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While the emergence of peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms has revolutionized the way people exchange goods, these platforms face the need to provide appealing products offered by independent providers. However, those providers have to deal with anonymous buyers, potentially hindering their perception of control over the exchange and their subsequent willingness to use the platform. Our research addresses this issue of providers’ control. Because prior research uses either environment-centric or individual-centric measures of control, no accurate measure of perceived control exists. This research aims to contribute by providing a scale that—in line with control theories—differentiates among the perceptions of control that derive from individual (i.e., skills-related) and those that emerge from the environment (i.e., security-related, autonomy-related). The results of four empirical studies performed in the second-hand market provide strong empirical support for the validity of our control scale, and its ability to explain the provider’s experience on the P2P platform.

As part of their customer engagement (CE) marketing, firms use different platforms to interact with customers, in ways that go beyond purchases. Task-based CE strategies call for customers’ participation in structured, often incentivized tasks; experiential CE initiatives instead aim to stimulate pleasurable experiences for customers. But the optimal uses of these two strategies, in terms of improving customer engagement to produce more positive marketing outcomes, are unclear. With a meta-analysis and data from 395 samples, pertaining to 434,233 customers, the present study develops and tests a unifying framework of how to optimize investments in both two engagement strategies across different engagement platforms. On average, task-based initiatives are more effective in driving customer engagement, but the effects depend on the platform. If platforms support continuous or lean interactions, task-based initiatives are more effective; on platforms that encourage spot interactions, experiential initiatives are preferable. Three customer engagement dimensions (cognitive, emotional, and behavioral) in turn lead to positive marketing outcomes, though in ways that depend on the platforms’ interaction characteristics (intensity, richness, initiation) and differ across digital versus physical platforms. These results provide clear guidance for managers regarding how to plan their CE marketing activities to benefit both their firms and their customers.

The authors synthesize research on the relationship of customer satisfaction with customer- and firm-level outcomes using a meta-analysis based on 535 correlations from 245 articles representing a combined sample size of 1,160,982. The results show a positive association of customer satisfaction with customer-level outcomes (retention, WOM, spending, and price) and firm-level outcomes (product-market, accounting, and financial-market performance). A moderator analysis shows the association varies due to many contextual factors and measurement characteristics. The results have important theoretical and managerial implications.

An increasing number of firms introduce service robots, such as physical robots and virtual chatbots, to provide services to customers. While some firms use robots that resemble human beings by looking and acting humanlike to increase customers’ use intention of this technology, others employ machinelike robots to avoid uncanny valley effects, assuming that very humanlike robots may induce feelings of eeriness. There is no consensus in the service literature regarding whether customers’ anthropomorphism of robots facilitates or constrains their use intention. The present meta-analysis synthesizes data from 11,053 individuals interacting with service robots reported in 108 independent samples. The study synthesizes previous research to clarify this issue and enhance understanding of the construct. We develop a comprehensive model to investigate relationships between anthropomorphism and its antecedents and consequences. Customer traits and predispositions (e.g., computer anxiety), sociodemographics (e.g., gender), and robot design features (e.g., physical, nonphysical) are identified as triggers of anthropomorphism. Robot characteristics (e.g., intelligence) and functional characteristics (e.g., usefulness) are identified as important mediators, although relational characteristics (e.g., rapport) receive less support as mediators. The findings clarify contextual circumstances in which anthropomorphism impacts customer intention to use a robot. The moderator analysis indicates that the impact depends on robot type (i.e., robot gender) and service type (i.e., possession-processing service, mental stimulus-processing service). Based on these findings, we develop a comprehensive agenda for future research on service robots in marketing.

