A dialectical model of buyer‐seller relationships

2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 207-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maud Dampérat ◽  
Alain Jolibert
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Empirical Test ◽  
Level Structure ◽  
Data File ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Business Relationships ◽  
Measurement Scales ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Customer Data ◽  
Four Levels

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to focus on building and testing a model of buyer‐seller relationships from a dialectical perspective. It aims to provide both academics and managers with a better understanding of the relationships among the key relational variables in business settings. The model distinguishes four levels of social complexity (individual, interaction, relationship, and intergroup level) and includes the key relational variable for each level.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 151 French professional buyers. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the validity of the measures. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. The empirical test includes linear, non‐linear, moderating, and mediating effects testing.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitations of the study relate to the sample of respondents and the measurement scales. More precisely, the sample is based on a unique company's customer data file and a single informant source. Results confirm the hypothesized model and its four‐level structure.Practical implicationsThis study demonstrates that buyer relational orientation as well as seller expertise influence the course of business relationships. Although the necessity to train salespeople is obvious, the importance of training buyers is not as well documented. This study shows that they both need to be trained to manage business relationships appropriately.Originality/valueThis research examines the relationships among the key relational variables within a framework of four successive levels of explanation. It provides an alternative approach to studying business relationships.

scholarly journals Linking improvisational behavior to customer satisfaction: the relational dynamics

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 1183-1193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magnus Hultman ◽  
Abena Animwaa Yeboah-Banin ◽  
Nathaniel Boso
Keyword(s):  
Customer Satisfaction ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Customer Relationship ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Relational Dynamics ◽  
Relational Context ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Customer Data ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose Contemporary sales scholarship suggests that salespersons pursuing customer satisfaction should improvise (think and act on their feet) to find solutions to customers’ emergent problems. A missing link in this literature, however, is the relational context within which improvisation takes place and becomes effective. This study aims to examine how the tone of the salesperson–customer relationship (whether cordial or coercive) drives and conditions salesperson improvisation and its implications for customer satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach The study tests the proposed model using dyadic salesperson–customer data from business-to-business (B2B) markets in Ghana. The relationships are tested using structural equation modeling technique. Findings The study finds that salesperson improvisation is associated with customer satisfaction. It also finds the extent of cordiality between salespersons and their customers predicts but does not enhance the value of improvisation for customer satisfaction. The reverse is true for customer exercised coercive power which is not a significant driver of improvisation but can substantially alter its benefits for the worse. Practical implications By implication, salespersons should improvise more to be able to satisfy customers. However, such improvisation must be tempered with a consciousness of the relationship shared with customers and the level of power they exercise in the relationship. Originality/value Because improvised behavior deviates from routines and may be unsettling for customers, improvising salespersons must first understand whether their customers would be willing to accommodate such deviations. Yet, the literature is silent on this relational context surrounding improvisation. This study, by exploring facilitating and inhibitory relational variables implicated in improvisation, addresses this gap.

Perceived credibility of online hotel reviews and its impact on hotel booking intentions

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (9) ◽  
pp. 3465-3483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uttam Chakraborty
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Online Reviews ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Measurement Scales ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Perceived Credibility ◽  
Booking Intentions ◽  
Hotel Booking ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This study aims to evaluate the vitality of source, receiver and message factors on credibility assessment of online hotel reviews. Further, the current study determines the effects of perceived credibility of online reviews (PCOR) on hotel booking intentions (HBI). Design/methodology/approach The current study performs reliability analysis to determine the internal consistency of the measurement scales and to ensure the uni-dimensionality of the measurement scales the present study performs exploratory factor analysis. Further, the present study performs structural equation modeling to identify the relationships between the variables. Findings Two-sided online reviews have a more significant positive impact on PCOR as compared to the effects of receiver, review quality, review consistency and negative-sided online reviews. Originality/value This is one of the first study that analyses the impact of source, receiver and message on PCOR. Moreover, the present study offered theoretical justification behind the factors that affect the authenticity of online hotel reviews and its effects on HBI.

