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The purpose of this study was to determine how satisfied farmers are with extension workers' work in the beef cattle industry in the Sinjai Timur subdistrict, Sinjai Regency, South Sulawesi Province. The study is descriptive and quantitative. The Slovin formula was used to establish the sample size for this study, which included 90 farmers. The Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI), Importance Performance Analysis (IPA), and descriptive statistical analysis are some of the research analysis techniques used. According to the study's findings, IPA results in an average importance level (y) score of 2.78 and an average performance level (x) value of 3.00. TKi had a mean value of 90.28. The CSI calculation shows a satisfaction level of 60%, which means it was in the moderately satisfactory category. However, this value has not reached its maximum level. Accordingly, extension workers need to continue to improve their performance. To increase the CSI value, the performance of the qualities in quadrant II must also be maintained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Study 1, the authors find that people are more satisfied with a service experience when they choose to participate in the provider's voluntary green program (e.g., recycling)--an effect mediated by the "warm glow" of participation. The downside, however, is that this same mechanism decreases satisfaction among people who choose not to participate. In Study 2, analysis of data from the J.D. Power Guest Satisfaction Index suggests that incentivizing the program (i.e., compensating the program participants) paradoxically increases satisfaction for those who do not participate but decreases satisfaction among those who do. Studies 3 and 4 explore how manipulating incentive characteristics might enable managers to maximize satisfaction for both groups. Study 3 indicates that, compared with no incentive, an "other-benefiting" incentive increases warm glow and satisfaction for green program participants but decreases them among nonparticipants. Study 4, however, suggests that mixed incentive bundles (i.e., providing both self-benefiting and other-benefiting options) maximize warm glow and satisfaction for both groups--the ideal outcome for managers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design of an appropriate inventory control policy for a supply chain (SC) plays an essential role in tempering inventory instability and bullwhip effect. Several constraints are commonly encountered in actual operations so managers are required to take these physical restrictions into account when designing the inventory control policy. Model predictive control (MPC) appears as a promising solution to this issue, due to its capability of finding optimal control actions for a constrained SC system. Therefore, the inventory control problem for a benchmark SC is solved using the extended prediction self-adaptive control approach to MPC. To extend methodologies in our previous work, the control framework relies on generic process model and incorporates the physical constraints arising from practical operations to form the general constrained optimisation problems. The managers can choose from decentralised and centralised control structures according to specific informational and organisational factors of their SCs. The proposed control schemes in this study may be appropriate for industrial practice because the designed policy can bring a reduction of over 30% in operating cost and a significant increase of customer satisfaction level compared with that of the conventional policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article evaluates the role of customers in the alliance equation. Using a combination of survey and experimental data, we investigate the role of value offered by retail alliances on customer satisfaction with the alliance. We find that customer value plays a mediating role in the relationship between customer experience with the alliance and customer satisfaction with the alliance. Results also show that the nature of this relationship differs based on the type of value offered by the alliance. Cognitive processing plays a more significant role when the alliance is of a functional nature, while affect plays a more significant role when the retail alliance is of a hedonic nature. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Numerous studies report the failure of western e-commerce experiences to effectively engage the Chinese customer. While culture shapes significantly customers' interpretation of their e-commerce experience we have not considered the way (dis)satisfactory determinants shape managerial action outside the western world. Our action research design, spread over a six-year period, integrates critical incidents to facilitate managerial reflection. We surface a new dimension of respect, while revealing important distinct interpretations of existing dimensions. Our narrative, which integrates a prototypical e-commerce experience, acts to crystallise fundamental insights for the management of Chinese e-commerce encounters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Factors that occur before word-of-mouth (WOM) production are examined, using an influential typology established by Mangold et al. (1999). We conduct two surveys, each covering four service categories, and measure the factors associated with both positive and negative word of mouth. We ask respondents to report on both giving and receiving word of mouth. This approach allows us to address three frequency-related concerns about WOM. The first concern is to supply an accurate survey-based count of word-of-mouth antecedents, which will assist those making marketing decisions and formulating advertising strategies. The second use of our results is to build knowledge about WOM factors in a way that assists understanding of the nature of word of mouth. We find limited variation in the frequency of WOM factors by service category. Satisfaction and dissatisfaction have equal frequency in the production of WOM about services and, more generally, the frequencies of the antecedents of positive and negative WOM on services are similar. There is also little difference between the frequencies measured for factors associated with giving WOM and those related to receiving WOM. A third concern has been the practice of deriving frequencies from qualitative reports, as was done by Mangold et al. (1999). Comparing their results with our own, we find substantial differences, which have implications for market research practice. One explanation for these differences is that retrieval bias operates more strongly in qualitative work than in