The Measurement and Importance of Service Quality in the Retailing of Recreational Services

ABSTRACT

In this article it is argued that the dealings between small companies and their banks consist of a number of relationship elements. Because today most banks employ some kind of relationship banking, there is a need to further conceptualise the relevant dimensions in implementing such an approach. In a study ten small companies in the Stockholm area were interviewed. The results indicate that the account manager in the bank proved to be the crucial person in the customer-bank relationship and that banks should organise their activities and promotion in a supportive way. There is a large potential for improvements in banks regarding their relationships with small companies.     

Modelling Consumer Views of Automated Banking Channels

ABSTRACT

The aim of this paper is to extend the work of Goode, Chien and Moutinho (1996) by applying their model to a different country, namely Hungary, and then comparing the results obtained from the structural model estimated by LISREL. This structural model links two exogenous variables (expectations and perceived risk) through four latent variables, which in turn impact upon four endogenous variables (overall satisfaction, recommendations to others, full use of services and frequency of use). This paper is divided into four parts, the first of which reviews the literature on customer satisfaction from cross-cultural studies. The second section describes the methodology and data collection. The third section analyses the empirical results derived from applying the model and the final section discusses the results and managerial implications of the results obtained from this study.     

Measurement of Service Quality in Internet Banking: The Development of an Instrument

Service quality measurement in Internet banking services is an area of growing interest to researchers and managers. Building on a synthesis of the extant literature on service quality in traditional services and that of Internet delivered services, this study develops a battery of measures that can be used to measure customer service quality in e-banking services. The study shows that service quality in e-banking can be measured using twenty-one parsimonious measures spread across five dimensions, namely, access, Website interface, trust, attention and credibility. The article discusses the importance of these findings for practitioners and for future research on service quality in Internet delivered services.     

One Leader is Not Enough for Major New Service Development: Results of a Consumer Banking Study

This article reports the results of a study into leadership in retail bank product development. New product development is an increasingly important business activity in many services businesses. Financial services specialists involved in this activity are required to have an understanding of project working that aims to match new product concepts to potential customer needs. In the empirical study reported here all the new product projects were aimed at developing a new area of business and were of great potential importance to the sponsoring businesses in which they were pursued. It was found that success in completing a project efficiently was associated with effective co-leadership between different levels of the organisation. Lesser project success was found when leadership was confined to a single leader. Co-leadership involved a common leadership style that was enabling, participative and highly communicative. Empowering junior colleagues to act as co-leaders confronts top management with challenges to traditional concepts of authority. Our results show how enlightened top management turns these challenges to the best advantage of their business.     

Consumer Responses to English Accent Variations in Advertising

Abstract

With the growing use of different types of English accents in international advertising, it is important for marketers to understand the factors that influence the credibility of the spokesperson in order to select the most persuasive character. This study investigates the effects of a spokesperson's accent on spokesperson's perceived credibility across high and low involvement products and products of different country-of-origin. Two different accents-the standard English accent and the local Singaporean English accent (Singlish)-were tested. Results indicated that accent, product country-of-origin and product involvement significantly influence the spokesperson's perceived credibility and attitude towards the ads. The accent effects appeared to be strong enough to offset the country-of-origin, gender and product involvement effects, attesting to the importance of considering this factor in advertisements. Specifically, the Standard English accent outperformed the Singlish accent in terms of spokesperson credibility, attitude towards the ad, attitude towards the brand and purchase intentions. However, the Singlish accent outperformed the Standard English accent in terms of attention to the ad. Implications for marketers are discussed.     

Identifying Innovators in Consumer Service Markets

This article describes the use of a short, valid, reliable self-report scale to measure consumer innovativeness in a service industry context, thereby identifying the potential earliest buyers in a specific service-market category. Suitable for mail questionnaire or personal interview, this six-item, Likert-type scale enables marketers and researchers to identify these important consumers prior to introducing any specific service innovation. This study used a survey of 185 adult men and women to demonstrate how the scale performs by giving valuable insights into the travel services market     

The Ohio Banking Crisis: A Lesson in Consumer Finance

This paper reports the results of a survey taken on April 14, 1985, at a meeting of the depositors in Home State Savings Bank, the Cincinnati-based savings and loan association that had closed in early March because of losses suffered in government securities transactions. The results for the 578 depositors surveyed show a high percentage of depositors over 55 years of age and retired, with a high school education or less. Although the majority of those surveyed are low- to middle-income consumers, over 50 percent have more than $20,000 on deposit in Home State Savings Bank, which, for most of them, represents over 50 percent of their total savings. A large number of depositors also appear to have limited or incorrect information about Home State's deposit insurance and financial condition.     

