scholarly journals Complex service offerings : a theoretical exposition and empirical investigation

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Stephen Andrew Hampton
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Research ◽  
Role Ambiguity ◽  
Empirical Investigation ◽  
Service Coordinators ◽  
Service Offering ◽  
Fruitful Research

It is generally acknowledged that not all services are alike, still little has been done to distinguish between service offerings of different varieties. While some service offerings are simple and others complex, how they differ is not yet understood. This dissertation addresses what distinguishes complex services from simpler services, why an inquiry into complex services is needed, and how a knowledge of complex services can inform research. In order to address these questions a new organizing framework for categorizing services is developed. This framework helps to make sense of service offering heterogeneity. A description of the service offering types belonging to the framework is presented to illustrate why inquiry into complex services is needed. In order to demonstrate how complex services may be used in empirical research, a model and hypotheses is built to test complex service contexts' potential as a new domain of fruitful research. This study found that customers' perceptions of role ambiguity are potentially negatively impacted by service complexity. This research also demonstrates that customers' perceptions of role ambiguity is affected both by the breadth and depth of participation by service coordinators, a role unique to complex service contexts.

G. M. Farooq and G. B. Simmons (eels.). Fertility in Developing Countries. London: The MacMillan Press (for the International Labour Office). 1985. xXiii + 533 pp.

1987 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-120
Author(s):  
Ansley Coale
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Research ◽  
Time Series Data ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Series Data ◽  
Major Theme ◽  
Research Strategies ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Simulation Techniques ◽  
Methodological Problems ◽  
Fruitful Research

In 1972 the United Nations Fund for Population Activities initiated support for a programme of research within the International Labour Organization on population and employment. Determinants of fertility have been a major theme in this research programme, as is evident in an earlier Progress Report on the programme [3]. The book here reviewed is an attempt to distil some general conclusions from this research, and to present ideas and evidence not included in the 1982 publication. The first section of the book contains a summary of theories of fertility determination; a brief description of the findings of empirical research on fertility, and of the problems of empirical research on the economics of fertility; some comments on the relevance for policy of research on the economics of fertility; and some suggestions for more fruitful research strategies. The second part deals with selected methodological problems: the definition and measurement of fertility; econometric problems of analysing cross-sectional and time-series data; estimation and interpretation of aggregate data; specification and estimation of models fertility; and the uses of simulation techniques in studying the effects of economic policy on fertility. As this list of topics indicates, the emphasis in this section (and in most of the book) is on research on fertility by economists. The last chapter in the second section, however, describes anthropological approaches to the study of fertility. The final section contains six case studies on Kenya, Nigeria, rural India, rural Turkey, Yugoslavia, and a comparative study of Costa Rica and Mexico.

Manpower Shortage and the End of Colonialism The Case of the Indian Civil Service

1973 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C. Potter
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Research ◽  
Empirical Investigation ◽  
Problem Area ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Specific Form ◽  
World War ◽  
General Proposition ◽  
Second World ◽  
Acceptable Theory ◽  
Manpower Shortage

Why did European countries abandon colonies after the Second World War? No acceptable theory exists to help us with this question—theory neither in the sense of conceptualizations which ‘map out the problem area and thus prepare the ground for its empirical investigation’, nor in the sense of a set of interconnected hypotheses about the specific reality of the end of colonialism which can be validated or refuted by empirical research. Lenin's classic work on imperialism develops powerful theoretical insights regarding the establishment, growth and nature of imperialism, but it does not refer directly to the end of the specific form of imperialism which concerns us here, namely colonialism, although one may infer from Lenin's work the very general proposition that imperialism disappears when capitalism is replaced by socialism. Imperialism as a consequence of capitalism is still with us today, yet colonies have been abandoned. Lenin's theory is not refuted, but at the same time it does not help us directly with an explanation for the end of colonialism.

