The impact of backstage cues on service evaluation

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi-Fen Liu ◽  
Yingzi Xu ◽  
I-Ling Ling
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Service Evaluation ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Reduction Effect ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Service Experiences

Purpose This research aims to investigate how backstage visibility affects intangibility and perceived risk at the pre-purchase stage and how service credence moderates the effect of backstage visibility on intangibility and perceived risk. It also focuses on the effect of backstage visibility on perceived service quality and value at the post-purchase stage and the moderating role of the service contact level. Design/methodology/approach This research tests the causal relationships between backstage visibility and customers’ service evaluations through two experimental studies. Findings Study 1 shows that customers who are exposed to backstage cues perceive less pre-purchase risk in the service than those who are not exposed. Pictures plus text information are more effective than text illustrations alone for risk reduction. This risk reduction effect is stronger for high-credence than for low-credence services and is partially mediated by the perceived intangibility of the service. Study 2 reveals that customers with access to backstage cues perceive higher service quality and higher overall value from service experiences. The value increase is more significant for high-contact than for low-contact services. Research limitations/implications Future research could apply different methods to different data sources to provide further insight about backstage visibility. Originality/value The findings of this research suggest that allowing customers to view some backstage activities before purchase helps tangibilize the service, achieve more effective communication with customers and create more positive service experiences.

I am ugly, but I am tender: the dominance of moral character and warmth

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-176
Author(s):  
Joseph W. Chang
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Moral Character ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Thinking Styles ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Moral Intuitions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Brand Evaluations ◽  
Culture Characteristics ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the dominance of athlete endorser characteristics (i.e. moral character vs warmth) on athlete endorser perception and the influence of tarnished athlete endorsers (i.e. immoral character vs coldness) on brand evaluations from the perspectives of perceiver characteristics, including dispositional tendency, innate moral intuitions, and self-location (SL). Design/methodology/approach This research consists of three experimental studies with 135, 72, and 91 participants, respectively. Study 1 compared the dominance of moral character and warmth on athlete endorser perception. Study 2 examined the impact of perceiver characteristics on the cause-and-effect relationship between tarnished athlete endorsers (i.e. immoral character vs coldness) and brand evaluations. Study 3 investigated the cross-cultural generalizability of the US-based research findings in Study 2 for Indians. Findings Moral character is more influential than warmth on athlete endorser evaluations. Tarnished athlete endorsers with immoral character exert more negative influence than tarnished athlete endorsers with coldness characteristic on brand evaluations. Except for dispositional tendency, innate moral intuitions and SL moderate brand evaluations. Endorser and perceiver characteristics yield asymmetric patterns of influence on Americans’ and Indians’ brand evaluations. Research limitations/implications Future research is needed to verify the causal effects of thinking styles on the relationship between tarnished athlete endorsers and brand evaluations. Practical implications The determination of endorsement continuity has to jointly consider the characteristics of endorsers, perceivers, and cultures. Originality/value This research contributes to the endorsement research by advancing the research scopes of athlete endorser, perceiver, and culture characteristics.

The impact of customer knowledge and customer relationship management on service quality

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shu-Mei Tseng ◽  
Pin-Hong Wu
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Customer Relationship Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Relationship Management ◽  
Customer Relationships ◽  
Customer Relationship ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Customer Knowledge ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – Enterprises realize that customers are their most important asset and recognize that a high level of customer satisfaction can only be achieved by enhancing service quality. Thus, how enterprises acquire customer knowledge by which to initiate and maintain customer relationships, as well as to enhance service quality has become an important issue. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – This study uses a questionnaire and statistical analytical techniques to explore the impact of customer knowledge and customer relationship management (CRM) on service quality. Findings – The results indicated that customer knowledge has a positive influence on service quality and CRM is the partial intervening variable between customer knowledge and service quality. That is, customer knowledge enhances the CRM, while CRM, in turn, increases service quality and provides competitive advantages. Research limitations/implications – This research explored the impact of customer knowledge and CRM on service quality based on the company's perception and there was no validation on the customers' perception of the company. Therefore, it is suggested that future research should involve company staff, current customers, and latent customers to strengthen the triangulation. Practical implications – The results found that customer knowledge is indeed an important source of competitive advantage. Hence, enterprises should acquire valuable customer knowledge in order to enhance the relationship with customers, as well as enhance their service quality. Originality/value – There is still little related literature investigating the relationships amongst customer knowledge, CRM, and service quality. Hence, this study applies questionnaire methods as the main research tools in order to conduct an in-depth investigation into the influence of customer knowledge and CRM on service quality. Furthermore, this research is expected to provide enterprises with valuable suggestions for management practices.

