Role of organizational service recovery actions on sustomer switching intentions in a process based service failure : does speed of recovery matters?

The study examines how organizational activities of compensation and empowerment impact on consumers switching intentions and also whether these differ based on the speed of service recovery. Data is collected using hypothetical scenarios in a situation of process failure. It is found that there is no direct effect of either compensation or empowerment on switching intent, although the interaction effect is significant when recovery occurs quickly.<br /

Recover : A seven-element concept for evaluating recovery

In recent years empirical investigations into service recovery have examined the impact of firm&rsquo;s recovery attempt on consumers&rsquo; post-purchase decisions. However, these measurements tended to be based on one or two outcomes ignoring the complexity of post purchase behavior. As such, there exist limited empirical studies of multiple consumer outcomes. This paper considers the need to examine the impact of service recovery processes using multiple customer-based factors. Seven outcome issues are identified and described in this paper that relate to the essence of a positive after-service affiliations of customer with the service provider.<br /

Reducing consumer switching intentions following service failure : do empowerment and apology help?

This research explores the effectiveness of apology and empowerment as service recovery actions and their impact on consumers switching intentions within the hospitality industry. It also examines two different types of failure - process failure and outcome and whether consumer-switching intentions vary based on failure type. Results suggest that apology is effective in reducing switching intentions in both types of failure. Employee empowerment reduces switching intentions in outcome failure situations, but increases switching intentions in process settings. There is also an interaction effect of apology and empowerment in the outcome failure setting, but not in the process failure setting. Recommendations for managing service recovery are provided.<br /

Segmenting Australian online panellists based on volunteering motivations

Purpose&ndash; The purpose of this paper is to seek to assess whether online commercial panel volunteering can be segmented based on their motivations, using the volunteer functions inventor. The authors also investigate whether segments exist which differ in demographic characteristics.Design/methodology/approach&ndash; The authors survey 484 Australian online panel volunteers using a adapted version of the 30 item of the volunteer function inventory (VFI) scale developed by Clary et al. (1998). Data were analysed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and cluster analysis, as well as ANOVA and &chi;2 test comparisons of demographics between clusters.Findings&ndash; CFA verifies that the VFI scale is suitable instrument to gauge online participants&rsquo; motivations. Cluster analysis produced a five-cluster solution, where respondents with low motivations overall comprised the largest grouping. Segments are interpreted by assessing the difference between the total sample average and the segment profile. The examination also identifies that the only demographic factor that varies across the five clusters is &ldquo;respondents&rdquo; employment status&rdquo;.Research limitations/implications&ndash; Future research could explore if differences in segments result in differences in online participation. The high number or respondents with low motivations may explain the relatively high levels of churn that take place within online panels and as a result panel operators would need to continually attract new members. Further research could also investigate whether the levels of motivation change over time and if so what effect such variation would produce on respondents&rsquo; retention.Originality/value&ndash; Research on online panel respondents&rsquo; motivation is still limited and investigating online panellists&rsquo; motivation as volunteers is very important as it unveils, as in the study herein reported, that alternative types of respondents may be driven by different factors when joining an online panel (or completing a given survey). Recruitment strategies could, therefore, be shaped to suit the motivation of the different segments. By refining the matching between volunteers&rsquo; profiles and their motivation, managers could improve how volunteers are recruited, managed and retained

The role of Belgorod’ mass-media in forming of public agenda

The article reveals the modalities of mass-media’s influence on public consciousness. The correlation of political, public and media agendas has also been investigated. For the first time the investigation has been made with consideration for a region, by the example of the Belgorod Regio

Diabetic pancreatic β cells ARNT all they should be

A complex network of interacting transcription factors plays a critical role in normal pancreatic β cell function, with mutations in certain transcription factor genes known to cause diabetes. In a recent issue of Cell, Gunton et al. (2005) demonstrate a role for the transcription factor ARNT/HIF1β (hydrocarbon nuclear receptor translocator/hypoxia-inducible factor 1 β) in normal β cell function. ARNT expression is reduced in diabetic human islets and β cell-specific ARNT knockout mice show the impaired glucose tolerance and abnormal insulin secretion that are characteristic of type 2 diabetes

Proposed multi-dimensional approach to evaluating service recovery

Purpose &ndash; The purpose of this paper is to extend thinking on service recovery processes and satisfaction with service recovery, using multi-dimensional consumer outcomes. The objective of the work was to propose that satisfaction with service recovery should be based on customers\u27 expectations of the recovery encounter, which would be shaped by their expectations of &ldquo;non-failed&rdquo; encounters.Design/methodology/approach &ndash; The paper adopts a theoretical approach. Using the existing service recovery literature as well as the traditional services literature, the conceptual framework and associated research propositions are developed.Findings &ndash; The proposed framework suggests that service recovery is a service encounter it its own right. The effectiveness of recovery encounters will be based on how encounters operate relative to customer expectations and experiences with regard to the recovery activity.Research limitations/implications &ndash; The research propositions and proposed framework need further empirical investigation.Practical implications &ndash; The proposed framework suggests that managing service recovery should be undertaken in a similar fashion to managing any service, and thus managers need to understand customers\u27 recovery expectations. Organisations also need to consider how a recovery action impacts on a range of customer outcomes, as focusing on one aspect will not capture consumers\u27 full set of behaviours.Originality/value &ndash; The proposed model identifies that service recovery should be evaluated with regard to consumers\u27 recovery expectations and satisfaction is not based on expectations with regard to non-failed encounters.<br /

The Higgs Boson Mass as a Probe of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model

Recently, the LEP collaborations have reported a lower bound on a Standard Model-like Higgs boson of order 89 GeV. We discuss the implications of this bound for the minimal supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model (MSSM). In particular, we show that the lower bound on $\tan\beta$, which can be obtained from the presently allowed Higgs boson mass value, becomes stronger than the one set by the requirement of perturbative consistency of the theory up to scales of order $M_{GUT}$ (associated with the infrared fixed-point solution of the top quark Yukawa coupling) in a large fraction of the allowed parameter space. The potentiality of future LEP2 searches to further probe the MSSM parameter space is also discussed.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, LateX, psfi