Recent developments in the literature central to the Service-Dominant (S-D) logic perspective highlighted the importance of customer value. In this perspective, value is seen to be created, determined and perceived by the customer through use or 'value-in-use' which directly highlights the importance of customer participation in the service delivery process. This study proposed a framework which tested the relationship between customer participation and the individual customer perceived value dimensions in an Internet-based selfservice technology (ISST) environment. Taking online travel service as the study context, the model incorporated two aspects of customer participation, i.e. objective and subjective, antecedents of customer participation, and the multidimensional-formative conceptualisation of customer perceived value. Data were gathered from 175 respondents from the general public and 160 students in the UK. A confirmatory approach was used to validate the measurement model in LISREL 8.54 and the structural model was estimated in SmartPLS 2.0. The results supported the proposed conceptualisation which indicated that customer perceived value is determined by customer participation. The main theoretical contribution was demonstrated in the incorporation of the subjective aspect of customer participation and the multidimensional-formative conceptualisation of customer perceived value. By testing the causality between customer participation and customer perceived value dimensions, the findings highlighted that customers do include their participation as a determinant of value which further supported the concept of value-in-use. With the two sample groups found behaving differently in creating value from their participation on travel websites, it further supported the fact that value is uniquely and phenomenologically determined by the beneficiary. Understanding which value dimension is mostly affected by customer participation will provide managerial guidance in terms of enhancing or improving those dimensions that are poorly or highly valued by their customers. By understanding the antecedents of customer participation, online providers will benefit by setting appropriate strategies to enhance their customer participation on the website.

Shame is a universal but painful emotion which is known to most people. Major research reported in the shame literature has focused on the response to shame within the behavioral tendencies of withdrawal (Dickerson, Gruenewald & Kemeny, 2004; Kemeny, Gruenewald & Dickerson, 2004; Tangney, Mashek & Stuewig, 2005), and of externalization (Baumeister, Smart & Boden, 1996; Bushman & Baumeister, 1998; Tangney, Wagner, Fletcher & Gramzow, 1992). Recent discussion on shame response suggests that shame also leads to a restorative tendency through self-improvement and enhancement (Gausel, Leach, Vignoles & Brown, 2012). This is a result of most previous studies being conducted within a Western context where cultures devalue shame and see it as a totally negative emotion which should be avoided. Conversely, Eastern cultures are shame-affirming cultures and often see shame as a motivation for improvement. These different attitudes towards shame and different behavioral tendencies have recently been discussed in the shame literature (Skeikh, 2014). However, Sheikh (2014) provides only a conceptual idea of the shame response of restorative tendency, while lacking support from empirical evidence. This gap is important, yet poorly studied by researchers. To bridge the gap, this research aims to examine shame and its response of restorative tendency by providing qualitative evidence with linguistic examples of a shame restorative tendency. Further, though existing studies pay significant attention to the role of shame in regulating one’s behavior, most consider it in terms of the negativity of withdrawal and externalizing tendencies (Cohen, Wolf, Panter & Insko, 2011; Tangney, et al., 1992; Tangney & Dearing, 2002). Few recent studies focus on shame’s restorative role in regulating behavior (Tangney, Stuewig & Martinez, 2014). Additionally, most of these studies limit their focus within fields such as psychology (Scheff, 2014) and sociology (Gilbert, 2003). Research on the impact of shame in the consumption field is scarce. Therefore, following recent discussion on shame restorative tendency, and aiming to supplement existing knowledge on shame in consumption behavior, this research adapts self-affirmation theory and self-regulation theory in investigating the influence of shame in the context of status consumption. The research employs a mixed method using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Incorporating a linguistic corpus analysis, the qualitative approach allows the investigation of the concept of shame and its causes and responses with Chinese and English corpus. Linguistic evidence supports the mainstream view of shame (Tangney, Miller, Flicker & Barlow, 1996; Tangney & Dearing, 2002) where self-attack is a cause of shame, and withdrawal and externalizing behaviors are responses to shame. More importantly, it confirms the alternative response to shame with restorative tendency raised in recent discussions (Gausel, et al., 2012; Sheikh, 2014), and provides substantial examples of restorative behaviors. Following this, a paper-based survey questionnaire distributed to Chinese consumers (n=210), aims to test the impact of shame on the consumption field with its response of restorative tendency. Stepwise hierarchical regression results highlight the influence of shame on consumer status consumption. It shows that consumers with high shame proneness are more likely to participate in status consumption, but only under the condition of a high independent construal of the self. To further examine the linkage between shame and status consumption, we then conduct three experimental studies. Study 1 (n=106) aims to investigate the impact of feeling shame on status consumption. Results suggest that the group with aroused feelings of shame demonstrates a higher intention to purchase status products. Study 2 (n=114) aims to test whether shame impacts consumer’s preferences for conspicuousness when both products are considered as status products. Results in this study found that consumers with primed shame feelings show a higher preference for status products with high conspicuousness, i.e., loud products. Study 3 (n=125) explores the moderating effect on shame and status consumption due to the relationships between consumers and those who accompany them, i.e., psychological proximity to others. Results suggest that when a consumer is accompanied by someone with whom they have a close relationship, the consumer’s feelings of shame are more likely to transfer into status consumption since they place high importance on those significant others with whom they share psychological proximity, rather than those with whom they have distant relationships. This research extends the existing literature by testing the influence of shame on status consumption with its restorative tendency. The corpus analysis helps to advance our understanding of shame responses and confirm a restorative tendency as an alternative response to shame, rather than merely the withdrawal or externalizing tendencies drawn from Western literature. This research fills this gap by providing linguistic evidence of restorative actions as a shame response, and provides the preconditions for testing the impact of shame on status consumption in the quantitative approach which follows. Most importantly, the quantitative part of this research adds to the existing consumption literature with status consumption as a restorative tendency responding to shame. By applying self-affirmation theory and self-regulation theory to build the conceptual model, this research also broadens the theorist’s discernment of shame on status consumption by explaining the mechanism of shame with response restorative tendency, which then leads to status consumption. Further, findings from extended studies on the impact of shame on status consumption with conspicuousness and psychological proximity offer insights for advertising agencies or marketing organizations demonstrating the practical implications of shame appeals.

