scholarly journals Enriching the ECSI model using brand strength in the retail setting

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 294-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paraskevi Sarantidou

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of the retailer’s brand strength as a potential predictor of loyalty. It also examines the role of customer satisfaction (CS) to the retailer’s loyalty as well as its impact on the retailer’s brand strength. Design/methodology/approach The study was conducted in the grocery context and in a market under recession using the European Customer Satisfaction Index (ECSI) model. Data were collected through a telephone survey from 2,000 participants responsible for the household grocery shopping with a quota of 250 respondents from each of the leading grocery retailers in Greece. A formative measurement model was developed and the collected data were analyzed using partial least square path modeling. Findings The findings revealed that the strength of the retailer’s brand and CS influence retail loyalty and that brand strength mediate the strength of CS to loyalty. Results also suggested that the expectations and the perceptions toward the retailer’s product offering are the most important drivers of CS and loyalty. Thus, the study has proved the importance of the functional store attributes to CS and loyalty in the grocery store setting. Originality/value Research examining the suitability of the ECSI model in the grocery setting and in a market under economic crisis is scarce. This paper addresses these shortcomings by examining a customer loyalty model which incorporates the brand strength construct and investigates the role of brand strength as a potential predictor of loyalty as well as the role of CS in the brand strength and loyalty.

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 1087-1111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farzana Quoquab ◽  
Jihad Mohammad ◽  
Norjaya Md Yasin ◽  
Nor Liza Abdullah

Purpose This study sheds some light on factors that affect customer switching intention in the Malaysian mobile phone service industry. More particularly, the purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of service quality (SQ), customer satisfaction, switching cost and consumer innovativeness (CI) on service switching intention (SWI); the mediating role of customer satisfaction; and the moderating role of service switching cost on the relationship between CI and SWI. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire survey that yielded 535 responses. Using structural equation modelling approach, the partial least square software, version 3 was utilised to test the study hypotheses. Findings Results reveal that customer satisfaction, service switching cost and CI directly affect SWI. However, no significant relationship was found between SQ and SWI. Again, data supported the mediating effect of customer satisfaction as well as the moderating effect of service switching cost. Research limitations/implications It is expected that the findings from this study will enable policymakers, managers and marketers to formulate better strategies and effectively implement loyalty programs, preventing their customers from switching. Originality/value This study contributes to the existing literature by testing switching costs as the quasi moderator. Moreover, this is a pioneer study to consider CI as the antecedent of SWI.


2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faizan Ali

Purpose This study aims to examine the relationships between hotel website quality, perceived flow, customer satisfaction and purchase intentions. Furthermore, this study also examines if perceived flow mediates the relationships between hotel website quality, customer satisfaction and purchase intentions. Design/methodology/approach The stimulus-organism-response framework is used as the theoretical framework for this study. A total of 441 valid online questionnaires were collected to empirically test the measurement and structural model using partial least square path modeling approach. The study sample includes hotel guests who booked their hotels via online travel agencies and/or hotel websites. Findings The findings confirm that hotel website quality influences customers’ perceived flow, which in turn, influences their satisfaction and purchase intention. Moreover, perceived flow also mediates the relationships between hotel website quality, customer satisfaction and purchase intentions. Originality/value Hotel website quality, perceived flow, customer satisfaction and purchase intentions altogether are not well understood in current literature despite the important implication for managers, academicians and consumers alike. This study contributes to the field of e-commerce marketing, retailing and e-tourism research.


2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kurt Matzler ◽  
Andreas Strobl ◽  
Norbert Thurner ◽  
Johann Füller

Purpose – Stabilizing business in highly competitive and volatile business-to-business (B2B) markets is a strategic imperative for many companies. In such a context, customer retention through the creation of switching barriers (i.e. by increasing switching costs) is a common strategy. The purpose of this paper is to develop a network of relationships among customer switching experience, customer satisfaction, perceived switching costs, and behavioral loyalty intentions. Design/methodology/approach – Survey data were collected from 327 business customers (very small enterprises with fewer than nine employees; customers included physicians, lawyers, tax advisors, consultants, civil engineers, etc.) of an information and communications technology (ICT) company. The research model was tested using partial least square structural equation modeling. Findings – The results show that switching experience negatively influences customer satisfaction and behavioral loyalty intention. Furthermore, the influence of customer satisfaction on behavioral loyalty intentions is partially mediated by financial and relational switching costs. Practical implications – In saturated markets, companies often try to grow by acquiring customers from competitors. This study reveals that this strategy can backfire. The customers that can be most easily acquired may be those that are the most difficult to retain because customers experienced in switching are difficult to satisfy – and low satisfaction means lower perceived financial and relational switching costs and, in turn, lower loyalty. Originality/value – This research contributes to theory and practice by shedding further light on the satisfaction-loyalty link by investigating the often widely neglected role of switching experience. Furthermore, the study seeks to add to the discussion of how to specify the role of switching costs: as a mediator or as a moderator.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 277-294
Author(s):  
Yusra Yusra ◽  
Caraka Eko ◽  
Arawati Agus ◽  
Mohd Azmi ◽  
Gio Ugiana ◽  
...  

