Determinants of economic and social satisfaction in manufacturer-distributor relationships

The aim of this work is to examine the dimensions of satisfaction in manufacturer-distributor relationships as well as identifying the antecedents of both the economic and the non-economic dimensions of satisfaction. A literature review about satisfaction in marketing channels is followed by quantitative research into how this interchange process is perceived by food product distributors in their relationships with manufacturers. The results provide strong support for the impact of communication, trust and commitment on satisfaction, as well as the interrelationships among the economic and the non-economic dimensions of satisfaction. Theoretical and managerial implications are extracted from these findings.     

The Language Backfire Effect: How Frontline Employees Decrease Customer Satisfaction through Language Use

Extant marketing research holds that customers prefer frontline personnel to speak the customers’ first language. Furthermore, current managerial practices instruct frontline employees to either use the customers’ first language or, in international settings, to use English. Through five studies in different retail and service contexts, we identify situations where the opposite is true. The results of the first two studies suggest that if customers initiate contact in a second language, the frontline employee’s switch to the customer’s first language constitutes an identity threat leading customers to feel less satisfied; an effect we term the language backfire effect. Our third study extends these results to a domestic context to test for the impact of linguistic acculturation on how immigrant customers perceive frontline employees’ language switch. The fourth study replicates the findings in a real-life retail context. These results present a paradox for marketing research: although frontline employees switch to customers’ first language to accommodate them, these actions might not have the desired consequences. Having identified and described the problem of the language backfire effect, our final study introduces and verifies a managerially actionable solution: combining the language switch with a language proficiency compliment offsets the language backfire effect.     

大学生工作搜寻的“摘麦穗”效应——风险容忍视角下的大学生就业满意度分析

基于299份来自广东、江西、安徽和上海等地高校部分2014-2016年毕业大学生的问卷调查数据,利用SPSS19.0软件进行cox半参数模型回归和调节效应检验。结果表明,大学生工作搜寻就如同"摘麦穗",一是工作搜寻时间的影响因素是多样的,人际交往能力更强的大学生,在资本充足的基础下,为追求下一份更好的工作,会选择延长搜寻时间。本省外市、外倾性更强、情绪更不稳定、应聘能力更强的大学生,因其高水平的表现能力,或迫切期望实现就业的心态,而选择早早定下工作岗位。二是工作搜寻在风险容忍影响就业满意度中存在调节效应。具体地,不同群体中,工作搜寻所发挥的调节效应有所不同。在低风险容忍群组中,随着工作搜寻时间的延长,风险容忍较高的大学生所表现出的就业满意度越低。而高风险容忍群组中,工作搜寻的调节效应没有通过显著性检验。     

Retail Store Loyalty Management via an Analysis of Heterogeneity of the Service Elements

This paper follows a line of research opened up by a series of authors who use a marketing approach for the study of retail service productivity. Without departing from the line of reasoning established by these authors, the main purpose of this paper is to detect possible differences in marketing productivity within and between different types of retailing services, using a research model that includes both the firm's effort and that of the customer. The two services selected for this purpose are grocery outlets and petrol stations.     

More communication is not always better? The interplay between effective communication and interpersonal conflict in influencing satisfaction

Effective communication on a personal level plays an important role in developing a long-term buyer–seller relationship, but the process of interpersonal communication may be conflictual. Drawing on the interaction approach, the present study investigates the interplay between effective communication and interpersonal conflict in influencing satisfaction and argues that a high level of effective communication not only diminishes the negative impact of relationship conflict on satisfaction, but also suppresses the positive impact of task conflict on satisfaction. Surveying data from 298 procurement professionals revealed that as the level of effective communication increases, the negative impacts of relationship conflict on satisfaction decrease, but the positive impacts of task conflict on satisfaction also decrease. Therefore, effective communication is found to be beneficial for improving purchasers' perceived satisfaction, but the timing of the task conflict, along with the low levels of relationship conflict, is a critical factor to affect the efficiency of effective communication.     

When Out-of-Stock Products DO Backfire: Managing Disclosure Time and Justification Wording

We investigate how stock-outs influence decision satisfaction and repatronage intentions for online purchase situations and how these responses vary with disclosure time and justification wording. We manipulate the disclosure time of the products’ unavailability (ex ante vs. ex post) and the justification given to consumers (firm-related vs. firm-unrelated). We find that, overall, stock-outs produce negative reactions, but that the main effects of timing and wording can sum up: ex ante, firm-related communication effectively offsets the damage caused by stock-outs. Retailers should employ real-time tracking to promptly inform consumers of product availability, and accept the responsibility for any outages.     

患者满意度调查对医院管理的作用

目的通过住院患者对医护人员服务态度、医疗护理质量、住院环境、是否存在滥收费现象及心理指导的满意度调查,研究患者满意度调查对医院管理的作用。方法对2009年1～2月与11～12月接受满意度调查的住院患者进行回顾性分析。结果患者满意度调查开展前后,实验组医护人员操作、医护人员服务态度、病区环境、是否存在滥收费及心理指导等方面内容评分均高于对照组,两组比较差异有统计学意义(P<0.05);且实验组投诉率较低。结论患者满意度调查可以提高患者对医院的满意度,降低投诉率,及时发现工作中存在的问题。医院应注意提高医护人员的操作及服务态度,杜绝滥收费现象,并定期对患者进行心理指导,加强患者对医院的信任,利于医院的管理。     

新就业大学生员工离职动因及其管理之浅见

如何降低新就业大学生员工的主动离职率,是那些接受大量大学生就业,处于高速发展阶段的高新技术企业迫切需要解决的问题。本文通过分析新就业大学生员工的群体特征,结合国内外离职动因理论,探讨了新就业大学生员工离职率居高不下的主要动因,并提出了有针对性的离职管理方略。     

How quality, value, image, and satisfaction create loyalty at a Chinese telecom

This study proposes and tests an integrative model to examine the relations among service quality, value, image, satisfaction, and loyalty in China. Analysis of survey data from 118 customers of a Chinese mobile communications company reveals that service quality directly influences both perceived value and image perceptions, that value and image influence satisfaction, that corporate image influences value, and that both customer satisfaction and value are significant determinants of loyalty. Thus, value has both a direct and indirect (through satisfaction) impact on customer loyalty. Other variables mediate the impact of both service quality and corporate image on customer loyalty.     

Service recommendations and customer evaluations in the international marketplace: Cultural and situational contingencies

As the international service market continues its phenomenal growth, understanding the nature of effective interpersonal interactions between service providers and their customers is increasingly important. However, cross-national theory and research on this topic remain limited. In response, the following study employs data from China and the United States to test whether the cultural congruency of benefits emphasized by the service provider interacts with the customer's value orientation and/or consumption objective to affect evaluations of service quality. Results indicate that the cultural congruency of provider recommendations affects evaluations. Preliminary evidence also suggests that this effect is moderated by consumption objective.