The Role of Price in Consumer Quality Judgments for Professional Services

Abstract

Classifying services according to their level of search, experience and credence properties can help professional service providers better understand their customers. This research uses an experiment to study the influence of price information on consumer judgments of service quality and patronage intentions for professional services. The conceptual framework predicts that consumers believe in a price-quality relationship for search-based services but not necessarily for professional services that are high in credence properties. The study findings provide support for this proposition and suggest that professional service providers should carefully consider how consumers view their services when using price as a promotion tool.     

Evolving Relationship Marketing into a Discipline

Abstract

Relationship marketing is considered a paradigm change in both academic and practitioner literature. However, despite its popularity, relationship marketing has not yet evolved into becoming a discipline. The authors propose focus on eight areas to help relationship marketing evolve into a discipline. They compare the successful evolution of consumer behavior, services marketing and marketing strategy with the failure of international marketing, social marketing and business marketing as a discipline.     

欧美国家近年来市场营销模式及发展动态分析

近十几年来,欧美发达国家的一些大的制造商普遍出现了市场营销活动绩效下滑和受挫的征兆,使很多大公司的市场营销经理感到困惑,甚至对市扬营销的作用与效力产生了疑虑,从动态的角度着重考察了近10年来欧美发达国家的企业在市场营销的模式及其执行的发展动向,分析了引起这些变化的深层次原因,并对其变化趋势进行了预测。     

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.     

Pre-Production Relationship Marketing

Abstract

The benefits of relationship marketing and customer relationship management have been well documented in the marketing literature and in business practice. Relationship marketing instruments (RMIs) are specific methods that can help bring about those benefits. The authors describe a unique type of RMI, one that can be used prior to product or service production. Designed to market season tickets for new or remodeled professional football stadiums before the stadium is built, Permanent Seat Licensing has been used effectively over the past decade for nine National Football League teams. The authors propose that this type of pre-production RMI has possible application for marketers of other products and services .     

Factors of Forecasting:

This study investigates how forecasters view the forecasting process. Forecaster perceptions in industrial firms are found to be remarkably similar to those of forecasters in consumer products firms. Forecasters in service firms are found to be better satisfied overall with the forecasting process than forecasters in manufacturing firms. A factor analysis provides the basic factors of forecasting.     

Substance in Business-to-Business Relationships

ABSTRACT

The research explores the substance of business relationships within a technical consultancy industry–engineering. Relationships in the engineering industry are project based resulting in close and intense relationships during the project life but with low involvement relationships (if at all) between projects. A model of relationship substance was developed using SEM techniques. The results highlight the actor dimension of the relationships as being essential to overall project performance. Resources, such as knowledge, also played an important role in the relationship model.     

Branding Strategies of Born Globals

Born global companies have now been studied for a decade. However, little has been written specifically about the challenges facing born globals in their branding endeavours. This research examines the branding strategies of 30 Finnish small and medium-sized born globals. The experience, qualities and global orientation of the founder and the top management team are found important for the success of the born globals in their branding achievements. A key argument is that business-to-business and business-to-consumer born globals differ as to their branding strategies and approaches. The analysis reveals a major imperative; branding strategies are dynamic and depend on the globalisation degree.     

Effects of an External Consultant on JIT Implementation

ABSTRACT

The point of view of customers has been neglected by most of the relationship marketing literature. This paper, which draws on the Morgan and Hunt's commitment-trust theory (1994), proposes a model that explains the causal origins of relational commitment and highlights the role of trust as a central antecedent rather than other economic variables. In fact, consumer's trust in the firm's intentions and values turns out to be the most significant antecedent of a solid and lasting commitment. The model is tested for the relationship that customer develops with their usual garages.     

Relationship Strategy,Effectiveness, and Responsiveness in Services Marketing

Abstract

Relationship marketing has been recognized as a new paradigm in marketing. Although the practice of relationship marketing has expanded rapidly across the globe, most of the published researches in this area of study are based on data collected from North America or Europe. This research studies the relationship between relationship strategy, relationship effectiveness, and responsiveness to customer needs using data collected through the administration of the One-to-One Gap Tool (Peppers, Rogers, and Dorf 1999) in the Indian service sector. The results of statistical analysis using LISREL provide strong support for the positive relationship between relationship effectiveness and responsiveness to customer needs. The Organizational Activity of relationship strategy was also found to possess relationships consistent with theory. However, findings regarding the Informational Activity and the Operational Activity are less conclusive. Managerial implications and directions for future research in relationship marketing are discussed.     

Relationship intention and relationship quality as predictors of clothing retail customers’ loyalty

Retailers endeavour to establish and maintain strong relationships with customers in order to build customer loyalty. Unfortunately, such endeavours are not always successful as not all retail customers reciprocate retailers’ relationship efforts. Customers’ intentions to engage in relationships with retailers (i.e. relationship intentions) should thus be the starting point in building customer loyalty. Moreover, customers’ perceptions of the strength of their relationship with a retailer (i.e. relationship quality) should also be considered when building customer loyalty. The purpose of this study is to determine whether clothing retail customers’ relationship intentions and relationship quality, individually and in combination, predict their loyalty to clothing retailers. Data were collected from 511 respondents in South Africa’s greater Tshwane metropolitan area. From a hierarchical multiple regression analysis, it was found that clothing retail customers’ relationship intentions and relationship quality are individually, and in combination, predictors of their loyalty to the retailer. Results furthermore indicate that relationship quality mediates the relationship between relationship intention and customer loyalty. The findings highlight the importance of first determining customers’ relationship intentions, and then reinforcing positive perceptions of relationship quality when building customer loyalty.     

