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1
Keaveney, Susan M. "Customer Switching Behavior in Service Industries: An Exploratory Study." Journal of Marketing 59, no. 2 (April 1995): 71–82. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/002224299505900206.
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Customer switching behavior damages market share and profitability of service firms yet has remained virtually unexplored in the marketing literature. The author reports results of a critical incident study conducted among more than 500 service customers. The research identifies more than 800 critical behaviors of service firms that caused customers to switch services. Customers’ reasons for switching services were classified into eight general categories. The author then discusses implications for further model development and offers recommendations for managers of service firms.
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Löfberg, Nina, and Maria Åkesson. "Creating a service platform – how to co-create value in a remote service context." Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing 33, no. 6 (July 2, 2018): 768–80. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/jbim-10-2015-0202.
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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to further develop the construct of service platform and to clarify the definition of service platform in an industrial context. To do so, an understanding of the foundations for service platforms, based on a service perspective, is created. Design/methodology/approach The study has adopted a qualitative case study approach and builds on in-depth interviews with remote service teams in two multinational firms: one in the food processing and packaging industry and the other in the pulp and paper industry. Findings The foundations for successful service platforms consist of modularising resources, integrations and service processes to create value propositions. The value propositions could result in variations of a service or in variations of different services. When defining the concept service platform, the perspective of service needs to be made evident; therefore, the authors define service platform as: value proposition(s) consisting of a modular structure that invites to and facilitates value co-creation between resources, through integration opportunities in a continuous service process. Research limitations/implications The results are based on the perspective of two suppliers in similar industries; only remote services were studied. Firms from different types of industries and other types of services could add to the research on service modularity according to a service perspective. Moreover, information about customers and other actors’ involvement on the platform was gathered from the firms studied, no customers or other actors were interviewed. Practical implications This study shows the importance of a firm involving itself in the value creation of the customer, that is, focusing on value co-creation. This implies a close cooperation between the manufacturer and its customer – not only at a given point in time but also over a longer period of cooperation. Through the different types of modules building up the service platform, value co-creation can take place in various ways. Originality/value This study offers original empirical contributions on platforms from a service perspective. The study contributes to servitisation, service modularity and service (dominant) logic research by developing an understanding of the foundations for service platforms based on a service perspective. It also contributes to platform research more specifically by developing a definition of service platform in an industrial context.
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Hartley, Nicole, and Teegan Green. "Consumer construal of separation in virtual services." Journal of Service Theory and Practice 27, no. 2 (March 13, 2017): 358–83. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/jstp-05-2015-0118.
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Purpose Service encounters are becoming increasingly virtual through the infusion of computer-mediated technologies. Virtual services separate consumers and service providers both spatially and temporally. With the advent of virtual services is the need to theoretically explain how service separability is psychologically perceived by consumers across the spectrum of computer-mediated technologies. Drawing on construal-level theory, the purpose of this paper is to conceptualize a theoretical framework depicting consumer’s construal of spatial and temporal separation across a continuum of technology-mediated service virtuality. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted two studies: first, to investigate consumers’ levels of mental construal associated with varying degrees of service separation across a spectrum of technology-mediated services; second, to empirically examine consumer evaluations of service quality in response to varying degrees of spatial and temporal service separation. These relationships were tested across two service industries: education and tourism. Findings Consumers mentally construe psychological distance in response to service separation and these observations vary across the spectrum of service offerings ranging from face-to-face (no psychological distance) through to virtual (spatially and temporally separated – high psychological distance) services. Further, spatial separation negatively affects consumers’ service evaluations; such that as service separation increases, consumers’ service evaluations decrease. No such significant findings support the similar effect of temporal separation on customer service evaluations. Moreover, specific service industry-based distances exist such that consumers responded differentially for a credence (education) vs an experiential (tourism) service. Originality/value Recent studies in services marketing have challenged the inseparability assumption inherent for services. This paper builds on this knowledge and is the first to integrate literature on construal-level theory, service separability, and virtual services into a holistic conceptual framework which explains variance in consumer evaluations of separated service encounters. This is important due to the increasingly virtual nature of service provider-customer interactions across a diverse range of service industries (i.e. banking and finance, tourism, education, and health care). Service providers must be cognisant of the psychological barriers which are imposed by increased technology infusion in virtual services.
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Indounas, Kostis. "Market-based pricing in B2B service industries." Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing 34, no. 5 (June 3, 2019): 1030–40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/jbim-03-2018-0103.
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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the pricing objectives that business-to-business (B2B) service companies pursue to set their prices and to examine the impact of market structure on these objectives.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve the research objectives, data were collected from 193 companies operating in four different B2B service industries.FindingsThe findings of the study indicate that, in the current study, the companies investigated seem to follow various pricing objectives with a particular emphasis being placed on customer-related ones. The study also reveals that the market structure does have an impact on the pricing objectives pursued because different market conditions are found to lead to different pricing objectives.Practical implicationsThe above findings indicate that the managers responsible for setting prices within their firms should follow a “situation-specific approach” and be guided by the unique characteristics of their markets.Originality/valueGiven the lack of similar studies in the existing B2B services literature, the value of the paper is that it represents one of the first attempts to empirically examine this issue.
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Patterson, Paul. "Bringing a Client Focus to International Marketing: A Change Management Case Study." Journal of Management & Organization 6, no. 2 (March 2000): 44–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1833367200005411.
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AbstractConsumers the world over are becoming more homogeneous thanks to the unifying forces of travel, media, technology, information transfer and the like. Furthermore, today customers have higher expectations than ever before regarding the quality of service they should receive from a wide range of service organisations (professional as well as non-professional). As customers are increasingly exposed to world best practice in a wide range of service industries, expectations spiral upwards. Slow, discourteous, unresponsive and unprofessional service will no longer be tolerated - but especially when the service is highly customised, complex, costly and high involvement, professional service.Few, if any, studies have examined service quality issues for professional services in an international context. Hence, this case study documents the problems experienced by the Australian Trade Commission's (Austrade) Bangkok, Thailand Post in providing a level of service consistent with clients' (and senior managements') expectations, the steps taken to overcome these long standing service quality shortcomings, as well as the key lessons to be learnt from the process. Today Austrade provides a professional consulting service and thus possesses similar characteristics to many professional service firms (project management, engineering consulting, general management consulting, etc.) and thus the lessons from this successful change management program may be generalisable to other professional services. Furthermore, the lessons should prove invaluable for Australian firms operating in South-East Asia staffed by expatriates and local nationals.
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Patterson, Paul. "Bringing a Client Focus to International Marketing: A Change Management Case Study." Journal of the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 6, no. 2 (March 2000): 44–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.5172/jmo.2000.6.2.44.
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AbstractConsumers the world over are becoming more homogeneous thanks to the unifying forces of travel, media, technology, information transfer and the like. Furthermore, today customers have higher expectations than ever before regarding the quality of service they should receive from a wide range of service organisations (professional as well as non-professional). As customers are increasingly exposed to world best practice in a wide range of service industries, expectations spiral upwards. Slow, discourteous, unresponsive and unprofessional service will no longer be tolerated - but especially when the service is highly customised, complex, costly and high involvement, professional service.Few, if any, studies have examined service quality issues for professional services in an international context. Hence, this case study documents the problems experienced by the Australian Trade Commission's (Austrade) Bangkok, Thailand Post in providing a level of service consistent with clients' (and senior managements') expectations, the steps taken to overcome these long standing service quality shortcomings, as well as the key lessons to be learnt from the process. Today Austrade provides a professional consulting service and thus possesses similar characteristics to many professional service firms (project management, engineering consulting, general management consulting, etc.) and thus the lessons from this successful change management program may be generalisable to other professional services. Furthermore, the lessons should prove invaluable for Australian firms operating in South-East Asia staffed by expatriates and local nationals.
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Libai, Barak, Eitan Muller, and Renana Peres. "The Diffusion of Services." Journal of Marketing Research 46, no. 2 (April 2009): 163–75. http://dx.doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.46.2.163.
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Many of the products introduced during the past two decades have been services rather than goods. An important influence on the growth and long-term profits of these services is customer attrition, which can occur at the category level (disadoption) or between firms (churn). However, the literature has rarely modeled how services penetrate a market and has not evaluated the effect of attrition on growth. The authors combine diffusion modeling with a customer relationship approach to investigate the influence of attrition on growth in service markets. In particular, the authors model the effects of disadoption and churn on evolution of a category and on growth of individual firms in a competitive environment. The authors show how neglecting disadoption can bias parameter estimation and, especially, market potential. They also derive an expression for the customer equity of a growing service firm and apply it to valuation of firms operating in competitive industries. The results for six of seven firms in four service categories are remarkably close to stock market valuations, an indicator for the role of customer equity in valuations of growing service firms.
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Bitner, Mary Jo, Bernard H. Booms, and Lois A. Mohr. "Critical Service Encounters: The Employee's Viewpoint." Journal of Marketing 58, no. 4 (October 1994): 95–106. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/002224299405800408.
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In service settings, customer satisfaction is often influenced by the quality of the interpersonal interaction between the customer and the contact employee. Previous research has identified the sources of satisfaction and dissatisfaction in service encounters from the customer's point of view; this study explores these sources in service encounters from the contact employee's point of view. Drawing on insights from role, script, and attribution theories, 774 critical service encounters reported by employees of the hotel, restaurant, and airline industries are analyzed and compared with previous research. Results generally support the theoretical predictions and also identify an additional source of customer dissatisfaction—the customer's own misbehavior. The findings have implications for business practice in managing service encounters, employee empowerment and training, and managing customers.
