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Marketing management, services marketing, customer relationship management and strategic marketing management.

This case can be taught effectively to MBA/MS students.

Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) commenced operations in India in 1996 and launched its first car in India – the Hyundai Santro – in 1998. Since then, there has been no looking back for the company. Its domestic and export sales figures have risen manifold each year and the car maker has gone on to become the second largest manufacturer in the Indian car market with a market share of 18.10 percent as of 2010-2011. By 2009-2010, most of the major international car makers were setting up production facilities in India. The market was set to become highly competitive and it became imperative for manufacturers like Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) and HMIL to retain their customers in order to maintain their market share. Nalin Kapoor, General Manager (Sales & Marketing) was contemplating the marketing strategies he could use to counter the stiff competition. Customer retention was one of the major problems in the automobile industry as the purchase time span varied between three and five years and the cost of brand switching was nil. HMIL had been pursuing customer relationship management activities but its customer retention ratio was declining. Kapoor and his team decided to study the loyalty programs of some companies in the automobile industry to ascertain whether launching a loyalty card could solve their problem of retention. The marketing strategy department with the help of a management intern extensively studied the existing loyalty program of Hero Honda, MSIL, and Ford to identify how those programs were designed and promoted to the customer. The reports also indicated the shortcomings of each program and the features which were highly accepted by the customer. The loyalty program also had cost implications as there was a need for a strong technical support team to run it successfully. With the reports in hand, Kapoor was in a dilemma on whether launching a loyalty card would be feasible or not. If yes, then how should it be structured to motivate the customers to stay loyal to the company? Also, how could the cost in terms of promotion, training, and technical support be justified? If not a loyalty program, then what marketing strategies should the company pursue to retain customers effectively? The problem demanded immediate attention and action and Kapoor was well aware of the implications that a delay in decision making would have for the market share of the company in the growing and dynamic automobile industry in India.

These include: the concept of customer relationship management; relationship marketing; customer retention; customer loyalty; customer profitability segments; relationship bonds; and designing loyalty programs.

Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email: support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

The purpose of this paper is to develop an instrument/questionnaire to assess the supplier evaluation (SE) criteria and supplier selection (SS) benefits with their level of importance.

This paper develops an instrument/questionnaire based on generally accepted principle of instrument design to assess the SE criteria and SS benefits through the responses collected from 34 automobile industries in India. The SE criteria and SS benefits were derived through extensive literature review and expert’s opinion.

The reliability, normality and validity of developed instrument/questionnaire were determined through the responses collected from the managers of 34 automobile industries in India and are found to be acceptable for most of the SE criteria and SS benefits. The criterion validity is also found to be fairly good for the developed instrument/questionnaire.

While designing the instrument/questionnaire, SE criteria and SS benefits were considered for automobile sector in India through prequestionnaire sheet. Further, research may be required to corroborate these results from larger data sets.

Now a days, it is essential for organizations to rely on their suppliers for their survival and to gain competitive advantage. The well developed and validated instrument/questionnaire can be used for industry practitioners in Indian automobile industries to assess the SE criteria and SS benefits.

An empirically tested instrument/questionnaire is developed first time to assess the SE criteria and SS benefits for automobile sector in India.

The increase in automobile usage across the world has fortified the opportunities of maintenance service garages. However, there are significant numbers of challenges in front of maintenance service providers at all stages of the business. This paper identifies, analyzes and prioritizes various challenges associated with the establishment and survival of garages specific to Indian context.

In this paper, challenges for automotive service garage are identified through expert opinion, garage survey and literature. A structural hierarchical framework of the identified challenges is established through structural models, including interpretive structural modeling and analytic hierarchy process.

This paper has identified nine challenges, namely proliferation of new models and variants; technological advancements in automobile systems; demand of better service quality; space and ambience requirements; labor requirements; requirement of modern support equipments, tools and spares; safety requirements and prevention of occupational hazards; environmental norms and concerns; proper documentation requirements. The drivers and dependent variables have been identified. A hierarchical framework of challenges has been established.