surveys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As competition online increases, website owners investigate ways in which they can attract and retain more users. One avenue is to reduce frustration and stress for the users. Furthermore, many website users are rushed when browsing for specific information on a website. To save time and prevent frustration, website owners should try to maximize information scent, that is, visual, audio, and semantic cues that are meant to lead or guide the user to his or her informational goal. This paper presents and tests a model to predict how information scent can reduce the amount of stress that consumers experience when seeking information under time constraints. The study also demonstrates the relationships between information scent, time constraints, stress, performance, and attitudes toward the website. Results demonstrate that high information scent is an important design goal for a website, and latent semantic analysis can be a useful tool for measuring scent. In addition, rather than an attribute of an overall site, the concept of scent is demonstrated to be dependent on both the website and the task(s) being performed by the user. This finding demonstrates that to maximize users’ satisfaction and ability to accomplish their goals, website designers need to determine what tasks users need to accomplish, and to make sure that the links on each page point clearly to the appropriate destination to meet those goals. The latent semantic analysis tool can provide an indication of strength and clarity of the links. Clear links gain even more importance when considering the time constraints of users. Measurable stress explains some of the variance in performance and attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As firms attempt revenue growth through expansion into international markets, research on the potentially differential nature of consumer perceptions across national markets has become increasingly important. The authors advance the customer satisfaction literature by comparing customer perceptions in the wireless services industry across the national markets of Barbados, Singapore, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. This five-country context provides a unique opportunity for understanding how customers differ across markets because the data encompass consumers in disparate national markets (e.g., small/large, developing/developed, culturally heterogeneous) but include perceptions regarding a ubiquitous and increasingly commoditized service (wireless services). Focusing on emerging- versus developed-market comparisons, the findings provide important insights into unique differences in customer perceptions, including the greater importance of quality relative to value in influencing satisfaction in developed markets and the lesser importance of satisfaction in influencing customer loyalty in emerging markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Customizing a product by choosing each of its attributes individually tends to be onerous for consumers, and the benefits of product customization may thus be offset by an increase in choice complexity. As a remedy for this dilemma, the current research introduces the customization via starting solutions (CvSS) architecture, which substantially reduces the complexity of product customization while preserving all of its advantages. Under CvSS, consumers first select one starting solution from a set of prespecified products, which they then refine to create their final customized product. Evidence from nine studies (three of which were conducted in field settings) across a wide range of product domains (shirts, cars, vacation packages, jewelry, and financial products) shows that the CvSS architecture results in substantial benefits relative to the standard attribute-by-attribute product customization format for both consumers (increased satisfaction with their product choices, reduced choice complexity, and enhanced mental simulation of product use) and firms (purchases of more feature-rich, and thus higher-priced, products). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to study the influence of customer co-creation participation on customers' brand experience, brand satisfaction and brand loyalty. We apply a service logic approach in which co-creation participation refers to co-creation of customer value together with the brand, co-creation of new value with the brand and co-creation of value together with other customers within the context of the brand. The reasoning applied is that customers' co-creation with a brand - stimulating their engagement with the brand - influences brand experience, and through that, brand satisfaction and loyalty. A study among bank customers shows that co-creation participation positively influences sensory, affective, cognitive, behavioural and relational dimensions of a brand experience. However, influences of brand experience dimensions on satisfaction and loyalty are revealed to be complex as some of the dimensions influence satisfaction positively, while others have a negative influence. Furthermore, we show that the satisfaction and loyalty effects of co-creation participation are partially mediated by brand experience. Thus, there are both indirect and direct effects on satisfaction and loyalty from customers' co-creation participation. Implications point to the importance of carefully managing co-creation participation in order to gain competitive advantages. Companies should be careful about how brand experience is stimulated through co-creation because of the potential risk of negative effects on satisfaction and loyalty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With increasing concerns on customer needs in today’s competitive market, the issue of incorporating customer requirements into product design arises the interest of both researchers and practitioners. Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is a well-known methodology for customer-driven product design. However, conventionally, QFD analysis has a major challenge in understanding customer needs accurately. Kano’s model, which studies the nature of customer needs, provides a way for a better classification of customer needs. However, seldom research contributions are found in terms of integrating Kano’s model with QFD quantitatively. In this research, a novel integration approach is proposed. At first, Kano’s model is quantified by identifying relationship between customer needs and customer satisfaction (CS). Next, both qualitative and quantitative results from Kano’s model are integrated into QFD. Finally, a mixed non-linear integer programming model is formulated to maximise CS under cost and technical constraints. In this research, an illustrative example associated with the design of notebook computers is also presented to demonstrate the availability of the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Ethical research on consumption has focused mainly on the obligations, principles and values guiding consumers' actions and reasons for action. In doing so, it has concerned itself mostly with such bounded contexts as voluntary simplifiers, anti-consumption movements or so-called 'ethical consumers,' thereby fostering an artificial opposition between ethical and non-ethical consumption. This paper proposes virtue ethics as a more apt conceptual framework for the ethical analysis of consumption because it takes into account the developmental dynamic triggered by engagement in consumption practices. We build on MacIntyre's goods-virtues-practices-institutions framework and Beabout's concept of a domain-relative practice and argue that when engaging in consumption activities, agents may pursue goods internal to practices, further their individual life narratives and contribute to the good of their communities, thus developing virtues that perfect themselves both as consumers and as ethical agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Customer satisfaction is an important strategic performance which is influenced by service experience and perceived value. This study proposed a model to postulate, and statistically test, the relationship between value drivers and customers’ perceived value of semiconductor manufacturing services, and the impact of perceived value on customer satisfaction. The research results showed that perceived value and value drivers are significantly different among services. Line services have a more significant influence on customer satisfaction than support services. Customer firm type and geographical location have a significant influence on value perception and preference, and on the relationship between service value and customer satisfaction. This study suggests that semiconductor manufacturing service providers should deliver right value proposition to enhance satisfaction for different customer firm types in varying regions, and design customised service portfolios with various value foci to differentiate them and gain a competitive advantage. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Online chatter, or user-generated content, constitutes an excellent emerging source for marketers to mine meaning at a high temporal frequency. This article posits that this meaning consists of extracting the key latent dimensions of consumer satisfaction with quality and ascertaining the valence, labels, validity, importance, dynamics, and heterogeneity of those dimensions. The authors propose a unified framework for this purpose using unsupervised latent Dirichlet allocation. The sample of user-generated content consists of rich data on product reviews across 15 firms in five markets over four years. The results suggest that a few dimensions with good face validity and external validity are enough to capture quality. Dynamic analysis enables marketers to track dimensions’ importance over time and allows for dynamic mapping of competitive brand positions on those dimensions over time. For vertically differentiated markets (e.g., mobile phones, computers), objective dimensions dominate and are similar across markets, heterogeneity is low across dimensions, and stability is high over time. For horizontally differentiated markets (e.g., shoes, toys), subjective dimensions dominate but vary across markets, heterogeneity is high across dimensions, and stability is low over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from an online hotel reservation site, the authors jointly examine consumers’ quality choice decision at the time of purchase and subsequent satisfaction with the hotel stay. They identify three circumstantial variables at the time of purchase that are likely to influence both the choice decisions and the postpurchase satisfaction: the time gap between purchase and consumption, distance between purchase and consumption, and time of purchase (business/ nonbusiness hours). The authors incorporate these three circumstantial variables into a formal two-stage economic model and find that consumers who travel farther and make reservations during business hours are more likely to select higher-quality hotels but are less satisfied. Consumers who book earlier are more likely to select higher-quality hotels and are more satisfied. The findings suggest that incorporating circumstantial variables into formal choice models is useful in helping managers understand and predict consumer choices and satisfaction assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to provide a critical review of how consumer satisfaction research in the sport management and the nonsport literatures has developed over the past several decades, and, with that information, to propose a new comparison standard in the formation of sport consumer satisfaction. Though several alternative explanations of consumer satisfaction have been developed, expectancy-disconfirmation framework is the theoretical foundation most used in consumer satisfaction research. However, expectancy-disconfirmation theory does not allow researchers to fully assess the potential complexity of sport consumer satisfaction. Therefore, in addition to recommendations for improving the application of expectancy-disconfirmation, we also propose counterfactual thinking as an alternative comparison standard in determining sport consumer satisfaction. The proposed framework contributes to the literature on sport consumer behavior by illustrating how sport consumers use a “what might have been” rather than “what was” heuristic to explain satisfaction judgments with their sport consumption experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To gain competitive advantage, original brand manufacturers (OBMs) need to understand how operations and marketing cooperate to achieve performance. Doing so can guide OBMs to make appropriate actions to develop their operational and marketing capability, and foster collaboration between the two functions. Using data collected from 560 Chinese OBMs, the authors investigated the joint impact of total quality management (TQM) initiated by operations and brand-building undertaken by marketing on product quality, brand performance and customer satisfaction and loyalty. The results revealed that the two efforts interact and generate gains that individual efforts cannot realize. Not only their interaction generates additional value to product quality, the results also broadly substantiated the authors’ hypothesis that TQM and brand-building take different paths to affect customer satisfaction and loyalty. In total, although brand-building, as matter of inputs, may impose stronger influences on the performances, OBMs should not neglect TQM, as investing in both is critical to the firm’s long-term success. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Traditional market research methods that rely on explicit respondent feedback, such as focus groups or surveys, often fail to detect the deep-seated, often subconscious, emotions towards brands that reside in consumers' minds. Recently, there has been considerable interest in the ability of well-established psychological tests that capture people's implicit responses using speeded reaction time paradigms to tap in to these subconscious associations. In this paper, we describe the use of an adapted semantic priming paradigm to measure the strength of implicit consumer associations between a range of psychological attributes and competitor brands within this media category. The study was conducted online across ten countries and, within each country, against nine relevant competitive brands of the MTV channel. Analysis of the resulting implicit dataset revealed large statistical differences between brands in terms of consumers' subconscious feelings that were not captured by previous explicit research methodologies into consumer brand engagement. This study clearly demonstrates the power and usefulness of combining implicit and explicit online research data to gain maximum understanding of consumers' true feelings about brands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study argues that service quality in retailing in 3D Collaborative Virtual Environments (aka Metaverses) is distinct from service quality in the more familiar 2D, mainly menu-driven, web internet store (e-SQ) and conceptualises the determinants of Metaverse Retailing service quality (MR-SQ) through a combination of focus groups and Critical Incident Technique with current users of Metaverse retail stores. The emerging set of four overarching determining elements of MR-SQ includes customer service, product dimension, store dimension and a 3D platform dimension. While some of these features are found in 2D e-SQ others are unique to MR-SQ such as human contact, emotional expressiveness, virtual trial and fantasy products, in addition to the 3D platform features. Thus, the CVE/Metaverse context presents opportunities for retailers to enhance social experience, responsive service and creative co-production opportunities. The study provides a framework for guidance for retailers to improve service quality in 3D Metaverse stores, as well as for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the past few years, virtual worlds have become increasingly popular, often hosting, in addition to gaming and social activities, commercial activities that can potentially not just cater for in-world demand but also go beyond the virtual environment’s boundaries. The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of users’ simulated experience in a virtual store and to show the subsequent impact of that experience on engagement. The outcome of that engagement was examined in relation to enjoyment and satisfaction, including the role of satisfaction in purchasing the real product. An experimental quantitative approach was followed, testing three models of constructing user experience. Our empirical analysis examined confounding factors of a simulated retail experience and the critical role of that experience, along with hedonic and utilitarian values, in engagement. Engagement and enjoyment were found to influence user satisfaction positively when choosing clothing products and, in turn, user satisfaction was found to influence purchasing intention positively for these products. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Shopping behaviour is an increasingly important area of research as firms seek to understand customer motivations and their purchase behaviour further. Despite the interest in shopping behaviour, it remains to be understood how these behaviours are related to satisfaction-related outcomes. A contribution to the academic literature as well as to managerial practice is made by identifying the relationship between three types of shopping behaviour: expectation congruence, satisfaction, and positive word-of-mouth communications. Specifically, the research examines if shoppers who engage in various types of shopping behaviour have the expectations of their shopping experience met, and whether this results in customer satisfaction and loyalty to that store. The research is based on a sample of 308 Wal-Mart and Target customers. The analysis of the data was performed with path modelling where the hypothesised model was supported and shown to have predictive relevance. In addition, significant moderating effects were found by gender for the relationship between shopping behaviour and expectation congruence and for the relationship between satisfaction and positive word-of-mouth communications. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Previous research in complaining behavior has focused on product or service failures in which the organization is responsible for the failure. In these cases, researchers have found that consumers feel better about the product failure after complaining about it. In contrast, the authors show that when consumers are to blame for product failure, complaining has a detrimental effect on consumer reactions to the product. In this context, self-threat from the product failure is shown to motivate defensive processing in both the content of complaints and the subsequent downstream product evaluations. The authors establish the role of self-threat in product failure in two ways: (1) by varying the intensity of the threat from product failure and (2) through mitigating negative outcomes through self-affirmation. The article concludes with discussion on how these findings can benefit companies and where this research could seed opportunities for subsequent investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of key driver analysis in applied customer satisfaction research, the assumption of sample homogeneity (that single models perform adequately over the entirety of a survey sample) can be shown to restrict the value of the insights derived. While latent class regression has been used as a method of circumventing some of these issues, it is proposed that there are major barriers to both uptake and successful practical usage of the technique. Several of these issues are common to any multivariate technique, while others are specific to latent class regression. Following an examination of these issues, we introduce an alternative technique for deriving discrete latent