This thesis applies modularity theory to services using the case of mobile payment systems. We compare three mobile payment projects—Oi Paggo in Brazil, TCASH in Indonesia, and M-PESA in Kenya—as case studies. The study of modularity is influenced by literature from the field of production and manufacturing sciences and the present work modifies and extends the theory. It also demonstrates the potential of modularity theory in managing complexity, increasing flexibility, and achieving efficiency in the service context. Modularity is a principle that shows how a system can be designed with subsystems while reducing complex interdependencies via standardised interfaces in order to retain efficiency. Modularity offers greater flexibility through recombination and efficiency through economies of scale from reusability. We sought to find how a service provision can be dissolved into coarse-grained service modules that minimise interdependencies and make the whole system more comprehensible. We argue that, first, the application of modular thinking in services will be likely affected by three key attributes which differentiate services from products: customer involvement, intertwined elements in the final service offerings, and modular packages that incorporate technical and human attributes. These analytical approaches are likely to be valid in those industries that are particularly technology-intensive and incorporate network effects. Second, contrary to what has been proposed by literature on product modularity, we find empirical evidence in the case of mobile payments that transactions between participants such as customers and regulators were mainly conducted at thick crossing points. This thesis contributes to the emerging literature on modularity in services. First, we test and validate the theory of modularity in services using the case of mobile payment services. Second, we propose a redefinition of modularity in services that emphasises the peculiar characteristics of service provision. Finally, we propose an indicative proposition for service modularity that can be used to help better develop modular services. This thesis also contributes to literature on mobile payments. We posit that technology-intensive services such as mobile payments should be developed and managed in such a modular way. Not only is it associated with flexibility and agility, modular thinking in services allows companies to maximise compatibility in fulfilling customers’ needs as well as complying with regulators.