While perceived crowding is an important construct in retailing literature, empirical findings on the consequences of this construct are mixed. This study uses meta-analytic techniques to combine the findings from 73 samples and more than 19,000 shoppers in order to both summarize and extend understanding of the consequences of human and spatial crowding in retail stores. It makes a threefold contribution. First, the examination of two distinct types of crowding – human crowding and spatial crowding – provides evidence that they have different impacts on customer satisfaction and behavioral responses. In general, spatial crowding has a negative impact on customer outcomes, whereas human crowding has positive effects. Second, a test of various theoretical perspectives on crowding demonstrates strong indirect effects of crowding through different mediators. While spatial crowding reduces shoppers’ perceived control, human crowding has no such effect. Spatial crowding contributes to a negative evaluation of the store, whereas human crowding leads to a positive store evaluation. Both crowding types are related to positive and negative emotions experienced by shoppers. Thus, complex relationships are uncovered through the study of mediated effects, particularly within a comprehensive framework that integrates constructs and relationships from various theories. Third, the study of the impacts of various moderators indicates that human and spatial crowding display different effects depending on the retailer’s offering (hedonic/utilitarian), retail type (store/agglomeration), employee support (high/low), customer type (new/existing), and the environment (cooperative/competitive). Study findings not only extend theory but also offer relevant implications for brick-and-mortar retail stores faced with the challenges of competing with new retail forms and the use of new technologies.

Purpose This study aims to develop a comprehensive adoption model that combines constructs from various theories and tests these theories against each other. The study combines a technology acceptance model, innovation diffusion theory and risk theory. It develops this model in a smart home applications context. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on an online survey consisting of 409 participants, and the data are analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings Each theory provides unique insights into technology acceptance and numerous constructs are interrelated. Predictors from innovation diffusion and risk theory often display indirect effects through technology acceptance variables. The study identifies risk perception as a major inhibitor of use intention, mediated through perceived usefulness. Results reveal that the most important determinants of use intention are compatibility and usefulness of the application. Research limitations/implications Studies which do not examine different theories together may not be able to detect the indirect effects of some predictors and could falsely conclude that these predictors do no matter. The findings emphasize the crucial role of compatibility, perceived usefulness and various risk facets associated with smart homes. Originality/value This study broadens the understanding about the necessity of combining acceptance and adoption drivers from several theories to better understand the usage of complex technological systems such as smart home applications.

There are both formal and informal cries that UTAUT and by association the stream of research on technology adoption has reached its limit, with little or no opportunities for new knowledge creation. Such a conclusion is ironic because the theory has not been sufficiently and suitably replicated. It is possible that the misspecifications in the various replications, applications, and extensions led to the incorrect conclusion that UTAUT was more robust than it really was and opportunities for future work were limited. Although work on UTAUT has included important variables, predictors and moderators, absent a faithful use of the original specification, it is impossible to assess the true nature of the effects of the original and additional variables. The present meta-analysis uses 25,619 effect sizes reported by 737,112 users in 1,935 independent samples to address this issue. Consequently, we develop a clear current state-of-the-art and revised UTAUT that extends the original theory with new endogenous mechanisms from different, other theories (i.e., technology compatibility, user education, personal innovativeness, and costs of technology) and new moderating mechanisms to examine the generalizability of UTAUT in different contexts (e.g., technology type and national culture). Based on this revised UTAUT, we present a research agenda that can guide future research on the topic of technology adoption in general and UTAUT in particular. Accepted version Source info: Journal of the Association for Information Systems, Forthcoming

The increased disruption of business models through digital technologies creates opportunities and challenges for retail businesses and their network partners. Digital transformation – the process of digitalization of previously analogue operations, procedures, organizational tasks, and managerial processes in order to drive value for customers, employees and other stakeholders – is the order of the day. With that in mind, this article provides a purposeful overview of research in the field of digital transformation with a focus on retailing and customer-facing functions of digital technologies such as managing customer journeys, assessing the impact of sensory marketing and the use of service robots on the one hand, and their strategic implications for business models such as servitization on the other. This article concludes by highlighting immediate as well as long-term challenges in the field, with a focus on disruptive technologies, innovations and trends that retail marketing-management will likely face in the near future.

The technology readiness (TR) index aims to better understand people’s propensity to embrace and use cutting-edge technologies. The initial TR construct considers four dimensions—innovativeness, optimism, insecurity, and discomfort—that collectively explain technology usage. The present meta-analysis advances understanding of TR by reexamining its dimensionality, and investigating mediating mechanisms and moderating influences in the TR–technology usage relationship. Using data from 193 independent samples extracted from 163 articles reported by 69,263 individuals, we find that TR is best conceptualized as a two-dimensional construct differentiating between motivators (innovativeness, optimism) and inhibitors (insecurity, discomfort). We observe strong indirect effects of these dimensions on technology usage through mediators proposed by the quality–value–satisfaction chain and technology acceptance model. The results suggest stronger relationships for motivators than for inhibitors, but also that these TR dimensions exert influence through different mediators. Further, the moderator results suggest that the strength of TR–technology usage relationships depends on the technology type (hedonic/utilitarian), examined firm characteristics (voluntary/mandatory use; firm support), and country context (gross domestic product; human development). Finally, customer age, education, and experience are related to TR. These findings enhance managers’ understanding of how TR influences technology usage.

