Investigating relationships between relationship quality, customer loyalty and cooperation : an empirical study of convenience stores' franchise chain systems in Taiwan

Franchising has been widely accepted as an effective way to conduct and expand businesses. However, a franchise system is not a guarantee of success in the market. A successful franchise system should rely on a close and strong franchising relationship. Franchising is an important relationship management business. Franchising arrangements normally last for a number of years, so the franchisor and franchisee in the arrangement relationship are usually motivated to cooperate with each other. In addition, highly loyal franchisees may be obtained through a successful long-term franchising relationship. Over the last few decades, there has been a tremendous wave of interest in franchising relationships. However, little research has been conducted to determine the reasons for long-term franchising relationships. As a result, this study focuses on the important elements that might lead to a successful long-term franchising relationship. This study attempts to examine empirically three essential constructs (relationship quality, cooperation and customer loyalty), which might lead to successful long-term franchising relationships between franchisees and franchisors among the convenience stores in Taiwan. Mailed questionnaires were utilised to collect the research data. A total of 500 surveys were mailed randomly to the manager/supervisor of convenience stores’ franchisees among the four main franchisors (7-ELEVEN, Family, Hi-Life and OK) in Taiwan. The final sample size is 120, yielding a response rate of 24 per cent. The results show that relationship quality positively influences the cooperative relationships between franchisors and franchisees. Relationship quality is also positively correlated with franchisees’ loyalty. Additionally, the results indicate that the cooperative relationships between franchisors and franchisees are significantly associated with franchisees’ loyalty.

The domestic kitchen : the weak link in the food chain : is convenience leading to apathy?

To investigate the meaning and understanding of domestic food preparation within the lived experience of the household's main food preparer this ethnographic study used a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Data were collected from three sources: the literature; an in-store survey of251 food shoppers chosen at random while shopping during both peak and off peak shopping periods at metropolitan supermarkets; and semi-structured interviews with the principal food shopper and food preparer of 15 different Brisbane households. Male and female respondents representing a cross section of socio-economic groupings, ranged in age from 19-79 years and were all from English speaking backgrounds. Changes in paid labour force participation, income and education have increased the value of the respondents' time, instigating massive changes in the way they shop, cook and eat. Much of their food preparation has moved from the domestic kitchen into the kitchens of other food establishments. For both sexes, the dominant motivating force behind these changes is a combination of the their self perceived lack of culinary skill; lack of enjoyment of cooking and lack of motivation to cook. The females in paid employment emphasise all factors, particularly the latter two, significantly more than the non-employed females. All factors are of increasing importance for individuals aged less than 35 years and conversely, of significantly diminished importance to older respondents. Overall, it is the respondents aged less than 25 years who indicate the lowest cooking frequency and/or least cooking ability. Inherent in this latter group is an indifference to the art/practice of preparing food. Increasingly, all respondents want to do less cooking and/or get the cooking over with as quickly as possible. Convenience is a powerful lure by which to spend less time in the kitchen. As well, there is an apparent willingness to pay a premium for convenience. Because children today are increasingly unlikely to be taught to cook, addressing the food skills deficit and encouraging individuals to cook for themselves are significant issues confronting health educators. These issues are suggested as appropriate subjects of future research.

Conceptualising convenience : transportation practices and perceptions of inner-urban high density residents in Brisbane, Australia

High-density living in inner-urban areas has been promoted to encourage the use of more sustainable modes of travel to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, previous research presents mixed results on the relationship between living in proximity to transport systems and reduced car-dependency. This research examines inner-city residents’ transportation practices and perceptions, via 24 qualitative interviews with residents from high-density dwellings in inner-city Brisbane, Australia. Whilst participants consider public transport accessible and convenient, car use continues to be relied on for many journeys. Transportation choices are justified through complex definitions of convenience containing both utilitarian and psycho-social elements,with three key themes identified: time-efficiency, single versus multi-modal trips, and distance to and purpose of journey, as well as attitudinal, affective and symbolic elements related to transport mode use. Understanding conceptions of transport convenience held by different segments of the transport users market,alongside other factors strongly implicated in travel mode choice, can ensure targeted improvements in sustainable transport service levels and infrastructure as well as information service provision and behavioural change campaigns.

