Ali Quazi

IDENTIFYING THE DETERMINANTS OF CORPORATE MANAGERS PERCEIVED SOCIAL OBLIGATIONS

Explores the determinants of perceived social obligations of corporate managers focusing on managerial and personal demographics. A survey of Australian corporate managers revealed that there is a significant relationship between the level of education, training status and religiosity of managers and their perception of corporate social responsibility (CSR). The findings indicate that managerial commitment to CSR is linked with the acquired qualities (education and training) rather than their inherent physical maturity (age). Furthermore, modernity reflected in achievement via hard work, rather than mere belief in luck, determines the pattern of managerial perception of CSR. Religious metaphors seem to influence managers’ perception of social commitment suggesting that theology is also an important determinant of the ethical perceptions of Australian corporate managers. These findings have important implications for personnel policies of socially responsive corporations. Addresses the limitations of the study and explores potential areas of further research.

Differentiating between service quality and relationship quality in cyberspace

The onset of Internet marketing is revolutionising marketing practice. Although growth in sales of goods and services online has been dramatic, very little research has addressed the factors that lead to the delivery of superior service and the creation of effective marketing relationships. This paper explores and defines two related constructs – service quality and relationship quality – to ascertain whether consumers can meaningfully distinguish between the constructs. The research uses focus groups and an online survey to address this issue. The paper finds that, although service quality and relationship quality are distinct constructs, they overlap in the area of personal interaction and problem solving. The key drivers for the delivery of superior service and the creation of an effective relationship are reliability and trust emanating from service quality and relationship quality respectively.

Investigating and classifying clients' satisfaction with business incubator services.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to show that a business incubation/incubator program is an enterprise development strategy, aimed at accelerating the process of formation, development, survivability and growth of new enterprises by providing those new enterprises (clients) with a wide range of business assistance including physical facilities, business counselling and networking. This paper presents results of a research conducted to investigate the level of satisfaction/dissatisfaction of the clients with the provision of those assistance services.Design/methodology/approach – In this paper the level of clients satisfaction/dissatisfaction with a service is calculated using a proposed framework in terms of the mean difference between the importance of the service and the effectiveness of incubator management in providing the respective service as perceived by the clients.Findings – The results in this paper indicate that clients were generally more satisfied with facility related services than th...

Relational impact of service providers' interaction behavior in healthcare

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to examine how patients’ loyalty, and confidence in their doctors, are influenced by doctors’ interaction behavior, namely, listening and explaining behavior. Design/methodology/approach – Primary data were collected through a survey of patients in an advanced developing economy – India. Patients visiting the same specialist doctor more than three times a year, in selected clinics in the city of Mumbai, were asked to complete the study instrument. All the constructs were measured using multiple items and well-established scales were revalidated to suit the context of the research. A total of 320 responses were analyzed to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings – Results confirm that the doctor-patient relationship is positively influenced by the interaction behavior of service providers, i.e. doctors. The study demonstrates that doctors’ interaction behavior is instrumental in developing an effective relationship with their patients and boosts patients’ confidence in their doctors. Furthermore, effective interaction enhances patients’ loyalty to their service providers. Originality/value – This would appear to be the first study of its kind conducted in the context of an advanced developing economy. The study suggests that development of effective communication skills in doctors warrants due attention in medical education. Furthermore, this study validates relevant measurement scales in India’s context.

The Impact of Social Influence on Individuals' Adoption of Innovation

This article empirically examines the impact of social factors (peer and social network) on attitudes toward innovation and the impact of that attitude on individual employees adopting innovation in their workplaces in Australia. This research uses quantitative research methodology and specifically multivariate statistical analysis. The research framework is based on the theory of reasoned action, the technology acceptance model, Frambach and Schillewaerts conceptual framework, and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology. Data were collected from employees of a tertiary institution in Australia using a structured questionnaire. The results of multiple regression analysis show that social network impacts significantly on attitudes toward an innovation which, in turn, affects the innovation adoption behavior of employees. Furthermore, social network has been found to directly influence the innovation adoption process. This outcome has strategic implications for organizations in the effective management of innovation involving employees. These implications are highlighted in the article. This research has focused on only one organization in a particular region in Australia. Future research can explore the relationship between variables by including a number of organizations across Australia and beyond to provide a deeper insight into the issues explored in this article.