Impulse buying by consumers has received considerable attention in consumer research. The phenomenon is interesting because it is not only prompted by a variety of internal psychological factors but also influenced by external, market-related stimuli. The meta-analysis reported in this article integrates findings from 231 samples and more than 75,000 consumers to extend understanding of the relationship between impulse buying and its determinants, associated with several internal and external factors. Traits (e.g., sensation-seeking, impulse buying tendency), motives (e.g., utilitarian, hedonic), consumer resources (e.g., time, money), and marketing stimuli emerge as key triggers of impulse buying. Consumers’ self-control and mood states mediate and explain the affective and cognitive psychological processes associated with impulse buying. By establishing these pathways and processes, this study helps clarify factors contributing to impulse buying and the role of factors in resisting such impulses. It also explains the inconsistent findings in prior research by highlighting the context-dependency of various determinants. Specifically, the results of a moderator analysis indicate that the impacts of many determinants depend on the consumption context (e.g., product’s identity expression, price level in the industry).

Purpose This paper aims to provide an empirical investigation into extension category effects on service brand extensions, both to other services (service–service extensions) and to products (service–product extensions), and the extension category’s influence on brand/consumer-level success drivers, as well as the perceived quality of the extension. Design/methodology/approach This study included an empirical testing of a conceptual framework using a hierarchical linear modeling approach and testing of hypotheses with a multilevel regression analysis. The data set consisted of 216 respondents reporting on both product and service extensions. Data were collected on three levels, namely, consumer level, parent brand level and extension level. Findings The findings indicate a general and consistent extension category-dependent effect that moderates the importance of brand extension success drivers. The influence of parent brand reliance and perceived parent brand quality were found to have stronger effects, whereas parent brand conviction was weaker in the context of service-to-service extensions. Research limitations/implications The study focuses on two brands with four extensions. Further research could replicate the study with a broader range of brands and extensions. Practical implications The study provides guidance to service managers to enhance consumers’ extension evaluations through better-positioned communication efforts when extending to different categories. Originality/value The study is one of the first empirical investigations into category-extension effects and its moderating role regarding brand and consumer level success drivers. Sparse research has been dedicated to a real-world occurrence of services extending between extension categories; this study thus furthers service brand research in terms of brand management decisions.

Despite their generally increasing use, the adoption of mobile shopping applications often differs across purchase contexts. In order to advance our understanding of smartphone-based mobile shopping acceptance, this study integrates and extends existing approaches from technology acceptance literature by examining two previously underexplored aspects. Firstly, the study examines the impact of different mobile and personal benefits (instant connectivity, contextual value and hedonic motivation), customer characteristics (habit) and risk facets (financial, performance, and security risk) as antecedents of mobile shopping acceptance. Secondly, it is assumed that several acceptance drivers differ in relevance subject to the perception of three mobile shopping characteristics (location sensitivity, time criticality, and extent of control), while other drivers are assumed to matter independent of the context. Based on a dataset of 410 smartphone shoppers, empirical results demonstrate that several acceptance predictors are associated with ease of use and usefulness, which in turn affect intentional and behavioral outcomes. Furthermore, the extent to which risks and benefits impact ease of use and usefulness is influenced by the three contextual characteristics. From a managerial perspective, results show which factors to consider in the development of mobile shopping applications and in which different application contexts they matter.

While numerous studies have examined the benefits of customer participation (CP), understanding of the dark side of involving customers in service firms’ processes is limited. This study proposes that the changing role of customers who actively participate in service co-development can cause role stress and negative feelings, which may, in turn, reduce customer satisfaction and the perceived value of participation. We develop and test a comprehensive role theory–based framework for CP-role stress. Using a video-based experiment, behavioral lab experiment, and field study, we find that greater CP leads to heightened role stress including role conflict, role overload, and role ambiguity. These adverse effects occur contingent on customers’ prior participation experience and firm-provided support. Furthermore, role stress effects vary across service co-development types depending on (a) the scope of the task (i.e., open task, closed task) and (b) the beneficiary of participation (i.e., customer, general market). Specifically, adverse effects are stronger for open than for closed tasks, and they also tend to be stronger when the beneficiary is the general market rather than the individual customer. These findings emphasize the need for more cross-context theorizing in CP research. Managers should consider these adverse effects and implement measures that reduce role stress.

