An investigation of customer satisfaction with low-cost and full-service airline companies

Using a survey of 382 passengers, this research examines customer satisfaction and its antecedents and consequences in the context of the airline industry. The relationships among airline tangibles, quality of personnel, satisfaction with the airline, the intention to repurchase and intention to recommend the airline are examined. The findings indicate that tangibles and personnel quality positively affect satisfaction, and satisfaction positively influences intentions to both repurchase and recommend. The key contribution is to test the moderating effect of the airline type: a low-cost vs. a full-service carrier. The results reveal a significant moderating effect of airline type on two relationships: personnel quality – satisfaction and satisfaction – repurchase intention. Specifically, the positive effect of quality of personnel on satisfaction is weaker for the low-cost versus full-service airline, while the positive effect of satisfaction on repurchase intent is stronger for the low-cost airline. The study also discusses implications for airline carriers.     

Airline customer satisfaction and loyalty: impact of in-flight service quality

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the in-flight service quality on airline customer satisfaction and loyalty. This study analyzed the data from passengers of two classes: prestige (business) and economy. The results suggest that there are different factors of in-flight service quality that are important according to the customer seat class. In the case of the prestige class, there were six service quality factors of importance: alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage, responsiveness and empathy, reliability, assurance, presentation style of food, and food quality; while the economy class showed five important service quality factors: responsiveness and empathy, food quality, alcoholic beverage, non-alcoholic beverage, and reliability. These findings imply that airline companies’ in-flight service should have different delivery strategies based on the customer seat class.     

“I just like this e-Retailer”: Understanding online consumers repurchase intention from relationship quality perspective

In an increasingly competitive market, retaining customers is essential for both e-retailers and online shopping platforms. This study focuses on relationship quality as it pertains to repurchase intentions in Ghana. The mediating role of price level is addressed. The results show that customer trust, customer commitment, and customer satisfaction affect price level. Customer trust and satisfaction affect repurchase intention, but customer commitment does not affect repurchase intention. Also, price level mediates the relationship between relationship quality and repurchase intention. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Investigating the determinants of travel blogs influencing readers' intention to travel

The purpose of this study is to propose and examine a new research model that can capture affective, cognitive and cyber-interactive elements influencing travel blog readers' behavioural intention to travel through affecting their perceived destination image. A survey of 323 blog participants found a strong support for the model. The results indicated that travel blog participants' perceptions of destination image could be a strong predictor of their travel intention. Factors assisting in building affective images (e.g. generating empathy, experiencing appeal) as well as cognitive images (e.g. providing guides) and facilitating interpersonal interactions (e.g. social influence, cybercommunity influence) were found to be critical components significantly influencing bloggers' perceptions of destination image. Theoretical and practical implications of the results were discussed.     

Effects of online retailer after delivery services on repurchase intention: An empirical analysis of customers’ past experience and future confidence with the retailer

This study empirically examines the influence of after delivery services on customer perception of satisfaction, trust, and repurchase intention. Data from 262 survey respondents, analyzed through structural equation modeling, indicate three critical after service factors related to customer satisfaction: product exchange, returns, and refunds. Analyses also indicate significant mediating effects of customer satisfaction and trust with after delivery services upon repurchase intention. Results reveal that customer satisfaction with services also mediate the relationship between after delivery services and consumers’ trust in the retailer. The findings suggest implications for management and future research directions.     

Functional forms of the satisfaction–loyalty relationship

The linear functional form of the effect of customer satisfaction on repurchase intentions may not be adequate under all circumstances; however, we lack a clear understanding of the factors that may drive variation in the functional forms of the satisfaction-loyalty relationship. Building on existing research, the authors consider how the functional form of the effect of satisfaction on repurchase intentions varies across segments formed at the intersection of product categories and customer economic and demographic variables. A comprehensive data set obtained from the sponsors of the Chinese Customer Satisfaction Index provides the input for a flexible cubic regression configuration to model the functional forms. The linear functional form emerges as the most prominent across 972 product-customer segments (51%), followed in frequency by the S-shaped and convex forms and, finally, the inverse S-shape and concave forms. Different product category characteristics, customer economic and demographic variables, and market characteristics moderate the effect of satisfaction on repurchase intentions differently for the linear, quadratic, and cubic terms. This research reveals key resource allocation implications based on the functional forms of the effect of satisfaction on repurchase intentions, as well as strategic segmentation implications related to the varying influence of product category characteristics, customer economic and demographic variables, and market characteristics.     

