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1 – 10 of over 11000Currently, many firms have established brand fan pages on various social network sites. The purpose of this paper is to extend the conventional trust theory, which involves only…
Abstract
Purpose
Currently, many firms have established brand fan pages on various social network sites. The purpose of this paper is to extend the conventional trust theory, which involves only perspective of trust.
Design/methodology/approach
This study targeted community members who have purchased tourist packages from travel agencies and have joined the official brand fan pages of the agencies for at least one year. A total of 646 valid samples were collected.
Findings
Structural equation modeling was employed to conduct path analyses, and the results show that the seven hypothetical paths proposed in this study are supported by the theoretical model, which exhibited desirable goodness-of-fit.
Practical implications
Finally, practical suggestions are offered for community managers.
Originality/value
This study was conducted by integrating the models of consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer interactions.
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Jin-Soo Lee, Seongseop Kim and Steve Pan
This paper aims to, building on the concept of relational benefits, relationship marketing investments, gratitude, satisfaction and favorable reciprocal behaviors, examine the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to, building on the concept of relational benefits, relationship marketing investments, gratitude, satisfaction and favorable reciprocal behaviors, examine the mechanism of cultivating relationships with valued customers at an upscale restaurant.
Design/methodology/approach
To capture the traits of the population (upscale restaurant customers who perceive relationship marketing investments by experiencing relational benefits), upscale restaurant customers with membership cards were contacted in the survey. Structural equation modeling was used to test measurement and structural models.
Findings
Empirical findings indicated that confidence and social benefits positively contributed to relationship marketing investments, whereas special treatment benefits were not significantly related to relationship marketing investments. In turn, relationship marketing investments positively affected both gratitude and satisfaction; relationship marketing investments were also more associated with gratitude than satisfaction. Gratitude positively evoked favorable reciprocal behaviors; however, satisfaction did not trigger favorable reciprocal behaviors.
Originality/value
The integration of relationship marketing investments and gratitude into the conceptual model would allow the current findings to generate rich theoretical and practical implications that the extant hospitality literature has not elucidated.
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Don Bruce, Jon C. Rork and Gary Wagner
Small businesses play a vital role in job creation and economic growth, and previous studies have noted that higher state tax rates may reduce entrepreneurial activity, growth…
Abstract
Purpose
Small businesses play a vital role in job creation and economic growth, and previous studies have noted that higher state tax rates may reduce entrepreneurial activity, growth, and hiring. The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, the authors use a 1989-2005 panel of state-level data to explore the effects of state income tax reciprocity agreements on several measures of small business activity. Since a reciprocity agreement exempts non-resident income from a state's personal income tax base, it has the potential to reduce barriers to entrepreneurial activity and lower tax compliance costs.
Findings
The results indicate that reciprocity agreements appear to have reduced the tax-rate sensitivity of entrepreneurial activity, which may lead to more small business and entrepreneurial activity in states with more active agreements, other factors constant. This suggests that personal income tax reciprocity agreements may be a credible policy tool to expand small business activity.
Originality/value
In this study, the paper sets out to determine if small business and entrepreneurial activity is greater in states that have reciprocity agreements and if such activity is dependent on the number of active agreements in place. Given recent nationwide efforts to ease compliance costs for business through other initiatives such as the Telecommuter Tax Fairness Act and the Streamlined Sales Tax Agreement, this study is the first to quantify how decreasing tax compliance and eliminating barriers to labor mobility affects small business activity. The results therefore have the potential to help shape debates in many states today.
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Controversy exists about the shape of the relationship between loyalty and profitability. This paper aims to address the possibly nonlinear effects of behavioral loyalty (BLOY) on…
Abstract
Purpose
Controversy exists about the shape of the relationship between loyalty and profitability. This paper aims to address the possibly nonlinear effects of behavioral loyalty (BLOY) on customer spending (as a proxy for profitability). Building on social exchange theory and the norm of reciprocity, it examines the asymmetries between BLOY and customer spending and the moderating influence of personal communication (PCOMM) as a social reward and dispositional positive reciprocity as process evidence.
Design/methodology/approach
Study 1a (n = 309) gathered customer data from four restaurants and Study 1b (n = 252) data from hotel guests after they checked out. Study 2 is an experimental study with two manipulated factors (BLOY and PCOMM). In total, 295 participants from a large German online panel completed the study.
