Effects of web site characteristics on customer loyalty in B2B e-commerce: evidence from Taiwan

This study proposes a model to explain how web site characteristics influence customer e-loyalty and positive word-of-mouth (WOM) via relationship quality (trust, satisfaction, and commitment) in business-to-business e-commerce. Three hundred and twelve online services users of the Market Intelligence Center in Taiwan were recruited and structural equation modeling was used to test the research hypotheses. The result indicates that web site characteristics positively influence relationship quality. A follow-up post-analysis showed how five dimensions of the web site characteristics impacted relationship quality. In addition, both trust and satisfaction have a positive direct effect on e-loyalty, but not on positive WOM. Finally, theoretical and managerial implications of the findings were discussed.     

Loyalty in the Business-to-Business Service Context: A Literature Review and Proposed Framework

Loyalty has been named as one of the greatest competitive advantages for companies operating under high competition conditions. However, different authors look at this concept from different views and take different factors into account. This article consolidates academic research on loyalty in business services. The determinants of loyalty are identified and the development of loyalty as a process is investigated. These findings, together with the relationship development process and the possible influence of culture, are integrated into the resulting research framework. This framework suggests that relationship quality, comprising trust, satisfaction, and commitment, is a mediator of the loyalty development process. Furthermore, it suggests that these mediators, determining the transition from one stage to the other, are influenced by different antecedents. Finally, managerial recommendations and directions for future research are provided.     

汽车服务业服务质量、顾客满意度与顾客忠诚度的实证分析

为了探讨汽车服务行业服务质量、顾客满意度与顾客认知、情感、意向、行为等四类忠诚度之间的关系,我们对广东省7家汽车4S店进行实证调查,结果发现:服务质量对顾客的认知、情感和意向忠诚度有直接的影响;顾客满意度对顾客四类忠诚度都有直接的影响,且顾客满意度对态度忠诚的影响大于其对行为忠诚的影响;在顾客四类忠诚度中,对顾客行为忠诚有直接影响的是认知忠诚和意向忠诚,其中意向忠诚的影响程度较大。     

Customer Retention Strategies of Fast-Food Outlets in South Africa: A Focus on Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Nando's,and Steers

The primary aim of the research was to critically analyze and evaluate the different customer retention strategies being implemented by fast-food outlets such as Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Nando's, and Steers in South Africa. The fast-food industry in South Africa is experiencing numerous market-related changes, which range from intense globalization forces to heightening competition levels. The pressure on businesses today is further increased by a market where the customer acquisition rate is slowing, customer loyalty is decreasing, and sales cycles are lengthening. In such an environment, losing a valuable customer to a competitor can have a significant impact on profitability and growth. As a result, many companies have shifted their focus from customer acquisition to customer retention. The research was primarily concerned with assessing customer relationship management, relationship marketing, and communication through technology as strategies to maintain intimate relationships with customers. Personal interviews and in-depth interviews with the help of questionnaires were used to collect primary data in the research. The results indicated that KFC, Nando's, and Steers adopt similar marketing strategies or use the same concepts to manage their relationships with both internal and external customers and other stakeholders. These strategies and concepts include customer relationship management, relationship marketing, and technological means of communication.     

The interrelationships among service quality,customer satisfaction,and customer loyalty: Examination of the fast-food industry

The purpose of this study was to use customers’ perspectives to develop a conceptual model for improving service quality and enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty. The 197 samples were selected from customers of leading fast food franchise enterprises in Taiwan. The research results indicate that service quality positively influences customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Service quality positively influences customer loyalty through customer satisfaction. The research findings indicate that managers need to ensure they have efficient service quality to enhance customer satisfaction and customer loyalty levels.     

An integrative approach to relationship marketing,customer value,and customer outcomes in the retail banking industry: a customer-based perspective from Turkey

Given how important it is to provide superior value to customers and to maintain customer loyalty for a sustainable competitive advantage, the aim of this paper is to examine the relationships among relationship marketing components of – trust, competency, commitment, communication, and conflict handling, – relationship investment, relationship quality, perceived customer value, satisfaction and loyalty in an integrated framework in the Turkish retail banking industry. Unlike previous studies, this research extends the literature by analysing affective as well as cognitive dimensions in the same model with a holistic view by simultaneously examining the direct and indirect effects of the related concepts. The distinctive nature of this study is its evaluation of customer satisfaction and loyalty from the perspective of actual consumers. The research model was tested using data collected from 685 retail banking customers by applying structural equation modelling. The findings show that relationship marketing induces loyalty through relationship quality, customer value, and satisfaction, which are mainly provided by trust, communication, and relationship investment. Furthermore, relationship investment and relationship quality are the most important factors in the development of customer value, satisfaction, and loyalty. The emotional value dimension, which captures the affective aspects of perceived value, has the strongest effect on both satisfaction and loyalty.     

