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1 – 10 of over 27000
Article
Publication date: 17 March 2021

Yongqiang Sun, Cailian Zhao and Xiao-Liang Shen

Customers' continuous value creation (e.g. voice) is an important research issue for the success of brand virtual community (BVC) and new product development, while it is rarely…

Abstract

Purpose

Customers' continuous value creation (e.g. voice) is an important research issue for the success of brand virtual community (BVC) and new product development, while it is rarely studied from a firm perspective. The purpose of the present study is to investigate how firm attributes exert influences on continuous voice intention in brand virtual communities.

Design/methodology/approach

The data were collected through a survey in mobile brand virtual communities in China, and 291 valid responses for data analysis were included to test the research model by using partial least squares (PLSs).

Findings

The results show that intrinsic motivation to voice is positively associated with continuous voice intention. Furthermore, the impact of brand identification on intrinsic motivation is found to be fully mediated by community identification. Customer orientation has a positive effect on perceived openness, and both customer orientation and perceived openness positively affect customers' brand identification and community identification.

Originality/value

Although prior studies have examined some variables relevant to voice behavior, few studies have recognized the influence of firm attributes toward the BVC on sustained voice intention. To fill this research gap, the authors propose a research model to shed light on the role of firm attributes by classifying them into brand- vs community-based firm attributes, which affect intrinsic motivation through two types of social identification, namely brand identification and community identification.

Details

Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol. 121 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-5577

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 April 2012

Russell Lacey

The author aims to examine how customer voice contributes to service provider relationships as a relationship driver by assessing its linkages to distinct relationship outcomes.

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Abstract

Purpose

The author aims to examine how customer voice contributes to service provider relationships as a relationship driver by assessing its linkages to distinct relationship outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

Structural equation modeling is used to test the study's hypotheses with US customer survey data from two independent samples: a luxury specialty retailer (n=2,586) and a casual dining restaurant (n=634). Both participating service firms use loyalty programs whose members are included in this study.

Findings

Customer voice is shown to positively and directly relate to customers' willingness to increase the volume and share of their purchases, impart positive word of mouth, and participate in a variety of marketing research initiatives.

Research limitations/implications

The multi‐contextually supported results are based on distinct customer groups with varying ties to the service provider.

Practical implications

As service providers are able to favorably influence customer voice, they also stand to improve their marketing performance.

Originality/value

This study provides a theoretically richer and broader view of customer voice as a driver of strengthened service provider relationships. The findings demonstrate how customer voice does more than protect against customer defection by also contributing to customer relationship building.

Details

Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 26 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0887-6045

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 14 April 2022

Deepak Saxena, Mairead Brady, Markus Lamest and Martin Fellenz

This study aims to provide more insight into how customer voice is captured and used in managerial decision-making at the marketing-finance interface. This study’s focus is on…

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to provide more insight into how customer voice is captured and used in managerial decision-making at the marketing-finance interface. This study’s focus is on understanding how the customer voice, often communicated through online and social media platforms, is used in high-performing hotels.

Design/methodology/approach

This research is based on a case study of four high-performing Irish hotels. For each case, multiple informants, including marketing managers, general managers and finance managers, were interviewed and shadowed. Twenty seven decisions across the four cases were analysed to assess the use of customer voice in managerial decision-making.

Findings

Social media provides a stage that has empowered the customer voice because of the public nature of the interaction and the network effect. Customer voice is incorporated in managerial decision-making in three distinct ways – symbolically as part of an early warning system, for action-oriented operational decisions and to some extent in the knowledge-enhancing role for tactical decisions. While there is a greater appreciation among senior managers and the finance and accounting managers of the importance of customer voice, this study finds clear limits in its utilisation and more reliance on traditional finance and accounting data, especially in strategic decision-making.

Research limitations/implications

The cases belong to a highly visible open environment of hotels in an industry where customer voice has immediate and strong effects. The findings may not directly apply to industries characterised by a relatively more closed context such as banking or insurance. Moreover, the findings reflect the practices of high-performing hotels and do not necessarily capture the practices used in less successfully operating hotels.