Small firms have been highlighted by the UK government as potential graduate employers, in the context of an expanding higher education system and slow growth in 'traditional' graduate jobs. But it is unclear whether graduates working in small firms would have similar opportunities to use their knowledge and skills and develop their careers as would graduates working in large companies. This thesis investigated this issue using a mixed-methods approach informed by small business and career theories. A targeted statistical analysis of a national longitudinal dataset of UK graduates currently in their early careers (Futuretrack) was followed up with interviews with a strategically selected sub-sample of 20 graduates employed in business and public service associate professional occupations. Little association was found between employer size and graduates' use of the knowledge and skills developed during their university degrees. However, some evidence suggested that the ways in which graduates were taking on additional responsibilities differed by employer size: larger companies were more likely to have formal career development programs in place and graduates were able to take opportunities, while small companies tended to have less formal arrangements, so that graduates had to be more self-reliant and make opportunities to develop their jobs. However, graduates in small businesses tended to reach a career plateau relatively quickly, which compelled them to change employers. Most of these graduates, however, thought that their experience in small businesses had helped them go on to get better jobs. The main contribution of this thesis is the finding that, even in a narrowly defined occupation and industry group, business size has a partial and qualified effect on graduates' experience of work and career development. The findings also have significant implications for policy, recommending that graduates' career development opportunities be taken into account when encouraging graduates to work in small firms.

The emergence of Relationship Marketing around 40 years ago has led to an improvement in our understanding and management of business relationships through the study of relationship constructs such as loyalty. Researchers have also found a number of different bonds in business relationships. One of these is social bonds which develop between individuals and can impact positively on long-term client relationships at an organisational level. However social bonds have suffered from a lack of clarity in definition, identification and measurement. Scale development has been limited as most researchers view the social bond as a unidimensional construct and fail to provide solid theoretical support for their scale. There is a need to define the concept and build a multidimensional scale of social bonds using a comprehensive theoretical framework. Researchers such as Barnes (1994) suggest that marketers can learn from social psychologists who have studied relationships extensively. Indeed social-psychology theories such as social exchange theory have been widely used in relationship marketing studies. Attachment theory is relatively new to business relationships, having emerged from the study of child-parent relationships but has been applied more recently to explain customer attachment. Another promising theory is Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love (1986) which can be used to identify potential bonds based on liking. This study uses attachment and liking theories as the theoretical framework for developing a social bond scale in the context of clients’ business relationships with professional service providers. These relationships have been substantially under-researched and provide a relevant context for the research due to the benefits of strong interpersonal bonds in a pure service environment like professional services. A multi-method research design was adopted consisting of qualitative in-depth interviews with professional service providers and a questionnaire survey of senior decision makers in the hotel industry. The study’s contributions include a greater understanding of social bonds, attachment and liking in business relationships. The research found two distinct social bonds thereby confirming that the construct is multidimensional. A number of demographic and contextual variables were found to have an impact on social bond strength. These findings have led to guidelines on managing client relationships for professional service providers and organisations.

E-commerce is becoming increasingly attractive to businesses. Compared to the US and Europe, E-commerce remains in an embryonic state in China. E-commerce in China is forecast to grow more than two-fold during the next two years, according to government estimates. China has been rapidly building up its IT and telecommunications infrastructure for e-commerce applications. The potential of ecommerce to bring new markets to Chinese companies, improve market information and transparency of pricing, and enhance distribution of goods and services is widely acknowledged. E-commerce has become a hot topic of discussion and investigation among business and marketing researchers. However, most of literature is dominated by empirical studies in the developed countries of European and US. Less attention has been given to the developing countries in the Far East, especially in China. The literature has generally proposed that the culture and trust issue are likely to be important factors affecting the development of e-commerce. This study aims to study this proposition in the context of Chinese culture with a view to filling a gap in the e-commerce literature. To achieve the objectives of this study, questionnaire survey will be the main research method for quantitative approach and it had been widely used in social science and business research. An online questionnaire was published on the online survey website and distributed to several online stores web site, newsgroups, and online forums. The study also proposes a conceptual framework of factors affecting Internet users' purchase intention in Great China Region, including online trust, security issues, cultural influence, and perception of risk. Using actual data, researchers can empirically test relationships among the factors within this framework and identify possible future research areas for each factor. The quantitative questionnaire survey was conducted and results indicated that online trust and security issues will impact significantly on the customer behaviour and encouraging other Internet users to use e-commerce in G.C.R. Interestingly, even though the perception of risk is high, consumers may decide to take part in ecommerce. The study reveals that Internet users tend to make a proactive effort to adopt e-commerce and similar results were obtained across three regions.