The increasing globalization of markets and the ease with which services now cross national boundaries provide a compelling reason for understanding the cultural context of service delivery and consumption. Addressing this particular issue, the current study builds upon and extends an emerging line of academic inquiry by investigating the moderating effects of cultural differences on behavioral responses to dissatisfactory service experiences. Using a cross-sectional survey design, the present study's findings indicate that culture, measured by an individual's cultural value orientation along the Hofstede dimensions of individualism/collectivism, masculinity/femininity, power distance, uncertainty avoidance and long-term/short-term orientation, has indirect effects on voice, exit, negative word-of-mouth and third-party responses. These findings have significant implications for the theory and practice of international service management.

Using survey data from 358 online customers, the study finds that the e-service quality construct conforms to the structure of a third-order factor model that links online service quality perceptions to distinct and actionable dimensions, including (1) website design, (2) fulfilment, (3) customer service, and (4) security/privacy. Each dimension is found to consist of several attributes that define the basis of e-service quality perceptions. A comprehensive specification of the construct, which includes attributes not covered in existing scales, is developed. The study contrasts a formative model consisting of 4 dimensions and 16 attributes against a reflective conceptualization. The results of this comparison indicate that studies using an incorrectly specified model overestimate the importance of certain e-service quality attributes. Global fit criteria are also found to support the detection of measurement misspecification. Meta-analytic data from 31,264 online customers are used to show that the developed measurement predicts customer behavior better than widely used scales, such as WebQual and E-S-Qual. The results show that the new measurement enables managers to assess e-service quality more accurately and predict customer behavior more reliably.

To facilitate efficient and effective service delivery, firms are introducing self-service technologies (SSTs) at an increasing pace. This article presents a meta-analysis of the factors influencing customer acceptance of SSTs. The authors develop a comprehensive causal framework that integrates constructs and relationships from different technology acceptance theories, and they use the framework to guide their meta-analysis of findings consolidated from 96 previous empirical articles (representing 117 independent customer samples with a cumulative sample size of 103,729 respondents). The meta-analysis reveals the following key insights: (1) SST usage is influenced in a complex fashion by numerous predictors that should be examined jointly; (2) ease of use and usefulness are key mediators, and studies ignoring them may underestimate the importance of some predictors; (3) several determinants of usefulness impact ease of use, and vice versa, thereby revealing crossover effects not previously revealed; and (4) the links leading up to SST acceptance in the proposed framework are moderated by SST type (transaction/self-help, kiosk/Internet, public/private, hedonic/utilitarian) and country culture (power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance). Results from the meta-analysis offer managerial guidance for effective implementation of SSTs and provide directions for further research to augment current knowledge of SST acceptance.

Acknowledging the positive effects of stakeholder participation in new service development projects, the present research examines factors contributing to well-designed stakeholder participation processes. Data come from 220 franchisees engaged in innovation projects. Fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) assesses the interplay of six participation quality dimensions: (1) task-related resources, (2) early involvement, (3) degree of influence, (4) transparency of processes, (5) incentive mechanisms, and (6) voluntariness of participation. Results show that successful stakeholder participation is characterized by a complex interplay of these participation quality dimensions. While some firms are excellent in all six dimensions, other firms successfully integrate stakeholders by focusing on selected participation quality dimensions. Uncovering these complex interrelationships helps managers to better design participatory processes in new service development projects.