Practical implications

While marketers need to enhance their ability to create a narrative that links the customer voice to revenue generation, finance managers also need to develop a skillset and adopt a mindset that appropriately reflects the influential role for customer voice in managerial decision-making.

Originality/value

Despite the linkage of marketing performance to business performance, there is limited research on the impact of customer information on managerial decision-making. This research provides insight into how customer voice is considered at the critical marketing-finance interface.

Details

Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, vol. 25 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1352-2752

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 May 2000

Arjan Burgers, Ko de Ruyter, Cherie Keen and Sandra Streukens

Listening to the voice of the customer has been embraced in marketing theory and practice for a long time. However, the wide scale implementation of call centers has only recently…

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Abstract

Listening to the voice of the customer has been embraced in marketing theory and practice for a long time. However, the wide scale implementation of call centers has only recently enabled managers to take this adage to the next level. At the same time, it is acknowledged that the evaluation of service delivery often depends on the so‐called “service encounter”, or the time of interaction between the service firm and customer. Extensive research has been conducted in the field of traditional face‐to‐face encounters, but no attempt has yet been made to categorize customer expectations with regard to employee behavior during voice‐to‐voice encounters. Therefore, the aim of this study is to develop a measurement instrument that identifies key customer expectation dimensions with regard to call center representative (CCR) behavior. Based on the services marketing literature, 13 potential attributes were empirically tested on an effective sample of 206 respondents. This resulted in a model consisting of four different sub‐scales that were labeled “adaptiveness”, “assurance”, “empathy”, and “authority”. The results of the validity‐ and reliability‐testing confirm the solidity of the measurement instrument.

Details

International Journal of Service Industry Management, vol. 11 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0956-4233

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 June 2021

Bingcheng Yang, Hongyan Yu, Yu Yu and Miaoling Liu

Based on the online brand community, this study focuses on how online brand community experience affects customer voice and discusses the relationship between community engagement…

Abstract

Purpose

Based on the online brand community, this study focuses on how online brand community experience affects customer voice and discusses the relationship between community engagement and community commitment. Specifically, we examine the mediation effect of community engagement between community experience and customer voice and also the moderation role of community commitment.

Design/methodology/approach

The survey data is collected through the online survey of people who participate in the online mobile phone brand community. In total, 369 members of online community users (Huawei and Apple communities) were collected as the research samples. Then the structural equation model analysis was tested through the SPSS 25 and Mplus 7 in a two-stage analysis program.

Findings

The results show that (1) customer online brand community experience has a positive impact on customer voice; (2) community engagement mediates the positive relationship between online brand community experience and customer voice; and (3) community commitment plays a moderating role between customer experience and customer voice. Compared with low level customer's community commitment, when customer's community commitment is high, the level of community engagement has a greater mediation effect on the positive relationship between community experience and customer voice.

Research limitations/implications

On the one hand, the model of customer community experience to customer voice built in this paper has not been fully validated. Whether the model can get more robust results needs to be extended to more different community scenarios. On the other hand, this paper is actually cross-sectional data, which cannot strictly reveal the causal relationship. The authors recommend that future research may use other research methods to further reveal its internal mechanism.

Practical implications

This paper shows that customer's community experience has an important impact on customer voice behavior. Among them, information experience and sociability remain as the important factor affecting customer voice behavior, which is quiet important for maintaining brand community and product or service improvement. Brand community managers need to consistently create multiple forms of information presentation and interaction channels to enhance the information and social experience of community members.

Originality/value

First, this paper puts forward a new perspective on customer comments or feedback-customer voice, which provides a solid foundation and reference value for future scholars to explore such important phenomena. Second, the relationship between community experience and customer voice behavior was examined, which enriched the research on community experience and also discovered another positive significance of community experience in community construction. Finally, the authors examine the mediation effect of community engagement on customer voice behavior. Community engagement is one of the important indicators that reflexing community performance, which is of great significance to the brand community.

