How do consumers choose offline shops on online platforms? An investigation of interactive consumer decision processing in diagnosis-and-cure markets

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer JooYeon Lee ◽  
Zecong Ma
Keyword(s):  
Service Providers ◽  
Geographic Distance ◽  
Consumer Decision ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Consumer Decisions ◽  
Customer Base ◽  
Shopping Experience ◽  
Specific Factors ◽  
Problem Awareness ◽  
Price Quotes

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is twofold: (1) to understand the process and consequences of the two-way communication between consumers and businesses on online-to-offline (O2O) diagnosis-and-cure services platforms and (2) to examine how consumer request-specific factors and service quote-specific factors influence consumer decisions in the interactive marketing context.Design/methodology/approachThe study analyzes a dataset of 17,878 service requests and 57,867 price quotes obtained from an O2O platform bridging consumers and automotive repair shops. On the platform, consumers request service quotes by uploading the description of automotive damage and multiple service providers suggest price quotes. The authors formulated a logit model to examine consumer decisions of responding service quotes.FindingsThis paper finds that (1) consumers receiving more severe diagnostic results are more likely to respond to the price quotes, and (2) diagnostic severity and inconsistency moderate the impacts of geographic distance, shop size, and quote price on consumers' responses to the service quotes.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper fills the gap in the literature by advancing the consumer decision processing model to address the interactive shopping experience on O2O diagnosis-and-cure services platforms. The findings are limited by the data and the research context.Practical implicationsFor marketing practitioners, the empirical results imply specific positioning and targeting strategies for markets with informational and geographic barriers to expand the market scope and customer base.Originality/valueThe present work is the first to examine the consumer decision process on O2O diagnosis-and-cure service platforms. It adds value to the literature by investigating how consumers update their problem awareness through the service request-specific factors (i.e. diagnostic severity and diagnostic inconsistency) and how the request-specific factors moderate the impacts of the quote-specific factors (i.e. shop distance, shop size and quote price) on consumers' responses to price quote. The conceptual model and empirical findings provide theoretical and practical values for e-commerce researchers and practitioners.

“Is this restaurant halal?” Surrogate indicators and Muslim behaviour

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1105-1123
Author(s):  
Ghazala Khan ◽  
Faiza Khan
Keyword(s):  
Service Providers ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Muslim Country ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Personnel ◽  
Customer Base ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Muslim Countries ◽  
The Uk

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate what cues or surrogate indicators Muslims use to determine whether restaurants are suitable for dining purposes in the absence of the halal logo and to examine if the cues used are different among Muslims from non-Muslim countries as opposed to Muslims from Muslim countries. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected via semi-structured interviews in one Muslim majority (Malaysia) and one non-Muslim country (the UK). A total of 16 adults participated in the study with an equal representation from both countries. Findings In the absence of the halal logo, participants relied on extrinsic cues such as the presence of other Muslim-looking customers and service personnel to determine whether a restaurant was deemed safe for dining in. The location of a restaurant was a strong indicator for Muslims in both Muslim and non-Muslim countries. In the absence of the halal logo, participants read the menus carefully, queried the service personnel for additional information and selected safer options, such as vegetarian and seafood. Research limitations/implications The study used a small sample, and therefore, the findings are tentative. Practical implications Given the growth of Muslim population in many non-Muslim countries, it is important for restaurants in non-Muslim countries not to marginalize this customer base. Trust is a key issue and service providers without the halal logo should gain the trust of Muslim customers by training service personnel and equipping them with knowledge of what halal means, developing menus with vegetarian and seafood options, providing detailed information on ingredients and communicating this on their websites and social media sites. They could also consider working with Muslim food and travel bloggers to promote themselves to a Muslim audience. They can develop a more Muslim sympathetic marketing approach and consider using separate cooking and serving utensils to gain trust and patronage of Muslim customers as well as to appeal to a larger market (vegans/vegetarians). Originality/value The present study is one of the first studies that concentrates on gaining an insight into how Muslims make decision pertaining to the selection and dining at a restaurant in the absence of the halal logo. A major contribution of the study is the identification of cues that assist Muslims when evaluating and selecting alternative food options in the absence of a halal logo.