Determining the impact of e-commerce quality on customers’ perceived risk, satisfaction, value and loyalty

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 576-587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ιoannis Tzavlopoulos ◽  
Katerina Gotzamani ◽  
Andreas Andronikidis ◽  
Chris Vassiliadis
Keyword(s):  
Path Analysis ◽  
Customer Loyalty ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Perceived Value ◽  
Perceived Quality ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The quality assessment of e-commerce services is of particular research interest, as it has been widely found that quality is directly linked to customer satisfaction and loyalty, which in turn leads to improved sales results, the creation of reputation and enhanced competitiveness for active companies in the industry. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the quality in e-commerce and to examine the relationships developed among its individual dimensions and satisfaction, perceived value, perceived risk and customer loyalty. Design/methodology/approach Initially, exploratory factor analysis with the equamax rotation method was applied to identify the perceptions of consumers regarding quality, value, satisfaction, risk and loyalty. The effect of the factors that make up perceived quality of e-services on customer value, satisfaction, risk and loyalty was examined by using OLS regression analysis. Likewise, path analysis was applied to confirm the impact of perceived quality on total consumer satisfaction, perceived value and loyalty, utilizing perceived risk as a moderating variable. Findings The authors found that quality overall has a positive and statistically significant relationship with perceived value, satisfaction and loyalty and negative with perceived risk. From the individual dimensions of quality, it has been found that ease of use of websites, design, responsiveness and security lead to increased levels of perceived value, while ease of use, responsiveness and personalization lead to an increase in the overall satisfaction of consumers. Overall, it has been documented that high levels of quality lead to higher satisfaction and perceived value, mitigating perceived risk and positively impacting the adoption of desirable consumer behaviors as reflected in customer loyalty. Research limitations/implications In this respect, future research in the field of e-commerce can examine the quality of the respective electronic services taking into account different product and business categories. In addition, the future research can focus on the impact of high satisfaction, perceived value and customer loyalty on various sizes of business performance, including sales, market share, competitiveness, financial efficiency and sustainability. Practical implications Given the clear relationship between quality, perceived value and satisfaction, e-commerce businesses have the potential to benefit significantly from improvements in the quality of their services, as this leads to increased levels of perceived value, high level of satisfaction and hence enhanced customer loyalty, which is in turn reflected in increased sales, positive word-of-mouth, improved reputation and brand loyalty. In this way, e-businesses will be able to improve their financial position, achieve higher market shares, maintain their competitive advantage, attract new development resources and become sustainable on a long-term basis. Social implications Businesses need to understand the factors that determine the quality in e-commerce to be able to achieve customer satisfaction and reduce perceived risk through improved quality. These factors, which consumers perceive as important for quality, are critical. Originality/value The concepts of quality, perceived value, risk, satisfaction and loyalty are considered to be interlinked in both traditional consumer research and e-commerce, as high levels of perceived quality are believed to lead to positive assessments of the cost-benefit and, hence, the perceived value (Cronin et al., 2000; Sweeney and Soutar, 2001; Korda and Snoj, 2010) and loyalty. In this context, this study attempted to study the relationship of these five variables, through both regression and path analysis, resulting in similar results. According to the findings of the study, perceived quality of website services has a positive and statistically significant impact on perceived value, satisfaction and an opposite effect on perceived risk, while the last is mitigating variable for and loyalty.