Details

Marketing Intelligence & Planning, vol. 39 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-4503

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 May 2021

Wenqian Wan and Huaibin Li

The active voice behavior of customers is crucial to the development of enterprises, but few studies have examined how to promote customer voice behavior. Does a sense of power…

Abstract

Purpose

The active voice behavior of customers is crucial to the development of enterprises, but few studies have examined how to promote customer voice behavior. Does a sense of power drive consumers to provide advice to the companies involved? This paper aims to address the issue.

Design/methodology/approach

By conducting three experiments, the authors proved the effect of the sense of power on customer voice behavior. In Study 1, the authors manipulated subjects' sense of power levels (high vs low) through an episodic recall task. Tangible goods were used as experimental material. The authors verified that power had a positive impact on customer voice behavior. In Study 2, the authors changed the experimental materials to intangible service products and used role-playing tasks to manipulate the subjects' sense of power. Study 2 validated the mediating role played by self-confidence in the main effect. In Study 3, the authors validated the moderating role of self-doubt for the power effect.

Findings

Based on the approach-inhibition theory of power and the situated focus theory of power, the current research finds that there is a positive effect of consumer's sense of power on their voice behavior. It also further analyzes the mediating role of self-confidence, the mechanism by which power affects customer voice behavior. However, this positive effect does not always occur. Self-doubt plays a moderating role in this relationship. If the individual's self-doubt level is high, the positive effect of power on the individual's self-confidence cannot be observed, which means that self-doubt is a boundary condition for the positive effect of power on individuals' self-confidence.

Research limitations/implications

The authors discuss the influence of sense of power on customer voice behavior and test the mediating role of self-confidence and its boundary conditions. The results show that consumers are more confident in themselves when they feel a sense of power and are more likely to proactively make suggestions to the company. However, the overall effect is not obvious when consumers have a high level of self-doubt. As a psychological state of consumers that firms can easily manipulate, the effects of power on consumer behavior remain to be explored by the authors.

Practical implications

The findings of current research suggest that empowering consumers who are less self-doubting can increase their self-confidence, which, in turn, can lead to more active expression and feedback on issues that need improvement in their experience. Thus, companies can enhance consumers' sense of power through some ways, such as using environmental elements to stimulate consumers' sense of power.

Originality/value

There are few studies on how the sense of power affects consumers' voice behavior. Prior work on voice behavior has focused on the perspective of customers' perception of the social exchange relationship between themselves and enterprises. The research explores the strategies suitable for enterprises to promote customer voice behavior from the perspective of the sense of power, and the findings contribute to the research on the sense of power and consumer voice behavior.

Details

Journal of Contemporary Marketing Science, vol. 4 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2516-7480

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 4 May 2021

Ashita Aggarwal

Customer experience management is the managing of customer interactions, feelings and emotions at every touchpoint. These interactions and feelings define the customer's future…

Abstract

Customer experience management is the managing of customer interactions, feelings and emotions at every touchpoint. These interactions and feelings define the customer's future behaviour and perceptions about the offering. Companies can use these touchpoint interactions as a source of competitive advantage. Companies can embark on a journey of experience management by understanding needs and insights about customer's behaviour. These are gathered through interactions, observations and structured surveys. Such feedback from customers is called Voice of Customer (VoC). Another source of understanding customers is employees who are involved in these interactions and also product and service delivery. Understanding employees is equally important. Companies need to even collate their feedback regarding problems in delivery and servicing, customers' expectations versus perceptions. Organisations committed to creating superior customer experience invest in tools like surveys, employee interactions both in formal and informal context to gather voice of the employee (VoE). Finally, both VoC and VoE have to be evaluated in a business context to define processes and measure the effectiveness of these processes. The voice of the process or VoP helps to understand the difference between customer perceptions and process performance. It gives an estimate of error and suggests methods for improving process efficiency.

This chapter explains the three essential ingredients that go into experience management, the tools used to collect information and how can these be used to design a superior and fulfilling experience for customers.

