Marketing Performance Sustainability in the Jordanian Hospitality Industry: The Roles of Customer Relationship Management and Service Quality

This study examines the mediating role of service quality between customer relationship management (CRM) performance dimensions and the marketing performance of Jordanian hotels using resource-based view theory and contingency theory. A self-administered survey was conducted on 162 general managers of hotels in Jordan. The data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modelling. The findings of the study indicated that service quality mediated the relationship between the CRM performance dimensions (key customer focus, CRM knowledge management, CRM organization, and CRM-based technology) and the marketing performance of Jordanian hotels. This study provides significant contributions to theory and practice. From a theoretical perspective, this study fills in the literature gaps by providing insights about the mediating role of service quality in the relationship between customer relationship management performance dimensions and marketing performance. For managerial contributions, this study suggested that hotels can enhance their marketing performance by focusing on service quality and customer relationship management performance dimensions, especially the key customer focus dimension.

Prioritization and ranking of lean practices: a case study

PurposeThe paper aims to identify, prioritize and rank lean practices in the context of an Indian automotive component manufacturing organization using interpretive ranking process (IRP) and interpretive structural modeling (ISM) approaches.Design/methodology/approachLean practices are identified from the literature. Then, two hierarchical models were are developed using two distinct modeling approaches – ISM and IRP with expert opinions from an Indian automotive component manufacturing organization to analyze the contextual relationships among the various lean practices and to prioritize and rank them with respect to performance dimensions.FindingsIn the study, the hierarchical structural models are developed using ISM and IRP approaches for an Indian automotive component manufacturing organization. In ISM-based modeling, lean practices can be categorized into five levels. Top priority should be given to the motivators followed by value chain, system/technology and organization centric practices. IRP model shows the dominance relationship among the various lean practices with respect to performance dimensions.Practical implicationsThe models are constructed from the organizational standpoint to evaluate their impact to the implementation of lean manufacturing. The study leverages the organizations to prioritize limited resources as per the hierarchy. Managers get the inter-linkages and ranking of various lean practices, which leads to a better perspective for the effective implementation of lean. The structural models also assist management to assign proper roles to employees/departments for effective lean implementation.Originality/valueThere is hardly any structural model of lean practices in the literature for clustering, prioritizing and ranking of lean practices. The study fills this gap and develops the hierarchical models of lean practices through IRP and ISM approaches for an Indian automotive component manufacturing organization. The results from both approaches are compared for illustrating the benefits of one over the other.

The Role of the Environmental Sphere in Factors Affecting Performance and in Performance Dimensions in the Utility Sector: A Literature Review

Considering the environmental impacts of utility activities and the lack of literature systematic understanding of the different factors affecting utility performance with a specific consideration of the environmental sphere, this article tries to bridge this gap conducting a literature review on factors affecting utility performance. An aspect of novelty of the paper is represented by the clusterization of literature (also useful for future studies) that considers the environmental sphere both among factors of influence and as performance dimensions. The analysis conducts to conclude that both as influencing factors and as performance dimensions, the environmental role should be more widely and deeply investigated by literature. The research highlights some managerial implications: the appointment of managers should consider their “green skills” as factor influencing performance of the utilities; the need to develop managerial tools to make the decision-making process effective and efficient also in the environmental sphere.

The neoclassical and Keynesian standpoint and policy implications regarding the Greek Financial Crisis

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discover the contradistinctions between the neoclassical and Keynesian paradigms of economics regarding the Greek Financial Crisis.Design/methodology/approachThe answers to the questions and policies regarding the Greek Financial Crisis cannot be derived by using economic analysis alone; they also depend on the perception of social reality and ethical issues. Based on the assumptions about economic behavior, the answers and policies inevitably reflect the observer's assessment of each economic and non-economic performance dimension, as well as the significance assigned to those performance dimensions. Different views on “social reality” and “what is a good society?” are associated with distinct paradigms and a particular set of social values, which have implications for economic policy formulae. These give rise to alternative answers and policies to the Greek Financial Crisis, based on different assumptions, different methods of analysis and different goals.FindingsOverall, in contradistinction, the two paradigms recommend quite distinct policies tackling the Greek Financial Crisis, and at the end, both paradigms have different perspectives on ethics and moral fundamentals regarding debt.Originality/valueStudents of the global financial crisis will benefit from this unique approach in testing the two alternative paradigms, between the neoclassical and Keynesian, concerning the Greek Financial Crisis.

The impact of supplier relationships on supply chain performance of trade companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The need for companies' interconnection and advantages of mutual business cooperation led to the development of supply chain management in the 1980s. Along with the intensified market globalization process, companies have become aware of the need to develop efficient supply chains. A supply chain includes a series of activities from planning and organizing to controlling the flow of material and services from suppliers to the final customer. The supply chain effectiveness depends to a large extent on relationships with suppliers. Thus, relationships with suppliers and supply chain performance management are important topics in academic research due to their impact on supply chain profitability. It is particularly evident in the trade industry. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to establish the relationship between supplier relationships and supply chain performance in the trade industry in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The empirical research is based on the primary data, collected by using a questionnaire. The respondents are 200 trade companies from the entire territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Various statistical analysis methods have been applied to answer the research questions addressing the issues of a potential relationship between supplier relationships and supply chain performance. The results have shown that supplier relationships positively impact flexibility, costs, and supply chain quality. There is a statistically significant interdependence between partnership and information exchange, as supplier relationships dimensions, and flexibility, costs, and supply chain quality, as supply chain performance dimensions. There is, also, a statistically significant impact of some companies' characteristics on the information exchange, supplier partnership, flexibility, costs, and quality.

