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1 – 10 of 330
Article
Publication date: 14 December 2023

Michael Giebelhausen and T. Andrew Poehlman

This paper aims to provide researchers and practitioners with a consumer-focused alternative for considering the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into services.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to provide researchers and practitioners with a consumer-focused alternative for considering the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into services.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reviews and critiques the most popular frameworks for addressing AI in service. It offers an alternative approach, one grounded in social psychology and leveraging influential concepts from management and human–computer interaction.

Findings

The frameworks that dominate discourse on this topic (e.g. Huang and Rust, 2018) are fixated on assessing technology-determined feasibility rather than consumer-granted permissibility (CGP). Proposed is an alternative framework consisting of three barriers to CGP (experiential, motivational and definitional) and three responses (communicate, motivate and recreate).

Research limitations/implications

The implication of this research is that consistent with most modern marketing thought, researchers and practitioners should approach service design from the perspective of customer experience, and that the exercise of classifying service occupation tasks in terms of questionably conceived AI intelligences should be avoided.

Originality/value

Indicative of originality, this paper offers an approach to considering AI in services that is nearly the polar opposite of that widely advocated by e.g., Huang et al., (2019); Huang and Rust (2018, 2021a, 2021b, 2022b). Indicative of value is that their highly cited paradigm is optimized for predicting the rate at which AI will take over service tasks/occupations, a niche topic compared to the mainstream challenge of integrating AI into service offerings.

Details

Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 38 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0887-6045

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 September 2023

Jiaxin Li, Zhiyuan Zhu, Zhiwei Li, Yonggang Zhao, Yun Lei, Xuping Su, Changjun Wu and Haoping Peng

Gallic acid is a substance that is widely found in nature. Initially, it was only used as a corrosion inhibitor to retard the rate of corrosion of metals. In recent years, with…

Abstract

Purpose

Gallic acid is a substance that is widely found in nature. Initially, it was only used as a corrosion inhibitor to retard the rate of corrosion of metals. In recent years, with intensive research by scholars, the modification of coatings containing gallic acid has become a hot topic in the field of metal protection. This study aims to summarize the various preparation methods of gallic acid and its research progress in corrosion inhibitors and coatings, as well as related studies using quantum chemical methods to assess the predicted corrosion inhibition effects and to systematically describe the prospects and current status of gallic acid applications in the field of metal corrosion inhibition and protection.

Design/methodology/approach

First, the various methods of preparation of gallic acid in industry are understood. Second, the corrosion inhibition principles and research progress of gallic acid as a metal corrosion inhibitor are presented. Then, the corrosion inhibition principles and research progress of gallic acid involved in the synthesis and modification of various rust conversion coatings, nano-coatings and organic resin coatings are described. After that, studies related to the evaluation and prediction of gallic acid corrosion inhibition on metals by quantum chemical methods are presented. Finally, new research ideas on gallic acid in the field of corrosion inhibition and protection of metals are summarized.

Findings

Gallic acid can be used as a corrosion inhibitor or coating in metal protection.

Research limitations/implications

There is a lack of research on the synergistic improvement of gallic acid and other substances.

Practical implications

The specific application of gallic acid in the field of metal protection was summarized, and the future research focus was put forward.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper systematically expounds on the research progress of gallic acid in the field of metal protection for the first time and provides new ideas and directions for future research.

Details

Anti-Corrosion Methods and Materials, vol. 70 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0003-5599

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 November 2023

Vibhava Srivastava, Deva Rangarajan and Vishag Badrinarayanan

This study aims to investigate the role of three customer equity drivers on customer repurchase intent in business-to-business (B2B) markets. It also explores the interconnected…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the role of three customer equity drivers on customer repurchase intent in business-to-business (B2B) markets. It also explores the interconnected nature of equity drivers, specifically, the effects of brand equity and value equity on relationship equity. Further, it investigates how perceived switching costs moderates the interrelationships between customer equity drivers. The authors explore the interrelationships between the customer equity drivers in a B2B context involving commodity products in a developing market.