Article
Publication date: 18 November 2022

Yu-Teng Jacky Jang, Anne Yenching Liu and Wen-Yu Ke

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of anthropomorphism and identify factors related to adopting voice shopping on smart speakers.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of anthropomorphism and identify factors related to adopting voice shopping on smart speakers.

Design/methodology/approach

Progress in partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach is used to test the proposed research framework regarding anthropomorphism and user perceptions on voice shopping via smart speakers. Individuals' responses to questions about attitude and intention to use voice shopping via smart speakers were collected and analyzed.

Findings

The results showed that anthropomorphism had a positive influence on satisfaction, which, in turn, had a positive impact on intention to adopt voice shopping, and customers had positive opinions regarding smart speakers.

Research limitations/implications

This study only reflects a younger perspective on smart speaker voice shopping. This study identified the characteristics of smart speakers that increase customers' intention to purchase, which can be used to formulate sales strategies and management guidelines.

Practical implications

This research provided a new perspective to enable practitioners to promote smart speakers for voice shopping. Smart speaker manufacturers can utilize the findings of this research to improve the system design of smart speakers to further facilitate voice shopping.

Originality/value

Unlike previous studies, which focused on product attributes of smart speakers or voice shopping experiences, this study provided a clear picture of how the anthropomorphic feature of smart speakers affects customers' intention to adopt voice shopping.

Details

Information Technology & People, vol. 36 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-3845

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 August 2021

Yung-Kuei Huang and Linchi Kwok

This study aims to assess a moderated-mediation model to account for the relationship between customer mistreatment and frontline hotel employees’ customer-focused voice, where…

1221

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to assess a moderated-mediation model to account for the relationship between customer mistreatment and frontline hotel employees’ customer-focused voice, where their organization-based self-esteem (OBSE) served as a mediator and their felt trust (reliance and disclosure) by supervisors served as a moderator.

Design/methodology/approach

The data were collected through paper-based questionnaires in a cross-sectional survey, consisting of 319 valid supervisor-employee-paired responses from 33 international tourist hotels in Taiwan. Regression analyses were used for hypothesis testing.

Findings

OBSE mediates the negative effect of customer mistreatment on customer-focused voice. Employee felt reliance intensifies the negative impact of customer mistreatment on OBSE, and this interaction effect, in turn, reduces customer-focused voice through OBSE. The employee felt disclosure marginally significantly buffers the effect of customer mistreatment on OBSE.

Practical implications

Given the adverse effect of customer mistreatment on customer-focused voice through OBSE, hotels should strengthen employees’ service mindset and value their suggestions. The double-edged effects of felt trust suggest that managers should form a trusting relationship with their subordinates and reassure them that isolated incidents of customer mistreatment will not jeopardize their reputation.

Originality/value

This study integrated sociometer and self-consistency theories to examine OBSE as a psychological mechanism to explain the mistreatment-voice process. Besides assessing felt trust’s two-dimensional effects, this research is possibly the first attempt to examine felt trust as an enabling force or a threat to OBSE in the context of customer mistreatment.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 33 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 April 2017

Bahman Hamzelu, Ali Gohary, Salar Ghafoori Nia and Kambiz Heidarzadeh Hanzaee

Customer reaction to failure is of essential importance and varies by level of involvement with products and services. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to use the FCB grid to…

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Abstract

Purpose

Customer reaction to failure is of essential importance and varies by level of involvement with products and services. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to use the FCB grid to examine effects of involvement and emotion on failure of products and services. It also explores effects of negative word-of-mouth, consumer advocacy, customer voicing and gender on the so-called silent killers.

Design/methodology/approach

A 2 (male or female)×4 (high and low involvement, feelings, thinking in FCB grid) between-subjects experiment on 311 college students, who have recently experienced product failure, is performed.

Findings

Results reveal that customers with different levels of involvement react differently to product failure. Furthermore, low-involvement products are more likely to develop silent killers. The results also show that silent killer is more common among men.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no similar study is performed on the relationship between involvement and failure of products or services. In addition, this attempt is the first quantitative study to examine the phenomenon of silent killers in this field.

Details

Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, vol. 29 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-5855

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 27000