The Impact of Consumer Confidence on Store Satisfaction and Share of Wallet Formation

For retailer managers, it is crucial to understand the relationships between customers’ store attribute evaluations, satisfaction, and share of wallet as well as how these relationships change over time depending on the business cycle. This study investigates this complex relationship using an extensive dataset for all grocery chains in the Netherlands over the period 2009–2012. Our findings indicate that retailers should not overemphasize the importance of a favorable price image in times of low consumer confidence. Instead, our study shows that the relationship between service attributes and customer satisfaction is stronger in periods with low consumer confidence.     

Customer Satisfaction with E-Retailers: The Role of Product Type in the Relative Importance of Attributes

It is of strategic importance for e-retailers to allocate their resources to various service attributes according to their relative importance. How does one determine the relative importance of different service attributes? Does the relative importance of different service attributes remain the same across different product categories? These questions must be addressed by researchers and e-retailers. Since customer ratings for service attributes are highly correlated, modeling methods other than traditional regression models should be used to analyze the relative importance of service attributes to overall customer satisfaction. As such, this article utilizes neural networks in order to study the relative importance of e-retailer service attributes. Importantly, this article shows that the relative importance of e-retailer service attributes varies across different product categories (i.e., convenience, shopping, and specialty goods).     

Investigating the importance and cognitive satisfaction attributes of service quality in restaurant business - a case study of TASTy steakhouse in Taiwan

ABSTRACT

In this research, we proposed an effective approach to investigate the importance and satisfaction attributes of service quality of a restaurant business. For understanding the gaps of service quality cognition between consumers and servers, our work can be used as a reference for helping restaurants improve their service quality and reuse their resources effectively. We applied DINESERV scales and five-point Likert scales as quantitative research tools. The Kano model, customer satisfaction index, regression analysis, improvement effort index, and importance-performance analysis (IPA) were applied as measurement tools to examine the importance of various service attributes. Our approach was implemented in a famous restaurant in Taiwan: TASTy Steakhouse. The relative priority of service quality attributes for improving this chain restaurant and its competitiveness are ranked and discussed.     

Exploring customers’ store loyalty using the means-end chain approach

The study is aimed at revealing the relationships in terms of customer store loyalty by using means-end chains (MEC) analysis, in order to examine the linkages between department stores’ service attributes, involvement, satisfaction and loyalty each of which the customer regards as important. In the study, customer involvement, satisfaction and service quality are connotations that are strongly linked with the customer store loyalty, with service quality being the element to which the platinum tier customers attach the most importance. Data are gathered for a MEC analysis by interviewing 34 platinum tier customers of department stores individually. The results reveal that platinum tier customers are department store customers with a relatively high degree of involvement which is likely to have a positive impact on both core and peripheral service quality, satisfaction toward store loyalty. Although there are numerous studies in the literature that use the means-end chain model to examine customer value within the realm of consumer behavior, few studies discuss platinum tier customers’ store loyalty which is a phenomenon currently receiving a great deal of interest. In contrast to prior research, three connotations are integrated in the study to represent the content and structure of stores’ loyalty attributes for MEC analysis which can offer a different perspective and better understanding for developing highly targeted marketing strategies.     

A Customer Oriented Approach to Managing Noncommercial Foodservice Operations

Abstract

Means-end theory is used to develop a framework to investigate consumer perceptions of value and satisfaction. The research objective of the study was to assess the impact of product performance and service design on customer perceptions of value and satisfaction. The study was conducted in a non-commercial foodservice setting. The augmented product was decomposed into its core, peripheral, and service delivery components. The results indicated a strong influence of food quality on customer perceptions of value and satisfaction. In addition, strong associations between the food quality and supporting product elements were found. Implications for product design and management were discussed.     