Design/methodology/approach

Data collection was done from a pool of 184 institutional customers of a lubricant brand in a developing market. The sample had representations of buyer organizations across sectors, namely, automobile, cement, metal, fertilizer, railway, defence and mining, etc. The final data were subjected to partial least squares-based structural equation modeling to test the hypothesized model.

Findings

The study found a direct effect of brand equity, and value equity on relationship equity and an indirect effect on repurchase intent, namely, relationship equity. Perceived switching cost was found to moderate the interaction between brand equity and relationship equity as well as between value equity and relationship equity. The direct effect of relationship equity on repurchase intent was also significant.

Practical implications

The study implies that B2B firms should ground their marketing program on these customer equity drivers, especially when dealing with commodity products. The absence of any of these drivers would be detrimental in customer retention. The study also establishes the relevance of switching cost(s) and its impact on the underlying dynamics between the different equity drivers in the context of commodity products. The customer equity drivers along with switching costs, if managed well, may become switching barriers for customers and eventually would ensure recurring revenue through repeat purchases.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first studies that focuses on the disaggregated effect of customer equity on customer outcomes in the B2B context. Furthermore, this study investigates how perceived switching costs moderates the interrelationships between customer equity drivers in the industrial sales context in an emerging market.

Details

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

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 November 2023

Baby Chandra and Zillur Rahman

Artificial intelligence (AI) has a significant impact on value co-creation (VCC). However, a study providing a comprehensive summary of the current state of the art and common…

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Abstract

Purpose

Artificial intelligence (AI) has a significant impact on value co-creation (VCC). However, a study providing a comprehensive summary of the current state of the art and common ground of the two fields is missing. The current study aims to fill this gap by conceptualizing the role of AI in VCC and customer decision-making.

Design/methodology/approach

The study reviews literature on VCC and AI together, including a total of 108 articles. To bring the literature together, the authors adopted the antecedents-mediators-outcomes framework and narrative approach that helped them develop a framework by integrating the antecedents, mediators and outcomes of AI-facilitated VCC. Furthermore, the authors also operationalized existing literature to facilitate an understanding of the role of AI in customer decision-making.

Findings

The study, in addition to identifying the common theoretical grounds of VCC and AI (human behavior, cognition and social interactions), operationalizes AI functionality, its characteristics and customer characteristics as the antecedents of AI-facilitated VCC. Moreover, based on literature, on the continuum of low-to-high involvement, four types of decision-making were identified as mediator of the relationship between AI characteristics, customer characteristics and VCC. Additionally, the authors found different categorizations of AI in literature as archetypes to support various forms of VCC.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the literature of VCC and AI by construing a comprehensive framework for analyzing AI's impact on VCC, envisioning customer–AI interaction as continual exchange of advantages in which characteristics of AI and customers play a critical role in customer decision-making and shaping VCC.

Details

Journal of Service Theory and Practice, vol. 34 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2055-6225

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 14 March 2024

Giulia Pavone and Kathleen Desveaud

This chapter provides an overview of the strategic implications of chatbot use and implementation, including potential applications in marketing, and factors affecting customer…

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of the strategic implications of chatbot use and implementation, including potential applications in marketing, and factors affecting customer acceptance. After presenting a brief history and a classification of conversational artificial intelligence (AI) and chatbots, the authors provide an in-depth review at the crossroads between marketing, business, and human–computer interaction, to outline the main factors that drive users' perceptions and acceptance of chatbots. In particular, the authors describe technology-related factors and chatbot design characteristics, such as anthropomorphism, gender, identity, and emotional design; context-related factors, such as the product type, task orientation, and consumption contexts; and users-related factors such as sociodemographic and psychographic characteristics. Next, the authors detail the strategic importance of chatbots in the field of marketing and their impact on consumers' perceived service quality, satisfaction, trust, and loyalty. After discussing the ethical implications related to chatbots implementation, the authors conclude with an exploration of future opportunities and potential strategies related to new generative AI technologies, such as ChatGPT. Throughout the chapter, the authors offer theoretical insights and practical implications for incorporating conversational AI into marketing strategies.