This paper provides a comprehensive list of challenges and their priority in establishing an automobile maintenance garage business in Indian context. This will help the budding entrepreneurs and existing maintenance organizations to focus on the challenges that necessitate immediate attention and corrective actions.

This paper provides a significant contribution in the literature of garage maintenance services, which is established on the viewpoint of different collaborators associated with this business. This study will be a foundation to investigate further in this domain.

In today’s highly competitive business scenario, advertising symbolizes one of the key marketing activities. The purpose of this paper is to understand the relationship between advertisement effectiveness and consumer buying behavior for major automobile companies of central India.

A judicious mix of qualitative (focus group and Delphi technique) and quantitative (structured questionnaire survey) research methods was used for the present study.

Study found that for automobile sector, effective advertisements have a positive impact on consumer buying behavior. It suggests that customer’s attitude can be shaped favorably through effective advertising. Automobile companies must arrange special training sessions and learning programs for their sales force to ensure supportive customer purchasing behavior.

The scope of the present study is limited to major automobile companies of central India only. Although, the findings can be interpreted and generalized in a global business scenario.

The research work is first of its kind that attempts to study the impact of effective advertising on consumer buying behavior in Indian automobile context. The findings and recommendations can be used for strategic planning of training sessions and workshops for different stakeholders in automobile industry.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse service quality in the automobile maintenance and repair industry. A conceptual structural model is developed to investigate the impact of service quality, perceived service fairness and convenience on customer service satisfaction. The impact of service satisfaction and brand trust on word of mouth (WOM) is also explored, and the study assesses the mediating effect of customer service satisfaction on the relationship between service quality and WOM.

Data from a questionnaire-based survey of 259 users of automobile maintenance and repair centres were analysed using covariance-based structural equation modelling.

The findings indicate that service quality dimensions (reliability, responsiveness and empathy), perceived service fairness and convenience are positively associated with customer service satisfaction, and that service satisfaction and trust positively influence WOM. The findings support the mediating effect of service satisfaction on the relationship between reliability and responsiveness and WOM.

The study’s main limitation is the cross-sectional design, which limits the generalisability of the findings.

To ensure customer satisfaction and generate trust and WOM, automobile maintenance and repair service centres should improve reliability, responsiveness and empathy, as well as perceived service fairness and convenience.

The study demonstrates that the reliability and responsiveness dimensions of service quality are the most significant predictors of customer service satisfaction in the automobile maintenance and repair industry.

The purpose of the study is two-fold. First, to find out the different barriers that prevent the implementation of sustainable manufacturing practices in the case of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). Second, quantifying the relative intensity of these barriers to understand the importance and dependence power of the observed variables.

Primary data were collected via structured questionnaires from 150 Indian MSMEs working in the automobile industry. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed. Finally, barriers are ranked using graph theory and matrix approach (GTMA), considering the inheritance and interaction among the observed variables.

There are a total of 22 barriers to “sustainable manufacturing”. EFA and CFA models confirmed four different categories of barriers. In order of importance, they are ranked as – production and operations related; organization related; collaboration related; and government rules and regulations.

The findings show that there are multiple barriers to sustainable manufacturing. The barriers are categorized into four major categories, and their ranking provides an opportunity for prioritization from both policy and managerial perspectives. The barriers can be overcome through both policy interventions as well as through best practice sharing, benchmarking and organizational-wide initiatives.

The study is among the first studies that provide valuables insights on what are the 22 different barriers to sustainable manufacturing and its relevance to the MSMEs working in the automobile industry. The study would provide further opportunities for similar studies in different sectors.

This paper aimed to examine the status of implementation of green human resource management (GHRM) practices in Indian automobile Industry. Specifically, the level of implementation of five GHRM practices: green recruitment and selection, green training and development, green performance management, green compensation and rewards and green employee involvement was assessed. In addition, an attempt was made to understand how various GHRM practices influence the task-related and voluntary green performance behaviors of employees.

Data were collected from employees working in automobile industries in India. In all, 91 employees working at various hierarchical levels in the organizations responded to the survey. SPSS 24 was used for the purpose of data analysis.