顾客抱怨的关系机理与营销对策

顾客抱怨是一部分或全部由于购买商品或服务而感到的满意引起的顾客的一系列多重反应,它是顾客不满意的信号,也是顾客即将流失的征兆。如果企业能够妥善处理顾客抱怨,顾客将更加忠诚;而如果企业对顾客抱怨没有处理或处理欠妥,顾客将加速流失。全面分析顾客抱怨的内涵与作用,通过建构顾客抱怨关系机理模型深入分析顾客抱怨的关系机理,并据此进一步为企业提出妥善处理顾客抱怨的策略选择。     

物流服务质量影响因素与顾客忠诚度

物流服务是现代服务业的一个重要组成部分,物流服务质量对提升企业竞争力具有重大影响。影响物流服务质量的因素主要有信息能力、配送能力、售前售后服务能力、匹配能力和创新能力。其中,售前售后服务能力、信息能力、配送能力对物流顾客感知满意度的影响具有显著性,匹配能力和创新能力对顾客感知满意度的影响较为显著。顾客感知满意度显著影响顾客的忠诚度,并且两者之间存在较大的路径系数。     

Does the length of a customer–provider relationship really matter?

This study examines both a moderator and a mediator of perceived service quality and payment equity as they relate to customer loyalty in the banking industry. Through the moderating factor, the length of the customer–bank relationship, this study builds a conceptual framework for distinguishing between transactional- and relationship-oriented customers and provides an empirical analysis by using structural equation modelling. The empirical findings of this study, the result of the examination of 610 banking customers, showed that different lengths of the customer–bank relationship form loyalty from different variables and from a different path. For transactional-oriented customers, loyalty was built through the achievement of overall customer satisfaction; whereas for relationship-oriented customers, loyalty was built through the establishment of trust. Suggestions and limitations based on the finding are also discussed.     

商业友谊对关系品质和顾客忠诚的影响之研究

过去友谊的探讨只停留在社会性方面,很少论及它在商业活动中的经济性交换特性,所以相关理论未推广至商业环境,因此,顾客在消费过程中与服务人员建立的朋友关系即商业友谊的探讨将有助于弥补和完善这一缺口和理论。本文将对商业友谊这一重要的营销关系进行探讨,并通过以美容院为研究对象的实证研究,分析它与关系品质和顾客忠诚的影响,揭示商业友谊对服务性企业的重要性。     

基于服务公平性的顾客满意感与忠诚感关系—面向武汉酒店业的实证研究

在高度竞争的市场环境中,赢得顾客并与顾客维持长久关系是非常重要的,而这种长久关系的建立在很大程度上是以顾客满意为基础的。因此,如何提高顾客满意度、培育和维系忠诚的顾客群体是现代企业生存和发展亟待解决的重要课题。本论文提出了一个包含服务公平性、顾客感知质量、顾客感知价值、顾客满意感和顾客忠诚感概念模型及18项相关研究假设,并在武汉市20家酒店展开了问卷调查．最后采用规范的、科学的实证研究方法对此概念模型和研究假设进行了检验。     

顾客忠诚及其有效性研究回顾与展望

顾客忠诚是顾客关系管理的重要指标之一,自20世纪40年代起,企业与学术界不断探寻提高顾客忠诚的管理方法,但顾客忠诚的有效性至今尚有很大争议。文章在系统梳理国内外文献的基础上,对顾客忠诚的内涵、顾客忠诚管理有效性、顾客忠诚与赢利性的关系等研究进行了评析,并提出了顾客忠诚与赢利性关系研究的未来展望。     

Increasing hotel customer value through service quality cues in Taiwan

The purpose of this paper is to elucidate how service quality cues and customer value are related, and explores the internal composition of this relationship. Samples were collected using a questionnaire, which had assessed the quality of the researcher's measurement efforts by investigating reliability and validity. Functional value is found to be affected mainly by reliable cues and accuracy of service quality, whereas conditional value is influenced by responsiveness of service quality. Furthermore, emotional value is found to be affected mainly by empathy of service quality, whereas social value is influenced by tangible cues of service quality. Finally, epistemic value is affected by responsiveness service quality. For future research, other external cues may influence perception of customer value with extrinsic information should be discussed. In practice, hotel managers can hone the relevant cues and optimise investments to raise service quality. Finally, this study provides a new shape of ‘structural’ relationships among five service quality cues and five types of customer value.     

