Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence for competing representations of the prevention-appraisal-failure model of quality cost. Design/methodology/approach The authors conduct regression analysis on a secondary data set to reveal relationships among total cost of...

Properly validated scalar variables are often viewed as the gold standard for the operationalisation of concepts in quantitative data. This is a sensible approach at the planning stage of the survey process. However, when working with data that has already been collected for another purpose,...

This paper explores the challenges arising from the ‘re-use’ of Mass Observation Project (MOP) writing (1981 to present day) encountered by the authors when setting up an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded, longitudinal, mixed-methods research project on civic...

This paper considers two issues: the formation of inter-firm relationships, and the choice of governance form. These have been widely investigated in both the strategic management and operations management fields. This paper contributes to the literature in three ways. First, we address why...

Needs assessment (NA) is conducted to identify discrepancies that guide the development and improvement of services. In this article we focus on methodological issues in a secondary analysis of a multi-site, national needs assessment. Understanding challenges in such a context is important for...