Too much of a good thing

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fláviade Souza Costa Neves Cavazotte ◽  
Fábio de Oliveira Paula
Keyword(s):  
Absorptive Capacity ◽  
Shared Leadership ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Empirical Test ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Curvilinear Relationship ◽  
Team Creativity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Very High

PurposeThis study investigates the influence of shared leadership on creativity and absorptive capacity in R&D teams. Based on theories of intragroup processes, it proposes that shared leadership positively affects such team outcomes up to a certain point, but at very high levels could cause loss of synergy and effectiveness, and therefore the relationship will follow an inverted U-shaped curve.Design/methodology/approachThe study was conducted with 76 independent teams from the R&D unit of one of the largest energy companies in Brazil. Data were collected with two questionnaires answered by external team managers and team members. The study applied structural equation modeling to test the hypotheses.FindingsResults indicate that there is a curvilinear relationship between shared leadership and external assessments of creativity and absorptive capacity in R&D teams. Although leadership shared among team members tends to favor creativity and realized absorptive capacity, at very high levels it yielded less than optimal outcomes. Team creativity had a direct positive effect on the teams' ability to explore and transform knowledge.Originality/valueThe study is the first empirical test of the influence of shared leadership on team creativity and absorptive capacity that proposes and confirms a quadratic effect. These results shed new light on the authors’ understanding of how intrateam leadership affects creative processes and absorptive capacity in the R&D context. These findings offer novel insights to inform practice as firms manage innovation performance.

scholarly journals From sense-making to perceived organizational performance: looking for the best way

2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Mas-Machuca ◽  
Frederic Marimon
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Employee Engagement ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Mediation Effect ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Sense Making ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
Measurement Scales ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Managerial Implications

PurposeMission statements (SMs) are a frequent strategic tool, yet little is known about their effects on economic performance. The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to model and assess the relationships among the sense-making of the SM, employee mission engagement (EME), organizational mission fulfillment (OMF) and perceived organizational performance (PER) and, second, to determine the path that best explains these connections.Design/methodology/approachThis paper reports the results of an empirical investigation drawn from a sample of 132 managers at different levels in two Spanish companies. The data analysis was performed in two steps: the first was to assess the reliability of the measurement scales and the second was to build a causal model using structural equation modeling analysis.FindingsThe findings suggest that the best path to explain the relationships between the SM and perceived organizational performance (PER) is SM, EME, OMF, PER, with a full mediation effect for EME and OMF. These findings are consistent with previous research.Practical implicationsThe managerial implications of these results are that just having a good mission and effective communication of the mission is not enough. The mission has to be related to employee engagement and, at the same time, the organization needs to be mission driven.Originality/valueThis research provides a new paradigm for understanding the relationships between sense-making around the SM, EME, OMF and PER, and helps to adjudicate among possible outcome paths and better explain the inter-relationships among these constructs.

An examination of innovative consumers’ playfulness on their pre-ordering behavior

2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 226-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyung-Ah Byun ◽  
Mayukh Dass ◽  
Piyush Kumar ◽  
Junghwan Kim
Keyword(s):  
Purchase Intention ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Measurement Scales ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Information Cues ◽  
Early Adoption ◽  
Congruity Theory

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of playfulness on innovative consumers’ pre-order behavior for new products. Design/methodology/approach Drawing upon self-congruity theory and early adoption literature, the effects of playfulness and innovativeness on pre-order behavior and the role of self-congruity are tested using four experimental studies that are analyzed using generalized linear model (GLM) and structural equation modeling. Findings Results indicate that playfulness amplifies the advance-purchasing propensity, especially when the pre-launch information cues come from a credible source. Originality/value This paper refines playfulness measurement scales and proposes how both enjoyment- and creativity-based playfulness amplify the purchase intention among innovative consumers. The results assist product managers in developing advanced marketing plans before a new product is launched.