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Qian, Chenxiang, Chih-Fu Wu, Zhenbo Zhang, and Hsin-Yu Huang. "A study on the promotional mix of pre-service in the view of service design." Industrial Management & Data Systems 119, no. 8 (September 9, 2019): 1669–90. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/imds-08-2018-0331.
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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore current marketing communication mixes (MCMs) in two industries, electronics home appliance stores (face-to-face interaction) and remote care (interface-mediated interaction), to propose marketing strategies from the perspective of service design and determine the relationships between service interaction patterns and MCMs in the pre-service phase. Design/methodology/approach Six industry experts in marketing were interviewed through semi-structured interviews, the topic of which focused on the details of five MCMs and their correlations were analyzed using a customer journey maps. Finally, the MCMs were further explored to verify differences in attractiveness to customers, respectively. Findings The result showed that the most attractive activity for the electronics home appliance stores customer is the promotion. And the four face-to-face service interaction patterns and MCMs exhibited a low correlation. In addition, the customers of remote care service argued that the personnel selling was the most attractive MCMs to them. For customers who utilize smart devices to communicate with advertisement exhibited the highest correlation coefficient. Research limitations/implications The limitation of this study is that the research only conducts interview research on two service industries. Practical implications This study was expected to develop improved marketing communication strategies to remedy the sales predicament induced by virtual channels and to increase people’s acceptance of remote care service. Originality/value The value of this paper is to analyze the correlation and difference of MCMs and service interaction patterns between electronics home appliance stores and remote care, and propose a structural model of MCMs for two different industries.
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Shamma, Hamed M., Robert F. Dyer, and Marilyn L. Liebrenz-Himes. "Customer Relationship Management in Professional Service Organizations." International Journal of Customer Relationship Marketing and Management 2, no. 2 (April 2011): 1–15. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/jcrmm.2011040101.
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Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications have gained primary attention in large service industry sectors, such as the financial, telecommunications and hotel industries. However, relatively few researchers have studied CRM in the context of Professional Service Organizations (PSOs). PSOs are found across a broad spectrum of service offerings and they share several key aspects. Some of these aspects include the following: PSOs are high in people-processing features, have close contact with customers, and are high in credence attributes. Given this critical reliance on the customer, most PSOs would benefit from implementing a CRM system to facilitate their business and sustain customer relationships. This paper compares marketing practices and client management approaches in PSOs between those utilizing and those not utilizing a CRM system. The building industry is used as a case study. The paper introduces the CRM concept, describing its significance to the building industry and presents the methodology and findings from an exploratory research investigation. It also presents a framework for CRM applications in PSOs and highlights a future research agenda tempered by some limitations of the research study.
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Eggert, Andreas, Wolfgang Ulaga, and Anna Gehring. "Managing Customer Success in Business Markets: Conceptual Foundation and Practical Application." Journal of Service Management Research 4, no. 2-3 (2020): 121–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.15358/2511-8676-2020-2-3-121.
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Customer success management is gaining momentum in business markets. From an initial focus on selected industries, such as software-as-a-service, interest in customer success is spreading among business-to-business marketing practitioners. To date, academia has largely neglected this concept and its organizational implementation. Based on extant managerial literature and research on value in use in business markets, we distinguish between customer success as a customer-perceived construct, customer success management as a joint customer-supplier management process, and the emerging job position of customer success managers in supplier organizations. Based on the case of a provider of IoT devices, software and services in decision agriculture, we illustrate how customer success management is practiced in a business marketing context and refine our understanding of customer success management and its constituents. Finally, we suggest promising avenues for future research in this managerially important, under-researched and rapidly growing domain.
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Guiltinan, Joseph P. "The Price Bundling of Services: A Normative Framework." Journal of Marketing 51, no. 2 (April 1987): 74–85. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/002224298705100206.
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As product lines have broadened in many industries (particularly service industries), the use of mixed price bundling has increased. In mixed price bundling, a firm offers its customers the choice of buying one or more products/services individually or of buying a “bundle” of two or more products or services at a special discount. The author presents a normative framework for selecting appropriate types of services for different mixed-bundling discount forms. The framework extends the economic theory of bundling (which historically has been applied to tie-in sales) to permit explicit consideration of different types of complementarity relationships and strategic marketing objectives.
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Morgeson, Forrest V., G. Tomas M. Hult, Sunil Mithas, Timothy Keiningham, and Claes Fornell. "Turning Complaining Customers into Loyal Customers: Moderators of the Complaint Handling–Customer Loyalty Relationship." Journal of Marketing 84, no. 5 (June 23, 2020): 79–99. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0022242920929029.
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Firms spend substantial resources responding to customer complaints, and the marketing profession has a long history of supporting that enterprise to promote customer loyalty. The authors question whether this response is always warranted or whether its effectiveness instead depends on economic, industry, customer–firm, product/service, and customer segment factors that may alter the firm’s incentives to compete on complaint management. To consider this question, they integrate economic and marketing theories and investigate factors that influence the complaint recovery–customer loyalty relationship via a sample of 35,597 complaining customers spanning a ten-year period across economic sectors, industries, and firms. Overall, the authors find that the recovery–loyalty relationship is stronger in faster-growing economies, for industries with more competition, for luxury products, and for customers with higher satisfaction and higher expectations of customization. Conversely, the recovery–loyalty relationship is weaker when customers’ expectations of product/service reliability are higher, for manufactured goods, and for men compared with women. The authors discuss implications of these results for managers, policy makers, and researchers for more effective management of customer complaints.
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Solomon, Michael R., Carol Surprenant, John A. Czepiel, and Evelyn G. Gutman. "A Role Theory Perspective on Dyadic Interactions: The Service Encounter." Journal of Marketing 49, no. 1 (January 1985): 99–111. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/002224298504900110.
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This article proposes that the dyadic interaction between a service provider and a customer is an important determinant of the customer's global satisfaction with the service. Based on role theory, a theoretical framework is presented which abstracts some of the critical components of service encounters across industries.
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Buratti, Nicoletta, Francesco Parola, and Giovanni Satta. "Insights on the adoption of social media marketing in B2B services." TQM Journal 30, no. 5 (August 13, 2018): 490–529. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/tqm-11-2017-0136.
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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review extant literature on social media marketing (SMM) in B2B service markets, by scrutinizing and categorizing potential benefits for firms. The study, in particular, empirically investigates the adoption of social media (SM) tools by firms operating in two conservative B2B service industries. Design/methodology/approach A systematic literature review is carried out driving to a deeper understanding of the current state of knowledge on SM in B2B services. Leading peer-review international journals are scrutinized performing ad-hoc queries on the Scopus database using pre-defined keywords. Moreover, a quantitative research is conducted on 60 firms, i.e. tanker shipping companies and ocean carriers, providing empirical insights on their SM activity on three SM platforms, i.e., Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Findings The outcomes from sample firms shed lights on the adoption rate of the most diffused SM tools, the size of the digital networks of stakeholders (number of followers), the intensity of the communication activity (number of posts, shares, photos, videos), and the level of customer engagement (number of likes and shares). Practical implications Research findings suggest to managers that SMM might be an easy-accessible and low-cost option for keeping the pace of sectorial transformations and creating a competitive advantage even in conservative sectors. Originality/value The paper, by investigating B2B service sectors, addresses an interesting gap in SMM literature as prior studies mostly focused on B2C industries and manufacturing contexts.
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PAI, Chih-Hung, Kuo-Min KO, and Troy SANTOS. "A Study of the Effect of Service Recovery on Customer Loyalty Based On Marketing Word Of Mouth in Tourism Industry." Revista de Cercetare si Interventie Sociala 64 (March 6, 2019): 74–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.33788/rcis.64.6.
