How do alternative strategic orientations influence social media performance?

Increasingly organisations are using social media due to its advantages over traditional media however, its successful implementation has been problematic. To address this issue this study drew from the organisational orientation literature to examine alternate frameworks for implementation. Survey data were obtained from senior marketers from various Australian industries and structural equation modelling was used to test the hypothesised relationships. The study identified the components of alternate strategic orientations which were positively or negatively related to social media performance. The contribution of the study is to identify how the different emphasis within market, entrepreneurial and e-marketing orientations impact social media performance in terms of customer retention and customer acquisition. Implications for theory and practice are provided. Finally, research limitations and future research suggestions are presented.     

Cross-category variation in customer satisfaction and retention

Perceived quality, expectations, customer satisfaction, and effect of customer satisfaction on repurchase likelihood are found to be higher for products than for services, but repurchase likelihood for products is lower. Retailers have the highest repurchase likelihood and score lowest on the other variables. A set of relevant category characteristics is used to further understand variation in both the levels of these variables and their relationships. Quality, expectations, satisfaction, and satisfaction's effect on repurchase are higher — and repurchase likelihood is lower — when competition, differentiation, involvement, or experience is high and when switching costs, difficulty of standardization, or ease of evaluating quality is low.The author gratefully acknowledges the data provided through the funding of the Swedish Post Office and the support of the National Quality Research Center at the University of Michigan Business School. This research has benefitted from the comments of Claes Fornell, Michael D. Johnson, Donald R. Lehmann, Mary Sullivan, and participants in the Customer Satisfaction Workshop at the University of Michigan Business School.     

Senior marketers’ insights into the challenges of social media implementation in large organisations: assessing generic and electronic orientation models as potential solutions

Abstract

The unique characteristics of social media (SM) have made it difficult to implement this tool within many large organisations. This paper seeks to identify the implementation challenges and evaluate alternative organisational orientations that may provide solutions. We aimed to reconcile theory with current practice by integrating the extant literature with data from three focus groups involving 27 senior marketing executives. The managerial discussions identified additional challenges to those previously discussed in the literature, which appear to result from SM’s unique characteristics. These include: interactivity, the integration of communication into distribution channels, collaborative media and information collection. Using both broad orientation models (market orientation and entrepreneurial orientation) and a specific digital orientation (e-marketing orientation), guidelines and research propositions for effective implementation are put forward.     

Market Orientation: An Iterative Process of Customer and Market Engagement

ABSTRACT

Research Purpose. The objective of this research was to examine market orientation in organisations that deliver manufacturing-based services to both client organisations and their customers.

Research Approach. The case study research method employed three data collection methods: in-depth, semi-structured interviews, document analysis and physical artefact analysis. Embedded study units comprising groups of different stakeholders with distinctly different perspectives provided a basis for replication logic to enhance validity of the findings.

Findings. The research revealed that a firm's transition toward a market-oriented state is progressive. At a given point in time, a firm may be adjusting to its markets intuitively or cognitively; market responsiveness may be occurring in specific pockets of the firm, or as an enterprise-wide strategy; and some of the conditions specified may be met, some may be partly met and others may remain to be addressed in the future. A specific customer focus was important to the conceptualisation of market orientation in the case organisation.

Research Implications. Key implications of the research are as follows:

• In conceptualising market orientation as a process as opposed to an ideal state, important issues of structural and policy alignment and senior executive vision and drive are revealed;

• in addition to customer and competitor orientations and intra-organisational co-ordination, other dimensions of a market orientation revealed in the research context are a customer focus and a new knowledge orientation; and

• both inter- and intra-organisational co-ordination facilitate the development of market driven and market driving customer value.

Practical Implications. While the senior executives were aware of the significant performance benefits to be achieved through a national, market-oriented vision, the lack of a co-ordinated plan to achieve cultural change resulted in incremental achievements towards the vision. One key factor inhibiting the envisioned cultural change was the power base of those within the organisation who perceived that a national, market focus would eliminate local autonomy. Specific policy was required to align rewards with required behavioural change.

