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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to apply cultivation theory to social network sites by investigating how Facebook uses cultivates users' ethnic diversity perceptions and attitudes.Design/methodology/approachThe authors’ investigations include an online and offline survey study with 476 Facebook users and a follow-up experiment with 75 individuals.FindingsThe authors provide empirical support that Facebook use cultivates ethnic diversity perceptions and ethnic diversity-related attitudes. They show that Facebook use relates to perceptions of ethnic minorities that resemble the world on Facebook that is characterized by high ethnic diversity. The authors further demonstrate that the cultivation of ethnic diversity-related attitudes is mediated by diversity perceptions related to users' close social environment.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research should consider culturally and educationally diverse samples as well as longitudinal research designs to address external validity and causality issues.Practical implicationsAlgorithms determining the content users are exposed should be thoughtfully curated to avoid attitudinal and ideological polarization.Social implicationsFacebook can play an important role in positively shaping intergroup relations, thereby countering negative outgroup attitudes, social anxieties and radical right-wing parties.Originality/valueThe authors’ studies extend the scope of cultivation research by identifying a new media vehicle as a source of cultivation influences and shed light on the cultivation-based process of attitude change on social network sites.

Cause-Company Fit in Cause-Related Marketing Campaigns and Consumer Outcomes: A Replication and Extension Using Field Data

While retention of highly qualified employees is vital for professional services firms, prior research has largely neglected the role of customers as a driver of employee satisfaction and retention. Drawing on an experimental study and a dyadic field study, this article shows that client satisfaction is an important determinant of employee satisfaction, which in turn increases employee retention. Thus, for professional services firms, the common logic in relationship marketing that employee satisfaction affects client satisfaction can also be reversed. First, in line with balance theory, an attitudinal transfer occurs from the client to the employee which is stronger when both share the same opinion about their collaboration. Second, in line with Herzberg’s motivational theory, client satisfaction indirectly affects employee satisfaction by affecting the perceived appreciation the employee receives from the customer. These findings have three major managerial implications: First, investments into client satisfaction might pay off double by enhancing revenues and profit on one hand, and enhancing employee satisfaction and retention, on the other hand. Second, positive client feedback has positive effects on employee satisfaction and recognition. Third, these results suggest that marketing and human resource issues are intertwined in professional services firms. Thus, service firms should encourage ample communication and collaboration between these functions.

As a consequence of implementing revenue management systems, many service firms (e.g., airlines, hotels, car rentals) systematically overbook capacity, thus striving to maximize the revenue at one particular point in time (i.e., one flight, one night, and one day). The academic literature has not addressed how customers behaviorally respond to overbooking experiences, such as downgrading, denied service, or upgrading. In this article, the authors use the econometric technique of conditional difference-in-differences analysis to study the effect of such incidences on customer usage patterns in an airline context. They find that customers who experience negative consequences of revenue management significantly reduce the amount of their transactions with the airline, whereas upgraded customers exhibit only weak positive responses. The effects of the negative events are stronger for high-value customer groups, whereas significant effects of positive events can be found only for a low-value customer group. The results suggest the need for a stronger focus on customer reactions to revenue management practices. On a more general level, the study contributes to a more interdisciplinary view of service management by demonstrating the need for a closer interaction between management functions (e.g., marketing and operations) in developing and managing concepts of companywide importance.

It has often been argued that word-of-mouth (WOM) can contribute significantly to a firm’s success in a variety of ways. Here, we analyze the functional linkage between customer satisfaction, WOM, and new customer acquisition. Using data from two empirical studies we conceptualize and test the direct, non-linear, and moderated relationship between satisfaction and WOM. We further explore the circumstances under which WOM leads to new customer acquisition using a logistic regression model. We do so for two groups (new customers and long-term customers) from the customer base of a large energy provider (n = 688), and for a random sample of B2B customers (n = 416) in the same market. Results indicate that the satisfaction-WOM link is non-linear and is moderated by several customer involvement dimensions. Based on our results, we demonstrate how the satisfaction-WOM-new customer acquisition link can enrich return on quality and satisfaction models. Further, we draw conclusions about how companies can make use of both the satisfaction-WOM and the WOM-new customer acquisition link for better allocating their marketing resources.

The effects of word of mouth (WOM) on the receiver's attitudes and intentions have been studied at length, but the question under which conditions WOM leads to a behavioural outcome (such as a purchase or switching decision) has received less attention. This paper studies the effects of WOM in the context of service provider switching. An empirical study is presented which researches whether perceived influence of a switching referral is related to subsequent switching behaviour, and whether the variables that have an effect on perceived influence of the switching referral also predict switching. Results show that the strength of WOM influence is determined by perceived communicator characteristics. Perceived risk dimensions, in turn, moderate these effects.

Research on satisfaction, loyalty and word of mouth (WOM) behaviour has made considerable progress within recent years, but important aspects remain neglected. In this paper, it is argued that, within the customer base of service providers, certain groups can be identified which differ from each other with regards to these variables. Hypotheses are developed and tested in a sample of 765 clients of a large German energy provider. The results show that recently acquired customers (switchers) differ from long-term customers (stayers), and that switchers acquired through customer referrals differ from switchers recruited through advertising or direct mail in their satisfaction, loyalty and WOM behaviour. The paper ends with some important implications for management and future research. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications Ltd.

To maintain a leading edge in the face of ever fiercer competition, effective customer retention management is clearly crucial. People in the automotive division of Daimler-Benz AG are aware of the central significance of this concept, viewing it therefore not merely as a starting point relevant only to the after sales sector but as a concept that must extend to all activities within the company. With reference to brand management, product development and customer service management, the authors illustrate the practical implications of this integrated concept.