Financial pressure and concern for the environment has meant many consumers are aware of the need to reduce their consumption of many resources, including energy, which is the focus of the present study. While potential energy use deterrents in the form of access constraints and price increases...

The literature in economic psychology and quality-of-life studies alludes to a negative relationship between materialism and life satisfaction. In contrast, the macroeconomic literature implies a positive relationship between material consumption and economic growth. That is, materialism may be...

This paper discusses the role of parents and other adults in preventing and facilitating teen binge drinking. Teens' discussions on Internet websites were accessed to examine their opinions of their alcohol-related interactions with adults. The results show that in the context of a western...

Customer expectations form the standards against which organisation performance is often assessed. Additionally, knowledge relating to customer expectations provides information concerning the differentiated performance requirements of heterogeneous customer groups. Relatively few studies have...

A search of the Service Quality (SQ) and Customer Satisfaction (CS) literature reveals a gap in knowledge relating to the ‘expectation’ formation aspect of the disconfirmation paradigm. Little consideration has been given to the ‘role’ of the customer in the service encounter, albeit...

The potential of micro loan products to reduce poverty has received wide acclaim in the literature. Nonetheless, some critics question whether these products have truly met the needs of the poorest of the poor i.e., ‘Bottom of the Pyramid’ (BOP) customers. This paper argues that one factor...