Tim Jones, Susan E. Myrden and Peter Dacin
The purpose of this study is to examine the consumer-side effects of “under new management” (UNM) signs. The authors integrate cue-utilization theory and relevance theory to guide…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the consumer-side effects of “under new management” (UNM) signs. The authors integrate cue-utilization theory and relevance theory to guide hypotheses about the conditions under which these signs are and are not beneficial.
Design/methodology/approach
Two consumer-based experiments were used to examine the quality and reputation effects of restaurants signaling a management change on potential and existing customers.
Findings
The results suggest that positive and negative effects are possible. The direction of these effects is contingent upon consumers’ prior experience, type of service (i.e. search/experience) and the relevance of the signal.
Research limitations/implications
The study is limited to one industry (i.e. restaurants) and examines the effects of market signals on perceived quality and reputation. In addition, this research brought forth the notion of “signal relevance” and suggested that it may be explicitly tied to attributions. However, this assertion must examine multiple signals (relevant/irrelevant) and their contingent effects on consumer perceptions.
Practical implications
The findings advise businesses to use caution when using signals such as an “UNM” sign, as they appear to have different effects depending on the experience of the consumer with the service and the relevance of the signal.
Originality/value
This research contributes to the literature on cue utilization theory to understand the effects of marketplace cues on consumer perceptions. It contributes to marketing theory and practice by proposing a model of cue effects based on prior customer experience, type of service and cue relevance.
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Presents a special issue, enlisting the help of the author’s students and colleagues, focusing on age, sex, colour and disability discrimination in America. Breaks the evidence…
Abstract
Presents a special issue, enlisting the help of the author’s students and colleagues, focusing on age, sex, colour and disability discrimination in America. Breaks the evidence down into manageable chunks, covering: age discrimination in the workplace; discrimination against African‐Americans; sex discrimination in the workplace; same sex sexual harassment; how to investigate and prove disability discrimination; sexual harassment in the military; when the main US job‐discrimination law applies to small companies; how to investigate and prove racial discrimination; developments concerning race discrimination in the workplace; developments concerning the Equal Pay Act; developments concerning discrimination against workers with HIV or AIDS; developments concerning discrimination based on refusal of family care leave; developments concerning discrimination against gay or lesbian employees; developments concerning discrimination based on colour; how to investigate and prove discrimination concerning based on colour; developments concerning the Equal Pay Act; using statistics in employment discrimination cases; race discrimination in the workplace; developments concerning gender discrimination in the workplace; discrimination in Japanese organizations in America; discrimination in the entertainment industry; discrimination in the utility industry; understanding and effectively managing national origin discrimination; how to investigate and prove hiring discrimination based on colour; and, finally, how to investigate sexual harassment in the workplace.
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This paper aims to explain how Waters Corporation – a worldwide provider of analytical‐science solutions to health‐care, environmental, food‐safety, water‐quality and other…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explain how Waters Corporation – a worldwide provider of analytical‐science solutions to health‐care, environmental, food‐safety, water‐quality and other laboratories – worked with training provider Huthwaite International to improve the knowledge and customer‐service skills of the field service team.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper charts the reasons for the training, the form it took and the results it has achieved.
Findings
The paper details how each engineer was given a number of customer accounts to “own”. The engineers were to bring in different expertise as needed, but should manage the service project, get to know and understand the customer and identify ways that Waters could further help them in their business.
Practical implications
The paper describes how the training focused on questioning skills and on how to get explicit answers that could give a real insight into a customer's business. It also covered how to handle objections in a positive way and when and how to hand over to another specialist but still manage the customer relationship. The training was designed to show that the more a service engineer knew about a customer and his or her operations, the more value the engineer could offer, by pre‐empting problems and suggesting solutions to existing challenges. In turn Waters would gain value through having a loyal customer base that would affect future sales.
Social implications
The paper shows how service teams can be led in phases from just offering the technical fix needed, to providing outstanding service, identifying opportunities and supplying the sales team with intelligence, to eventually carrying out their own sales.
Originality/value
The paper highlights how a properly trained service team can build sustainable and profitable long‐term relationships.
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Tim Jones, Kiron Chatterjee, Ben Spencer and Heather Jones
Decision makers and authorities largely ignore cycling when conceptualising and developing programmes to support older mobility and therefore, unsurprisingly, levels of cycling in…
Abstract
Decision makers and authorities largely ignore cycling when conceptualising and developing programmes to support older mobility and therefore, unsurprisingly, levels of cycling in the United Kingdom are low compared to other northern European nations. Cycling has the potential to play an important role in the active ageing agenda and provide older citizens with a form of independent mobility that enhances personal health and wellbeing. The chapter provides evidence of the important role cycling does and could play in older people’s mobility and outlines ways in which older cycling could be supported and promoted.
