Ramdane Djebarni

Achieving quality and productivity in the house building sector

Reports on the results of a research study which sought to investigate the impact of quality management systems (QMS) based on BS5750 on construction productivity of UK building contractors specializing in the housing sector. The main variables of the study (quality and productivity) have been operationalized as follows: quality, the companies were classified as having a formal quality system if they were registered to BS5750; productivity of a construction project was defined and measured in terms of the utilization of resources used by the contractors in every project. Owing to the heterogeneity of construction output in general, it was necessary to use the monetary value of resources in an effort to standardize output and apply a certain measure of harmony to it; such that useful comparison may be made. Data were drawn from priced bills of quantities and the productivity of QMS and non‐QMS contractors was modelled through utilization of the theory of isoquants. Results pointed towards the acceptance of the hypothesis that there is a relationship between the implementation of QMS and productivity on site.

Shortcomings in road accident data in developing countries, identification and correction: A case study

This paper reports on some aspects of the findings of a recent piece of research into road traffic accidents in Yemen. The aim of the research was to provide a better understanding of road accident problems in Yemen by investigating its real dimensions. This includes the identification of the shortcomings in road accident data and to develop a method that can be adopted to adjust (correct) the official data. Two field surveys were employed to check the shortcomings in the official records. The main findings obtained are presented as follows: • The actual size of the road accident problem in Yemen is much greater than it appears in the official figures. In 1993, the registered accidents accounted for only about 13.3% of the estimated accidents and injuries accounted for only about 30% of the estimated injuries. • The registered fatalities account for only about 48% of the actual number of fatalities using the 30 days definition. The 30 days definition for road accident fatalities is not adopted in Yemen and the relevant agencies are not implementing this definition properly. • Methods for adjusting road accident data were adopted in this study. It is believed that this method can adjust the road accident data with an acceptable degree of satisfaction. It is hoped that the findings of this research will help both researchers in their future work and decision makers in the field of road safety to encourage suitable safety programmes to be adopted which are consistent with the actual size of the problem. Knowledge of the true picture of the road accident problem will be useful for the purpose of negotiating adequate funding for road safety activities. Estimating the actual percentage of unreported data in road accidents and casualties is very useful for any further research in road accidents and safety in Yemen. It will also help in dealing with official data and results from previous studies.

Effect of different food recall strategies on consumers’ reaction to different recall norms: A comparative study

Purpose Using the combined theoretical umbrella of organizational legitimacy theory, service-dominant logic, fairness heuristic theory and two-factor theory, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of different food recall strategies (recall proactiveness and compensation) in terms of both how consumers react (perceived organizational legitimacy and purchase intention) and how recall norms would influence the effectiveness in three countries. In addition to the reporting of important results, this paper provides implications for food companies to handle effectively the recalls, especially when the recalls are cross-country. Design/methodology/approach A 2 compensation (high vs low) ×2 recall strategy (proactive vs passive) scenario experiment was conducted in Hong Kong, the USA and Mainland China. After checking the effectiveness of manipulation, the paper tested the main effect and interaction effect of recall proactiveness and compensation on perceived organizational legitimacy and purchase intention. In addition, the mediating effect of perceived organizational legitimacy between recall strategies and purchase intention was also tested. Findings Significant main effect, interaction and mediation effect were found across the three countries with a different pattern. For the USA and Mainland China which have strong recall norms, the interaction found followed the predictions of the two-factory theory. However, the pattern found in Hong Kong, which has weak recall norms, followed the predictions of the fairness heuristic theory. Full mediation effect of perceived organizational legitimacy between compensation and purchase intention was found in the USA and Mainland China, while it was only partial in Hong Kong. For the mediation between proactiveness and purchase intention, full mediation was found in Hong Kong and the USA, while it was only partial in Mainland China. Originality/value First, this study differentiated food recall strategy into two dimensions – recall proactiveness and compensation. Second, this study tested the applicability of two-factor theory and fairness heuristic theory in recalls by testing the competing hypotheses proposed according to the two theories. Finally, this study can further help our understanding of the recall effectiveness across different recall norms.