Quantifying barriers impeding the diffusion of supermarkets in China: The role of shopping habits

The present study contributes to the literature on supermarket diffusion by incorporating shopping habit factors, beyond socioeconomic factors and store characteristic factors, into a framework for predicting consumers' choice to shop in traditional versus modern retail formats. Further, this study aims to estimate the relative importance of these variables compared to other factors. Our results show that socioeconomic factors have minimal impact on consumer choice. Shopping habit factors have as great or even larger impact as market-relevant and product-relevant attributes, especially for fresh-food and cooked-food shopping.     

Service quality dimensions and superior customer perceived value in retail banks: An empirical study on Mexican consumers

This study concerns the service quality topic in the retail bank sector. A sample of 209 retail bank clients was taken, measuring the performance of service quality attributes of their principle retail bank. Behavioral performance variables such as satisfaction, loyalty and customer perceived value were also measured. In a factor analyses the attributes were separated into three factors. These three independent factors explain a considerable amount of variability of a satisfaction–loyalty factor. On the other hand, they could not explain the superior perceived value; and no differences between the service quality performances of the bank brands were found. In conclusion, regardless of the degree of satisfaction and loyalty, the customer is not willing to pay more for banking services at his regular bank than he would at other brands. This implies that superior perceived value is not being achieved via service quality, which suggests a lack of differentiation between brands in this sector.     

Supermarket self-checkout service quality,customer satisfaction,and loyalty: Empirical evidence from an emerging market

Supermarket shoppers around the world are increasingly encountering and using self-service technologies (SSTs) during their shopping process. The SSTs are mainly offered to reduce retailer costs and enhance customer's experience. Among the many different SSTs available, self-checkout systems (SCS) have become an extremely popular choice of supermarkets around the world. Although some of the main motivations of the supermarkets for offering SCSs are cost cutting, speed, and convenience, supermarkets are also assuming that these services would enhance customer experience, satisfaction, and ultimately loyalty. However, empirical evidence is needed to better understand customer expectations of SCS service quality and how technology based service quality impacts retail patronage. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to examine the service quality of supermarket/grocery store SCSs and its impact on customer satisfaction and loyalty in an emerging market, namely Turkey. Using the SSTQUAL scale (Lin and Hsieh, 2011), data (n=275) for the study is collected from shoppers who had just completed going through the self-checkout counter in a large supermarket chain. The results of this study show that SCS service quality positively influences loyalty through the customer satisfaction path. Managerial and research implications of the findings are discussed.     

The antecedents of customer loyalty: A moderated mediation model of customer relationship management quality and brand image

This study examines the mediating role of customer relationship management (CRM) quality to better explain the effects of service evaluation variables (service quality, customer satisfaction and customer value) on customer loyalty. The study also investigates the moderating effect of brand image on these mediated relationships. The mediating role of CRM quality on the relationship between the service evaluation variables and customer loyalty is supported. Further, it is found that the indirect effect of customer satisfaction on customer loyalty via CRM quality is stronger when perceived brand image is high than when it is low. The results have implications for relationship managers, brand managers and scholars who use service evaluation and relational metrics to predict customer loyalty.     

Exploring the involvement-patronage link in the phygital retail experiences

Phygital retail experiences connect physical and digital worlds together to create unique experiences among customers. Despite the widespread uses and applications of phygital retailing, the involvement-patronage link remains unexplored. This paper thus aims to make up this gap by examining the effects of customer involvement on their patronage intentions in the phygital retail context. More specifically, building on the social exchange theory, this paper mainly addresses the effects of five dimensions of involvement on customer engagement; and the influence of customer engagement on their patronage intentions in the phygital retailing. The role of customer innovativeness as a boundary condition is also explored. Data were collected from 237 customers who experienced phygital retail stores and analyzed through structural equation modeling. The results show that five facets of involvement (i.e., risk importance, risk probability, sign, interest, and pleasure) affect customer engagement, which eventually affects customers’ patronage intentions of phygital products. This study further identifies that the effects of each dimension of involvement on customer engagement are higher (lower) among the customers with high (low) innovativeness. The findings of the study offer significant theoretical and managerial implications.     

