Two related measures of educational inequality are proposed: one for educational achievement and another for educational opportunity. The former is the simple variance (or standard deviation) of test scores. Its selection is informed by consideration of two measurement issues that have typically...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the relationship between ISO 9001 conformance of suppliers and the quality of products they provide, within a procurement system of a manufacturer operating under contracts with the US Department of Defense....

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide additional evidence of the impact of ISO 9001 effectiveness on three dimensions of a firm’s performance, namely product quality, operational performance and business performance. Design/methodology/approach – The analysis includes an...

The inventor of the first personal computer in the world advocates a conceptual shift in the way companies will have to nurture customers and seek innovations in products or services that were designed to satisfy yet to be defined needs.

Generally it is assumed that quality improvements are important tools for companies to gain a sustainable competitive advantage. The result of product quality improvements depends, for example on the reaction of competitors. If competitors react intensively and quickly, the outcome of a product...

Reports how, in an effort to improve research quality, save time and decrease total costs, many businesses have been turning from discrete, arm’s‐length, transactional relationships with a multitude of research suppliers towards long‐term, collaborative relationships with just a few...

Considerable attention has been focussed on the measurement of service quality. In fact, the 1990s has been referred to as the era of customer service. However, little empirical research has been done to demonstrate the impact of service quality on usage decisions. Product (brand or service)...

In today’s increasingly competitive environment, it is important to measure the service firm’s performance in the areas which contribute most significantly to the client’s overall satisfaction. Previous research indicates that marketing research clients are concerned with a research...

While many firms have developed programs to handle individual complaints, few have implemented programs to analyze aggregate complaints over time. Attempts to fill that void and outlines a method to analyze and manage aggregate complaints. This is a critical part of a complete complaint...

Describes how focusing on total product quality (TPQ) can provide a new form of competitive differentiation, bearing in mind the move towards product parity. Considers that the role of marketing is vitally important in building TPQ, as a good quality product can be so easily let down by poor...