The definition, theoretical modelling and empirical research of front-line service employee corporate identity within a UK national grocery retailer:determining the FLE corporate brand identification construct

Over the past forty years the corporate identity literature has developed to a point of maturity where it currently contains many definitions and models of the corporate identity construct at the organisational level. The literature has evolved by developing models of corporate identity or in considering corporate identity in relation to new and developing themes, e.g. corporate social responsibility. It has evolved into a multidisciplinary domain recently incorporating constructs from other literature to further its development. However, the literature has a number of limitations. It remains that an overarching and universally accepted definition of corporate identity is elusive, potentially leaving the construct with a lack of clear definition. Only a few corporate identity definitions and models, at the corporate level, have been empirically tested. The corporate identity construct is overwhelmingly defined and theoretically constructed at the corporate level, leaving the literature without a detailed understanding of its influence at an individual stakeholder level. Front-line service employees (FLEs), form a component in a number of corporate identity models developed at the organisational level. FLEs deliver the services of an organisation to its customers, as well as represent the organisation by communicating and transporting its core defining characteristics to customers through continual customer contact and interaction. This person-to-person contact between an FLE and the customer is termed a service encounter, where service encounters influence a customer’s perception of both the service delivered and the associated level of service quality. Therefore this study for the first time defines, theoretically models and empirically tests corporate identity at the individual FLE level, termed FLE corporate identity. The study uses the services marketing literature to characterise an FLE’s operating environment, arriving at five potential dimensions to the FLE corporate identity construct. These are scrutinised against existing corporate identity definitions and models to arrive at a definition for the construct. In reviewing the corporate identity, services marketing, branding and organisational psychology literature, a theoretical model is developed for FLE corporate identity, which is empirically and quantitatively tested, with FLEs in seven stores of a major national retailer. Following rigorous construct reliability and validity testing, the 601 usable responses are used to estimate a confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation model for the study. The results for the individual hypotheses and the structural model are very encouraging, as they fit the data well and support a definition of FLE corporate identity. This study makes contributions to the branding, services marketing and organisational psychology literature, but its principal contribution is to extend the corporate identity literature into a new area of discourse and research, that of FLE corporate identity

A classification model for product-service offerings

Organisations have been approaching servitisation in an unstructured fashion. This is partially because there is insufficient understanding of the different types of Product-Service offerings. Therefore, a more detailed understanding of Product-Service types might advance the collective knowledge and assist organisations that are considering a servitisation strategy. Current models discuss specific aspects on the basis of few (or sometimes single) dimensions. In this paper, we develop a comprehensive model for classifying traditional and green Product-Service offerings, thus combining business and green offerings in a single model. We describe the model building process and its practical application in a case study. The model reveals the various traditional and green options available to companies and identifies how to compete between services; it allows servitisation positions to be identified such that a company may track its journey over time. Finally it fosters the introduction of innovative Product-Service Systems as promising business models to address environmental and social challenges. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Szolgálatosodás, avagy az integrált termék-szolgáltatás rendszerek kialakulása és jellemzői = Servitization – characteristics and development of integrated product-service systems

A tanulmány középpontjában a szolgálatosodás folyamata, vagy más néven az átfogó megoldásokat kínáló integrált termék-szolgáltatás rendszerek kialakulása áll. Áttekintjük a szolgálatosodás XIX. századra visszanyúló kialakulásának tényezőit, és a jelenlegi vállalatok előtt álló fejlődési lehetőségeket. Foglalkozunk e rendszerekhez szükséges képességek kérdéseivel és a sikeres termék-szolgáltatás rendszerek kialakításának folyamataival. Az irodalmi összefoglalás célja, hogy a vállalati üzletfejlesztéssel foglalkozó szakembereknek, a vállalati vezetőknek ötleteket adjon a sikeres fejlődéshez és egyben a lehetséges kockázatok elkerüléséhez. = The emerging theme of servitization, or in other words, the integrated product-service systems providing complex solutions to customer demand are in the focus of this study. We overview the factors leading to servitization, and highlight the improvement opportunities in this field. The capabilities required and the development steps of successful servitization are also addressed. The objective of this short literature review is to provide ideas for business development experts and top managers on how to develop their business successfully and how to avoid risks in this development.

