Customer Relationship Management: A Comparative Analysis of Family and Nonfamily Business Practices*

It has been reported that family businesses perceive excellent customer service as critical to the future of their businesses. However, little research into the customer relationship management (CRM) practices of family businesses has been performed. In this study, we examine CRM implementation among 82 family and 370 nonfamily firms. Family and nonfamily businesses report similar attitudes toward the importance of CRM, their knowledge of CRM, and their success when they do implement it. However, using a logit regression model, we find that the actual implementation strategies of family businesses are significantly different from those of nonfamily businesses. These results remain constant when controlling for size and industry sector.     

Entrepreneurial orientation and the performance of service business

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) on the performance of service businesses. For this purpose, we analyzed the data from the owners of Japanese food restaurants. The results of this study suggest: (1) the owner’s personal attributes have a strong influence on the performance of small- and medium-sized service businesses and (2) most EO dimensions have a positive impact on the service firm’s performance. These findings emphasize the importance of developing EO among the owners of small- and medium-sized service businesses for their success.     

Enhancing knowledge-based service quality: A knowledge management perspective

The research proposes a framework of corporate knowledge management for enhancing knowledge-based service quality of franchise stores in the service industries. Knowledge management can provide businesses with many competitive advantages including average level of knowledge enhancement, service quality improvement, cost and time reductions, strengthened relationships among colleagues and quicker knowledge creation. The proposed framework emphasises the link between knowledge management and corporate mission and vision. Understanding the importance of enhancing knowledge-based service quality and competitive advantage, a framework and a case study demonstrating and explaining how it operates are provided in detail to encourage businesses to implement knowledge management.     

Examination of US Hispanic-owned,small retail and service businesses: an organizational life cycle approach

The importance of Hispanic-owned small businesses to the US economy has grown in recent years, yet, many of these businesses lag behind the performance of mainstream firms. One problem may be the lack of research on the strategic issues central to these businesses. This study attempts to fill this gap by examining the characteristics of Hispanic-owned small service and retail firms through the employment of the Churchill and Lewis (1983, Business Review, 30–50) organizational life cycle model. Five stages of business growth, typified by business performance indicators, problems, structural characteristics, and Hispanic owners’ demographics, were identified. Growth stages were found to be similar to those experienced by majority-owned small businesses. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Community and managerial predictors of performance in small rural US retail and service firms

Conducting business in today's rural community environment offers social and economic promise along with uncertainty in facing the phenomenon of having fewer customers, who make fewer visits, and spend less per visit. This research highlights the importance of both community and managerial factors to performance evaluations of small rural retail and service firm owners. Using path analysis, direct and indirect effects on perceptual and financial performance were identified for a national US sample of 275 rural small-sized retail and service businesses. This study provides information from largely successful firms for developing marketing strategies and product/service offerings as a crucial step in assisting businesses in rural communities.     

A New Framework for Service Supply Chains

Despite the extensive amount of academic work devoted to supply chain management, today the structure of service supply chains still remains unexplored. The aim of this paper is to verify and explain this gap with regard to the unique nature of the services industry and the applicability of existing supply chain management literature to service businesses. This paper develops a new model for service supply chains and applies it to the healthcare industry. The results of this study are relevant both to practitioners in the services industry and to researchers conducting further studies in the field.     

Online value creation in small service businesses: the importance of experience valence and personal values

Perceived value is of great interest in current marketing research. However, in the area of Internet as a shopping channel of small businesses, there has been little analysis of customer perceived value and its determinants. This paper examines two little analysed aspects of value creation, experience valence and personal values. The analysis of data from a survey of tourism service purchase shows that experience valence, in terms of relevant information, ease of use and customer service, clearly influences perceived value after the online shopping experience. In contrast, only personal values of sense of security and sense of accomplishment influence perceived value.     