Decision waves: consumer decisions in today's complex world

2005 ◽  
Vol 39 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 216-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley Lye ◽  
Wei Shao ◽  
Sharyn Rundle‐Thiele ◽  
Carolyn Fausnaugh
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Decision Theory ◽  
Theoretical Approach ◽  
Empirical Test ◽  
Consumer Decision Making ◽  
Consumer Decision ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Phase Theory ◽  
Consumer Decisions ◽  
Multi Phase

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the dominant consumer decision theory models and understand why that theory has received little empirical validation. A “decision waves” theory is proposed – an alternative, multi‐phase approach to decision making using image theory. An approach to validating empirically the multi‐phase theory is outlined.Design/methodology/approachThis conceptual paper examines the foundations of modern consumer decision theory and argues for a more representative model of actual consumer decisions.FindingsDecision waves provide a theoretical approach to represent more accurately consumer decision making and improve understanding in this foundational component of marketing. Decision waves do not change detailed empirical findings: however, they do change the macro perspective of how those findings are assembled for marketing.Research limitations/implicationsAn empirical test of decision waves theory is ongoing.Practical implicationsThe concepts outlined in this paper will change segmentation, positioning and how tactical plans are developed within the marketing mix, particularly for promotional strategies.Originality/valueA theoretical approach that represents decision making more accurately will bring us closer to understanding this foundational component of marketing. It provides a basis for differentiation in congested markets.

Effect of multichannel service delivery quality on customers’ continued engagement intention

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 473-494
Author(s):  
Ja-Shen Chen ◽  
Hung-Tai Tsou ◽  
Cindy Yunhsin Chou ◽  
Ciou-Hua Ciou
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Information Transparency ◽  
Customer Involvement ◽  
Quality Literature ◽  
Shopping Experience ◽  
Multichannel Service

Purpose Drawing on the extant multichannel service quality literature and customer needs regarding the experiential value of online and offline shopping, the purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships among multichannel service delivery quality (MSDQ), customer experiences, continued engagement intentions and customer involvement. Design/methodology/approach A research model with five hypotheses was proposed. Data were collected from 911 Taiwanese consumers who had a minimum of two years of multichannel shopping experience. The consumers were asked to complete a survey about their experience with MSDQ. Structural equation modelling was adopted to analyse the data. Findings The results of the analysis suggest that MSDQ positively impacts customer experiences, which in turn influence their continued engagement intentions. Furthermore, the analysis found that customer involvement positively moderates the effects of MSDQ on customer experiences. Research limitations/implications This study adopts the customer experience view to examine the effect of a holistic MSDQ design (including information transparency and accessibility and channel integration) on continued engagement intentions. By integrating a different conceptual lens, this study investigates the relationships among multichannel service quality, customer experiences and customer involvement, which adds alternative insights to the existing findings. Practical implications Managers must provide approaches to enhance the customer experiential values of utilitarianism, aesthetic appeal and playfulness; facilitate the information flow to be transparent and easily accessible; and provide different degrees of service based on customers’ experiences with their multichannel services to satisfy all consumers’ shopping needs. Originality/value The literature has focussed primarily on service providers’ technology capabilities and resources to design multichannel delivery systems. However, this study develops an MSDQ model and investigates its effects on customers’ experiences and continued engagement intentions.

scholarly journals Predicting changing pattern: building model for consumer decision making in digital market

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 674-703 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anil Kumar ◽  
Sachin Kumar Mangla ◽  
Sunil Luthra ◽  
Nripendra P. Rana ◽  
Yogesh K. Dwivedi
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Consumer Decision Making ◽  
Consumer Decision ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Fuzzy Delphi ◽  
Priority Weights

Purpose Consumers have the multiple options to choose their products and services, which have a significant impact on the pattern of consumer decision making in digital market and further increases the challenges for the service providers to predict their buying pattern. In this sense, the purpose of this paper is to propose a structural hierarchy model for analyzing the changing pattern of consumer decision making in digital market by taking an Indian context. Design/methodology/approach To accomplish the objectives, the research is conducted in two phases. An extensive literature review is performed in the first phase to list the factors related to the changing pattern of consumer decision making in digital market and then fuzzy Delphi method is applied to finalize the factors. In the second phase, fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is employed to find the priority weights of finalized factors. The fuzzy set theory allows capturing the vagueness in the data. Findings The findings obtained in this study shows that consumers are much conscious about innovative and trendy products as well as brand and quality; therefore, the service providers must think about these two most important factors so that they can able to retain their consumer in their online portal. Practical implications The analysis shows that “innovative and trendy” is the first priority factor for the consumers followed by “brand and quality” and “fulfilment and time energy.” The proposed model can help the marketers and service providers in predicting customers’ preferences and their changing pattern efficiently under vague surroundings. The outcomes of this research work not only help the service provider to update their products and services according to consumers’ needs but can also help them to increase profit and minimize their risk. Originality/value This work contributes to consumer research literature focusing on problem evaluation in the context of changing pattern of consumer decision making in digital era.