classes, using a combination of genetic algorithms and (bivariate) correlations. This paper concludes that the proposed approach outperforms latent class regression in its ability to deliver action-orientated insights, and is better placed to assist marketers facing real-world research questions and datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the customer satisfaction of power users using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. The objective is to safeguard the interests of electricity consumers and to increase the profitability of the energy distributer. Compared with previous work based on customer questionnaires describing the level of satisfaction, and where the solution is judged to be random due to the low significance of the studied sample, this paper develops a novel strategy. It is based on a global and transparent process regarding the reliability and economic criteria associated with alternatives, highlighting technical and organisational measures taken by the enterprise. The importance of reliability and economic criteria to the alternatives is processed using reliability indices analysis and cost benefit analysis methods. To analyse the customer's reactions to the decisions taken by the system's manager, and to validate the obtained results using the AHP method, we introduce economic criteria often used in the case of an uncertain future. The obtained results indicate the advantage of investment to improve customer satisfaction and enterprise profitability. It is also shown that reliability criteria are significant in the performance of a business and are an important asset for the justification of new projects. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Despite its acknowledged importance, there are few rigorous empirical studies examining Internet retail service quality. An exception is the development of the E-S-QUAL scale by Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Malhotra (2005). Whilst E-S-QUAL demonstrated good psychometric properties in the original study, the scale lacks external validation. This paper presents a reassessment and validation of the E-S-QUAL in the context of the Internet grocery sector. Data were collected via a web-based cross-sectional survey using self-administered questionnaires distributed to online grocery shoppers. A total of 491 usable questionnaires were received. The results show that there are potential discriminant validity problems with the Efficiency and System Availability dimensions of E-S-QUAL. Further analysis shows that a second-order, three-factor model of E-S-QUAL, consisting of Efficiency, System Availability, and Fulfilment, provides the best fit to the data in this study. Privacy is shown to be the least important dimension for the data set in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The brand personality concept has received considerable attention. However, researchers have paid little attention to how homogeneous consumer brand personality perceptions are. This study attempts to fill this gap by analysing survey data (n = 603) collected from respondents evaluating seven mass-market consumer brands. Using cluster analysis, it identifies four typical brand personality constellations. The authors find variance among brand personality perceptions across brands, but more interestingly also within perceptions of individual brands. This result points to issues in implementing brand personalities in marketing practice. The article concludes with theoretical and managerial implications. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Employing modern definitions of the marketing concept, we develop a unified model to measure the market orientation construct. We then employ a chain-link model linking employee satisfaction and motivation to customer behaviour and firm profitability, demonstrating that market orientation mediates the employee–customer relationship. Hence, while past research has studied market orientation, per se, we demonstrate why it is important – it serves as the bridge to link employees and customers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As customer needs become more sophisticated, often requiring new elements of psychological satisfaction, this poses the question of how innovation practices can be developed from the rational and mechanistic to take more account of the psychological, social and cultural needs of customers that are captured within successful products. This paper discusses the concept of visceralisation - the 'gut feel' and instinct associated with the tacit dimensions of managerial intuition - and develops a model of a visceral market learning capability. This concept draws on related ideas of design thinking and design attitude to improve innovation outcomes. While visceralisation has been discussed from both the consumer and research perspective, little progress has been made in applying the concept for market research and new product innovation purposes. The research methodology utilises an interactive, collaborative approach involving practitioners to assist in the development of the model and an understanding of the visceralisation process. This is further informed by two case studies that support this emerging concept. This paper helps to characterise the concept of visceralisation, and the market and organisational learning mechanisms needed to develop visceral insight, and provides suggestions for market researchers and managers involved in new product development. While further development is required, the paper provides a framework, process and guidelines for the application of this technique in different contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to increase the understanding of loyalty's formative processes in fitness organizations. Building upon recent conceptualizations, the purpose of this study was to test the mediating role of psychological commitment in the relationships between consumers' satisfaction, perceived value, involvement, identification, informational, and volitional processes and their attitudinal and behavioral loyalty toward a fitness organization. We conducted a questionnaire-based study in a French health and fitness club context with a sample of 252 club members, of which we were able to collect data in regard to repurchasing behavior for 110. This allowed us to confirm the relevance of the research model in regard to behavioral intentions, although including the behavioral-loyalty dimensions of the length of the relationship, frequency of participation, and repurchasing behavior failed to validate it. These findings have managerial implications for sustaining club membership levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents research on Internet marketing by sports teams and organizations. Sports fans perceptions of the quality of the Web sites of sports teams are examined in terms of their consumer satisfaction with those sites and the customer loyalty to them. Structural equation model tests indicated that consumer satisfaction with a Web site had a positive relationship to customer loyalty and use of the Web site by sports fans. Implications of the findings for sports marketing executives are discussed, particularly relating to user interfaces on Web sites and security of electronic commerce.

