Purpose This study aims to profile the Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes ( WHATT ) issue “What are the main trends, challenges and success factors in the Russian hospitality and tourism market in the experience economy era?” with reference to the experiences of the theme editors,...

Purpose – The purpose of this study was to identify similarities and differences in US and Chinese subjects’ emotional responses to and perceptions of courtesy of simulated English-language communication prompts. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected through a web-based...

Purpose – This paper seeks to use the consumer‐perceived levels of internet shopping skills and challenges, to cluster the young Chinese customers and to compare the quality perceptions of customers from the different clusters. Design/methodology/approach – A survey of 237 college students...

Purpose – Although customers may interact with visibly tattooed employees, there has been very little research investigating customer perceptions of visibly tattooed workers. This paper aims to fill some of the gaps. Design/methodology/approach – The independent variables of employee...

Tackles the subject of National Health Service (NHS) reforms in the UK which have forced hospitals to behave more like businesses, for example, many are now looking at the cost of quality in health care. Examines the quality initiatives supported by the Department of Health and covers the work...

Reports on the use of performance incentives at Girobank in order to involve staff and gain their commitment to TQM. The staff recognition scheme was originally designed to encourage and maximise participation of employees, it has now developed into a series of three awards both symbolic and...

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...

Explains what a service level agreement (SLA) is and describes the benefits of an SLA both as a catalyst to service management and to delivering appropriate, cost‐effective service quality. Examines the application of SLAs in a wide variety of service areas and establishes their importance to...

Uses the example of a craftworker to illustrate high quality production and to emphasize the essential elements in such a process of being customer‐focused, having customized products, work conducted as an integrated whole, personalized by the individual and with the application of continuous...

Where material and component suppliers are regarded as partners in the activity of satisfying customers, the adversarial approach to supplier auditing is not appropriate. Describes a method of supplier auditing, based on the ISO 9000 standard but aiming to resolve problems jointly. In this...