The interplay of social responsibility consciousness and evaluation mode in consumers’ response toward cause-related marketing-enhanced product

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (8) ◽  
pp. 1651-1674
Author(s):  
Eun Young Park ◽  
Jung Min Jang
Keyword(s):  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Purchase Intention ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Presentation Mode ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Price Fairness ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cause Related Marketing ◽  
Evaluation Mode ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper demonstrate that purchase intention toward a cause-related marketing (CRM)-enhanced product can be positively correlated with consumers’ social responsibility consciousness (SRC) and can be increased or decreased merely by changing the evaluation mode. Design/methodology/approach The authors conduct three experimental studies with two levels of SRC (high vs low) × two evaluation modes (joint evaluation (JE) vs separate evaluation (SE)) between-subjects design. The dependent variable is purchase intent toward the CRM-enhanced product. Findings The results indicate that consumers with high SRC are more likely than those with low SRC to purchase a CRM-enhanced product when two products are presented side by side (JE). However, consumers’ SRC level does not impact purchase intention when they see only one product (SE) independently (Study 1). The authors confirm that the proposed effect is mediated by perceived price fairness toward the product (Studies 2 and 3). Research limitations/implications Future research on CRM-enhanced products should carefully consider that the impact of individuals’ SRC level was in very different directions depending on the evaluation mode. In addition, further investigation is needed to address generalizability issues regarding samples and hypothetical stimuli. Practical implications These findings offer recommendations to help practitioners design effective marketing communications about CRM practice for target markets. Originality/value To the authors best knowledge, the current study is the first attempt to explore the crucial role of SRC, presentation mode and their interaction on purchase intention toward CRM-enhanced products.

The impact of service encounter quality in service evaluation: evidence from a business‐to‐business context

2010 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 338-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chanaka Jayawardhena
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Evaluation Model ◽  
Service Evaluation ◽  
Service Encounter ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Context ◽  
Evaluation Models ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Business To Business

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the impact of service encounter quality within a service evaluation model. The conceptual model seeks to incorporate the following constructs: service encounter quality, service quality, customer satisfaction, perceived value, loyalty to the firm and loyalty to the employees.Design/methodology/approachA conceptual model was developed based on a comprehensive literature review. A questionnaire was developed with item measures that captures the constructs in the conceptual model. A survey of business customers was undertaken, and a response rate of 18.6 per cent was obtained. The data are analysed via confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling.FindingsService encounter quality is directly related to customer satisfaction and service quality perceptions, and indirectly to perceived value and loyalty. The paper offers insights into the specifics of business‐to‐business service dynamics by examining the role of service quality, satisfaction, value on loyalty to both employees of the firm and the firm itself. It demonstrates how firms may be able to contribute to the achievement of organisational objectives through careful and creative management of the service encounter.Originality/valueResearch examining the role that service encounter quality plays within service evaluation models is scarce. Moreover, most service evaluation models are operationalised within a retail customer context. The paper addresses both these shortcomings, by examining a comprehensive service evaluation model which incorporates service encounter quality within a business‐to‐business context.

scholarly journals The effects of logo frame design on brand extensions

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-113
Author(s):  
Yu-Shan Athena Chen ◽  
Lien-Ti Bei
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Brand Extension ◽  
Brand Extensions ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Frame Effect ◽  
Frame Design ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purposes of two experiments were to examine how brands may create a broad brand impression and benefit brand extensions by crafting logo frames. Design/methodology/approach Two experimental studies were conducted. Study 1 examines how removing and breaking logo frames expands perceived brand breadth. Study 2 considers the implication of this logo frame effect and indicates the impact of logo frames on brand extension scenarios. Findings Removing and breaking logo frames could expand perceived brand breadth and, in turn, benefits the brand extensions, especially for promotion-focused consumers. However, prevention-focused people held favorable brand extension attitudes when the brand logo constructs a complete frame due to its perceived trustworthiness. Research limitations/implications As an initial exploration, this study conceptualizes and manipulates logo frames as full framed, partial framed and open logo. Future research studies could include further design features in the examination. Practical implications If a brand seeks to be broad, removing or breaking its logo frame is an alternative. However, consequential negative impressions on brand extension attitudes among prevention-focused customers should be considered. Originality/value This study is the first investigation into the impacts of logo frame patterns on consumers’ perception of brand breadth and the consequent extension attitudes.

