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1 – 10 of over 9000Aki Jääskeläinen, Katrina Lintukangas and Frederik G.S. Vos
This study uses social capital theory to analyze how social capital and supplier development support achieving supplier satisfaction and preferred customer status. The resulting…
Abstract
Purpose
This study uses social capital theory to analyze how social capital and supplier development support achieving supplier satisfaction and preferred customer status. The resulting model is compared between manufacturing and service suppliers.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey receiving 482 supplier responses from manufacturing and service suppliers was utilized and analyzed using partial least squares (PLS) path modeling and multi-group comparison tests.
Findings
The paper adds new explanations for preferred customer status through empirical evidence of relationships between supplier development, social capital, supplier satisfaction, and preferred customer status. Cognitive and relational capital directly support achieving preferred customer status. The role of supplier satisfaction in achieving preferred customer status is lower for manufacturing suppliers.
Research limitations/implications
Both service and manufacturing suppliers could also be studied in their specific industry settings. A more in-depth investigation of other business relationship dynamics, such as power, is needed in a future study.
Practical implications
Service and manufacturing suppliers need different strategies to obtain the benefits from supplier development and social capital building. For service suppliers, more intangible factors are relevant in comparison to manufacturing suppliers.
Originality/value
This study advances the literature in two main ways. First, it elaborates the role of supplier development and social capital in the path toward supplier satisfaction and preferred customer status as perceived by suppliers. Second, this study answers the calls for a better understanding of the contextual characteristics underlying potential differences in how preferred customer status is formed.
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Kay Naumann, Jana Bowden and Mark Gabbott
The purpose of this study is to operationalise and measure the effects of negative customer engagement (CE) in conjunction with positive CE. Both valences are explored through…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to operationalise and measure the effects of negative customer engagement (CE) in conjunction with positive CE. Both valences are explored through affective, cognitive and behaviour dimensions, and, in relation to the antecedent of involvement and outcome of word-of-mouth (WOM). It also explores the moderating influence of service context by examining engagement within a social service versus a social networking site (SNS). Engagement with the dual focal objects of a service brand and a service community are also examined.
Design/methodology/approach
Structural equation modelling is used to analyse 625 survey responses.
Findings
Involvement is a strong driver of positive CE, and positive CE has a strong effect on WOM. These findings are consistent across the “brand” and “community” object, suggesting positive CE is mutually reinforced by different objects in a relationship. Positive CE is also found to operate consistently across the service types. Involvement is a moderately negative driver of negative CE, and negative CE is a positive driver of WOM. These relationships operate differently across the objects and service types. Involvement has a stronger inverse effect on negative CE for the social service, diverging from assumptions that negative CE is reflective of highly involved customers. Interestingly, negative CE has a stronger effect on WOM in the social service, highlighting the active and vocal nature of customers within this service context.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to quantitatively measure positive and negative valences of engagement concurrently, and examine the moderating effect of dual objects across contrasting service types.
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This study aims to focus on a specific project marketing concept, i.e. “discontinuity,” and analyzes how this concept emerged in project marketing, becoming its key scholarly…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to focus on a specific project marketing concept, i.e. “discontinuity,” and analyzes how this concept emerged in project marketing, becoming its key scholarly embodiment, how it became decoupled from the increasingly service-intensive project business practice and what the relevance of discontinuity is for project marketers moving forward.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is built on a systematic literature review of 31 years (1993–2023) of publishing data from major marketing and management journals.
Findings
This study provides three findings. First, the author reveals the risks related to marketing scholars and practitioners losing sight of each other as business practices evolve much faster than scholarly research can keep up. Second, the author highlights the role of interdisciplinary collaboration in advancing conceptual innovations. Finally, the research elucidates the need for broader metatheoretical reflection to keep this research tradition on an upward trajectory.
Research limitations/implications
The aim of this study is not to criticize project marketing, as many strands of business-to-business (B2B) marketing face the same challenge, but to elucidate a need for conceptual innovations, collaboration with practitioners and other disciplines and broader metatheoretical reflection to keep this research tradition on an upward trajectory.
Originality/value
This study makes several contributions to the project marketing research tradition. First, it reviews the emergence and dissipation of the concept of discontinuity, drawing on semantical, etymological and epistemological insights. It also reflects on recent disruptions in the marketplace and envisions future research trajectories for this elusive concept. In addition, the author develops a conceptual framework that combines project types with exchange elements in project and service businesses. This conceptual framework helps elucidate what part of the exchange is continuing and what is discontinuing in the resulting business relationships. Furthermore, the research contributes to B2B marketing more broadly by highlighting the fleeting correspondence between theory and the real world. It underscores the need for constant updates to maintain relevance.
