Business Commons^™

Are Nonfinancial Metrics Good Leading Indicators Of Future Financial Performance?, Don . O'Sullivan, Vincent O'Connell

Don O'Sullivan

Association Of Nonfinancial Performance Measures With The Financial Performance Of A Lodging Chain, Rajiv D. Banker, Gordon S. Potter, Dhinu Srinivasan

Gordon Potter

A test of nonfinancial measures used as part of a management-incentive program by a U.S.-based, full-service hotel chain found that improvements in the nonfinancial measures were followed shortly by increases in revenue and profit. The two nonfinancial measures are customer satisfaction as measured by guests’ comment card indications of likelihood to return and level of complaints. The lag between the nonfinancial measures and changes in revenue and operating profit was six months in this case. While the test applies directly to that one chain, the lesson is important to the rest of the hotel industry.

Quick Recap Of This Week's Biggest Customer Services News That Rocked Uk, Lissa Coffey

LissaCoffey

Uk Communications Provider Consumer Switching Experience Report 2015, Lissa Coffey

LissaCoffey

The Evolution And Future Of National Customer Satisfaction Index Models, Michael D. Johnson, Anders Gustafsson, Tor Wallin Andreassen, Line Lervik, Jaesung Cha

Michael D. Johnson

A number of both national and international customer satisfaction barometers or indices have been introduced in the last decade. For the most part, these satisfaction indices are embedded within a system of cause and effect relationships or satisfaction model. Yet there has been little in the way of model development. Of critical importance to the validity and reliability of such indices is that the models and methods used to measure customer satisfaction and related constructs continue to learn, adapt and improve over time. The primary goal of this research is to propose and test a number of modifications and improvements …

The Effects Of Satisfaction And Loyalty On Profits And Growth: Products Versus Services, Bo Edvardsson, Michael D. Johnson, Anders Gustafsson, Tore Strandvik

Michael D. Johnson

The paper uses data from the Swedish Customer Satisfaction Index together with performance data from competing industries to study the difference in logic in terms of customer satisfaction and loyalty between services and products. We find that for product firms loyalty can have a negative effect on company performance, while for service firms the effect is positive. The implication is that service firms must earn their loyalty but product firms can lower their prices and thus retain their customers.

Capturing Customer Heterogeneity Using A Finite Mixture Pls Approach, Carsten Hahn, Michael D. Johnson, Andreas Herrmann, Frank Huber

Michael D. Johnson

An approach for capturing unobserved customer heterogeneity in structural equation modeling is proposed based on partial least squares. The method uses a modified finite-mixture distribution approach. An empirical analysis using quality, customer satisfaction and loyalty data for convenience stores illustrates the advantages of the new method vis-à-vis a traditional market segmentation scheme based on well known grouping variables. The results confirm the assumption of heterogeneity in the individuals’ perception of the antecedents and consequences of satisfaction and their relationships. The results also illustrate how the finite-mixture approach complements and provides insights over and above a traditional segmentation scheme.

Order Effects In Customer Satisfaction Modelling, Seigyoung Auh, Linda Court Salisbury, Michael D. Johnson

Michael D. Johnson

This research examines the effects of question order on the output of a customer satisfaction model. Theory suggests that locating product attribute evaluations prior to overall evaluations of satisfaction and loyalty should increase the impact of performance drivers in the model, explain more variation in the overall evaluations, and make positive satisfaction and loyalty evaluations more extreme. Our results show that, although customers′ overall evaluations are more extreme and better explained when provided after attribute evaluations, the impact of satisfaction drivers is relatively unaffected. Consistent with expectations, question order does affect the explained variation in satisfaction and the levels of …

The Impact Of Quality Practices On Customer Satisfaction And Business Results: Product Versus Service Organizations, Lars Nilsson, Michael D. Johnson, Anders Gustafsson

