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1 – 9 of 9Jelena Jovanovic and Dirk Morschett
Although many manufacturers depend on international sales, and product-related services continue to increase in importance, little is known about how manufacturers should deliver…
Abstract
Purpose
Although many manufacturers depend on international sales, and product-related services continue to increase in importance, little is known about how manufacturers should deliver their product-related services across borders. This paper examines the international configuration decision of industrial service offerings across borders by investigating the impact of different service characteristics and the servitization strategy on this decision. Additionally, the paper sheds light on how digitalization and administrative heritage impact this decision.
Design/methodology/approach
116 industrial goods manufacturers from Switzerland and Germany were surveyed.
Findings
Servitization leads companies to centralize their service resources in their home countries. However, most service characteristics do not impact decisions regarding centralization, except for knowledge intensity, which leads to more centralization of resources. This implies that the resource configuration does not depend on each service individually but on the overall service strategy. Furthermore, the digital readiness of the host country directly and positively impacts resource centralization. Notwithstanding other variables, larger companies tend to decentralize service resources more than smaller companies.
Originality/value
This paper is among the first to study the international configuration impact of servitization and of individual service characteristics, thereby adding important knowledge regarding the provision of product-related services in the international context. Additionally, different aspects of digitalization are included to analyze its impact on companies and host countries.
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Bernhard Swoboda, Frank Haelsig, Dirk Morschett and Hanna Schramm‐Klein
The purpose of this research is to try to show the relevance of service quality in building a strong retail brand. It addresses how retailer attributes affect customer‐based…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to try to show the relevance of service quality in building a strong retail brand. It addresses how retailer attributes affect customer‐based retail brand equity, when considering retailers as brands. These attributes are compared with one another, and the importance of service is set in proportion to the other retailer attributes, both intersectorally and sector‐specifically. An integrated model is used here.
Design/methodology/approach
This is an empirical study across five retail sectors (grocery, textiles, DIY, consumer electronics and furniture retailing) based on a survey with 2,000 face‐to‐face interviews. Structural equation modelling is used to illustrate the impact of central dimensions of the perception of retailer service and of the other retailer attributes on customer‐based retail brand equity.
Findings
In retailing, service quality appears to be the most important retailer attribute in building a strong retail brand – as demonstrated in four out of five sectors. The integrated model developed in this study can make a significant contribution to a field of knowledge which at present is not well developed.
Research limitations/implications
A more detailed analysis of the cross‐sectoral differences is undoubtedly necessary. Furthermore, a more exact analysis of retailer service is certainly required, but it must also incorporate other retailer attributes in order to achieve dimensions of comparison.
Practical implications
The importance of service in retailing is intersectorally underlined in comparison to the other retailer attributes/retail marketing instruments. Even in sectors that characteristically use self‐service, the importance of service quality and particularly of friendly and competent staff is evident. Compared to the other retailer attributes, service is one strategic element that can be used effectively by retailers of almost any size. A small or medium sized retailer usually cannot distinguish itself from its competitors by means of price, but with a service‐oriented business.
Originality/value
Unlike other investigations, a model is applied in this paper to five retail sectors, so both general and also sector‐specific conclusions can be drawn on the importance of customer service and the other retailer attributes. Furthermore, customer service is not analysed in isolation, thus we have dimensions of comparison, unlike many other authors who look at service alone.
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Bernhard Swoboda, Frank Haelsig, Hanna Schramm‐Klein and Dirk Morschett
The purpose of this paper is to focus on one of the main antecedents of consumer behaviour concerning its role in building a retail brand. It addresses how consumer involvement…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to focus on one of the main antecedents of consumer behaviour concerning its role in building a retail brand. It addresses how consumer involvement influences perception of retailer attributes, which affects customer‐based retail brand equity when considering retailers as brands.
Design/methodology/approach
A model is developed that includes the impact of central dimensions of the perception of retailer attributes, their effects on customer‐based retail brand equity and the moderating role of consumer involvement. The empirical study is based on a sample of 3,000 consumers spread over five retail sectors (grocery, clothing, DIY, electronics and furniture).
Findings
Using multiple‐group structural equation modelling, the intersectoral relevance of involvement as a moderator in building a strong retail brand is demonstrated. In retailing, consumer involvement has a moderating effect on the influence of retailer attributes on retail brand equity. The direction of this influence differs, however, from one perceived retailer attribute to the next. Whereas the influence of price, communication and store design is greater on highly involved consumers than on those with low involvement, the influence of service and assortment is greater in consumers with low involvement. Since consumers with a different level of involvement have a different perception of retailer attributes, this factor is relevant to retail branding.
Originality/value
Understanding retailers as brands – conceptually – a basic model shows how to build retail brand equity using the dimensions of retailer marketing instruments, and this model is stable enough to test different antecedents, including involvement for the first time in this context. The five sectors surveyed distinguish the study methodologically from those that focus only on one sector. Finally, the results show that the retailer attributes relevant to retail brand equity differ between customers with high involvement and those with low involvement. This aspect must be considered in the preliminary stages of retail brand building.