互联网商业生态系统动态演化仿真研究——以阿里巴巴为例

文章尝试将商业生态系统理论与互联网相结合，解释互联网商业生态系统内部结构的静态和动态演化过程，从理论上深度探索了互联网商业生态系统内部生态发展的内在机理和运行机制，并运用计算机仿真方法模拟了互联网商业生态系统的内部演化过程。研究发现：互联网生态结构的演化过程经历了萌芽期、成长期、繁殖期、分化期四个主要阶段，商圈发展经历了平台、商家、消费者三主体到平台、商家、消费者、专业服务商、增值服务商五主体的进化过程，并不断进化和繁殖生成新的专业服务商和增值服务商，随之产生新的互联网商业生态系统。最后，文章以阿里巴巴电子商务生态系统为案例从经验上对其内部生态系统的发展和演化构成进行了分析。     

Internal service quality within the different Chinese subcultures: a comparison between Taiwan, China, and Singapore

Previous research has determined the different internal service quality (ISQ) characteristics in the East and the West; however, the differences within Chinese subcultures still remain unknown. The objective of this study is thus to determine whether the importance level of ISQ factors and attributes is similar within the different Chinese subcultures. The empirical results show there are significant differences between Taiwan, China, and Singapore in the purchasing function of the manufacturing industry. Internal service providers should thus be able to use the results of this research to improve the service quality they direct towards their customers. This study also offers recommendations for managers to increase the levels of ISQ in Chinese businesses.     

Classification of Service Businesses from a Utility Creation Perspective

The concept of time and space utility creation involving the relationship between service businesses and their recipients has not been adequately explored by scholars. This study provides a conceptual framework for classifying service businesses on the basis of utility creation, and proposes that the value of a service business rests on its ability to create utility. The insights of the framework are also discussed.     

Case Study of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in the On-Line Affluent Financial Services Market

ABSTRACT

In the current period of constrained economic conditions, this study initiates an analysis of customer relationship management (CRM) on the Web sites of financial service businesses. Customer relationship management is a critical differential that enables competitive edge for businesses focused on the affluent customer market. Though investment in marketing, sales and service innovation is limited under existing conditions, the analysis of the study on large financial businesses indicates that the businesses enable higher commerce, content and context, but lower and generally inadequate communication, community, connection and customization design on their Web sites. The analysis, conducted as an assignment by adult graduate students in an information systems course, contributes important insight into the competitive dynamics of customer relationship management for Web empowered financial service businesses striving to service the demanding affluent market. This study furnishes an expanded framework to research customer relationship management of financial service businesses competing in the paradigm of the Web.     

我国旅游业信息化服务模式探讨

信息化服务是现代旅游服务企业的主要特征,本文根据旅游业信息化服务存在的一些问题,特别是针对小规模旅游企业的现状,提出了适合这些企业开展的信息化服务模式框架,即W-C-I模式。     

中国电子商务物流发展现状与趋势

我国电子商务物流起步较晚,发展较快,不足之处明显。不足之处主要表现在电子商务物流企业规模依然较小,信息化水平较低,物流人才供给严重不足等方面。我国应加快电商物流信息化的进程:积极推动信息标准化建设、完善信息网络平台及相关的协同平台、加快云技术的应用等等。电子商务物流企业必须有全球化的战略思维和战略高度,在网点布局、服务设计等方面需要超前的目光,给予足够的发展空间;改变劳动密集型行业特点,大力推进自动化设备和自动化管理模式,增强服务能力,从而提升服务质量。     

American concierges set service standards

Formerly a trendy amenity, concierge service has become an integral part of upscale hotel service. Not only that, other businesses are copying the idea to boost their own service standards     

Governance Structure and the Credibility Gap: Experimental Evidence on Family Businesses’ Sustainability Reporting

This paper examines the success of corporate communication in voluntary sustainability reporting. Existing studies have focused on the perspective of the communicators but lack an understanding of the perspective of information recipients to clearly evaluate this interactive communication process. This paper looks at the issue of a credibility gap perceived by external stakeholders when they doubt the authenticity of communicated information due to the reporting company’s governance structure. The paper uses family businesses to exemplify the emergence of such a gap when outsiders become concerned about the potential agency problem of the integrated ownership and management controlled by a few members of the same family. Following source credibility theory, these concerns raise a credibility gap associated with a family firm’s trustworthiness and goodwill, even if the family has the expertise to carry out sustainability reporting. The findings of two experimental studies indicate that family businesses suffer a greater credibility gap than non-family businesses. An external and independent assurance service can mitigate such gaps, especially when the service is comprehensive and targets family businesses. The paper provides a complete view evaluating corporate communication by looking at the interaction between the communicating company and the information recipients.     