Details

The Impact of Digitalization on Current Marketing Strategies
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-686-3

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 March 2024

Dimitrios Buhalis, Leonidas Efthymiou, Naziyet Uzunboylu and Alkis Thrassou

Amidst ongoing digital transformation, the current paper provides a 360-degree overview of technology-adoption in Tourism and Hospitality. By combining and consolidating a wide…

Abstract

Purpose

Amidst ongoing digital transformation, the current paper provides a 360-degree overview of technology-adoption in Tourism and Hospitality. By combining and consolidating a wide range of sources, mainly in the tourism literature, the analysis depicts how the complex technological ecosystem often enhances or hinders the successful adoption, integration and interoperability of different technologies.

Design/methodology/approach

The critical review method was used to assess, analyse and synthesise existing literature in the area of digitisation in tourism and hospitality. The critical review process included a thematic analysis of the literature, where recurring themes, patterns and trends were identified towards addressing the study’s research questions.

Findings

The analysis identifies current trends, opportunities, challenges and strategies for technology adoption in tourism and hospitality, the implications for theory, practicable executive directions and avenues for further research.

Originality/value

The paper’s main contribution lies in its comprehensive identification, consideration and incorporation of all primary contemporary technological elements, and the ensuing development of a corresponding conceptual charting framework, which illustrates a multifaceted process with practical implications for various stakeholders, including businesses, authorities, consumers and employees.

Article
Publication date: 13 March 2024

Carla Ramos, Adriana Bruscato Bortoluzzo and Danny P. Claro

This study aims to capture how the association between a multichannel relational communication strategy (MRCS) and customer performance is contingent upon such customer…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to capture how the association between a multichannel relational communication strategy (MRCS) and customer performance is contingent upon such customer performance (low- versus high-performance customers) and to reconcile past contradictory results in this marketing-related topic. To this end, the authors propose and validate the method of quantile regression as an unconventional, yet effective, means to proceed to that reconciliation.

Design/methodology/approach

This study collected data from 4,934 customers of a private pension fund firm and accounted for both firm- and customer-initiated relational communication channels (RCCs) and for customer lifetime value (CLV). This study estimated a generalized linear model and then a quantile regression model was used to account for customer performance heterogeneity.

Findings

This study finds that specific RCCs present different levels of association with performance for low- versus high-performance customers, where outcome customer performance is the dependent variable. For example, the relation between firm-initiated communication (FIC) and performance is stronger for low-CLV customers, whereas the relation between customer-initiated communication (CIC) and performance is increasingly stronger for high-CLV customers but not for low-CLV ones. This study also finds that combining different forms of FIC can result in a negative association with customer performance, especially for low-CLV customers.

Research limitations/implications

The authors tested the conceptual model in one single firm in the specific context of financial services and with cross-sectional data, so there should be caution when extrapolating this study’s findings.

Practical implications

This study offers nuanced and precise managerial insights on recommended resource allocation along with relational communication efforts, showing how managers can benefit from adopting a differentiated-customer performance approach when designing their MRCS.

Originality/value

This study provides an overview of the state of the art of MRCS, proposes a contingency analysis of the relationship between MRCS and performance based on customer performance heterogeneity and suggests the quantile method to perform such analysis and help reconcile past contradictory findings. This study shows how the association between RCCs and CLV varies across the conditional quantiles of the distribution of customer performance. This study also addresses a recent call for a more holistic perspective on the relationships between independent and dependent variables.

Article
Publication date: 26 March 2024

Neeru Bhooshan, Amarjeet Singh, Akriti Sharma and K.V. Prabhu

The role of Technology Transfer Units, examined in this study, was found to be vital to expedite the process of disseminating new varieties and their production technology.