Retailers have always worked to establish close relationships with customers through the retail marketing mix. Thus, the literature has a long tradition of testing the effects of various instruments on retail patronage. This meta-study synthesizes prior research into one comprehensive framework. We use 14,895 effect sizes reported by more than 239,000 shoppers from 41 countries extracted from 350 independent samples, to test the impact of 24 marketing-mix instruments on retail patronage. Specifically, we investigate the direct and indirect effects of these instruments on store satisfaction, word of mouth, patronage intention, and behavior. Product and brand management related instruments display the strongest effects on most outcome variables, whereas price, communication, service and incentive management instruments display effects on selected outcomes. Distribution management turns out to be of secondary importance. However, the effectiveness of these instruments depends on the specific shopping context (food/non-food, shopping frequency, single store/agglomeration, hedonic/utilitarian), the retail environment (gross domestic product, country innovativeness, retail sales share, retail employment, Internet era), and the employed method (participant type, study design, data source). Specifically, we reveal most differences for hedonic shopping environments and developed countries. Also, the store’s advertising and atmosphere have gained importance in the Internet era, while purchase incentives, in-store orientation, and store location have lost relevance. This study contributes to a synoptic understanding of the comparable effectiveness of retail marketing instruments on retail patronage. It offers insights into the effectiveness of marketing-mix instruments and provides guidance on whether and when to invest in them. It also presents an agenda for future research on marketing-mix instruments.

Switching costs and customer satisfaction may differently affect marketing strategy. Managers would benefit from knowing how different switching costs (financial, procedural, and relational) and satisfaction jointly affect repurchase in order to properly invest marketing resources. A meta-analysis of 233 effects from over 133,000 customers shows that: (1) relational switching costs have the strongest association with repurchase intentions and behavior; and (2) procedural and relational switching costs mitigate the association between satisfaction and repurchase intentions/behavior whereas financial switching costs enhance it.

While the issue of standardisation versus adaptation has dominated the field of international marketing for the last few decades, it has been largely neglected in the area of domestic marketing, and especially in retailing. Yet, in franchise management, the standardization/adaptation dilemma remains one of the core challenges. However, while there is strong theoretical consensus in the literature on the issue, there is a lack of empirical research on standardization and adaptation in franchising. Against this background, the main objective of the paper is to gain insight into standardization in franchising and its potential effects on various performance outcomes. Specifically, the study investigates the following research questions: (1) What variables are critical to standardisation in franchising? (2) To what extent does the standardisation of such variables as pricing, uniqueness of the stores, or employee qualification convert into performance outcomes?

Franchise systems operate properly under the key condition of franchisees having the right to take some decisions in an entrepreneurial manner. Hence, several studies have assessed the association between autonomy and performance outcome. However, the autonomy-performance link has shown to differ substantially contingent upon operating conditions. Therefore, our research attempts to explain how and when autonomy impacts franchisee performance.

Research on the drivers of satisfaction with complaint handling (SATCOM) underlines the importance of procedural, relational, and interactional justice (Orsingher, Valentini, & de Angelis, 2010). Since these SATCOM-studies are largely conducted in business-to-consumer (B2C) markets, it is unclear what drives SATCOM in business-to-business (B2B) markets. Therefore, we replicate the justice model in an industrial context and find significant differences for procedural justice and interactional justice but not for distributive justice. While distributive justice is equally important in both contexts, procedural justice is more important in B2B markets whereas interactional justice drives SATCOM only in B2C markets.

Worldwide, more than 1/3 of all e-commerce transactions in business-to-consumer industries are nowadays executed via mobile devices (Criteo, 2015). Despite its increasing importance, it can be noted that mobile commerce does not seem to “take-off” equally across diverse goods and services contexts. We observe, for instance, that mobile commerce is quite common in service industries for purchasing tickets (e.g., for flights, public transportation, and sport events), while it is less common for services such as financial products. Balasubramanian et al. (2002) addressed this issue and proposed that contexts of m-commerce differ from each other with regard to several characteristics. For example, they propose that location sensitivity (among other characteristics) differs for various m-commerce applications, and that this characteristic may impact acceptance of m-commerce across industries. It may be that acceptance of m-commerce is higher in some industries since use of location sensitive data is appreciated by customers, while it is not valued in other purchasing contexts. Against this background, we propose that examining (1) risk perception related to mobile commerce and (2) different types of mobile commerce applications are essential for gaining a deeper understanding of the phenomenon of differing relevance of m-commerce across industries. In particular, our study acknowledges the differential roles of the financial, performance, and security facets of risk. In addition, we assume that the role of value and risk dimensions differs subject to three mobile commerce application characteristics which are location sensitivity, time criticality, and extent of control. Based on a dataset of 800 respondents, results of our models demonstrate that especially security risk can act as a critical inhibitor of acceptance. The extent to which performance risk and financial risk impact perceived usefulness was found to be moderated by the three contextual characteristics. From a managerial perspective, results show which factors should deliberately be considered in the development of m-commerce applications, and in which different application contexts they matter.

