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Quality Dimensions (quality + dimension)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting	37%

Selected Abstracts

Competing with channel partners: Supply chain conflict when retailers introduce store brands

NAVAL RESEARCH LOGISTICS: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 5 2010
Hans Sebastian Heese
Abstract Private-label products are of increasing importance in many retail categories. While national-brand products are designed by the manufacturer and sold by the retailer, the positioning of store-brand products is under the complete control of the retailer. We consider a scenario where products differ on a performance quality dimension and we analyze how retailer,manufacturer interactions in product positioning are affected by the introduction of a private-label product. Specifically, we consider a national-brand manufacturer who determines the quality of its product as well the product's wholesale price charged to the retailer. Given the national-brand quality and wholesale price, the retailer then decides the quality level of its store brand and sets the retail prices for both products. We find that a manufacturer can derive substantial benefits from considering a retailer's store-brand introduction when determining the national brand's quality and wholesale price. If the retailer has a significant cost disadvantage in producing high-quality products, the manufacturer does not need to adjust the quality of the national-brand product, but he should offer a wholesale price discount to ensure its distribution through the retailer. If the retailer is competitive in providing products of high-quality, the manufacturer should reduce this wholesale price discount and increase the national-brand quality to mitigate competition. Interestingly, we find the retailer has incentive to announce a store-brand introduction to induce the manufacturer's consideration of these plans in determining the national-brand product quality and wholesale price. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2010 [source]

Developing a Performance Measurement System for University Central Administrative Services

HIGHER EDUCATION QUARTERLY, Issue 3 2009
Marika Arena
Central administrative services have recently received increasing attention from practitioners and academics due to the challenging need to both manage scarce resources and provide high-quality services. In this context, performance measurement systems (PMSs) may assume a central role, although an unresolved debate remains on the claimed benefits of accountability and the difficulties that have emerged in defining and managing proper measures. This paper contributes to this debate by presenting the results of a study in which a PMS for central administrative services has been developed and tested through an action research approach drawing on actor network theory. The experiment was carried out in 15 Italian universities and five areas of services were dealt with: student support, research support, accounting, human resources, and logistics and procurement. The highly participative method resulted in a comparable system with a complete set of cost and quality indicators across the participating universities. These data proved to be useful at managerial and policy level, providing insights on the presence of scale effects and on the relative importance of quality dimensions for users of services. Participating in the project encouraged the university staff to use indicators in decision making. [source]

Global online marketplace: a cross-cultural comparison of website quality

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSUMER STUDIES, Issue 6 2006
Soyoung Kim
Abstract This study used Loiacono's WebQualTM scale to compare 278 US and 347 Korean Internet users in terms of their perceptions of retail website quality. The results of the study suggested that the dimensionality of website quality was not consistent across the two samples. This study also examined which dimensions of website quality influenced shoppers' satisfaction with the site and purchase intention. The findings indicated that the relationship between website quality dimensions and the two dependent variables varied between the two groups. [source]

A fuzzy preference-ranking model for a quality evaluation of hospital web sites

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS, Issue 11 2006
R. Ufuk Bilsel
This article presents a quality evaluation model for measuring the performance of hospital Web sites. The model is developed on the basis of a conceptual framework, which consists of seven major e-service quality dimensions, including tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, confidence, empathy, quality of information, and integration of communication issues of Web sites. The dimensions and their associated attributes are first obtained from published articles in the health care and information technology literature and then adapted according to the suggestions of related domain experts. Two multicriteria decision-making methods are used in the evaluation procedure. Determined Web site evaluation dimensions and their relevant attributes are weighted using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. Vagueness in some stages of the evaluation required the incorporation of fuzzy numbers in the assessment process. Both fuzzy and crisp data are then synthesized using the fuzzy PROMETHEE (Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluation) ranking method. The model is applied initially to measure the performance of the Web sites of Turkish hospitals. This study should be of interest to health care and technology practitioners and researchers, as the findings shed light on the further development of performance measurements for hospital Web sites. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Int Syst 21: 1181,1197, 2006. [source]