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Akamavi, R K., Mohamed, E., Pellmann, K., & Xu, Y. (2015). Key determinants of passenger loyalty in the low-cost airline business. Tourism Management, 46, 528-545. Baldus, B.J., Voorhees, C., & Calantone, R. (2015). Online brand community engagement: Scale development and validation. Journal of Business Research, 68(5), 978-985. Boo, H.V. (2017). Service Environment of Restaurants: Findings from the youth customers. Journal of Asian Behavioural Studies, 2(2), 67-77. Bowen, T.J., & Chen, S.L. (2015). Transitioning Loyalty Programs: A Commentary on the Relationship Between Customer Loyalty & Customer Satisfaction. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 27(3), 415-430. Casidy, R., & Shin, H. (2015). The effects of harm directions and service recovery strategies on customer forgiveness and negative word-of-mouth intentions. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 27, 103-112. Chang, J.H. (2017). The role of relationship on time and monetary compensation. The Service Industries Journal, 37, 915-935. Fan, A., Mattila, A.S., & Zhao, X. (2015). How does social distance impact customers’ complaint intentions? A cross-cultural examination. International Journal of Health Policy and Management, 47, 35-42. Gohary, A., Hamzelu, B., & Alizadeh, H. (2016). Please explain why it happened! How perceived justice and customer involvement affect post co-recovery evaluations: a study of Iranian online shoppers. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 31, 127-142. Guo, L., Lotz, S.L., Tang, C., & Gruen, T.W. (2015). The role of perceived control in customer value cocreation and service recovery evaluation. Journal of Service Research, 19(1), 39-56. Heidenreich, S., Wittkowski, K., Handrich, M., & Falk, T. (2015). The dark side of customer co-creation: exploring the consequences of failed co-created services. The Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(3), 279-296. Hsu, C.L., & Lin, J.C.C. (2016). Effect of perceived value and social influences onmobile app stickiness and in-app purchase intention.Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 108, 42-53. Kashif, M., Zarkada, A., & Ramayah, T. (2016).The impact of attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control on managers’ intentions to behave ethically. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 29(5-6), 1-21. Li, M., Qiu, S.C., & Liu, Z., (2016). The Chinese way of response to hospitality service failure: The effects of face and guanxi. International Journal Hospital Management, 57, 18-29. Liu, S.Q., & Mattila, A.S. (2015). “I Want to Help” versus “I Am Just Mad” how affective commitment influences customer feedback decisions. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 56(2), 213-222. Oman, B., Pepur, M., & Arneric, J. (2016). The impact of service quality and sport-team identification on the repurchase intention. Journal of Contemporary Management Issues, 21(1), 19-46. Ozuem, W., Patel, A., Howell, K.E. & Lancaster, G. (2016). An Exploration of Consumers' Response to Online Service Recovery Initiatives. International Journal of Market Research, 59(1), 97-115. Park, J., & Ha, S. (2016). Co-creation of service recovery: Utilitarian and hedonic value and post-recovery responses. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 28, 310-316. Rezaei, S., Shahijan, M.K., Amin, M., & Ismail, W.K.W. (2016). Determinants ofapp stores continuance behavior: A pls path modellingapproach. Journal of Internet Commerce, 15(4), 408-440. Sengupta, S.A., Balaji, M., & Krishnan, B.C. (2015). How customers cope with service failure? A study of brand reputation and customer satisfaction. Journal of Business Research, 68(3), 665-674. Sloan, S., Bodey, K., & Gyrd-Jones, R. (2015). Knowledge sharing in online brand communities. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 18(3), 320-345. Tan, C., Benbasat, I. & Cenfetelli, R.T. (2016). An Exploratory Study of the Formation and Impact of Electronic Service Failures. MIS Quarterly, 40(1), 1-31. Van Vaerenbergh, Y., & Orsingher, C. (2016). Service Recovery: An Integrative Framework and Research Agenda. The Academy of Management Perspectives, 30(3), 328-346. Varela, J.C.S., Svensson, G., Brambilla, F.R., & Oliveros, M.E.G. (2015) Perceived Justice & Emotions in a Negative Service Encounter: A Latin American Perspective. In: Kubacki K. (eds). Ideas in Marketing: Finding the New and Polishing the Old. Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science. Cham: Springer. Vyas, V. & Raitani, S. (2015). A Study of the Impact of Relationship Marketing on Cross-Buying. Journal of Relationship Marketing, 14(2), 79-108. Weber, K., Sparks, B., & Hsu, C.H. (2016). The effects of acculturation, social distinctiveness, and social presence in a service failure situation. International Journal Hospital Management, 56, 44-55. Wu, J., Huang, L., Zhao, J.L., & Hua, Z. (2015).The deeper, the better? Effect of online brand community activity on customer purchase frequency. Information & Management, 52(7), 813-823. Yang, A., Chen, Y., & Huang, Y. (2017). Enhancing customer loyalty in tourism services: the role of customer-company identification and customer participation. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 22(7), 735-746. Zhang, H., Zhang, K.Z., Lee, M.K., & Feng, F. (2015). Brand loyalty in enterprise microblogs: Influence of community commitment, IT habit, and participation. Information Technology & People, 28(2), 304-326.
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Labus, Michael, and Merlin Stone. "The CRM behaviour theory – Managing corporate customer relationships in service industries." Journal of Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management 17, no. 3-4 (September 2010): 155–73. http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/dbm.2010.17.
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Meuter, Matthew L., Mary Jo Bitner, Amy L. Ostrom, and Stephen W. Brown. "Choosing among Alternative Service Delivery Modes: An Investigation of Customer Trial of Self-Service Technologies." Journal of Marketing 69, no. 2 (April 2005): 61–83. http://dx.doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.69.2.61.60759.
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Electronic commerce is an increasingly popular business model with a wide range of tools available to firms. An application that is becoming more common is the use of self-service technologies (SSTs), such as telephone banking, automated hotel checkout, and online investment trading, whereby customers produce services for themselves without assistance from firm employees. Widespread introduction of SSTs is apparent across industries, yet relatively little is known about why customers decide to try SSTs and why some SSTs are more widely accepted than others. In this research, the authors explore key factors that influence the initial SST trial decision, specifically focusing on actual behavior in situations in which the consumer has a choice among delivery modes. The authors show that the consumer readiness variables of role clarity, motivation, and ability are key mediators between established adoption constructs (innovation characteristics and individual differences) and the likelihood of trial.
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Shi, Guicheng, Yi-zheng Shi, Allan K. K. Chan, and Yonggui Wang. "Relationship Strength in Service Industries: A Measurement Model." International Journal of Market Research 51, no. 5 (January 2009): 1–20. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/147078530905100507.
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Although one of the key objectives of relationship marketing is to build a strong relationship with customers, the construct of relationship strength is recent and there is little research into its measurement and validation. Based on an intensive literature review, relationship strength is conceptualised and a tridimensional measurement model is proposed that comprises affective strength, cognitive strength and conative strength. Then, a measurement scale of relationship strength in the context of selling services is developed and validated. The empirical results indicate that the measurement scale has acceptable levels of reliability, unidimensionality, convergent validity, discriminant validity and nomological validity.
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Sajjanit, Chonlada, and Nopadol Rompho. "Measuring customer-oriented product returns service performance." International Journal of Logistics Management 30, no. 3 (August 12, 2019): 772–96. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ijlm-06-2018-0157.
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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to conceptualise customer-oriented product returns service (COPRS) performance, and develop and validate its measure. Design/methodology/approach This study uses qualitative consumer interviews and a quantitative survey to conceptualise, operationalise and validate the measure of COPRS performance. Findings The findings indicate 12 components with 46 measurable items for COPRS performance, including assurance, compensation, convenience, empathy, employee empowerment, explanation, feedback, information availability, reliability, responsiveness, tangibles and timeliness. Research limitations/implications The measure could facilitate future empirical studies in the product returns service area. Future research could apply the COPRS performance measure across industries or in different settings such as cross-cultural or other retailing contexts. Practical implications Managers could evaluate their existing returns service performance in different key aspects based on the COPRS performance metrics and then improve their returns offerings accordingly. It also alerts practitioners to pay more attention to functional integration in designing returns service strategies to enhance customer satisfaction. Originality/value The study is one of the first to develop a new measure that substantiates the notion of an integrated marketing and reverse logistics interface, which is an underrepresented body of knowledge in the marketing and operations management disciplines.
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Mbarek, R., and Y. Baeshen. "Telecommunications Customer Churn and Loyalty Intention." Marketing and Management of Innovations, no. 4 (2019): 110–17. http://dx.doi.org/10.21272/mmi.2019.4-09.
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Nowadays the telecommunications sector is becoming very complex Because of the panoply of high-speed technological services. Customers are abandoning the services offered by telecommunications operators because of their dissatisfaction with the services they offer. «Churn» or the migration of customers from one telecommunications operator to another is the main problem facing the telecommunications industries worldwide. Business managers consider the quality of service to be paramount. As a consequence, they have devised reliable criteria to assess the flow of customers within the market and check and evaluate whether customers are satisfied with the services they are offered. This, in turn, helps to establish customer loyalty and provide a healthy and sustainable trading agreement. Service quality control assessment is pivotal to identify the leverage and evaluate the internal and external competition in the industry. Although this concept is not foreign, rather it is an essential business management tool. The goal of this study is to determine the significant criteria for the cause migration of a Tunisie Telecom customer to another operator. Telecommunication is an essential lifelong component that contributes to the comfortability of our daily lives. The various means of telephone communication play a significant role in improving the effectiveness of communication industry. Every telecommunication operator is aware today that it is cheaper to retain an existing customer than to seek to recruit a new one. Indeed, we noticed that the telecommunications market is characterized by intense competition, where a change in the quality of service or a negative interaction perceived by the customer could risk losing them. As a result, the majority of operators introduce studies and action plans to retain customers and keep them as long as possible. The notion of keeping customers and building loyalty is probably one of the biggest challenges that operators around the world face in global competition. In order to achieve the goals set by telecom operators and to achieve maximum profitability, operators must effectively analyze market data and adopt a most effective targeted communications strategy for their customers. Keywords: churn analysis, customer loyalty, mobile marketing, telecommunications, telecommunications customer.
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“Miracle” Qi, Ji, Alexander E. Ellinger, and George R. Franke. "Work design and frontline employee engagement." Journal of Service Theory and Practice 28, no. 5 (September 10, 2018): 636–60. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/jstp-04-2017-0061.
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Purpose In response to calls for the identification of approaches that promote frontline employee (FLE) engagement, the purpose of this paper is to extend the current understanding of the influence of work design by testing competing mediating models that assess job resource and social exchange aspects of work design as either intermediate or antecedent mechanisms in reciprocal social exchanges between service provider firms and FLEs. Moderating effects of interactions between job resources and organizational support and customer focus on engagement are also assessed. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire is administered to 525 FLEs from multiple service industries. Structural equation modeling is used to test hypotheses and examine their robustness relative to competing models. Common method bias is assessed using a confirmatory factor analysis marker variable technique. Findings Organizational support and customer focus are identified as proximal mediating social exchange aspects of work design that, consistent with role-specific conceptualizations of engagement, differentially influence FLE job and organization engagement. Practical implications The study findings offer insight about how firms can implement job resource and social exchange aspects of work design to favorably influence FLE engagement. Originality/value Services marketing research continues to focus more on service recipients than on FLE service providers. The examination of reciprocal social exchanges between service provider firms and FLEs sheds light on the complexities associated with exploiting aspects of work design to more effectively engage FLEs.