Consumer suggestion sharing: helpful, pragmatic and conditional

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas A. Burnham ◽  
Garret Ridinger ◽  
Anne Carpenter ◽  
Laee Choi
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Critical Incident ◽  
Ecological Validity ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Customer Engagement ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Relationship Strength ◽  
Multiple Paths ◽  
Potential Benefits

Purpose Consumers who share their suggestions with firms contribute valuable knowledge and both exhibit and reinforce positive customer engagement. Yet, the motivational antecedents of direct-to-firm customer suggestion sharing remain understudied. This study aims to investigate how potential self, other customer and firm benefits motivate consumer suggestion sharing. Design/methodology/approach A critical incident pretest explores the domain and establishes ecological validity. Two scenario-based experimental studies test the proposed relationships in distinct service contexts. Findings Results support a prosocial (helpful) view of suggestion sharing – potential benefits to other customers motivate suggestion sharing. Potential benefits for the firm play two roles, namely, they indirectly motivate suggestion sharing by increasing consumers’ perceived outcome expectancy, illustrating a pragmatic mechanism, and they directly motivate suggestion sharing when service quality is high, illustrating a conditional, reciprocity-driven mechanism. When service quality is low, consumers are less likely to share firm-benefitting suggestions and more likely to share non-beneficial suggestions, highlighting a potential low service quality “trap” in which firms can become stuck. Research limitations/implications Future research is needed to study the antecedents of attitude toward suggestion sharing and the effect of relationship strength on suggestion sharing. Practical implications Managerially, multiple paths are identified by which firms can motivate suggestion sharing. The low-service quality “trap” indicates that low-service quality firms should not rely on, and should perhaps even ignore, customer suggestions as a tool for improving their offerings. Originality/value By experimentally investigating the motivational antecedents of direct-to-firm consumer suggestion sharing, this paper fills a gap in extant research and provides a foundation upon which future suggestion sharing research can build.

Caste at work: study of factors influencing attitudes toward affirmative action in India

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 597-616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ambika Prasad ◽  
Laurie T. O’Brien ◽  
Caitlin E. Smith Sockbeson
Keyword(s):  
Affirmative Action ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Diversity Management ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Applied Study ◽  
Negative Perceptions ◽  
Lower Castes ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the relevance of caste identity in applied settings. The authors do this within the larger framework of affirmative action programs (AAPs) or “reservations” in India. The paper explores the interplay of a primordial identity like caste with the modern institutions representing equality – a context unique to India. Design/methodology/approach The paper reports the findings of two experimental studies collecting data using Mechanical Turk. Findings The first study finds that an individual hired under the AAP is perceived poorly on his/her competence and reward worthiness. The second study finds support for the influence of an individual’s conception of modern casteism and his/her caste identity as factors in shaping attitudes toward AAP. Research limitations/implications The paper lays the groundwork but does not explore the contours of casteism in contemporary India. Understanding of this construct as well as the impact of factors as region, education, urbanization, religion, nature of employment, etc. on caste dynamics should be considered by future research. Practical implications The paper uncovers some similarities between Indian and Western findings, but it also demonstrates key differences between findings related to race-based AAPs in the West and the caste-based AAP in India. This understanding will guide discourses on diversity management in under-researched countries like India. The findings can sensitize organizations to the need for addressing unconscious biases related to caste. Social implications The paper underscores the continuing relevance of caste in modern India and the negative perceptions of lower castes. The paper finds that individuals with an appreciation of the subtle forms of casteism are sympathetic to programs that promote social equality. In modern social contexts this nuanced operationalization of casteism can be a relevant indicator of caste dynamics. Originality/value This is the first empirical study to examine caste-based AAP in India in an applied study and unpacks the psychological underpinnings of the attitudes toward AAP.