售后服务质量、顾客满意度及其行为意愿——基于“家电下乡”政策背景下农村顾客的实证分析

在对售后服务质量和顾客行为意愿进行维度划分的基础上,本文以我国"家电下乡"政策背景下购买过家电产品的农村顾客为研究对象对上述问题进行了深入分析。结果发现,送货质量与安装质量对顾客满意度的积极影响显著;顾客满意度高对保持关系意愿有着积极影响;保持关系意愿对顾客重购意愿和推荐意愿有着积极影响;顾客重购意愿对推荐意愿的积极影响不显著。最后,对本文的研究结论、启示与不足进行了阐述。     

Research on satisfaction recovery from service failure due to attitude defect and unfair price: A dynamic and longitudinal evaluation model based on customer win-back management

Customer win-back is a cognitive process of satisfaction changing from a low level to a high level with service recovery strategies as the stimulus. Because prior research tends to view service recovery strategies as a static antecedent, it is difficult to analyze and observe how the recovery strategies affect satisfaction and repurchase intention dynamically. Moreover, not enough attention has been directed to the relationship between reasons of customer loss and recovery strategies. This research conducted a field experiment involving a 2 × 2 between-subjects design (defects of service attitude and unfair price × tangible recovery and intangible recovery strategies). From a longitudinal and dynamic perspective, this study has produced the following key results: First, there are significant differences in satisfaction and purchase intention between the four groups categorized by specific reasons of customer loss. Second, recovery strategies may have non-linear effects on customer’s satisfaction. Lastly, based on the prospect theory and disappointment theory, we discuss important managerial implications of the function curves fitted between customer satisfactory (before customer loss and after implementation of customer winback strategy) and purchase intention.     

Unraveling customer repurchase intention in OFDL context: An investigation using a hybrid technique of SEM and fsQCA

This research proposes a conceptual model based on the stimulus-organism-response (S–O-R) theoretical framework which links perceived website/app quality and image (stimuli) to satisfaction and trust (organism) which in turn influence customer repurchase intention (response). The data was collected from 680 consumers via Amazon MTurk. Following Covariance based Structural Equation Modeling (CB-SEM) analysis to validate the proposed model, fuzzy set/Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) technique was also performed. According to the findings, perceived website/app quality has a direct impact on both satisfaction and trust in online food delivery services. Additionally, customer familiarity moderates the relationship between website/app quality and repurchase intention. Next, customer reviews moderate the association between repurchase intention and trust. Holistically, this study offers significant implications for academicians, managers and policymakers. Academically, this study contributes to online food delivery literature. Practically, the results provide guidelines to marketers, managers and policymakers interested in devising marketing strategies to promote customer's repurchase intention in online food delivery context.     

消费者重购意向形成影响因素与作用机制研究

维系老顾客,满足顾客的期望,不断增加顾客的重购行为对企业提高市场竞争力具有非常重要的意义。顾客满意、顾客的品牌偏好、顾客的多样化追求倾向、替代品的吸引力和顾客感知的转换壁垒是影响顾客重购的主要因素。同时,在此基础上模仿了电子技术中的并联回路,建立了影响因素的作用机制模型。     

Online consumer behaviour and its relationship to website atmospheric induced flow: Insights into online travel agencies in China

Although the study of flow has recently received a lot attention, little is published about what factors controllable by firms influence its formation. Furthermore, there is a lack of knowledge between the relationship of website atmospheric cues and flow experience. Using a stimulus–organism–response framework (S–O–R framework) as the theoretical basis, this study examines the impact of consumer perceptions of website atmospheric cues (informativeness, effectiveness and entertainment) on the development of flow and its subsequent impact on purchase intention and satisfaction. A self-administered online survey was used for data collection through an internet market research firm which randomly selected individuals from its online panel. Our results support the validity of the S–O–R framework in the context of online tourism and indicate that flow fully mediates the three site atmospheric cues with regards to purchase intention and satisfaction with the travel website. This study enhances our understanding on the determinants of online purchase intention and satisfaction as well as on how a proper web atmospheric design alters consumer shopping experience which entices favourable purchase intention and generates satisfaction.     