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Bressolles, Grégory, Francois Durrieu, and Kenneth R. Deans. "An examination of the online service-profit chain." International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management 43, no. 8 (August 10, 2015): 727–51. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ijrdm-11-2013-0214.
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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the service-profit chain (SPC) on e-service quality dimensions, online customer value (CV) dimensions, e-satisfaction, and e-loyalty in an e-commerce context. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 2,813 internet customers filled in an online questionnaire after completing a specified task on one of 28 wine web sites from seven countries. Findings – The results highlight the impact of the dimensions of e-service quality (information, aesthetics, ease of use, security/privacy, and reliability) on the dimensions of online CV (functional, economic, and social value) as they affect e-satisfaction, which in turn influences e-loyalty. The results validate the SPC in an e-commerce context and also stress the partial mediating role of the dimensions of online CV between the dimensions of e-service quality and e-satisfaction. Research limitations/implications – The sample may not exactly match the customer profile of the web sites analyzed. In order to generalize the results, future research should replicate this study with a customer sample from each web site. Future research could also take into account other variables that may have an influence on the relationships identified. Additionally it would be interesting to replicate the study in other industries and undertake longitudinal studies in one or more industries. Practical implications – From a managerial point of view, online retailers, especially in the wine sector, can positively affect CV, satisfaction, and loyalty by focussing on information, aesthetics, ease of use, security/privacy, and reliability. Originality/value – This paper is the first to study the SPC by examining service quality dimensions, CV dimensions, satisfaction, and loyalty in an online context. It extends the knowledge of online retailing by validating the SPC on the dimensions of traditional service concepts, such as service quality and CV. The findings can assist online retailers to better understand the dynamics of online customer relationships and the implications for customer satisfaction and ultimately loyalty.
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Horodetskyy, Mykola. "APPROACHES TO FORMING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF CAR SERVICE ENTERPRISES." Economic discourse, no. 4 (December 2019): 102–13. http://dx.doi.org/10.36742/2410-0919-2019-4-11.
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Introduction. The problem of competitiveness management occupies one of the leading positions in the economic policy of the state. Competitiveness management applies to all levels of the hierarchy: industry, region, products, services and the state as a whole. But the notion of “enterprise competitiveness” is of particular importance, since this entity is the mainstay of the economy. Describing the peculiarities of the development of competition in the market of car services, it should be noted that it largely involves the formation of each product appropriate policy. That is, in the competition various car services are trying to offer the most attractive range of services. Understanding the specifics of the auto service industry in the field of competition, namely the concentration of efforts simultaneously on all elements of communication with consumers of auto services, led to the need for theoretical research and analytical evaluation of the management of the competitiveness of auto service enterprises. Methods. Theoretical and methodological basis of the article are the fundamental provisions of modern economic theory, scientific works of scientists on the problems of market analysis. The following methods were used in the course of the research, in particular: analysis and synthesis – to study the object and object of the research; abstract and logical (theoretical generalizations and formulation of conclusions); constructive and experimental (formation of management decision by means of analytical support). Results. The methodology of forming tools for competitiveness of car service companies is proposed. An algorithm for passing the stages of determining and realizing the competitive advantage of a car service enterprise has been developed. The method of segmentation of the car services market based on the basic parameters is defined: geographical – external, internal market, regional markets; climate, relief, urbanization; demographic – population, density, height, gender and others; social, cultural, psychographic – social status, way of life, level of education, personal qualities, motives of behaviour; economic – income level, solvency; sectoral – specificity of different industries; customer benefits – different motivation in choosing a company and services; clientele status – regular and potential clients, former clients, newcomers. Based on the selected parameters, the segments were separated by grouping methods and multidimensional statistical analysis. The tools for ensuring the competitive strategy of the car service company and the information necessary for its formation have been identified. The directions of the general marketing strategy as realization of the general strategy of formation of competitiveness of car services are substantiated. Discussion. The obtained theoretical and applied recommendations can be used to improve the existing approaches to creating the competitiveness management of car service companies, to identify the extent of their implementation. Keywords: marketing, positioning, analysis, management, car service, car service enterprises, competitiveness, assessment of competitiveness.
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Abdur Rehman, Mohsin, Ismah Osman, Khurram Aziz, Hannah Koh, and Muhammad Awais. "Get connected with your Takaful representatives." Journal of Islamic Marketing 11, no. 5 (December 5, 2019): 1175–200. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/jima-06-2019-0122.
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Purpose Marketing investigations on the concomitant variables of both service quality and relationship marketing are very scarce. Hence, the purpose of this study is to examine the customers’ perception of the Takaful (Islamic insurance) in relation to service quality and relationship marketing. More importantly, the examination of the impact of both service quality and relationship marketing on corporate image is further established. Accordingly, corporate reputation and customer loyalty were further evaluated, along with these respective interactions. Design/methodology/approach A self-administered survey was conducted from 350 Malaysian customers of Takaful products and services. The purposive sampling was used to collect data from the existing customers of Takaful service operators in the Klang Valley, an area in Malaysia. The questionnaire was constructed through measures of PAKSERV for service quality, as well as other measures related to relationship marketing and other constructs in this study. Structured equation modeling was used in the analysis of data. Findings The current study is the first one of its kind to examine perceptions of customers of relationship marketing and service quality as predictors of corporate image, which drives corporate reputation and ultimate customer loyalty from the perspective of the Takaful industry in Malaysia. Service quality dimensions (tangibility, reliability and personalization) and relationship marketing dimensions (Islamic ethical behavior and structural bond) positively influence corporate image of the Takaful organizations. Moreover, customer loyalty can be predicted, mainly through corporate reputation as well as corporate image. Research limitations/implications The present study is focused on the existing Malaysian Takaful customers as the population frame. Accordingly, future research studies may evaluate the same model, but perhaps in another different cultural context where the Takaful industry can grow and expand in other countries, including Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Pakistan. More importantly, the same variables may be verified to different service industries in future studies, especially those constructs related to relationship marketing because many products and services at present can be attained without face-to-face interactions through online transactions without having brick and mortar businesses. Practical implications It is important for Takaful service operators to focus on connecting the social and financial bonds to ensure the fulfilment of customers’ needs. They also need to improve the qualities related to tangibility, reliability and personalization to be able to increase their market share, especially in this present highly competitive market. Indeed, Takaful generally provides financial protection and risk management; nevertheless, the religious and ethical values need to be embraced in totality unlike conventional insurance, which has the element of gambling, uncertainty and the imposition of interest. Hence, this study aims to assist the Takaful operators toward achieving corporate reputation and apparently customer loyalty for them to remain relevant in this industry. Originality/value The model used in this study is based on the cultural context of Malaysia from the perspective of the Takaful industry. It attempts to explain customer loyalty through the incorporation of service quality and relationship marketing dimensions, where it is associated with the elements of the values of Islamic ethics especially in business transactions. More importantly, these dimensions were put together to identify its impact on corporate image, corporate reputation, and ultimately, customer loyalty, thus illustrating a distinct set of outcomes of the present study.
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Juma Adhaya, Zedekia, and Stephen Ochieng Odock. "A Review of the Effects of Self-Service Technologies on Firm Performance in Kenya." Multidisciplinary Journal of Technical University of Mombasa 1, no. 2 (May 26, 2021): 48–56. http://dx.doi.org/10.48039/mjtum.v1i2.36.
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Self-service technology (SST) continues to create tremendous impact on the business environment globally. A technology that allows consumers to take on the traditional place of service agents in the provision of services. Business organizations are taking advantage of the advancement in technology to improve service delivery and performance. The advancement in technology particularly with respect to nanotechnology, genome sequencing and artificial intelligence are among the drivers of the 4th Industrial Revolution. Consequently, information technology advancement is changing the marketing landscape of goods and services such that service industry, notably hospitality and transport have increased the prevalence of SSTs, as critical drivers of an organization’s industrial strength level. By a firm adopting technology-based strategy, this means higher clients’ satisfaction, cost minimization, and faster accurate service delivery with higher consistency among other benefits. This paper therefore, assesses the impact of SSTs and emphasizes on actual adoption and usage of self-service as proposed by technology acceptance model. The study reviews theoretical and empirical literature on the subject of SSTs and firm performance, identifies the research gaps and puts forward a suitable conceptual framework that can investigate the link between SST and firm performance. This paper uses secondary data to establish research gaps and the determinant of the success of adoption of SST by a firm. From a total of 54 articles reviewed, almost all studies on SSTs are based on the service sector focusing least on the internal customers in Kenya. A few studies related directly to the performance of the firms to the adoption of SSTs. Agricultural and manufacturing sectors particularly in the rural areas are unexploited directly. This is due to infrastructural imbalances in the urban and rural areas. The outcome of this review would enlighten; administrators of firms in Kenya and the entire East African region on the importance of ICT infrastructure, the information resources and the strategies for optimizing electronic services to attain competitive advantage. It widens the frontiers of knowledge for the academic community in production and operation management and enhances the understanding of the customer SST interactions in different industries. It creates further valuable implications on the industrial sectors, principally to the managers who use the information in drafting service related strategies and hence become a yardstick to evaluate the present service initiatives appropriately. It allows the managers to have a basis to determine whether the massive investment in adoption of technology is justifiable. Finally, this paper contributes to the existing knowledge in self-service technology and customer satisfaction and serves as source of reference to future researchers and academicians in this field.