Gain more insight from your PLS-SEM results

2016 ◽  
Vol 116 (9) ◽  
pp. 1865-1886 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian M. Ringle ◽  
Marko Sarstedt
Keyword(s):  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
Latent Variables ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Sem Analysis ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Measurement Scales ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Systematic Procedure ◽  
Average Value

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to introduce the importance-performance map analysis (IPMA) and explain how to use it in the context of partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). A case study, drawing on the IPMA module implemented in the SmartPLS 3 software, illustrates the results generation and interpretation. Design/methodology/approach The explications first address the principles of the IPMA and introduce a systematic procedure for its use, followed by a detailed discussion of each step. Finally, a case study on the use of technology shows how to apply the IPMA in empirical PLS-SEM studies. Findings The IPMA gives researchers the opportunity to enrich their PLS-SEM analysis and, thereby, gain additional results and findings. More specifically, instead of only analyzing the path coefficients (i.e. the importance dimension), the IPMA also considers the average value of the latent variables and their indicators (i.e. performance dimension). Research limitations/implications An IPMA is tied to certain requirements, which relate to the measurement scales, variable coding, and indicator weights estimates. Moreover, the IPMA presumes linear relationships. This research does not address the computation and interpretation of non-linear dependencies. Practical implications The IPMA is particularly useful for generating additional findings and conclusions by combining the analysis of the importance and performance dimensions in practical PLS-SEM applications. Thereby, the IPMA allows for prioritizing constructs to improve a certain target construct. Expanding the analysis to the indicator level facilitates identifying the most important areas of specific actions. These results are, for example, particularly important in practical studies identifying the differing impacts that certain construct dimensions have on phenomena such as technology acceptance, corporate reputation, or customer satisfaction. Originality/value This paper is the first to offer researchers a tutorial and annotated example of an IPMA. Based on a state-of-the-art review of the technique and a detailed explanation of the method, this paper introduces a systematic procedure for running an IPMA. A case study illustrates the analysis, using the SmartPLS 3 software.

scholarly journals Localization of computer-mediated communication and corporate impression on online communities

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 940-969 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Hallier Willi ◽  
Bang Nguyen ◽  
T.C. Melewar ◽  
Suraksha Gupta ◽  
Xiaoyu Yu
Keyword(s):  
Online Communities ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Source Credibility ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Measurement Scale ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Intention To Use ◽  
Measurement Scales ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Context Cues

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the importance of localizing online communities (OCs) and examines how OC members form impressions of organizations that use OCs in their communication activities. A conceptual framework and measurement scale are developed that consist of complex latent constructs. Design/methodology/approach A sequential multi-method approach is adopted with both qualitative and quantitative investigations. Using Structural equation modeling, the research refines and validates the measurement scales of impression formation in OCs. Findings Findings reveal that comprehensive messages have a direct effect on the impressions that an OC member forms. In particular, social context cues are an important predictor of online community corporate impression (OCCIP). Source credibility, affiliation, characteristics and interpersonal communication are all critical to OCCIP, which in turn, influence members’ attitudes toward the company and the intention to use it again. Surprisingly, relevance, timeliness, accuracy and perceived similarity did not have any significant effect on the corporate impression. Originality/value Three contributions are offered: First, the study provides reliable scales for measuring OCCIP. Second, support is given to the conceptual model that links OCCIP to a set of consequences, namely, attitudes toward the company, intention to use the company, and word-of-mouth. Finally, the study is conducted across two different and unique types of OC contexts, stipulating further insights into the localization of OCs.