论服务创新的宏观重要性

通常意义上服务创新是一个微观的概念,关注于服务手段创新对企业经济效益的影响,是企业在知识经济时代竞争成败的关键因素。但是随着服务行业及服务行为在社会经济中的地位日益上升,服务创新逐渐超过了制造业,服务创新对宏观经济增长的贡献不应该被低估:它一方面通过促进技术创新间接推动经济;另一方面,它本身作为知识经济时代的第一大产业,对GDP的直接贡献更是不容轻视。     

The Role of the Surrogate Consumer in Service Delivery

This article considers the overlooked role of consumer surrogates in the marketing process. While it is commonly assumed that consumers are actively involved in important purchase decisions, it is proposed that in fact they often relinquish control to external surrogate services, which may collect market data, evaluate competitive alternatives, and even conduct transactions on their behalf. Some distinguishing characteristics of surrogate services are identified and discussed. Two types of consumer surrogates, interior decorators and wardrobe consultants, are highlighted as illustrations of surrogate activity, and survey data obtained from wardrobe consultants are presented regarding the perceived importance of a variety of both functional and intangible surrogate service benefits.     

关于加强消费经济学科建设的几个问题

很多同志对《消费经济》创刊20年来的工作和今后的发展,提了很多宝贵的意见,给我们很大的启发,也给我们很大的鼓舞。在此,我代表办刊的同志,表示衷心的感谢。今后还要请同志们继续加以支持、帮助,使这个刊物的质量进一步提高,为消费经济学科建设,为我国社会主义现代化建设,作出自己应有的贡献。在这里,我简单谈谈关于消费经济学科建设有关的一些问题。有些同志已发表了很好的意见,我在这里提出几个问题,和大家一起探讨,并向同志们请教。首先,我认为消费经济这门新学科,大有可为我国当前,正是面临着消费经济大发展的“黄金时期”,这是因为,党…     

关于推进消费经济学科建设的几个问题

消费经济学在构筑基础理论范畴、坚持应用特色、拓展研究方法、探究现实问题上已取得显著的成绩。当前，应进一步加强基础理论研究。要有历史的眼光，探究消费问题产生的历史背景和历史条件；要有发展的眼光，深入把握社会经济发展脉络，深刻理解目前我国消费经济学科的科学性、局限性及其发展趋势；要有比较的眼光，善于从古今中外的消费理论研究中，总结出具有共同性的规律；要有综合的眼光，注重与其他学科的交融，在跨学科的研究中全面而深入地把握消费需要理论的产生、演变及发展，进一步构筑成熟的消费经济学科体系。     

The Importance of Consumer Authorities for the Production and Maintenance of Trust and Social Capital in Consumer Markets

Journal of Consumer Policy - Trust is a valuable resource that varies between countries. This paper suggests that consumers’ trust in retailers and service providers, facilitating...     

对湖北农村金融消费者保护问题的思考

金融产品和服务具有专业化、技术化的特性,面对由金融精英组成的金融产品和服务的提供者,金融消费者相对而言不一定具备金融专业知识,信息不对称的弱势地位显而易见。农村金融消费者由于文化素质低,金融知识缺乏,加之弱势群体的心里劣势,消费者权益更容易受到侵害。侵害消费者的行为不仅损害了农民的利益,也损害了公众对金融体系的信心,影响金融行业的健康发展。针对农村消费者保护不力的状况,需要从增强农村金融供给、提高消费者文化素质和维权意识,加强金融机构的服务意识以及加强金融监管等多方面着手。     

我国电子商务中消费者保护的若干法律问题探析

随着科学技术和信息产业的高速发展,电子商务作为一种新兴的商业模式正在全球范围内兴起。电子商务所产生的法律问题冲击了传统的消费者保护法律制度。为了适应电子商务迅猛发展的形势,并确保消费者对电子商务的信心,必须从保护消费者权益的角度对电子商务消费者权益的法律保护问题进行探讨,以建立和完善我国电子商务立法。     

论服务补救在酒店运营中的重要性

当下我国酒店业服务正处于蓬勃发展的时期,很多问题也随之涌现出来,特别是在服务补救方面做得不足。本文首先阐述酒店服务补救的现状及存在的问题,分析服务补救在酒店运营中的重要性,在此基础上提出相关措施以提高酒店竞争力。     

《消费者权益保护法》修订中的金融消费者保护问题

我国金融业的发展,对金融消费者保护提出了新的要求.金融服务领域的消费者保护问题,成为最近<中华人民共和国消费者权益保护法>修订无法回避的内容.修订工作应充分考虑这种制度需求,在立法宗旨完善、消费者概念界定、保护范围扩展、政府责任强化等方面完善相关规则,促进金融消费者保护机制的完善.     

Consumer Acceptance of Interactive Media in Service Marketing Encounters

This study considers a number of factors that could influence consumer acceptance of interactive information systems in complex service marketing situations. Further, it investigates the potential relevance of various theoretical perspectives to research involving new communication media such as videotex and teletext. Technical characteristics of the medium, which determine its degree of interactivity, are found to affect user perceptions of the medium's ‘personalness' or ‘social presence’. Characteristics of both the medium and the user are found to affect consumer acceptance of an interactive medium in a financial services setting.     

Consumer Perceptions of Financial Service Offerings in Retail Outlets

No abstract available for this article.