ARCHSECRET: a multi-item scale to measure service quality within the voluntary sector

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NONPROFIT & VOLUNTARY SECTOR MARKETING, Issue 2 2001
Liz Vaughan
This paper provides an overview of the application of SERVQUAL reflecting the theoretical criticisms concerning disconfirmation model, process orientation, role of expectations and portability. The original SERVQUAL framework was found to be inappropriate for services that had no close analogue with the private sector. A qualitative research study was undertaken to establish the sector-specific criteria used by customers to evaluate service quality. The study identified 40 potentially unique features of the service as perceived by service recipients. These features were developed into a pilot survey instrument that comprised 40 questions, covering expectations, perceptions and importance. A pilot study was undertaken to test the instrument among disabled customers and their carers across the main centres of a national voluntary organisation. Analyses of the pilot survey data resulted in a set of 27 distinct statements across ten hypothesised service quality dimensions. These are Access, Responsiveness, Communication, Humaneness, Security, Enabling/Empowerment, Competence, Reliability, Equity, and Tangibles, giving rise to the acronym ARCHSECRET. The ARCHSECRET instrument is potentially a powerful diagnostic tool for managers in their pursuit of continuous quality improvement within voluntary sector organisations. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications [source]

Does the method of data collection affect patients' evaluations of quality of care?

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NURSING PRACTICE, Issue 6 2000
Bodil Wilde Larsson RNT
The aim of the study was to compare two methods of data collection,personal interviews and self-administered questionnaires,with patients' evaluations of the quality of care they received. The sample consisted of 41 matched pairs of inpatients at a medical clinic. In each pair, one patient was interviewed and one responded to a questionnaire. Data were collected using the questionnaire ,Quality from the Patients Perspective' (QPP). The QPP consists of 54 items designed to measure the following four quality dimensions: (i) the medical,technical competence and (ii) the degree of identityorientation in the action of the caregivers; (iii) the physical,technical conditions; and (iv) the sociocultural atmosphere of the care organization. Results showed that patients who were interviewed had significantly less favourable scores on the ,softer' quality dimension scales,the identity-oriented approach of the caregivers and the sociocultural atmosphere of the care setting. Possible reasons for this were discussed, including the possibility that the questions designed to measure these two dimensions were more abstract and emotionally loaded than the items of the other two quality dimensions. [source]

Managing Quality in the E-Service System: Development and Application of a Process Model

PRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2004
Joy M. Field
In this paper, we develop a process model for assessing and managing e-service quality based on the underlying components of the e-service system and, in turn, address the growing need to look in more detail at the system component level for sources of poor quality. The proposed process model is comprised of a set of entities representing the e-service system, a network defining the linking between all pairs of entities via transactions and product flows, and a set of outcomes of the processes in terms of quality dimensions. The process model is developed using Unified Modeling Language (UML), a pictorial language for specifying service designs that has achieved widespread acceptance among e-service designers. Examples of applications of the process model are presented to illustrate how the model can be use to identify operational levers for managing and improving e-service quality. [source]

The electronic service quality model: The moderating effect of customer self-efficacy

PSYCHOLOGY & MARKETING, Issue 7 2008
Youjae Yi
The research in the area has largely ignored the moderating effects of the customer trait, self-efficacy, on the electronic service quality model. This study examines the degree to which electronic service quality dimensions influence overall service quality, which in turn affects customer satisfaction and loyalty. On the basis of self-efficacy theory, this paper argues that outcome quality is the most important predictor of overall quality, whereas environment quality is the least important predictor of overall quality, particularly when self-efficacy is high. Additionally, the paper demonstrates that self-efficacy strengthens the link between customer satisfaction and both repurchase intention and word of mouth. Data collected from 162 participants provide support for most of these hypotheses. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]