Confounds in the Measurement of Predictive Expectations

Given the importance of predictive expectations in consumer satisfaction models, confounds in the measurement of expectations could result in misspecified models. Results of two empirical studies indicate that consumers interpret the word expect in numerous ways. A large minority of consumers interpret expect to mean desire. The magnitude of the resulting confounding effect is illustrated by comparing results using a measure of expectations alone with results obtained when using a measure of expectations together with a measure of desires in a side-by-side format

Why organizational and community diversity matter:Representativeness and the Emergence of Incivility and Organizational Performance

Integrating sociological and psychological perspectives, this research considers the value of organizational ethnic diversity as a function of community diversity. Employee and patient surveys, census data, and performance indexes relevant to 142 hospitals in the United Kingdom suggest that intraorganizational ethnic diversity is associated with reduced civility toward patients. However, the degree to which organizational demography was representative of community demography was positively related to civility experienced by patients and ultimately enhanced organizational performance. These findings underscore the understudied effects of community context and imply that intergroup biases manifested in incivility toward out-group members hinder organizational performance