Political information choices in a media saturated environment : credibility or convenience?

This thesis examines the ways in which citizens find out about socio-political issues. The project set out to discover how audience characteristics such as scepticism towards the media, gratifications sought, need for cognition and political interest influence information selection. While most previous information choice studies have focused on how individuals select from a narrow range of media types, this thesis considered a much wider sweep of the information landscape. This approach was taken to obtain an understanding of information choices in a more authentic context - in everyday life, people are not simply restricted to one or two news sources. Rather, they may obtain political information from a vast range of information sources, including media sources (e.g. radio, television, newspapers) and sources from beyond the media (eg. interpersonal sources, public speaking events, social networking websites). Thus, the study included both media and non-news media information sources. Data collection for the project consisted of a written, postal survey. The survey was administered to a probability sample in the greater Brisbane region, which is the third largest city in Australia. Data was collected during March and April 2008, approximately four months after the 2007 Australian Federal Election. Hence, the study was conducted in a non-election context. 585 usable surveys were obtained. In addition to measuring the attitudinal characteristics listed above, respondents were surveyed as to which information sources (eg. television shows, radio stations, websites and festivals) they usually use to find out about socio-political issues. Multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to explore patterns of influence between the audience characteristics and information consumption patterns. The results of this analysis indicated an apparent difference between the way citizens use news media sources and the way they use information sources from beyond the news media. In essence, it appears that non-news media information sources are used very deliberately to seek socio-political information, while media sources are used in a less purposeful way. If media use in a non-election context, such as that of the present study, is not primarily concerned with deliberate information seeking, media use must instead have other primary purposes, with political information acquisition as either a secondary driver, or a by-product of that primary purpose. It appears, then, that political information consumption in a media-saturated society is more about routine ‘practices’ than it is about ‘information seeking’. The suggestion that media use is no longer primarily concerned with information seeking, but rather, is simply a behaviour which occurs within the broader set of everyday practices reflects Couldry’s (2004) media as practice paradigm. These findings highlight the need for more authentic and holistic contexts for media research. It is insufficient to consider information choices in isolation, or even from a wider range of information sources, such as that incorporated in the present study. Future media research must take greater account of the broader social contexts and practices in which media-oriented behaviours occur. The findings also call into question the previously assumed centrality of trust to information selection decisions. Citizens regularly use media they do not trust to find out about politics. If people are willing to use information sources they do not trust for democratically important topics such as politics, it is important that citizens possess the media literacy skills to effectively understand and evaluate the information they are presented with. Without the application of such media literacy skills, a steady diet of ‘fast food’ media may result in uninformed or misinformed voting decisions, which have implications for the effectiveness of democratic processes. This research has emphasized the need for further holistic and authentically contextualised media use research, to better understand how citizens use information sources to find out about important topics such as politics.

Investigating relationships between relationship quality, customer loyalty and cooperation : an empirical study of convenience stores' franchise chain systems

Small business has been shown to contribute significantly to a nation’s economic development. Small business owners typically confront challenges, uncertainty, and risks while operating new businesses. Franchising has become a way to minimize the risks of small business management (Chiou et al., 2004); however, a franchise system is not a guarantee of business success (Lee and Karkovista, 2001). A poor franchising relationship between franchisors and franchisees can result in franchise failure, such as termination and closure, or franchisee exit (Frazer and Winzar, 2005).

