Does B2C online logistics service quality impact urban logistics?

This paper reports on an in-progress research study regarding the impact of business to consumer (B2C) online logistics service quality (OLSQ) for shopper satisfaction and loyalty on urban logistics across the UK, France and Germany to also investigate country-specific differences of consumer online shopping behaviour and channel strategies. A two-stage approach is adopted consisting of firstly of qualitative research conducted with managers at the producer/retailer interface and secondly a quantitative survey stage targeting consumers as online shoppers to determine how their expectations of OLSQ and associated activities influence their satisfaction and ongoing loyalty. This study should contribute theoretically by considering a B2C setting for OLSQ, which is the final aspect of point-of-origin to point-of-consumption, as most general literature on these topics has been dominated by business to business (B2B) logistical designs, and also identify any discrepancies between consumer expectations or behaviour as it may affect urban logistics solutions. Further, this study should contribute practically by providing managers with an understanding of the components of OLSQ considered critical by consumers

Quality modelling and metrics of Web-based information systems

In recent years, the World Wide Web has become a major platform for software applications. Web-based information systems have been involved in many areas of our everyday life, such as education, entertainment, business, manufacturing, communication, etc. As web-based systems are usually distributed, multimedia, interactive and cooperative, and their production processes usually follow ad-hoc approaches, the quality of web-based systems has become a major concern. Existing quality models and metrics do not fully satisfy the needs of quality management of Web-based systems. This study has applied and adapted software quality engineering methods and principles to address the following issues, a quality modeling method for derivation of quality models of Web-based information systems; and the development, implementation and validation of quality metrics of key quality attributes of Web-based information systems, which include navigability and timeliness. The quality modeling method proposed in this study has the following strengths. It is more objective and rigorous than existing approaches. The quality analysis can be conducted in the early stage of system life cycle on the design. It is easy to use and can provide insight into the improvement of the design of systems. Results of case studies demonstrated that the quality modeling method is applicable and practical. Practitioners can use the modeling method to develop their own quality models. This study is amongst the first comprehensive attempts to develop quality measurement for Web-based information systems. First, it identified the relationship between website structural complexity and navigability. Quality metrics of navigability were defined, investigated and implemented. Empirical studies were conducted to evaluate the metrics. Second, this study investigated website timeliness and attempted to find direct and indirect measures for the quality attribute. Empirical studies for validating such metrics were also conducted. This study also suggests four areas of future research that may be fruitful

Quantitative Verification: Formal Guarantees for Timeliness, Reliability and Performance

Computerised systems appear in almost all aspects of our daily lives, often in safety-critical scenarios such as embedded control systems in cars and aircraft or medical devices such as pacemakers and sensors. We are thus increasingly reliant on these systems working correctly, despite often operating in unpredictable or unreliable environments. Designers of such devices need ways to guarantee that they will operate in a reliable and efficient manner. Quantitative verification is a technique for analysing quantitative aspects of a system's design, such as timeliness, reliability or performance. It applies formal methods, based on a rigorous analysis of a mathematical model of the system, to automatically prove certain precisely specified properties, e.g. ``the airbag will always deploy within 20 milliseconds after a crash'' or ``the probability of both sensors failing simultaneously is less than 0.001''. The ability to formally guarantee quantitative properties of this kind is beneficial across a wide range of application domains. For example, in safety-critical systems, it may be essential to establish credible bounds on the probability with which certain failures or combinations of failures can occur. In embedded control systems, it is often important to comply with strict constraints on timing or resources. More generally, being able to derive guarantees on precisely specified levels of performance or efficiency is a valuable tool in the design of, for example, wireless networking protocols, robotic systems or power management algorithms, to name but a few. This report gives a short introduction to quantitative verification, focusing in particular on a widely used technique called model checking, and its generalisation to the analysis of quantitative aspects of a system such as timing, probabilistic behaviour or resource usage. The intended audience is industrial designers and developers of systems such as those highlighted above who could benefit from the application of quantitative verification,but lack expertise in formal verification or modelling

Validating an End-User Computing Satisfaction Instrument: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis Approach Using International Data

