Business Results Research Articles

The Antecedent Attributes of Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty in the Coffee Shop Business Domain

This study aims to explain the antecedent attributes of customer satisfaction and loyalty in the coffee shop business domain in Krabi, Thailand. The marketing mix approach (4Ps), consisting of the four fundamental elements of product, price, place, and promotion, was utilized in this study. The research strategy employed in this study was qualitative, utilizing in-depth interviews with six key informants who were selected using purposive sampling. The collected data was analyzed using content analysis and the software NVivo. The study's results showed that the 4Ps marketing mix approach, comprising product, price, place, and promotion, had a notable influence on customer satisfaction and loyalty in the coffee shop industry of Krabi, Thailand. The findings of this study could be useful not only for coffee shop owners and marketers but also for other industries, by providing valuable insights into how to develop effective strategies that address the key factors driving customer satisfaction and loyalty. Implementing these strategies could lead to improved business performance and outcomes.

Biomedical Engineering Students’ Perceived Learning Through Co-Curriculars

Background: Co-curricular student outcomes research has focused on connecting outcomes to activities based on the co-curricular type. Less work has explored what aspects of those co-curricular activities could lead to student outcomes. Purpose: Our research aimed to identify common elements of co-curricular activities that connected to students’ development of professional, career, or personal outcomes and can inform how we study and design co-curricular activities in engineering. Design: We recruited participants from one biomedical engineering (BME) program. We used a one-year series of four semi-structured interviews with fourteen upper-level BME students to explore students’ perceptions of their co-curricular learning. Using a qualitative, causal analysis approach, we identified elements of students’ co-curricular experiences in research or a multi-disciplinary design team, as well as other co-curricular experiences (e.g., internships, professional societies), that linked to professional, career, or personal learning outcomes that have been previously identified as important in engineering education. Findings: We identified patterns of connections between unique “experience elements” and a variety of “outcome categories” through participant activities we called “participant actions.” The most prevalent connections—those experience elements and participant actions that connected to multiple outcome categories—included the experience elements Independent Project Work, Project Work That Engages Multiple Disciplines, STEM Education Opportunities, and Mentorship from a Skilled Other as well as a participant action Reflecting on Experience. We found connections to the outcome categories of Leadership, Design, Business, Interdisciplinary Competence, Disciplinary Competence, Communication, and Career Direction Outcomes. Conclusions: Based on our findings, educators and mentors should consider the value of supporting students’ decision-making autonomy and multidisciplinary interactions in projects to support learning. They could also incorporate opportunities for students to teach each other technical content, receive structured mentorship, and reflect on their experiences as they are happening. Further, this work demonstrates a need to explore co-curricular learning processes in new ways that can lead to better understandings of students’ learning processes.

Reaching the unreachable workforce : Adopting a mobile-first communication strategy to retain employees

Ineffective communications cost companies more than just safety and productivity issues; they are a direct cause of turnover. While corporate leaders feel their communications are relevant and the way they are delivered is effective, research shows their employees do not feel the same way. In a tight labour market, businesses cannot afford to overlook this fact. As an integrated facilities management (IFM) company that distinguishes itself in self-performing more than 80 per cent of the hard and soft services it provides clients, ESFM depends on an engaged workforce to deliver on its client promises every day. As noted in its bi-annual employee engagement survey, the company recognised its internal communications were missing the mark with respect to hourly employees. Deskless workers, spread across the country and covering multiple shifts, were challenging to connect with. To address these challenges, ESFM inverted the traditional top-down communication cascade as the first IFM company to leverage the Nudge app, originally designed for retail workers, to implement a mobile-first communication strategy for frontline personnel. Adapting the app’s capabilities for the FM space was a process, but ultimately empowered ESFM to digitise critical learnings and best practices to efficiently equip its employees with the knowledge and tools necessary to execute on their clients’ highest priorities. Business outcomes following the first year of implementing this communications approach earned ESFM the George Graves Award for Facility Management Achievement from the International Facilities Management Association (IFMA) in 2020. This paper shares business outcomes from this award-winning communications programme, as well as steps any company can apply on their journey toward developing a more intentional, engaging and effective communications strategy.

