Doren Chadee

An empirical assessment of customer satisfaction in tourism

Research in service quality has advanced substantially over recent years. However; little has been done in measuring the quality of tourist experiences and how different quality factors impact on global satisfaction of tourists. This paper sets out to fill this gap by modelling quality and satisfaction judgements of college students within four distinct tourist encounters. Applying a novel approach, respondents rated. an entire service setting by proxy when evaluating a picture in which certain quality variables had been manipulated. The findings from the regression models show that distinct quality factors are significant for different tourist encounters. In addition, significant differences were also found in the extent to which different quality factors affect students fiom different cultures. The results should be of value to managers in the relevant tourist industries.

Relationships, the role of individuals and knowledge flows in the internationalisation of service firms

This article develops a new conceptual model of knowledge flows within international service firms. Our model takes explicit account of the critical role of relationships and the individual as being central to the process of knowledge transfer for service firms. The model is then validated with data collected from five international service firms using critical event analysis techniques. The findings reinforce our contention that the individual plays a critical role in the process of knowledge transfer and that relationships form an integral part of this process. The implications of this finding are also discussed.

Insights into International Travel by Students

Although research on international travelers abounds in the literature, international travel by students remains a neglected area of research. This article reports the findings from a survey of 370 university students in New Zealand. The survey identified student motives for undertaking international travel, the planning process, and the preferred destinations and methods of financing international trips. Logit models were developed and estimated for two important aspects of international travel by students. In addition, the study also included cross-cultural comparisons of travel behavior. The findings indicate that students traveling overseas represent a distinct market with specific needs and preferences. Travel behaviors vary significantly for different cultures and the article shows that it is possible to model such behaviors.

International outsourcing of information technology services: review and future directions

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the development of the empirical literature on international outsourcing of information technology services (ITS) over the 1992‐2007 period and to identify future research areas.Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 78 empirical academic publications on international outsourcing of ITS conducted between 1992 and 2007 across 46 scholarly journals constitutes the main data for analytical purposes. The sample is compiled following extensive electronic searches of the main academic databases. After clustering the studies in the sample according to their main research areas, a narrative approach is used to review developments in each cluster and to identify emerging research areas.Findings – Four main areas of research are identified, namely outsourcing decision, outsourcing management (OSM), outsourcing outcome and the role of offshore service providers (OSPs). The review suggests that research efforts to date have been predominantly on outsourcing decision...

Foreign ownership of equity joint ventures in China: a pooled cross-section–time series analysis

Abstract Foreign investment in China has increased rapidly over a short period of time making that country the second largest recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the world. The most common form of undertaking investment in recent years has been through equity joint ventures (EJVs). This paper analyzes the factors that influence the share of foreign ownership of a sample of 3090 EJVs in China over the 1992–1995 period by using pooled cross-section–time series methods. The results show that the duration of the EJV agreement, the origin of the foreign investor, the size and location of the project are all statistically significant in influencing the level of foreign ownership. The results also show a significant difference between the share of foreign ownership of EJVs in manufacturing and service sector industries and a gradual trend towards higher levels of foreign ownership in Chinese EJVs in recent years.

The impact of guanxi on export performance: A study of New Zealand firms exporting to China

Summary Broadly defined as interpersonal relationship in Chinese society, guanxi embodies several intricate and unique Chinese cultural values. Although more and more western business people are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of guanxi in doing business in China, its potential impacts on the performance of business are still not well understood by western business people. This paper uses path analysis to assess the impacts of guanxi on export performance of a sample of New Zealand firms exporting to China. The results show that guanxi variables significantly facilitate trade partnering, business negotiating, and problem solving and generally contributes positively to the overall export performance of firms.

Institutional environment, innovation capacity and firm performance in Russia

Purpose – Following the demise of the Soviet Union in 1992, Russia undertook major institutional and market‐oriented reforms to enhance the competitive advantage of domestic enterprises. Although Russia has experienced rapid growth over the last two decades, the extent to which institutions in Russia impact on firm innovation and performance remains poorly understood due to a lack of research on the subject. This paper seeks to contribute to the literature on the competitiveness of Russian firms by focussing specifically on the extent to which the state of the regulatory quality, rule of law, and corruption affect the innovation capacity and performance of firms in Russia.Design/methodology/approach – The study uses structural equation modelling and data from a large‐scale firm level survey (n=787) of firms in Russia undertaken by the World Bank in 2009. It investigates the direct and indirect perceptions of respondents of the effects the current institutional environment has on the innovation capacity an...

Do service and merchandiseexporters behave andperform differently

Research on export behaviour and the determinants of export performance of manufacturing firms abounds in the literature. By contrast relatively little research has been undertaken that focuses on service exporters despite the growing importance of service exports in most advanced industrialised countries. This paper compares the export behaviour and performance of service firms to those of manufacturing firms. The study is based on a survey of 155 small and medium size exporters from New Zealand. The results suggest that service exporters are distinctively unique in many respects and exhibit export behaviours that are different from exporters of merchandise. Generally, service firms have greater flexibility to adapt their products to the specific requirements of their customers, use direct export channels more often and are also more proactive than merchandise firms in the establishment of future export strategies. Overall, the size and commitment of service exporters have the greatest influence on their performance.

Sustaining the International Competitive Advantage of Asian Firms: A Conceptual Framework and Research Propositions

The sudden loss of export markets by many Asian firms during the Asian financial crisis (AFC) has raised important questions on how firms in the region can regain and sustain their competitive advantage in international markets. This paper develops a conceptual model which focuses on certain key elements of a firms internal resources as critical sources of competitive advantage and offers research propositions. It is argued that Asian firms can enhance their international competitive advantage by leveraging their internal resources within an external environment generally conducive to growth.

Foreign ownership structure of service equity joint ventures in China

This paper investigates the foreign ownership structure of service equity joint ventures (EJVs) in China. In less than 20 years, China has emerged from a closed economy to become the second largest recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the world. Now that China is a member of the World Trade Organisation, liberalisation of FDI is expected to accelerate even further. Despite the fact that an increasing proportion of FDI in China is in the form of equity joint ventures in the service sector, little is known of the ownership structure of service EJVs. Using a database of 6,430 foreign EJVs, in China from 1984 to 1996, this paper shows that foreign equity ownership differs significantly between service and manufacturing EJVs with foreign ownership generally being higher in service EJVs. The overall results also suggest that the gradual liberalisation of FDI in the service sector by Chinese authorities has had a positive effect on foreign equity ownership.