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Open Access
Article
Publication date: 18 October 2018

Vincent M. Thielemann, Michael C. Ottenbacher and Robert James Harrington

The purpose of this paper is to identify the antecedents of perceived customer value, such as the perceived quality and perceived sacrifices, and the effects on customer…

11794

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the antecedents of perceived customer value, such as the perceived quality and perceived sacrifices, and the effects on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty (CL) in the restaurant industry.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on an extensive literature review, a research model and questionnaire were designed. To assess the hypothesised relationships, data were collected in a field survey. Partial least squares regression (a variance-based regression analysis of SEM) was selected to analyse the relationships within the research model.

Findings

The findings of this study indicate that the perceived monetary sacrifice (PMS) and perceived service quality were found to be antecedents of perceived value (PV), whereas PMS was the major precursor of PV. Further, PV was found to have a substantial influence on customer satisfaction and CL.

Originality/value

The study provides a better understanding of the price–value–satisfaction–loyalty relationships in the restaurant context in a more holistic sense and recommendations to move this research stream forward.

Details

International Hospitality Review, vol. 32 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2516-8142

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 18 November 2022

Takawira Munyaradzi Ndofirepi, Tinashe Chuchu, Eugine Maziriri and Brighton Nyagadza

The market for counterfeit goods worldwide has continued to grow significantly over the years, attracting the curiosity of researchers in the marketing field. This study aimed to…

3132

Abstract

Purpose

The market for counterfeit goods worldwide has continued to grow significantly over the years, attracting the curiosity of researchers in the marketing field. This study aimed to analyse the influence of price-quality inference and attitudes towards economic rewards of purchasing counterfeit products on the intentions to purchase non-deceptive counterfeit products.

Design/methodology/approach

The research adopted a quantitative methodology and utilised the cross-sectional survey method to collect data from a sample of 381 respondents comprising university students. The data was then analysed using the computer software Smart PLS 4.

Findings

The results established that the respondents’ price-quality inference of counterfeit products was positively associated with the attitudes towards economic rewards of purchasing counterfeit products and intention to purchase counterfeit products. Furthermore, the study revealed that attitudes towards economic rewards of purchasing counterfeit products partially mediated the influence of price-quality inference on customer intention to acquire non-deceptive counterfeit goods. A multigroup analysis of the proposed relationship did not find any statistically significant differences in the pattern of results concerning the gender groups.

Research limitations/implications

The significance of the study findings is hampered by the singular focus on university students as a reference point for young people’s perceptions of counterfeit goods in South Africa. The study, however, presents verifiable evidence that marketers and brand managers of genuine products may utilise to develop intervention measures to sway young African consumers away from counterfeits and towards genuine brands.

Originality/value

This is one of the few studies in the literature that addresses young adults’ deliberate purchasing of non-deceptive counterfeits in South Africa, an important consumer market in Africa.

Details

European Journal of Management Studies, vol. 27 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2183-4172

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 9 February 2024

Thomas Koerber and Holger Schiele

This study aims to examine decision factors for global sourcing, differentiated into transcontinental and continental sourcing to obtain insight into locational aspects of…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine decision factors for global sourcing, differentiated into transcontinental and continental sourcing to obtain insight into locational aspects of sourcing decisions and global trends. This study analyzed various country perceptions to reveal their influence on sourcing decisions. The country of origin (COO) theory explains why certain country perceptions and images influence purchasing experts in their selection of suppliers.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a two-study approach. In Study 1, the authors conducted discrete choice card experiments with 71 purchasing experts located in Europe and the USA to examine the importance of essential decision factors for global sourcing. Given the clear evidence that location is a factor in sourcing decisions, in Study 2 the authors investigated purchasers’ perceptions and images of countries, adding country ranking experiments on various perceived characteristics such as quality, price and technology.