Managerial views of consumerism: A two‐country comparison

Empirically examines the managerial perception of consumerism with reference to the very different macro environments of two countries – Australia and Bangladesh. Consumerism is defined as a social movement seeking to augment the rights and powers of buyers in relation to sellers. The attitudes of a sample of CEOs towards various aspects of consumerism are analyzed. The results of ANOVA indicate that there are statistically significant differences between the two groups of managers in terms of their commitment to consumerism on such issues as government regulation, advertising to children, the role of consumer organization and industry self‐regulation. Interestingly, Bangladeshi managers perceived most of the consumerism issues at a higher level than their Australian counterparts. There are interesting interpretations and implications of these findings for firms operating at the international level. These are explored here. Also explores the potential of future research in this area.

Conceptualising the link between national cultural dimensions and B2B relationships

Purpose – The main purpose of the paper is to examine the possible links between some selected dimensions of national culture and business‐to‐business (B2B) relationships.Design‐methodology/approach – Since this paper proposes a conceptual model, a qualitative approach is taken to gather required information mainly through a search of the literature.Findings – It is argued that the effect of trust on B2B cooperation would be stronger in the collectivist culture than in the individualist culture. Furthermore, the negative consequence of power would be relatively insignificant in the collectivist culture because collectivist network tends to maintain harmony. It is possible to use power coercively in a high‐power distance culture because in such a culture, cooperation is assumed to be power induced. However, opportunism is likely to raise a barrier to reap the benefits that cooperation generates in such cultures.Research limitations/implications – First, only two of the six dimensions originally proposed by...

Financial risk and its impact on new purchasing behavior in the online retail setting

This paper examines the effect of financial risk on perceptions of service quality and relationship-marketing quality in the online retail environment. Perceptions of financial risk were found to be negatively associated with service quality. In particular, a well-designed and attractive Web site was found to mitigate perceptions of financial risk during early trial-buy purchasing. Relationship-marketing quality was not affected by financial risk. This study adds to an enhanced understanding of how risk perceptions influence assessment of service quality and relationship-marketing quality. While the drivers of service quality and relationship-marketing quality have been examined extensively in the online setting, a surprising lack of research investigates the role of risk perceptions in the early stage, buy-trial purchasing behavior. This emerging area of research interest is deserving of more attention. Our findings provide valuable normative guidance to researchers interested in the affects of perceived risk (particularly financial risk) on new online shoppers, emphasizing the interdependency between Web site design and risk perceptions.

The dynamics of exploring future market potential of genetically modified foods

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to express a general review on how best in the present time can one market genetically modified (GM) foods in the face of the controversial arguments faced globally. Despite the importance of marketing, many organizations though they understand its worth, fail to find radical strategic solutions for the problems encountered by their products. In fact most of them find that disclosing GM ingredients will prohibit consumers from buying their products, whilst, the few GM foods that were proactively marketed indicated the potential of effective marketing and successful product placement.Design/methodology/approach – To be able to market GM foods, an understanding of customer value and problems customers envisage is discussed. The paper attempts to provide a general global perspective on consumer’s views about these issues and with the help of a conceptual model it attempts to identify some of the problems related with marketing GM foods.Findings – The findings indicate t...

Investing in consumer confidence through genetically modified labelling: an evaluation of compliance options and their marketing challenges for Australian firms

A significant number of studies have examined aspects of consumer responses towards genetically modified foods (GMFs). However, much of this effort has resulted in somewhat mixed findings which have not added real value in terms of providing viable directions for international and national organisations concerned with the labelling of GMFs. This is particularly true in an environment where labelling regulation is increasingly inconsistent and may therefore present real barriers to international trade and the marketing and sales of these food products. The aim of this article therefore is to shed light on the extent to which the labelling impositions on genetically modified foods would impact on the overall viability of the GMF industry particularly from an international and firm perspective. To this end, a selection of literatures that cover labelling issues in Europe, USA, Canada and Australasia were distilled in order to better understand the pros and cons of labelling disclosures globally and from these present a platform for future marketing and implementation scenarios in Australia. On the basis of this literature synthesis, we propose that the success of the GMF imperative is contingent on two levels of compliance. First, at the global level, there is need for greater international consensus regarding uniformity of standards of regulation that would allow for fair trade particularly through such bodies as the World Trade Organisation. By implication, Australia would require to adopt levels of compliance that are comparable to the stringent European Union requirements in order to be able to access those markets and any others. Second, we note that at the firm level, whilst production costs in developing appropriate labelling disclosures can be expected to rise on account of higher standards of compliance, these would be more than offset by the increase in consumer confidence as a consequence of the opportunity to make more informed choices. This in turn would generate positive Word of Mouth most likely resulting in increased uptake and adoption of GMFs generally thus allowing for disclosure costs to fall over time.