In recent years, increasing interest has emerged in examining global consumer culture and its impact on consumer product preferences and choices, lifestyles, and exposure to mass media from other countries. In turn, this has sparked interest in concepts such as consumer world-mindedness and its impact on attitudes and behavior. The current research examines differences in consumer response to advertisements reflecting a global consumer culture positioning (GCCP) versus a foreign consumer culture positioning (FCCP) or a local consumer culture positioning (LCCP) and the relationship with consumer world-mindedness. In Studies 1 and 2, the authors examine the impact of world-mindedness, while controlling for ethnocentric attitudes. In Study 3, they examine the interactions of world-mindedness, international travel, and preference for authenticity. The authors develop several hypotheses and examine them using two surveys of 90 (Study 1) and 100 consumers (Studies 2 and 3) in the Netherlands. The results demonstrate, for example, that advertisements for brands with FCCP and GCCP are nomologically different and evaluated differently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Net Promoter Score (NPS) and the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) are metrics used to predict sales, profit and share price change. We identify problems with the design of both the NPS and the ACSI. In particular, we find that the NPS does not measure negative word of mouth effectively, and we argue that the ACSI is similarly insensitive to dissatisfaction. This is because ex-customers and never-customers are not sampled in these metrics, and these are the people who express most of the negative sentiments about brands/companies. We propose a method of measuring the effect of word of mouth using the volume and mean impact on purchase probability of both the positive and the negative word of mouth expressed by users of the category. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measurement scales are a crucial instrument in marketing research for measuring unobservable variables such as attitudes, opinions and beliefs. In using, evaluating or developing multi-item scales, a number of guidelines and procedures are recommended, to ensure that the measure applied k psychometrically robust. These procedures have been outlined in the psychometric literature since the late 1970s and are composed of steps that refer to construct and domain definition, scale validity, reliability, dimensionality and generalisability. Van on - statistical instruments are used in the scale-developing process, almost always referring lo metric variables (interval or ratio scales). Instead, hems forming scales are rarely measured metrically; hems are frequently ordinal and, m some rare cases, nominal In this paper, it k shown how the implementation of latent class analysis may improve the process of measurement scale development, since it explicitly considers that items generate ordinal or even nominal variables. Specifically, applying appropriate latent class models allows us to assess scale validity and reliability more soundly than traditionally used methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research demonstrates that as people approach a goal, external representations, which increase the ease of visualizing the goal, enhance goal pursuit. Specifically, consumers judge easy-to-visualize goals to be closer than difficult-to-visualize goals, which in turn increases effort and commitment. Ease of visualization affects performance in swimming competitions and the physical effort exerted in the lab. Visualization also affects commitment toward savings, willingness to wait for service, and performance in a simulated sales task. Importantly, the beneficial effects of visualization exist only when people are close to the goal. In addition, the effect of visualization attenuates when the goal is split into subgoals. Managers can use these results to enhance consumer goal pursuit, influence consumer satisfaction in online service encounters, and motivate employees to improve performance. In these varied contexts, visual representations of goal progress (e.g., progress bars) enhance motivation as people approach their goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the nature of customer value in health care is critical given the diversity of consumer needs, an increase in the number of providers, and resource pressures faced by private and public providers. A move to greater accountability and consumer sensitivity also has driven this need, especially since many providers of health care funds incorporate customer satisfaction into performance measures. To understand consumer value in health care, we focused on one context - word-of-mouth referrals by new mothers. Drawing upon 16 in-depth interviews, we identify the nature of value discussed, including the quality of the experience, staff friendliness and expertise, and source credibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the importance of perceived innovativeness, as well as corporate reputation, for the buyer-seller relationship and, therefore, enhances previous studies of customer satisfaction and loyalty. A conceptual model is extended within the commitment-trust framework. A set of research propositions is evaluated using data from three Western markets (Finland, Germany, and Spain) and the Russian transition economy. Our study enlarges existing models on service quality expectations and customer satisfaction in business-to-business (B2B) marketing, and challenges the importance of innovativeness and corporate reputation. We find that expectations in products and services impact the perceived value for money in Russia and Germany only. The perceived innovativeness of the vendors turns out to be relevant in three out of four cultures. Among our study's managerial implications is that the values in exchange are clearly related to the cultural values of the customers. Hence, not only the concept of utility, but also the concepts of value in use and values in exchange need cultural embedded marketing interpretations. Also, we derive a set of rules of thumb to guide practitioners in improving their business. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers and practitioners alike frequently survey consumers to gain insights into their attitudes, preferences, and beliefs. The authors propose a potentially pervasive, but as of yet unidentified, source of bias in survey responding. Specifically, they propose that respondents' answers to questions might sometimes reflect attitudes that respondents want to convey but that the researcher has not asked about, a phenomenon termed 'response substitution.' The authors examine this proposition in a series of three experiments that demonstrate the phenomenon, provide support for the process account, and identify boundary conditions. They also discuss general theoretical, methodological, and practical implications as well as specific implications for research on attitudes and contingent valuation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although managers are interested in the financial value of customers and researchers have pointed out the importance of stock analysts who advise investors, no studies to date have explored the implications of customer satisfaction for analyst stock recommendations. Using a large-scale longitudinal data set, the authors find that positive changes in customer satisfaction not only improve analyst recommendations but also lower dispersion in those recommendations for the firm. These effects are stronger when product market competition is high and financial market uncertainty is large. In addition, analyst recommendations at least partially mediate the effects of changes in satisfaction on firm abnormal return, systematic risk, and idiosyncratic risk. Analyst recommendations represent a mechanism through which customer satisfaction affects firm value. Thus, if analysts pay attention to Main Street customer satisfaction, Wall Street investors should have good reason to listen and follow. Overall, this research reveals the impact of satisfaction on analyst-based outcomes and firm value metrics and calls attention to the construct of customer satisfaction as a key intangible asset for the investor community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sport marketing researchers have generally studied two types of satisfaction at sporting events: game satisfaction and service satisfaction. One gap in the literature is studying the two types together. A model of the relationships between service quality, core product quality, game and service satisfaction, and behavioral intentions is proposed and tested. Data were collected from spectators at a professional baseball game in Japan (n = 283) and at two college football games in the United States (n = 343). The results in both Japan and the United States indicate that game atmosphere was a strong predictor of game satisfaction whereas stadium employees and facility access were the major antecedents of service satisfaction. Game satisfaction had a significant impact on behavioral intentions across the two settings, although the service satisfaction-behavioral intentions relationship was significant only in Japan. The research findings, managerial implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the role of service quality for organisational survival and success is of outmost importance, its measurement is still receiving increased attention. SERVQUAL and its alternative measures, namely, SERVPERF, weighted SERVQUAL, and weighted SERVPERF, are the most widespread in the service-quality literature. Yet, research has not concluded regarding the relative superiority of any of these measures. The present study compares all four alternatives within the auto-repair industry in Greece. Based on data from 1043 customers, overall results are in line with previous studies, confirming the multidimensionality of the service-quality construct and the five-factor SERVPERF pattern. In disagreement with previous studies, findings show that the importance-weighted SERVPERF scale provides the greatest diagnostic information. Furthermore, significant variation was found in the predictive validity of the measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the impact of emotions on customer satisfaction, service quality, and positive word-of-mouth intention formation process over time. In the study, a confirmatory factor analysis supported a three-dimensional model of emotions that then served as predictors in a series of multiple regressions. The findings indicate that two emotion dimensions had a consistent direct impact on all dependent variables in both time periods. However, the interaction effect between time periods and emotions revealed that different emotion dimensions influence satisfaction and word-of-mouth intentions at different stages of the service encounter. The theoretical and managerial implications of the findings are discussed in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the least understood areas in customer complaint behaviour (CCB) research is why some customers complain and others do not in similar dissatisfaction situations. Prior research has explored differences in customer characteristics between complainers and non-complainers, but not in association with relevant situational factors. This gap is addressed with a new conceptual framework incorporating two situational variables - customer dissatisfaction and involvement - and two consumer traits - impulsivity and self-monitoring. Several hypotheses about their main and interaction effects are tested in two different contexts, using a survey-based study in three countries (Singapore, South Korea, and the United States). Specifically, it is shown that CCB is positively associated with involvement and impulsivity, and negatively with self-monitoring. Involvement and impulsivity are shown to moderate the association between dissatisfaction and CCB positively, and self-monitoring moderates it negatively. Some implications and directions for future research are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article proposes a conceptual model to examine the relationships between service attributes, brand associations, customer satisfaction, commitment, price of membership, and intention to repurchase in a fitness club. The results show that the services offered by the club, its security, and the promoted image of the club impact positively on satisfaction. The customer relations at the club, customer commitment, and their frequency of weekly attendance have a positive direct effect on intention to repurchase. Perceived price has a negative direct influence. Finally, the research showed that overall satisfaction has a slight positive impact on frequency of attendance. These findings create a paradox for managers of