零售商品牌资产管理策略体系构建——基于多维理论视角的探讨

零售商品牌资产的管理和创建是零售企业获取持续竞争优势的关键,但关于零售商品牌资产管理策略的理论指导并不系统和丰富。因此,本文从零售商品牌营销管理、顾客情绪管理、顾客体验管理、顾客关系管理、顾客忠诚管理5个多维理论视角,对零售商品牌资产管理的策略体系进行了构建,以期为零售商品牌资产的创建过程和途径提供丰富的管理视野与思路。     

Integrating internal customer orientation,internal service quality,and customer orientation in the banking sector: an empirical study

The purpose of this paper is to examine the interrelationships between internal customer orientation (ICO), internal service quality (ISQ), and customer orientation (CO) to develop and test a conceptual model of the antecedents of CO in the banking sector. The conceptual framework consists of the following constructs: ICO, interdepartmental conflict, interdepartmental connectedness, ISQ, job satisfaction, empowerment, and CO. Moreover, 10 hypotheses were developed and tested using a sample of 202 banks. Reliability analysis and confirmatory factor analysis have been used to test the validity of the constructs, while the structural equation modelling has been used in hypotheses testing. The strength of the relationship between the constructs indicates that features of the suggested CO model including interdepartmental connectedness, interdepartmental conflict, job satisfaction, and empowerment are crucial to achieving business performance and CO. The results which emerged from our hypothesised model were found to support that ICO leads to ISQ and in turn CO. In particular, all variables show strong support for our hypothesised model, however, interdepartmental conflict was found to be a negative indicator. Findings suggest that the CO model can be deployed as a means of enhancing organisational behaviour to improve business performance.     

Relationships and impacts of service quality,perceived value,customer satisfaction,and image: an empirical study

In today's world of intense competition, satisfying customers is only the base line and may not be sufficient for survival. Management should focus on gaining customer loyalty by enhancing customer perceptions of service quality and increasing as perceived by the consumer value. Although previous studies have addressed the importance of service quality, satisfaction, perceived value, and image, the precise nature of the relationships that exist between these constructs and the understanding of their effect on customer behaviour still remains a key issue. This empirical study seeks to understand the relationships that exist between service quality and perceived value and how they impact customer satisfaction, corporate image, and behavioural intentions. The proposed model indicates that delivering high quality service and creating superior customer value can result in achieve high customer satisfaction, thus effecting the firm's corporate image, and ultimately leading to consumer retention.     

我国商业银行一线网点服务质量研究

通过构建科学的服务质量评价体系,对国内四类商业银行问卷调查数据,通过信度分析、相关性分析和多元线性分析回归进行实证研究。研究大型银行一线网点服务质量整体情况,并对比各类银行客户满意度的差异,得出结论并提出整合业务流程,强化房产关系,优化服务质量,加强可靠建设的可行性对策。     

Retail service quality as a key activator of grocery store loyalty

This paper demonstrates the crucial role of retail service quality as a key activator in the formation of customer loyalty to the store; the latter is understood in a conative and action sense. Applying a modified version of the RSQS scale, a model is tested by administering a questionnaire to 450 customers in an under-investigated retail setting, i.e. supermarkets, within the Italian context. Structural equation modelling was employed. The results prove that customers consider retail service quality as a second-order dimension and recognize the main contribution of physical aspects and reliability first-order dimensions. Findings corroborate the crucial role played by perceived service quality and the mediating role of customer satisfaction and conative loyalty within the relationship between service quality and action loyalty.     

谈饭店顾客关系的软、硬管理

近年来饭店业的过热增长使得这个行业的竞争焦点由“量”的竞争转变为“质”的竞争,也即从关注市场份额转变为关注忠诚顾客。硬管理和软管理是两种不同风格的管理方式。而如何刺激顾客的重复购买决策,硬管理诉诸于顾客的理性抉择,软管理则侧重培养顾客的情感忠诚。     

Customer satisfaction and qualities in public service: an intermediary customer perspective

From an intermediary customer perspective, this study empirically investigates the causal relationships between service quality, relationship quality, design quality, and customer satisfaction in the public service value chain. Cross-sectional survey data were collected from social work, childcare, and healthcare services and were analyzed using structural equation modeling. It is found that all the quality dimensions are antecedents to customer satisfaction and relations between quality dimensions show distinctive patterns. The results show that relationship quality does not directly affect customer satisfaction, but can indirectly influence satisfaction through the mediation of both service and design qualities. The effect of the relationship and design qualities on customer satisfaction is stronger than that of service quality.