Findings

Study 1 provides evidence that the purchasers’ personal relationship with the supplier plays a decisive role in the supplier selection process. While product quality and location impact sourcing decisions, the attraction of the buying company and cultural barriers are less significant. Interestingly, however, these factors seem as important as price to respondents. This implies that a strong relationship with suppliers and good quality products are essential aspects of a reliable and robust supply chain in the post-COVID-19 era. Examining the locational aspect in detail, Study 2 linked the choice card experiments with country ranking experiments. In this study, the authors found that purchasing experts consider that transcontinental countries such as Japan and China offer significant advantages in terms of price and technology. China has enhanced its quality, which is recognizable in the country ranking experiments. Therefore, decisions on global sourcing are not just based on such high-impact factors as price and availability; country perceptions are also influential. Additionally, the significance of the locational aspect could be linked to certain country images of transcontinental suppliers, as the COO theory describes.

Originality/value

The new approach divides global sourcing into transcontinental and European sourcing to evaluate special decision factors and link these factors to the locational aspect of sourcing decisions. To deepen the clear evidence for the locational aspect and investigate the possible influence of country perceptions, the authors applied the COO theory. This approach enabled authors to show the strong influence of country perception on purchasing departments, which is represented by the locational effect. Hence, the success of transcontinental countries relies not only on factors such as their availability but also on the purchasers’ positive perceptions of these countries in terms of technology and price.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 39 no. 13
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 13 August 2021

David Boto-Garcia, Marta Escalonilla, Emma Zapico and Jose F. Baños

This paper aims to examine hotel guests’ satisfaction relative to room rates paying attention to the heterogeneity in the scale of satisfaction scores.

1760

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine hotel guests’ satisfaction relative to room rates paying attention to the heterogeneity in the scale of satisfaction scores.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper studies guests’ post-purchase hotel evaluation using survey data from a sample of 14,879 tourists visiting a Northern Spanish region. This study estimates a Heteroskedastic Ordered Probit model in which both “cognitive” and “emotional” components of satisfaction are modelled. The model allows us to control for heterogeneity in the scale of the latent satisfaction scores.

Findings

This paper finds that satisfaction relative to rates (value for money) decreases with expenditure per person and day. Interestingly, this negative relationship mainly holds for those who do not prioritize prices at the time of choosing the hotel. Positive first impressions are positively associated with higher satisfaction. In addition, this study finds that the emotional component of satisfaction increases with hotel quality and hiring a full board, being also greater among women and elderly people.

Originality/value

Instead of using an overall measure of satisfaction, this paper uses one that gathers how the tourist assesses satisfaction in relation to cost (value for money).

Details

Applied Economic Analysis, vol. 29 no. 87
Type: Research Article
ISSN:

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 13 March 2024

Tjaša Redek and Uroš Godnov

The Internet has changed consumer decision-making and influenced business behaviour. User-generated product information is abundant and readily available. This paper argues that…

Abstract

Purpose

The Internet has changed consumer decision-making and influenced business behaviour. User-generated product information is abundant and readily available. This paper argues that user-generated content can be efficiently utilised for business intelligence using data science and develops an approach to demonstrate the methods and benefits of the different techniques.

Design/methodology/approach

Using Python Selenium, Beautiful Soup and various text mining approaches in R to access, retrieve and analyse user-generated content, we argue that (1) companies can extract information about the product attributes that matter most to consumers and (2) user-generated reviews enable the use of text mining results in combination with other demographic and statistical information (e.g. ratings) as an efficient input for competitive analysis.

Findings

The paper shows that combining different types of data (textual and numerical data) and applying and combining different methods can provide organisations with important business information and improve business performance.

Research limitations/implications

The paper shows that combining different types of data (textual and numerical data) and applying and combining different methods can provide organisations with important business information and improve business performance.

Originality/value

The study makes several contributions to the marketing and management literature, mainly by illustrating the methodological advantages of text mining and accompanying statistical analysis, the different types of distilled information and their use in decision-making.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 53 no. 13
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 16 March 2020

Agnieszka Zalejska-Jonsson

This paper aims to examine the strategy, selection and perception of facility management (FM) services and the effect it may have on perceived building quality.

3368

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the strategy, selection and perception of facility management (FM) services and the effect it may have on perceived building quality.

Design/methodology/approach

Data was collected through a survey distributed to board members of cooperatives for newly constructed buildings in Sweden. Responses from 394 cooperative boards were included in the data set and analysed. The difference in cooperative choice of FM strategy and satisfaction with FM services was examined with non-parametrical Kruskal–Wallis tests and the effect of FM strategy and satisfaction with FM services on perceived building quality was examined with a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test.