The results indicate very low level of implementation of various GHRM practices in the sampled automobile organizations. Among the five GHRM practices, the average score for only green training and development and green employee involvement could reach 3. The lowest scores were found for green performance management and green compensation and rewards. Further, all five GHRM practices were found to significantly predict the task-related and voluntary employee green behaviors.

The findings by providing empirical evidence on the positive association of GHRM practices with employee green behaviors carry significant implications for practicing managers in automobile industry in terms of providing incentives for integrating HRM practices with the environment management systems in the organization.

This paper is one of the pioneer attempts to assess and report the extent of implementation of GHRM practices in Indian automobile industry. This paper also contributes to the limited theoretical literature available on GHRM by empirically investigating its linkage with green performance behaviors of employees.

Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), a joint venture between Maruti Udyog Limited, India and Suzuki Motors, Japan, is considering repositioning its WagonR brand amidst issues of overall decline in sales in the automobile industry. With a market share of more than 53%, MSIL is the market leader in passenger vehicle segment in India, yet it is facing difficulties in driving up sales. The company’s portfolio comprises entry-hatch, mid-hatch, premium-hatch, sedan, SUV/MUV, crossover and van. The case dilemma involves the decision that MSIL’s management should take for the repositioning of WagonR, a compact hatchback, at a time when the automobile industry is showing no signs of recovery. Is it opportune to reposition WagonR, given the current situation of the passenger car market in India? If yes, what can MSIL learn from its past positioning efforts and how can it use insights about consumers’ current perceptions of WagonR’s brand image to arrive at a repositioning decision?

Using the case will help address the following objectives: to expose students to the challenges of repositioning an established brand; appreciate the need for and importance of repositioning established brands; evaluate existing positioning and market conditions for making a sound decision; and develop analytical skills that will prepare them to make decisions in real business scenarios.

The study is suitable for Masters level students in courses on Marketing Management, but it can also work well in elective courses such as brand management.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 8: Marketing.

This study aims to identify and prioritize various growth-accelerating factors in the Indian automotive industry. It further develops a hierarchical model to examine the mutual interactions between the factors, their dependence and their driving power.

This study first identifies the growth-accelerating factors and then uses the modified total interpretive structural modeling (m-TISM) framework, which is an extended version of TISM. It further uses MICMAC analysis to analyze the mutual interrelation between the identified factors.

This study highlights the interrelation amongst the factors using m-TISM model. A hierarchical model shows the level of autonomous, dependence, linkage and independent factors considering the Indian automotive industry. This study also provides the understanding related to the interdependence of growth-accelerating factors.

The government and practitioners could evaluate the growth-accelerating factors which have higher driving power for implementing efficient policies and strategy formulation. By implementing m-TISM model in the Indian automotive industry, auto manufacturers can become more productive and profitable. Future studies could use other methods such as expert opinion to derive the factors, and further model could be verified using structural equation modeling technique.

This study uses a novel m-TISM framework for the analysis of growth-accelerating factors in the context of the Indian automotive industry. It further provides a detailed theoretical and conceptual understanding relating to the philosophy and establishes an interrelation amongst these under-researched growth-accelerating factors.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a green supplier development (GSD) process model and validate the model with a case study in Indian automobile industry.

A literature survey of peer-reviewed journal articles, survey reports and paradigmatic books with managerial impact is done for the research. The process of GSD is modeled using stage-gate approach and KPIV and KPOV of the process are determined. The process model is implemented in an Indian automobile components manufacturing industry for validation.

The industry implemented the model with ten suppliers and was able to successfully convert seven of them into Green suppliers. Remaining three suppliers were asked to repeat the process again or terminate the contracts. Model implementation took around three years starting from planning of resources and finances to actual development of suppliers.

The model implementation was done with a small automobile industry and hence the validation and implications may be generalized by taking the case study further in different industries. It would be beneficial to test the model with case studies of large-scale industries.

The process model for implementing GSD activities will help managers in taking complex investment decisions. The stages and process inputs and outputs are clearly defined which helps the managers to successfully develop the suppliers.

This paper puts forward the process model that should be implemented for the successful development of green suppliers. It might represent new opportunities for rigorous and relevant research in the area of green supply chain.