Differences between stayers, switchers, and heavy switchers

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 843-862 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Carrizo Moreira ◽  
Pedro Miguel Silva ◽  
Victor F. Moutinho
Keyword(s):  
New Technologies ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Telecommunication Services ◽  
Customer Base ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Marketing Variables ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify and compare different groups of customers’ perceptions (i.e. stayers, switchers, and heavy switchers) of several loyalty antecedents such as satisfaction, trust, service quality, switching costs, marketing communication, and loyalty itself. Design/methodology/approach This study was carried out based on data collected through a questionnaire from 353 telecommunication services users in Portugal and using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and analysis of variance. Findings The three types of customers – stayers, switchers, and heavy switchers – clearly differ among themselves. Stayers differ from switchers regarding their communication efforts perceptions, and from heavy switchers in their loyalty, satisfaction, and trust levels. Switchers differ from heavy switchers in their loyalty levels. Research limitations/implications Future research should examine differences between customers taking into account the impact of their personality, price sensitiveness, and orientation toward the adoption of new technologies. Practical implications As there are several differences among stayers, switchers, and heavy switchers, companies should not only recognize the heterogeneity of their customer base, but also target their marketing efforts accordingly. Originality/value This study is one of the few identifying groups of customers perception’s toward service providers. It also complements previous research by splitting them intro three different groups and by analyzing their behaviors across a set of previously unexamined marketing variables.

Clinical governance in Australia

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 56-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allan D Spigelman ◽  
Shane Rendalls
Keyword(s):  
Web Sites ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Service Level ◽  
Clinical Governance ◽  
Success Factor ◽  
Quality And Safety ◽  
Funding Policy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Health Service Providers ◽  
Governance Systems

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to overview, background and context to clinical governance in Australia, areas for further development and potential learnings for other jurisdictions. Design/methodology/approach – Commentary; non-systematic review of clinical governance literature; review of web sites for national, state and territory health departments, quality and safety organisations, and clinical colleges in Australia. Findings – Clinical governance in Australia shows variation across jurisdictions, reflective of a fragmented health system with responsibility for funding, policy and service provision being divided between levels of government and across service streams. The mechanisms in place to protect and engage with consumers thus varies according to where one lives. Information on quality and safety outcomes also varies; is difficult to find and often does not drill down to a service level useful for informing consumer treatment decisions. Organisational stability was identified as a key success factor in realising and maintaining the cultural shift to deliver ongoing quality. Research limitations/implications – Comparison of quality indicators with clinical governance systems and processes at a hospital level will provide a more detailed understanding of components most influencing quality outcomes. Practical implications – The information reported will assist health service providers to improve information and processes to engage with consumers and build further transparency and accountability. Originality/value – In this paper the authors have included an in depth profile of the background and context for the current state of clinical governance in Australia. The authors expect the detail provided will be of use to the international reader unfamiliar with the nuances of the Australian Healthcare System. Other studies (e.g. Russell and Dawda, 2013; Phillips et al., n.d.) have been based on deep professional understanding of clinical governance in appraising and reporting on initaitives and structures. This review has utilised resources available to an informed consumer seeking to understand the quality and safety of health services.

Customer delight during a crisis: understanding delight through the lens of transformative service research

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald C. Barnes ◽  
Jessica Mesmer-Magnus ◽  
Lisa L. Scribner ◽  
Alexandra Krallman ◽  
Rebecca M. Guidice
Keyword(s):  
Critical Incident ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Psychological Theory ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Service Research ◽  
Service Encounters ◽  
Need Fulfillment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Customer Delight ◽  
Service Experiences

PurposeThe unprecedented dynamics of the COVID-19 pandemic has forced firms to re-envision the customer experience and find new ways to ensure positive service encounters. This context has underscored the reality that drivers of customer delight in a “traditional” context are not the same in a crisis context. While research has tended to identify hedonic need fulfillment as key to customer well-being and, ultimately, to invoking customer delight, the majority of studies were conducted in inherently positive contexts, which may limit generalizability to more challenging contexts. Through the combined lens of transformative service research (TSR) and psychological theory on hedonic and eudaimonic human needs, we evaluate the extent to which need fulfillment is the root of customer well-being and that meeting well-being needs ultimately promotes delight. We argue that in crisis contexts, the salience of needs shifts from hedonic to eudaimonic and the extent to which service experiences fulfill eudaimonic needs determines the experience and meaning of delight.Design/methodology/approachUtilizing the critical incident technique, this research surveyed 240 respondents who were asked to explain in detail a time they experienced customer delight during the COVID-19 pandemic. We analyzed their responses according to whether these incidents reflected the salience of hedonic versus eudaimonic need fulfillment.FindingsThe results support the notion that the salience of eudaimonic needs become more pronounced during times of crisis and that service providers are more likely to elicit perceptions of delight when they leverage meeting eudaimonic needs over the hedonic needs that are typically emphasized in traditional service encounters.Originality/valueWe discuss the implications of these findings for integrating the TSR and customer delight literatures to better understand how service experiences that meet salient needs produce customer well-being and delight. Ultimately, we find customer delight can benefit well-being across individual, collective and societal levels.