Michael D. Johnson

Research on the differences in customer satisfaction between product and service organizations has focused on an output perspective, or how customers evaluate performance. This study takes this research inside organizations to analyze and investigate how key internal quality practices of product versus service organizations (employee management, process orientation, and customer orientation) influence customer satisfaction and business results. Using a national quality survey from 482 companies in Sweden, our analysis shows that for product organizations, internal quality practices influence customer satisfaction and business results primarily through an organization's customer orientation. For service organizations, both customer and process orientation impact customers directly, …

Expectations, Perceived Performance, And Customer Satisfaction For A Complex Service: The Case Of Bank Loans, Michael D. Johnson, Georg Nader, Claes Fornell

Michael D. Johnson

The models currently used to describe customers' satisfaction with products and services presume that customers have well-formed performance expectations. The present study uses data from the Swedish Customer Satisfaction Barometer to show that these models fail to describe customer satisfaction with bank loans, a complex, heterogeneous, and infrequently purchased service. Performance expectations are more likely an artifact of performance in this case and have no effect on satisfaction. This is quite different from other products and services where expectations are a stronger predictor of performance and have a positive effect on customer satisfaction.

Rational And Adaptive Performance Expectations In A Customer Satisfaction Framework, Michael D. Johnson, Eugene W. Anderson, Claes Fornell

Michael D. Johnson

This article develops and tests alternative models of market-level expectations, perceived product performance, and customer satisfaction. Market performance expectations are argued to be largely rational in nature yet adaptive to changing market conditions. Customer satisfaction is conceptualized as a cumulative construct that is affected by market expectations and performance perceptions in any given period and is affected by past satisfaction from period to period. An empirical study that supports adaptive market expectations and stable market satisfaction using data from the Swedish Customer Satisfaction Barometer is reported.

The Effects Of Customer Satisfaction, Relationship Commitment Dimensions, And Triggers On Customer Retention, Anders Gustaffsson, Michael D. Johnson, Inger Roos

Michael D. Johnson

In a study of telecommunications services, the authors examine the effects of customer satisfaction, affective commitment, and calculative commitment on retention. The study further examines the potential for situational and reactional trigger conditions to moderate the satisfaction–retention relationship. The results support consistent effects of customer satisfaction, calculative commitment, and prior churn on retention. Prior churn also moderates the satisfaction–retention relationship. The results have implications for both customer relationship managers and researchers who use satisfaction surveys to predict behavior.

Cultural Implications Of Customer Satisfaction Differences Of Help Desks In The Us And China, William H. Bleuel, Terry Young, Wayne Gertmenian

William H. Bleuel

Customer satisfaction has become a very important aspect of business management in the high technology market. Companies that provide products and services world-wide often are concerned that customer satisfaction may be impacted by cultural differences. This study examines measures of customer satisfaction in two areas (China and the United States) to determine whether or not there is a difference in satisfaction scores provided by Help Desks. The trend in overall satisfaction over the seven year period from 2005 through 2011 is increasing in China faster than in the United States. Correlations between variously measured parameters of Help Desks and overall …

Cross-Cultural Customer Satisfaction Of High Technology Companies In China, India, And Japan, William Bleuel, Darrol Stanley

William H. Bleuel

Customer satisfaction has become a very important aspect of business management in the high technology market. Companies that provide products and services world-wide often are concerned that customer satisfaction may be impacted by cultural differences. This study examines measures of customer satisfaction in China, India and Japan to determine whether or not there is a difference in satisfaction scores for field service, depot repair and help desk. The statistical results at a 5% confidence level indicate there is a difference in customer perception in all service support areas. The results clearly indicate that companies need to understand these differences in …

The Customer's Role In The Service Encounter: The Effects Of Control And Fairness, Karthik Namasivayam, Timothy Hinkin

Timothy R. Hinkin

Two key elements of service satisfaction for customers are the perception that they have at least some control or choice and that the service provider is being fair. That notion was tested in a video-based experiment in which 50 subjects watched either a restaurant-based or hotel-based scenario that depicted an employee's response to the subject's request for a change in the original order or reservation. In half the scenarios the guest's wish was granted and in half; it was not. Whether the request was granted or not, in half the scenarios the employee behaved in a fair fashion (by being …

