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1 – 10 of over 4000
Article
Publication date: 29 February 2024

Abdullah Murrar, Veronica Paz, Madan Batra and David Yerger

Several studies have examined the relationship between service quality and willingness to pay in many industries. However, this relationship has not been explored through the lens…

Abstract

Purpose

Several studies have examined the relationship between service quality and willingness to pay in many industries. However, this relationship has not been explored through the lens of customer perceived value and their willingness to pay for improving and sustaining water service. This study aims to examine the impact of technical and functional service quality dimensions on customer perceived value and assess the influence of customer perceived value and socio-economic factors on customers' willingness to pay for improving and sustaining the water service.

Design/methodology/approach

Technical service quality includes core water service such as water delivery and maintenance, while functional service quality refers to the appearance of facilities, employees’ dress, and communication. SERVQUAL questionnaire responses were collected from 333 Palestinian household customers. Cronbach’s alpha was conducted to measure internal consistency and convergent validity. Path analysis was utilized to evaluate a causal diagram by examining the relationships among the constructs.

Findings

The results showed that technical and functional service quality and relative price explain 52% of the customer perceived value variation. Additionally, the results revealed that customer perceived value, technical service quality, and relative price significantly impact the customer’s willingness to pay for improving and sustaining service. In contrast, the functional service quality and socio-economic factors have insignificant effects. These predictors explain 60% of the customer’s willingness to pay for improving and sustaining service.

Practical implications

The study suggests that water providers should prioritize improving and sustaining technical service quality to increase customer willingness to pay. Furthermore, they should be aware that other factors, such as employee appearance and politeness, are less influential in driving customers’ willingness to pay.

Originality/value

The study presents a water service improvement model that utilizes data from a developing country to assess the influence of perceived customer value, along with its dimensions, on the willingness to pay for improving and sustaining water service quality.

Details

The TQM Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-2731

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 May 2020

Xinhua Guan, Lishan Xie and Tengteng Zhu

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between customer interactivity and the value it realizes for employees and customers, that is, employee creativity and…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between customer interactivity and the value it realizes for employees and customers, that is, employee creativity and customer-perceived economic value, and to test the mediation role of knowledge exchange quality in this relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

A cross-sectional empirical study using pairing data collected from the employees and customers of a high-contact service industry is designed to test the research model. Customers and employees in 75 hotels in China are surveyed. Equation model analysis is performed with SPSS and Amos.

Findings

Customer interactivity has a positive effect on the employee creativity and customer-perceived economic value, and the quality of knowledge exchange mediates the two processes.

Practical implications

The findings provide suggestions for managers to take action to promote interactions between customers and employees and to encourage them to actively participate in the value creation process. Additionally, enterprises can establish a knowledge integration mechanism to improve the quality of knowledge exchange.

Originality/value

This study explores the value of interaction from the perspective of both sides of the interaction, enriching and expanding the theory of interaction. Few studies simultaneously consider the value of both parties in the interaction process. From a two-way perspective, this study extends the past unilateral angle to a multilateral perspective and clearly explains the mechanism behind continuous interaction. This study finds the key mediator variable – knowledge exchange quality – in how customer–employee interactions achieve value. It theoretically enriches the research on the interaction-value mechanism from the perspective of knowledge management.

Details

Journal of Contemporary Marketing Science, vol. 3 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2516-7480

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 February 2018

Xin-Hua Guan, Lishan Xie and Tzung-Cheng Huan

This paper aims to improve understanding of co-creation by focusing on customer knowledge sharing (CKS), which is something that can be influenced by organizational relationship…

1806

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to improve understanding of co-creation by focusing on customer knowledge sharing (CKS), which is something that can be influenced by organizational relationship orientation (ORO), employee adaptiveness (EA) and customer expertise (CE), and that influences employee creativity (EC) and customer-perceived economic value (CEV).

Design/methodology/approach

With subjects being conference and meeting organizers for hotel service, a survey was conducted in major Chinese cities. In the survey, high-star-rated hotels’ corporate sales personnel provided data if a sales person got one of their customers to provide data. Only responses for hotels for which two employee–customer matched records were obtained could be used for analysis by using hierarchical linear modeling; so, 217 matched records from 48 hotels were processed.

Findings

Accepting five hypotheses and having coefficients for control variables allow new insights into the importance of CKS. Insights regarding brand familiarity, employee seniority, etc. contribute to theory and improving research.

Practical implications

Action can include fostering benefit from CE, nurturing EA and supporting ORO. Action can be recruiting and training employees with special considerations to their level and use of EA that facilitates acquiring valuable knowledge from customers. For researchers, practical implications relate to improving modeling and recognizing new research.

