scholarly journals Does ISO 9000 Certification Benefit Service Firms?

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (21) ◽  
pp. 5886 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan-ying Chen ◽  
Long Wu ◽  
Qing-guo Zhai
Keyword(s):  
Propensity Score ◽  
Selection Bias ◽  
Productivity Loss ◽  
Iso 9000 ◽  
Service Industries ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Exact Matching ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Matching Method ◽  
Sustainable Improvement

This paper examines whether ISO 9000 certification benefits service firms in terms of their financial performance and promotes sustainable improvement. We argue that in a developing country setting such as China, the massive benefits brought by the signalling effect of the certification can discourage firms’ motivation to fully implement the standard of certification and lead to the decline of investment on productivity-improving activities. In other words, the certification may have negative effects on the productivity of certified firms. We investigate 89,024 firms in Chinese service industries to assess the impacts of the certification on sales, productivity and profitability of these firms. To address the potential selection bias of ISO 9000 certification, the Propensity Score Matching method and Coarsened Exact Matching method were used. Our key findings are that the ISO 9000 certification does help to increase the total amount of sales, but it decreases the productivity and profitability of these certified service firms. We also find that earlier certifiers seem to gain larger advantage in sales but more reduction in productivity, and firms with higher level of technology intensity seem to obtain a larger increase in sales and less productivity loss after receiving their ISO 9000 certification.

scholarly journals Effects of Employee Sickness Presence on Customer Repurchase and Recommendation Intentions: The Role of Customer Affective Reactions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolin Dietz ◽  
Hannes Zacher
Keyword(s):  
Service Sector ◽  
Productivity Loss ◽  
Phone Call ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Disease Avoidance ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Sickness Presence ◽  
Organizational Consequences ◽  
Health Deterioration

AbstractSickness presence can have important individual and organizational consequences, such as health deterioration or productivity loss. Additional risks, such as negative customer reactions, may be particularly relevant in the service sector. Based on affective events theory and appraisal theories, we hypothesize that employee sickness presence negatively impacts customer repurchase and recommendation intentions. Furthermore, we explore potential affective mechanisms of these effects, including disease avoidance, personal anger, moral outrage, post-consumption guilt, and customer compassion for the employee. We conducted four studies, including three experimental vignette methodology studies (Ns = 227, 72, and 763) and a qualitative study (N = 54). In Study 1, employee sickness presence had negative effects on repurchase and recommendation intentions. Results of Study 2 show that customers experienced disgust, fear, anger, guilt, compassion, and indifference in response to sickness presence. In Study 3, anger explained the negative effects of employee sickness presence on repurchase and recommendation intentions, while appraisals of moral fairness were negatively related to both customer intentions. Finally, in Study 4, disgust and anger explained negative effects, while fear, guilt, and compassion explained positive effects of employee sickness presence on customer intentions. Appraisals of goal incongruence, reduced agency of the customer, and uncertainty were negatively related to customer intentions. The physical absence of the customer in the service encounter (phone call) mitigated the experience of disgust, fear, and anger, whereas it exacerbated feelings of compassion for the ill employee.

scholarly journals Can the Ceftriaxone Breakpoints Be Increased Without Compromising Patient Outcomes?

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pranita D Tamma ◽  
Virginia M Pierce ◽  
Sara E Cosgrove ◽  
Ebbing Lautenbach ◽  
Anthony Harris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Propensity Score ◽  
Propensity Score Matching ◽  
Patient Outcomes ◽  
Nearest Neighbor ◽  
Clinical Laboratory ◽  
Severity Of Illness ◽  
Bloodstream Infections ◽  
Source Control ◽  
Exact Matching ◽  
Extended Spectrum

Abstract Background In 2010, the Clinical Laboratory and Standards Institute recommended a 3-fold lowering of ceftriaxone breakpoints to 1 mcg/mL for Enterobacteriaceae. Supportive clinical data at the time were from fewer than 50 patients. We compared the clinical outcomes of adults with Enterobacteriaceae bloodstream infections treated with ceftriaxone compared with matched patients (with exact matching on ceftriaxone minimum inhibitory concentrations [MICs]) treated with extended-spectrum agents to determine if ceftriaxone breakpoints could be increased without negatively impacting patient outcomes. Methods A retrospective cohort study was conducted at 3 large academic medical centers and included patients with Enterobacteriaceae bacteremia with ceftriaxone MICs of 2 mcg/mL treated with ceftriaxone or extended-spectrum β-lactams (ie, cefepime, piperacillin/tazobactam, meropenem, or imipenem/cilastatin) between 2008 and 2014; 1:2 nearest neighbor propensity score matching was performed to estimate the odds of recurrent bacteremia and mortality within 30 days. Results Propensity score matching yielded 108 patients in the ceftriaxone group and 216 patients in the extended-spectrum β-lactam group, with both groups well-balanced on demographics, preexisting medical conditions, severity of illness, source of bacteremia, and source control interventions. No difference in recurrent bacteremia (odds ratio [OR], 1.16; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.49–2.73) or mortality (OR, 1.27; 95% CI, 0.56–2.91) between the treatment groups was observed for patients with isolates with ceftriaxone MICs of 2 mcg/mL. Only 6 isolates (1.6%) with ceftriaxone MICs of 2 mcg/mL were extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)–producing. Conclusions Our findings suggest that patient outcomes are similar when receiving ceftriaxone vs extended-spectrum agents for the treatment of Enterobacteriaceae bloodstream infections with ceftriaxone MICs of 2 mcg/mL. This warrants consideration of adjusting the ceftriaxone susceptibility breakpoint from 1 to 2 mcg/mL, as a relatively small increase in the antibiotic breakpoint could have the potential to limit the use of large numbers of extended-spectrum antibiotic agents.