TRANSFORMING SERVICE OPERATIONS WITH AI: A CASE FOR BUSINESS VALUE

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has rapidly become a critical technology for businesses seeking to improve efficiency and profitability. One area where AI is proving particularly impactful is in service operations management, where it is used to create AI-powered service operations (AIServiceOps) that deliver highvalue services to customers. AIServiceOps involve the use of AI to automate and optimize various business processes, such as customer service, sales, marketing, and supply chain management. The rapid development of Artificial Intelligence has prompted many changes in the field of Information Technology (IT) Service Operations. IT Service Operations are driven by AI, i.e., AIServiceOps. AI has empowered new vitality and addressed many challenges in IT Service Operations. However, there is a literature gap on the Business Value Impact of Artificial intelligence (AI) Powered IT Service Operations. It can help IT build optimized business resilience by creating value in complex and ever-changing environments as product organizations move faster than IT can handle. So, this research paper examines how AIServiceOps creates business value and sustainability, basically how AIServiceOps makes the IT staff liberation from a low-level, repetitive workout and traditional IT practices for a continuously optimized process. One of the research objectives is to compare Traditional IT Service Operations with AIServiceOPs. This paper provides the basis for how enterprises can evaluate AIServiceOps and consider it a digital transformation tool. The paper presents a case study of a company that implemented AI-powered service operations (AIServiceOps) and analyzes the resulting business outcomes. The study shows that AIServiceOps can significantly improve service delivery, reduce response times, and increase customer satisfaction. Furthermore, it demonstrates how AIServiceOps can deliver substantial cost savings, such as reducing labor costs and minimizing downtime.

The Radical Flank Revisited: How Regulatory Discretion Shapes the Effectiveness of Social Activism on Business Outcomes

Although scholarship has highlighted how stakeholders can influence business outcomes, few studies have examined how simultaneous, different tactics interact to impact firms. Critical to understanding this interaction is the radical flank effect, which asserts that the moderate and radical elements of social activist tactics can interact to either enhance or diminish a movement’s ability to accomplish its goals. However, research is unclear about when and whether the radical flank effect enhances or diminishes activist influence, nor has it empirically analyzed factors that influence the direction of the effect. To address these limitations, we explore one such factor—regulatory agency discretion, or regulators’ flexibility to interpret and implement public policies. Drawing on management and political sociology studies, we argue that discretion affects the salience of regulatory accountability to the public and thereby alters the radical flank effect on business outcomes in regulated markets. We analyze stakeholder opposition to U.S. hydroelectric power facilities from 1987 to 2019. The results show that high discretion enhances the radical flank effect and detrimentally affects business outcomes, whereas low discretion reverses the radical flank effect and favorably affects business outcomes. Funding: This work was supported by the Kauffman Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship and the Harvard Business School Division of Research. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.22.16104 .

The Radical Flank Revisited: How Regulatory Discretion Shapes the Effectiveness of Social Activism on Business Outcomes

Although scholarship has highlighted how stakeholders can influence business outcomes, few studies have examined how simultaneous, different tactics interact to impact firms. Critical to understanding this interaction is the radical flank effect, which asserts that the moderate and radical elements of social activist tactics can interact to either enhance or diminish a movement’s ability to accomplish its goals. However, research is unclear about when and whether the radical flank effect enhances or diminishes activist influence, nor has it empirically analyzed factors that influence the direction of the effect. To address these limitations, we explore one such factor—regulatory agency discretion, or regulators’ flexibility to interpret and implement public policies. Drawing on management and political sociology studies, we argue that discretion affects the salience of regulatory accountability to the public and thereby alters the radical flank effect on business outcomes in regulated markets. We analyze stakeholder opposition to U.S. hydroelectric power facilities from 1987 to 2019. The results show that high discretion enhances the radical flank effect and detrimentally affects business outcomes, whereas low discretion reverses the radical flank effect and favorably affects business outcomes. Funding: This work was supported by the Kauffman Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship and the Harvard Business School Division of Research. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2022.16104 .

Angel investment and first impressions

We examine the role of first impressions in angel investor decision-making. Video stills of entrepreneurs pitching on the Shark Tank show and in Startup Battlefield competitions yield six measures of first impressions of entrepreneurs’ facial traits and two principal components: one that captures general ability and the other that contrasts charm and managerial ability. We find positive associations between both components and the likelihood of entrepreneurs receiving an investment offer or winning a competition round. Post-event business outcome analyses reveal that investors internalize entrepreneurs’ general ability rationally but exhibit irrational tendencies when internalizing entrepreneurs’ charm and managerial ability. Investment experience mitigates investors’ irrational use of charm and managerial ability cues.