The Application of Stakeholder Theory to Relationship Marketing Strategy Development in a Non-profit Organization

Non-profit (NP) organizations present complex challenges in managing stakeholder relationships, particularly during times of environmental change. This places a premium on knowing which stakeholders really matter if an effective relationship marketing strategy is to be developed. This article presents the successful application of a model, which combines Mitchell’s theory of stakeholder saliency and Coviello’s framework of contemporary marketing practices in a leading NP organization in the U.K. A cooperative enquiry approach is used to explore stakeholder relationships, dominant marketing practices, and to surface differing perceptions about the organization’s marketing strategy. Resolving these differences sets the scene for developing choices in marketing strategy for the future. Simon Knox is Professor of Brand Marketing at the Cranfield School of Management in the UK and is a consultant to a number of multinational companies including Levi Strauss, DiverseyLever, BT and Exel. Upon graduating, he followed a career in the marketing of international brands with Unilever plc in a number of senior marketing roles in both detergents and foods. Since joining Cranfield, Simon has published over 100 papers and books on strategic marketing and branding and is a regular speaker at international conferences. He is a Director of the Cranfield Centre for Brand Management Development in the School and is currently looking at the impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Brand Management. He is the co-author of two recent books, "Competing on Value", published by FT Pitman Publishing in the UK, Germany, the USA and China, and "Creating a Company for Customers", FT Prentice-Hall, in the UK, Brazil and India. Colin Gruar is currently studying for his Doctorate of Business Administration at the School. His thesis is concerned with developing marketing strategy across stakeholder groups in the Not-for-Profit sector.Formerly Head of Marketing at a major UK medical research charity, Colin has also had senior roles in sales, marketing and operations management in a range of sectors including manufacturing, financial services and energy supply.     

The effect of customer empowerment on adherence to expert advice

Customers often receive expert advice related to their health, finances, taxes or legal procedures, to name just a few. A noble stance taken by some is that experts should empower customers to make their own decisions. In this article, we distinguish informational from decisional empowerment and study whether empowerment leads customers to adhere more or less to expert advice. We empirically test our model by using a unique dataset involving 11,735 respondents in 17 countries on four continents. In the context of consumer adherence to doctors' therapy advice (patient non-adherence to doctor advice may cost about $564 billion globally to the pharmaceutical industry every year), we find that decisional empowerment lowers adherence to expert advice. The effect of informational empowerment varies predictably across cultures and is only universally beneficial when initiated by the customer. These findings have important implications for professional service providers.     

国际营销的战略抉择

企业开展国际营销,首先必须解决国际营销的战略层面问题.本文就国际营销市场扩张模式、营销标准化与本土化、品牌战略模式的战略抉择问题进行了分析,并提出了战略抉择的建议.     

Relationship hindrance: why would consumers not want a relationship with a retailer?

Relationship marketing tactics, such as loyalty programs, company credit cards, and e-mail promotions, are becoming increasingly popular. Benefits offered to a consumer for engaging in relational exchanges include price decreases, special offers, personalized attention, and customized products. With such benefits, the assumption is that consumers will want to develop a relationship with an organization and be rewarded for their loyalty. However, consumers might patronize a retailer, be satisfied with the service and product delivery, and yet not want to develop a relationship with them. As such, the purpose of this study was to determine why seemingly satisfied customers do not want to engage in relationship marketing and loyalty enhancing programs with retailers.     

Firm-employee relationship strength—A conceptual model

This paper posits a model of firm-employee relationship strength that permits the future measurement of an index of the strength of intra-firm relationships between the firm and the employees of that firm. The relationship marketing literature currently provides no clear direction as to how to represent and measure the strength of firm-employee relationships. The proposed model emerges from an examination of previous marketing and non-marketing literature through exploration of possible concepts to represent measuring strong and productive work relationships, focusing on relationship strength as the construct of interest. The review of the literature on the concept of relationship strength results in the development of an index model of firm-employee relationship strength predicted by cooperation, balanced power, communication, attachment, shared goals and values, trust and the absence of damaging conflict. The article concludes with a list of contributions that the model provides to the relationship marketing literature, as well as suggestions for future research. This includes examination of the impact of the relationship that a firm has with employees on external firm relationships, most particularly with customers.     

Cross-Cultural Examination of Relationship Quality

ABSTRACT

This study of relationship quality contributes to the field of global industrial services marketing by examining relational and economic determinants and an outcome of relationship quality in a cross-cultural setting. The sample includes 202 buyers of industrial services from 42 countries. A conceptual model is proposed and tested using structural equation modeling. The study concludes that a buyer's expectation of continuity with a service provider is influenced more by relationship quality than by perceived economic value. Relationship quality, in turn, is impacted by perceived economic value, relationship bonds, and relationship investments. Results partially confirm the interpersonal predispositions of collectivist cultures. For example, buyers from collectivist cultures place significantly more emphasis on relationship investments than do buyers from individualist cultures. These findings have important implications for marketing theory and practice.