Convenience, loyal, and customising users : a survey of the behaviours and intentions of young online news users in Australia

The implications of the shift to online news consumption for journalism cultures and practices have attracted considerable scholarly attention and public debate. Less well considered are the implications of online news consumption for and by young people. This paper reports on research into the behaviours and intentions of online news consumers, 18-30 years of age, to propose three distinctive types of user (convenience, loyal and customising). Also opened up for discussion are questions about the strategic value to commercial news organisations of audience-centred empirical research that seeks to respond the crisis of professional journalism.

Service convenience and social servicescape : retail vs hedonic setting

Purpose – While there have been numerous studies on the antecedents and consequences of service quality, there has been little investigation of the moderators of service quality. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the effects of two moderators: service convenience and the social servicescape. The moderating effects are tested in two service settings: retail and hedonic (concert). Design/methodology/approach – A survey of 270 customers at kitchen display showrooms and 320 concert-goers was undertaken. The results were analysed using regression analysis. Findings – The results show support for ten of the 12 hypotheses. Service convenience moderated the relationships between perceived service quality and its three sub-dimensions (interaction, environment, and outcome quality), differently in different settings (retail vs hedonic). This supports the authors' general argument that the outcome dimension tends to be more important to customers in a retail setting, while interaction and environment quality dimensions tend to be more important in hedonic service consumption. Practical implications – These findings suggest that managers need to use different service management tactics in retail and hedonic service settings. Specifically managers in retail settings need to pay more attention to service convenience to achieve service quality and managers in hedonic settings should concentrate on the social servicescape. Originality/value – This paper is the first to test the moderating factors of service convenience and social servicescape on service quality.

Trial by jury in civil proceedings : “convenience” and the philosophy of the UCPR

In Syddall v National Mutual Life Association of Australasia Limited [2008] QSC 101 Daubney J ordered the action be tried without a jury. His judgment considered the circumstances in which a trial involves any technical, scientific or other issue that can not be “conveniently” considered and resolved by a jury as provided in r 474 of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld)

Age-related trends in urinary excretion of bisphenol A in Australian children and adults : evidence from a pooled sample study using samples of convenience

Bisphenol A (BPA or 4,4’-(propane-2,2-diyl)diphenol) is a chemical intermediate in the production of polycarbonate and epoxy resins, and used in a wide range of applications. BPA has attracted significant attention in the past decade due to its frequency of detection in human populations worldwide, demonstrated animal toxicity and potential impact on human health, particularly during critical periods of development. The aim of this study was to perform a preliminary assessment of age-related trends in urinary concentration and to estimate daily excretion of BPA in Australian children (aged (>0 – <5 years) and adults (≥15 – <75 years). This was achieved using 79 samples pooled by age and gender, created from 868 individual samples of convenience collected as part of routine, community-based pathology testing. Total BPA was analyzed using online-SPE-LC-MS/MS and detected in all samples with a range of 0.65 – 265 ng/ml. No significant differences were observed between males and females. A urine flow model was constructed from published values and used to provide an estimate of daily excretion per unit bodyweight for each pooled sample. The daily excretion estimates ranged from 26.2 – 18200 ng/kg-d for children; and 20.1 – 165 ng/kg-d for adults. Urinary concentrations and estimated excretion rates were inversely associated with age, and estimated daily excretion rates in infants and young children were significantly higher than in adults (geometric mean: 107 and 47.0 ng/kg-d, respectively). Higher excretion of BPA in children may be explained by their higher food consumption relative to body weight compared to adults and adolescents, and may also reflect alternative exposure pathways and sources. Keywords: bisphenol A, biomonitoring, children, urine flow, Australia

Investigating relationships between relationship quality, customer loyalty and cooperation : an empirical study of convenience stores' franchise chain systems

Franchising has become a way to minimise the risks of small business management. There has been little research into the factors that promote franchise relationship success. This study attempts to empirically examine the important elements (relationship quality, customer loyalty and cooperation), which might promote a successful long-term franchising relationship between franchisors and franchisees within the context of convenience stores in Taiwan. A model of these relationships was developed and tested. A total of 500 surveys were mailed to a random sample of convenience stores’ franchisee owners among the four main franchisors in Taiwan. The results show that relationship quality positively influences the cooperation between franchisors and franchisees and is positively correlated with franchisee loyalty. Additionally, the cooperative behaviour between franchisees and franchisors is significantly associated with franchisees’ loyalty.