This study evaluates the construct validity of an end-user computing satisfaction scale in the context of the Korean culture. The structure and dimensionality, reliability and validity of an end-user computing satisfaction (EUCS) instrument were cross-validated using data obtained from 108 managers of Korean firms in the context of the end-user satisfaction with their office information system. The results of this study are generally consistent with previous findings regarding the measurement property of this instrument. However, Korean data also supports the five correlated first-order factors model. Managerial and research implications of the identified results are discussed

MEDIA MEETS RETAIL – RE-EVALUATING CONTENT QUALITY IN THE CONTEXT OF B2C E-COMMERCE

In the increasingly competitive Internet business landscape, content is more and more employed for marketing purposes. While online retailers are raising investments in content to promote their online shops, media companies are starting to monetize their content by building own e-commerce platforms. The rationale behind these content-driven commerce approaches is to create a satisfying online shopping experience and, thus, to foster customer loyalty. However, whether content is a suitable means to these ends has not yet been proven. One obstacle is that there is no measurement instrument that captures all relevant characteristics of content on a website. We seek to fill this gap by developing a unified content quality scale in the context of B2C e-commerce. In this paper, we report on the first two of five steps in the scale development process and provide an initial proposal for a formativeformative second-order content quality construct. In contrast to previous measures, our scale considers hedonic characteristics of content and thus contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of the concept. Furthermore, both media companies and online retailers can benefit from this scale by applying it to evaluate the effects of their content-driven commerce approaches on customer satisfaction and loyalty

How fair versus how long: An integrative theory‐based examination of procedural justice and procedural timeliness

Although studies have linked procedural justice to a range of positive attitudes and behaviors, the focus on justice has neglected other aspects of decision‐making procedures. We explore one of those neglected aspects: procedural timeliness—defined as the degree to which procedures are started and completed within an acceptable time frame. Do employees react to how long a procedure takes, not just how fair it seems to be? To explore that question, we examined the potential effects of procedural timeliness using six theories created to explain the benefits of procedural justice. This integrative theory‐based approach allowed us to explore whether “how long” had unique effects apart from “how fair.” The results of a three‐wave, two‐source field study showed that procedural timeliness had a significant indirect effect on citizenship behavior through many of the theory‐based mechanisms, even when controlling for procedural justice. A laboratory study then replicated those effects while distinguishing procedures that were too fast versus too slow. We discuss the implications of our results for research on fostering citizenship behavior and improving supervisors’ decision‐making procedures

Does Criticism Overcome the Praises of Journal Impact Factor?

Journal impact factor (IF) as a gauge of influence and impact of a particular journal comparing with other journals in the same area of research, reports the mean number of citations to the published articles in particular journal. Although, IF attracts more attention and being used more frequently than other measures, it has been subjected to criticisms, which overcome the advantages of IF. Critically, extensive use of IF may result in destroying editorial and researchers’ behaviour, which could compromise the quality of scientific articles. Therefore, it is the time of the timeliness and importance of a new invention of journal ranking techniques beyond the journal impact factor

Measuring the quality of the strategic financial planning information (Q-FPI) in the local government

Having quality information about strategic financial planning is very important for any organization. In the Local Government (LG) it is pivotal, as it is expected to impact strategic decision-making and overall management of local public resources. Yet, empirical research has failed to assess the quality of financial planning information, which must be assured both for management and accountability purposes. By proposing a quality index for strategic financial planning information – the Q-FPI Index – based on programming documents made available on the municipalities’ websites, this research contributes to address this gap. The paper describes the multidimensional conceptual model followed to build the Index, considering the identification of data quality requirements and defining indicators to operationalize them. The Index is then tested through a pilot application, using data from five Portuguese municipalities. The Q-FPI Index constitutes a flexible tool, capable of fostering continuous improvement of local government performance.This study was partially conducted at the Research Center in Political Science [UIDB/CPO/00758/2020], University of Minho and supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT -Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia, I.P) and the Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science through national funds. It has also been funded by national funds through FCT, Project UIDB/05037/2020