The increasing popularity of social media and commercial activities over such media has led to new possibilities and opportunities for marketing, especially in retailing. Many retailers have embraced a multichannel strategy to include social media marketing. Similarly, New and existing social media entrepreneurs are taking advantage of various technological innovations, created new forms of social media sites, and have strengthened the interface and interactions within existing sites. For example, Facebook allows for not only creating buzz about new products and promotions, but also enables shopping. Payment, a new venture, now provides technical support to numerous clients who want to create their storefronts on Facebook (Zimmerman 2012). Understanding I shopping behaviors of Internet users is essential to assess whether or not a social media storefront is an appropriate strategy for every e-retailer and if every social network will be perceived as an adequate shopping place for internet users.

While the relationship marketing literature acknowledges the importance of switching costs for increasing customer retention, little is known about its relevance in industrial markets. In particular, it is unclear whether switching costs, and associated dimensions, impact on behavioral outcomes of buyer–seller relationships in business-to-business (B2B) markets. In order to contribute to theory development in this important area, our research first explores the dimensions of switching costs for the B2B domain and also tests the relative impact of these dimensions on business customers' actual purchase behavior. Results suggest that switching costs in B2B settings are a multi-faceted construct, including (i) procedural, (ii) financial, and (iii) relational switching costs. Moreover, we find relational switching costs to be most important for securing B2B buyer–seller relationships since they impact a customer's (a) share-of-wallet, (b) cross-buying behavior, and (c) actual switching behavior. While procedural switching costs only influence share-of-wallet, financial switching costs solely impact customer's cross-buying behavior. These findings contribute to a better understanding on how to secure B2B buyer–seller relationships.

Successful complaint management primarily depends on customers' willingness to voice their complaints and on companies' ability to adequately deal with these complaints. This article investigates the impact of one relationship characteristic in the complaint management process: affective commitment. Based on two studies, the authors investigate whether affective commitment moderates the impact of complaint barriers on complaint intention (a) and whether it moderates the link between complaint satisfaction and purchase behavior after the complaint (b). Results show that affectively committed customers exhibit higher complaint intention irrespective of the level of complaint barriers. Furthermore, affectively committed customers display little change in their postrecovery behavior, even after a service failure followed by an unsatisfactory recovery attempt. It seems that these customers are tolerant and want to help the provider improve their business. Affective commitment seems to amplify willingness to help the company by means of voicing dissatisfaction despite considerable efforts in doing so. Moreover, affective commitment buffers the negative effects of service failures on postrecovery behavior. Findings have important implications for managers. They highlight the necessity to measure customers' affective commitment. Based on that, tailored complaint systems can be designed, which help in achieving a more effective allocation of resources for customer recovery.

This research examines the evolution of interorganizational relationships in a franchising context. Using U-curve theory, we develop three hypotheses and contrast them with traditional lifecycle theory. Three groups of constructs are affected by lifecycle: cooperation variables, dependence variables, and relationship variables. Four distinct stages emerge, with highest levels of variables in the honeymoon stage, lower levels in routine and crossroad stages, and increasing levels in the stabilization stage. Franchisors should strive for “stability on high levels” before operational realities influence the franchisees. Franchisees’ intermediate lifecycle phases are most critical for the system, since opportunistic behavior and switching are most likely.

Gaining customer loyalty is an important goal of marketing, and loyalty programs are intended to help in reaching it. Research on loyalty programs suggests that customers differentiate between loyalty to a company and loyalty to a loyalty program, yet little is known about the consequences of these two types of loyalty. Therefore, our study intends to make two main contributions: (1) improving our understanding of the constructs "program loyalty" and "company loyalty", (2) investigating the relative impact of the two types of loyalty on preference, intention, and purchase behavior for the case of a multi-firm loyalty program. Results indicate that company loyalty influences a customer's choice to visit a particular provider and to prefer it over competitors, but it is not a strong predictor of purchase behavior. Conversely, program loyalty is a far more important driver of purchase behavior. This implies that company loyalty primarily attracts customers to a particular provider and program loyalty ensures that once inside the store, more money is spent.

