This study examines the effect of culture on imagery generation and ad attitudes. Although research suggests that concrete stimuli generate more images than abstract stimuli, our study shows that this finding is not universal across cultures. Chinese generate more imagery than Americans when encountering abstract stimuli because Chinese tend to think concretely. Moreover, Chinese and Americans have different attitudes toward different stimuli. While Chinese prefer concrete stimuli to abstract stimuli, Americans have the same attitudes toward concrete and abstract stimuli.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a systematic approach to measuring, tracking, monitoring and continuously improving efficiency, availability and quality in healthcare operational settings. Design/methodology/approach – The proposed measure of healthcare operational effectiveness (HOE) consists of three indicators. They include an availability indicator, an quality indicator, and an efficiency indicator. The proposed approach tends to facilitate the systematic improvement at the different facets of operational effectiveness. Findings – The proposed operational performance approach based on the HOE is consistent with the themes of performance measures and measurement reported in the literature. Research limitations/implications – The proposed healthcare operational effectiveness approach represents a serious attempt at quantifying the key facets of service effectiveness in healthcare operational settings. The validation of this performance assessment and measurement approach is worthy of future research. Practical implications – The approach advocated by the HOE has operational and strategic relevance to decision makers of healthcare organizations. Originality/value – This paper presents a practical, systematic approach toward enhancing operational effectiveness in healthcare organizations. Relevant implementation issues associated with the proposed approach are also addressed.

In this study, we attempted to separate the effects of culture and language on imagery generation. By asking subjects from China, Singapore and the US to read Chinese and/or English messages, we found that culture, as opposed to language of the message, drives Chinese people's imagery-generation capabilities. Indeed, people from mainland China generated more images than both Singaporean Chinese people and Americans, even when tested in English. This is because their dominant way of thinking is concrete. Bilingual Singaporean Chinese subjects generated the same number of images when exposed to English and Chinese stimuli because they are equally adept at abstract and concrete thinking. However, their imagery-generation ability could be manipulated by priming abstract or concrete thinking.

This study expands upon previous research on the antecedents (job demands and job resources) and outcomes of frontline employee burnout, and examines the role of customer orientation (CO) in the burnout process. Using data from frontline bank employees in New Zealand, we investigate both the direct relationships of CO to burnout and job outcomes (job performance and turnover intentions) and the buffering role of CO concerning the relationships between job demands, burnout, and job outcomes. The study results show that burnout mediates the effects of job demands and job resources on job performance and turnover intentions. Besides being directly related to burnout and job performance, CO also buffers the dysfunctional effects of job demands on burnout and job outcomes. Implications of the results are discussed and future research avenues are offered.

Purpose: By using mall patronage behavior as its context, this study aims to develop and test a patronage model consisting of three dimensions. Design/methodology/approach: Data for the study are collected through self-administered questionnaires from residents in an MSA in the USA. Usable responses are obtained from 319 residents. Findings: Results suggest that mall patronage behavior can be represented as a global construct with three viable components (utilitarian, hedonic and accessibility). Research limitations/implications: The study is limited to a particular sample. Replications among other samples in the study locale and elsewhere are needed to validate the current findings. Practical implications: The results enable management to look at shoppers' patronage behaviors at three levels. At the individual attribute level (first level of abstraction), management may identify areas that need special attention. At the second level of abstraction (the latent construct), choice attributes can be combined into reliable and valid composite scores across dimensions and can reveal information that is not readily available by the individual attributes. At the third and highest level of abstraction, the one second-order factor with three first-order factors as its reflective indicators provides management with a single metric for comparing a mall with its competitors or other malls owned by the corporation. Originality/value: The model tested here explicitly recognizes accessibility as a distinct patronage dimension and expands the domain of inquiry beyond the initial attribute level to the first-order and the second-order composite levels.

In an increasingly technology-based competitive global business environment, the operational and competitive strategic potentials of advanced manufacturing technologies (AMT) and related systems cannot be overlooked. This article presents the results of an investigation of AMT implementation practices at 82 discrete-parts durable goods manufacturing plants in the USA. Several propositions that were derived from the AMT literature are tested. The results of this investigation indicate that plants that are desirous of adopting integrated technologies should be prepared to exert considerable effort on the activities in the pre-planning and justification stages of the implementation process. These and other findings that will be particularly useful to firms in the pre-planning stages of technology adoption are outlined and discussed. Research implications of this study are also presented and discussed.

Theories of efficiency wage and human capital formation suggest that both should have a significant influence on employee turnover in offshore manufacturing sites. This influence is explored and examined empirically with a stratified, random sample of northern Mexican maquilas - the historical choice for offshoring in that country and one of the world's earliest and most enduring offshore manufacturing sites. Statistical tests reveal the strong influence on production-level turnover of direct wages and human capital formation when the latter variable is measured in terms of "maquiladora generations". The distinctive human resource practices of the maquiladora generations are then presented and discussed.

This article presents a conceptual benchmarking framework which applies a multiple criteria approach to assess performance. In the process, a multiple criteria procedure is used to assess the performance of three hundred and ninety two (392) Portuguese firms. Based on the results of this procedure, a conceptual framework is devised to facilitate addressing relevant benchmarking implications. The framework is designed to provide a conceptual linkage between the performance measurement methodology and the organizational benchmarking system.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the Portuguese public sector organizations' familiarity with, and willingness to utilize, project management tools, as these organizations attempt to enhance their operational performance through carefully crafted organizational change. Design/methodology/approach – Using a sample of 102 public officials, 30 project managers' characteristics, 23 project management variables, and information availability on these variables are studied and classified. Findings – In general, the results clearly showed the familiarity of the participants with the important characteristics and variables of effective project management practices. Some exceptions were attributed to the specific nature of public sector operational systems. Research limitations/implications – The sample used in this study is specific in nature. It consisted of Portuguese public sector officials at the middle-level rank in the managerial hierarchy. Thus, the results should be interpreted accordingly. Practical implications – Based on the results of this study, some important organizational implications regarding training and systems development were advanced. Originality/value – This study empirically examines the public sector officials' knowledge and attitude regarding project management practices. It offers significant implications to public sector organizations, as they pursue a more open system operational orientation to meet growing environmental pressures and citizens' demands.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine the extent of congruence between service providers’ perceptions of customer satisfaction and customer-reported satisfaction in the context of optometric services. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected via mail surveys from a sample of German optometrists and their customers. Usable responses were obtained from 388 optometrists and 2,237 customers. Findings – Results show that the underlying configurations of satisfaction attributes decompose into eight factors in the case of optometrists and five factors in the case of customers. The extent of congruence between the two groups is weak. Research limitations/implications – Replications among other optometrist and customer samples are needed to validate the current findings. Also to gain more pointed insights into the similarities and disparities between service providers’ perceptions of their customers’ satisfaction and customer-reported satisfaction, extension of research to other service sectors would be fruitful. Practical implications – The overall inconsistencies between the optometrists and customers underscore the need for accurate assessment of customer perceptions for business success. For stronger business performance, service providers should be trained to look at satisfaction from the perspective of customers by using customers’ definitions. Originality/value – The study used a dyadic approach in collecting the data. The factor congruency technique was employed to determine the extent of similarities and disparities between the two groups. A general lack of customer knowledge has implications for service providers.