scholarly journals Social and technical chains-of-effects in business-to-business (B2B) service relationships

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (6) ◽  
pp. 1225-1246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russel P.J. Kingshott ◽  
Piyush Sharma ◽  
Smitha Ravindranathan Nair
Keyword(s):  
Social Exchange ◽  
Customer Loyalty ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Customer Relationships ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Online Platforms ◽  
Service Relationships ◽  
The Social ◽  
Business To Business

Purpose This paper aims to combine the social–technical systems and social exchange theories with the resource-based view of the firm, to investigate how business-to-business (B2B) service firms manage their social and technical resources to manage customer relationships. Design/methodology/approach An online survey-based study with 321 managers working in Australian small and medium (SME) firms is used to test hypotheses about the sequential and substitutional impact of four social and technical resources (service quality, satisfaction, trust and commitment) on customer loyalty, using both offline and online platforms. Findings The findings show that both social and technical chains of effects are viable channels for B2B service firms to build customer loyalty; however, mixing of both social and technical resources results in the weakening of both these chains. Research limitations/implications The results based on B2B service relationships between Australian SME firms and their banks may not be generalizable to other contexts. Practical implications This research would help managers in B2B service firms understand the pitfalls of combining their social and technical resources because it may hamper their ability to build customer loyalty. Hence, they need to learn how to synergize their marketing resources across both offline and online platforms to achieve optimal results. Originality/value This research introduces social and technical chains of effects as a novel way to examine the ability of B2B service firms to optimize their social and technical resources in a synergistic manner to build and nurture stronger customer relationships.

scholarly journals Relational bonding strategies, customer satisfaction, and loyalty in the container shipping market

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (8) ◽  
pp. 816-838 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gökcay Balci ◽  
Aylin Caliskan ◽  
Kum Fai Yuen
Keyword(s):  
Customer Satisfaction ◽  
Social Exchange ◽  
Customer Loyalty ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Customer Relationships ◽  
Container Shipping ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Relational Marketing ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Customer Satisfaction And Loyalty

Purpose In recent years, the business of container lines has faced severe challenges such as overcapacity and low profitability. To survive in such a competitive market, container lines need to maintain long-term customer relationships by enhancing the satisfaction and loyalty of customers. The purpose of this paper is to adopt a social exchange theory (SET) approach and investigate the impact of relational bonding strategies on the satisfaction and loyalty of customers in container shipping. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on SET, a theoretical model that specifies the relationships between relational bonding strategies, customer satisfaction and loyalty was proposed. Survey data were collected from 175 freight forwarders. The obtained data were analyzed using structural equation modelling. Findings The results indicate that financial bonding strategies have the most significant direct effects on customer satisfaction, while social bonding strategies have the strongest direct impact on customer loyalty. Financial bonding strategies, on the other hand, have the strongest total effects on customer loyalty. Intermodal and basic operations are found to have the equal total effects on customer loyalty. Research limitations/implications By identifying the most effective relational bonding strategies for enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty, this study’s findings allow container lines to better allocate their resources and implement effective relational marketing policies to satisfy and retain their customers. Originality/value This research analyses and validates the determinants of customer satisfaction and loyalty from a relational lens and empirically contributes to the field of relational marketing in the container shipping industry.

scholarly journals Moderating effects of service separation on customer relationships with service firms

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faisal T. Alhathal ◽  
Piyush Sharma ◽  
Russel P.J. Kingshott
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Customer Loyalty ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Retail Banking ◽  
Customer Relationships ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Managerial Decision ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of service separation on the ability of service firms to build and maintain customer relationships, by exploring the differences in the strength of interrelationships among key relational constructs between separated and unseparated service delivery modes. Design/methodology/approach A field survey was conducted with retail banking customers in Saudi Arabia (n=592) using a structured self-administered questionnaire consisting of well-established scales. Data were analyzed using AMOS 24. Findings Service separation negatively moderates (weakens) the ability of the service firms to leverage their social benefits, relational trust and affective commitment to increase customer loyalty and to strengthen overall customer relationships. Research limitations/implications This study uses retail banking customers in Saudi Arabia to test the impact of service separation in their relationship with the bank; hence, its findings may not be generalizable to other types of services and cultural settings. Practical implications Service firms using online and mobile technologies should be aware that trust and commitment remain key to building customer loyalty. Hence, the trade-off between the benefits of these technologies and their negative impact on customer relationship needs to be factored into managerial decision making. Originality/value The paper highlights the importance of maintaining face-to-face interactions with service customers to create robust relationships that yield loyalty, despite the growing popularity of online and mobile technologies.

Residents’ perceptions of the impact of tourism in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 551-572 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nada Hammad ◽  
Syed Zamberi Ahmad ◽  
Avraam Papastathopoulos
Keyword(s):  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Social Exchange ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Social Exchange Theory ◽  
Cultural Influences ◽  
Abu Dhabi ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper aims to investigate residents’ perceptions of tourism’s impact on their support for tourism development in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Design/methodology/approach Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires from Abu Dhabi residents (n = 407), who represented 30 nationalities residing in the emirate. Based on social exchange theory, structural equation modeling was used to test hypotheses. Findings Results suggest that Abu Dhabi residents perceive the impacts of tourism positively and are more sensitive to the environmental and economic influences of tourism than the social and cultural influences. Research limitations/implications This study was limited to Abu Dhabi residents; findings cannot be generalized to other emirates in the UAE, or other countries. Originality/value This study adds value to extant tourism literature by investigating residents’ perceptions of the influence of tourism in one of the richest cities worldwide, which aspires to be one of the fastest growing tourism destinations in the Middle East.