Based on in-depth interviews with customers, this study explores the customers' view of relevant solution criteria in the capital goods industry. Our research examines (1) whether the initial four-process conceptualization of customer solutions also holds for this industry, or whether it has to be extended and (2) which criteria of the customer solution matter the most for each member of the buying center. This study reveals that customers purchasing solutions in the capital goods industry expect the provider to be excellent in terms of six customer/supplier relational processes, namely (1) customer requirements definition, (2) customization and integration of goods and/or services, (3) their deployment, (4) post-deployment support, (5) signaling activities, and (6) inter-process management. Moreover, we found that the relevance of these processes differs across the most important members of the buying center (users, buyers, and deciders) due to their specific organizational function.

Gegenstand des vorliegenden Beitrags sind Kunden, die trotz eines negativen Vorfalls bei der Leistungserbringung ihre Unzufriedenheit nicht gegenuber dem Anbieter artikulieren („Noncomplainer“). Diese Kundengruppe fand in der bisherigen Beschwerdeforschung nur wenig Beachtung, obwohl verschiedene Studien nachweisen konnten, dass nur ein sehr geringer Anteil der unzufriedenen Kunden ihre Beschwerde uberhaupt gegenuber dem Unternehmen artikuliert. Die vorliegende Studie leistet einen Beitrag zu einem besseren Verstandnis uber 1) die Wirkung von negativen Vorfallen auf die Kundenbindung und 2) die Rolle von Wiedergutmachungen aus Sicht der Kunden. Hierdurch lassen sich 3) Ruckschlusse fur die Beschwerdestimulierung von Noncomplainern ziehen. Hierzu vergleichen die Autoren des Beitrags Noncomplainer mit Kunden, die eine Wiedergutmachung erfahren haben, und Kunden ohne negativen Vorfall. Dabei konzeptualisieren sie die Kundenbindung umfassend und werten erstmals sowohl Kundenbefragungs- als auch Transaktionsdaten nach einem negativen Vorfall aus.

During the last decade, customer complaint management received considerable attention in marketing literature, e.g., researchers examined the consequences of a negative incident on customer attitudes towards the provider and the associated behavioral intention such as self-reported repurchase intentions ( e.g. Evanschitzky, Brock, and Blut, 2011; Smith and Bolton, 2002; van Doorn and Verhoef, 2008). However, this stream of research has not examined actual purchase behavior after the complaint (e.g., de Matos, Henrique, and Rossi, 2007). Hence, it is unclear whether service recovery only affects self-reported outcomes (i.e., purchase intention) or actual purchase behavior. Moreover, recent research has indicated that customer inertia explains a large proportion of the variance of a customer’s repurchase behavior (e.g. van Doorn and Verhoef, 2008). So far, no research has assessed the impact of inertia in the service recovery context. It is indicated that the relationship between the provider and the customer is strongly affected by the service failure (van Doorn and Verhoef, 2008), but as of now, the role of past behavior has not been investigated. This study contributes to the complaint management literature by (1) analyzing the effects of service recovery on actual purchase behavior after recovery and (2) by assessing the role of inertia in situations of service recovery. Results indicate that complaint satisfaction has a significant positive impact on post complaining purchase behavior while overall satisfaction has no such effect. Furthermore, past purchase behavior has the strongest impact; thus, inertia plays a substantial role in complaint management.

Marketing and information systems research has a long history of studying the customer’s acceptance and adoption process of new technologies (Venkatesh et al., 2003). These studies are often motivated by the potential of new technologies such as smart home systems to improve our everyday life. To benefit from these technologies, individuals have to accept them in the first place. To better understand the acceptance process, scholars regularly employ various theories in their studies such as technology acceptance model (Davis, 1989), innovation diffusion theory (Rogers 2003), and perceived risk theory (Featherman and Pavlou, 2003). Although each of these theories provides valuable insights, only recently scholars started combining them in larger framework and examining their interrelationships. These studies argue that each theory has the potential to make a unique contribution to understanding of technology acceptance, but the combination of theories leads to novel insights. The purpose of this study is the development of a comprehensive adoption model combining constructs from various theories and testing these theories against each other to provide new insights. The study develops this model in a smart home applications context which is a complex technological system. The study is based on an online survey consisting of 409 participants; the data is analyzed using structural equation modelling.