Abstract

Purpose

The role of Technology Transfer Units, examined in this study, was found to be vital to expedite the process of disseminating new varieties and their production technology.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 1,000 households were surveyed in the sampled states. A probit model was used to analyse.

Findings

Age, education, land holding, tractor use and number of working family members in agriculture were found to significantly affecting adoption of the new seed varieties. Technology transfer through licensing has impacted the adoption of new seed varieties positively by highlighting Punjab possessing the highest adoption and western Uttar Pradesh was majorly adopting the old variety.

Research limitations/implications

The authors believed in farmers’ memory to recall the varietal information of wheat.

Practical implications

The study recommended various incentives to attract the seed industry in UP to minimize the economic loss potentially suffered by them.

Social implications

Quality seeds are germane to increase the productivity of crops, and it is paramount to disburse the seed varieties to the end users in an efficient way to achieve the overall objective of productivity enhancement.

Originality/value

In this context, a study was conducted in three states of India, namely, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh (UP) to find out the adoption rate of newly developed varieties of wheat, HD 3086 after three years (2014–2015) of its commercialization by IARI as well as HD 2967, which was released in 2011.

Details

Journal of Science and Technology Policy Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2053-4620

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 July 2023

Arifin Angriawan, Ramendra Thakur and David Baker

The purpose of this study is to understand the strategic roles of service customer equity (SCE) and innovation protection on firm performance (FP).

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to understand the strategic roles of service customer equity (SCE) and innovation protection on firm performance (FP).

Design/methodology/approach

Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the proposed model. The authors tested the model using managerial data from two countries: USA and India.

Findings

The findings of this study indicated positive direct impacts of service innovation (SI) on FP and positive indirect impacts via SCE in both samples. SI and SCE impacts on FP were both stronger in the US samples. However, the effect of SI on SCE is stronger in India than in the USA. This study also identified moderating impacts of service innovation protection (SIP) on the relationship between SI and FP in the Indian sample and between SI and SCE in the US sample.

Originality/value

Although there is scholarly research in SI and its impact on FP, there are no studies the authors identified that discuss the moderating effect of SIP. The authors studied the moderating effect of SIP because (1) it is crucial for industries to maintain a competitive advantage in the marketplace, (2) it protects industries investment in research and development and (3) it also protects industries intellectual property, such as trademark, copyrights and patents. There are two key contributions of this study: (a) investigating the effect of SCE between SI and FP and (b) investigating the moderating effect of SIP using managerial data from two countries (USA vs India).

Details

International Marketing Review, vol. 40 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-1335

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 July 2023

James W. Peltier, Andrew J. Dahl and John A. Schibrowsky

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming consumers' experiences and how firms identify, create, nurture and manage interactive marketing relationships. However, most marketers…

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Abstract

Purpose

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming consumers' experiences and how firms identify, create, nurture and manage interactive marketing relationships. However, most marketers do not have a clear understanding of what AI is and how it may mutually benefit consumers and firms. In this paper, the authors conduct an extensive review of the marketing literature, develop an AI framework for understanding value co-creation in interactive buyer–seller marketing relationships, identify research gaps and offer a future research agenda.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors first conduct an extensive literature review in 16 top marketing journals on AI. Based on this review, an AI framework for understanding value co-creation in interactive buyer–seller marketing relationships was conceptualized.

Findings

The literature review led to a number of key research findings and summary areas: (1) an historical perspective, (2) definitions and boundaries of AI, (3) AI and interactive marketing, (4) relevant theories in the domain of interactive marketing and (5) synthesizing AI research based on antecedents to AI usage, interactive AI usage contexts and AI-enabled value co-creation outcomes.

Originality/value

This is one of the most extensive reviews of AI literature in marketing, including an evaluation of in excess or 300 conceptual and empirical research. Based on the findings, the authors offer a future research agenda, including a visual titled “What is AI in Interactive Marketing? AI design factors, AI core elements & interactive marketing AI usage contexts.”

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