Luxury goods and their counterfeits in Sub-Saharan Africa: a conceptual model of counterfeit luxury purchase intentions and empirical test

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Charmant Sengabira Ndereyimana ◽  
Antonio K.W. Lau ◽  
Dana-Nicoleta Lascu ◽  
Ajay K. Manrai
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Empirical Test ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Purchase Intentions ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Luxury Goods ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sub Saharan

PurposeHeeding the call for insights into the Sub-Saharan African international marketing context, this study aims to empirically examine consumers' desires and motivations for buying counterfeit luxury goods. It examines influences on consumers' attitudes and purchase intentions related to counterfeit luxury goods in Rwanda, one of Sub-Saharan Africa's fastest-growing economies and growing luxury markets, developing and testing a model examining the effect of social context on personal attributes, providing evidence on economic and social-status factors as drivers for counterfeiting.Design/methodology/approachThe data were collected using an online survey administered in Rwanda to consumers who had previously purchased luxury goods and counterfeits. A total of 312 valid responses were analyzed using structural equation modeling.FindingsThis study found that normative and informational influences had a positive effect on Rwandan consumers' attitude toward purchasing counterfeit luxury products, with attitude influencing purchase intentions directly and indirectly, through mediating variable desire for status or through value consciousness and desire for status.Originality/valueThe study contributes to academic research − one of the first empirical studies to examine consumers' desires and motivations for buying counterfeit luxury goods in Sub-Saharan Africa, providing insights that benefit scholars and practitioners seeking to better understand a market where more than half of the world's fastest economies are located.

How and why Millennials are initiating conflict in vertical dyads and what they are learning

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 644-670 ◽  
Author(s):  
Avan Jassawalla ◽  
Hemant Sashittal
Keyword(s):  
Survey Data ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
Measurement Scales ◽  
Two Stage ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Entry Level ◽  
Modeling Methodology

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to contribute to extant conflict management theory by presenting evidence from a two-stage study of conflict initiated by pre-graduation Millennials in entry-level work environments. Design/methodology/approach The paper presents an inductively derived conceptual model, hypotheses and measurement scales grounded in Millennials’ voices. Then, based on survey data, the scales are tested for structural coherence, and hypotheses are validated using structural equation modeling methodology. Findings Most Millennials initiate conflict with older coworkers and supervisors in the workplace because of the hurt they feel over the unfairness they experience. While confronting their superiors, they take an aggressive stand (“you are wrong, you should change”) and learn that the organization is duplicitous and that they should initiate conflict with superiors in the future to protect against unfairness in a duplicitous organization. Research limitations/implications The findings and implications reflect the perspectives of Millennials who initiated conflict with superiors or more experienced coworkers in entry level workplaces. Reports of multiple perspectives and from other contexts are left to future research. Practical implications Millennials may well enter the workforce with attitudes and behaviors older coworkers and supervisors find aberrant. However, the interactions between Millennials, older generations and the socio-technical environment of entry-level workplaces lie at the root of the conflict Millennials initiate. Older generations may have implicitly produced – albeit to varying extents – opaque environments in which entry-level Millennials feel manipulated. Originality/value The study reports a relatively rare two-stage study that begins with exploration and discovery using qualitative data, and concludes with hypotheses tests based on survey data. A new context is explored; i.e. Millennials initiating conflict in vertical dyads. New concerns about the veracity of the entry-level work environment are raised.

Can you represent me? The influence of consumers' self-congruity on their brand loyalty behavior

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoling Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Brand Loyalty ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Empirical Test ◽  
Psychological Reactance ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Reactance Theory ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Psychological Reactance Theory

PurposeThis study aimed to verify the impact of consumers' self-congruity on brand loyalty behavior when stock-out happens; the role of the psychological reactance theory as a mediator was assessed.Design/methodology/approachData collection was carried out in the form of a questionnaire survey. Data from 417 respondents were analyzed, and structural equation modeling was applied to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe findings revealed the positive significant impact of consumers' self-congruity on their brand loyalty behavior, and the mediating effect of psychological reactance between self-congruity and consumers' brand loyalty behavior.Practical implicationsThis study offers retailers/brand owners a deeper understanding of the remedy strategy needed to reduce the sales loss in their firms when stock-out happens.Originality/valueThis study provides a theoretical and empirical test on the influence of consumers' self-congruity on their brand loyalty behavior, bringing consumers' psychological reactance into the research as a mediating factor, thereby enriching the existing research on consumers' out-of-stock reactions.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document