Originality/value

This study provides new findings on ORO, EA and CE affecting CKS, as well as showing relationships of CKS with EC and CEV. Coefficients of control variables yield insights beyond control that contribute to theory and to identifying new research. Examining response distributions highlights analysis issues, suggesting avenues for new research.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 30 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 June 2022

Abhishek Kumar Singh, Bharat Singh Patel and Cherian Samuel

Infrastructural revolution, intense competition and customer attraction towards organised apparel retailing in India are potentially affecting traditional retailing. The authors…

Abstract

Purpose

Infrastructural revolution, intense competition and customer attraction towards organised apparel retailing in India are potentially affecting traditional retailing. The authors seek to identify the factors that customers perceive during shopping in organised apparel retail store. This study also investigates the indirect effects of identified factors on behavioural outcomes such as loyalty.

Design/methodology/approach

The study randomly selected the customers immediately after shopping to minimise the experience's carryover effects. A sample of 648 customers was collected. Data were analysed using multivariate analysis of covariance.

Findings

The study has found that in-store logistics is the second order factor with ease of return, on-shelf availability, product accessibility, shopping convenience, and product information as the variables. The result shows that in-store logistics, store environment, store communication, merchandise assortment, perceived price and employee attribute influence customer satisfaction. As expected, these factors indirectly influence the loyalty.

Research limitations/implications

This study focused on organised multi-brand apparel retailing, and the survey was conducted in a tier-II city of India only. Hence, any attempt to generalise the findings must be undertaken with caution.

Practical implications

In the context of multi-brand retailing, competition is fierce. New entrants and traditional apparel retailers hesitate to adopt organised apparel retailing. The findings of this study can be helpful for new entrants and traditional apparel retailers to adopt organised apparel retailing.

Originality/value

Previous studies in the field of multi-brand retailing have mainly focused on the marketing aspect of retail stores. This study contributes to the operations aspect and tests the impact of operational function (in-store logistics) on customer satisfaction.

Details

International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, vol. 50 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-0552

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 December 2021

Jennifer Hendricks and Gertrud Schmitz

As other actors in the service ecosystem often have a pivotal role in value creation for actors experiencing vulnerability, this paper aims to explore caregiving customer value

Abstract

Purpose

As other actors in the service ecosystem often have a pivotal role in value creation for actors experiencing vulnerability, this paper aims to explore caregiving customer value co-creation in services for animal companions.

Design/methodology/approach

Study 1 follows a two-step procedure, using two different qualitative approaches (interviews and observations) to identify caregiving customer value co-creation activities. Study 2 serves to empirically test a higher-order structure of caregiving customer participation behaviour in value co-creation and test for differences regarding customer and service characteristics (questionnaire survey; n = 680).

Findings

The results reveal the existence of various value co-creation activities towards the service provider (e.g. cooperation under consideration of the animal companion’s needs) and animal companion (e.g. emotional support). Significant differences in individual caregiving customers’ activities were found regarding gender, age, type of service and animal companion. Caregiving customer value co-creation is influenced by emotional attachment and has a positive effect on value outcomes for both the caregiving customer and the animal companion.

Originality/value

This study extends and enriches customer value co-creation literature by providing innovative findings on various such caregiving activities and value outcomes in services for (non-human) actors experiencing vulnerability. It also adds knowledge by showing differences in customer value co-creation behaviour regarding specific customer and service characteristics.

Article
Publication date: 29 June 2022

Riza Casidy, Civilai Leckie, Munyaradzi Wellington Nyadzayo and Lester W. Johnson

Digital platforms have transformed how brands engage with collaborative consumption actors, such as prosumers. This study aims to examine the role of customer innovativeness and…

1381

Abstract

Purpose

Digital platforms have transformed how brands engage with collaborative consumption actors, such as prosumers. This study aims to examine the role of customer innovativeness and perceived economic value as important boundary conditions on the effects of customer brand engagement behavior on co-production, which subsequently influences customer satisfaction.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors test the model using survey data from 430 users of a digital platform (i.e. UBER) in Australia. Hypotheses were tested using the bias-corrected bootstrapping method.

Findings

The findings suggest that customer innovativeness and perceived economic value positively moderate the effects of customer brand engagement behavior on co-production. Further, the mediating effects of co-production on satisfaction are stronger for highly innovative customers and for those who associate high perceived economic value with the brand.

Research limitations/implications

This study provides novel insights on the boundary conditions of the effects of customer brand engagement behavior on co-production. Future research could apply this study’s conceptual framework to other digital platforms to extend the generalizability of this framework.

Practical implications

This study provides managerial insights into how firms can customize marketing strategies to encourage customers as prosumers in co-production by targeting highly innovative customers and focusing on perceived economic value.

Originality/value

This study builds on service-dominant logic and social exchange theory to examine the role of customer innovativeness and perceived economic value as novel boundary conditions in digital platform ecosystems.

Article
Publication date: 18 April 2016

Dahlia El-Manstrly

The purpose of this paper is to examine the moderator effects of switching costs, classified by type (relational, procedural, and financial) and direction (positive and negative)…

6128

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the moderator effects of switching costs, classified by type (relational, procedural, and financial) and direction (positive and negative), on the relationships between customer-perceived value, trust, and loyalty.