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Valmohammadi, Changiz, and Mohammad Beladpas. "Customer relationship management and service quality, a survey within the banking sector." Industrial and Commercial Training 46, no. 2 (February 25, 2014): 77–83. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ict-08-2013-0056.
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Purpose – In the centre of marketing activities today is the service quality. For the banks to be successful in the intensively competitive environment, they are bound to attach importance to service quality. The purpose of the present study is to reveal the relationship between the customer relationship management (CRM) and the service quality of bank Sepah of Maku in Iran. Design/methodology/approach – A structured questionnaire survey was used to collect data for this research, and this process was administered by conducting personal interviews. The questionnaire included self-developed items, as well as items from questionnaires used in previous researches. Findings – The findings of this study suggest that managers, who aim to build and sustain a service quality base, should concentrate on the issue of communication. And also, this bank should implement strategies aimed at improving the communication with customers and obtaining information concerning the customers' needs, and resolving conflicts between the customer and the bank during a service failure. Research limitations/implications – The sample is restricted to only one bank, so it is strongly recommended that data be gathered from various parts of Iran including both manufacturing and service industries. As in this study the data gathered were cross-sectional, it is recommended in order to gain deeper understanding of the cause-and-effect relationship among the variables data to be gathered longitudinally. Originality/value – To the best knowledge of the authors this study is the first attempt to survey the relationship and the effects of CRM processes on the service quality of banking industry in the context of Iran.
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Lau, Henry, Dilupa Nakandala, Premaratne Samaranayake, and Paul K. Shum. "BPM for supporting customer relationship and profit decision." Business Process Management Journal 22, no. 1 (February 5, 2016): 231–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/bpmj-04-2015-0039.
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Purpose – As a response to increasing global market competition, companies in various industries tend to identify and manage customer relationship to increase profit performance. Companies commit more resources to identify their VIP customers and retain them by all means. The purpose of this paper is to develop a customer relationship management (CRM) business process management (BPM) model to identify airline customers with different degree of relationship and profit potential, and select the highly profitable customers for developing retention strategy and processes, and convert the less profitable into profitable corporate accounts. Design/methodology/approach – This study innovatively apply the well-known techniques including CRM and relationship marketing models, fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP), and technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) in the BPM research. This novel approach analyzes longer term customer profit and value potential, and prioritizes corporate accounts as the basis for setting appropriate customer service levels and improving the CRM process. This hybrid model is able to capitalize on the benefits of these methods and offset their deficiencies. Most importantly, it can be customized to various industries without complex modification. Findings – This study uses data of an airline company to validate feasibility of the proposed CRM BPM model. The results indicate that this model is able to classify the customers based on various criteria and sub-criteria, thus allowing companies to introduce appropriate service levels to deal with different categories of customers, and improve CRM process so as to maximize customer profit and value potential. Practical implications – This CRM BPM model and analysis provide managers extensive customer knowledge, more analytical and fact-based decision-making support, and a stronger focus on return on investment in sales and marketing. Knowing the profit and value potential generated by individual corporate customer makes it easier to establish the link between the CRM and the profit outcome. This model also benefits the organization and its stakeholders by allocating more resources to the targeted customer relationships that are profitable or valuable, and makes marketing more accountable in its marketing programs. Originality/value – This study makes the first move to innovatively apply the well-known techniques including CRM and relationship marketing models, FAHP, and TOPSIS in the BPM research.
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Lo, Chun-Hsien, and Fang-Pei Nieh. "A Study on the Correlations among Organizational Support, Professional Commitment, and Employee Engagement in Catering Industry." Acta Oeconomica 65, s2 (December 2015): 339–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.1556/032.65.2015.s2.25.
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The gross product of catering industry in developed countries often exceeds most other industries because of changing styles of societies, economic development, increasing national income, frequent international trade, and convenient and rapid transportation. The economic development in Taiwan has stepped in service-oriented phase from industrial economy and is approaching the mature economy of advanced countries. The marketing and management strategies for catering industry have become important as it is a business related to “people”, with more personnel than other industries, mainly providing delicate food, which is regarded as the key in tourism industry, and offering better products and services for customers. Aiming at the staffin Landis Hotels & Resorts as the research subject, total 280 copies of questionnaires are distributed, and 176 valid copies are retrieved, with the retrieval rate 63%. The research findings show the significant correlations between 1. Organizational Support and Professional Commitment, 2. Professional Commitment and Employee Engagement, and 3. Organizational Support and Employee Engagement.
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Vakulenko, Yulia, Daniel Hellström, and Pejvak Oghazi. "Customer value in self-service kiosks: a systematic literature review." International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management 46, no. 5 (May 14, 2018): 507–27. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ijrdm-04-2017-0084.
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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a cohesive overview of the available self-service and customer value literature, identify customer value in self-service kiosks (SSKs), and analyze this value from the customer experience perspective. Design/methodology/approach The study comprises a systematic literature review of available works on customer value. Findings The paper presents conclusions on the SSK’s technological forms, presence in industries, and conceptual state. The review also provides a cohesive inventory of customer value elements in SSKs. The in-depth analysis proposes two alternative models of the customer value creation process: linear and circular. Research limitations/implications The study reveals gaps stemming from the inconsistency and fragmented nature of previous research on customer value in SSKs. The gaps are treated as opportunities for future studies. Practical implications By identifying new sources of competitive advantage and new ways to improve customer service strategies and experience management, the findings support managerial decision making at the stages of considering, implementing, and improving SSK networks. Originality/value This study is the first to systematically review and provide an inventory of customer value elements in SSKs. It, therefore, offers new perspectives on customer value creation using self-service technology.
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Sharples, Liz. "Research note: customer experience management in cruise pre-consumption." International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research 13, no. 2 (June 3, 2019): 235–43. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ijcthr-02-2019-0023.
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Purpose This study aims to apply the relatively new concept of customer experience management (CXM) to the pre-consumptive stage within a cruise tourist’s journey. Design/methodology/approach The work will apply CXM to the tourism sector and, in particular to the cruise market. Academics have noted how CXM needs to takes a holistic integrated approach and focus on the complete customer experience. The cruise sector has been selected for this research because, it is the fastest growing tourism sector globally and the pre-consumption stage for cruise passengers is longer than for other vacation types. Findings This study has shown how CXM has emerged from the more traditional marketing concept of relationship marketing and has highlighted its relevance within the tourism industry, in particular, the cruise sector. In addition, the work has shown how adapting CXM to the pre-consumptive phase more fully will enhance consumer relationships and improve business performance. Research limitations/implications This work is conceptual. It is proposed that the research propositions should be verified within the pre-consumptive stage of cruise passenger journeys. Another limitation is that the focus has been solely on the cruise sector and future research could be extended to other tourism service industries. Practical implications This work will provide tourism and other service industry managers with a new strategy to enhance consumer experience and improve business performance in the pre-consumptive stage and extend academic understanding within this stage of a cruise tourist’s vacation. Originality/value This research is significant because CXM is a model, which has been used within service businesses, but had a limited application to the cruise sector and to the pre-consumption timeframe. It is important to understand cruise passengers in this time-frame to encourage positive relationships, to potentially increase revenue opportunities and provide an overall improved consumer experience.
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Hübner, Denis, Stephan M. Wagner, and Stefan Kurpjuweit. "The service recovery paradox in B2B relationships." Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing 33, no. 3 (April 3, 2018): 291–302. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/jbim-03-2016-0055.
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Purpose This study aims to explore the service recovery paradox (SRP) in business to business (B2B) relationships. Previously, this phenomenon has been identified in consumer-facing industries. The research advances the marketing literature by highlighting the ways in which the antecedents of the service recovery paradox differ between B2B and consumer markets. Design/methodology/approach This research draws upon findings on the SRP in the consumer setting and service failure literature in business to consumer and B2B contexts. For the analysis, interview data were collected from 43 informants among clients and service providers in the aftermath of a service failure. Findings The authors propose an exploratory model of the SRP for B2B relationships. In the B2B setting the propensity of eliciting the SRP depends on (1) the characteristics of the service failure, (2) the attributes of the service recovery and (3) the shared subjective perceptions among boundary spanners. Practical implications Empowered operating-level employees, straightforward communication, immediate responses and action plans that ensure future conformance are the key factors to turn service failures into increased customer satisfaction. Originality/value This study is the first to transfer the SRP from consumer marketing into the B2B domain. Moreover, it derives an exploratory model of the SRP, which can be refined by future research.
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Cassia, Fabio, Nicola Cobelli, and Marta Ugolini. "The effects of goods-related and service-related B2B brand images on customer loyalty." Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing 32, no. 5 (June 5, 2017): 722–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/jbim-05-2016-0095.