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Dieter Ahlert, Rainer Olbrich, Peter Kenning and Hendrik Schroeder
Thomas Foscht, Cesar Maloles, Bernhard Swoboda, Dirk Morschett and Indrajit Sinha
The purpose of this paper is to examine how cultural differences affect the perception of a brand.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how cultural differences affect the perception of a brand.
Design/methodology/approach
A study was carried out in six countries among different involvement groups. The study uses Hofstede's cultural dimensions and Aaker's brand personality dimensions to see if brand perceptions of a product are similar among all six countries.
Findings
This study provides clear evidence that a same brand is perceived differently in different cultures in spite of its identical positioning. This means that if a firm wishes to achieve the same brand perception in different countries, the firm needs to create brand positioning strategies that emphasize the characteristics that enable consumers to perceive the product in a similar way.
Originality/value
This paper examines the perception of a single brand in the context of cultural dimensions in a global setting – in particular in six countries on three continents.
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Hanna Schramm-Klein, Dirk Morschett and Bernhard Swoboda
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to knowledge on the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities on retailers’ performance. An analysis using a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to knowledge on the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities on retailers’ performance. An analysis using a comprehensive conceptualization of CSR reveals that CSR has positive implications for retailers’ firm performance and illustrates which CSR dimensions are the most important to focus on. It becomes clear that retailers must care about both downstream- and upstream-oriented CSR dimensions in the value chain. The paper highlights the impact of CSR communication activities for company success both in terms of general communication to the stakeholders and relating to in-store communications.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a survey among retailers. Data analysis was performed applying partial least squares structural equation modeling.
Findings
While CSR generally has positive effects on retailer performance – despite cost associated with CSR implementation, the authors show that diverse dimensions have different effects. Also, both downstream (customer-oriented) as well as upstream (suppler-oriented) activities count. Also, CSR communications, thus talking about what good a retailer does, is of high relevance.
Originality/value
This paper offers both theoretical implications on CSR dimensions in retailing as well as practical help for retailers on how and why to implement and communicate CSR activities.
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Thomas Foscht, Bernhard Swoboda and Dirk Morschett
The main object of this research paper is to analyse the dynamic internationalisation process in small retailing firms, achieved on the basis of electronic commerce – a…
Abstract
Purpose
The main object of this research paper is to analyse the dynamic internationalisation process in small retailing firms, achieved on the basis of electronic commerce – a combination that has seldom been investigated. An analysis of dynamic internationalisation in companies presumes that the businesses concerned are observed over a longer period of time, which is why the paper focuses on the case of one specific company.
Design/methodology/approach
The basis of the analysis is a theory‐based framework which refers to two opposing approaches in international management, namely the incremental, experiential learning perspective, and the revolutionary perspective. The framework and the case study look specifically at market‐oriented, supply side‐oriented, and management processes. Based on an extended case study on a small, born‐global firm, the many facets of increasing professionalisation have been documented.
Findings
The paper shows that small, niche‐oriented companies can be successful internationally and achieve growth. The process of dynamic internationalisation is both incremental and revolutionary. The special feature in the present case lies in the fact that the small company was able to internationalise via electronic commerce, which was possible without capital investments and in‐depth foreign activities, unlike other forms of internationalisation, which is already evident from other small retailers on the web. Blue Tomato succeeded in reaching cross‐national market segments, with a specific scene orientation and which also share snowboarders' attitude to life, by means of inter‐active scene relationship management. This focused scene orientation is one of the key differences compared with other catalogue retailers, especially larger ones.
Originality/value
The originality of the paper lies in the fact that the subject of internationalisation is investigated particularly from the point of view of small retail companies. This contrasts with many other papers focusing on large retailing companies. In addition, the paper looks at the dynamic perspective of internationalisation and change processes. The present paper could be a small step towards gaining an understanding of international change based on electronic commerce.
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This paper proposes identifying determinants of the choice of an organizational mode for providing after‐sales service in foreign markets. It aims to focus on the decision between…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper proposes identifying determinants of the choice of an organizational mode for providing after‐sales service in foreign markets. It aims to focus on the decision between contractual/equity cooperation and wholly‐owned foreign entities and the influence of firm‐specific variables on this decision.
Design/methodology/approach
An empirical study based on 80 German manufacturing companies was carried out. Hypotheses on the influence of certain firm‐specific variables on the organizational mode were developed and tested by binary logistic regression.
Findings
The paper finds that international experience of a company, whether a company already has manufacturing facilities in the specific foreign market, and strategic considerations such as the seeking of global integration advantages and the choice of service as competitive advantage, seems to exert a strong influence on the decision of the internalization of after‐sales service operations. The size of the company and the choice of price as competitive advantage, however, did not display a significant influence.
Research limitations/implications
Since the research is based on a sample of 80 companies from a single country, testing for generalizability of the results to other countries and other industries would seem necessary. Also, the research focused on firm‐specific determinants while an extension into country‐specific and activity‐specific variables would be required to offer a more powerful explanation of the organizational mode decision.
Originality/value
Almost no empirical investigations exist on the provision of after‐sales service in foreign markets. This paper offers first evidence on determinants of the choice between cooperative and fully internalized modes of after‐sales service provision.
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