Findings
The results indicate an inverted-U shaped relationship between BLOY and customer spending: after reaching a turning point, customers gradually curb spending as their BLOY further increases. High PCOMM acts as a reciprocal response while triggering additional customer spending particularly at higher levels of behavioral loyalty; positive reciprocity adjusts the differences in customer spending when social rewards such as PCOMM are present.
Research limitations/implications
The asymmetric relationship between BLOY and customer spending is tested only for hedonic service settings.
Practical implications
Not all loyal customers spend more – companies need to meet their reciprocal obligations before they can benefit from increased customer spending.
Originality/value
The present research re-considers the nature of the relationship between BLOY and customer spending and reveals an inverted-U shaped relationship, with a turning point beyond which greater customer loyalty decreases customer spending. It finds converging process evidence for the mechanism of reciprocity underlying this relationship. This study also details the financial impact of BLOY on the firm by investigating actual customer spending.
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Yu-Wei Chang, Ping-Yu Hsu, Wen-Lung Shiau and Ronghua Yi
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how customer power of environmental factors affects customer support (CS) engineers’ personal motivations in a knowledge-sharing…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how customer power of environmental factors affects customer support (CS) engineers’ personal motivations in a knowledge-sharing context. The authors examine extrinsic (i.e. organizational rewards, reputation, and reciprocity) and intrinsic motivations (i.e. knowledge self-efficacy) affecting knowledge-sharing intentions based on the social exchange theory (SET) and self-efficacy theory. Furthermore, the authors introduce the concept of the social power theory to investigate the moderating effect of customer power on the relationships between personal motivations and knowledge-sharing intentions.
Design/methodology/approach
This study collects 349 questionnaires of CS engineers from 16 countries, including the USA, China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. After the data collection, the research model and hypotheses are tested using partial least squares.
Findings
The empirical results show that reputation, reciprocity, and knowledge self-efficacy are significantly and positively related to knowledge-sharing intentions. Also, the results show that customer power can significantly moderate the relationships between personal motivations and knowledge-sharing intentions.
Research limitations/implications
The findings help multinational corporations employ the perception of customer power to motivate CS engineers to share knowledge. Especially, the results can help organizations increase customer added value through effective knowledge sharing.
Originality/value
The research model integrates personal motivations derived from the SET and self-efficacy theory and customer power of environmental factors. Additionally, this study is the first to investigate the moderating effect of customer power on employees’ personal motivations and behavioral intentions.
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Daniel Edgardo Cano Murillo, Juyoung Kang and Sora Yoon
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the major factors in the intention to adopt pro-social behavior through the internet by dividing them into personal factors and internet…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the major factors in the intention to adopt pro-social behavior through the internet by dividing them into personal factors and internet factors.
Design/methodology/approach
This research uses an empirical model to determine which personal and internet features are significant to consumers’ pro-social concerns. Internet factors may also affect pro-social behavior in addition to personal factors that many psychological studies have found to be influential. Through internet survey of 150 responses, the research model was analyzed with the partial least squares method.
Findings
The findings indicate that social influence (SI) and specific internet characteristics generate perceived reciprocity and perceived ease of use of the internet in customers that encourages pro-social behavior.
Practical implications
The findings provide non-profits with a theoretical foundation for their marketing. Many agencies and media reports have pointed out the importance of the internet in social causes. This study offers a thorough model revealing the influential factors in pro-social activities.
Social implications
This study has discovered the influential factors that non-profit organizations must consider in order to persuade their population targets. Organizations striving to capture consumers’ attention and purchase behavior (in the form of a social contribution) must facilitate SI and ease of use, as these are highly influential.
Originality/value
Pro-social behavior and internet adoption have been widely studied separately but rarely together. This study analyzes the major factors in the intention to adopt pro-social behavior through the internet by dividing them into personal factors and internet factors.