Niche tourism refers to how a specific tourism product can be tailored to meet the needs of a particular audience/market segment. Locations with specific niche products are able to establish and position themselves, as niche tourism destinations. Niche tourism, through image creation, helps destinations to differentiate their tourism products and compete in an increasingly competitive and cluttered tourism environment. Academic literature has paid little attention to the role and positioning of niche tourism products. Through the use of the niche tourism life cycle it is clear that niche products will have different impacts, marketing challenges and contributions to destination development as they progress through it. This critical appraisal presents an important reflection on my research in this area. The core of the critical appraisal is the eight published journal articles; two book chapters and three fully refereed conference papers upon which it is based but it also derives from the broader perspective of my research over the last ten years. The research context is set, with niche tourism products and destination development introduced, developed and seen in the perspective of the authors work in this field of tourism enquiry. The pragmatist research paradigm that has guided the publications is introduced and the adoption of mixed methods to produce results that are practical, relevant and progress both tourism business theory and practices, is discussed. The research methodologies and methods used are analysed against current developments in tourism research. My contribution to academic knowledge and understanding within this area is summarised within the three key themes of niche tourism product development; niche tourist profiling and destination development through niche tourism. To illustrate this, my research has focused primarily on two significant niche tourism products: wine and festivals and events. The benefits of this work to the academic community are the presentation of insights into niche tourism consumers, and an understanding of the challenges destinations face along the niche tourism life cycle. Finally, the practical benefits of this work to industry include a greater understanding of niche tourist behaviour to better aid them in positioning and targeting their products. It concludes with an identification of the limitations of this body of work and proposes areas for future research.

With China’s deeper and wider integration into the world economy, Chinese small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) have to face the global not just domestic competition. In 2016, the turnover of foreign trade of SMEs occupied over 60% of the China’s total volume of imports and exports. Thus, it is important to find out how SMEs may enhance their competitiveness in the world market especially how they can internationalise in their early entry stage. Two internationalisation models have been widely used by those firms engaging in international business, which are traditional stage model and born global model. The traditional stage mode considers internationalisation as a gradual process. In contrast, firms adopting born global mode are the small, technology-oriented companies that operate in international markets from the earliest days of their establishment. They are business organisation that, from inception, seeking to derive significant competitive advantage from the use of resources and the sale of outputs in multiple countries. Unlike traditional stage model, internal factors as entrepreneurship, innovation and network play more important roles in firm’s internationalisation process. In many developed countries, born global model is a better strategic choice for SMEs, which pursue international development nowadays. This research conducts a series of quantitative analyses. First, a unique panel dataset: China Industry Business Performance Database covering the period of 2003 and 2014 is used to examine whether there is difference in performance between born global firms and firms adopting the traditional stage. Second, the impact of the role influential factors inducing firms to follow the born global path on the selected SMEs are investigated. Logit panel regressions are performed for this purpose. Finally, using the primary data collected through questionnaires and a Structural Model Equation model analysis, the role of entrepreneurship played in the performance of Born Global firms are examined. The main findings of this research generally support the hypotheses derived from our theoretical framework. It shows positive a positive relationship between born global mode and firm’s performance. And the choice to be a born global firm is affected by the location and R&D investment but not its size. In addition, it also indicates that the entrepreneurs in born global firms are aware that international knowledge is significantly related to firm’s performance. The study contributes in offering new insights into the internationalisation of Chinese SMEs by investigating the difference in firm performance between two internationalisation models and influential factors of born global firms in the context of China in particular.

