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1 – 10 of over 100000Martin Carlsson-Wall, Christofer Laurell, Oliver Lindqvist Parbratt and Mart Ots
The paper investigates the relationship between accounting and promises in the context of digital change.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper investigates the relationship between accounting and promises in the context of digital change.
Design/methodology/approach
Relying on emergent literature on accounting and promises, a qualitative field study has been conducted covering 57 interviews with municipal directors, digitalization strategists, administration managers and CFOs in a Swedish region consisting of 13 municipalities.
Findings
The paper provides insights into how municipalities draw on accounting in attempts to reconstruct promissory narratives of the digital. By highlighting two contrasting cases, we show how this can involve practices of either restoration or transformation. Likewise, we find that attempts to restore promises can sometimes have unanticipated effects, in our case a transformation of the promise instead.
Originality/value
We introduce a “promise” lens to the literature on accounting and digital change and empirically describe how accounting is implicated in shaping promises in the context of public sector digital change.
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Contends that service relationship marketing is all about promises: in order to keep a promise made to potential customers, service companies must ensure delivery of their promises…
Abstract
Contends that service relationship marketing is all about promises: in order to keep a promise made to potential customers, service companies must ensure delivery of their promises. Discusses the making of promises: what to promise the consumer; why every service firm should strive to fulfill its promises; and what to do if the promises cannot be kept. Presents recommendations pertaining to these three aspects of making promises.
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Christian Rudeloff and Joke Bruns
With the growing importance of conscientious branding, companies are increasingly adopting messages of female empowerment in their social media communications. However, this is…
Abstract
Purpose
With the growing importance of conscientious branding, companies are increasingly adopting messages of female empowerment in their social media communications. However, this is not without risk, as stakeholders may be suspicious of femwashing. Therefore, companies need to develop appropriate messaging strategies to increase the effectiveness of their femvertising communications.
Design/methodology/approach
A between-subjects 3 × 1 online experiment was conducted to examine the influence of different messaging strategies (symbolic, philanthropic and explicit brand promises) and respective stakeholders' attributions of a company’s femvertising motives on brand equity and endorsement outcomes.
Findings
The results show that philanthropic and explicit brand promises have more positive effects on brand equity and endorsement outcomes than symbolic brand promises. In addition, motive attributions towards the firm’s femvertising messages were found to moderate the influence of message strategies on endorsement outcomes.
Originality/value
Previous research on the effects of femvertising has been inclined towards short-term performance factors like purchase intentions. This study contributes to the literature by examining its impacts on more strategic intangible assets such as brand equity. Furthermore, while prior studies on femvertising effects have so far focused primarily on the influence of recipients’ characteristics and less on the side of the communicators, this study illuminates the potential of different messaging strategies for effective femvertising communicating.
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Timothy J. Bartik and Marta Lachowska
In order to study whether college scholarships can be an effective tool in raising students’ performance in secondary school, we use one aspect of the Kalamazoo Promise that…
Abstract
In order to study whether college scholarships can be an effective tool in raising students’ performance in secondary school, we use one aspect of the Kalamazoo Promise that resembles a quasi-experiment. The surprise announcement of the scholarship created a large change in expected college tuition costs that varied across different groups of students based on past enrollment decisions. This variation is arguably exogenous to unobserved student characteristics. We estimate the effects of this change by a set of “difference-in-differences” regressions where we compare the change in student outcomes in secondary school across time for different student “length of enrollment” groups. We also control for student fixed effects. We find positive effects of the Kalamazoo Promise on Promise-eligible students large enough to be deemed important – about a 9 percent increase in the probability of earning any credits and one less suspension day per year. We also find large increases in GPA among African American students.
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Parthesh R. Shanbhag, Yogesh Pai P., Murugan Pattusamy, Gururaj Kidiyoor and Nandan Prabhu
This study aims to investigate the potential positive effects of cause-related marketing (CRM) campaigns that show evidence of commitment to espoused causes. It examines whether…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the potential positive effects of cause-related marketing (CRM) campaigns that show evidence of commitment to espoused causes. It examines whether consumers respond positively when a CRM campaign promises to deliver proof of the espoused cause.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopted the grounded theory approach to conceptualize the promised impact evidence construct. A promised impact evidence scale was developed and validated using robust qualitative and quantitative methods, including item response theory estimates.
Findings
The study provides evidence for promised impact evidence as a reflective second-order latent construct. The promised impact evidence scale demonstrates strong internal consistency, reliability and validity. In addition, this study posits that promised impact evidence is an antecedent of advertising trust, purchase intention, advertising credibility and persuasive and selling intent.
Originality/value
This study positioned the promised impact evidence scale against the theoretical underpinnings of the persuasion knowledge model. Specifically, this scale contributes to existing knowledge because it applies the persuasion knowledge model in CRM campaigns by adopting an acceptance focus, as opposed to the rejection focus used in developing persuasion knowledge model scales.
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Omer Topaloglu and David E. Fleming
The paper aims to provide a theoretical and empirical examination of the relationship between service expectation management, expectation inducing agent and customer satisfaction.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to provide a theoretical and empirical examination of the relationship between service expectation management, expectation inducing agent and customer satisfaction.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the disconfirmation paradigm in services and the promise-keeping premise in psychology, the hypotheses are developed and empirically tested using three experiments that manipulated expectations, expectation inducing agent and service outcome.
Findings
The findings provide reconciliation to the previous studies in services and show that effectiveness of expectation management strategy depends on the individual expectation thresholds and the expectation inducing agent. If customers patronize a firm expecting more, then over-delivering on the service promise results in a significant benefit. However, for those customers whose mental expectation threshold is exceeded, keeping promises is as effective as exceeding promises.
