The effects of two directions of conflict and facilitation on frontline employees’ job outcomes

This study investigated the effects of two directions of conflict and facilitation simultaneously on job performance, job satisfaction, and affective organisational commitment based on data obtained from frontline hotel employees in Northern Cyprus. As expected, family–work conflict dimished job performance, while family–work facilitation enhanced job performance. Contrary to our prediction, conflict between work and family domains intensified job performance. The results of the path analysis revealed that work–family facilitation increased job satisfaction, while family–work facilitation triggered affective organisational commitment. The findings pertaining to the relationships between job performance, job satisfaction, and affective organisational commitment were in the hypothesised directions. Also, the results of the confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that the four-factor model that consisted of work–family conflict, family–work conflict, work–family facilitation, and family–work facilitation was superior compared with other models tested. Implications of the empirical findings and their future research directions are discussed in our study.     

How does the learning climate affect customer satisfaction?

This study investigates the role of the learning climate in the effective management of salespersons' behaviour in service encounters. This paper reports the development and testing of a two-level model in which salespersons' perceptions of the learning climate are related to their adaptive selling behaviour and their adaptive selling behaviour is, in turn, related to customers' evaluation of the salespersons' knowledge of customers and customer satisfaction. A total of 417 service encounters involving 88 bank consultants were analysed using hierarchical linear modelling, with results that support most of the proposed model. More specifically, learning climate was positively related to adaptive selling behaviour, and adaptive selling behaviour was directly related to customer satisfaction. In addition, adaptive selling behaviour was associated with customer satisfaction through customers' perception of the salesperson's knowledge. Both theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Effects of time pressure,type of shopping,and store attributes on consumers’ satisfaction with grocery shopping

The aim of this study is to investigate whether satisfaction with grocery stores is affected by type of grocery shopping in conjunction with time pressure, and which attributes are important for satisfaction. Fictitious grocery stores are constructed according to a fractional factorial design by varying access, price level, supply quality/range, and service quality. In an Internet survey, 1023 Swedish consumers rated satisfaction with major vs. fill-in shopping imagining they were under high or low time pressure. The results showed that satisfaction is higher for fill-in shopping than major shopping, that time pressure has no effect on satisfaction, and that price level, service quality, and product quality/range are more important for satisfaction with major shopping, whereas access is more important for satisfaction with fill-in shopping. It is also found that the importance of attributes for satisfaction depends on type of shopping more than on individual characteristics.     

Commitment,satisfaction, and customer loyalty: a theoretical explanation of the ‘satisfaction trap’

This paper examines the relationship between satisfaction and customer loyalty and the moderating effects of affective and calculative commitment. The results suggest that while customer loyalty increases monotonically with the enhancement of satisfaction, the marginal effect of satisfaction on customer loyalty actually decreases. Calculative commitment positively moderates the curvilinear relationship of satisfaction and customer loyalty, i.e. enhancing calculative commitment could intensify the relationship between satisfaction and customer loyalty. Affective commitment has no significant moderating effect on the relationship of satisfaction and customer loyalty, but it can directly enhance the customer loyalty. The research findings can help us to explain the phenomenon of the ‘satisfaction trap’.     

Corporate identity management in the banking sector: effects on employees’ identification,identity attractiveness,and job satisfaction

This paper analyzes the effects of corporate identity management (CIM) on employees’ responses. Specifically, it advances previous literature by exploring how CIM dimensions affect identity attractiveness, organizational identification, and job satisfaction from the employees’ perspective. The empirical study is aimed at 293 branch managers in the Spanish banking sector, an industry facing changes in the corporate identity of many financial entities. The results show the relative importance of each dimension and help brand managers to anticipate the effects of CIM practices. Of all the dimensions, it highlights the key role of the employee–client focus strategy.     

When do AI chatbots lead to higher customer satisfaction than human frontline employees in online shopping assistance? Considering product attribute type

The increasing adoption of AI chatbots in online shopping assistance, as a complement or substitute for human frontline employees (HFLEs), leads to the question whether HFLEs perform better than AI service robots and why. From the perspective of product attribute type (experiential/functional) and focusing on customer satisfaction, this study explores how the impact of service agent on customer satisfaction varies along with product attribute type. A scenario-based experiment was designed and completed by 567 participants. Although HFLEs lead to higher customer satisfaction when the product attribute is experiential, AI chatbots perform better than HFLEs when the product attribute is functional. We make use of perceived information quality, perceived waiting time, and positive emotions, three determinants of customer satisfaction, to explain the variation of the role of different service agent types. The findings offer useful implications for companies when selecting service agent types in online shopping assistance.     