Building trust by signaling trustworthiness in service retail

2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 361-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Husni Kharouf ◽  
Donald J. Lund ◽  
Harjit Sekhon
Keyword(s):  
Customer Loyalty ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Customer Relationships ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Survey Responses ◽  
Customer Trust

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of retailer trustworthiness in driving customer trust and the subsequent impact on loyalty. The authors position trustworthiness as a mediator in the link between retail strategies and the development of trust. They model customer loyalty to the service retailer as a function of the trust created through trustworthy perceptions. Design/methodology/approach – The authors validate their model using 420 survey responses from customers in a service retail setting. Nine research hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. Alternate models are estimated, and the results provide support for the theory-based trustworthiness mediation model. Findings – Trustworthy behaviors first build trustworthiness, which then translates into customer trust and ultimately has a positive impact on both behavioral and attitudinal loyalty. Research limitations/implications – The research highlights the importance for retailers to signal their trustworthiness to build customer trust and loyalty. Researchers should measure trustworthiness perceptions when examining customer relationships and managers should plan strategically to develop both trust and trustworthiness with their customers. Originality/value – This study is one of the first to investigate the mediating effect of trustworthiness on customer loyalty in service settings. While past research has investigated dimensions of trustworthy behaviors, none has included a measure of trustworthiness perceptions and consumer trust in the same theoretical model. The results of the research provide important insights for both researchers and managers.

Searching for new saving behavior theories

2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 279-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kent Eriksson ◽  
Cecilia Hermansson
Keyword(s):  
Social Exchange ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Model Development ◽  
Customer Relationships ◽  
Customer Relationship ◽  
Theoretical Research ◽  
Marketing Theory ◽  
Savings Behavior ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Saving Behavior

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a model of bank advisor/customer relationships and customer saving behavior. Design/methodology/approach – The research is a theoretical review and model development of savings behavior and bank advisor/customer relationships. The review is used for the development of a model of bank advisor/customer relationships, and their effect on savings behavior. Findings – Findings are a model that distinguishes three kinds of exchange (relational, interimistic, and transaction) in between bank advisor and customer. The three kinds of exchange then influence customer savings behavior. Research limitations/implications – The implications of this research is that it points to that relationship marketing theory can be used in the analysis of how bank advisors influence customer savings behavior. Practical implications – For regulators and financial services firms, these findings point to how the role of bank advisors for consumer savings behavior can be analyzed. This is important, as much policy work presumes that advisors influence customer savings behavior, but the knowledge base for that presumption needs to be better understood. Social implications – The paper contributes toward a better understanding of the social exchange between bank employees and customers as regards savings products. Originality/value – This paper is original because it includes many theoretical research fields, and because it connects the bank advisor and customer relationship with the customer's savings behavior.

Effects of relationship types on customers’ parasocial interactions

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 133-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seonjeong Ally Lee ◽  
Minwoo Lee
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Marketing Research ◽  
Customer Relationships ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Relationship Types ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Parasocial Interactions

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate different types of customer relationships on customers’ interaction with the brand, based on prior social media and relationship marketing research. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional, self-administered online survey was conducted to investigate the role of different types of relationships on customers’ brand-relevant responses in the context of hotel social media platforms. Findings Results identified customers’ relationships with services and brands, and how other customers influenced their parasocial interactions (PSIs). Customers’ PSIs then positively influenced their self-brand connection and their brand usage intention. Originality/value This study was the first attempt to propose a conceptual framework to explain different types of customer relationships on customers’ interactions with the brand in the context of hotel social media platforms.

The influencing outcomes of job engagement: an interpretation from the social exchange theory

2018 ◽  
Vol 67 (5) ◽  
pp. 873-889 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nan Yin
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Social Exchange ◽  
Organizational Citizenship ◽  
Organizational Citizenship Behavior ◽  
Social Exchange Theory ◽  
Exchange Theory ◽  
Citizenship Behavior ◽  
Job Engagement ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social

Purpose Job engagement is a positive, fulfilling, work-related state of an individual, the perfect link between individual characteristics, job factors and job performance and the important path of an organization creating competitive advantages. Based on the viewpoint of the social exchange theory, the study assumes that employees will generate different influencing outcomes, which are, in order, task performance, organizational citizenship behavior, job burnout and counter-productive work behavior (CWB), according to the degree to which they psychologically expect that job engagement could receive organizational rewards, and discusses the relationships between job engagement and task performance, organizational citizenship behavior and other variables. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from the employees working as the salesmen from 48 computer and computer parts sales companies. The questionnaires of the study were the paired questionnaires. In total, 150 supervisor questionnaires and 633 employee questionnaires have been distributed. Under every sales head, there were some employees. In total, 501 valid paired questionnaires were collected. AMOS 23.0 was employed to process the data in the structural equation modeling and the causal relationships among all the factors were explored. Findings The results revealed that employee job engagement had positive influence on task performance and organizational citizenship behavior and had negative influence on job burnout and counter-productive work behavior; among all the moderating variables, organizational justice just significantly and negatively moderates job engagement and CWB. Originality/value Job engagement is an actively and fully absorbing state of an individual in the work, the perfect link among individual characteristics, job factors and job engagement and the important path of an organization creating competitive advantages. Most of the past studies have explored the positive effects of job engagement. This study tries to explore the positive and negative effects of employee’s job engagement based on the social exchange theory.