餐饮企业客户关系管理研究

客户是餐饮企业生存与发展的基础,客户关系管理可以提高餐饮企业的顾客忠诚度。当前,餐饮业客户关系管理还存在着对客户关系管理重视不够,对客户的服务意识不到位,吸引客户的营销手段单调,企业内部组织结构不完善,对企业的价值顾客群判断不准等问题。餐饮企业应利用CRM管理系统,了解顾客,并建立良好客户关系;加强员工培训,提升员工的服务素质;制定合理的价格,维系客户永久关系;树立顾客成本概念,通过提高客户满意度和忠诚度,达到提升客户价值和提升品牌形象的目的,从而实现企业利润最大化。     

Testing of service concepts

Faced with mounting competitive pressures, many companies are attempting to raise their profile in the market by offering new services. As a result, far greater attention has been accorded in the last few years to new service development and service engineering by researchers and businesses alike. However, if the standard suggestions for developing new services are considered it is conspicuous that testing of development results has been largely neglected in the past. This article describes how service testing can be realised in practice and presents a possible approach for simulating services with the help of virtual reality and service theatre.     

Healthy Food at Work? An Examination of a Proposed Catering Service Concept

The U. S. catering industry has experienced tremendous growth in recent years. A major trend in the overall foodservices industry involves the healthy eating movement among consumers. Along with restaurants and foodservice contractors, caterers are responding to growing consumer demand for healthier fare. While caterers serve various target markets (e.g., event organizers, charities, civic groups, individuals), there is a need to research the viability of providing healthy food to the business market. A service concept test among decision makers at 36 companies is used here to provide an evaluation of a proposed catering service specializing in healthy food that would serve local businesses. The findings indicate that the healthy eating movement does extend to today's workplace. Overall, respondents are favorably disposed to the proposed service. Indeed, businesses appear to be a promising target market for caterers offering healthy food.     

Experience as a catalyst of export destinations: The ambidextrous connection between international experience and past entrepreneurial experience

This paper examines how different forms of accumulated exploitable knowledge—i.e., export experience with the current firm and past entrepreneurial experience—stimulate export destinations, defined as the number of foreign markets where businesses sell their products/services. The proposed hypotheses are tested on a unique sample of Costa Rican entrepreneurial businesses for 2017. Results from the sequential deductive triangulation analysis (QUAN → qual) reveal that the ambidextrous connection between export experience with the current firm and past entrepreneurial experience is an essential prerequisite for explaining export destination figures. Also, the positive effect of export experience with the current business on export destinations is more prevalent among firms created by serial entrepreneurs. These findings corroborate our argument line on the importance of generative-based learning processes. Furthermore, the results of the qualitative analysis suggest that task-specific international experience and experience gained through past business venturing are relevant micro-foundations of international business expansion in the context of the export destinations of entrepreneurial firms.     

Signaling trust in print advertisements: An empirical investigation

Trust is a key component of many successful businesses, and while there are many factors in advertising that can aid in establishing trust, this paper focuses on business tenure and local ownership as potential cues of trustworthiness. Additionally we consider industry type as a potential moderating variable. Two studies were conducted. Study 1 examined the use of the statement ‘locally owned and operated’ while Study 2 looked at the length of time in business. Dependent variables were trustworthiness, brand attitude and purchase intent. Ads were created promoting consumer services from both high-trust and low-trust industries. Study 1 found the claim ‘locally owned and operated’ has no impact on attitudes and intentions as compared to relevant control. Study 2, however, shows that length of time in business accounts for differences in consumers' perception of the company and subsequent purchase intent. Consumers use trust as the foundation for making purchase decisions through the reduction of uncertainty. We examine several possible candidates for how businesses might signal trustworthiness. This paper attempts to answer this question by taking two very prevalent phrases in advertising and testing their ability to encourage a higher level of trust in the advertised service and purchase intent among consumers.