Design/methodology/approach

This study reports on quantitative data from a survey of two service contexts which vary in their degree of customer-employee contact and customization. In total, 360 usable questionnaires were collected, and the data were analyzed using multi-group structural equation modeling.

Findings

The results demonstrate that switching costs moderate, in different ways, the relationships between customer loyalty, trust and perceived value. Moreover, the strength of the moderator effects vary according to service type.

Research limitations/implications

This study provides new insight into understanding the moderating role of switching costs thus, reduces inconsistencies about the direction and the strength of the moderator effect of switching costs in loyalty frameworks.

Practical implications

This study helps managers choose the most effective loyalty strategy for specific service industries and perceptions of switching costs, and to look beyond their service boundaries in order to cross-fertilize strategies for handling switching costs.

Originality/value

No empirical study to date has simultaneously examined the moderator effect of switching costs classified by type and direction on the relationships between customer-perceived value, trust, and customer loyalty across two different service contexts in a single framework.

Details

Journal of Service Management, vol. 27 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-5818

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 June 2011

Hsin Hsin Chang and Hsin‐Wei Wang

The purpose of this research is to examine the impact of e‐service quality, customer perceived value, and customer satisfaction on customer loyalty in an online shopping…

25129

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to examine the impact of e‐service quality, customer perceived value, and customer satisfaction on customer loyalty in an online shopping environment.

Design/methodology/approach

There were two studies performed in this research. Study 1 validated the self‐regulating processes; Study 2 tested the moderating effects of customer perceived value between satisfaction and loyalty. Structural equation modelling techniques and linear hierarchical regression models were used to test the causal model.

Findings

The study demonstrated that e‐service quality and customer perceived value influence customer satisfaction, and then influence customer loyalty. In addition this study found that customers with a high perceived value have a stronger relationship between satisfaction and customer loyalty than customers with a low perceived value.

Research limitations/implications

We found that there are emotional and rational routes influencing customer loyalty in the online shopping process. This will contribute to other research that clarifies the influencing process of online shoppers' motivation and behaviour.

Practical implications

In the pre‐purchase stage, online retailers should focus on attracting consumers by the quality of e‐service. In the purchase stage, online retailers should address the emotional factors, such as customer satisfaction. In the post‐purchase stage, rational factors – such as customer perceived value – play important roles because they can strengthen the relationship between satisfaction and loyalty.

Originality/value

This study viewed the purchase process as a different stage as consumers may make a choice at each of the purchase stages. Moreover this study found a way to examine the relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty by exploring the moderating effects of customer perceived value.

Details

Online Information Review, vol. 35 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1468-4527

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 January 2020

Hanen Charni, Isabelle Brun and Line Ricard

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the impact of employee job satisfaction and affective commitment as perceived by customers on customer perceived value, more specifically…

1290

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the impact of employee job satisfaction and affective commitment as perceived by customers on customer perceived value, more specifically its benefits dimensions.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 652 panellists from a large Canadian polling firm self-administer a web-based questionnaire. To measure customer perceived value, a formative index is used which contributes to topical literature through a unique methodology. Hypotheses are tested using a structural equation model.

Findings

An analysis of the direct, indirect and total effects confirms the unique positive impact of employee job satisfaction and affective commitment, as perceived by customers, on the emotional, social, relationship and epistemic benefits, as well as on the formative index of customer perceived value.

Practical implications

Customer perceptions of employee attitudes (job satisfaction and affective commitment) represent a unique opportunity for banks to differentiate their value proposition in a hypercompetitive market.

Originality/value

This study is the first to consider customer perceptions of employee job satisfaction and affective commitment in relation to a formative index of customer perceived value and its related benefits dimensions.

Details

International Journal of Bank Marketing, vol. 38 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-2323

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 February 2018

Lei Li, Qingyun Huang, KwanHo Yeung and Zhaoquan Jian

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of human-computer interaction (HCI) on customers’ perceived electronic service (e-service) value and the mediating role of…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of human-computer interaction (HCI) on customers’ perceived electronic service (e-service) value and the mediating role of task-technology fit (TTF) in that effect.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper develops a model based on service-dominant logic (SDL) and TTF theory, and validates it using a hierarchical regression with the data collected from 634 online banking customers in Guangdong Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in China.

Findings

The findings reveal that HCI in e-service contexts comprises five components. Three fundamental components (i.e. technology functionality, customer technology readiness and task routine) contribute to value co-creation. Two core components (i.e. interaction between customer technology readiness and technology functionality, and interaction between task routine and technology functionality) are inhibitors, but the inhibitory effect of the former is only significant in the Guangdong sample. TTF takes a mediating role in these relationships, but the mediating effect of the former core component is only significant in the Guangdong sample.

Originality/value

This paper explains two basic questions about the trigger points of value co-creation in e-service contexts (i.e. what their operational definitions are and how to measure them) and unlocks the “black box” of value co-creation by taking TTF as a mediator. SDL and TTF theory are extended. The paper provides suggestions for how practitioners can efficiently advance value co-creation with customers.

Details

Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol. 118 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-5577

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 4000