Customers’ tolerance for validation in omnichannel retail stores

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 704-722 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hartmut Hoehle ◽  
John A. Aloysius ◽  
Frank Chan ◽  
Viswanath Venkatesh
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Technology ◽  
Big Data Analytics ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Measurement Scale ◽  
Retail Stores ◽  
Measurement Scales ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Implementation Challenges ◽  
Mobile Shopping ◽  
Retail Service

Purpose Mobile technologies are increasingly used as a data source to enable big data analytics that enable inventory control and logistics planning for omnichannel businesses. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the use of mobile technologies to facilitate customers’ shopping in physical retail stores and associated implementation challenges. Design/methodology/approach First, the authors introduce three emerging mobile shopping checkout processes in the retail store. Second, the authors suggest that new validation procedures (i.e. exit inspections) necessary for implementation of mobile-technology-enabled checkout processes may disrupt traditional retail service processes. The authors propose a construct labeled “tolerance for validation” defined as customer reactions to checkout procedures. The authors define and discuss five dimensions – tolerance for: unfair process; changes in validation process; inconvenience; mistrust; and privacy intrusion. The authors develop a measurement scale for the proposed construct and conduct a study among 239 customers. Findings The results show that customers have higher tolerance for validation under scenarios in which mobile technologies are used in the checkout processes, as compared to the traditional self-service scenario in which no mobile technology is used. In particular, the customers do not show a clear preference for specific mobile shopping scenarios. Originality/value These findings contribute to our understanding of a challenge that omnichannel businesses may face as they leverage data from digital technologies to enhance collaborative planning, forecasting, and replenishment processes. The proposed construct and measurement scales can be used in future work on omnichannel retailing.

In search of virtuous learning circles: absorptive capacity and its antecedents in the education sector

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Regina Lenart-Gansiniec ◽  
Wojciech Czakon ◽  
Massimiliano Matteo Pellegrini
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Learning ◽  
Prior Knowledge ◽  
Absorptive Capacity ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Knowledge Flows ◽  
Measurement Scale ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Measurement Scales ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This study aims to identify context-specific antecedents to schools’ absorptive capacity (AC) and to show how those can enact “a virtuous learning circle.” Design/methodology/approach The study uses a mixed method: an exploration based on semi-structured interviews with educational experts; the development of a measurement scale and a partial least squares structural equation modelling to test the impact of the antecedents. Findings The results yielded four empirically-grounded antecedents and their measurement scales, namely, prior knowledge, employees’ skills, educational projects and interactions with the environment (Studies one and two). All antecedents are significantly and positively related to AC processes (study three). Using the organizational learning theory perspective, the results have been interpreted as an AC “virtuous learning circle.” Practical implications With increasing pressures to adapt, a case of which was the COVID-19 pandemic, schools can greatly benefit from absorbing knowledge flows. This suggests the construction a favourable environment for AC. To this end, the individual (employees’ prior knowledge and skills), organizational (educational projects) and institutional level of managerial action (interactions with the environment) can be effective when create a recursive organizational learning circle. In addition, this study offers an expert-validated measurement scale for self-assessment of a school’s specific contingencies, and thus, for planning of punctual interventions to develop AC. Originality/value This study advances the existing body of knowledge management in the educational context by rigorously identifying and validating a scale for measuring the antecedents of AC and developing an interpretive approach to the AC “virtuous circle.”

Using mobile technologies in libraries and information centers

2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 14-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dheeraj Singh Negi
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Devices ◽  
Mobile Technology ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
Information And Communications Technology ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Great Promise ◽  
Digital Information ◽  
Security Measures ◽  
User Privacy ◽  
Content Type