The Role of Customer Factors in Multiple Store Patronage: A Cost-Benefit Approach

This paper is concerned with the use of multiple stores by supermarket customers. It relates the number of stores patronized to a set of customer factors under a unifying theoretical framework emphasizing cost-benefit analysis. Respective hypotheses are tested in a large random sample. This study is a first attempt to empirically address the structure of multiple store patronage. It is demonstrated that multiple store patronage is affected by variables such as customer income, satisfaction, and expenditure that are suggestive of heterogeneous cost-benefit tradeoffs and opportunity costs of time. It is shown that customers are intrinsically different in the predisposition to being loyal. In this respect, store patronage is a continuum between single store loyalty and use of several different stores, on which customers vary depending on individual preferences. The empirical analysis also suggests that exclusive patronage of the favorite store arises from two observationally equivalent latent segments that differ in their inclination to remain loyal. The results yield valuable insights into the structure of store patronage and lead to important implications for retail managers. Several extensions are considered. A broad set of research questions surrounding store patronage can be considered from a cost-benefit viewpoint in the sense that consumer decisions in this area involve trading off economic resources against assortment, spatial and temporal benefits.     

Exploring the relationship of perceived automotive salesperson attributes, customer satisfaction and intentions to automotive service department patronage: The moderating role of customer gender

This study examines the relationship of perceived automotive salesperson attributes and customer satisfaction behavior in the purchase experience leading to the patronage of a service department in an automotive dealership. Logistic regression analyses indicate that gender moderates the relationship of the perceived salesperson attributes and customer satisfaction as well as intentions for service department patronage. The model distinguishes users from non-users of the service department and does this better for females than for males. Finally, the paper concludes with a discussion of the managerial implications and directions for future research.     

The effects of wait expectations and store atmosphere evaluations on patronage intentions in service-intensive retail stores

Many factors, both obvious and subtle, influence customers’ store patronage intentions. Using videotape technology that enabled us to experimentally manipulate the number of visible store employees, number of customers, and music, we test the relative importance of wait expectations and store atmosphere evaluations on patronage intentions. These constructs are found to be critical antecedents of store patronage intentions in the context of the service-intensive retail store at which the model was tested. We also find support for the direct effects of gender on wait expectations and store atmosphere evaluations. We discuss some implications for retailing research and practice.     

Aesthetic labor and visible diversity: The role in retailing service encounters

This study endeavors to investigate the role of the appearance of customer service staff in forming customer perceptions. It also aims to fill the gap in existing knowledge by exploring the notion of visible diversity, for example, ethnicity, age, gender and perceived sexual orientation of store staff in service encounter from the customers’ perspective. The study adopted a qualitative, inductive approach in data collection using a sample of 30 customers from leading Australian fashion retailers. This study identifies three themes explaining customer perceptions of staff's aesthetic labor, namely mirroring appearance, matching appearance, and charming appearance, which can be explained by the social identity theory, role theory and aesthetic capital. It is found that staff appearance might affect customers’ intention to revisit but does not guarantee sales. In addition, based on signaling theory, the results show that age, ethnicity, gender and perceived sexual orientation of the retail store staff are meaningful factors in determining customers’ attitudes and behavior. This study is one of the first that takes aspects of visible diversity into account along with aesthetic labor and customer experience in a retail setting.     

Managing customer loyalty through the mediating role of satisfaction in the DIY retail loyalty program

The focus of this study is the determinants of customer loyalty among members of retail loyalty programs. With data collected from a DIY loyalty program in a Central European country (a preliminary sample of 116 club members and a representative sample of 416 members), the study empirically tests the nature of the effect of the quality of personal interactions and perceptions of the quality of the loyalty program on customer loyalty through the mediating variable of customer satisfaction. Although the findings suggest that the quality of personal interactions bears no direct influence on members’ loyalty, it has a stronger influence on members’ satisfaction than the perceived quality of the loyalty program does. Influence on members’ loyalty is stronger from the mediating variable of customer satisfaction than from perceived quality of the loyalty program. This finding confirms the role of customer satisfaction as an important determinant of customer loyalty in the DIY setting. Offering a diagnostic tool in terms of selected direct and indirect determinants influencing customers’ loyalty, the paper also contributes to comprehension of loyalty programs’ effectiveness and members’ responses to the quality of loyalty programs, which contribution provides important implications for management and development of retail loyalty programs.     

