Is online-to-offline customer care support essential for consumer service?

Customer satisfaction is the main pillar for convenient and profitable retailing. The retail sector continuously tried to develop new strategies to improve consumer satisfaction. It is impossible to provide each service directly to the consumer by the retailer. In this direction, the retailer establishes customer care to provide the best service to consumers. Consumer care can provide promotional or prevention services, increasing the consumer's satisfaction level. This study is developed to show the impact of retailers' customer care service for an offline-to-online retailing strategy. The demand is consumer support, advertisement, and selling price dependent. For maintaining consumer service, some free home delivery policies are offered, when consumers ordered more than a certain percentage of the amount. Finally, the total profit of this O2O retailing system is calculated by the classical optimization technique. Some special cases are discussed in the numerical section to prove the impact of customer care services. Numerical results prove that customer care support enhances the profit by 48.20%, whereas investment in the advertisement and home delivery strategy helps the retail industry to earn 44.80% and 16.74% more profit, respectively. Finally, from this study, it is clear that customer care activities are essential to increase the profit of the retailing sector.     

Exploring the motivations to use online meal delivery platforms: Before and during quarantine

Online meal delivery platforms (OMDPs), like UberEats, have received more attention since quarantine was established to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The research into antecedents of satisfaction and continuous usage intention for OMDPs, in general, is under researched. The current study compared the antecedents of satisfaction before quarantine to the antecedents during quarantine through the lens of Expectation-Confirmation Theory. Through multiple regression analyses, the researchers found that before quarantine, sharing economy ethos, price-value, food quality, ease of use and confirmation of beliefs had a significant impact on satisfaction while during quarantine, food quality, service speed, ease of use, and confirmation of beliefs were significant. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.     

干旱区内陆河流域未利用地开发生态风险评价及预测*——以开都河流域为例

[目的]探析开都河流域在未利用地开发过程中生态风险指数的变化特征,为西北干旱区内陆河流域土地利用结构调整与生态保护修复协调发展提供建议。[方法]文章采用PSR模型构建基于14个指标框架的流域未利用地开发生态风险评价指标体系;通过测度综合生态风险指数法进行时空视角的特征变化与格局划分评价;并运用灰色预测模型前瞻性模糊预测该区域未来4年的生态风险变化态势。[结果]2009—2016年开都河流域未利用地开发生态风险整体呈波动上升趋势,生态风险程度由较低下降至低生态风险水平,随后上升至一般程度。这是因为土地开发利用对生态环境造成压力,但在政府相应生态保护政策的出台落实下又逐步缓解,生态系统结构和功能好转明显,抵御风险能力得以提升。预测结果显示2017—2020年开都河流域生态风险将由一般生态风险程度上升至较高程度,因此需要采取适当的管理措施来消减生态风险发生的可能性。[结论]开都河流域作为沙漠中典型的绿洲生态系统,生态环境较为脆弱,通过未利用地的差别化开发、鼓励零星分散的开发模式以及细分不同地类开发的生态补偿设置等方式路径,以期缓解降低干旱区内陆河流域未利用地开发带来的生态风险。     

Which Products are More Responsive to In-Store Displays: Utilitarian or Hedonic?

In-store displays aim to boost sales of both utilitarian and hedonic products. Noting typical differences in the information processing and purchase behavior evoked by these product types, and building on congruency theory principles, the authors propose that different types of in-store displays (i.e., island, end-of-aisle, or shelf signage) are more appropriate for utilitarian versus hedonic products, and the use of price or product promotions might reinforce these effects. With a database that combines three data sources (scanner, observational, and survey), this article presents an analysis of a market share model at the SKU level. The results confirm that in-store displays have differential effects on sales, depending on their characteristics; congruency between the decision-making process of utilitarian versus hedonic products and the characteristics of in-store display types moderates their effectiveness in terms of SKU sales. Shelf signage strongly increases the sales of utilitarian products, whereas island and end-of-aisle displays increase sales of hedonic product categories more effectively. The use of congruent promotions creates synergistic influences that reinforce these effects. In particular, price promotions improve the impact of shelf signage on utilitarian products, and product promotions strengthen the impacts of island and end-of-aisle displays on hedonic products. These results extend prior research on in-store marketing actions and the nature of utilitarian versus hedonic products, as well as providing recommendations for retailers and manufacturers seeking to optimize their retail space and commercial budgets.     

基于模糊多属性群决策的维护方式选择研究

维护方式选择是维护管理中的重要工作之一,合理的维护方式既能达到保障设备的稳定运行,又能同时兼顾其它各个方面的要求。由于对维护方式的评价涉及多个部门、人员和属性,有些指标只是一个模糊的概念,因而采用模糊多属性群决策的方法对维护方式进行优先抉择。本文结合A公司的设备维护方式选择问题,尝试使用模糊多属性群决策折衷算法求解最佳的维护方式。     

Differences in perceptions about food delivery apps between single-person and multi-person households

The growth in mobile communications is a significant reason attributed to the O2O commerce explosion in China. Mobile applications have seized this opportunity adapting it to restaurants and food delivery services, recognized as an alternative strategy to increase sales revenue and for consumers to conveniently receive products and services. This study was designed to specifically explore five salient quality attributes representing convenience, design, trustworthiness, price, and various food choices associated with food delivery apps in consideration of their impacts upon user-perceived value, attitudes and intention to continuously use. Results determined that user trustworthiness was the most important quality attribute of the food delivery app business. Additionally, this study found that single-person households placed most importance upon quality attributes for ‘various food choices,’ ‘price’ and ‘trustworthiness.’ Comparatively, multi-person households placed most importance upon ‘design,’ ‘convenience,’ and ‘trustworthiness.’ Managerial implications, limitations and recommendations for future research are provided.     

The influence of hospitable design and service on patient responses

ABSTRACT

A study of 216 respondents examined a medical center environment’s influence on patient responses. A stimulus–organism–response (S-O-R) model was adapted to the theory that more hospitable healthcare servicescape elements will affect patients’ overall satisfaction with healthcare experience, loyalty intentions, and willingness to pay out-of-pocket expenses for healthcare services. Servicescape elements included atmospherics of the healthcare environment, service delivery by healthcare staff, physical design of the healthcare environment, and wayfinding. Results of structural equation modeling confirmed that the four servicescape elements – had a significant impact on patients’ overall satisfaction with the healthcare experience. Furthermore, overall satisfaction with the healthcare experience predicted patients’ loyalty intentions and willingness to pay out-of-pocket expenses for healthcare services. The study makes a significant contribution to the empirical modeling of patients’ behavioral responses to hospitable healthcare environments.     

社会资本视角下棚户区改造PPP项目风险分析

为了降低棚改PPP项目中的风险,提高社会资本参与棚改PPP项目的积极性,以社会资本方为研究视角。通过文献回顾和案例分析,总结社会资本参与棚改PPP项目面临的主要问题,筛选出社会资本参与棚改PPP项目面临的17个主要风险因素;运用DEMATEL法分析各风险因素的重要程度及相互影响关系,确定政府信用风险、相关法律法规不健全风险、市场收益不足风险、规划设计风险为关键风险因素;针对关键风险因素提出社会资本方防范措施,即多举措并举、细化合同条款、合理界定棚改PPP项目使用者付费范围、选择实力强的设计院是防范社会资本的有力措施。研究结果为分析棚改PPP项目风险提供了新思路,有助于提高社会资本参与棚改项目的积极性,所提对策对社会资本合理规避棚改PPP项目关键风险具有重要的借鉴意义。