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe the use of mobile technologies to develop new ways of Libraries and Information Centre. Mobile devices help to connect with patrons. Creating a library application (“app”) or mobile Web site that allows patrons to access library hours, view their library account or even search databases is easier than most people think. The resources below should help libraries begin to plan and implement their own unique mobile presence: analyzing the present usage of mobile devices; providing an overview of devices, providers and features; describing the various activities these devices support for well library use; focusing how libraries and our librarians are responding with services tailored for these devices; and what can be done by libraries in future in this respect”. Design/methodology/approach – Information and Communications Technology continues to expand the boundaries of higher education into the “anytime/anywhere” experiences. Mobile communication is transforming how people search, receive and interact with information on a daily basis. In just a few short years, smart phone ownership has skyrocketed, and popular use of e-readers has been steadily on the rise. These advanced mobile tools provide portable access to the world of information, across boundaries of subject, discipline and industry. Findings – Mobile technology holds great promise for enabling libraries to provide enhanced services in a form users increasingly are demanding. If this promise is to be fully realized, however, libraries will need to conduct analyses and make smart decisions to address the issues outlined above, support staff education and explore partnerships and new funding models, and be prepared to compromise with respect to their traditional information delivery models. Originality/value – The explosion of advanced mobile technology and robust digital information collection capabilities should prompt libraries to examine carefully the ramifications for user privacy. Libraries can maintain their commitment to user privacy without overcompensating by imposing burdensome security measures or annoying interruptions. For example, libraries do not have to show users a privacy statement or security warning every time they want to access information on a mobile device. A single log-in and acceptance of terms of use, similar to the procedures for other mobile applications and services, should suffice. At the same time, libraries can take the opportunity to educate users in best practices with respect to privacy issues associated with the use of mobile devices.

Understanding the role of big data analytics for coordination of electronic retail service supply chain

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatao Wang ◽  
Di Wu ◽  
Hongxin Yu ◽  
Huaxia Shen ◽  
Yuanjun Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Supply Chain ◽  
Data Analysis ◽  
Big Data Analytics ◽  
Big Data Analysis ◽  
Coordination Mechanism ◽  
Market Demand ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Supply Chain ◽  
Retail Service

PurposeBased on the typical service supply chain (SSC) structure, the authors construct the model of e-tailing SSC to explore the coordination relationship in the supply chain, and big data analysis provides realistic possibilities for the creation of coordination mechanisms.Design/methodology/approachAt the present stage, the e-commerce companies have not yet established a mature SSC system and have not achieved good synergy with other members of the supply chain, the shortage of goods and the greater pressure of express logistics companies coexist. In the case of uncertain online shopping market demand, the authors employ newsboy model, applied in the operations research, to analyze the synergistic mechanism of SSC model.FindingsBy analyzing the e-tailing SSC coordination mechanism and adjusting relevant parameters, the authors find that the synergy mechanism can be implemented and optimized. Through numerical example analysis, the authors confirmed the feasibility of the above analysis.Originality/valueBig data analysis provides a kind of reality for the establishment of online SSC coordination mechanism. The establishment of an online supply chain coordination mechanism can effectively promote the efficient allocation of supplies and better meet consumers' needs.

Using mobile devices to support cognitive apprenticeship in clinical nursing practice – a case study

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 348-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chin-Yuan Lai ◽  
Yung-Chin Yen
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Students ◽  
Mobile Devices ◽  
Mobile Technology ◽  
Cognitive Apprenticeship ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Clinical Nursing ◽  
Apprenticeship Model ◽  
Nursing College ◽  
Nursing Courses

Purpose This paper aims to illustrate how mobile devices could be applied to substantiate cognitive apprenticeship model to optimize nursing students’ learning experiences in clinical settings. Design/methodology/approach Eight female students from a nursing college in Taiwan were recruited in this study. They enrolled in a three-week nursing clinical practicum session in the area of psychiatric nursing. Findings Analysis of interview data from students and instructor showed that use of the mobile technology could promote the effectiveness of cognitive apprenticeship model, especially for processes of reflection, coaching, scaffolding and articulation. Originality/value The present study intended to bridge the gap between mobile technologies and cognitive apprenticeship. This study explores students’ experiences and expectations of using mobile technology in clinical nursing courses and clarifies how the cognitive apprenticeship model fits students’ experiences during using mobile technology in the clinical nursing course.

Development and validation of a measurement scale for the experience capability construct

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Frédéric Ponsignon ◽  
Jeffery S. Smith ◽  
Andi Smart
Keyword(s):  
Performance Management ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Customer Experience ◽  
Effective Theory ◽  
Measurement Scale ◽  
Measurement Scales ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Degree Of Certainty ◽  
Six Dimensions ◽  
Development And Validation