health and fitness organizations who will have to balance the need to increase frequency of attendance to positively impact on intention to repurchase with the need to deliver the service attributes that affect satisfaction and intention to repurchase at high quality level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade, several studies have argued that customer satisfaction has high relevance for financial markets because it has a significant impact on stock returns. However, little attention has been given to understanding the impact of customer satisfaction on the risk of stock returns. The finance literature suggests that investors that judge performance only in terms of returns place more resources than warranted in risky opportunities, forgo profitable opportunities, and apply misguided performance evaluations. Accordingly, this study develops, tests, and finds empirical support for the hypotheses that positive changes (i.e., improvement) in customer satisfaction result in negative changes (i.e., reduction) in overall and downside systematic and idiosyncratic risk. Using a panel data sample of publicly traded U.S. firms and satisfaction data from the American Customer Satisfaction Index, the study demonstrates that investments in customer satisfaction insulate a firm's stock returns from market movements (overall and downside systematic risk) and lower the volatility of its stock returns (overall and downside idiosyncratic risk). The results are robust to alternative measures of risk, model specifications, and concerns related to sample composition criteria raised in some recent studies. Therefore, the results indicate that customer satisfaction is a metric that provides valuable information to financial markets. The robust impact of customer satisfaction on stock returns risk indicates that it would be useful for firms to disclose their customer satisfaction scores in their annual report to shareholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper puts forth maximum difference scaling as a valid research method to determine attribute importance for customer satisfaction research, which in turn can drive valid and meaningful need-based segments of the marketplace. In addition, this paper empirically demonstrates the value of bringing need-based segmentation into the centre of customer satisfaction analysis. The results suggest that implementing maximum difference scaling to determine attribute importance scores for the overall market, as well as to create valid need-based segments, will result in significantly different improvement priorities as compared to more traditional customer satisfaction approaches.

The main purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between effectiveness of campus recreation programs and participants' satisfaction. Three hundred twelve students from 14 universities (95 women and 217 men) with a mean age of 21.0 years (SD = 1.9) participated in the study. The Target Population Satisfaction Index (TPSI) was used to measure effectiveness in campus recreation programs. To measure participants' satisfaction, the Athlete Satisfaction Questionnaire (ASQ) was used. Results indicated that the two questionnaires are valid and reliable instruments and can be used in measuring effectiveness in campus recreation programs in Greece. Canonical correlation analysis showed that the two factors from the TPSI were positively and significantly associated with the five dimensions of the ASQ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perceived quality, satisfaction and brand/corporate image/reputation are probably the most widely used variables to investigate customer attitudes in market research. Several models have been proposed to analyse the relationships between these variables and customer loyalty. All these models have a similar focus: to study the causal mechanism that relates customers' evaluations with their future expected behaviour. In this paper, we propose that all these models are not useful for applied market research because they are not proper representations of causal processes and do not provide relevant information about the effects of managerial actions. Two main reasons are the basis for our postulation: (1) in cross-sectional designs, attitudinal variables should not be unidirectionally linked; (2) attitudes can not be manipulated by companies. Finally, we offer guidelines for building more useful models to satisfy the requirements of practitioners investigating the effect of management policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has found that cultural differences influence consumer risk evaluation. From a cross-national perspective, the authors explore the individual and cultural causes, as well as the consequences, of postpurchase personal and nonpersonal risks for a credence service (i.e., insurance). Using survey data from 309 Chinese consumers and 193 Singaporean consumers, the authors find that two cultural dimensions (self-transcendence/self-enhancement versus conservation/openness to change) and individual contextual factors (involvement and face consciousness) exert differential effects on consumer perceived risk in the two countries. In addition, the authors find that personal and nonpersonal risks have varying levels of impact on perceived value and customer satisfaction in the two countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a longitudinal, quantitative study of the effects of satisfaction and emotions on future behavioural intention. A review of the literature identifies growing evidence of the effects of an individual's emotional state on consumption decisions. There is evidence that measures of satisfaction are poor predictors of repeat buying behaviour, and this may be due to their failure to adequately incorporate an affective element. In this study, 352 graduates who attended a graduation ceremony were tracked over a period of six months and their level of satisfaction, and the emotions evoked by the experience of attending their ceremony were recorded. Satisfaction was observed to be a poor predictor of an individual's likelihood of recommending attendance at a future graduation ceremony to a friend. Furthermore, satisfaction had a declining effect over time. However, the level of positive emotions evoked after six months continued to be strongly associated with behavioural intention. This paper informs methodologies for measuring customer satisfaction, which have traditionally been undertaken immediately after a service encounter, but evidence is presented that a survey undertaken closer to the next point of consumption decisions/recommendation may be a more valid and managerially useful measure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]