Contribution. This research provides a unique perspective of market orientation as process of organisational development directed towards aligning the organisation with its served markets. Intervention strategies and incremental changes attempted to achieve a national market perspective, highlight the importance of aligning structure, human resource management strategy, top management commitment and leadership drive in achieving such a cultural change.     

顾客遗憾作用下的重购决策模型

顾客遗憾来源于消费者对不同企业产品或不同购买方案可感知价值的横向对比,遗憾感受程度受到交易情景因素如消费者决策现状、购买行为结果的可逆性以及对已购买产品的满意度的调节,同时会反过来影响顾客满意,最终影响顾客以后的购买行为。因此,它与顾客满意一起构成了影响消费者重购倾向的决定因素,企业在注重顾客保留和培养顾客忠诚时必须将二者同时考虑,做到需求导向和竞争导向的并重。     

Market-Oriented Management: A Systems-Based Perspective

Market orientation has received substantial academic and practitioner interest over the last decade. However, previous research has not addressed the issue how a company's management systems can be designed in a market-oriented way. Starting from a systems-based perspective of management, the authors develop and validate a scale measuring the extent of market orientation of a business organization's management systems including the organization system, the information system, the planning system, the controlling system, and the human resource management system. Empirical results reveal a substantial positive impact of market-oriented management on market performance which in turn leads to financial performance.     

建立以顾客为中心的运行机制

企业的成功与否取决于能否以顾客为中心 ,并取悦顾客 ;以顾客为中心不是一句口号 ,必须将“顾客满意”置于企业所有目标之上 ,以实现顾客需求和期望为企业努力方向和员工行为准则。以顾客为中心来源于顾客信息的获取 ,新的组织设计、有效的内部营销和精心设计的服务提供模式。     

顾客网络购物满意度影响因素研究

本文采用内容分析法对淘宝网在线顾客评论内容进行了编码分析,并通过归纳评论内容要素、绘制网络购物顾客满意度影响因素总体框架结构图,提出材质、价格和尺码是顾客关注的三类要素,质量、社会价值、卖家服务、物流服务、尺码、顾客成本、产品描述和顾客期望是影响网络购物顾客满意度的影响因素。研究显示其中顾客期望对网络购物顾客满意度有显著负向影响,而其他7种因素对网络购物顾客满意度有显著正向影响。     

The effect of the ‘evoking freedom’ technique on sales in a computer-mediated field setting

The ‘evoking freedom’ technique is a verbal compliance procedure which solicits someone to comply with a request by simply telling a person that he/she is free to accept or to refuse the request. However, the effect of this technique has never been tested in a selling context. Previous customers (N = 900) of an extreme sports store were solicited by email to participate in a campaign where they were offered a gift voucher if they persuaded someone to become a new customer of the store. According to the case, the email contained a sentence that stated that they were free to participate or not in the operation. It was found that the ‘evoking freedom’ condition was associated with a higher number of new customers (+8.4%) than the control condition (+4.7%).     

Social Media Index Valuation: Impact of Technological,Social, Economic,and Ethical Dimensions

Marketing practitioners have recognized a growing need to measure consumer-generated social media in a standard way since there are numerous social media indicators in use, making intra- and inter-company comparisons difficult. This paper identifies four social media dimensions for measurement and evaluation: technological, social, economic, and ethical; and, subsequently, measures social media. The study makes a contribution to social media literature by using analytic hierarchy process of developing a mathematical model for social media index valuation. The “social media composite index number” will serve as an industry benchmark signifying the organization's share and commitment to social media.     

服务型企业组织导向的整合机制研究——兼论员工与顾客的价值统一性

员工导向与顾客导向是组织导向的重要内容,但已有研究发现二者存在潜在冲突。本研究试图在利益相关者理论框架下,引入员工承诺和顾客满意两类关键变量,探索员工与顾客的价值统一性,以发展员工导向与顾客导向的整合机制。运用来自我国服务型企业的研究数据分析发现,员工导向与顾客导向能够在员工承诺和顾客满意的联结作用下有效整合,并共同推动企业市场效能的提升;同时,实证结论还显示,传统服务型企业和高端服务型企业的组织导向整合机制存在显著差异性。最后,文章对研究结论的理论与实践启示,以及存在的局限性进行讨论。