PurposeThis study aims to develop and empirically validate the concept of experience capability, which represents an organisation's ability to be adept at managing the customer experience. Organisations that build an experience capability develop an expertise in deploying a set of resources and routines to understand, evaluate and improve how they interact with customers across all the points of contact.Design/methodology/approachA rigorous process was employed to identify, operationally define, evaluate and validate six dimensions reflecting experience capability. The dimensions were developed and validated using relevant literature, expert interviews, item-sorting techniques, a pilot survey and two surveys, providing a degree of certainty that the intellectual insights are generalisable.FindingsThe experience capability concept is identified as comprising six dimensions that are informed by 27 measurement items. The six dimensions are employee training, employee empowerment, employee evaluation, experience performance management, cross-functional work and channel integration. The findings provide evidence suggesting that the multi-item measurement scale exhibits appropriate psychometric properties.Practical implicationsThe empirically validated 27-item measurement scale provides practitioners with an approach to evaluate and improve their organisation's experience capability. It permits both longitudinal comparisons of individual organisations and competitive benchmarking both within and across industry sectors. The approach alerts managers to the critical operational areas that should be measured and provides a structured method to pursue competitive advantage through customer experience capability.Originality/valueDeveloping valid and reliable measurement scales is an essential first step in effective theory-building. The paper proposes a theoretical foundation for the experience capability construct and validates a corresponding measurement scale. The scale was developed carefully to achieve the specificity required to undertake meaningful practitioner-centric assessment while maintaining relevance across sectorial contexts. The results complement existing customer-centric experience research by providing distinct intellectual insights from a practitioner perspective. The developed scale permits future intellectual investigation through capability comparisons both within and between companies in different industries/sectors.

Managing work-life boundaries with mobile technologies

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karlene Cousins ◽  
Daniel Robey
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Devices ◽  
Mobile Technology ◽  
Material Properties ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Core Material ◽  
Boundary Management ◽  
Content Type

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the role that mobile technologies play in mobile workers’ efforts to manage the boundaries between work and non-work domains. Previous theories of work-life boundary management frame boundary management strategies as a range between the segmentation and integration of work-life domains, but fail to provide a satisfactory account of technology’s role. Design/methodology/approach – The authors apply the concept of affordances, defined as the relationship between users’ abilities and features of mobile technology, in two field studies of a total of 25 mobile workers who used a variety of mobile devices and services. Findings – The results demonstrate that the material features of mobile technologies offer five specific affordances that mobile workers use in managing work-life boundaries: mobility, connectedness, interoperability, identifiability and personalization. These affordances persist in their influence across time, despite their connection to different technology features. Originality/value – The author found that mobile workers’ boundary management strategies do not fit comfortably along a linear segmentation-integration continuum. Rather, mobile workers establish a variety of personalized boundary management practices to match their particular situations. The authors speculate that mobile technology has core material properties that endure over time. The authors surmise that these material properties provide opportunities for users to interact with them in a manner to make the five affordances possible. Therefore, in the future, actors interacting with mobile devices to manage their work-life boundaries may experience affordances similar to those the authors observed because of the presence of the core material properties.

Evaluation of retail service quality – a fuzzy AHP approach

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 1058-1080 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rema Gopalan ◽  
Sreekumar . ◽  
Biswajit Satpathy
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Service Industries ◽  
Retail Stores ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Major City ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Retail Service ◽  
Retail Service Quality

Purpose – With the growing importance of service quality in Indian retail, it becomes critical for the retailers to identify the appropriate dimensions for their retail stores. In the process of evaluating service quality the decision maker is often faced with ambiguities due to the imprecise information gained from the respondents. The purpose of this paper is to present an integrated fuzzy (fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) approach to help the decision makers/retailers in practicing and judging the priorities of service quality strategies and accordingly benchmarking retail stores in Indian retail environment. Design/methodology/approach – The study incorporated the five basic dimensions of Retail Service Quality Scale proposed by Dabholkar et al. (1996) and the FAHP approach to three leading apparel retail stores of a major city (Rourkela) of Orissa (an Indian state located in eastern part of the country) to determine the weights of criteria and sub-criteria of retail service quality. Findings – The study identified that the dimensions, namely, personal interaction, physical aspects, reliability and policy are perceived as important by the Indian consumers. Merchandise and the store’s willingness to handle returns and exchanges emerge as the most influencing variable affecting the overall service quality of the store. Research limitations/implications – The study was restricted to a major city of Orissa and to three apparel stores. The results obtained may not be extrapolated to the country as a whole. The authors believe that the integrated approach of FAHP could be used by a variety of service industries to evaluate the service quality. The study did not investigate switching behavior among the respondents as they had been visiting all the three apparel stores during the preceding months. Practical implications – The integrated approach of FAHP makes an empirical contribution to the service quality and retail marketing literature by overcoming the uncertainty of concepts those are associated with human beings’ subjective judgments. Social implications – The retailer can improve the quality of service provided by them based on the parameters important in Indian context, which will lead to higher customer satisfaction. Originality/value – This paper can help the retail service providers to identify which of the retail service quality dimensions requires much attention to create sustainable competitive advantage.