Sense, Insight, Action – Woodside’s Intelligent Asset Journey

Intelligent Assets, sometimes referred to as digital twins, have gained attention for their ability to optimise operations and enhance decision-making in an increasingly complex and data-driven world. These assets are equipped with sensors and advanced analytics capabilities for real-time monitoring, predictive maintenance, and process automation. By creating a virtual replica of the physical asset or system, organisations can gain real-time insights and data-driven decision support for operations and maintenance. Woodside has advanced its vision for Intelligent Assets through its digital platform, Fuse, which was created to improve decision-making and optimise operations of its assets. The development of Fuse has been guided by the principles of sensing, insight, and action, ensuring safer, higher-performance operations. Fuse brings together multiple data sources, including process control information, sensor data, weather data, and historical performance data, for real-time monitoring of the asset. The platform provides a single pane of glass into the operation of the asset with advanced analytics for a deeper understanding of the performance and enabling action. Woodside provides use cases where sense, insight, and action have come together using their Fuse platform to deliver business outcomes, including enabling virtual operator rounds and condition-based maintenance. However, the implementation of Intelligent Assets can uncover several obstacles, such as data integration, scalability, and user adoption. Woodside seeks to shed light on these challenges and offers valuable insights for organisations striving to achieve successful digital outcomes.

IMPACT OF “SOFT” TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ON HOTEL’S PERFORMANCE: AN EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM VIET NAM

The aim of this study is to assess the impact of soft TQM practices on the business performance of hotels in Vietnam's current business climate. Data was collected from 190 hotels rated three stars or higher in 2022. Using a SEM model, the author found that soft TQM practices such as customer focus, senior leadership commitment, employee engagement, and employee training positively affect hotel business results. Specifically, hotels should prioritize employee engagement and customer focus, as these factors have the greatest impact on business outcomes.
 Keywords: TQM, Soft TQM, Hotel’s Performance, Vietnam.

Assessing the Impact of Workforce Nutrition Programmes on Nutrition, Health and Business Outcomes: A Review of the Global Evidence and Future Research Agenda

One in three people globally suffers from at least one form of malnutrition, leading to poor health outcomes and low productivity in the workplace. The workplace offers an important, relatively unexploited opportunity to address malnutrition in all its forms. This narrative literature review aims to understand the impact of workforce nutrition programmes on nutrition, health, and business outcomes, based on high-strength-of-evidence studies. We used PubMed as our primary research database, complemented by Google Scholar, to identify systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and randomised controlled trials published between January 2010 and October 2021. In total, 26 records were included. We found that comprehensive workforce nutrition programmes, including a variety of intervention areas, and/or programmes targeting high-risk categories of workers (overweight/obese or (pre-)diabetic) were more likely to be effective on nutrition, health, and business outcomes. Within comprehensive and targeted programmes, individualised counselling and worksite environmental modifications were often mentioned as the most effective components. However, a high degree of heterogeneity in outcome measures and programme designs made it difficult to draw strong conclusions on the impact of workforce nutrition interventions. Limited evidence was found on business outcomes, longer-term effects of interventions, and programme implementation in LMICs. Therefore, further research is needed to address these evidence gaps.

Women in family business research—What we know and what we should know?

Gender in management is a widely studied topic. Since business families are social units and gender-based discrimination is entrenched in the social system, family firms are more likely to be susceptible to gender issues. Therefore, gender in family business offers a unique disposition for systematic exploration and scholarly inquiry. Using bibliometric analysis tools, we map a broader canvas of literature on women in family businesses, incorporating the literature from other disciplines, such as sociology and social psychology, that address the fundamental issues affecting the involvement of women in the family business. We uncover the state of research on women in family businesses, try and understand the drivers influencing their involvement in the family business, how family business behaviours and outcomes are influenced by the family women discharging different roles and responsibilities in business, and draw up a comprehensive framework that scholars can use to find the gaps in the literature.

