Market Structures in Air Conditioning Maintenance Activity

It is questionable whether activities like construction, including maintenance and repair, can be considered a single entity or industry - on the basis that different sectors of construction/maintenance use fundamentally distinct resource and skill bases. This creates a number of issues including the development of competition and reform policy. de Valance deployed the Structure-Conduct-Performance model (SCP) to delineate sectors of new/installation construction activity and, in doing so, proposes that there exists multiple market structures in a given project. The purpose of this paper is to apply the SCP model to a different sector of construction activity, that is air conditioning maintenance and test de Valance's proposition concerning the existence of multiple market structures in a supply chain but this time to a built facility. The research method combines secondary data concerning the "Structure" component of the SCP model and primary data with regard to the "Conduct" and "Performance" parts of the SCP model. The results provide further support (beyond de Valance's analysis of new/installation activity) that a sector system approach using the SCP model is a more effective way to analyse market structures in construction activity. This paper also supports de Valance's proposition concerning the existence of multiple market structures in a supply chain to a project/facility.

Gendered perceptions of experiential value in using web-based retail channels

Purpose – This paper compares the experiential consumption values that motivate consumer choice to purchase online for both male and female purchasers and non-purchasers. Design/methodology/approach – Using the theory of consumption value the study examines gendered perceptions of the functional, social and conditional value of using a virtual consumption setting for purchasing. Data was collected through an online survey and analysed using multiple discriminant analysis to determine meaningful differences between male and female purchasers and non-purchasers. Findings – The findings show that male online purchasers are discriminated from female purchasers by social value and from male non-purchasers by conditional value. Female purchasers are discriminated from male purchasers by functional value and from female non-purchasers by social value. Female non-purchasers are discriminated from female purchasers by conditional value. Male non-purchasers are discriminated from male purchasers by functional and social value. Research limitations/implications – Limitations include using an Internet survey and an Australian sample which may impact the generalisability of the findings to a wider population of Internet users. Future research should involve replication of the study in a country more or less developed in terms of gender composition of internet users to extend the generalisability of the findings. Additionally, researchers should examine whether other dimensions of consumption value,such as social influence through on- and off-line communication networks, may influence consumer choice to purchase online. Practical implications – The study provides practical implications for marketers to leverage consumption values that influence male and female consumers’ choice to purchase online and then drive their behaviour online through integrated marketing campaigns that involve both on- and offline strategies. Originality/value – The research makes an original contribution to the consumer behaviour literature as to date, no research has been found that undertakes such a comprehensive gender-based comparison of the perceived value of using a virtual consumption setting for purchasing.

Value-oriented process modeling : integrating financial perspectives into business process re-design

Purpose – Financial information about costs and return on investments are of key importance to strategic decision-making but also in the context of process improvement or business engineering. In this paper we propose a value-oriented approach to business process modeling based on key concepts and metrics from operations and financial management, to aid decision making in process re-design projects on the basis of process models. Design/methodology/approach – We suggest a theoretically founded extension to current process modeling approaches, and delineate a framework as well as methodical support to incorporate financial information into process re-design. We use two case studies to evaluate the suggested approach. Findings – Based on two case studies, we show that the value-oriented process modeling approach facilitates and improves managerial decision-making in the context of process re-design. Research limitations / implications – We present design work and two case studies. More research is needed to more thoroughly evaluate the presented approach in a variety of real-life process modeling settings. Practical implications – We show how our approach enables decision makers to make investment decisions in process re-design projects, and also how other decisions, for instance in the context of enterprise architecture design, can be facilitated. Originality/value – This study reports on an attempt to integrate financial considerations into the act of process modeling, in order to provide more comprehensive decision making support in process re-design projects.

Consumers' accounts of perceived risk online and the influence of communication sources

The purpose of this paper is to extend marketing knowledge into perceived risk in online transactions beyond the current positivistic, hypotheses-driven research by providing qualitative insights into how individuals construct their accounts of perceived risk online. Additionally, the study reported in this paper aims to explore how communication sources influence both these subjective constructions and individuals' behavioural experiences with transaction activity on the web. Design/methodology/approach - The study was developed within a grounded theory method.Ten in-depth interviews were conducted which were analysed using constant comparison of incidents procedures to provide rich descriptions of the interviewees' subjective perceptions and lived experiences with online transaction activity. Findings - The findings provide insights into how the human clement is present in individuals'perceptions and constructions of their accounts of the risk involved online.The findings also identify the influence of mass communication sources on the construction of these accounts. The study provides insights into whether change agent communication sources, such as marketers or web designers,influence consumers' behaviours towards online transaction activity through mediating their perceptions of the risks involved. The study also reveals how social communication networks influence the interviewees' decisions to use the web (or transaction activities, in particular online purchasing, and how the group in this study might act as a communication source to influence others. Research limitations/Implications - While the findings cannot be generalised to the internet population overall, the sample used was able to provide relevant information regarding the phenomenon of interest. Future research should continue to examine perceived risk and the influence of communications sources, such as e-mail, discussion groups and virtual communities. Originality/value - The value of the paper lies in permitting the participants to account for perceived risk for themselves. The findings ex.plore what this means at increasing levels of personal relevance and the influence of communication sources to create, sustain or mediate perceptions of this phenomenon.