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This study investigated how touchpoints moderate the antecedents of customer satisfaction with service encounters by comparing online and in-store encounters. Construal level theory was used within the Touchpoint, Context, Qualities (TCQ) Framework (De Keyser et al., 2020 (See CR19)) to integrate a comprehensive model of how touchpoints-websites or stores-influence the magnitude of customer responses to qualities of service encounters. A hierarchical linear model (HLM) was estimated using survey data describing the service encounters of 2.4 million customers with a global retailer. Online customers weighed cognitive and behavioral qualities more heavily than in-store customers, whereas they weighed emotional and sensorial qualities less heavily. Moreover, random effects in the HLM model indicated that each country and store would have unique clientele effects for specific qualities. Since each firm has limited resources, this research offers guidance on key qualities in designing satisfying service encounters for each touchpoint and how qualities should be standardized and customized in global omnichannel environments., Author(s): Ruth N. Bolton [sup.1] , Anders Gustafsson [sup.2] [sup.3] , Crina O. Tarasi [sup.4] , Lars Witell [sup.5] [sup.6] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.215654.1, 0000 0001 2151 2636, W. P. [...]

A marketing simulation represents a comprehensive and integrative business environment in which students actively manage firms that compete against each other. This article describes how marketing simulations harness digital disruption to enhance learning processes and outcomes and (ultimately) prepare students for their future careers. The article focuses on comprehensive marketing simulations, which have more decision variables and incorporate authentic competition, rather than "play against the machine" games. It defines digital disruption as the change that occurs when new digital technologies change customer experiences, business processes, and business models, thereby changing how value is cocreated. The article begins by describing how simulations capture digital disruption in the marketplace and harness it to improve students' learning experiences and outcomes. The description reflects the authors' experiences with the LINKS suite of simulations (www.LINKS-simulations.com), as well as the experiences of other instructors and students. The article then discusses pedagogical opportunities and class activities that enhance learning experiences connected with digital disruption in business ecosystems. It closes by emphasizing three best practices for marketing educators. The discussion applies to undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, and programs targeted at other student groups (e.g., in-house corporate programs).