Beverlee B. Anderson

A Cross-Cultural Study of Waiting as a Satisfaction Driver in Selected Service Encounters

Abstract Waiting is a source of frustration for most time-pressed consumers who often complain about waiting for services. While many different aspects of waiting have been studied, the reported research looks at waiting and its saliency in customer satisfaction across three cultures in three different service-consuming situations. The results indicate that waiting is a satisfaction driver. However, the dimension of waiting that is salient tends to vary across cultures and situations.

The Gateway Innovation Center: exploring key elements of developing a business incubator

Purpose – One of the most notable enterprises designed to accelerate the successful development of entrepreneurial companies through an array of business support resources and services is the business incubator. There are many key components to developing a successful business incubator. However, when one or two of these components are missing or inadequate, failure can follow. The purpose of this paper is to identify the key components to developing a successful business incubator as an effective tool for economic development, based on the case study of an unsuccessful effort.Design/methodology/approach – The Gateway Innovation Center case study presents an opportunity to examine some possible pitfalls of developing a business incubator. A scant four months after opening, the organizers of the incubator decided to give up on the project. Exploring the various missteps in the formation of the Gateway Innovation Center provides a better understanding of key issues in developing successful incubators.Findin...

The identity crisis of sustainable development

Purpose – There are many different conceptualizations to sustainable development and these different approaches may have led to confusion amongst the public. The purpose of this paper is to explore the identities of the term and how the confused identity may be leading to problems for sustainable development efforts. Design/methodology/approach – The design is exploratory, using both secondary and primary data to understand the different sustainable development concepts. Findings – There is no consistent understanding or use of the term “sustainable development” among various groups. Research limitations/implications – Future research should include a larger sample that is more representative of people from different backgrounds and geographical areas. Practical implications – The public is generally willing to support only projects that it understands. Without a clear understanding of sustainable development, the public will be less inclined to support these efforts. Originality/value – This study examin...

If Time Is Money Is It a Common Currency? Time in Anglo, Asian, and Latin Cultures

ABSTRACT Social time affects the timing and frequency of purchases, the hours consumers patronize businesses, and how long consumers expect products to last. Understanding how culturally based social time attitudes differ will help marketers tailor their offerings and messages to consumers whose concepts of time differ. This exploratory study combined related streams of time literature to examine constructs of social time differences across cultures. Drawing upon a sample of 1377 respondents from six countries representing three cultural groups (Anglo, Latin, and Asian), the study explores the similarity and differences of cultural social time differences among these three groups.

The Best of Times is Now A study of the gay subculture's attitudes toward time

Although researchers have found that cognitive temporal structures differ across cultures, few have studied the cognitive temporal structures of subcultures within them — and in a consumer behavior context. Integrating the literature on time, culture and consumer behavior, this study empirically tests for variations in time perceptions between the dominant heterosexual culture and the gay subculture. Results indicate that there may be socio-cultural elements of a subculture that produce variation in a subcultures temporal cognitive structure. Compared to heterosexuals, gays are more present-oriented. This finding is then applied to predict differences in consumer behavior.

A Customer Analysis Course for the Marketing Curriculum

Customer analysis is an activity that is or should be performed by organizations. The blending of concepts from the traditional consumer behavior course and the marketing research course can provide students with concepts and tools that will enable them to provide useful customer analyses for organizations. The creation of a customer analysis course is also an opportunity for business schools to make their programs more closely aligned with the functions and activities of businesses.

Brand and Country Influences on Purchase Intentions: A Theory-Of-Reasoned Action Approach

Today, a firm may choose a brand name associated with one country, source parts in a second, and manufacture in a third low-labor cost-country (OECD & World Bank, 2015; Gereffi & Fernandez-Stark, 2...

Corrupting activities and economic development

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationships of different types of corruption and selected economic measures that appear to contribute to a country’s sustainable economic development. Design/methodology/approach – The research used selected data from the World Economic Forum Executive Opinion Survey on corruption activities (Irregular Payments and Bribes, the Diversion of Public Funds, Organised Crime, and Favouritism in Decisions of Government Officials) and Ethical Behaviour of Firms. The economic data (FDI, GDP, GDP Growth and Capital Formation among others) is from the World Bank database. A series of statistical models were developed to examine the relationships among different types of corruption and a country’s economic development. Findings – The findings are mixed, showing that some types of corruption have greater negative impact on specific aspects of economic development. Research limitations/implications – The research is limited by the availability of data from reliabl...

Sustainability in complex environments: making sense of the Katrina lawsuits

Purpose – The meaning of sustainability continues to be debated by scholars and professionals alike. But how do individuals, who are expected to contribute to implementing sustainability actions, perceive this important concept? The purpose of this paper is to explore how individuals relate to the multidimensionality of sustainability. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses a qualitative design to learn how individuals understand and prioritise the various dimensions of sustainability. Respondents were asked to react in essay form to a narrative that weaves social, environmental, economic and legal issues and offer a recommended course of action. Findings – The findings are mixed, showing that sustainability is yet to mature as a concept in the minds of the general public. Encouragingly, the paper finds evidence that most respondents are aware of the primary dimensions of sustainability. Research limitations/implications – The research is limited by the convenience sample used, which may offer a ske...

Indian cultural values and economic development: an exploratory study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore linkages between Confucian‐based Asian cultural values and Michael Porters model of national competitiveness. The cultural values of Indian students are compared with Asian American students’ cultural values, to explore alignment with economic growth and development factors.Design/methodology/approach – Relationships between culture and economic development are conceptualized based on previous research and literature. Using an Asian Cultural Values Scale, Indian students enrolled in a Master’s of International Business program were surveyed. These data are compared with data collected from Asian American college students on the same items. The results are interpreted based on conceptualized relationships.Findings – Indian students tend to exhibit greater conformity, emotional self‐control and collectivism values while Asian American students tend to place greater value on family recognition through achievement. The Indian student values appear to align mo...