An empirical investigation of tourist’s choice of service delivery options

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (7) ◽  
pp. 1892-1913 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arun Kumar Kaushik ◽  
Zillur Rahman
Keyword(s):  
Service Delivery ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Perceived Usefulness ◽  
Technology Readiness ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Perceived Ease Of Use ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Employees ◽  
Delivery Options

Purpose This paper aims to offer and examine a conceptual model of tourist innovativeness toward self-service technologies (SSTs) to confirm whether tourists prefer service delivery by SSTs over employees in an offline hospitality environment. Design/methodology/approach Tourists’ perceived usefulness (PU) of SSTs and need for interaction (NI) with service employees have been taken as crucial mediating variables to examine the effects of perceived ease of use and technology readiness index personality dimensions toward SST and employee-based service adoption. Findings Findings reveal that both “NI” and “PU” play significant roles in Technology Readiness and Acceptance Model (TRAM) when tourists select one of two service delivery options – SSTs and service employees. Research limitations/implications The foremost limitation of the study is its dependence on domestic tourist samples. However, such samples were chosen because tourists comprising these samples tend to use similar service delivery options more, in turn increasing their use of SSTs available in sample hotels. Practical implications The study gives a deeper understanding of TRAM with an extremely crucial mediating variable (NI) in an offline service context. It also provides useful insights to service providers and policy makers for developing new strategies and policies to enhance user experience. Social implications This study recommends the usage of numerous SSTs by tourists. Originality/value During extensive literature review carried out in this research, no study was found that proposed such an effective framework in an offline service context.

User categories of mobile travel services

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niklas Eriksson
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Mobile Services ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Online Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Travel Services ◽  
Online Data Collection ◽  
Barriers To Use ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – This study aims to identify user categories of mobile travel services and analyze the differences between the categories based on individual characteristics, the individuals' perceived barriers to use internet-/mobile services during a trip and the individuals' preferred channel strategies. Design/methodology/approach – An extensive online survey in Finland was conducted to collect the data and a cluster analysis is used to identify the user categories. Findings – The study indicates that there are four user categories of mobile travel services: “info-seekers”, “checkers”, “bookers” and “all-rounders” and one group of “non-users”. Research limitations/implications – Due to the online data collection method and the self-selective process, the sample may be biased towards respondents finding electronic travel services important. It would be of value to conduct similar studies on a representative sample of the total population of different countries. Practical implications – The identified categories can be seen as consumer segments for which travel service providers can target mobile services. Originality/value – This study contributes with a categorization of mobile travelers and provides insights on the diffusion of mobile travel services.

A model for managing service encounters for neo-luxury consumers

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bonnie Canziani ◽  
Kittichai Watchravesringkan ◽  
Jennifer Yurchisin
Keyword(s):  
Social Class ◽  
Brand Management ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Service Encounters ◽  
Theoretic Model ◽  
Luxury Brands ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Consumer Markets ◽  
Future Research Directions

Purpose – This paper aims to explore a theoretical relationship among perceptions of consumer social class, the perceived legitimacy of customer requests for service and the delivery of intangible services. It focuses the discussion on service firm encounters with non-traditional consumers seeking to purchase from luxury brands. Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews the literature for current trends in strategies of luxury brands and characteristics of evolving global and Asian consumer markets for luxury and neo-luxury goods and draws a theoretic model with propositions. Findings – Evidence suggests that service providers can improve efforts to expand services to the newly rich and trading-up neo-luxury consumer markets by focusing on the intangible elements of the service delivery system. Particular emphasis is placed on enhancing employee treatment of neo-luxury customers during service encounters by understanding the influence of employee perceptions of consumer social class and evaluations of the perceived legitimacy of customer requests for service. Originality/value – The paper contributes to the theoretical discussion in luxury brand management by suggesting that employees are influenced by impressions of customer worth and other attributes when determining responses to customers during service encounters. Implications for practitioners and future research directions for academics based on the framework are presented.

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