent sharp edges such as wings, tail ends and radome for any aircraft with different dimensions by using a number of different sized dipoles. The distributed transmission line model (TLM) of the lightning return stroke incorporating the distributed aircraft model is used to determine aircraft electrical elements and finally the electric current induced on the aircraft body due to lightning's interaction with the aircraft. The model is validated by the waveform method and experimental results.
Findings
The dipole model proposed is a very powerful tool for minute representation of the different shapes of aircraft frame and to determine the best geometrical shape and fuselage material to reduce electric stress. This charge simulation method costs less computer storage and faster computing time.
Originality/value
The paper for the first time presents a computer-based simulation tool that allows scientists and engineers to study the dynamics of voltage and current along the aircraft surface when the aircraft is attached to a cloud to ground lightning channel.
Details
Keywords
Adrian Carr and Yiannis Gabriel
The notion of the unconscious is introduced and contextualised as part of the larger psychodynamics relevant to the process of managing change. The other papers in this special…
Abstract
The notion of the unconscious is introduced and contextualised as part of the larger psychodynamics relevant to the process of managing change. The other papers in this special issue are introduced.
Details
Keywords
Joel A.C Baum and Theresa K Lant
Organizations create their environments by constructing interpretations and then acting on them as if they were true. This study examines the cognitive spatial boundaries that…
Abstract
Organizations create their environments by constructing interpretations and then acting on them as if they were true. This study examines the cognitive spatial boundaries that managers of Manhattan hotels impose on their competitive environment. We derive and estimate a model that specifies how the attributes of managers’ own hotels and potential rival hotels influence their categorization of competing and non-competing hotels. We show that similarity in geographic location, price, and size are central to managers’ beliefs about the identity of their competitors, but that the weights they assign to these dimensions when categorizing competitors diverge from their influence on competitive outcomes, and indicate an overemphasis on geographic proximity. Although such categorization is commonly conceived as a rational process based on the assessment of similarities and differences, we suggest that significant distortions can occur in the categorization process and examine empirically how factors including managers’ attribution errors, cognitive limitations, and (in)experience lead them to make type I and type II competitor categorization errors and to frame competitive environments that are incomplete, erroneous, or even superstitious. Our findings suggest that understanding inter-firm competition may require greater attention being given to the cognitive foundations of competition.
Wei Guo, Tieying Yu and Greta Hsu
In this study, we develop understanding of factors that shape the propensity of market incumbents to collaborate in response to the threat posed by new market entrants. We are…
Abstract
In this study, we develop understanding of factors that shape the propensity of market incumbents to collaborate in response to the threat posed by new market entrants. We are particularly interested in instances when a market's competitive structure becomes unsettled by new entrants who engage in nonconforming strategic tactics. In such situations, we propose two factors – strategic similarity among competitors and market-share instability – will systematically shape competitors' collaborative response to new entrants. To test our theory, we use data on strategic tactics and collaborative dynamics in the US airline industry from 1989 to 2010. We demonstrate that greater strategic similarity among a market's incumbents increases the likelihood of cooperation in response to the threat of a nonconforming new entrant, while greater market-share instability reduces cooperative response. Through this study, we extend existing understanding of the contextual circumstances under which established competitors recognize their mutual interests and band together.