Abstract. In Brazil, cargo transportation services are predominantly based on highways and depend mostly on self-employed people. This paper reports on a survey conducted with 105 shippers - listed at Ranking Exame Melhores e Maiores - to evaluate not only the major factors related to the satisfaction on the services provided but also to cluster shippers in terms of common requirements of transportation services. Results indicate three major groups of shippers, in which the service quality perceptions depend on the intensive use of self-employed people, on the aggregate tonnage transported per year and on the shipments' required safety levels.

Abstract. This research paper is a conceptual analysis of the marketing application of sustainability initiatives. It reviews the current challenges marketing managers confront in defining and executing effective sustainability practices, citing example cases. The paper identifies the breadth of sustainability considerations and notes that the array of stakeholders and ambiguity of both benefits and implimentation add complexity to traditional marketing strategy. The paper proposes a classification scheme to help managers to select appropriate sustainability initiatives. This classification scheme is supported by referencing marketing strategy theories that have proven effective in achieving competitive advantages through traditional marketing initiatives. The classification scheme is illustrated with a detailed application to a firm that has succeeded with a sustainability positioning strategy. The paper concludes that sustainable initiatives offer sources of competitive advantage but, like most superior marketing strategies, such initiatives must be systematically integrated within all of the firm's value generating activities.

Abstract. All organizations regardless their success will face a kind of potential business crisis. The purpose of the current study is to explore managers' awareness, views and implementation with respect to crisis management (CM) in Greek service driven companies. The research is exploratory in nature and data were collected by carrying out semi- structured in depth interviews with key managers in 26 companies. The open ended questions were content analyzed. Respondents identified the intangible nature of services, the service encounters, as well as the front line employees' performance" and the "recovery strategy responses to service failures as the major reasons for business crisis in services organizations. Also, the results revealed that a limited number of companies realize the importance of crises and apply a proactive strategy, and they mainly depend on their managers' experience.