The Uppsala Process Theory of Internationalization (PTI) and the International New Venture Theory of Internationalization (INV) are two of the most influential and well researched behavioural theories of internationalization to have emerged from the internationalization literature stream. They offer alternative descriptions of the path that enterprises take to internationalization and have both led to streams of literature focusing on different aspects of the internationalization process. Both models explain how an enterprise moves from an initial ‘low’ domestic starting point and progresses to become an international enterprise. The two models both explain the behaviours and attributes that are necessary in order to successfully develop along their respective predicted international trajectories. These behaviours and attributes highlighted within each model are said to be highly influential in helping to overcome and/or mitigate the barriers on the predicted trajectory to internationalization. However, the impact that these behaviours/attributes have on the perception of barriers to export has rarely been tested directly. This research is designed to investigate the relationship between experiential knowledge (a fundamental concept within the PTI model) and entrepreneurial input (a fundamental concept within the INV theory), on the perception of a range of selected barriers to manufacturing export, from the Chinese province of Ningxia. This research developed a conceptual framework and testable models based on experiential knowledge and entrepreneurial input. It then identified a selection of barriers to manufacturing export from the Chinese province of Ningxia. These were selected from the export barrier literature stream. This research took a positivist view and quantitative data was obtained from the use of structured self-administered questionnaires administered through judgement sampling techniques at business seminars and consultancy sessions. A total of ninety-eight valid responses were used for quantitative analysis. Correlation and regression techniques were used to analyse the data and new combined models from the experiential knowledge and entrepreneurial input model variables were developed using Stepwise Regression. The study found, in the majority of cases, that as the individual experiential knowledge and entrepreneurial input model variables increased, the perception of difficulty of the individual selected barriers to export decreased. The experiential knowledge model could best explain the reduction in the perception of twelve of the barriers to export, whereas the entrepreneurial input model could best explain the reduction in the perception of six different barriers. Of the eighteen selected barriers to export, the constructed combined models better explained the reduction in the perception of the individual barriers to export in thirteen cases. Other findings of this research include; the ‘export intensity’ variable best explained the reduction in the perception of nine of the eighteen barriers to export; the ‘attitude to risk’ variable best explained the reduction in the perception of four barriers; the ‘years of international involvement’ best explained the reduction in the perception of two barriers, and finally the ‘level of education of the decision maker’ variable best explained the reduction in the perception of two barriers, which included the ‘identification of new markets’ and ‘overcoming unfamiliar documents and procedures’ barriers. The research ends with a discussion of SME development policy in the light of the research findings.

Turkey has undergone large-scale transformations over the past 30 years, changing it from a Kemalist Republic to a country ruled by a moderately Islamic party – the Justice and Development Party (AKP). I study how Islamic business associations (BAs) have gained political influence over dominant secular BAs in Turkey – a key process of these transformations. Existing literature treats voluntary BAs either as purely economic institutions, or focuses on political elites’ strategic policy and power interests in explaining BAs’ political influence. There is inadequate guidance on when BAs turn into political actors, and how they engage in mobilisation and broader intra-state power struggles. Especially the role of ideology and religion has been neglected, which is relevant for several transition countries’ business politics. This inadequacy can be addressed by developing a social movement framework. Following a grounded theory approach, I conducted a comparative analysis of secular and Islamic BAs’ networks structures (1993–2012), collective action frames, organisational structures and patterns of resource-exchange across changing institutional contexts. Findings are based on 51 semi-structured interviews in Gaziantep’s textile cluster in Turkey and additional archival material. I argue that Islamic BAs gained political influence because they applied typical social movement tactics that are adapted to the cultural and political environment. Conditions of politico-religious contention combined with gradual economic liberalisation have encouraged marginalised businesspeople to apply Islam in a non-contentious and market-based way. By integrating with civil society at the grassroots level, and gaining the support of political elites, Islamic BAs have complemented economic activities with resonant framing. These tactics grounded in Islam have increased Islamic BAs political influence by creating a new pious and legitimate business elite. These findings contribute to the literature by extending the types of institutional incentives, tactics and actors that businesspeople rely on to engage in contentious politics to include ideological factors.