scholarly journals Localization of computer-mediated communication and corporate impression on online communities

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 940-969 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Hallier Willi ◽  
Bang Nguyen ◽  
T.C. Melewar ◽  
Suraksha Gupta ◽  
Xiaoyu Yu
Keyword(s):  
Online Communities ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Source Credibility ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Measurement Scale ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Intention To Use ◽  
Measurement Scales ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Context Cues

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the importance of localizing online communities (OCs) and examines how OC members form impressions of organizations that use OCs in their communication activities. A conceptual framework and measurement scale are developed that consist of complex latent constructs. Design/methodology/approach A sequential multi-method approach is adopted with both qualitative and quantitative investigations. Using Structural equation modeling, the research refines and validates the measurement scales of impression formation in OCs. Findings Findings reveal that comprehensive messages have a direct effect on the impressions that an OC member forms. In particular, social context cues are an important predictor of online community corporate impression (OCCIP). Source credibility, affiliation, characteristics and interpersonal communication are all critical to OCCIP, which in turn, influence members’ attitudes toward the company and the intention to use it again. Surprisingly, relevance, timeliness, accuracy and perceived similarity did not have any significant effect on the corporate impression. Originality/value Three contributions are offered: First, the study provides reliable scales for measuring OCCIP. Second, support is given to the conceptual model that links OCCIP to a set of consequences, namely, attitudes toward the company, intention to use the company, and word-of-mouth. Finally, the study is conducted across two different and unique types of OC contexts, stipulating further insights into the localization of OCs.

scholarly journals Evaluating quality of the didactics at university: the opportunities offered by latent class modeling

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 168-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesca Bassi ◽  
Renata Clerici ◽  
Debora Aquario
Keyword(s):  
Latent Class ◽  
Teaching Quality ◽  
Measurement Scale ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Measurement Scales ◽  
National Agency ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Evaluation Of Teaching ◽  
The University

Purpose Students’ evaluation of teaching quality plays a major role in higher education. Satisfaction is not directly observable, nevertheless it can be measured through multi-item measurement scales. These instruments are extremely useful and their importance requires accurate development and validation procedures. The purpose of this paper is to show how latent class (LC) analysis can improve the procedures for developing and validating a multi-item measurement scale for measuring students’ evaluation of teaching and, at the same time, provide a deeper insight in the phenomenon under investigation. Design/methodology/approach The traditional literature highlights specific protocols along with the statistical instruments to be used for achieving this goal. However, these tools are suited for metric variables but they are adopted even when the nature of the observed variables is different, as it often occurs, since in many cases the items are ordinal. LC analysis takes explicitly into account the ordinal nature of the variables and also the fact that the object of interest is unobservable. Findings The data refer to the questionnaire to evaluate didactics to the students of the University of Padua. Within LC analysis allows an insight of scale properties, such as dimensionality, validity and reliability. Moreover, the results provide a deeper view in the way students use the scale to report satisfaction suggesting to revise the instrument according to the suggestion by the National Agency for University Evaluation. Originality/value The paper gives an original contribution on two sides. On the side of methods, it introduces a more accurate methodology for evaluating scales to measure the students’ satisfaction. On the side of applications, it provides important suggestions to the university management to improve the process of quality of the didactics evaluation.

Scales in services marketing research: a critique and way forward

2009 ◽  
Vol 43 (5/6) ◽  
pp. 640-651 ◽  
Author(s):  
Audrey Gilmore ◽  
Rosalind McMullan
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Marketing Research ◽  
Service Marketing ◽  
Research Problem ◽  
Measurement Scale ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Measurement Scales ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Scale Design

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss the use of measurement scales and to illustrate some of the drawbacks of using scales for measuring service quality without due recognition of the limitations and rigidity of such scales, especially when they are applied to the complexity of service marketing situations and contexts.Design/methodology/approachA review of the most widely used scales in services measurement, including SERVQUAL and SERVPERF is provided, along with some of the conceptual issues surrounding scale design and use in service contexts. Then some qualitative research techniques are considered in terms of their adaptability and flexibility for carrying out research regarding the complex nature of services.FindingsMeasurement scales are evaluated and discussed. The key criticisms of best‐known scales used for services situations are presented. Then consideration is given to what might be a “best practice” scenario for measuring and assessing service‐related issues in a service context.Originality/valueThe discussion draws attention to the importance of recognising the most suitable research method for a service‐specific research problem/question rather than imposing a well known measurement scale or technique that may not suit the purpose.

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