As the sharing economy has emerged, the way customer perceives the service is shifting toward a combination of offline and online. The need for the service provider to understand its nature as well as the pertinent aspects regarding its characteristics is crucial. Previous research validated the influence of perceived online and offline service quality toward customer satisfaction and loyalty. However, with the distinctive dimensions of OFA service quality, its effects on customer satisfaction and the role of social innovativeness in satisfaction and loyalty linkage remain unexplored. Hence, this study attempts to investigate these relationships using the data obtained from customers of any OFA in Malaysia. Purposive sampling was employed and 227 collected responses were analyzed using variance-based partial least square path modeling. The results confirm the direct effect of online and offline service quality on customer loyalty and full mediation role of customer satisfaction. Besides, social innovativeness is found negatively moderates customer satisfaction and loyalty relationship. Implications and contributions of the study are also discussed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 532-554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tommy Lau ◽  
Man Lai Cheung ◽  
Guilherme D. Pires ◽  
Carol Chan

Purpose The abolishment of the wine tax in Hong Kong has led to increased wine consumption and increased demand for wine-related professionals, such as sommeliers. Yet the importance of sommeliers’ value-adding performance in the context of upscale Chinese restaurants has not been examined. To address this gap, the SERVQUAL framework is adopted to examine the influence of sommeliers’ service quality (SQ) on customer satisfaction (CS) and loyalty in the context of upscale Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong. Design/methodology/approach The survey method is used to collect data from 302 units of the population of interest, partial least square-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) is used to test the links between constructs. Findings Four of the seven dimensions of sommeliers’ service quality, namely, empathy, tangibles, credibility and assurance, have a significant positive impact on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty, whereas the impact of perceived value and responsiveness on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty is positive but only marginally significant. Reliability has a weak and non-significant impact on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Research limitations/implications Examining a small number of upscale Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong limits generalisation of the findings to other contexts. Replication of the research in different contexts will enhance generalizability. In terms of implications, the discussion highlights the importance of sommeliers’ service performance on customers’ SQ perceptions SQ, CS and loyalty, all of which are important variables for restaurateurs. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study of the influence of the quality of sommelier’s SQ on CS and loyalty in upscale Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong. Given the lack of attention to this service role in the literature, the study contributes theory from which further understanding can develop.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 328-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugene Cheng-Xi Aw ◽  
Jun-Hwa Cheah ◽  
Siew Imm Ng ◽  
Murali Sambasivan

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine compulsive buying and its interrelationships with careful spending, loan dependence and financial trouble. This study also aims to investigate the moderating role of gender. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire-based survey was conducted. Two hundred and seven responses were collected using purposive sampling technique. Partial least square–structural equation modelling was performed to analyze the proposed hypotheses. Findings The salient findings are (1) careful spending negatively influences compulsive buying, (2) compulsive buying positively influences loan dependence and financial trouble, (3) loan dependence positively influences financial trouble, (4) the relationships between careful spending and compulsive buying, and between loan dependence and financial trouble differ between male and female consumers, (5) there is a sequential mediation effect between careful spending and financial trouble and (6) there are gender differences between careful spending and compulsive buying and between loan dependence and financial trouble. Research limitations/implications This study empirically validates the role of short-term money attitude, conceptualized as careful spending in compulsive buying context and how it attenuates the consequences of compulsive buying. Originality/value This study explains the serial mechanism in which careful spending can be used to counteract financial trouble of youngsters, and further looks into the differences of relationships in term of gender through multi-group analysis.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Miao Miao ◽  
Tariq Jalees ◽  
Syed Imran Zaman ◽  
Sherbaz Khan ◽  
Noor-ul-Ain Hanif ◽  
...  