Exploring store format development and its influence on store image and store clientele – the case of IKEA’s development of an inner-city store format

Abstract

A changed technological landscape and radically changed consumer behavior are forcing retailers to rethink their business models, retail formats, and retail offerings. The global retailer IKEA is no exception in this development. Recently, the traditional IKEA format, which has been so successfully duplicated across the world over the years, has been complemented with other formats that are new and innovative for IKEA. Based on an empirical investigation of consumer perceptions of the store format development in Hamburg-Altona, Germany, the present study explores format development and its influence on store image and clientele, considering also the purpose of visiting IKEA and how this seems to have changed with the introduction of the new format. We also discuss the core aspects of the IKEA formats, and the fact that although some things have changed, others have stayed the same to preserve the IKEA image.     

From ‘free’ to fee: Acceptability of airline ancillary fees and the effects on customer behavior

Businesses in various consumer service industries have begun to unbundle their service offerings by introducing numerous fees for products and services that were previously provided as “free.” Anecdotal evidence in the media indicates that these fees cause widespread public displeasure, frustration, and outrage. This paper develops a framework of fee acceptability, negative emotions, and dysfunctional customer behavior, which is tested using data from the airline industry. Findings identify the strongest effects on betrayal in the case of baggage fees, followed by charges for comfort. Also, betrayal has a direct effect on complaining, whereas anger mediates the relationship between betrayal and negative word of mouth.     

Do retail alliances enhance customer experience? Examining the relationship between alliance value and customer satisfaction with the alliance

Abstract

This article evaluates the role of customers in the alliance equation. Using a combination of survey and experimental data, we investigate the role of value offered by retail alliances on customer satisfaction with the alliance. We find that customer value plays a mediating role in the relationship between customer experience with the alliance and customer satisfaction with the alliance. Results also show that the nature of this relationship differs based on the type of value offered by the alliance. Cognitive processing plays a more significant role when the alliance is of a functional nature, while affect plays a more significant role when the retail alliance is of a hedonic nature.     

The effects of mobile promotions on customer purchase dynamics

While mobile promotions have become increasingly popular in recent years, limited research has examined the effects of mobile promotions over time. This research investigates the effects of two popular types of promotional offers, price discount and non-price free sample coupons, on purchase behavior. To this end, we present a dynamic model of customer purchase behavior that incorporates time-varying effects of mobile coupons, enabling us to investigate both the short-term and longer-term effects of mobile promotions. Using transaction and mobile promotion data, we find that both price discount and free sample coupons increase customers' purchase likelihood and expenditures during the coupon redemption period. We also find that free sample coupons have an enduring effect that increases the purchase propensity beyond the promotion period, thereby contributing to incremental purchases over a longer period of time. We demonstrate how our approach can help marketers improve mobile couponing decisions by considering the dynamic effects of mobile promotions that manifest over time.     

WHY do YOU care about me? The impact of retailers’ customer care activities on customer orientation perceptions and store patronage intentions

The present research conceptualizes customer care activities as the process through which retailers satisfy consumers' needs by means of a set of interconnected services and address the role of warmth and competence perceptions, as well as consumers' inferred motives, in determining the downstream effects of care management activities on consumers' perceptions and intentions. The results from two experiments show that the number and framing of customer care activities affect customer orientation perceptions (Study 1) and that their fit with the overall retailer's image and the level of professionalism required to carry them out affects store patronage intentions (Study 2).     

Examining the role of store design on consumers’ cross-sectional perceptions of retail brand loyalty

This paper compares new and established store design prototypes of the same retailer to examine the role of consumers’ cross-sectional perceptions of retail brand loyalty. In-store surveys were administered to capture consumers’ store-level perceptions towards a new store prototype and an older established prototype of the same fast fashion retailer. The data was subjected to multi-group analyzes with structural equations modeling. The findings suggest that store novelty and complexity promote both store design pleasure and retail brand loyalty outcomes. The different store designs do not, however, account for differences in brand loyalty perceptions at the overall retailer level when multi-group comparisons of both store designs are made. Consumers of newer store designs are found to possess a heightened sensitivity to price perceptions. Managerial implications of the effects of store novelty and complexity on retail brand loyalty are also presented.     