The country-of-origin (COO) effect is one of the most prominent phenomena in the field of international marketing. Its influence on consumer quality perception, as well as on purchase decision, is strongly supported by a notable amount of empirical work. However, despite the obvious managerial relevance, most COO studies have been conducted with respect to products, whereas the impact of COO in service settings is a woefully underresearched area. This article fills that void by using limit conjoint analysis to empirically test the role of COO effect for services in two experimental settings. Specifically, the study investigates how much the relative importance of COO changes if additional quality cues are available for the consumer. Results lend support for the relevance of COO effects for services and provide useful implications for ways to utilize COO effects in international services marketing.

PurposeInternational marketing researchers have long been concerned with determining whether consumers are predisposed towards a preference for domestic products, as opposed to foreign products. The purpose of this paper is to assess such a domestic‐country bias (DCB) in the German market.Design/methodology/approachThis study empirically investigates DCB across six countries and 14 product categories in the Germany market. By so doing, it replicates an earlier study conducted in the UK. Ordered logit analysis was employed as well as multidimensional unfolding to present results.FindingsAs in the study conducted in the UK, there is in general a strong DCB in the German market. However, it differs largely across the 14 product categories. Results indicate that consumer preference rankings can best be explained by a combination of demographic variables and country‐of‐origin effects.Practical implicationsResults indicate that domestic firms in Germany can well rely on a safeguarding effect when marketing their products. At the same time, managers from foreign countries cannot rely on consumer ethnocentrism as a reliable indicator of the inclination of consumers to downgrade their products.Originality/valueThis study confirms some findings from the UK. However, results from Germany indicate that at least economic competitiveness of the country‐of‐origin plays a role in determining respondents' judgments. This study underlines the value of replication studies in cross‐cultural settings in particular.

This research addresses three questions: (1) Why are some business network firms more market orientated than others? (2) What effect does the environmental uncertainty have on the network performance impact of market orientation activities performed by a network firm? (3) Does network embeddedness influence the effectiveness of a firm's market orientation activities? The findings from a study on a vertical grocery network suggest that the performance impact of market orientation activities depends on the network identity of the network firm. Network embeddedness of a network firm is found to enhance this performance link. Finally, uncertain market environments favor down-stream allocation of market orientation activities in our sample.

The dominance of the internet as a shopping and distribution channel also necessitates an understanding of e-service quality. Using means-ends-chain theory, we develop a conceptual framework to understand the different models and the associated multiple measures that have been developed to examine this construct. We test the measures empirically using meta-analytic techniques. We also summarize the impact of e-service quality on key outcomes—customer satisfaction, repurchase intentions, and word-of-mouth, as well as the moderating impact of three contextual factors: country culture, regulatory environment, and industry context. Results indicate that e-service quality has four underlying dimensions (website design, fulfilment, customer service, and security/privacy) though their relevance for overall e-service quality is moderated by country-specific (uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, power distance, individualism), regulatory environment-specific (financial secrecy, rule of law), and industry-specific (services/goods, retailing/banking) factors as well as research-design factors.

Marketing theory suggests market orientation to be one of the most effective strategy of achieving and maintaining competitive advantage (Jaworski, Kohli, and Sahay 2000). Current understanding of market orientation relates to the organization-wide generation and dissemination of customer and competitor information and is associated with a firm’s ability to learn and respond to the market (Kohli and Jaworski 1990). Reviewing prior research on market orientation, Jaworski et al. (2000) criticize most conceptualizations of the construct to be too narrow. They extend understanding of market orientation through distinguishing between two complementary approaches: The first approach which is characterized as ‘market driven’, describes market orientation as a reactive concept, where companies intend to keep the status quo by focusing mainly on existing customers and their current needs. The second ‘market driving’-approach is a more proactive understanding of the concept, where companies shape not only customers’ but also other market participants’ behaviors and/or market structure in a direction that enhances the competitive position of a firm (Jaworski et al. 2000). In our research, we focus on the latter market driving-approach, as so far the relevance of this approach has not been investigated empirically. Therefore, our study develops a measurement instrument of the market driving construct based on the recent conceptualization developed by Jaworski et al. (2000), discusses and empirically tests antecedents and performance outcomes of the market driving construct, and finally, examines the moderating effects of market turbulence and technological change on the market driving-performance linkage, using a sample of 181 managers from electronics industry.