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Rania Ahmed Aly El Garem, Amira Fouad and Hassan Mohamed
This paper explores the effect of perceived service quality, trust, perceived value and perceived cost on patient satisfaction and loyalty as well as exploring the moderating…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper explores the effect of perceived service quality, trust, perceived value and perceived cost on patient satisfaction and loyalty as well as exploring the moderating role of the sociodemographic factors.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were gathered from 462 patients via a structured questionnaire, while structural equation modeling was utilized for the analysis.
Findings
Results indicated that trust, perceived value and patient satisfaction have important roles in shaping the patient loyalty, while patient satisfaction was found to fully mediate the patient’s perceived service quality. Loyalty relationship was also found to partially mediate the trust–loyalty relationship. Nonetheless, the patient’s satisfaction–loyalty relationship was found to be only moderated by the age factor.
Practical implications
Implications are provided to the Egyptian private hospitals in order for them to formulate improvement plans as well as set higher standards of conduct.
Originality/value
This original research is the first one, up to the researcher knowledge, that explores the drivers of patient satisfaction in the private hospitals in Egypt.
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Aijaz A. Shaikh, Francisco Liebana-Cabanillas, Majed Alharthi, Hawazen Alamoudi and Heikki Karjaluoto
Although the sharing economy improves comfort and convenience, it is yet unclear how it affects subjective well-being. This study aims to offer a conceptual model for…
Abstract
Purpose
Although the sharing economy improves comfort and convenience, it is yet unclear how it affects subjective well-being. This study aims to offer a conceptual model for understanding the linkages between the antecedents and consequences of subjective well-being in ridehailing services.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a non-probabilistic sampling method and a pre-tested survey instrument, 450 responses were collected from January to March 2020. The data were analysed using structural equation modelling.
Findings
Experience quality and perceived convenience are correlated with subjective well-being. Perceived value and personal innovativeness were not correlated with subjective well-being, as the former does not contribute to the latter’s development. Continuous usage intention significantly correlated with subjective well-being, followed by customer relationship proneness and advocacy. Regarding gender and age differences, men place higher value on customer relationship proneness than women, while women place higher value on subjective well-being than men. Older users value perceived convenience and customer relationship proneness in ridehailing services more than younger users.
Practical implications
Understanding key factors contributing to user well-being in ridehailing would promote a more affordable mobility sector globally. This understanding would enable ridehailing businesses to create more effective business and marketing plans while prioritising user well-being, thus enhancing user happiness and reducing turnover rates.
Originality/value
This research demonstrates how crucial it is for users’ well-being to have a positive experience and find the service convenient. It also highlights the importance of building strong customer relationships and examines how gender and age influence people’s adoption and use of these services.
Propósito
Aunque la economía colaborativa mejora la comodidad y conveniencia, aún no está claro cómo afecta al bienestar subjetivo. Ofrecemos un modelo conceptual para comprender las conexiones entre los antecedentes y consecuencias del bienestar subjetivo en los servicios de transporte compartido.
Diseño/metodología/enfoque
Utilizando un método de muestreo no probabilístico y un instrumento de encuesta previamente probado, se recopilaron 450 respuestas entre enero y marzo de 2020. Los datos fueron analizados utilizando un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales.
Hallazgos
La calidad de la experiencia y la percepción de conveniencia están correlacionadas con el bienestar subjetivo. El valor percibido y la innovación personal no se correlacionaron con el bienestar subjetivo, ya que el primero no contribuye al desarrollo del último. La intención de uso continuo se correlacionó significativamente con el bienestar subjetivo, seguida por la propensión a las relaciones con los clientes y la defensa de estos servicios. En cuanto a las diferencias de género y edad, los hombres valoran más la propensión a las relaciones con los clientes que las mujeres, mientras que las mujeres valoran más el bienestar subjetivo que los hombres. Los usuarios mayores valoran más la percepción de conveniencia y la propensión a las relaciones con los clientes en los servicios de transporte compartido que los usuarios más jóvenes.