Music purchase behaviour : the effect of emotional loyalty on intention to purchase.

This paper explores the influence of emotional loyalty on music purchase behaviour. Specifically, it examines whether emotional attachment to an artist's music influences loyalty to that artist, and how emotional loyalty influences a consumer's decision to purchase music. Data collection involved fifteen semi-structured interviews with young (18-30) subjects recruited through non-probability convenience sampling. Findings show that consumers who are emotionally loyal to an artistes) are more inclined to purchase the music rather than download free of charge.

Investigating the links between muscle strength, sun exposure, dietary vitamin D intake and the vitamin D status of ambulatory older adults in South East Queensland

Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency are now seen as a contemporary health problem in Australia with possible widespread health effects not limited to bone health1. Despite this, the Vitamin D status (measured as serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D)) of ambulatory adults has been overlooked in this country. Serum 25(OH)D status is especially important among this group as studies have shown a link between Vitamin D and fall risk in older adults2. Limited data also exists on the contributions of sun exposure via ultraviolet radiation and dietary intake to serum 25(OH)D status in this population. The aims of this project were to assess the serum 25(OH)D status of a group of older ambulatory adults in South East Queensland, to assess the association between their serum 25(OH)D status and functional measures as possible indicators of fall risk, obtain data on the sources of Vitamin D in this population and assess whether this intake was related to serum 25(OH)D status and describe sun protection and exposure behaviors in this group and investigate whether a relationship existed between these and serum 25(OH)D status. The collection of this data assists in addressing key gaps identified in the literature with regard to this population group and their Vitamin D status in Australia. A representative convenience sample of participants (N=47) over 55 years of age was recruited for this cross-sectional, exploratory study which was undertaken in December 2007 in south-east Queensland (Brisbane and Sunshine coast). Participants were required to complete a sun exposure questionnaire in addition to a Calcium and Vitamin D food frequency questionnaire. Timed up and go and handgrip dynamometry tests were used to examine functional capacity. Serum 25(OH)D status and blood measures of Calcium, Phosphorus and Albumin were determined through blood tests. The Mean and Median serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) for all participants in this study was 85.8nmol/L (Standard Deviation 29.7nmol/L) and 81.0nmol/L (Range 22-158nmol/L), respectively. Analysis at the bivariate level revealed a statistically significant relationship between serum 25(OH)D status and location, with participants living on the Sunshine Coast having a mean serum 25(OH)D status 21.3nmol/L higher than participants living in Brisbane (p=0.014). While at the descriptive level there was an apparent trend towards higher outdoor exposure and increasing levels of serum 25(OH)D, no statistically significant associations between the sun measures of outdoor exposure, sun protection behaviors and phenotypic characteristics and serum 25(OH)D status were observed. Intake of both Calcium and Vitamin D was low in this sample with sixty-eight (68%) of participants not meeting the Estimated Average Requirements (EAR) for Calcium (Median=771.0mg; Range=218.0-2616.0mg), while eighty-seven (87%) did not meet the Adequate Intake for Vitamin D (Median=4.46ug; Range=0.13-30.0ug). This raises the question of how realistic meeting the new Adequate Intakes for Vitamin D is, when there is such a low level of Vitamin D fortification in this country. However, participants meeting the Adequate Intake (AI) for Vitamin D were observed to have a significantly higher serum 25(OH)D status compared to those not meeting the AI for Vitamin D (p=0.036), showing that meeting the AI for Vitamin D may play a significant role in determining Vitamin D status in this population. By stratifying our data by categories of outdoor exposure time, a trend was observed between increased importance of Vitamin D dietary intake as a possible determinant of serum 25(OH)D status in participants with lower outdoor exposures. While a trend towards higher Timed Up and Go scores in participants with higher 25(OH) D status was seen, this was only significant for females (p=0.014). Handgrip strength showed statistically significant association with serum 25(OH)D status. The high serum 25(OH)D status in our sample almost certainly explains the limited relationship between functional measures and serum 25(OH)D. However, the observation of an association between slower Time Up and Go speeds, and lower serum 25(OH)D levels, even with a small sample size, is significant as slower Timed Up and Go speeds have been associated with increased fall risk in older adults3. Multivariable regression analysis revealed Location as the only significant determinant of serum 25(OH)D status at p=0.014, with trends (p=>0.1) for higher serum 25(OH)D being shown for participants that met the AI for Vitamin D and rated themselves as having a higher health status. The results of this exploratory study show that 93.6% of participants had adequate 25(OH)D status-possibly due to measurement being taken in the summer season and the convenience nature of the sample. However, many participants do not meet their dietary Calcium and Vitamin D requirements, which may indicate inadequate intake of these nutrients in older Australians and a higher risk of osteoporosis. The relationship between serum 25(OH)D and functional measures in this population also requires further study, especially in older adults displaying Vitamin D insufficiency or deficiency.

