The growth in the global tourism market place presents many countries with great opportunities to capitalize on their natural competitive advantages. However, achieving the economic potential of global tourism remains elusive for many countries despite their natural advantages. In this context, Portugal is a case in point. The Portuguese tourism industry is facing some serious challenges that are limiting its potential. This study utilizes the shift-share technique in order to offer Portuguese policy-makers systematic and practical insights into the characteristics of the Portuguese tourism industry in the context of the challenges and opportunities of the global tourism market place. Understanding the dynamics and characteristics of the Portuguese tourism industry in a comparative context is a crucial first step toward formulating a strategy aimed at improving Portuguese competitive standing in the growing tourism market.

This study investigates the effect of customer satisfaction with leisure services on tourists' positive word-of-mouth and revisit intentions. The study is carried out within the context of visitors to the SantaPark in Rovaniemi, Finland. In this study, customer satisfaction is measured via a multi-attribute approach. Study results and their implications are discussed.

A model of bank choice behavior for small and medium-sized firms in the construction industry is developed and tested. The results suggest that bank choice behavior of homebuilders can be represented as a global construct with three viable components: search, credence and experience. The model allows for a comprehensive examination of the relationships between commercial banks and homebuilders. Implications for bank managers are discussed.

The utilization of financial and non-financial measures in the evaluation of manufacturing organizations' performance is studied for a sample of 79 Portuguese financial analysts. Cluster analysis and multiple regression analysis are used to study the extent of use, importance and availability of information for 63 financial and non- financial measures. The results derived from this study point to the increasing importance of non- financial measures in the evaluation of manufacturing performance. Organizational and managerial implications of the findings are discussed, and a framework for future research is presented.

Competitive pressures in the global manufacturing environment are forcing manufacturing organizations to re-engineer in order to become more competitive in the marketplace. Toward that end, management of these organizations is paying closer attention to the changing nature of manufacturing performance, and the systems, processes and measures used in its evaluation. Examines the literature concerned with issues related to the different facets of manufacturing organizational performance. Reviews and classifies articles published in relevant journals between 1988 and 2000. Based on this extensive literature review, identifies and discusses several issues relevant to both practice and theory of manufacturing performance measurement. Concludes by presenting a conceptual framework outlining the evolution of manufacturing performance measures and measurement in an organizational context.

Investigates several facets of the implementation of just-in-time (JIT) using a two-tiered empirical approach that included a field study and a mailed survey. The 277 respondents to the survey included 130 manufacturing organizations, 61 service organizations and 86 public sector organizations in the USA. Five hypotheses were tested. The results indicate that while all the organization types had enacted procedural and operational modifications in support of their JIT implementations, there were some differences in the impact that these modifications had in reducing problems during the implementation and on the eventual outcome of the project. Suggests areas where benchmarking can be utilized by the various organization types to alleviate potential problems in the JIT implementation process and to improve their chances of success.

The new realities of the healthcare marketplace are forcing healthcare decision makers to implement innovative operational philosophies, techniques, and tools that were proven in other industries to enhance the effectiveness of their organization. This study examines the acceptance and effectiveness of these philosophies, techniques, and tools in a hospital operational setting. The impact of implementation on operational and strategic outcomes is examined for 108 hospitals. Overall, the results of this study appear to indicate that certain quality improvement philosophies, techniques, and tools have been successful when applied in a hospital operational setting.

The objective of this empirical investigation is to gain insights into the operational strategies, practices and characteristics of 130 manufacturing, 61 services and 86 public sector organizations. Based on this survey-based research conducted in the USA, it is concluded that operational lessons learned from the manufacturing experience may improve the operations of service and public sector organizations. In this context, benchmarking manufacturing organizations' operational know-how may prove to be a worthy investment for service and public sector organizations.

Offers a rare insight into the dynamics, realities and potential of the Iranian business community. Uses a sample of 40 Iranian executives to empirically study the impact of the economic constraints and the values of executives on the performance of Iranian business organisations. Emphasizes the implications of this study to Iranian business organisations and their current and potential trading partners during this period of proposed economic change in Iran.

To enhance their organizational performance, banks can benefit from the experiences of manufacturing firms and gainfully employ quality and process improvement philosophies with proven track records in manufacturing industries. This article presents a framework, which integrates root cause analysis with benchmarking, process reengineering and continuous improvement. A case study is employed to illustrate the application of the framework and to demonstrate how it can benefit a bank in lowering costs, enhancing productivity, responding to customer demands, reducing complaints and improving customer satisfaction.