The role of national institutions in the effects of consumers’ perceived customer orientation and firm innovativeness

Many multinational corporations force global customer orientation and firm innovativeness. However, little is known about how or why they benefit from perceived customer orientation and firm innovativeness in one country but not in another. The authors fill this gap by referring to information processing and institutional theories. They contribute to research by analyzing the roles of country development and dimensions of national culture in the direct and indirect effects of perceived customer orientation through firm innovativeness on consumer product purchase intention across 53 countries. The results of multilevel structural equation modeling show different explained variances of the institutions and varying moderations for the differently strong effects of perceived customer orientation and firm innovativeness. Institutional theory strongly complements behavioral theorizing. The findings have direct implications for managers interested in understanding how perceived customer orientation and firm innovativeness interact and attract consumers in different country contexts.     

The effects of 2-tier store brands’ perceived quality,perceived value,brand knowledge,and attitude on store loyalty

This paper divides store brands into generic ones versus individual ones. Accordingly, two types of store brand loyalty are discussed, namely general versus individual brand loyalty. It also analyzes perceptions of 2-tier store brands in terms of perceived quality and value, and explores the respective effects of consumer knowledge and brand attitude on store loyalty. Results show that both low-priced and medium-priced store brands are able to build individual store brand loyalty and store loyalty among customers. Managerial implications are also provided.     

The moderation influence of warranty on customer satisfaction’s antecedents: an empirical evidence from automotive dealerships

The purpose of this article is to investigate the differential influence of product quality and service quality on customer satisfaction (CS) along with the interaction role of warranty presence in the context of automotive dealerships. Survey-based research methodology is adopted in which the population are the car owners who perform repair and maintenance jobs in authorized service centres. It is found that the warranty moderation role is supported wherein the relationship between service quality and CS is strengthened by the warranty presence, contrary to the insignificant relationship between product quality and CS influenced by the warranty moderator; besides, the empirical results provide an evidence that the CS value relies on metrics comprising operational measures for service quality and product quality. The outcome of this study contributes to sensitizing the decision makers from manufacturing and service disciplines to the interdependencies and the prerequisite for overall collaborative development. This study presents the first systematic approach that differentiates the influence of product quality and service quality on CS, wherein the warranty service is primarily introduced as a moderator affecting the antecedent relationship in the context of automotive dealerships.     

Influence of customer–firm relationships on customer participation in the service industry

Previous research has focused on relationship value and outcome as ‘consequence variables’ of customer participation (CP). This study examines customer–firm relationships as an ‘antecedent variable’ of CP. Early contact and relationships with customers build confidence in the service encounter and create customer trust, which leads to commitment and improves customer cooperation. Likewise, interaction and relationship building in the service encounter encourage active customer cooperation and participation in the later stages of interaction. This study analyzes the influence of relational antecedent factors affecting customer participation intention, examines the moderating effects of customer relationship proneness, and suggests some theoretical and practical implications.     

The effect of online scheduling on employees’ quality of life

Online employee scheduling has increased in popularity in recent years, especially among hourly workers who have grown up in the information age and the flexibility it provides increases their sense of job autonomy. This article reports on two studies that investigated the impact of work scheduling flexibility on employees’ personal well-being. One study collected data from current users of an online scheduling product and the other study collected information from hospitality management students who are potential future users of online scheduling software. The studies found that online scheduling helps to enhance employees’ personal well-being through satisfaction with schedule flexibility and job autonomy.     

Now what? Evaluating the sales effects of introducing an online store

This study creates a framework for evaluating the sales impact of adding an online channel to an existing network of physical stores. Using a unique database consisting of pooled customer data from a Swedish retailer's online and offline stores, it investigates the purchase behavior of customers before and after the introduction of an online channel. The data overcome a crucial obstacle present in previous studies in that they permit matching of individual-level customer data for both online and offline behavior. The results show significant and substantial effects of online channel introduction on customer acquisition as well as on cannibalization of physical stores.     

Impacts of product,store and retailer perceptions on consumers’ relationship to terroir store brand

This research shows that consumers’ relationship to terroir store brand, measured through attachment and two facets of brand loyalty (attitudinal and behavioral) is respectively influenced by their perceptions of the product, retailer and store. More specifically, the perceived authenticity of the products of the terroir store brand and its perceived value have a positive and significant influence on the attachment and behavioral loyalty of the regular buyers of this store brand and a positive and significant influence on the attachment of its occasional buyers. Trust in the retailer has a positive and significant impact on the behavioral loyalty of the regular buyers of this terroir store brand while perceived image of the store has only a positive and significant impact on the attitudinal loyalty of its occasional buyers.