Originalidad
Esta investigación demuestra lo crucial que es para el bienestar de los usuarios tener una experiencia positiva y encontrar el servicio conveniente. También resalta la importancia de construir relaciones sólidas con los clientes y examina cómo el género y la edad influyen en la adopción y uso de estos servicios.
Implicaciones prácticas
Comprender los factores clave que contribuyen al bienestar de los usuarios en los servicios de transporte compartido promovería un sector de movilidad más asequible a nivel global. Esta comprensión permitiría a las empresas de transporte compartido crear planes de negocios y marketing más efectivos, priorizando el bienestar de los usuarios y mejorando así su felicidad y reduciendo las tasas de rotación.
目的
尽管共享经济提高了舒适度和便利性, 但它如何影响主观幸福感尚不清楚。我们提供了一个概念模型, 用于理解乘车服务中主观幸福感的前因后果之间的联系。
设计/方法/途径
采用非概率抽样方法和预先测试的调查工具, 在 2020 年 1 月至 3 月期间收集了 450 份回复。数据采用结构方程模型进行分析。
研究结果
体验质量和感知便利性与主观幸福感相关。感知价值和个人创新性与主观幸福感不相关, 因为前者无助于后者的发展。持续使用意愿与主观幸福感密切相关, 其次是客户关系倾向和拥护。在性别和年龄差异方面, 男性比女性更重视客户关系倾向, 而女性比男性更重视主观幸福感。老年用户比年轻用户更重视乘车服务中的便利感和客户关系代言。
独创性
这项研究表明, 用户获得积极的体验和便捷的服务对他们的福祉至关重要。研究还强调了建立牢固的客户关系的重要性, 并探讨了性别和年龄如何影响人们采用和使用这些服务。
实际意义
了解有助于提高乘车旅行用户幸福感的关键因素, 将在全球范围内推动建立一个更加经济实惠的移动出行行业。这种理解将使打车企业能够制定更有效的业务和营销计划, 同时优先考虑用户福祉, 从而提高用户幸福感并降低流失率。
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Rocio Rodriguez, Mornay Roberts-Lombard, Nils M. Høgevold and Göran Svensson
This study aims to propose a conceptual framework based on organisational and environmental indicators of business-to-business sellers’ sales performance in services firms.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to propose a conceptual framework based on organisational and environmental indicators of business-to-business sellers’ sales performance in services firms.
Design/methodology/approach
A descriptive research design was applied and data was gathered from 389 respondents across industries and different-sized services firms in Norway using a self-administered questionnaire.
Findings
Results show that the proposed six-dimensional framework of organisational and environmental indicators can be applied to manage seller–customer relationships in a business-to-business environment.
Research limitations/implications
A six-dimensional framework of organisational and environmental indicators is tested successfully in services firms.
Practical implications
Increasingly, services firms will need to work closely with business-to-business sellers to proactively adapt to market changes through a co-creation approach to build long-term seller–customer relationships.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no previous study has focused on relationship marketing in business-to-business relationships that proposes a conceptual framework based on organisational and environmental indicators of business-to-business sellers’ sales performance in services firms.
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Eias Al Humdan, Yangyan Shi, Masud Behina, Md. Maruf Hossan Chowdhury and A.K.M. Shakil Mahmud
This paper aims to investigate the conditional indirect effect of innovativeness on performance via supply chain agility (SCA) in the service industry at higher and lower…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the conditional indirect effect of innovativeness on performance via supply chain agility (SCA) in the service industry at higher and lower collaborative relationships.
Design/methodology/approach
The hypothesised model is operationalised with survey data from 245 Australian service firms collected via LinkedIn and analysed using structural equation modelling and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA).
Findings
The analysis found that SCA significantly mediates the relationship between innovativeness and performance. Further, the conditional indirect effect of innovativeness on performance via SCA was significant when the collaborative relationship was high. Results also revealed that a configuration of both innovativeness and agility better predicts performance.
Originality/value
This study is an early attempt to investigate SCA in service industries by scrutinizing SCA from an innovative point of view. While previous studies have demonstrated the role of innovativeness in enhancing a firm's performance, this study explores this link further by investigating the conditional indirect effect of innovativeness on performance via SCA at different levels of collaborative relationships.
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José Antonio Pedraza-Rodríguez, Martha Yadira García-Briones and César Mora-Márquez
This article aims to explore the concept of chain value of the public port system in Ecuador from the perspective of importing/exporting companies, analyzing how perceived value…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to explore the concept of chain value of the public port system in Ecuador from the perspective of importing/exporting companies, analyzing how perceived value in the use of port services affects customer satisfaction and the intermediate links of the influence of trust and commitment on customer loyalty.