Hospice Informal Caregivers' Perception of a Good Death Experience: A SERVQUAL Analysis

ABSTRACT

This research study explores hospice informal caregivers' perceptions of service quality and a good death experience during end-of-life care. It demonstrates how service dimensions of the SERVQUAL analysis affect overall customer satisfaction. This study addresses contrast and dissonance theory as relative to marginal gaps in actual service performance and the effect on overall customer satisfaction. The research indicated that while reliability was the core of the service outcome, peripheral variables (e.g., assurance, empathy, responsiveness, and tangibility) integrated emotions and feelings into the hospice service process that equated to a positive disconfirmation of expectations and a good death experience.     

New financial service development for banks in Taiwan based on customer needs and expectations

The purpose of this study aims to employ an analytic approach to analyze efficient managerial strategies for advancing new service development (NSD) by involving viewpoints of customer needs and expectations within a financial service context. This paper uses a sample of potential banks' credit card applications, customers' preferences and satisfaction ratings, and new credit card service data with the applications of both analytic hierarchy process and VlseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje to analyze customer satisfactions and preferences simultaneously. Then, it applies the importance–performance analysis technique to diagnose managerial strategies for reducing the customer gaps between customer perceptions and expectations. The study emphasizes the importance of analyzing customer preferences and reducing gaps between customer satisfactions of perceptions and expectations to ensure NSD success.     

Understanding organization-customer links in a service setting in Russia

This study examines the effect of management commitment to service quality on customer satisfaction through the mediating links of service climate and core and relational service performance in a high-power distance culture. Data were collected using a survey distributed to the FLEs and customers of branches of a Russian retail bank. Study findings demonstrate that branch service climate mediates the management commitment to service quality – service performance relationship and that this indirect effect is stronger on core service performance relative to relational service performance. Contrary to expectations, our findings demonstrate the importance of relational service performance relative to core service performance as a mediator of the branch service climate – branch customer satisfaction relationship. Implications of these novel findings and future research directions are discussed.     

Cross-buying evaluations in the retail banking industry

Is a customer’s past purchase experience of traditional banking products applicable to the continuing purchase of insurance and investment products at a bank branch? Are service attributes used with similar extensions evaluated differently from when used with dissimilar extensions? In response to these questions, this study develops and examines a framework of service attributes (e.g., locational and one-stop shopping convenience, functional and technical service quality, and firm reputation and size) having positive effects on cross-buying. Meanwhile, this study also examines the mediating roles of satisfaction and trust on the relationship between services attributes and cross-buying. Our results indicate that the relative importance of locational convenience and functional service quality is likely to decline, while the relative importance of one-stop shopping convenience and firm size is likely to increase as category dissimilarity increases. Technical service quality and firm reputation only have indirect effects on cross-buying dissimilar product categories through trust. Instead, satisfaction plays the mediating role for cross-buying similar product categories. Our findings reinforce the view that the relative effects of service attributes, satisfaction and trust on cross-buying vary under different category similarity conditions.     

Client Perceptions of the Customer Orientation of Advertising Agencies

Abstract

A national random sample of advertisers evaluated the customer orientation of their advertising agencies. The respondents also rated the importance of various agency attributes for agency selection, as well as their level of satisfaction with the performance of their current advertising agencies. Client perceptions of the customer orientation of advertising agencies was found to be significantly related to clients' satisfaction with agency performance. The importance of customer oriented selling behaviors by advertising agencies are discussed.     

Relative importance and combined effects of attributes on customer satisfaction

Customer satisfaction with a service experience is often determined by several critical attributes. Prior studies have suggested that food, physical environment, and employee service impose an important effect on diners' satisfaction with restaurant services. Although much research has looked at the direct effect of these attributes individually, little is known about them when they are considered together. This study investigates the relative importance and combined effects of the determinants of customer satisfaction in China's hospitality industry. The results show that food taste, employee service, and physical environment (in that order) all significantly contribute to diners' satisfaction, and that one attribute may substitute for another attribute in the satisfaction formation process. Generally, humanic attributes (employee service) can effectively substitute for less humanic attributes (physical environment).     