Practical implications
The practical implication of this paper is that services managers should be cognizant of the mental expectation threshold of customers and be wise in utilizing the under-promise, over-deliver strategy.
Originality/value
Using a threshold approach, this paper introduces a new perspective to service practitioners who are trying to manage expectations in a highly variable business environment. It also benefits service researchers who are trying to enhance the understanding of service expectation management.
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Musa Pinar, Tulay Girard, Paul Trapp and Zeliha Eser
The purpose of this paper is to examine customer, management, and contact personnel perceptions of consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) and its dimensions utilizing a services…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine customer, management, and contact personnel perceptions of consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) and its dimensions utilizing a services branding triangle framework in the banking industry.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from customers, managers, and contact personnel of three types of banks in Turkey – state, private, and foreign.
Findings
The study finds significant external branding gaps between the perceptions of managers and customers and interactive branding gaps between the perceptions of contact personnel and customers, but no internal branding gaps between the perceptions of managers and contact personnel with respect to CBBE dimensions.
Research limitations/implications
The sample was limited to Turkish adult citizens of a single major metropolitan area in Turkey and bank personnel in three cities.
Originality/value
The services branding triangle framework used in this study allows service brand managers to understand not only the differences in the perceptions of brand equity dimensions of bank customers, managers, and contact personnel, but also provides an opportunity to identify the external, internal, and interactive branding gaps of each of the brand equity dimensions. The findings provide an empirical test for the three promises theory and identifying potential branding gaps resulting from differences between consumer, management, and contact personnel perceptions of CBBE and its dimensions. The paper discusses the implications of the findings in developing a strong services brand and brand equity.
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Natalia Araujo Pacheco, Cristiane Pizzutti, Kenny Basso and Yves Van Vaerenbergh
The purpose of this paper is to examine when (i.e. after a shorter or longer length of time) organizations should offer an apology or a promise of non-recurrence of a failure to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine when (i.e. after a shorter or longer length of time) organizations should offer an apology or a promise of non-recurrence of a failure to recover trust following a failed service recovery (a double deviation).
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reports the results of a pilot study with a convenience sample and two experiments with samples from different populations, students and employees of a financial institution in one study and workers recruited through Mechanical Turk in the other.
Findings
An apology was most effective to recover trust when offered shortly after the double deviation (e.g. Study 1: after two days; Study 2: immediately and after two days), while making a promise was most effective when offered at a later time after the double deviation (e.g. Study 1: after 30 days; Study 2: after 15 days). Consumers consider an apology offered shortly after the double deviation as a sign of integrity and a promise communicated sometime after the double deviation as a sign of competence.
Originality/value
This paper complements prior research that demonstrates the effectiveness of apology and promise as trust recovery tactics. The findings show that managers should carefully consider the time at which they use these tactics to recover trust following a double deviation.
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Mohammad Ashiqur Rahman Khan and Stanislav Karapetrovic
– The purpose of this paper is to explore ISO 10001:2007 in planning, designing and developing a customer satisfaction promise (CSP) intended for inpatients care.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore ISO 10001:2007 in planning, designing and developing a customer satisfaction promise (CSP) intended for inpatients care.
Design/methodology/approach
Through meetings and interviews with research participants, who included a program manager, unit managers and registered nurses, information about potential promises and their implementation was obtained and analyzed. A number of promises were drafted and one was finally selected to be developed as a CSP.
Findings
Applying the standard required adaptation and novel interpretation. Additionally, ISO 10002:2004 (Clause 7) was used to design the feedback handling activities. A promise initially chosen for development turned out to be difficult to implement, experience that helped in selecting and developing the final promise. Research participants found the ISO 10001-based method useful and comprehensible.
Practical implications
This paper presents a specific health care example of how to adapt a standard’s guideline in establishing customer promises. The authors show how a promise can be used in alleviating an existing issue (i.e. communication between carers and patients). The learning can be beneficial in various health care settings.
Originality/value
To the knowledge, this paper shows the first example of applying ISO 10001:2007 in a health care case. A few activities suggested by the standard are further detailed, and a new activity is introduced. The integrated use of ISO 10001:2007 and 10002:2004 is presented and how one can be “augmented” by the other is demonstrated.
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Helena Elisabeth Liewendahl and Kristina Heinonen
Customer value creation is dependent on a firm’s capacity to fulfil its brand promises and value propositions. The purpose of this paper is to explore frontline employees’ (FLEs’…
Abstract
Purpose
Customer value creation is dependent on a firm’s capacity to fulfil its brand promises and value propositions. The purpose of this paper is to explore frontline employees’ (FLEs’) motivation to align with value propositions.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper explores FLEs’ motivation to align with a firm’s value propositions as operationalised brand promises. A longitudinal, three-phase case study was conducted on a business-to-business company in the building and technical trade sector.
Findings
This study reveals factors that foster and weaken employees’ motivation to align with a firm’s brand promises and value propositions. The findings show that co-activity and authentic, practice-driven promises and value propositions foster FLEs’ motivation to uphold brand promises and value propositions, whereas an objectifying stance and power struggle weaken their motivation.
Practical implications
The study indicates that a bottom-up approach to strategising is needed and that FLE is to be engaged in traditional managerial domains, such as in developing value propositions. By creating space and agency for FLE in the strategising process, their motivation to align with value propositions is fostered. Four motivational modes are suggested to support bottom-up strategising.
Originality/value
The paper is unique in its focus on FLEs’ motivation. Developing value propositions traditionally falls within the domain of management strategising, while employees are ascribed the role of enactment. Contrary to the established norm, this paper highlights employees’ active role in strategising and developing value propositions.
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