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Purpose: During the last 20 years or so the changing environment in which universities operate has meant that commensurately more emphasis has been placed on marketing principles. In light of this emphasis, it is perhaps a little surprising that relatively little attention has been directed towards the processes by which universities develop their products, and the extent to which module and programme development processes are market informed and customer oriented. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach: This paper adopts a case study methodology to examine early stage new product development (NPD) processes in UK higher education (HE) institutions. Findings: The findings reveal some potential shortcomings in the early stages or fuzzy front end of NPD in universities. In particular, there appears to be a lack of staff incentives, financial or otherwise, to innovate and introduce new ideas relating to module and programme development. Research limitations/implications: The issue of sample bias needs to be factored into however, given that these six institutions proactively engaged with this process possibly indicating a recognition or impetus on their part to learn how new programme development could be better understood. That the vast majority of the sample were teaching dominant institutions is also an interesting consideration as this will have an impact on the imperative to improve new programme development processes in an increasingly competitive HE environment. Practical implications: The paper discussed some of the implications for the corporate governance structures of universities and also emphasized the need for cultural change. In this respect, one of the biggest challenges facing universities is to break down or erode the barriers, which exist between academic and non-academic staff and create a "level playing field". Originality/value: As the authors enter an era of higher student fees, the question of value for money combined with an associated increase in the expectations of university stakeholders, will have potentially quite marked implications for universities. Accordingly, the future viability of some degree programmes and, perhaps, even the long-term survival of some institutions may be dependent on the adoption of the sort of changes identified in this paper.

Current research is beginning to question the role and effectiveness of traditional rules-based bank regulatory oversight in favor of incentive-compatible regulatory design and market discipline and, in particular, mandatory subordinated debt market discipline. However, research on the suitability of a mandatory subordinated debt policy (MSNDP) has focused primarily on the United States. The primary aims of this article, therefore, are to examine the market for subordinated debt (SND) issued by UK credit institutions and to assess the suitability of introducing an MSNDP into UK banking regulation. A further contribution of this article is that it explores SND issuance and its characteristics at a bank level and, uniquely, considers them in relation to regulatory, structural, and economic events that either are specific to the UK or otherwise affect international banks. The article compares the UK findings with research on SND markets in the United States and Europe and, in so doing, raises concerns over whether an MSNDP for the largest global credit institutions would be feasible. Although the focus of this study is the UK banking industry, the country-focused bank-level approach provides conclusions that might be relevant to other countries considering the implementation of an MSNDP. (JEL G18, G28), I. INTRODUCTION Given that current debates on the future direction of bank regulatory design question the role and effectiveness of rules-based financial regulatory oversight, in favor of incentive-compatible regulatory design [...]

The significance of market discipline to monitor financial performance of banks is examined.

article discusses various reports published within the issue, including one by Roman concerning effective bank-customer relations through ethical behavior of bank sales staff, and an article by Malhotra and Mukherjee concerning the link between employee commitment and service quality.

The paper uses a series of focus discussion groups to examine the circumstances under which consumers of financial services perceive a benefit from having a banking relationship. Specifically, it attempts to understand what motivates consumers to form relationships with banks and to what extent this is determined by the decision making environment. To achieve this objective the paper draws upon the interaction and relationship marketing literature and examines banker-customer interactions when purchasing a range of financial services. The importance of the paper stems from the fact that it sheds light on the interaction mode and increased customer participation and, therefore, examines the opportunities for marketing, enhancing quality, and improving customer retention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]