A Comparative Analysis of the Relative Importance of Service Quality for Two UK Grocery Retailers

This article identifies the relative importance of service quality across two grocery store formats. Research to date, indicates that within the grocery sector, customers expect value for money in terms of product quality, nutritional value and service quality. If these attributes are met in relation to the customers' perceived risk, it is more likely that customer satisfaction and retention will occur. In difficult competitive, social and economic circumstances, some sources indicate that there will be a trading down in customer shopping habits, with more customers expecting higher levels of service provision across a wider range of store formats, including the discounters. This study examines the relative importance of service quality for a quality-led retailer, compared to a discounter. Quantitative and qualitative research was carried out to obtain both a demand and supply–side perspective. Research findings demonstrate that despite the fact that consumer expectations are rising in relation to the overall shopping experience, distinctions in relation to customers' expectations between the levels of service provided across quality-led stores, compared to discounters, is still evident.     

Service quality dimensions and superior customer perceived value in retail banks: An empirical study on Mexican consumers

This study concerns the service quality topic in the retail bank sector. A sample of 209 retail bank clients was taken, measuring the performance of service quality attributes of their principle retail bank. Behavioral performance variables such as satisfaction, loyalty and customer perceived value were also measured. In a factor analyses the attributes were separated into three factors. These three independent factors explain a considerable amount of variability of a satisfaction–loyalty factor. On the other hand, they could not explain the superior perceived value; and no differences between the service quality performances of the bank brands were found. In conclusion, regardless of the degree of satisfaction and loyalty, the customer is not willing to pay more for banking services at his regular bank than he would at other brands. This implies that superior perceived value is not being achieved via service quality, which suggests a lack of differentiation between brands in this sector.     

Competitiveness vis-à-vis service quality as drivers of customer loyalty mediated by perceptions of regulation and stability in steady and volatile markets

The purpose of this research is to investigate predictors of customer loyalty in order to identify alternatives to customer satisfaction with service quality, which has been traditionally accepted as the primary predictor of customer loyalty, particularly for services. A stratified sample of bank customers was surveyed to collect information on customer perceptions and behaviors in relation to satisfaction with service quality, competitiveness, risk, regulation, stability and loyalty. Partial least squares path modelling (PLSPM) was applied to develop loyalty models for a steady market (Australia) and a volatile market (Greece). This study's empirical findings support theoretical arguments for the inclusion of customer perceptions of competitiveness in loyalty modelling. Perceptions of regulation and stability intervene in the relationship between drivers of loyalty and loyalty itself. For bankers, the study emphasizes the need to move away from customer satisfaction with service quality to explain customer loyalty, towards focusing efforts on achieving relative superiority in competitiveness, namely competitive productivity and products. Profiling customers based on their perceptions of a bank's competitiveness can provide additional explanatory power beyond traditional satisfaction based loyalty models. Services marketing has focused on the service components, and there is no doubt about its crucial role. But given this focus, other factors, such as the actual product component, have been somewhat overlooked in services research. The study makes a unique contribution to understanding and modelling customer loyalty by demonstrating the importance of the inclusion of customer perceptions of other factors as appropriate to market conditions.     

The effects of service quality,perceived value and trust in home delivery service personnel on customer satisfaction: Evidence from a developing country

The rapid growth of online purchasing in recent years has emphasized the accompanying role of home delivery service provided by delivery personnel in ensuring customer satisfaction. On-time delivery, better service, generating positive customer perceived value, and trust towards service providers are influential factors that contribute to customer satisfaction. The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of service quality of home delivery personnel and perceived value on customer satisfaction, with trust playing an intervening role. It was conducted in Dhaka, Bangladesh, a less developed country with a new but rapidly growing digital sector. Data was collected from 259 respondents who received home delivery service, using a structured questionnaire. The conceptual model was analysed using partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS tool. The findings revealed that service quality, customer perceived value, and trust influenced customer satisfaction. The relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction and the relationship between customer perceived value and satisfaction were both partially mediated by trust. The findings contribute to the development and validation of a trust-based satisfaction model by extending the SERVQUAL model to incorporate perceived value in the presence of trust, while complying with expectation disconfirmation theory This study provides insights for managers to develop reliability and build trust in their service delivery personnel.     