Employee beliefs regarding the impact of unconventional appearance on customers in Mexico and Turkey

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Karl ◽  
Joy Van Eck Peluchette ◽  
Leda McIntyre Hall
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Service Industries ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Hair Color ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Customer Perceptions ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The increasing prevalence of unconventional appearance attributes (e.g. tattoos, piercings, unnatural hair color, alternative clothing) is a concern among employers as these appearance attributes are often viewed negatively. Because much of the existing employee appearance research has been conducted in the USA, the purpose of this paper is to examine employee beliefs regarding the impact of unconventional employee appearance on customer perceptions of service quality in Mexico and Turkey. The authors also examine the impact of gender, age, and position level. Design/methodology/approach – The sample consisted of 295 white collar employees in various service industries in Turkey and Mexico. Respondents reported how they thought eight employee appearance factors (tattoos, facial piercings, unconventional hair color, unconventional hair styles, sweat pants, clothing with rips or tears, clothing that bears midriffs, belly-buttons, or cleavage, and uniforms) would affect customer perceptions of service quality. Findings – Employees in both Mexico and Turkey indicated that uniforms would have a positive impact on customer perceptions of service quality and all seven unconventional employee appearance attributes would have a negative impact. Significant differences for country, gender, age, and position level were also found. Research limitations/implications – Future research including a more diverse group of countries and cultures is needed. Future research should also attempt to control for differences in type of organization, organizational culture, and job type. Practical implications – Alternative fashion and appearance styles may be trendy but there are risks in how these might be perceived by customers and by colleagues at work. Originality/value – This study examines employee beliefs regarding the impact of a variety of unconventional employee appearance attributes on customers’ perceptions of service quality in Mexico and Turkey.

Pink or blue? The impact of gender cues on brand perceptions

2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (9/10) ◽  
pp. 1550-1574 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Claudia Hess ◽  
Valentyna Melnyk
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Feminine Gender ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Brand Perception ◽  
Purchase Likelihood ◽  
High Competence ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate whether, how and why gender cues influence brand perception and subsequent purchasing behaviour. Design/methodology/approach Across four experimental studies conducted online with either a convenience sample (Studies 1a and 1b) or a representative sample of consumers (Studies 2 and 3), the authors empirically investigate whether gender cues impact brand perception along dimensions of warmth and competence and how other warmth and competence cues in a consumer environment moderate the effect of gender cues on consumer brand perceptions. Findings Gender cues (e.g. gender-typed colours and shapes) activate gender-stereotypical knowledge of warmth and competence, which spills over to the brand. This effect depends on the presence of other competence cues in a consumer’s environment. In contrast to conventional practice, in the presence of a high competence cue (e.g. reputable brands), feminine gender cues enhance purchase likelihood (via activation of warmth perceptions), whereas masculine cues actually decrease purchase likelihood. In contrast, in the presence of a low competence cue (e.g. new companies), masculine gender cues enhance purchase likelihood (via activation of competence perceptions), whereas feminine cues lower purchase likelihood. Research limitations/implications The authors used an experimental approach to explicitly test for causality and isolate the effect of gender cues in a controlled setting. Future research should further address the implication of gender cues using actual sales data. Practical implications Reputable companies often explicitly use cues to highlight their competence. The results of this research suggest that managers may want to reconsider this approach. That is, marketers of brands with established high competence should consider integrating more feminine cues to highlight their warmth, such as feminine shapes (e.g. circles and ovals) or feminine colours (e.g. a shade of pink) in their packaging and marketing communication. In contrast, companies that have not established their competence or not-for-profit organisations would be better off integrating masculine cues. Originality/value This is the first research to empirically investigate the effect of gender cues on brand perception and subsequent purchase behaviour. Not only does this research show that gender cues can alter brand perception along the warmth and competence perception but also the authors address the call to identify conditions under which warmth versus competence cues enhance brand perception and purchase likelihood (Aaker et al., 2010). In particular, this research demonstrates how multiple warmth and competence cues interact with each other.

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