Positioning through B2B carrier signals: Understanding how service quality is communicated via websites |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Western Michigan University, Haworth College of Business, 3214 Schneider Hall, Mail stop 5430, Kalamazoo, MI 49008-5430, United States;2. Mississippi State University, Department of Marketing, Quantitative Analysis, and Business Law, P.O. Box 9582, Mississippi State, MS 39762, United States;3. Central Michigan University, Department of Marketing and HSA, 100 Smith Hall, Mt. Pleasant, MI 48859, United States |
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| Abstract: | Today's marketplace requires B2B motor carriers to connect with shippers in salient ways. To accomplish this, B2B carriers communicate signals of service quality in order to position themselves uniquely from the competition. Signaling theory describes how inequity in information between parties is filled by sending signals to convey missing information (Spence, 1973). Signaling theory was used as a foundation to investigate information used by B2B carriers to signal service quality and create positioning strategies. Results of a content analysis of 490 B2B motor carrier websites for signals of 12 dimensions of service quality are used to develop a typology of U.S. B2B motor carriers. These are: Minimalist, User-Friendly, and Safety First. Associations with firm revenues, firm size, credit score, and number of NAICS codes used are discussed along with implications. |
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