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Minh Phuc Nguyen, Vinh Van Thai, Caroline Chan, Kwok Hung Lau, My Thi Ngoc Nguyen and Hoang Phuong Nhi Do
Supply chain collaboration is increasingly important in today’s competitive business environment. While prior research has acknowledged the role of relationships in facilitating…
Abstract
Purpose
Supply chain collaboration is increasingly important in today’s competitive business environment. While prior research has acknowledged the role of relationships in facilitating collaboration, few studies have considered inter-personal and inter-organisational attributes simultaneously. This study addresses this gap by investigating these two levels of the manufacturer-supplier relationship in Vietnam’s fishery industry and their impacts on supply chain collaboration.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employed a quantitative approach. A questionnaire was distributed to 635 fishery manufacturers in Vietnam by the drop-and-collect method. EFA and CFA were used to assess the reliability and validity of the measurement model, while CB-SEM was employed for structural model assessment and hypothesis testing.
Findings
Supply chain collaboration encompasses incentive alignment, collaborative communication, decision synchronisation, and information sharing. All antecedents, including commitment, inter-organisational trust, reciprocity, and inter-personal trust, positively affect collaboration. Inter-personal trust positively influences the other antecedents, and inter-organisational trust enhances commitment. Furthermore, there are partial mediating effects among these relationship attributes. However, no significant moderating effect regarding firm size is observed.
Originality/value
The study extends the social exchange theory to encompass both inter-personal and inter-organisational relationship attributes. Additionally, it pioneers in investigating the interrelatedness of these antecedents. By addressing the research gap in the Vietnamese fishery supply chain, it offers valuable insights for both academics and practitioners, contributing to theoretical understanding and practical implications in supply chain collaboration.
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Atif Saleem Butt, Ahmad Bayiz Ahmad and Syed Hamad Hassan Shah
This paper aims to explore the role of personal relationships (friendships) in mitigating knowledge hiding behaviour between managers.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the role of personal relationships (friendships) in mitigating knowledge hiding behaviour between managers.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a phenomenological methodology by studying seven UAE-based firms. Furthermore, 30 semi-structured (15 dyadic) interviews with senior managers are undertaken. The senior managers were chosen from multiple industries including plastic, frozen food, logistics, etc.
Findings
Based on 30 semi-structured interviews and comprehensive data analysis, results reveal that the development of personal relationships between managers results in higher interpersonal trust, mutual loyalty, higher cooperation, strong mutual goals and cultivation of reciprocity. The result further states that these factors diminish knowledge hiding behaviour between them.
Research limitations/implications
This study has some limitations. First, this study explores behavioural patterns concerning the United Arab Emirates culture only. Second, the results presented in this study should be quantitatively tested to demonstrate their generalizability.
Practical implications
Firms can use this study’s findings to understand how and why personal relationships between managers within firms diminish knowledge hiding behaviour.
Originality/value
There is a dire need for research exploring how knowledge hiding can be mitigated in firms. This paper addresses this gap by exploring the role of personal relationships in the knowledge hiding literature.
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Deborah Gervasi, Guglielmo Faldetta and Lamberto Zollo
The present work investigates the micro-mechanisms underlying the link between psychological contract violation (PCV) and incivility in women employees. Building on social…
Abstract
Purpose
The present work investigates the micro-mechanisms underlying the link between psychological contract violation (PCV) and incivility in women employees. Building on social exchange theory (SET) and the norm of reciprocity, the authors utilized a multi-dimensional variable, labeled “Aggressive Reciprocal Attitude” (ARA), composed of three sub-constructs, namely anger, hostility and negative reciprocity, to explain negative women's uncivil behaviors. Further, the effect of conscientiousness is hypothesized to restrain the mechanism of ARA.
Design/methodology/approach
Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Covariance-based Structural Equation Modeling (CB-SEM) were used on a sample of 194 women from 4 different organizations to empirically validate the proposed conceptual model and test the hypothesized relationships.
Findings
Women's ARA is shown as a partial mediator of the relationship between PCV and incivility. Conscientiousness significantly moderates the link between ARA and incivility.
Practical implications
Managers should avoid stereotyping women as more compliant and submissive. Based on women's tendency to reciprocate negatively, this study’s findings suggest that reducing the negative reciprocity attitude is advisable by demonstrating that negative responses are an unsuccessful strategy and encouraging other forms of reaction.
Originality/value
By introducing the negative reciprocity attitude in the construction of the variable ARA, the authors overcome the contradiction between the social role theory, according to which women avoid unsociable behaviors, and studies demonstrating a remarkable presence of conflicts among women.
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