Core service versus relational benefits: what matters most?

Services literature has extensively examined the effects of core service and relational benefits on behavioral outcomes arguing that both components, studied separately, contribute significantly to customer satisfaction and loyalty. However, an integrative examination of the relative importance of both core service and relational benefits is missing. This study examines the combined impact of an extended typology of core service and relational benefits on satisfaction and relational outcomes. One qualitative and one quantitative study are conducted within a banking context. Findings confirm a more extensive typology of relational benefits and reveal that competence (part of the trust benefit) and convenience significantly affect satisfaction; however, when core service is introduced to the model, the effect of relational benefits ceases to be significant. Several future research opportunities for an integrated service benefits approach are identified; and implications for managers on how to allocate their efforts across the various types of service benefits are discussed.     

A New Look at the Antecedents and Consequences of Relationship Quality in the Hotel Service Environment

Abstract

As economic conditions improve, hotels are investing in new ways to improve service quality and perceived value that hopefully will lead to better customer satisfaction and loyalty. This study took a new look, with newly developed scales, at the antecedents and consequences of relationship quality in the hotel service environment to shed new light on the factors hotels have to deal with to achieve their objective of satisfied and loyal customers. Using a structural equation model, it was determined that the tangible and intangible factors of perceived value, timeliness, and hotel facilities are antecedents of hotel quality. Hotel quality, subsequently, is a determinant of both customer satisfaction and loyalty. However, consistent with previous research, customer satisfaction is not a guarantee of customer loyalty.     

Exploring the relationship between individual values and the customer orientation of front-line employees

Abstract

Because of the nature of services, namely the inseparability of production and consumption, employee behaviours influence customer perceptions of service quality and satisfaction with the service provider. In particular, customer-oriented employees seek to help customers by addressing their needs, and this contributes to the building of customer satisfaction and the development of a relationship. Not surprisingly, research has been investigating the drivers of employees’ customer orientation. This paper examines how individual values influence the customer orientation of front-line service employees, a topic that has been unexplored in extant literature, and this is useful for the selection of employees who match the firm’s service strategy. To accomplish this, the study relies on the Schwartz value theory, which is applied to front-line employees in banking. The findings indicate that both resultant conservation and resultant self-enhancement affect the customer orientation of employees, and that these effects are moderated by job satisfaction and autonomy.     

Exploring the relationship of perceived automotive salesperson attributes, customer satisfaction and intentions to automotive service department patronage: The moderating role of customer gender

This study examines the relationship of perceived automotive salesperson attributes and customer satisfaction behavior in the purchase experience leading to the patronage of a service department in an automotive dealership. Logistic regression analyses indicate that gender moderates the relationship of the perceived salesperson attributes and customer satisfaction as well as intentions for service department patronage. The model distinguishes users from non-users of the service department and does this better for females than for males. Finally, the paper concludes with a discussion of the managerial implications and directions for future research.     

Differences in Customers’ Online Service Satisfaction Across Cultures: The Role of Thinking Style

ABSTRACT

Online retailers constantly strive to improve customer satisfaction. However, satisfaction levels can vary significantly across cultures when customers experience mixed quality services, that is, services with a mixture of high and low quality service attributes. Based on two studies, we find that Westerners (e.g., European Americans) react more negatively than East Asians (e.g., Chinese) toward mixed quality online services. Our findings show that due to differences in thinking style, Westerners (analytic thinkers) are more likely to focus on negative service attributes than East Asians (holistic thinkers), who tend to consider the amalgam of high and low quality service attributes as an integrated whole when forming their overall perceptions and levels of satisfaction. Moreover, the results suggest that for online retailers marketing across cultures, providing superior quality on each individual service attribute may be more important to achieving satisfaction for customers from Western rather than Eastern cultures.