Fostering change-oriented OCBS: an analysis of India’s IT talent

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aakanksha Kataria ◽  
Kumari Rashmi ◽  
Mansi Rastogi
Keyword(s):  
Social Exchange ◽  
Organizational Citizenship ◽  
Work Engagement ◽  
Social Exchange Theory ◽  
Psychological Climate ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Analysis Technique ◽  
The Social ◽  
It Personnel ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose This study aims to investigate how workplace resourcefulness (positive psychological climate), as well as personal resources (psychological capital [PsyCap]), influence work engagement to promote change-oriented organizational citizenship behaviors (Ch-OCBs) among Indian information technology (IT) personnel. Design/methodology/approach The social exchange theory and job demands-resources model are used to provide rationale for proposing a comprehensive mechanism including antecedents, moderators as well as mediators enabling Ch-OCBs among IT personnel. Structured questionnaires were administered targeting IT professionals and their supervisors to test the proposed relationships. The obtained data from 30 supervisors and 240 subordinates were tested using confirmatory factor analysis, SEM and moderated path analysis technique. Findings Psychological climate, PsyCap and work engagement positively relate to Ch-OCBs; PsyCap moderated the relationship between psychological climate and work engagement. Specifically, the relationship between psychological climate and work engagement has come out stronger for employees with high PsyCap. Work engagement fully mediated the relationship between psychological climate and Ch-OCBs. Practical implications The findings can be critical in promoting voluntary change-focused behaviors among Indian IT personnel, for Indian and foreign (non-Indian) multi-national corporations that are interested in reaping profits by availing change-driven extra-role services of their efficient and the most preferred Indian IT employees of the world. Originality/value This study addresses to the call for more research on change-focused promotive part of OCB and advances the literature by providing evidence on the proposed set of associations from fast-pacing Indian economy.

Structural equation modeling of residents' attitudes and tourism development: a SET based - study of the Kashmir region in India

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aasif Ali Bhat ◽  
Kakali Majumdar
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation Modeling ◽  
Social Exchange ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Social Exchange Theory ◽  
Tourism Development ◽  
Exchange Theory ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social

PurposeThe present study tries to develop a model that assesses the factors that determine support for tourism development by residents of the Kashmir region.Design/methodology/approachPrimary data have been collected (n = 650) from the residents of the top five tourist destinations through a pre-tested questionnaire by a multistage convenient sampling method. A model has been drafted and tested through the technique of structural equation modeling by applying the social exchange theory as a theoretical framework.FindingsThe results revealed that residents who perceived more benefits were more expected to support tourism development, and residents who perceive more costs were less expected to support tourism development, thus supporting the social exchange theory.Originality/valueThe results of this study are extremely useful for the local government and tourism institutions in the future planning of tourism development and also fill the vast gap in the tourism literature with a theoretical base.

Using the social exchange theory to explore the employee-organization relationship in the hospitality industry

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 670-692
Author(s):  
Jessica Vieira de Souza Meira ◽  
Murat Hancer
Keyword(s):  
Social Exchange ◽  
Organizational Citizenship ◽  
Organizational Citizenship Behavior ◽  
Organizational Support ◽  
Social Exchange Theory ◽  
Psychological Empowerment ◽  
Citizenship Behavior ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
Service Oriented

Purpose This research developed a conceptual model for the hospitality industry based on the employee-organization relationship using the social exchange theory as the theoretical framework. This study aims to consider perceived organizational support as the psychological empowerment antecedent, while work engagement and service-oriented organizational citizenship behavior were considered as its outcome. This study also tested psychological empowerment as a mediator of these relationships. Design/methodology/approach Data were gathered from a sample of frontline hotel employees and analyzed through partial least squares structural equation modeling. A total of 242 completed and validated questionnaires were used for the analysis. Findings Perceived organizational support had a significant relationship with psychological empowerment (through meaning, competence, self-determination and impact), which also had a significant relationship with work engagement (through meaning and impact) and service-oriented organizational citizenship behavior (through meaning, self-determination and impact). Psychological empowerment partially mediated the relationship between perceived organizational support with work engagement and service-oriented organizational citizenship behavior. Originality/value Although psychological empowerment is receiving further empirical attention in the hospitality field, little is known about its antecedents and outcomes. Hence, this research extends previous studies using the social exchange theory to fill these literature gaps and create a conceptual model for the hospitality industry based on the employee-organization relationship.

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