物业服务质量对顾客价值及顾客忠诚的影响:居住档次的调节作用

在竞争日益加剧的市场环境中如何提供高质量的服务,提升顾客感知价值以及顾客忠诚度是企业获取竞争优势的关键所在.本文以物业服务行业为研究背景,建构服务质量各维度对顾客价值和顾客忠诚的影响机制模型,并检验居住档次对该模型的调节效应.研究结果表明:与其他行业的服务质量维度构成不同,物业服务质量由实体环境、专业保障、服务效率和人文关怀四个维度构成;实体环境对顾客忠诚产生正向显著影响,而专业保障、服务效率、人文关怀三个服务维度虽然对顾客忠诚没有显著的直接影响,但均通过顾客价值对其产生间接影响;顾客价值是解释服务质量影响顾客忠诚的重要中介变量;居住档次部分调节了实体环境、专业保障、服务效率和人文关怀对顾客价值及顾客忠诚的影响.     

Understanding organization-customer links in a service setting in Russia

This study examines the effect of management commitment to service quality on customer satisfaction through the mediating links of service climate and core and relational service performance in a high-power distance culture. Data were collected using a survey distributed to the FLEs and customers of branches of a Russian retail bank. Study findings demonstrate that branch service climate mediates the management commitment to service quality – service performance relationship and that this indirect effect is stronger on core service performance relative to relational service performance. Contrary to expectations, our findings demonstrate the importance of relational service performance relative to core service performance as a mediator of the branch service climate – branch customer satisfaction relationship. Implications of these novel findings and future research directions are discussed.     

The effects of service quality,perceived value and trust in home delivery service personnel on customer satisfaction: Evidence from a developing country

The rapid growth of online purchasing in recent years has emphasized the accompanying role of home delivery service provided by delivery personnel in ensuring customer satisfaction. On-time delivery, better service, generating positive customer perceived value, and trust towards service providers are influential factors that contribute to customer satisfaction. The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of service quality of home delivery personnel and perceived value on customer satisfaction, with trust playing an intervening role. It was conducted in Dhaka, Bangladesh, a less developed country with a new but rapidly growing digital sector. Data was collected from 259 respondents who received home delivery service, using a structured questionnaire. The conceptual model was analysed using partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS tool. The findings revealed that service quality, customer perceived value, and trust influenced customer satisfaction. The relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction and the relationship between customer perceived value and satisfaction were both partially mediated by trust. The findings contribute to the development and validation of a trust-based satisfaction model by extending the SERVQUAL model to incorporate perceived value in the presence of trust, while complying with expectation disconfirmation theory This study provides insights for managers to develop reliability and build trust in their service delivery personnel.     

Service encounter in multi-channel distribution context: virtual and face-to-face interactions and consumer satisfaction

This article studies service quality and customer satisfaction in a context of multi-channel service distribution. The objective is to identify quality factors influencing the overall satisfaction of a multi-channel customer. A quantitative study was conducted among 445 customers mainly targeted on users of the traditional physical channel and online channel of a French retail bank. Using structural equation models with AMOS, the results show that perceived service quality in the virtual channel, perceived service quality in the traditional channel, and multi-channel integration quality have a positive influence on the overall satisfaction of the multi-channel customer.     

