Purpose Changes in the workplace have raised serious concerns about the future of work and the effectiveness of undergraduate academic programs to sufficiently prepare students for business. The purpose of this paper is to address this concern by exploring how internship employment (placement) is implicated in the young business graduates’ employability prospects. Design/methodology/approach This research explored the students’ perceptions regarding their degree of “work readiness” after completing an internship program. The concept of “work readiness” is conceptualized in terms of role clarity, ability and motivation. An institution of higher education in Greece provided the sampling frame for this research. Online survey data have been used. Findings Students who attend internship programs assessed positively all aspects of the work readiness construct. They knew what it was expected by employers from them to do at work. They were able to effectively apply basic academic skills, high-order skills and professional skills required by employers on the job and placed greater importance to the intrinsic rewards than the extrinsic ones. Research limitations/implications This is an exploratory study and is designed as a foundation for future empirical studies. Further research could examine the dimensions of the work readiness concept in other geographic contexts and validate the scale measurement with larger samples. Originality/value The integration of scattered pieces of literature on graduates’ employability through the lenses of “work readiness” is a novel theoretical approach to explore the effectiveness of internship programs on employability prospects in the Greek context.

Purpose-This study examines Internet banking adoption and resistance behaviour in Greece in order to develop profiles of adopters and non-adopters of the service. The aim is to illustrate customers" resistance behaviour towards Internet banking. Existing research does not explain resistance behaviour, since it does not clearly distinguish non-adoption from resistance. Consequently, it has not recognized the different types of non-adoption. Design/methodology/approach-A measuring instrument was developed and utilized in a survey of a convenience sample of 1,200 customers. The derived dimensionality of the relevant perceptual variables was used to explore the existence of different customer segments through cluster analysis. Findings-Three segments were identified, where the description of their profiles is based on customer perceptions of the service and general usage data. Across these segments adopters and non-adopters were found to have different characteristics. With regard to demographics, only income was found to be associated with segment membership. Research limitations/implications-Perceptual and usage variables are useful in market segmentation. The results also suggest the possible existence of subgroups within each segment characterized by different aspects of resistance behaviour. Further research could identify and explore their potential and study non-adopter behaviour. Practical implications-The managerial implications of the new evidence offered by this study are discussed. Originality/value-The customer segments identified in this study are based on new links found between the factors that drive diffusion and resistance to diffusion and general usage data. Non-adopters across the segments resist for different reasons. This has implications for the targeting of campaigns.

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -This paper aims to provide a better understanding of non-adoption of technological interfaces. The majority of diffusion research on technological innovations does not distinguish clearly between non-adoption and resistance behavior and assumes a symmetrical or linear relationship between the positive and negative influencing factors. As a result, it has not recognized the different types of non-adoption. Design/methodology/approach -The determinants of customers' propensity to adopt or not to adopt computer-based technologies were examined in the context of internet banking. Several multivariate analysis methods were combined to examine the dimensionality of the constructs involved and their explanatory power on customer intentions and usage behavior. Findings -The resulting five dimensions revealed new links that help to explain customer intention in relation to usage behavior. The results reveal that some of the factors explaining non-adoption are not the opposite of those explaining adoption behavior and that others influence positively both behaviors. It is also found that pre-adoption behavior may be different from usage behavior and that delay behavior may be characterized by different phases.Research limitations/implications -The findings of this exploratory study suggest new evidence on non-adoption behavior that may stimulate further research inquiry. Practical implications -Recognizing these different aspects of customer behavior in relation to adoption/non-adoption has implications for managers involved in utilizing the internet as a channel for customer service. Originality/value -This study examined diffusion of innovation from a different angle, looking at non-adoption behavior which may sometimes be the result of some kind of resistance.

PurposeThis paper explores the potential impact of mobile marketing tools on consumer buying behaviour within the context of dining. The aim is to examine the influence of mobile marketing tools through their different functions on the stages of the consumer buying process. The study addresses a lack of relevant research with evidence from both customer and supplier perspectives.Design/methodology/approachThe mobile tools that are found useful for dining were considered in this study. Qualitative interviews with marketers and consumer opinion leaders were conducted, given the limited extant research.FindingsThe results reveal that mobile marketing tools influence consumers' decision-making differently and their effect varies according to the customer type. Additionally, it shows that loyalty has a direct influence on mobile marketing effectiveness, as the decision-making process of loyal customers is more affected by mobile marketing tools than the non-loyal customers.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitations are mainly based on the qualitative nature of this study and are relevant to the research context. Further research could examine these findings in different service and geographical contexts.Practical implicationsMarketing activity through the smartphone should focus on loyal customers and opinion leaders with the use of appropriate mobile tools.Originality/valueThe study provides empirical evidence on the variable influence of mobile marketing tools on consumer decision-making and develops a conceptual framework. It is also found that loyalty is an important factor that positively affects smartphone tools adoption.

Adoption of Internet banking often follows on from usage of Internet shopping, but policies to increase Internet banking use typically ignore this ordering. This article presents a case study that underscores this sequence of Internet service adoption and identifies factors that shape the propensity to use the Internet for shopping and banking. Application of bivariate probit regression techniques to data sourced from a survey of 259 respondents in Athens, Greece, and estimation of marginal effects of the determinants of Internet banking use conditioned on the determinants of Internet shopping use illustrate that ignoring the sequence of Internet service use can lead to incorrect policy recommendations. This article contributes to the literature by theorising the underlying causal mechanisms of Internet banking adoption and presenting supporting evidence via a sequential modelling approach. We find that personal capacity is an important determinant of Internet banking use in a standard, non-sequential approach but it has no significant effect when the model is sequential. Our results suggest that policymakers should emphasise usefulness attributes of Internet banking when attempting to increase Internet banking usage by people who already use the Internet for shopping.