Marketing A Hospitality Program And Its Product

In his dialogue entitled - Marketing A Hospitality Program and Its Product - Jürgen Chopard, Dr. es Sciences (Economics) Director, Centre International de Glion, Glion, Switzerland, Dr. Chopard initially offers: “The recruitment of qualified personnel is extremely difficult in an industry with a poor image; where career paths are not well defined. The author discusses the employment of marketing management techniques to improve the positioning of hospitality education and create a more attractive perception of the hotel industry.” As outlined in the above paragraph, Dr. Chopard vectors-in on marketing strategies from two standpoints; the educational side with its focus on curriculum, and the larger, industry side with its emphasis on public perception and service. These are not necessarily, nor should they be viewed as disparate elements. “ Although some professionals may see schools of hospitality education catering to two markets, students on one hand and industry on the other, in fact, their needs should be viewed as the same and hence a single market,” Dr. Chopard says to bolster his assertion. “The marketing concept is a management orientation that holds that the key task of the organization is to determine the needs and wants of target markets and to adapt the organization to delivering the desired satisfactions more effectively and efficiently than its competitor,” the author confides, with an attribution. From these information/definition leanings, Dr. Chopard continues on a path that promotes the Centre International de Glion, Glion, Switzerland, which he is affiliated with. Why, because they endorse the same principles he is explaining to you. That’s not a bad thing. Essentially, what Dr. Chopard wants you to know is, education and business management are synonymous and therefore should share the same marketing designs and goals. “It is hard to believe that as critically important a sector as education does not use for its own management the techniques which it teaches and which have largely been proved in other fields,” the author provides as counterpoint. Since pedagogical needs so closely relate to the more pragmatic needs of the industry in general, these elements should seek to compliment and engage each other, in fact, collaboration is imperative, Dr. Chopard expresses a priori. “The cooperation of future employers is indispensable in the preparation of the product, so that it is capable of providing the expected services. The need for close relations between training establishments and the hotel and catering industry seems obvious,” Dr. Chopard says. The author reveals some flaws in hospitality marketing strategy, and then contrasts these against how a successful strategy could/should be implemented.

The Influence of Social Responsibility Image Relative to Product and Service Quality on Brand Loyalty: An Exploratory Study of Quick-service Restaurants

Social responsibility (SR) is becoming an increasingly significant component of many firms’ strategic planning decisions. Research has shown that consumers tend to reward socially responsible behavior. However, there has been little testing of the construct in the hospitality industry. Additionally, when other important variables that influence consumer brand loyalty are considered, will brand social responsibility image (BSRI) still play a significant role? This study investigates the importance of SR and its impact on brand loyalty, relative to product quality and service quality in the quick-service restaurant industry. The authors were also interested to learn whether BSRI impacted consumers' image of product and service quality. It was found that BSRI had a positive impact on brand loyalty, product quality, and service quality. However, product quality was a significantly stronger predictor of brand loyalty than BSRI. Where the vast majority of studies of SR have utilized scenario analysis of hypothetical firms, this study utilizes consumers' perceptions of a real-world firm.

Essays in Empirical Operations Management: Bayesian Learning of Service Quality and Structural Estimation of Complementary Product Pricing and Inventory Management

This dissertation contributes to the rapidly growing empirical research area in the field of operations management. It contains two essays, tackling two different sets of operations management questions which are motivated by and built on field data sets from two very different industries --- air cargo logistics and retailing.

The first essay, based on the data set obtained from a world leading third-party logistics company, develops a novel and general Bayesian hierarchical learning framework for estimating customers' spillover learning, that is, customers' learning about the quality of a service (or product) from their previous experiences with similar yet not identical services. We then apply our model to the data set to study how customers' experiences from shipping on a particular route affect their future decisions about shipping not only on that route, but also on other routes serviced by the same logistics company. We find that customers indeed borrow experiences from similar but different services to update their quality beliefs that determine future purchase decisions. Also, service quality beliefs have a significant impact on their future purchasing decisions. Moreover, customers are risk averse; they are averse to not only experience variability but also belief uncertainty (i.e., customer's uncertainty about their beliefs). Finally, belief uncertainty affects customers' utilities more compared to experience variability.

The second essay is based on a data set obtained from a large Chinese supermarket chain, which contains sales as well as both wholesale and retail prices of un-packaged perishable vegetables. Recognizing the special characteristics of this particularly product category, we develop a structural estimation model in a discrete-continuous choice model framework. Building on this framework, we then study an optimization model for joint pricing and inventory management strategies of multiple products, which aims at improving the company's profit from direct sales and at the same time reducing food waste and thus improving social welfare.

Collectively, the studies in this dissertation provide useful modeling ideas, decision tools, insights, and guidance for firms to utilize vast sales and operations data to devise more effective business strategies.

Evolution feature oriented model driven product line engineering approach for synergistic and dynamic service evolution in clouds: A04BPEL3.0 proposal.

Model Driven based approach for Service Evolution in Clouds will mainly focus on the reusable evolution patterns' advantage to solve evolution problems. During the process, evolution pattern will be driven by MDA models to pattern aspects. Weaving the aspects into service based process by using Aspect-Oriented extended BPEL engine at runtime will be the dynamic feature of the evolution.