Findings

The results suggest information asymmetry and indicate urgent need for an objective accreditation system for FM services, which will inform and assist housing owners in the FM selection process. The study validates the hypothesis that facilities management strategies applied by housing cooperatives have a significant effect on perception of building quality.

Practical implications

The findings will assist developers, facility and property managers to understand the needs and services valued by the housing cooperative. The findings highlight the information asymmetry, restricted techniques and weak signalling methods among FM services, and advocates promoting an objective accreditation system for FM services.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the discussion on the concept of building quality and the results presented provide a better understanding of facilities management strategy on perception of building quality.

Details

Facilities , vol. 38 no. 7/8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-2772

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 8 March 2022

Bettina König, Christian Pfeiffer, Marcus Wieschhoff and Elena Karpova

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of wine closure types on the quality perception of wine consumers in a traditional wine market, combined with the willingness…

1937

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of wine closure types on the quality perception of wine consumers in a traditional wine market, combined with the willingness to pay for red and white wines in bottles closed with screw caps compared with that for wines in bottles with a cork closure.

Design/methodology/approach

An online experiment with 436 Austrian wine consumers was conducted in a two-by-two between-groups design. To assess the quality of Austrian red and white wine, quality indicators such as origin, grape variety, awards, the content of residual sugar, vintage, geographical indication, ageing potential, organic certification, vineyard designation and brand (producer) have been applied. Furthermore, different involvement levels as well as willingness to pay were taken into consideration.

Findings

Contrary to earlier findings, results confirm that Austrian consumers do not generally perceive wines (both red and white) in a screw cap bottle to be lower or different in quality from those in a cork-closed bottle. However, consumers expect red and white wines in bottles with a cork closure to be higher in price than wines in bottles with a screw cap. Among established quality indicators, the present analysis shows that price is the strongest cue for quality when it comes to wines and indicates that wines in bottles closed with corks and bearing a higher price tag are considered to be of higher quality.

Research limitations/implications

This research comes with limitations, such as the absence of sensory differences. Moreover, the research design is based exclusively on the description of wines and a limited set of quality indicators and does not involve the actual tasting of wines.

Practical implications

Outcomes suggest that in the strategic positioning of wines, the difference in wine consumers’ quality perceptions between wine bottles with screw caps and cork closures plays a smaller role than anticipated. Findings are relevant for practitioners, particularly in old-world wine markets where cork is still seen as the closure of choice for higher-quality wines.

Originality/value

The results of this survey contribute to understanding consumers of an established old-world wine market and their attitudes towards alternative bottle closure types such as screw caps. It adds new insights to the research stream of the quality perception of wines.

Details

International Journal of Wine Business Research, vol. 34 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1751-1062

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 31 March 2022

Binh Nguyen Thi and Hien Nguyen Thi Thu

In an era of global competition, firms need to collaborate for long-term benefits. Researchers have investigated the linkages between supply chain collaboration (SCC), customer…

3368

Abstract

Purpose

In an era of global competition, firms need to collaborate for long-term benefits. Researchers have investigated the linkages between supply chain collaboration (SCC), customer satisfaction and loyalty. However, little attention has been paid to these linkages in the home electronics sector. This study attempts to investigate the impacts of SCC on firms' competitive advantage, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in the home electronics sector of Vietnam.

Design/methodology/approach

Besides aggregation of literature review, the authors conducted an experimental study with a sample of 300 customers who bought household electronic appliances in the first six months of 2021 in Hanoi city, Vietnam. In this study, structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to analyse the hypotheses.

Findings

The findings indicate that SCC has a positive impact on competitive advantage, increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty in the home electronics sector. Evidence also revealed that competitive advantage can be enhanced through information sharing, decision synchronisation and incentive alignment.