Perceived value,transaction cost,and repurchase-intention in online shopping: A relational exchange perspective

This study proposes a framework to understand the impacts of both value-related and transaction cost-related factors on repurchase intention from online shoppers' perspective. In particular, this study defines the construct of cost as a three-component conceptualization (i.e., information searching cost, moral hazard cost, and specific asset investment). Based upon empirical evidence on a survey of 887 online shoppers, this study shows that consumers' perceived value and each cost component are positively related to repurchase intention. Importantly, information searching cost exerts the most significant influence on repurchase intentions among the four relational factors. The result suggests that providing sufficient cues to reduce consumers' information searching cost is the core element of repurchase intention formation. This article closes with theoretical and practical implications.     

Behavioural responses to service encounter involving failure and recovery: the influence of contextual factors

This study investigates two features of customer satisfaction within the context of service failure and recovery: (i) the effect of perceived justice on customer satisfaction and (ii) the effect of customer satisfaction on repurchase intentions, negative word-of-mouth, and intention to complain. The study takes into account the influence of important contextual factors, including severity of failure, recovery responsiveness, attitude toward complaining, switching cost, and the relationship level. Based on a survey of 556 customers with complaints in Brazil, the results supported the influence of perceived justice on satisfaction and of satisfaction on behavioural responses. Specifically, findings revealed that perceived failure severity, attitude toward complaining, and switching costs were the more relevant contextual factors, as these were significantly associated with satisfaction, intention to complain, and negative word-of-mouth.     

The mediating role of commitment in healthcare B2B marketing

Business to business transactions in pharmaceutical and healthcare industries may differ from those in other industries in terms of relational marketing factors such as customer acquisition and retention. Purchasing representatives, including medical physicians, may differ in their levels of commitment; this difference plays a mediating role in satisfaction, dependence, and intention to repurchase. This article begins by analyzing the structural relationships among these three variables: commitment, satisfaction, and dependence. The relationships are dichotomized into two dimensions: individual and organizational, and marketing performance is measured as repurchase intention. A critical literature review was conducted to identify key variables and derive their constructs. The subsequent empirical analyses have far-reaching implications from a marketing perspective.     

Customer satisfaction and customer behavior: The differential role of brand and category expectations

Previous research has suggested that consumers use multiple strands to evaluate their satisfaction with a product and to establish postpurchase behavioral intention. However, prior empirical research has focused on which individual standard best predicts satisfaction. In contrast, this article develops and tests a model of consumer satisfaction and postpurchase behavioral intention in which consumers simultaneously use multiple standards—perceptions of performance, brand expectations, and category expectations. The results of an experiment for a simulated service encounter provide support for the proposition that consumers use multiple standards and that these standards have differential effects on such postpurchase outcomes as satisfaction, repurchase intention, and willingness to recommend. Brand expectations are shown to be better predictors of affective outcomes (such as satisfaction), while category expectations are shown to be better predictors of behavioral outcomes (repurchase and recommendation). Consistent with prior research, perceived performance is shown to have a strong effect on both satisfaction and behavioral intention.     