Mitigating Bias in E-commerce Recommendation Systems: A Causal Inference Approach

Recommendation systems play a crucial role in e-commerce platforms, significantly influencing user experiences and business outcomes. However, these systems often suffer from various biases, leading to suboptimal recommendations and potential unfairness. This paper presents a comprehensive framework for leveraging causal inference techniques to debias recommendation systems in e-commerce contexts. By integrating structural causal models, counterfactual reasoning, and interventional methods, we propose a robust approach to identify and mitigate different types of biases in recommender systems. Our methodology encompasses bias detection, causal model construction, counterfactual generation, and debiased ranking algorithms. The proposed framework aims to improve recommendation fairness and accuracy while maintaining business relevance. This research contributes to the fields of recommender systems and causal inference, providing practitioners with advanced tools for developing more equitable and effective e-commerce platforms.

Master Data Management Disruptive Modern Architecture

Master Data Management concept came into the mainstream during the mid 2000s, to generate a single Golden profile of the customer. As the Enterprise IT architecture started adopting and integrating various Commercial Products for CRM, ERP, Finance, HR, Supply Change Management etc. along with other homegrown custom apps, the information around the Customer started drifting across the various applications which resulted in various inefficiencies in day-to-day business operation. Master Data Management tools and technologies provide a way to perform identity resolution and survive latest and greatest information. Traditionally, the MDM tools always adopt a lean approach that uses minimal attributions to identify the smallest amount of (master) data with the biggest influence on business outcomes like Name, Phone, SSN, Email and Address. These constitute only less than 1% of the enterprise data, In the age of generative AI, there is a greater need to understand the context and the relationship of ALL data. This paper explores an alternate approach to mitigate the shortcomings of the currently available MDM tools

A Path Analysis of the Antecedents, Business Sustainability Practices and Outcomes of Private Schools in the Philippines

According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, early childhood education results in long-term social and economic benefits; thus, governments must ensure that elementary and secondary schools can survive disruptions in the business environment as the education sector should not be compromised especially in a developing country. In a world characterized by drastic and disastrous changes, a resilient and sustainable education sector must always be ensured. Adopting sustainability initiatives appears to be the key to survival in response to the negative effects of various external factors affecting the world. The purpose of this study is to examine the causes and consequences of business sustainability practices in private elementary and secondary schools in the Philippines. The findings revealed that regulatory policies, science and environment, and customer demand are vital predictors for private schools’ sustainability practices, with significant impact on their outcomes. Although the relationships between antecedents, sustainability practices, and outcomes were positive, they were moderate and weak respectively. The study further showed that the private schools’ sustainability practices have a significant mediating effect between the antecedents and outcomes of the private schools’ sustainability.

Dashboards: From Performance Art to Decision Support

Abstract Interview with Neil Hoyne, Chief Measurement Strategist at Google Dashboards are a common tool for managers to monitor a company’s performance, and since the COVID-19 pandemic they have gained popularity among even broader audiences. But what is the real use of these dashboards? Is it just performance art or is it a tool that provides managers with the information they need? It may be slightly astonishing that Google employee Neil Hoyne is no fan of dashboards, but he believes they can be toxic when taken out of context. In this interview, he explains his skepticism of monitoring the same KPIs quarter after quarter and suggests different ways to make dashboards more strategically useful to companies. In his view, dashboards should inspire questions and curiosity, reflect market context and align toward specific business initiatives. He also suggests a more professional use of data and favors the scientific inquiry of the relationship between marketing measures and business outcomes.

The effect of property taxes on businesses: Evidence from a dynamic regression discontinuity approach

We employ a dynamic regression discontinuity design comparing business outcomes in areas that passed additional school property taxes to business outcomes in areas that failed to do so. On average, these referenda increase local property taxes by approximately 8 percent. We find little evidence that passage of a property tax referendum influences the total number of establishments in the district in the following years. Further, there is little evidence that property taxes affect total establishment births or deaths. Heterogeneity analysis does not find differences across various measures of firm exposure to property taxes.

Optimising the quality of clinical data in an Australian aged care and disability service to improve care delivery and clinical outcomes (OPTIMISE): Protocol for an Agile Lean Six Sigma study.