Professional football clubs and sustainable success

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. 10; Findings Having to balance key sporting and business variables often makes it hugely challenging for professional football clubs. But appropriate emphasis on four performance dimensions and key drivers within them can make sustainable levels of success more attainable. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers’ hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

Towards Figurative Expression Enhancement: Effects of the SVVR-Supported Worked Example Approach on the Descriptive Writing of Highly Engaged Students

During the past decades, many researchers have attempted to explore effective teaching methods for developing students’ descriptive writing performance. In this study, the worked example was implemented as an effective way of guiding students to provide step-by-step solutions to learning tasks. Moreover, a spherical video-based virtual reality (SVVR) environment was provided to place students in real-world situations which enabled them to experience the learning contexts in depth. A pretest-posttest quasi experimental study was conducted to explore the influence of the SVVR-supported worked example approach and engagement level on students’ Chinese descriptive writing performance. A total of 79 fourth-grade elementary school students participated in this study. The experimental group used SVVR with worked examples to complete Chinese writing assignments, whereas the control group used videos and worked examples. The results showed no significant effects of the SVVR-supported worked example approach compared with the conventional worked example approach regarding organization, sensory details, or creativity dimensions. As for the figurative expression dimension, students in the SVVR-supported worked example approach condition scored significantly higher. Moreover, high engagement students significantly outperformed low engagement students in all four writing performance dimensions. Additionally, a significant interaction effect between learning approach and engagement level on figurative expression was found.

The value of TPM for Portuguese companies

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of a maintenance philosophy, Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), on the operational performance of the Portuguese industry, identifying how it enables the systematic reduction of waste in maintenance.Design/methodology/approachA structured questionnaire was constructed and sent to 472 Portuguese enterprises, having obtained a sample constituted of 84 valid answers. With a five-point Likert scale, it was possible to assess the impact of the TPM on five operational performance dimensions, being them: quality, flexibility, productivity, safety and costs.FindingsIt was found that the planned maintenance, together with education and training are the practices with the highest degree of implementation in the Portuguese industry, exceeding 70% for both. The productivity is the dimension with a higher degree of impact from the implementation of TPM and costs the dimension that suffered a lesser impact.Practical implicationsThis paper shows and analyses the current state of TPM implementation in the Portuguese industry and it will be useful for maintenance professionals, researchers and others concerned with maintenance, in order to understand the effects of TPM implementation on the operational performance of the Portuguese industries.Originality/valueThe findings from this paper will be valuable for professionals who desire and are looking forward to implement an effective maintenance approach in the maintenance management system, in order to achieve the excellence in maintenance.

Clarity 2.0: Improved Assessment of Product Competitiveness from Online Content

Competitive analysis is a critical part of any business. Product managers, sellers, and marketers spend time and resources scouring through an immense amount of online and offline content, aiming to discover what their competitors are doing in the marketplace to understand what type of threat they pose to their business’ financial well-being. Currently, this process is time and labor-intensive, slow and costly. This paper presents Clarity, a data-driven unsupervised system for assessment of products, which is currently in deployment in the global technology company, IBM. Clarity has been running for more than a year and is used by over 4,500 people to perform over 200 competitive analyses involving over 1000 products. The system considers multiple factors from a collection of online content: numeric ratings by online users, sentiment of user generated online content for key product performance dimensions, content volume, and topic analysis of content. The results and explanations of factors leading to the results are visualized in an interactive dashboard that allows users to track their product’s performance as well as understand main contributing factors. Its efficacy has been tested in a series of cases across IBM’s portfolio which spans software, hardware, and services. After initial release and first year of use, improvements to the methodology were implemented to ensure it was relevant to and served the highest impact needs of target users. Moreover, new use cases leveraging the initial ideas and approaches continue to be explored.

Performance and (non) mandatory disclosure: the moderating role of the Directive 2014/95/EU

PurposeThis paper investigates whether and how Directive 2014/95/EU affects financial performance as well as its moderation effect on the relationship between financial and non-financial performance, involving different stakeholders' perspectives.Design/methodology/approachWe adopted the panel data approach to perform random effects regression analysis on a sample of 435 European listed non-financial companies, considering a timeframe of six years. Furthermore, the moderation effect of the Directive 2014/95/EU on the relationship between financial and non-financial performance has been tested.FindingsNFD regulation negatively affects firms' operating profitability and shareholder value while produces no effects on debtholders' returns. Nevertheless, the Directive 2014/95/EU has general positive moderating effects on the relationship between non-financial and financial performance, mitigating the direct costs induced by pursuing non-financial performance.Research limitations/implicationsShifting from mimetic to coercive isomorphism caused a strengthening of the complementarity between financial and non-financial performance dimensions, extending the concept of performance itself. The analysis carried out is limited to a short-term timeframe and on non-financial companies subject to the Directive 2014/95/EU.Practical implicationsThe paper highlights trade-offs between the costs induced by non-financial activities and the benefits of being compliant with the non-financial disclosure (NFD) regulation, supporting managers in allocating business resources.Originality/valueThis paper is among the first that investigates the impact of mandatory NFD on the relationship between non-financial and financial performance. It is also one of the earliest in finding some pieces of evidence on the direct impact of Directive 2014/95/EU on EU companies' financial performance.