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Purpose Previous research has shown that business-to-business (B2B) brand image has positive effects on customer loyalty. However, the results have been inconsistent because they have highlighted that B2B brand image has either direct or mediated effects on loyalty. Drawing on the framework of service transition, this study aims to develop and test a model that reconciles previous findings. This model suggests that goods-related and service-related B2B brand images coexist in customers’ perceptions and impact customer loyalty in different ways. Design/methodology/approach A model was developed and estimated using covariance-based structural equation modeling. The data used in the analysis were collected through a survey in the Italian health-care industry, focusing on the relationship between hearing aid manufacturers and audiologists. Findings Both goods-related and service-related B2B brand images have positive effects on loyalty. However, while the effects of goods-related image on loyalty are fully mediated by satisfaction, service-related image has both direct and mediated effects on loyalty. Research limitations/implications This study reconciles previous work arguing that B2B brand image has either direct or mediated effects on loyalty by focusing on the transition from a goods-oriented logic for branding to service branding. In particular, the analysis focuses on the role of the brand in the co-creation process, suggesting that a service-related brand image reflects the value unfolding over time through co-created experiences. However, additional research needs to be conducted in other industries before the results can be generalized. Practical implications The findings provide managers with insights for the co-creation of their B2B brand images. In particular, the results urge managers to integrate the traditional goods-oriented approach to branding with service branding, showing that enriching B2B brand image with service-related aspects will have a direct and positive effect on loyalty. However, brand image cannot be created or changed unilaterally by the firm as it is determined by the customer based on co-creation experiences. Originality/value This is the first study to explicitly and separately consider the effects of goods-related and service-related aspects of B2B brand image on loyalty. It also is one of the first studies to apply service logic to B2B branding issues.
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Mittal, Vikas, Kyuhong Han, Ju-Yeon Lee, and Shrihari Sridhar. "Improving Business-to-Business Customer Satisfaction Programs: Assessment of Asymmetry, Heterogeneity, and Financial Impact." Journal of Marketing Research 58, no. 4 (June 29, 2021): 615–43. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00222437211013781.
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Business-to-business (B2B) companies devote significant resources to measure customer satisfaction but lack guidance on critical aspects of implementing satisfaction programs. Accordingly, executives ask: (1) What are the key strategic attributes driving B2B customer satisfaction? (2) Are the strategic attributes satisfaction balancing, satisfaction maintaining, or satisfaction enhancing based on the pattern of asymmetry? (3) Do the sign and magnitude of asymmetry vary across industry and customer subgroups? and (4) Is there a generalizable link between satisfaction and financial performance for B2B firms? Study 1 uses qualitative and secondary research to identify and validate eight strategic attributes pertinent to B2B companies: quality of product/service, pricing, safety, sales process, project management, corporate social responsibility, communication, and ongoing service and support. Study 2 examines industry-subgroup heterogeneity in the nature of asymmetry across industries, then links satisfaction with performance (i.e., sales). Study 3 finds customer-subgroup heterogeneity in the nature of asymmetry within the customer base of a B2B service provider, then links satisfaction with performance (i.e., dollar value of purchase).
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Maarit Jalkala, Anne, and Joona Keränen. "Brand positioning strategies for industrial firms providing customer solutions." Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing 29, no. 3 (March 4, 2014): 253–64. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/jbim-10-2011-0138.
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Purpose – Despite increasing interest in customer solutions, and the importance of brand management in the B2B context, prior research provides little understanding on brand positioning strategies adopted by solution providers. The present study aims to examine the possible brand positioning strategies for industrial firms providing customer solutions. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical part of the present study consists of a multiple case study, involving four industrial firms providing customer solutions. Primary data was gathered by semi-structured interviews from a total of 22 business managers from the case companies. Findings – The present study identifies four possible brand position strategies for industrial firms providing customer solutions: customer value diagnostic, global solution integrator, high quality sub-systems provider, and long-term service partner. The identified strategies highlight the tendency of solution suppliers to position their brands around different capabilities that are needed at different phases of the solution delivery process. Research limitations/implications – The present study was conducted from the industrial supplier's perspective and is context-bound to companies operating in solution-oriented process and information technology industries. Practical implications – Managers need to identify the capabilities that are central to delivering customer value and acquire and/or develop capability configurations that differentiate their brand positioning from competitors. Originality/value – Existing literature on branding lacks understanding about the specific characteristics of building brands in solution-oriented B2B contexts. The present study identifies four brand positioning strategies that illuminate the special characteristics of branding customer solutions.
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Atefi, Yashar, Michael Ahearne, Sebastian Hohenberg, Zachary Hall, and Florian Zettelmeyer. "Open Negotiation: The Back-End Benefits of Salespeople’s Transparency in the Front End." Journal of Marketing Research 57, no. 6 (October 1, 2020): 1076–94. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0022243720951153.
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Negotiations today are less likely to be characterized by information asymmetry—the notion that buyers are less informed than sellers—due to the amount of information available to buyers. A number of industries have reacted to this change by shifting their attention to earning profits in aftermarkets: products and services that augment the main purchase (e.g., add-ons, insurance, financing, service and maintenance). In these aftermarkets, firms often retain an information advantage, even if information asymmetries are eliminated from the main purchase. This has given rise to an interesting setting untapped by prior research: information “symmetry” in the front end (main purchase) and information “asymmetry” in the back end (aftermarket). The authors argue that symmetry in the front end provides an opportunity to build trust, as the knowledgeable customer can verify the information disclosed by the seller. In an observational study in the automotive industry, the authors find that customers to whom the salesperson revealed the cost of a car at the beginning of the negotiation spent significantly more in the back end than others. As corroborated in subsequent studies, this effect holds only when cost is disclosed at the beginning of the negotiation and when customers can verify the cost information.
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Lau, Henry, Dilupa Nakandala, Premaratne Samaranayake, and Paul Shum. "A hybrid multi-criteria decision model for supporting customer-focused profitability analysis." Industrial Management & Data Systems 116, no. 6 (July 11, 2016): 1105–30. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/imds-10-2015-0410.
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Purpose – Strategic analysis of customer profitability for assessing market segmentation and reconfiguring customer relationship management (CRM) activities remains the key factor for achieving high return on CRM investment. The purpose of this paper is to map the profit-based ranking of corporate customers into the current market segments, with a view of determining the relative profitability of each market segment. Design/methodology/approach – This study develops a novel model that combines activity-based costing (ABC), CRM, fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP), and technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) methods to evaluate strategically customer profitability and prioritizing corporate accounts. This case study airline company has invested heavily in CRM over the past seven years on integrating multi-functional departments that touch customers. The airline operations management and marketing functions provide key inputs. Results of the hybrid model validate feasibility of the proposed model. Findings – The airline management makes use of the ranking results to optimize customer profitability by reconfiguring marketing programs, integrated schedule design, fleet assignment, maintenance routing, crew scheduling, and real-time optimization of schedule recovery in the aftermath of disruptions or irregularities. The proposed model also directs the marketing function to customize service offerings and introduce appropriate service levels to engage customers of different segments for the purpose of maximizing corporate profitability. Research limitations/implications – Significant amount of investment is necessary to design and implement the extensive CRM database and systems to assure customer data quality and availability so as to bear fruits in the proposed hybrid model. These data requirements can especially be a critical barrier for small to medium-sized companies. Practical implications – This hybrid model is able to capitalize on the benefits of the ABC, CRM, fuzzy AHP, and TOPSIS methods and offset their deficiencies. Most importantly, it can be applied to various industries without complex modification. Originality/value – This study represents the first move to adopt the fuzzy AHP and TOPSIS methods to analyze the ABC and CRM data inputs of an airline company. In mapping the profit-based ranking of corporate customers into the current market segments, the relative profitability of each market segment can be determined.
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Mooi, Erik, Vishal Kashyap, and Marc van Aken. "Governance and customer value creation in business solutions." Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing 35, no. 6 (March 20, 2020): 1089–98. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/jbim-02-2019-0085.
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Purpose This paper aims to consider the impact of contractual and normative governance mechanisms on recommendation intent in a context of healthcare and professional lighting where repeat business from a customer is absent. The authors suggest both contractual and normative governance can create recommendation intent, but only when sufficient customer value is created. Design/methodology/approach The authors draw on a combination of survey and archival data from the supplier and customer in the medical equipment and advanced (business) lighting systems industries. The authors analyze the data using seemingly unrelated regression and mediation tests. Findings Contracts and relational norms can increase customer recommendation intent, but only when the supplier creates customer value. Practical implications The paper’s findings suggest that customers of business solutions are more likely to recommend their supplier when contracts are relatively detailed and when buyers and suppliers attempt to craft strong relational norms, despite service solutions being delivered during a relatively short time span. Originality/value The extant research on business solutions has focused on extended relationships between exchange partners with a high likelihood of repeated transactions. The authors demonstrate how to govern relationships in a solutions context where the likelihood of repeat business from the same customer is low using contractual and normative governance.
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Oyatoye, Emmanuel, Sulaimon Adebiyi, and Bilqis Amole. "Analytical hierarchy process for estimating subscribers perception of brand equity dimensions on purchase decision of Nigerian mobile telecommunication services." Yugoslav Journal of Operations Research 28, no. 2 (2018): 275–90. http://dx.doi.org/10.2298/yjor171104022o.