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Ben Spencer, Tim Jones, Juliet Carpenter and Sue Brownill
This chapter explores the potential for involving the public in planning healthy urban mobility using a case study of two neighbourhoods in Oxford, UK. We draw specifically on…
Abstract
This chapter explores the potential for involving the public in planning healthy urban mobility using a case study of two neighbourhoods in Oxford, UK. We draw specifically on lessons learned from the UK case of a large-scale international study entitled Healthy Urban Mobility (HUM). The HUM project was based on the need to address health inequalities within urban areas by implementing new approaches to planning and health that use novel research methods to encourage active dialogue with a wide range of stakeholders. The two principal objectives of the research were firstly, to understand the impact of everyday (im)mobility on health and wellbeing within different social groups, and secondly, to explore the potential for participatory mobilities planning with local communities to support and develop solutions for healthy urban mobility.
The chapter is organised into six parts. Following the introduction, we highlight the theories behind the need for public participation in urban mobility planning and calls for active dialogue and mutual learning between practitioners and communities for effective action on improving urban health. Then in the third and fourth parts, we provide an overview of the approach to participatory mobilities planning with local communities in the UK as part of the HUM project. In the fifth part, we report the outcomes of the project and critically reflect on the overall approach and lessons learned that may be of use to practitioners and communities. Finally, we conclude with the significance of the study and implications for public participation in planning healthy urban mobility. The research demonstrates the significant potential of participatory methods in transport infrastructure project but also highlights the complexities of public engagement and points to the need for a continual, long-term process to build trust between partners.
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Speculates on the product of “digital money” from the perspectives of consumers, merchants and banks in ten years time. Predicts that convenience of access for consumers to…
Abstract
Speculates on the product of “digital money” from the perspectives of consumers, merchants and banks in ten years time. Predicts that convenience of access for consumers to electronic cash will mean that interactive television, PCs in the office and two‐slot mobile phones will all have become personal mobile cash dispensers for e‐cash. Argues that stakeholder analysis bears out the fact that digital money does have a future and sees a healthy competitive market of e‐cash contenders developing. Considers the opportunities and challenges presented by technology from a banker’s perspective and based on NatWest’s early experiences suggests that Mondex, with its global multi‐currency infrastructure, its transferable nature and support of banks in 60 countries is likely to become the market leader.
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Tim Jones, Gavin L. Fox, Shirley F. Taylor and Leandre R. Fabrigar
This paper aims to examine the role of three forms of customer commitment (normative, affective, and continuance) on a variety of loyalty‐related customer responses.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the role of three forms of customer commitment (normative, affective, and continuance) on a variety of loyalty‐related customer responses.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from two distinct sampling frames, which yielded a combined metrically invariant sample of 348 consumers. A three‐dimensional conceptualization of commitment is used to analyze impacts on one focal (i.e. repurchase intentions) and two discretionary customer responses.
Findings
Results of structural equation modeling analyses indicate that affective commitment is the primary driver of the customer responses and mediates the effects of normative and continuance commitments. These effects are contingent upon the type of service.
Research limitation/implications
This research emphasizes the primacy of affective commitment in predicting loyalty‐like customer responses.
Practical implications
Managers need to focus primarily on generating affective commitment, but be mindful that normative and continuance commitment also play a role in generating desirable consumer responses.
Originality/value
The paper builds on and overcomes several deficiencies in prior commitment research. A more accurate and useful representation of affective, normative, and continuance commitment roles in generating focal and discretionary behaviors is provided.
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Colin G. Pooley, Dave Horton, Griet Scheldeman, Miles Tight, Helen Harwatt, Ann Jopson, Tim Jones, Alison Chisholm and Caroline Mullen
Purpose – To examine the potential for switching short trips in urban areas from cars to walking and cycling, and the possible contribution, this could make to a reduction in…
Abstract
Purpose – To examine the potential for switching short trips in urban areas from cars to walking and cycling, and the possible contribution, this could make to a reduction in transport-related greenhouse gas emissions.
Methods – Case studies in four urban areas combining a questionnaire survey, interviews with households and during journeys and in-depth ethnographies of everyday travel.
Findings – The barriers to an increase in walking and cycling in British urban areas are emphasised. It demonstrates that motivations for walking and cycling are mostly personal (health and local environment) and that the complexities and contingencies of everyday travel for many households, combined with inadequate infrastructure, safety concerns and the fact that walking and cycling are seen by many as abnormal modes of travel, mean that increasing rates of walking and cycling will be hard. Given that the contribution of trips less than 2 miles to transport-related greenhouse gas emissions is relatively small, it is argued that any gains from increased walking and cycling would mostly accrue to personal health and the local environment rather than to the UK's carbon reduction target.
Social implications – Positive attitudes towards walking and cycling are motivated mainly by personal concerns rather than global environmental issues.
Originality – Use of detailed ethnographic material in policy-related transport research.