In Australia, aged care and disability service providers are legally required to maintain comprehensive and accurate clinical documentation to meet regulatory and funding requirements and to support safe and high quality care provision. However, evidence suggests poor quality clinical data and documentation is widespread across the sector and can significantly affect clinical decision-making and care delivery and increase business costs. The OPTIMISE study uses an Agile Lean Six Sigma framework to: 1) identify opportunities for optimisation of clinical documentation processes and clinical information systems, 2) implement and test optimisation solutions, and 3) evaluate outcomes post-optimisation, in a large post-acute community-based health service providing aged care and disability services in Western Australia. A three-stage prospective optimisation study will be undertaken. Stage 1 (Baseline) will measure existing clinical data quality, identify root causes of data quality issues across services, and generate optimisation solutions. Stage 2 (Optimisation) will implement and test changes to clinical documentation processes and information systems using incremental Agile sprints, and Stage 3 (Evaluation) will evaluate change in primary and secondary outcomes from baseline to 12 months post-optimisation. The primary outcome is data quality measured in terms of Defects Per Unit (DPU), Defects Per Million Opportunities (DPMO) and Sigma level. Secondary outcomes are care delivery (direct care time), clinical incidents, business outcomes (cost of quality, workforce productivity), and user satisfaction. Case studies will be analysed to understand impacts of optimisation on clinical outcomes and business processes. As of 1 June 2022, Stage 1 commenced with baseline data quality audits conducted to measure current data quality. Baseline data quality audits will be followed by user consultations to identify root causes of data quality issues. Optimisation solutions will be developed by January 2023 to inform optimisation (Stage 2) and evaluation (Stage 3). Study findings will be of interest to individuals and organisations in the healthcare sector seeking novel solutions to improve the quality of clinical data and support high quality care delivery and reduce business costs. N/A.

Work-Family Balance and Perceived Business Outcomes among Copreneurial and Noncopreneurial Small Business Owners

Work-Family Balance and Perceived Business Outcomes among Copreneurial and Noncopreneurial Small Business Owners

Marketing Communications in the Era of Digital Transformation

The advent of digital transformation has revolutionized the marketing landscape, presenting both challenges and opportunities for businesses. This scientific paper delves into the realm of marketing communications in the context of this transformative era. The primary objective is to examine the profound impact of various marketing communication tools on consumer perception and response to advertising messages, direct marketing, electronic communication, and other innovative marketing techniques. Utilizing the ANOVA (analysis of variance) statistical evaluation method, comprehensive empirical research data are analysed to uncover key trends and insights. The findings shed light on the dynamic market developments characterized by a notable decline in the effectiveness of traditional mass marketing approaches. Instead, there is a discernible shift towards more specialized marketing strategies, bolstered by the rapid advancement of computer and information technologies. Moreover, this study confirms a hypothesis pertaining to the efficacy of Internet advertising in relation to different age groups of customers. This confirmation underscores the importance of leveraging digital platforms and channels to engage specific target audiences effectively. The practical significance of this research lies in its potential to guide marketers in optimizing their marketing budgets, identifying the most impactful communication channels, and discerning statistically significant variations in consumer responses to diverse marketing communication tools. By understanding these nuances, marketers can design more targeted and persuasive marketing campaigns, leading to enhanced customer engagement and improved business outcomes.

COVID-19 Business Impact Review

The coronavirus pandemic, or COVID-19, is an expeditiously developing virus advancing post-haste to all geographical regions of the world. This pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has and continues to result in negative economic and societal impacts in all aspects of human culture. However, previous studies have focused solely on the aforementioned societal implications of COVID-19 and neglecting that of the economy, specifically in regards to a business setting [3,6,7,8]. How does this impact vary among businesses, and what is the extent of negative or positive repercussions? This paper aims to address this gap by analyzing the degree of impact caused by COVID-19 on 50 various sizes and types of businesses in a small town atmosphere. A statistical analysis was performed in regards to this surveyed data, analyzing how the size and/or industry of a business plays a role in such business’ response to negative uncontrollable economic events. These graphs were further grouped and findings were summarized. The study discovered a higher negative correlation between small sized service industry businesses, compared to substantially larger positive responses from medium merchandising businesses. Moreover, a new understanding was found regarding the similarity between size and industry of businesses in regards to their impact by COVID-19. Overall, this study provides insights into which businesses are potentially more vulnerable to future unforeseen detrimental situations. The findings aid in the application of a response program to be used by businesses to further mitigate undesirable outcomes of businesses caused by negative external events.