Originality/value

This study can be applied to foster a more effective collaboration approach amongst supply chain members in the household electronic appliances sector, which, in turn, will increase competitiveness, customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Details

Journal of Asian Business and Economic Studies, vol. 29 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2515-964X

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 21 September 2021

María D. Illescas-Manzano, Sergio Martínez-Puertas and Manuel Sánchez-Pérez

Hotels are immersed in a very competitive environment and hoteliers have to plan and redesign their strategies to stay in the hospitality industry while faced with a steady rise…

1539

Abstract

Purpose

Hotels are immersed in a very competitive environment and hoteliers have to plan and redesign their strategies to stay in the hospitality industry while faced with a steady rise in competition. Hoteliers can employ horizontal differentiation strategies and pricing decisions to gain a competitive advantage over their competitors. The goal of our work is to analyse the effect of pricing and horizontal differentiation strategy of a hotel on its online reputation and to analyse if the hotel location and agglomeration of competitors moderates their relationship with online reputation.

Design/methodology/approach

With a sample of 264 hotels from Paris, an empirical study is developed that aims to analyse, using regression techniques, the impact of price, differentiation, location and competitive environment on online ratings given by consumers in the hospitality context.

Findings

The paper provides empirical evidence of how a good location improves the online reputation of a company and how pricing strategies should take into account the location and number of competitors since a good location allows premium prices to be valued positively by consumers while an inappropriate location can produce the opposite effect. Depending on location, the number of competitors can intensify or reduce the effect of price on online reputation. Finally, online reputation only benefits from horizontal differentiation strategies when the degree of agglomeration is low.

Originality/value

This work provides insights about how hotels can strengthen their online reputation through pricing and differentiation strategies, incorporating elements of their environment such as location and competition in this decision-making process.

研究目的

酒店處於一個競爭非常激烈的經營環境中,營運者要面對競爭日益加劇的挑戰,在這情況下,他們必須計劃並重新設計其策略,以在酒店服務業中仍能繼續其業務。營運者可採用水平分化策略和定價決策,以取得比同業更大的競爭優勢。本研究旨在分析,若酒店採用價格及水平差異之策略,這對它們的網上聲譽會起什麽效應;研究亦探討酒店所處的位置及競爭者的凝聚會否減弱其與網上聲譽的關係。

研究設計/方法/理念

研究樣本為來自巴黎264間酒店。研究人員採用實驗研究法,透過迴歸分析法,去分析在酒店服務的背景下,價格、差異化、地點和競爭環境如何影響消費者所給予的網上評分。

研究結果

本文提供了經驗性證據,證明良好的地點會改善公司的網絡聲譽; 同時,亦證明釐定價格策略時,經營者應考慮競爭者的位置和數目,這是因為良好的地點會讓消費者正面評價溢價,而不合適的地點則會導致相反的效應。根據所在的地點,消費者的數目能增強或減弱價格對網絡聲譽的影響。最後,本文也證明了網絡聲譽只會在凝聚程度低的情況下才會受惠於水平分化策略。

研究的原創性/價值

本研究提供啟示,使我們更明瞭酒店如何能透過價格及差異化策略,同時亦透過把它們的環境元素如地點和競爭等納入決策程序中,來強化網絡聲譽。

Details

European Journal of Management and Business Economics, vol. 31 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2444-8451

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 2 April 2021

Jean Claude Mutiganda and Janne T. Järvinen

Research was conducted to investigate whether, and how, political accountability might stabilise when agents are faced with profound changes in external structures such as…

2860

Abstract

Purpose

Research was conducted to investigate whether, and how, political accountability might stabilise when agents are faced with profound changes in external structures such as competition laws and austerity policies.

Design/methodology/approach

We performed a field study from 2007 to 2015 in a regional hub in Finland and worked with data from document analysis, interviews and meeting observations. We have used embedded research design, where we apply methodological bracketing as well as composite sequence analysis for field research.

Findings

Accountability declined when irresistible external structures were the dominant influence on the unreflective actions of agents-in-focus. With time, however, the agents started acting critically by drawing on structures that could facilitate strategic actions to stabilise political accountability.

Research limitations/implications

The field research and interpretation of the data were limited to the organisation analysed; however, the theoretical arguments allow for analytical generalisations.

Practical implications

The research demonstrates how public officials and political decision-makers can eventually adopt a strategic approach when faced with irresistible change in external structures.

Social implications

The research demonstrates how public officials and political decision-makers can eventually adopt a strategic approach when faced with irresistible changes in external structures.

Originality/value

The study locates political accountability in the context of strong structuration theory and discusses how it is redefined by external structures.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 34 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 5000