The Service Imperative: Factors Driving Meeting Effectiveness, Timothy R. Hinkin, J. Bruce Tracey

Timothy R. Hinkin

[Excerpt] American businesses spent over $100 billion in 1997 on business meetings, conferences, and training programs. To meet this demand, hotels and conference centers have made large investments in developing and enhancing meeting space. Competition for the meeting and convention business has tightened, particularly with the emergence of such markets as Las Vegas, Atlanta, and Orlando as viable alternatives to the traditional major-city locations. The meeting business is further pressed by technologies such as distance learning and interactive multimedia. In addition, customers are becoming more concerned with the effectiveness of meetings, and are taking steps to ensure that the money …

Customer Loyalty, Repurchase And Satisfaction: A Meta-Analytical Review, Tamilla Curtis, Russell Abratt, Dawna L. Rhoades, Paul Dion

Dr. Tamilla Curtis

The purpose of this article is to investigate the relationship between customer loyalty, repurchase/repurchase intent and satisfaction in order to attempt to resolve the mixed views on these concepts. A quantitative review of loyalty-repurchase satisfaction constructs was conducted to identify the strength and direction of the researched relationships and the influence of possible moderating factors affecting those relationships. The Hunter and Schmidt (1990) meta-analytical technique and software were employed. The results demonstrate that loyalty and satisfaction indicate strong positive relationships (0.54). Repurchase and satisfaction display a complicated relationship, which confirmed the view that satisfaction does not explain repurchase behavior. Repurchase …

Customer Satisfaction, Loyalty And Repurchase: Some Evidence From Apparel Consumers, Tamilla Curtis, Russell Abratt, Paul Dion, Dawna L. Rhoades

Dr. Tamilla Curtis

While customer satisfaction, loyalty and repurchase intent are some of the most researched areas in marketing and consumer behavior, there is little certainty on the direction and strength of these relationships. After completing a literature review, this study develops a model of loyalty dimensions, satisfaction and repurchase intent. A sample of 499 respondents who had purchased jeans was interviewed in the Southeastern United States. Results were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling. The results of nine hypothesized relationships are discussed. A significant positive relationship exists between commitment and repurchase/repurchase intent. Some surprising findings also emerged as the model was modified. It …

Satisfaction With Airline Service Quality: Familiarity Breeds Contempt, Tamilla Curtis, Dawna Rhoades, Blaise Waguespack

Dr. Tamilla Curtis

The objective of this study is to investigate frequency-of-flight issues and the differences between frequent and non-frequent flyers’ levels of satisfaction and the importance attributed to overall airline service quality and select attributes. The results indicate that the level of satisfaction with overall airline quality and select attributes decrease the more passengers fly. Conversely, the level of importance attributed to airline amenities increased with flight frequency. Perceptions of airline quality may vary between different nationalities and different socioeconomic groups. Differences between the short- and long-haul flights, as well as domestic and international services could also exist. Airline managers need to …

Niches At The Edges: Price-Value Tradeoff, Consumer Behavior, And Marketing Strategy, Syed H. Akhter

Syed H. Akhter

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how the perception of price-value tradeoff is related to overall satisfaction, purchase intention, word-of-mouth advertising, and actual repurchase behavior. Design/methodology/approach – Data on subscribers and single ticket buyers of a major symphony orchestra in the Midwest are used to test the hypotheses. Findings – The ANOVA results show significant differences across the three levels of price-value tradeoff in each of the response variables. Additional analyses of cross-tabulated data show that some of the bivariate relations conform to, as well as depart from, the rational consumer behavior model. Research limitations/implications – …

Public Perceptions Of The Midwest’S Pavements: Policies And Thresholds, David Kuemmel, Richard Robinson, Ronald Sonntag, Robert Griffin, James K. Giese