The harmonious role of channel integration and logistics service in Omnichannel retailing: The case of IKEA

Grounded on the stimulus–organism–response framework, this study investigated the mechanism by which channel integration and logistics service influence satisfaction and repurchase intention from customers’ perspectives. An online survey was conducted to collect data and partial least squares structural equation modeling was employed for model assessment. The results disclosed that perceived logistics service quality is an antecedent of perceived channel integration quality and that the two variables harmoniously influence customer satisfaction (transaction-specific and cumulative) which subsequently generates repurchase intention. Particularly, the results demonstrated that the respective contributions of perceived channel integration quality and perceived logistics service quality in enhancing transaction-specific satisfaction differ through the distinct hybrid experiences. This study had theoretical implications for the literature on omnichannel retailing and practical implications for managers of omnichannel retailers.     

An integrated model of customer social exchange relationship: the moderating role of customer experience

This article addresses how the customer social exchange relationship affects customer satisfaction and, in turn, repurchase intention. On the basis of the stimulus–organism–response model, this article argues that perceived organisational support, perceived customer support, and perceived service provider support influence customer satisfaction, which in turn affects repurchase intention. Furthermore, this study argues that perceived organisational support is the most important predictor of customer satisfaction for high-experience customers, whereas perceived customer support is the most important predictor of customer satisfaction for low-experience customers. A survey of 144 users of the foreign language institute on a university reveals that most of these hypotheses are supported.     

Development and Growth of the Business Class

Abstract

Air travel is forecasted to be a strong growth market for the 90s. An annual growth rate of over 4% is being predicted until the end of the century. Comprising 20% of the seats and 40% of the overall revenues, the business travel segment had assumed an important strategic focus within the airline industry. This study looks at the competitive issues involved in meeting the demands of the business traveler, especially in the light of the changing relationships between those who supply the product, those who distribute, and those who use it. With corporate America along with the rest of the world continuing to do more business, but with less travel, this study looks at some of the changes that the airline industry can implement to lure business travelers back. Finally, a model is proposed, which the airlines can use to adopt to the changing needs of the market.     

Convenience,Satisfaction, and Post-Purchase Behavior in India's Health Insurance Market

ABSTRACT

Understanding the antecedents and implications of “service convenience” has acquired added importance with consumers' growing desire for ease during product or service exchange. Although the effects of service convenience, as a first-order construct, on post-purchase behavior have been studied in different business contexts, not much has been done in the case of a second-order construct which has been attempted here. The present study seeks to examine the mediating role of consumers' satisfaction as well as the moderating role of organizational and consumer personal factors that have not been sufficiently explored in the marketing literature. Structural equation analysis is adopted to test the hypothesized relationships using responses from 424 consumers who have purchased health insurance from six leading insurers in India. The findings validated that the service convenience affects consumer satisfaction, which, in turn, plays both a direct and mediating role in influencing consumers' repurchase intention. However, the role of organizational and consumer personal factors as moderators between service convenience and consumers' satisfaction could only be established indirectly through post-hoc analysis, which calls for further research. The results have important implications for planning, designing, and managing the health insurance business.     

Why Do Consumers Go Internet Shopping Again? Understanding the Antecedents of Repurchase Intention

Consumer intention of reusing online websites for shopping is a major consequence for an electronic commerce company's profitability. Therefore, understanding the factors that influence online customers' repurchase intentions is of great importance to the EC companies. Drawing on specific dimensions of Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), Information Systems continuance model, Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), and empirical findings from prior studies as antecedents, the related factors were adapted and integrated within the context of Internet shopping repurchase intentions and were tested in a field study. Empirical data for hypotheses testing were collected from the online virtual store of 7-ELEVEN in Taiwan, yielding 444 valid samples. The results show that online consumer repurchase intention is determined by satisfaction, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and Internet shopping self-efficacy. Satisfaction is influenced by perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, confirmation, and positive Internet shopping experience. Perceived usefulness, in turn, is influenced by behavior modeling, positive Internet shopping experience, Internet shopping self-efficacy, and confirmation. Confirmation is affected by positive Internet shopping experience and behavior modeling. In addition, confirmation has significant effects on perceived ease of use. Finally, positive Internet shopping experience appeared to have a significant impact on Internet shopping self-efficacy. From the empirical data, meaningful findings and conclusions are derived, and suggestions for future research are also discussed.