Credit card use among college students has reached unprecedented levels. As a result, there is a movement to better educate college students about wise credit use habits. This research examines the credit information provided by four socialization agents (parents, peers, media, and schools). In addition, it assesses the relationship between these socialization agents and the credit use behavior of college students. Using paired sample t tests, the results indicate that the amount of credit information given by parents is significantly greater than the information received from the other three sources (schools, peers, and media). Correlation analysis indicates that there is a significant negative relationship between the amount of credit information learned from parents and credit use. The more information provided by parents, the lower the outstanding balance carried by college students on their credit cards. Media sources, educational sources, and peer sources of information showed no significant relationship with credit use.

Metrics can improve firms' ability to manage online procurement auctions. A key factor in business-to-business procurement auctions is supplier participation, which we modeled as a multistage process. We analyzed data collected from thousands of auctions conducted by a large multinational firm and found that different auction types lead to different participation and success dynamics. Typically, it is important to invite a sufficient number of suppliers and ensure that they accept the invitation and actually log into the auction. It is even more important to encourage active bidding and reduce the proportion of suppliers who log in but never bid.

Federal legislation has been proposed that would require parents/guardians to act as coobligors on college students' credit card applications. This study supports the assumptions underlying the proposed legislation, suggesting that students whose parents are involved in their acquisition of credit cards have significantly lower credit card balances than do students with no parental involvement.

From a historical perspective, the industrial revolution promoted the ideas of a production-oriented firm, whereas the current trends are customer-driven organizations. One continuum along which a company resides is from production-orientation to market-orientation. One of the components of marketorientation is interfunctional coordination (Narver and Slater, 1990). The critical interfunctional relationship between manufacturing and marketing is a "classical problem that afflicts every manufacturing company" (Shapiro, 1977, p. 104). The article, "Can marketing and manufacturing coexist?" asked more questions than it answered and, as a result, laid the groundwork for much-needed research.There are several methods for expanding the frontiers of knowledge in a field including the generation of new theory (described as "bench level" development (Reisman, 1992b, p. 30)). Another method is to expand knowledge incrementally, much like the TQM philosophy of continuing improvement. A third, but less used technique, is to classify the work of others and to identify voids in the field (Reisman, 1992a). When a review of existing literature is conducted, consolidation and classification allows patterns to emerge. The patterns form a framework that leads to the identification of the categories of research that are needed. Within a framework, areas that are overworked, under-worked, or totally empty are noted.In this study, we develop a generic classification framework for interfunctional research, and apply it specifically to the research on the manufacturing-marketing interface. Such a classification framework will help reveal gaps in the literature and, accordingly, gaps in knowledge. What emerges from the classification of the manufacturing-marketing research are some important unanswered research questions.Each of the articles surveyed is positioned in the framework by determining the aspects of the interface with which the research is concerned. Manufacturing-marketing interface research is defined by positioning with respect to three aspects: process versus outcome, level of interaction (strategic,

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 -To determine the criteria for internal benchmarking candidate processes. Using those criteria, to develop a decision flowchart to employ internal or external benchmarking. To then propose a framework for implementing internal benchmarking in an organization. Finally, to use a case study to apply both the Decision Flowchart and the proposed implementation framework. Design/methodology/approach -The method is theoretical framework design supported by a case study. Findings -The development of a practical flowchart and framework is achieved. This is successfully used in improving a business process thorough an actual case study.Research limitations/implications -The information is limited to situations where quality programs including benchmarking are used or anticipated. Information is drawn from a single successful case study and existing literature. Practical implications -Provides a practical prescriptive approach for identifying and applying the quality tool of benchmarking to internal processes. Originality/value -This provides a new method of evaluating processes for improvement based on the availability of internal knowledge. No such flowchart has been proposed to date. It should be of use to both practitioners and academics by offering a step-by-step approach to improving their business processes and profitability.