Female customers' expectation of the service offering and their perception of the service quality in an emerging clothing market

Worldwide, clothing retailers that offer similar merchandise and even the same brands are flanked almost next to one another in shopping centres. Clothing retail therefore appears to be poorly differentiated, and it is not always clear why consumers prefer to patronize one store and avoid another. This study explored female consumers' expectations of the service offering and their perception of the service quality of prominent clothing retail channels in Tshwane, a major urban area in South Africa. The survey involved 243 females that were 20 years of age or older. They completed a structured questionnaire that investigated their (1) expectations of customer service in terms of tangible evidence of the service offering; and (2) perception of service quality using two different instruments by means of a direct measurement approach. Explorative factor analysis was used to reduce the data in terms of relevant dimensions of the respective measuring instruments and to determine the significance of the various dimensions of customer service and service quality in the context of this research. Contrary to what the literature proposes about consumers in an emerging economy, findings of this study suggest that females' expectations of the service offering of clothing retail stores were high. Their expectations were cognitively structured in terms of three elements of customer service, namely (1) physical facilities and product presentation; (2) personnel; and (3) store image and processes. Their perception of service quality revealed an opportunity to augment the service quality through attention to activities that are associated with personnel and the so-called supportiveness dimensions of their service offering. Findings coincided with a prior investigation of Terblanche and Boshoff, although a re-labelling of one dimension of their instrument is proposed to prevent confusion. Recommendations to augment the service quality of clothing retailers are made in terms of tangible evidence of the service offering.     

Hospice Informal Caregivers' Perception of a Good Death Experience: A SERVQUAL Analysis

ABSTRACT

This research study explores hospice informal caregivers' perceptions of service quality and a good death experience during end-of-life care. It demonstrates how service dimensions of the SERVQUAL analysis affect overall customer satisfaction. This study addresses contrast and dissonance theory as relative to marginal gaps in actual service performance and the effect on overall customer satisfaction. The research indicated that while reliability was the core of the service outcome, peripheral variables (e.g., assurance, empathy, responsiveness, and tangibility) integrated emotions and feelings into the hospice service process that equated to a positive disconfirmation of expectations and a good death experience.     

The Carryover Effect of Customer Satisfaction on Service Quality Focused on Moderating Effect of Customer Trust and Cooperative Orientation

The current study is intended to provide a novel contribution in regards to the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction by focusing on carryover effects of satisfaction judgment on perceived service quality of the subsequent transaction. In addition, we probe the role of customer trust in the relationship between customer satisfaction and service quality. The results indicate a cycle of customer satisfaction and perceived quality over time, which validates the concept of cycle of satisfaction. The results also indicate trust toward a service provider has a moderating role on the relationship between customer satisfaction and perceived service quality.     

Image and consumer attraction to intraurban retail areas: An environmental psychology approach

This study suggests that intraurban retail area patronage decisions are influenced by the image of the area. A model of environmental behaviour is derived from the extant literature and tested empirically. An approach to measuring consumer perceptions of retail area image is proposed. The research finds significant relationships between product and store range and quality, visual amenity, customer service and consumers’ willingness to patronise a retail area. Affect, or consumers’ liking of the area, mediates the impact of retail area image on consumer behaviour. The value of this approach is that retailers and regulatory bodies may be able to explain and predict the effects of changes to retail environments on consumer patronage decisions.     

Interpersonal service quality,self-service technology (SST) service quality,and retail patronage

The main purpose of this study is to examine how two components of interactive service quality (interpersonal service quality and self-service technology service quality) are related to retail patronage. This study also aims to identify the moderating effects of individual characteristics. The results indicate that two components of interactive quality are greatly related to retail patronage intentions. The moderating effects of technology anxiety, need for interaction, and age are also partially supported. To increase retail patronage, it is very important to focus on improving self-service technology service quality as well as interpersonal service quality. The results from this study also provide retail managers with a detailed understanding of how individual characteristics influence retail patronage intentions.     

Effects of characteristics of in-store retail technology on customer citizenship behavior

This paper investigates the effect of the characteristics of in-store retail technology on customer citizenship behavior (CCB) by adapting the job demands-resources theory, and explores how customer education moderates these relationships. Survey responses from 196 retail shoppers show that perceived complexity and perceived risk lead to customer exhaustion, resulting in decreasing CCB; while perceived advantage and perceived compatibility lead to customer engagement, resulting in increasing CCB. All these paths were found to be moderated by customer education. Managers could use the characteristics of in-store technology to increase CCB in their retail stores.