Design/methodology/approach
Relying on a survey of 634 Ecuadorian companies with experience in international trade as port users and a theoretical framework well-established in the literature on consumer behavior, the empirical study found evidence of a positive and significant relationship with the knowledge of chain effects.
Findings
The findings confirm the chain effect and reveal ways to maintain an ongoing satisfactory, trust and committed relationship with users, thereby ultimately gaining and maintaining their loyalty. The conclusions suggest how this postulate can help to close the gap referred to the effective management of port services, and point out that port managers should be concerned with a continuous in-depth understanding of the perceived value and its chain effects.
Originality/value
The authors add evidence of the use of the postulate of the chain of effects on these dimensions, whose applicability is very well established, tested and consensual for the doctrine in industrial marketing. In contrast, it is scarcely present in the port relationship with its users.
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Pedro Simões Coelho, Paulo Rita and Ricardo F. Ramos
This paper analyzes previously unmeasured effects of a response to a service incident called “benevolent” within the customer –firm relationship.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper analyzes previously unmeasured effects of a response to a service incident called “benevolent” within the customer –firm relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire was administered to telecommunication customers in a Western European country, and the model was estimated using partial least squares (PLS).
Findings
This study shows that the customer–firm relationship is surprisingly affected by the response to expected incidents that the customer interprets as acts of benevolence or opportunism. This research also shows that the firm's incident response interpreted as benevolence or opportunism has an effect that merely positive or negative events do not. Acts of benevolence response towards an incident positively affect customer–firm relationship quality, and expectations of such acts may lead to an upward spiral in customer commitment.
Originality/value
While benevolence trust has been proposed and studied before, the response to incidents interpreted as benevolent or opportunistic and their consequences have been under-studied, hence exhibiting a research gap.
研究目的
在公司與顧客之間的關係的範疇內, 公司對服務事故所作的被稱為仁慈的反應的影響不曾被測量; 本研究擬就該反應的影響進行分析和探討。
研究設計/方法/理念
研究以問卷方式進行¸ 對象為一個西歐國家裏的電訊服務客戶。研究人員使用偏最小平方法作估算, 設計有關的模型。
研究結果
研究結果顯示、若顧客對公司就預期的事故所作的反應看作是仁慈的話, 又或相反地視為是投機主義所驅使的, 則公司與顧客之間的關係會出人意表地受到影響。研究結果亦顯示、顧客的仁慈、抑或是投機主義的闡釋和理解所帶來的影響, 與單純積極正面事件或消極負面事件所帶來的影響是不一樣的。公司對事件仁厚的回應會給予顧客之間的關係的質量帶來正面的影響; 而且, 對這種回應的預期、或會給客戶承諾帶來螺旋上升。
研究的原創性/價值
對仁厚之信賴曾被提出並作探討。唯對被視為仁慈的或機會主義作祟的反應所作的研究則不足, 這方面實存研究缺口。
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Lucrezia Coletta, Milena Vainieri, Guido Noto and Anna Maria Murante
This study aims to systematically review the literature on the use of customer value for the evaluation of inter-organizational performance, with a wide perspective embracing…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to systematically review the literature on the use of customer value for the evaluation of inter-organizational performance, with a wide perspective embracing different contexts and settings.
Design/methodology/approach
Searching within the Scopus and ISI Web of Science databases, a systematic literature review has been conducted analyzing 41 papers published between 1991 and 2020.
Findings
Categorization of customer value and inter-organizational performance measures were developed and the main differences among different settings were discussed.
Practical implications
The results presented in this study may be helpful for practitioners and managers who, in the completion of their activities, have to maintain strong and frequent relationships with other organizations. In fact, practitioners and managers interested in enhancing customer value and measuring inter-organizational performance may find an innovative perspective linking the two dimensions. They could find the categorizations presented in this study as a starting point for developing a performance evaluation framework suitable for evaluating their present business relationships. In fact, the categorizations provide a panorama of how scholars have measured until now inter-organizational performance through customer value, and therefore, they could choose the measures more appropriate for their situation.
Originality/value
No systematic literature review of the use of customer value for assessing inter-organizational performance has previously been undertaken, especially considering different settings.
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