The instalment of customer friendly technology (such as menu driven automated teller machines, telephone and Internet banking services) as a means of delivering traditional banking services has become commonplace in recent years as a way of maintaining customer loyalty and increasing market share. Traditional brick and mortar banks are using technology to meet the competitive challenge posed by online banks, as well as a method of reducing the cost of providing services that were once delivered exclusively by bank personnel. The present research investigates some of the various roles technology plays in the US banking sector and how technology in general impacts the delivery of banking service. The authors developed a grid that might prove useful to bank managers when making decisions concerning the priority of implementation of service‐oriented technology. Key strategic implications are discussed to include ways banks can improve the level of technology‐based service they provide to their customers.

PurposeThe purpose of the current study is to assess some of the self‐reported factors that students in the study used as choice criteria in making their school selection.Design/methodology/approachThe results of this study were obtained by conducting a series of focus groups involving incoming freshmen at a small liberal arts university located in the south eastern part of the USA. The focus groups were conducted to obtain insight into the factors that led this particular group of freshmen to the school and, second, to determine what areas were not living up to their expectations. The authors later surveyed a large sample (450 students) of the incoming freshman class using a questionnaire that was developed from the input obtained during the focus groups.FindingsAnalysis of gap scores for the student population used in this study indicates that the current group does not consider their university a “quality” institution. Additionally, the importance‐performance grid (I‐P grid) points towards a lack of perceived quality, as only two of the dimensions considered actually fall into the “keep up the good work” quadrant.Research limitations/implicationsThe primary limitation of this study is the scope and size of its sample. Because the study involved a single group of university students from one university, the results cannot be generalized across a university‐wide spectrum. Nonetheless, the study does provide evidence for the development and use of the I‐P grid on those occasions calling for preliminary identification and assessment of student measures of service quality.Originality/valueBy demonstrating the feasibility of the approach taken by the authors, it should be possible for university officials to utilize similar procedures when evaluating the overall satisfaction levels of their students’ educational experience.

The authors develop a 31-item instrument (ECOSCALE) for the assessment of environmental responsibility. Discussion of the conceptualization and operational functions used in constructing and refining the multiple-item scale to measure the construct environmental responsibility are described. Also presented is evidence that the scale has been validated through assessment of content validity, predictive validity, and construct validity. A final description of the theoretical uses of such a scale is provided. 0 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 596 STONE ET AL. ECOSCALE 597

Corporate recognition of the interdependence between ecological considerations and the need for sustained economic growth has enforced the need for a paradigm in which environmental considerations are included as a prerequisite for sustained operations. One of the underlying factors driving this philosophy appears to be corporate recognition of the fact that many consumers now routinely make themselves aware of the ecological reputation of the firm. The purpose of this research is to test a proposed model in which an organization’s generation, dissemination and responsiveness to environmental information is contingent on both internal organizational requisites and the external environmental circumstances facing the industry. Specifically, this study examines the effects of external environmental turbulence and internal organizational factors on the organization’s ability to create an eco‐oriented corporate culture.

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