Robert Griffin

A 5-year, pooled fund study with the Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin departments of transportation assessed the public's perceptions of pavement improvement strategies and developed thresholds of satisfaction using the departments' physical indices, such as pavement ride and condition on rural, two-lane highways in the states. Approximately 3,600 drivers in the three states were involved in the three phases of the project, which included 18 focus groups, 400 statewide surveys in each state, and 2,300 targeted surveys across the three states. A multidisciplinary team from Marquette University and a mass media survey lab conducted the studies. A summary of focus group …

Do Australian And American Consumers Differ In Their Perceived Shopping Experiences?, Marilyn Jones, Sonya Vilches-Montero, Mark Spence, Sevgin Eroglu, Karen Machleit

Mark Spence

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to present findings from an experiment designed to test the impact of crowding perceptions (both human and spatial), emotions (positive and negative) and shopping values (utilitarian and hedonic) on shopper satisfaction. Culture is explored as a moderating variable with the expectation that it systematically affects perceptions and values, which, in turn, influence the shopper's experience with the store.

Design/methodology/approach - Data were collected via a 2 x 2 x 2 full factorial between subjects design with two variables, one manipulated and one measured. The two manipulated variables were spatial density (high versus …

How To Contact Sky Customer Services?, Lissa Coffey

LissaCoffey

What is the Contact Number for Sky Customer Services? How To Contact Sky Customer Services? + other SKY FAQ's - The Sky contact number provides Sky customers with a direct line of communication to the television provider and resolve any issues with their service.Sky telephone numbers to contact Sky Customer Service are provided as a phone directory service by the number helpline based in the uk ...

The Impact Of Trust And Cabin Crew Performance On Customers’ Satisfaction, Nadeem Safwan, Ahmed Imran Hunjra, Mohammad Ashfaq, Syed Qasim Haroon Naqvi

Ahmed Imran Hunjra (PhD)

In this research, the case of AIRBLUE has been taken to examine what people think about its performance, whether they trust this airline or not, and are they satisfied or not? Further, this study measures the impacet of cabin crew performance and trust on customer satisfaction. The data was collected by distributing questionnaires to the domestic travelers of AIRBLUE. The sample size of the research was of 180 people. The result shows that majority of people are satisfied with the performance of AIRBLUE and they trust on its service, but at the same time they have positive expectation that AIRBLUE …

Relationship Between Customer Satisfaction And Service Quality Of Islamic Banks, Muhammad Naeem Akhtar, Ahmed Imran Hunjra, Syed Waqar Akbar, Kashif Ur Rehman, Ghulam Shabbir Khan Niazi

Ahmed Imran Hunjra (PhD)

Corporate Image In The Leisure Services Sector, Joanna Minkiewicz, Jody Evans, Kerrie Bridson, Felix Mavondo

Dr. Joanna Minkiewicz

No abstract provided.

Taxonomy Of Selected Relationship Marketing Theories, Grace S. Thomson

Dr. Grace S. Thomson

Taxonomy of Relationship Marketing Theories

A customer-centric marketing strategy relies on the creation of value for the customer and the generation of value in return for the firm (Gupta & Lehmann, 2003). Seminal and contemporary philosophies of relationship marketing have populated scholarly journals and media for more than 50 years, addressing activities, strategies and behaviors of customer-centered firms.

This document presents a taxonomy of 20 relationship marketing theories and models that incorporate grounded theory and theoretical frameworks addressing different aspects of customer relationship marketing. An exploration of the works of Armstrong and Kotler (2008), Best (2009), Levitt (1960), King (1964), …

The Golden Age: Service Management On Transatlantic Ocean Liners, Patrick J. Murphy, R. W. Coye

Patrick J. Murphy

Purpose – The paper seeks to explore lessons in service delivery from an industry that no longer exists. The transatlantic passenger liner dramatizes some of the most unique challenges of service delivery. The ship itself was a delivery mechanism completely separated from support services. Customers were essentially contained for extended periods. Whereas all customers received the same core transportation service, peripheral services varied substantially by service class.

Design/methodology/approach – Description of the historical context is followed by examinations of passenger and service provider perspectives to illustrate services expected and delivered. Primary and secondary source material is used to exemplify service …