Operationalizing the resource based view for nascent and young firms : developing scales for resource advantages and disadvantages

Principal Topic: It is well known that most new ventures suffer from a significant lack of resources, which increases the risk of failure (Shepherd, Douglas and Shanley, 2000) and makes it difficult to attract stakeholders and financing for the venture (Bhide & Stevenson, 1999). The Resource-Based View (RBV) (Barney, 1991; Wernerfelt, 1984) is a dominant theoretical base increasingly drawn on within Strategic Management. While theoretical contributions applying RBV in the domain of entrepreneurship can arguably be traced back to Penrose (1959), there has been renewed attention recently (e.g. Alvarez & Busenitz, 2001; Alvarez & Barney, 2004). This said, empirical work is in its infancy. In part, this may be due to a lack of well developed measuring instruments for testing ideas derived from RBV. The purpose of this study is to develop a measurement scales that can serve to assist such empirical investigations. In so doing we will try to overcome three deficiencies in current empirical measures used for the application of RBV to the entrepreneurship arena. First, measures for resource characteristics and configurations associated with typical competitive advantages found in entrepreneurial firms need to be developed. These include such things as alertness and industry knowledge (Kirzner, 1973), flexibility (Ebben & Johnson, 2005), strong networks (Lee et al., 2001) and within knowledge intensive contexts, unique technical expertise (Wiklund and Shepard, 2003). Second, the RBV has the important limitations of being relatively static and modelled on large, established firms. In that context, traditional RBV focuses on competitive advantages. However, newly established firms often face disadvantages, especially those associated with the liabilities of newness (Aldrich & Auster, 1986). It is therefore important in entrepreneurial contexts to expand to an investigation of responses to competitive disadvantage through an RBV lens. Conversely, recent research has suggested that resource constraints actually have a positive effect on firm growth and performance under some circumstances (e.g., George, 2005; Katila & Shane, 2005; Mishina et al., 2004; Mosakowski, 2002; cf. also Baker & Nelson, 2005). Third, current empirical applications of RBV measured levels or amounts of particular resources available to a firm. They infer that these resources deliver firms competitive advantage by establishing a relationship between these resource levels and performance (e.g. via regression on profitability). However, there is the opportunity to directly measure the characteristics of resource configurations that deliver competitive advantage, such as Barney´s well known VRIO (Valuable, Rare, Inimitable and Organized) framework (Barney, 1997). Key Propositions and Methods: The aim of our study is to develop and test scales for measuring resource advantages (and disadvantages) and inimitability for entrepreneurial firms. The study proceeds in three stages. The first stage developed our initial scales based on earlier literature. Where possible, we adapt scales based on previous work. The first block of the scales related to the level of resource advantages and disadvantages. Respondents were asked the degree to which each resource category represented an advantage or disadvantage relative to other businesses in their industry on a 5 point response scale: Major Disadvantage, Slight Disadvantage, No Advantage or Disadvantage, Slight Advantage and Major Advantage. Items were developed as follows. Network capabilities (3 items) were adapted from (Madsen, Alsos, Borch, Ljunggren & Brastad, 2006). Knowledge resources marketing expertise / customer service (3 items) and technical expertise (3 items) were adapted from Wiklund and Shepard (2003). flexibility (2 items), costs (4 items) were adapted from JIBS B97. New scales were developed for industry knowledge / alertness (3 items) and product / service advantages. The second block asked the respondent to nominate the most important resource advantage (and disadvantage) of the firm. For the advantage, they were then asked four questions to determine how easy it would be for other firms to imitate and/or substitute this resource on a 5 point likert scale. For the disadvantage, they were asked corresponding questions related to overcoming this disadvantage. The second stage involved two pre-tests of the instrument to refine the scales. The first was an on-line convenience sample of 38 respondents. The second pre-test was a telephone interview with a random sample of 31 Nascent firms and 47 Young firms (< 3 years in operation) generated using a PSED method of randomly calling households (Gartner et al. 2004). Several items were dropped or reworded based on the pre-tests. The third stage (currently in progress) is part of Wave 1 of CAUSEE (Nascent Firms) and FEDP (Young Firms), a PSED type study being conducted in Australia. The scales will be tested and analysed with a random sample of approximately 700 Nascent and Young firms respectively. In addition, a judgement sample of approximately 100 high potential businesses in each category will be included. Findings and Implications: The paper will report the results of the main study (stage 3 – currently data collection is in progress) will allow comparison of the level of resource advantage / disadvantage across various sub-groups of the population. Of particular interest will be a comparison of the high potential firms with the random sample. Based on the smaller pre-tests (N=38 and N=78) the factor structure of the items confirmed the distinctiveness of the constructs. The reliabilities are within an acceptable range: Cronbach alpha ranged from 0.701 to 0.927. The study will provide an opportunity for researchers to better operationalize RBV theory in studies within the domain of entrepreneurship. This is a fundamental requirement for the ability to test hypotheses derived from RBV in systematic, large scale research studies.