Applying Platform Design to Improve Product-Service Systems Collaborative Development

Part 3: Product-Service Systems

Challenges and Opportunities in Transforming Laser System Industry to Deliver Integrated Product and Service Offers

Part 4: Transition Towards Product-Service Systems

The Process of Simulation Authoring/Creation by Chemistry Teachers: A Service Learning Experience

Two case studies are presented to describe the process of public school teachers authoring and creating chemistry simulations. They are part of the Virtual Didactic Laboratory for Chemistry, a project developed by the School of the Future of the University of Sao Paulo. the documental analysis of the material produced by two groups of teachers reflects different selection process for both themes and problem-situations when creating simulations. The study demonstrates the potential for chemistry learning with an approach that takes students' everyday lives into account and is based on collaborative work among teachers and researches. Also, from the teachers' perspectives, the possibilities of interaction that a simulation offers for classroom activities are considered.

MODELING OF AN INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR WINE TRACEABILITY BASED ON A SERVICE ORIENTED ARCHITECTURE

The purpose is to present a scientific research that led to the modeling of an information system which aimed at the maintenance of traceability data in the Brazilian wine industry, according to the principles of a service-oriented architecture (SOA). Since 2005, traceability data maintenance is an obligation for all producers that intend to export to any European Union country. Also, final customers, including the Brazilian ones, have been asking for information about food products. A solution that collectively contemplated the industry was sought in order to permit that producer consortiums of associations could share the costs and benefits of such a solution. Following an extensive bibliographic review, a series of interviews conducted with Brazilian researchers and wine producers in Bento Goncalves - RS, Brazil, elucidated many aspects associated with the wine production process. Information technology issues related to the theme were also researched. The software was modeled with the Unified Modeling Language (UML) and uses web services for data exchange. A model for the wine production process was also proposed. A functional prototype showed that the adopted model is able to fulfill the demands of wine producers. The good results obtained lead us to consider the use of this model in other domains.

Phytoseiid mites (Acari: Phytoseiidae) of the Dominican Republic, with a re-definition of the genus Typhloseiopsis De Leon

The phytoseiid mites of the Dominican Republic are virtually unknown. In a survey conducted in areas of natural vegetation of that country, 23 species were collected, two of which, Phytoseius dominicensis Ferragut & Moraes sp. nov. and Typhloseiopsis adventitius Ferragut & Moraes sp. nov., are new to science. We report the species found in that survey, describe the two new species, and provide complementary morphological information about other species. To accommodate the new Typhloseiopsis De Leon species, a redefinition of Typhloseiopsis is proposed. A key for the separation of the species in this genus is provided.

Towards a History didactics definition

This paper aims to define history didactics along the lines of the current German literature, which conceives it to be closer to history than to education. Associated to the word Geschichtsdidaktik, this definition is opposed to the concepts of history didactics as the art of teaching - Lehrkunst - history or as a collection of methods used both in the teaching of history and in the teaching of other school subjects - Unterrichtsmethoden. In opposition to these two definitions, this paper discusses German, French and Brazilian literatures to propose a conception of history didactics as a subarea of history, once it does not encompass only history teaching, but all history elaborations without a scientific form - nicht- wissenschaftsformigen Geschichtsverarbeitungen.

Analysis of Approaches to Controllership in Mater`s Thesis from Post-graduate Programs in Accounting Sciences

The objective of the Study is to analyze approaches in master`s thesis in Brazilian Post-Graduate Programs in Accounting Sciences in relation to Controllership, in terms of their conceptual, procedural and organizational aspects, as proposed by Borinelli (2006). The research is descriptive and it uses a quantitative approach. The sample consists of 26 master`s thesis which have the word ""Controllership"" in their titles. Resulting from analysis, in Perspective I (conceptual aspects), in which the elements of definition, object of study and relationship with other sciences were referenced, consensus among authors of the master`s thesis was not verified. In Perspective II (procedural aspects), which deals with activities and functions of Controllership by means of how they materialize as areas of knowledge within organizations, it was observed that the approach in the master`s thesis is quite differentiated in terms of the scope of activities. In relation to Perspective III (organizational aspects), there is also no consensus about what constitutes typical Controllership activities, but master`s thesis do include in the definition of Controllership the idea that it is a service or function of information. It was concluded that the approach to controllership, in terms of its conceptual, procedural and organizational aspects is similar to the elements proposed by Borinelli (2006).

Variable Demand and Profitability in Service Companies: a case study in the information technology sector

Managing a variable demand scenario is particularly challenging on services organizations because services companies usually have a major part of fixed costs. The article studies how a services organization manages its demand variability and its relation with the organization`s profitability. Moreover, the study searched for alternatives used to reduce the demand variability`s impact on the profitability of the company. The research was based on a case study with a Brazilian services provider on information technology business. The study suggests that alternatives like using outsourced employees to cover demand peaks may bring benefits only on short term, reducing the profitability of the company on long term: Some options are revealed, like the internationalization of employees and the investment on developing its own workforce.