Developers and terminators in hypermarkets' relationships with Chinese customers
Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics
ISSN: 1355-5855
Article publication date: 27 March 2009
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify distinguishing attributes of (dis)satisfying service contacts in a Chinese cultural context. Design/methodology/approach – The data were collected in the form of critical incidents from a purposive snowball sample of hypermarket customers. Analysis of the responses revealed 277 critical judgements related (dis)satisfying determinants.
Findings
Findings reveal 17 determinants with 37 sub‐determinants for all the experiences: five determinants relate to satisfactory evaluations, seven to dissatisfactory, and a further five to both. The determinants represent a marked departure from existing determinants of service quality described in the Western oriented literature.
Originality/value
The findings are related to Chinese (Confucian) culture to suggest determinants that can both develop and lead to termination of hypermarkets' relationships with their customers. A focus on the developers and terminators provides practical insights to foreign and indigenous managers of hypermarkets in the Far East for focus in service delivery.
Keywords
Citation
Stanworth, J.O. (2009), "Developers and terminators in hypermarkets' relationships with Chinese customers", Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Vol. 21 No. 2, pp. 280-293. https://doi.org/10.1108/13555850910950086
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2009, Emerald Group Publishing Limited