Practical and Empirical Knowledge of Photoillustration: What is and is Not Known

1983 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 259-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annette N. Bradford ◽  
David B. Bradford
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Research ◽  
Aesthetic Judgment ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
Traditional Art ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Text Production ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Fruitful Research ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

Little empirical research has been conducted concerning the relationship of photographs to text in photoillustration. Knowledge of photoillustration has remained the informal folklore of layout artists and photographers for several reasons: the unquantifiable nature of aesthetic judgment; the differences between principles of photography and of traditional art forms; and advances in both camera and press technology. As a result of these factors, tradition, not empirical research, has dominated practice. But traditional layout principles which have been the subject of empirical testing have received both denial and reinforcement in such areas as the effectiveness of photoillustration, color versus black-and-white, placement of photographs, and the photograph and traditional layout principles. More research is needed into this vital aspect of text production; fruitful research directions are suggested and the synthesis of the knowledge of both the practitioner and the researcher advocated.

Drunken mobilities: Backpackers, alcohol, ‘doing place’

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 211-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Jayne ◽  
Chris Gibson ◽  
Gordon Waitt ◽  
Gill Valentine
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Research ◽  
Alcohol Drinking ◽  
Time And Being ◽  
Fruitful Research

This article seeks to advance the understanding of the role of alcohol, drinking and drunkenness as an important, if under-researched, element of tourism. In so doing, we work at the intersection of three bodies of writing focused on mundane mobilities; performativities of tourism and geographies of alcohol, drinking and drunkenness. Drawing on empirical research undertaken in Australia, we highlight how alcohol, drinking and drunkenness are key to backpacking holidays: first, to help soften a number of (un)comfortable embodied and emotional materialities associated with budget travel; second, as an aid to spatial and temporal imperatives of ‘passing the time’ and ‘being able to do nothing’ and finally, to heighten senses of belonging with fellow travellers and ‘locals’. Crucial is participation in specific experiential practices and performativities that are fundamental to practices of ‘doing place’. Alcohol, drinking and drunkenness are key to unpacking backpacking and offer potentially fruitful research avenues for broader theoretical and empirical debates in tourist studies.

Prayer and Health: Conceptual Issues, Research Review, and Research Agenda

1995 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael E. Mccullough
Keyword(s):  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Empirical Investigation ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Research Review ◽  
The Relationship

The theoretical and empirical literature on the relationship between prayer and health is critically reviewed. Although empirical research partially confirms that prayer promotes a variety of health outcomes, the empirical literature is characterized by weak methodologies that may contribute to the inconsistency of some findings. Recommendations are made for improving the quality of prayer and health research. An agenda for further empirical investigation of the relationship between prayer and health is proposed.

scholarly journals How to Study Well-Being: A Proposal for the Integration of Philosophy With Science

2021 ◽  
pp. 108926802110024
Author(s):  
Michael Prinzing
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Research ◽  
Iterative Process ◽  
Empirical Investigation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Philosophical Approach ◽  
Vital Importance ◽  
Rigorous Theory ◽  
Conceptual Engineering ◽  
The Right

There are presently two approaches to the study of well-being. Philosophers typically focus on normative theorizing, attempting to identify the things that are ultimately good for a person, while largely ignoring empirical research. The idea is that empirical attention cannot be directed to the right place without a rigorous theory. Meanwhile, social scientists typically focus on empirical research, attempting to identify the causes and consequences of well-being, while largely ignoring normative theorizing. The idea is that conceptual and theoretical clarity will come with time and more data. This article argues that neither is a good approach to the study of well-being. The traditional philosophical approach underappreciates the vital importance of empirical investigation, whereas the atheoretical empirical approach underappreciates the vital importance of normative theorizing. The proposed solution is to bring these methods together. Well-being research should be interdisciplinary. The article proposes a “conceptual engineering” approach as a novel alternative. This approach involves an iterative process of normative theorizing, empirical investigation, and conceptual revision, with the aim of articulating concepts and theories of well-being that optimally suit particular interests and purposes.

scholarly journals ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENSIONS OF STUDENTS: A CASE OF SLOVAKIA

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Research ◽  
Transition Economies ◽  
Empirical Investigation ◽  
Family Background ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
Entrepreneurial Intentions ◽  
European Research ◽  
Empirical Survey ◽  
Wallis Anova

