Management and Marketing - Research Publications
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ItemCorporate reputation, stakeholders and the social performance-financial performance relationship(EMERALD GROUP PUBLISHING LTD, 2005-01-01)Purpose To increase understanding of the role of reputation in the corporate social performance (CSP) and financial performance (FP) relationship, including contingencies. Design/methodology/approach Stakeholder theory is drawn on to present a model of reputation's role in the contingent CSP‐FP relationship. Findings CSP is affected by stakeholders' resource allocation to the organisation. This allocation is based on stakeholders' assessment of the organisation's reputation relative to stakeholders' particular expectations, which may be instrumentally and/or normatively framed. Reputation, therefore, plays a key role in the CSP‐FP relationship. Additionally, the authors propose that the equivocal results of previous research into the CSP‐FP relationship may be partly explained by organisational and market contingencies. Specifically, the authors contend that strategic fit, competitive intensity and reputation management capability moderate the CSP‐FP relationship. Research limitations/implications Empirical measurement issues and future research directions are discussed. Originality/value This paper increases the understanding of the role of reputation in the CSP‐FP relationship. Owing to its rich pedigree in research in corporate branding and reputation, marketing is uniquely positioned to contribute toward the better understanding of this issue.
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ItemCo-production and customer loyalty in financial services(ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC, 2007-01-01)
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ItemSocial capital, customer service orientation and creativity in retail stores(ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC, 2006-11-01)
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ItemPerceived service quality and customer trust - Does enhancing customers' service knowledge matter?(SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC, 2008-02-01)The authors show that investments in enhancing customers' service knowledge strengthen customer trust in an organization and thus can act as an important service differentiator. Customer education initiatives, however, also affect the impact of perceived service quality on customer trust. Successful marketers should be aware of the dynamic relationships between customer education, expertise, and service quality in managing customers' attitudes toward firms. Using data collected from customers of a global financial services firm, this study modeled the multifaceted impact of customer education initiatives on the relationship between service quality and trust. The findings suggest that customer education affects the relative importance of technical and functional service quality for building customer trust in a firm. Research implications point to new business opportunities for service differentiation and relationship marketing.
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ItemThe paradox of customer education - Customer expertise and loyalty in the financial services industry(EMERALD GROUP PUBLISHING LTD, 2007-01-01)Purpose The purpose of this paper is to consider the dynamics of customer education by exploring the relationship between education and customer expertise and their combined effects on customer loyalty in a high involvement investment services context. The paper also considers the service context within which customer education initiatives are delivered. More specifically, it explores the moderating effects of increasing levels of customer expertise (the outcome of customer education) on the relative importance of technical service quality (what is delivered) and functional service quality (how it is delivered) in determining the loyalty decision. In doing so, the paper aims to provide implications for the investment service firm for managing the service offering as customers develop expertise over time. Design/methodology/approach The paper proposes a conceptual model that formalises the research objectives as a series of testable hypotheses. This is followed by an outline of the research design and method. The hypotheses are tested using a sample of 1,268 high value clients from a global investment services firm. An analysis of the model and the results is presented. Findings Customer loyalty was found to be positively and significantly related to technical service quality, functional service quality, and customer education. Contrary to expectations, however, customer expertise was not negatively related to customer loyalty. Customer education was found to be positively associated with customer expertise. The main effect of customer education on loyalty was significant; however it did not diminish when customer expertise was entered into the third equation. In other words, the conditions for partial mediation were not satisfied. Finally, the positive and significant interaction coefficient between technical service quality and expertise implied that the positive effect of technical service quality on consumer customer loyalty was indeed stronger when customer expertise was high. Conversely, and consistent with expectations, the interaction term between functional service quality and customer expertise was significant and negative, indicating that the positive relationship between functional service quality and customer loyalty is diminished as customer expertise increases. Originality/value Where there is a significant amount of research on customer knowledge and expertise, there is relatively less understanding of how customers acquire such knowledge. It is hoped that this paper can shed some additional light on the subject of customer education, its impact on customer expertise and, ultimately, on the way in which service quality is perceived.
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ItemCoping with customer complaints(SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC, 2006-02-01)This article investigates the relationship between customer complaints and service personnel commitment to customer service. Positive and negative affectivity are considered as potential moderators of this relationship. Using data obtained from a survey of 432 retail service personnel in a national retail chain with 124 stores, the authors find that customer complaints are significantly and negatively associated with service personnel commitment to customer service. Higher levels of service employee positive affectivity significantly reduced this negative relationship. Contrary to expectations, high levels of negative affectivity also reduced the negative relationship between complaints and commitment to customer service. Potential explanations for these findings are provided, and implications for managers and future research are considered.
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ItemJust entrepreneurial enough: the moderating effect of entrepreneurship on the relationship between market orientation and performance(ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC, 2005-01-01)
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ItemWhen customers disappoint: A model of relational internal marketing and customer complaints(SPRINGER, 2004-03-01)