Consumer acceptance of m-services : Marketing implcations

Consumers' evolving relationships with their mobile devices and their desire to access mobile services (m-services) present new opportunities to marketers, yet little research has been conducted in the area of m-services. Using structural equation modelling, this paper examines the effect of hedonic and utilitarian value of mobile phones on product and purchase involvement. It also investigates the effect of involvement, innovativeness, and self-efficacy on use of m-services. Data were collected from a convenience sample of 250 respondents using an online survey and a modified snowball procedure. Findings are discussed, further implications for managers are suggested and directions for future research are proposed.

Examination of the influence of personal attributes on consumer use on m-services

The rapid uptake of mobile devices has created the capacity to provide services to consumers while they are on the move, and new mobile services (m-services) are constantly emerging. In past research, personal attributes have been found to be import ant in the adoption and use of information and communication technology. However, little research has been conducted in the area of m-services. To explore factors influencing the use of these services, this paper examines personal attributes in terms of motivational, attitudinal and demographic characteristics. Specifically, it investigates the influence of innovativeness, self- efficacy, involvement and impulsiveness, as well as age and gender on m-services use . Data were collected from a convenience sample of 250 respondents using an online survey and a modified snowball procedure. Age and gender were quite well balanced in the sample. The multiple regression model was significant and the hypotheses relating to the positive relationship between impulsiveness, involvement and gender and m-services were supported. Findings are discussed, further implications for managers are suggested and directions for future research are proposed.