Despite attention being paid to entrepreneurial intensions in the literature, little empirical research has been conducted on developing the link between personal characteristics, ed-ucation and exposure in transition economies, and moreover, only a few empirical studies have in-vestigated this issue in Slovakia. The conducted empirical survey examines entrepreneurial inten-sions of students in Slovakia. The empirical findings are based on 235 responses from students. To evaluate the entrepreneurial intensions the questionnaire of own construction drawing heavily from already used questionnaires was used. The authors have used Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA as an evalua-tion method. Based on the results it can be concluded the entrepreneurial intensions are determined by gender and family background. Higher levels of entrepreneurial intentions are confirmed among males and among students from entrepreneurial families. This study contributes to the European research that studies the entrepreneurial intensions by means of an empirical investigation in a tran-sition economy such as Slovakia.

scholarly journals Activity-Based Costing In Small Manufacturing Firms: South African Study

2013 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 485 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosebud Rundora ◽  
Toekie Ziemerink ◽  
Merwe Oberholzer
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Empirical Investigation ◽  
Manufacturing Firms ◽  
Activity Based Costing ◽  
African Study ◽  
South African Study ◽  
Traditional Costing

This is an empirical investigation by means of a survey of the experiences and perceptions of activity-based costing (ABC), as an alternative to traditional costing, in small manufacturing firms in the Southern Gauteng region of South Africa. The objectives of the study were to determine the: Extent to which ABC is adopted; Perceptions of the benefits and the barriers of ABC; Experiences regarding the practice of ABC; and Reasons why firms do not adopt ABC. An analysis of 48 questionnaires indicated that 16 firms implemented ABC whilst 32 did not adopt this approach. The study firstly found that the ABC users have been in business significantly longer than the non-users, ABC users firms are significantly larger than the non-users firms, there are some significant differences in the perceptions between the users and non-users regarding the benefits and the barriers of implementing ABC, that the ABC users are to a great extent neutral in respect of the practical issues of ABC and finally, that the non-users of ABC are of the opinion that ABC is too expensive to implement. The contribution of this study is that it fills the gap regarding to the lack of empirical research of ABC in small manufacturing firms and especially the lack of empirical research on ABC in South African firms.

A Discussion on Indian Consumers' Hedonic and Non-Hedonic Values

2016 ◽  
pp. 246-255
Author(s):  
Manit Mishra
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Empirical Investigation ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
Consumer Value ◽  
Indian Consumers ◽  
Conceptual Paper ◽  
New Research

The present study aims at attaining a better understanding of the hedonic consumer value of materialism and non-hedonic values of happiness, life-satisfaction and religiosity. As a conceptual paper, the study refers to literature and prior empirical research with the objective of linking a significant body of literature on these apparently diverse constructs into a unifying theoretical framework. The study offers new research directions in the form of propositions for further empirical investigation.

scholarly journals How to study well-being: A proposal for the integration of philosophy with science

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Prinzing
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Research ◽  
Iterative Process ◽  
Empirical Investigation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Philosophical Approach ◽  
Vital Importance ◽  
Rigorous Theory ◽  
Conceptual Engineering ◽  
The Right

There are presently two approaches to the study of well-being. Philosophers typically focus on normative theorizing, attempting to identify the things that are ultimately good for a person, while largely ignoring empirical research. The idea is that empirical attention cannot be directed to the right place without a rigorous theory. Meanwhile, social scientists typically focus on empirical research, attempting to identify the causes and consequences of well-being, while largely ignoring normative theorizing. The idea is that conceptual and theoretical clarity will come with time and more data. This paper argues that neither is a good approach to the study of well-being. The traditional philosophical approach underappreciates the vital importance of empirical investigation, while the atheoretical empirical approach underappreciates the vital importance of normative theorizing. The proposed solution is to bring these methods together. Well-being research should be interdisciplinary. The paper proposes a “conceptual engineering” approach as a novel alternative. This approach involves an iterative process of normative theorizing, empirical investigation, and conceptual revision, with the aim of articulating concepts and theories of well-being that optimally suit particularinterests and purposes.

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