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Every firm that wants to compete in providing similar services, like those provided by the Nigerian mobile telecommunication firms must take brand equity seriously. By focusing on major telecom service providers in Nigeria, this study estimates subscribers perception of brand equity. To do this, a three-stage Analytical Hierarchical Process goal, criteria and sub-criteria were developed in order to weigh both the criteria and sub-criteria. In gathering data, a cross-sectional survey design was used. The primary data were collected from subscribers of Global System of Mobile Communication in Lagos state. The collection of data was enhanced by a well-structured Analytical Hierarchy Process questionnaire. In the same vein, a pairwise comparison of subscribers judgment, as it relates to how brand equity inuences their decisions was done. This, as shown from the analyzed data, allowed customers to prioritize criteria and sub-criteria, in favour of their purchasing choice and satisfaction. Analyses of data were done. The values of the data were obtained for the consistency index and ratio, local rating and global ranks for each criteria and sub-criteria. What results, as this study demonstrates, is that the data have practical implications on marketing and organizational strategies of the mobile telecommunication industries. Important as well, the study finds that the data will positively strengthen the industries general sustainable business performance.
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Schaupp, Ludwig Christian, and France Bélanger. "The Value of Social Media for Small Businesses." Journal of Information Systems 28, no. 1 (December 1, 2013): 187–207. http://dx.doi.org/10.2308/isys-50674.
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ABSTRACT Companies are implementing social media for marketing, advertising, employee recruitment, and overall communications with employees, clients, and partners. Small businesses are able to gain substantial value from social media but there are also many challenges. In this research, the Technology-Organization-Environment framework, the Resource-Based View theory, and interview data are combined to develop a model of social media usage and value for small businesses. Survey data from small businesses from a variety of industries and geographical locations are collected to validate the model. Results indicate that technology competence, pressure from clients, and characteristics of the mobile environment are significant antecedents of social media usage. The dimensions of social media value—perceived impact on internal operations, marketing, customer service, and sales—are also significant. Implications and avenues for future research are discussed.
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Stylos, Nikolaos, Jeremy Zwiegelaar, and Dimitrios Buhalis. "Big data empowered agility for dynamic, volatile, and time-sensitive service industries: the case of tourism sector." International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 33, no. 3 (February 3, 2021): 1015–36. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ijchm-07-2020-0644.
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Purpose Dynamic, volatile, and time-sensitive industries, such as tourism, travel and hospitality require agility and market intelligence to create value and achieve competitive advantage. The aim of the current study is to examine the influence of big data (BD) on the performance of service organizations and to probe for a deeper understanding of implementing BD, based on available technologies. Design/methodology/approach An ethnographic study was conducted following an abductive approach. A primary qualitative research scheme was used with 35 information technology and database professionals participating in five online focus groups of seven participants each. Analytical themes were developed simultaneously with the literature being revisited throughout the study to ultimately create sets of common themes and dimensions. Findings BD can help organizations build agility, especially within dynamic industries, to better predict customer behavioral patterns and make tailor-made propositions from the BD. An integrated BD-specific framework is proposed to address value according to the dimensions of need, value, time and utility. Research limitations/implications Little research exists on the key drivers of BD use for dynamic, real-time and agile businesses. This research adds to the developing literature on BD applications to support organizational decision-making and business performance in the tourism industry. Originality/value This study responds to scholars’ recent calls for more empirical research with contextual understanding of the use of BD to add value in marketing intelligence within business ecosystems. It delineates factors contributing to BD value creation and explores the impacts on the respective service encounters.
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Hsu, Yen. "A value cocreation strategy model for improving product development performance." Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing 31, no. 5 (June 6, 2016): 695–715. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/jbim-11-2014-0221.
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Purpose The purpose of this study is to propose a model of a value cocreation strategy (VCS) for analyzing how enterprises adopt innovative, marketing, and design strategies to achieve their performance goals through cocreation. Design/methodology/approach In the present study, a case study was conducted to establish a preliminary model. Subsequently, 1,000 NPD project managers in information and communications technology industries were approached to complete a two-stage questionnaire survey. The first survey investigated the VCSs they adopted for their marketing, innovation and design activities (valid questionnaires recovered=283). The valid respondents completed a second survey measuring their NPD performance 18 months after launching a new product (valid questionnaires recovered=247). Findings A conceptual was constructed to explain the effects of innovation marketing and design cocreation strategies on NPD performance. A partial least squares method was used to test the model showing a good fit between the model and the survey data, indicating the applicability of the proposed model. The innovation marketing and design cocreation strategies of the enterprises affected their NPD performance. Enterprises adopting diverse cocreation strategies improved their NPD performance. The cocreation strategies in the model were independent and mediating variables to NPD performance. A qualitative comparative analysis was performed to examine which strategy configurations affected NPD performance and to explore any regular patterns in them. Finally, a cluster analysis was conducted to investigate four cocreation strategies: market development, technology improvement, cost direction and customer service. Research limitations/implications Whether different industry categories involve different characteristics and whether different corporate cultures cause inconsistent result in value cocreation warrants further in-depth investigation. In addition, the two surveys conducted in this study were separated by 18 months, and thus, only the short-term NPD performance could be presented. Future studies are recommended to conduct an extensive exploration of different industries, administer long-term surveys, investigate the different levels of influence of various types of enterprise on the proposed research model or examine the degree of difference in the mechanisms and methods adopted for elevating innovation performance. Practical implications Enterprises can reference the proposed approach to optimize their product development and services according to their organizational resources and market advantages to increase their market coverage. Originality/value This study was the first empirical study to examine critical factors, such as product innovation, marketing, design and value cocreation strategies, and NPD performance by administering two-stage surveys. Enterprises can reference the proposed method according to their organizational resources and market advantages to develop products and services efficiently and face the ever-changing market.
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Dotzel, Thomas, and Venkatesh Shankar. "The Relative Effects of Business-to-Business (vs. Business-to-Consumer) Service Innovations on Firm Value and Firm Risk: An Empirical Analysis." Journal of Marketing 83, no. 5 (May 9, 2019): 133–52. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0022242919847221.
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Many firms introduce both business-to-business service innovations (B2B-SIs) and business-to-consumer service innovations (B2C-SIs) and need to better allocate their resources. However, they are unsure about B2B-SIs’ effects on firm value or risk, especially relative to those of B2C-SIs. The authors address this problem by developing hypotheses that relate the number of B2B-SIs and B2C-SIs to firm value and firm risk together with the moderators (the number of product innovations and customer-focus innovations). To test the hypotheses, the authors develop and estimate a model using unique panel data of 2,263 SIs across 15 industries over eight years assembled from multiple data sources and controlling for firm- and market-specific factors, heterogeneity, and endogeneity. They analyze innovation announcements using natural language processing. The results show that B2B-SIs have a positive effect on firm value and an insignificant influence on firm risk. Importantly, the effect of a B2B-SI on firm value is significantly greater than that of a B2C-SI. Unlike B2C-SIs, the effect of B2B-SIs on firm value is greater when the firm has more product innovations. Surprisingly, unlike B2C-SIs, the effect of B2B-SIs on firm value is less positive when the SIs emphasize customers. These findings offer important insights about the relative value of B2B-SIs.
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Nasr, Linda, Jamie Burton, and Thorsten Gruber. "When good news is bad news: the negative impact of positive customer feedback on front-line employee well-being." Journal of Services Marketing 29, no. 6/7 (September 14, 2015): 599–612. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/jsm-01-2015-0052.
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Purpose – Front-line employee (FLE) well-being is an under-researched field. Contrasting the prevailing view that Positive Customer Feedback (PCF) can only have ‘positive’ impacts, this study aims to answer the counterintuitive question: Could the apparently positive construct ‘Positive Customer Feedback’ have a negative impact on the well-being of front-line employees? Consequently, working within the Transformative Service Research (TSR) framework, we investigate whether PCF can negatively affect the eudaimonic and hedonic well-being dimensions of FLEs, thus decreasing their overall psychological well-being level. Design/methodology/approach – A multidisciplinary literature review was conducted, particularly in the social psychology, human resources and organizational behavior fields, to examine the potential negative impacts of PCF. Subsequently, an exploratory qualitative study consisting of seven focus groups with 45 FLEs and 22 in-depth interviews with managers working across various service industries were performed. All the transcripts were analyzed via an iterative hermeneutical process. Findings – A model describing ten negative impacts and six key contingencies of PCF was developed. The identified impacts can negatively affect the eudaimonic and hedonic well-being dimensions of FLEs. PCF can have a negative impact on the eudaimonic dimensions such as harmony, respect and support. Moreover, PCF appears to increase the negative affect by creating tension, fear, strain and stress, thus, negatively affecting the happiness level of FLEs (hedonic well-being). The identified contingencies play a crucial role in determining the direction and intensity of the negative impact of PCF. Therefore, the overall psychological well-being level of FLEs can suffer as a result of PCF. This study also discusses managerial challenges associated with PCF management. Research limitations/implications – The article discusses important managerial implications in the field of FLE well-being and PCF management and suggests directions for future research aiming to expand the boundaries of the current TSR agenda and service human resources. Originality/value – This study is the first to explore the negative side of PCF from a TSR perspective. It extends the understanding of the overlooked area of PCF and FLE well-being.
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Illés, Csaba Bálint, Beatrix Turzai-Horányi, and Anna Dunay. "Post-Cricis Management in the Hungarian Automobile Dealership Sector." Journal of Eastern European and Central Asian Research (JEECAR) 8, no. 3 (September 15, 2021): 362–73. http://dx.doi.org/10.15549/jeecar.v8i3.524.