PurposeThis research study investigates the factors that influence e-customer satisfaction, e-trust, perceived value and consumers repurchase intention in the context of the B2C e-commerce segment. It investigates the mediation effect of e-customer satisfaction, e-trust and perceived value on repurchase intention. It also examines the moderating role of prior online experience.Design/methodology/approachBased on the adapted questionnaire, pre-recruited enumerators collected the data from five leading business universities of Karachi. They distributed 425 questionnaires and received 415 questionnaires. The study has used Partial Least Square-Structure Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) technique for data analysis.FindingsWe have tested 20 hypotheses, of which our results do not support five, including two direct, two mediating. Our results support all the direct hypotheses except the following two: (1) delivery service affects e-satisfaction (2) customer services quality effect on trust. We did not find support for the following two mediating hypotheses (1) e-satisfaction mediates delivery services and repurchase intention, (2) service quality mediates customers' service quality and repurchase intention. Our results do not support one moderating relationship. Prior online experience moderates e-perceived value and repurchase intention.Research limitations/implicationsThis research provides valuable information to the online retailers of B2C e-commerce, which can help them make strategies based on their consumers' behavior and encourage them to make repeat purchases from online retailing stores. It allows future researchers to replicate the model in cross-cultural studies in different product categories.Originality/valueWe have examined the moderating effect of prior online experience between (e-satisfaction, e-trust and perceived value) on the repurchase intention.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Mujtaba ◽  
Muhammad Shujaat Mubarik

Purpose This study aims to examine the role of talent management (TM) in improving organizational sustainability (OS). The study also investigates employees’ sustainable behaviour (SB) in achieving three-dimensional sustainability goals (i.e. economic, social and environmental). Design/methodology/approach This study focused on medium and large-scale manufacturing firms, whereas the sample size was 196 firms. Data was collected through close-ended questionnaires using the cluster sampling technique. The partial least square-structural equation modelling was used to estimate the modelled relationships. Findings Results show a significant direct impact of TM on OS. Likewise, the results also show a substantial impact of all three dimensions of TM (acquisition, development and retention) on OS. Results confirm that employees’ SB positively mediates between TM and OS. Research limitations/implications The study focuses on the manufacturing sector of Pakistan. The study’s findings imply that TM strategies are an indispensable source of sustainability to attract, develop and retain talented employees in the situation of talent shortage. Moreover, sustainable employees’ behaviour is also depicted as a positive role between TM and OS because sustainable success is not only required the expertize of employees, but it also needs the dedication of employees. Practical implications This study enhances the understanding of TM’s role in improving the OS. The findings imply that a firm should consider TM as the apex strategy for elevating the performance. Findings also reveal the need to adopt a comprehensive strategy or system to manage the talent of an organization. Originality/value Linking the TM with OS and SB is the novelty of the study.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Farrukh ◽  
Ali Raza ◽  
Abdul Waheed

PurposeBased on the social network theory, this study investigates the impact of political ties on innovation performance. Besides, this study also tests a mediation role of absorptive capacity (AC) and a moderation role of technology turbulence.Design/methodology/approachA hypothetico-deductive approach is adopted to test the hypotheses. Data were collected from the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) managers/owners through a structured questionnaire.FindingsPartial least square structural equation modeling technique is used to analyze the hypothesized relationships; the findings showed that political ties significantly impact the innovation performance, and this relationship is mediated by AC. Moreover, technological turbulence moderated the relationship between political ties and innovation performance.Originality/valueDespite the increasing attention to the role of networking in improving innovation, there is a scarcity of studies on the role of political ties, AC and technology turbulence in fostering organizational innovation; thus, this study is a unique contribution to literature.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hassan Al-Dhaafri ◽  
Mohammed Saleh Alosani

Purpose The purpose of this study is to study the collective effect of leadership, strategic planning and entrepreneurial organizational culture (EOC) on organizational excellence. Design/methodology/approach Using primary data obtained through a survey questionnaire, hypotheses have been developed for testing. Out of a total of 565 questionnaires, only 355 questionnaires were returned where data were collected from the Dubai police organization. The structural equation modelling (SEM) approach was used to analyse the collected data. Findings Statistical findings using SEM-partial least square confirmed the full mediating role of strategic planning as a mechanism between leadership and organizational excellence. In addition, the results reported a significant effect of leadership on strategic planning besides its impact on organizational excellence. Practical implications Results reported many valuable implications. The outcomes of this study have practical implications that will help managers, decision-makers and practitioners to consider the study’s variables to enhance the overall performance through achieving excellence. Originality/value The collective role of leadership, strategic planning, EOC and organizational excellence is studied as one of the most important empirical studies which bring original contribution to the existing body of knowledge.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document