Does Family Decision-Making Power Improve Women’s Happiness?

2021 ◽  
pp. 0192513X2110300
Author(s):  
Zhongwu Li
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Propensity Score ◽  
Least Squares ◽  
Logit Model ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Matching Method ◽  
Family Decision ◽  
Family Decision Making ◽  
Heterogeneity Analysis

It is almost a consensus that the stronger family decision-making power a woman has, the happier she will be. While using the China Family Panel Studies, this study reveals a long-overlooked fact that women’s control over more family decision-making power does not necessarily improve their happiness. The results of the ordinary least squares and ordinal logit model confirm this finding, and the propensity score matching method corroborates the conclusion. Heterogeneity analysis shows that among those women with less education and lower social status, the negative happiness effect of women’s family decision-making power is particularly significant. Women’s traditional attitudes and self-esteem are two important factors which hinder women’s family decision-making power from enhancing their happiness.

Reviews and Self-Selection Bias with Operational Implications

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ningyuan Chen ◽  
Anran Li ◽  
Kalyan Talluri
Keyword(s):  
Selection Bias ◽  
Operations Management ◽  
Choice Model ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Performance Review ◽  
Self Selection ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
Biased Ratings

Reviews for products and services written by previous consumers have become an influential input to the purchase decision of customers. Many service businesses monitor the reviews closely for feedback as well as detecting service flaws, and they have become part of the performance review for service managers with rewards tied to improvement in the aggregate rating. Many empirical papers have documented a bias in the aggregate ratings, arising because of customers’ inherent self-selection in their choices and bounded rationality in evaluating previous reviews. Although there is a vast empirical literature analyzing reviews, theoretical models that try to isolate and explain the bias in ratings are relatively few. Assuming consumers simply substitute the average rating that they see as a proxy for quality, we give a precise characterization of the self-selection bias on ratings of an assortment of products when consumers confound ex ante innate preferences for a product or service with ex post experience and service quality and do not separate the two. We develop a parsimonious choice model for consumer purchase decisions and show that the mechanism leads to an upward bias, which is more pronounced for niche products. Based on our theoretical characterization, we study the effect on pricing and assortment decisions of the firm when potential customers purchase based on the biased ratings. Our results give insights into how quality, prices, and customer feedback are intricately tied together for service firms. This paper was accepted by David Simchi-Levi, operations management.

scholarly journals USING PROPENSITY SCORE MATCHING METHOD TO ESTIMATE THE IMPACT OF VIETGAP PROGRAM ON THE HEALTH OF FARMERS IN THUA THIEN HUE PROVINCE, VIETNAM

2017 ◽  
Vol 126 (5B) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
Trần Huỳnh Bảo Châu
Keyword(s):  
Health Status ◽  
Propensity Score ◽  
Propensity Score Matching ◽  
Pesticide Exposure ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Vegetable Production ◽  
Matching Method ◽  
Environment Friendly ◽  
The Impact

<p><strong>Abstract:</strong></p><p>This study estimates the impact value of the VietGAP program when applied to vegetable production on the health of farmers in Thua Thien Hue province. By employing the propensity score matching (PSM) method, our findings show that the VietGAP program has a significant impact on farmers’ health. In particular, the program reduces farmers’ health problems due to pesticide exposure by 15.6 %, 22.9 %, 25.5 %, and 23.6 %, respectively, from four types of matching. This study provides evidence of the positive impacts of the VietGAP program on the health status of farmers in Thua Thien Hue province. It is therefore hoped that the production, consumption, and management solutions provided by the VietGAP program can encourage farmers to use environment-friendly agricultural practices.</p><p><strong>Keywords: </strong>propensity score matching (PSM) method, VietGAP program, farmers’ health</p>

scholarly journals Impact Evaluation of Raskin Program using Matching Method: Case of IFLS 5

JEJAK ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 207-223
Author(s):  
Endiarjati Dewandaru Sadono
Keyword(s):  
Propensity Score ◽  
Propensity Score Matching ◽  
Family Life ◽  
Household Income ◽  
Impact Evaluation ◽  
Matching Method ◽  
Indonesia Family Life Survey ◽  
Small Benefit ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Impact

Beras untuk Keluarga Miskin (RASKIN) program has been applied since 1998 and has been renamed as Beras Sejahtera (RASTRA) in early 2017, but their effectiveness is still debatable. This study tries to evaluate the impact of RASKIN program on household income. Using data from 3,745 households in Indonesia Family Life Survey (IFLS) 5 that has been estimated using propensity score matching, this study has identified precisely that RASKIN program has a negative and significant effect on household income. This happens because the benefits that reveived by Rumah Tangga Sasaran (RTS) are very small. The small benefit is affected by the amount of rice received, frequency and price that have been paid to get RASKIN is not in accordance with the guidelines. The result of this study is along with previous studies, where the amount and price of rice that distributed through RASKIN program is not exactly correct. Therefore, there must be a change in program format, not just renaming from RASKIN to RASTRA only.

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