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Although it is one of the world’s most successful industries, the automotive industry was one of the biggest losers of the economic crisis of 2008. The crisis caused negative effects throughout the automobile supply chain, but research about this period has been focused on car dealerships. The objective of this paper is to provide insight gained from comprehensive research conducted in the Hungarian car trade market through in-depth interviews with car dealership owners and a wide questionnaire survey with the managers of car dealerships. The paper focuses on crisis management measures of the post-crisis period. Statistical methods were applied in the analysis of the questionnaire, such as cross-tabulation analysis, chi-squared tests, cluster analysis, variance analysis, and Tukey-type HSD. The study explores the factors and tools for surviving the crisis. Research results confirm that focusing on sales, customer service, and quality are the key factors for keeping and increasing competitiveness and market position
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Chahal, Hardeep, Ramesh Dangwal, and Swati Raina. "Conceptualisation, development and validation of green marketing orientation (GMO) of SMEs in India." Journal of Global Responsibility 5, no. 2 (September 2, 2014): 312–37. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/jgr-02-2014-0005.
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Purpose – The purpose of the study is twofold. First, to examine the domain of green marketing construct in the context of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) operating in emerging economies (i.e. India) across electrical industries and, second, to assess its impact on the SMEs performance. Design/methodology/approach – All the owners of electrical industries (SMEs) operating in Jammu District, that is, 152, were contacted using census method. Findings – The study identifies and confirms five factors, namely, greening the process, green supply chain management, green strategic policy initiative, proactive energy conservation and green innovation of green marketing as important dimensions of green marketing orientation (GMO) scale. All the dimensions of the GMO scale have positive and significant impacts on performance of the firms. In addition, there exists stronger impact of green marketing dimensions on the customer business to business (B2B) satisfaction and employee retention. Research limitations/implications – The research has certain unavoidable limitations. First, the study is based on only one sector, that is, electrical industries operating in developing industrial region of India and hence future research is suggested to comprehend green marketing in other green-savvy manufacturing sectors like pharmaceutical sector and service sector like hotels and hospitals. Further, the study has focussed on the development of GMO scale and future studies need to extend research to include variables like green satisfaction, green trust and green loyalty to understand their mediating role in green marketing and performance relationship. Furthermore, the moderating role of variables such as nature and age of the SMEs can also be studied in future research. Practical implications – GMO allows managers to understand how their firms facilitate green environment and they affect the business outcomes. Furthermore, GMO takes into consideration all important aspects (greening the process, green supply chain management, green strategic policy initiatives, proactive energy conservation and green promotion) which provide better explanatory power and identification of priority areas for managerial attention. GMO can be used by managers to determine which strategies and practices will have the most positive influence on employees’ outcome. Originality/value – This paper can help managers in identifying the perspectives of GMO in electrical sector for the developing countries. Unlike the three dimensions confirmed by studies, this study established five dimensions of green marketing, namely, greening the process green supply chain management, green strategic policy initiatives, proactive energy conservation and green promotion.
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Gopalan, Rema, Sreekumar ., and Biswajit Satpathy. "Evaluation of retail service quality – a fuzzy AHP approach." Benchmarking: An International Journal 22, no. 6 (August 3, 2015): 1058–80. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/bij-05-2013-0052.
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Purpose – With the growing importance of service quality in Indian retail, it becomes critical for the retailers to identify the appropriate dimensions for their retail stores. In the process of evaluating service quality the decision maker is often faced with ambiguities due to the imprecise information gained from the respondents. The purpose of this paper is to present an integrated fuzzy (fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) approach to help the decision makers/retailers in practicing and judging the priorities of service quality strategies and accordingly benchmarking retail stores in Indian retail environment. Design/methodology/approach – The study incorporated the five basic dimensions of Retail Service Quality Scale proposed by Dabholkar et al. (1996) and the FAHP approach to three leading apparel retail stores of a major city (Rourkela) of Orissa (an Indian state located in eastern part of the country) to determine the weights of criteria and sub-criteria of retail service quality. Findings – The study identified that the dimensions, namely, personal interaction, physical aspects, reliability and policy are perceived as important by the Indian consumers. Merchandise and the store’s willingness to handle returns and exchanges emerge as the most influencing variable affecting the overall service quality of the store. Research limitations/implications – The study was restricted to a major city of Orissa and to three apparel stores. The results obtained may not be extrapolated to the country as a whole. The authors believe that the integrated approach of FAHP could be used by a variety of service industries to evaluate the service quality. The study did not investigate switching behavior among the respondents as they had been visiting all the three apparel stores during the preceding months. Practical implications – The integrated approach of FAHP makes an empirical contribution to the service quality and retail marketing literature by overcoming the uncertainty of concepts those are associated with human beings’ subjective judgments. Social implications – The retailer can improve the quality of service provided by them based on the parameters important in Indian context, which will lead to higher customer satisfaction. Originality/value – This paper can help the retail service providers to identify which of the retail service quality dimensions requires much attention to create sustainable competitive advantage.
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Suharyanti, Y., and D. M. R. T. Dewa. "Does Customer Satisfaction Really Lead Company to Financial Success? A Review and Meta-analysis." International Journal of Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management 1, no. 1 (June 30, 2019): 37. http://dx.doi.org/10.24002/ijieem.v1i1.2295.
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All the theories about market and marketing research, customer relationship management, and business in general, believe that customer satisfaction is one of the main factors for company financial success. However, a survey on 64 studies shows a wide variation of the correlation between customer satisfaction and financial performance. The correlation coefficients are varied from -0.256 to 0.899. This study applies a meta-analysis on those 64 studies’ findings to find the true correlation between customer satisfaction and financial performance. The analysis clusters the 64 studies based on year of research, business category observed, and geographical area of research. The result shows that the correlation between customer satisfaction and financial performance is relatively high (0.525) before 1990, becomes confusing (not-significantly correlated) in 1991-2000, increases (0.626) in 2001-2010, and decreases (0.595) after 2011. Based on business category, the two variables are not significantly correlated both in manufacturing industries and in service industries. The two variables are significantly correlated according to the studies conducted in Europe region (0.566) and Asia-Africa (0.657), but could not to be proven significantly correlated in USA region. The insights from the meta-analysis findings are: (1) the customer satisfaction role is change by time as well as the changes of industry environment, so that research on customer satisfaction will always be beneficial; (2) in individualist society like USA, further researches on customer behavior and culture are required to find more clear explanation about the role of customer satisfaction as well as other financial success factors, on the company performance.
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Low, Sheen, Fahim Ullah, Sara Shirowzhan, Samad M. E. Sepasgozar, and Chyi Lin Lee. "Smart Digital Marketing Capabilities for Sustainable Property Development: A Case of Malaysia." Sustainability 12, no. 13 (July 3, 2020): 5402. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su12135402.
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Digital tools and marketing have been widely adopted in various industries throughout the world. These tools have enabled companies to obtain real-time customer insights and create and communicate value to customers more effectively. This study aims at understanding the principles and practices of sustainable digital marketing in the Malaysian property development industry by investigating the extent to which digital marketing has been adopted, the impediments to its adoption, and the strategies to improve digital capabilities for the local context. Digital marketing theories, practices, and models from other industries are adopted and applied to the local property development industry to lay the foundation for making it smart and sustainable. This paper proposes a marketing technology acceptance model (MTAM) for digital marketing strategy and capability development. The key factors used in the model are ease of use, perceived usefulness, perceived cost, higher return, efficiency, digital service quality, digital information quality, digital system quality, attitude towards use, and actual use. The model and hypothetical relationships of critical factors are tested using structural modeling, reliability, and validity techniques using a sample of 279 Malaysian property development sector representatives. A quantitative approach is adopted, using an online questionnaire tool to investigate the behavior of respondents on the current digital marketing practices and capabilities of Malaysian property development companies. The results show that the sample property development companies are driven by the benefit of easily obtaining real-time customer information for creating and communicating value to customers more effectively through the company brand. Further strategies, such as creating real-time interactions, creating key performance indicators to measure digital marketing, personalization, and encouraging innovation in digital marketing are most preferred by local professionals. An adoption framework is provided based on the reviewed models and results of the current study to help transform the Malaysian property development sector into a smart and sustainable property development sector by facilitating the adoption of digital technologies. The results, based on real-time data and pertinent strategies for improvement of the local property sector, are expected to pave the way for inducing sustainable digital marketing trends, enhancing capabilities, and uplifting the state of the property development sector in developing countries.
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Lim, Jee-Eun. "Understanding the Discrimination Experienced by Customers with Disabilities in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry: The Case of Seoul in South Korea." Sustainability 12, no. 18 (September 7, 2020): 7328. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su12187328.
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This article begins with the view that the research of accessible tourism should not only find justification for increasing demand but also have the ultimate purpose of seeking justice for an equitable society. To this end, prior research on accessible tourism is theoretically outlined, and the concepts, causes, and aspects of disability discrimination are considered. In addition, cases of discrimination of customers with disabilities in the tourism and hospitality industries are investigated by an ethnographic approach. The findings are categorized into seven sections, depending on the type of lack of understanding of customers with disabilities. In other words, service providers have a stereotypical view that customers with disabilities have similar attributes, and they also fail to free customers with disabilities from the prejudice of customers with nondisabilities, who may generalize the group with disabilities with a negative and hostile attitude. Additionally, tourist attractions, lodging, and dining infrastructure have caused a stigma that lowers the activities of customers with disabilities to bystanders or makes customers with disabilities more recognized as a social protection target rather than members of society. Therefore, marketing implications can be discussed in terms of physical facilities and human services at the key points where discrimination against customers with disabilities occurs, as can be seen from the results of this study.