Amanda T. Beatson

Determining consumer satisfaction and commitment through self-service technology and personal service usage

This paper expands research into self-service technology in the service encounter. Self-service technology is where customers deliver service themselves using some form of a technological interface. There is still a great deal unknown about self-service technology, in particular its impact on consumer satisfaction and consumer commitment. With that in mind, this empirical study explores the relative impact of self-service technology on consumer satisfaction and on a multidimensional measure of consumer commitment containing affective commitment, temporal commitment and instrumental commitment. The results reveal that in a hotel context personal service still remains very important for assessments of satisfaction, and affective and temporal commitment. What is particularly interesting is that self-service technology, while impacting these constructs, also impacts instrumental commitment. This suggests that positive evaluations of self-service technology may tie consumers into relationships with hotels. A discussion and implications for managers are provided on these and other results, and the paper is concluded with further potential research.

The impact of implicit and explicit communications on frontline service delivery staff

Using structural equation modelling employing partial least-squares estimation, data from staff in the consumer transport industry were analysed to explore the role of implicit and explicit communications on their service delivery behaviour. Both implicit and explicit communications were found to impact service delivery. Explicit communications had a direct impact on service delivery, whilst implicit communications (in the form of internal market orientation) operated through affective commitment and customer orientation. This study provides quantitative evidence of the roles of implicit and explicit communications on staff attitudes and behaviours, and offers insights into the management of communications with employees to ensure effective service delivery.

Where do consumers draw the line? Factors informing perceptions and justifications of deviant consumer behaviour

ABSTRACT Deviant consumer behaviour in the marketplace is an ongoing problem causing harm to the organisation, employees, and other consumers. To address this problem, this study explores consumer perceptions of right and wrong using the novel concept of a deviance threshold – the mental line in the sand dictating right and wrong. Using consumer-based interviews with a card-sort activity, findings supported and extended dimensions proposed to explain why some behaviours are perceived as more serious or unethical than others. Moreover, why specific neutralisation techniques are used and how they affect categorisations of behaviours within an individual’s deviance threshold is explained. This study offers alternative strategies tailored to challenging consumer justifications to curb deviance. Implications support abandoning the universal approach to deterrence.

Financial institutions using social media – do consumers perceive value?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine consumer perceptions of value of financial institutions using social media to interact with consumers; if overall perceived value predicts a consumer’s intention to adopt, and if intention predicts self-reported adoption of social media to interact with a financial institution; and if perceptions of value in using social media to interact with a financial institution changes over time. Design/methodology/approach – Self-administered surveys were run at two time points; 2010 and 2014. Data were analyzed using multiple and mediated regressions, and t-tests. Comparisons are made between the two time points. Findings – Perceived usefulness, economic value, and social value predicted overall perceived value, which in turn predicted a consumer’s intention to adopt social media to interact with a financial institution. At Time 2, adoption intention predicted self-reported usage behavior. Finally, there were significant differences between perceptions across Time ...

Managing Service Staff as an Organizational Resource: Implications for Customer Service Provision

ABSTRACT This paper supports the notion that organizational level directives affect the customer service performance of staff. We show that organizations applying service routines and training systems which encourage the development of service capabilities develop a basis for the effective provision of customer services. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the positive attachment the staff member feels toward the organization by way of emotional motivation also influences their approach to customer service provision. This highlights for management the need for positive reinforcement so that staff feel valued in their jobs and feel a positive devotion to their employer.

Blended delivery and online assessment : scaffolding student reflections in work-integrated learning

This paper documents a teaching innovation addressing the challenges of embedding and assessing reflective practice in work-integrated learning, specifically marketing internships. We identify four issues relating to this problem: lack of knowledge or skill for reflection, limitations of physical journals, facilitation of different forms of reflection, and suitable models for teaching and assessing reflection. The paper outlines a blended approach combining face-to-face workshops and online resources, and using online reflective journals and digital stories as assessment. The approach and assessment tasks can be implemented in a variety of marketing and business units.

Self-service technology and the moderating effects of consumer characteristics

The incidence of self-service technology, where the consumer delivers the service themselves using technology, is increasing in the service encounter. One area that is under-explored is the potential impact of self-service technology on consumer satisfaction and affective commitment. Accordingly, this paper presents an empirical study that investigates the relative impact of self-service technology on consumer satisfaction (both overall and transaction-specific) and affective commitment, accounting for the moderating effects of consumer characteristics. The results highlight the importance of personal service for evaluations of satisfaction and commitment, and the importance of social competency as a moderator in this relationship. An understanding of these consumer perceptions will allow organisations to develop strategies to deliver the services expected by their consumers, improving consumer satisfaction and commitment.

Tracking brand positioning for an emerging destination: 2003 to 2015

Surprisingly, there have been few published studies monitoring a destination’s brand image over time. This temporal aspect of destination image is an important gap in the literature, given consensus around the role perceptions play in consumers’ decision making, and the ensuing emphasis on imagery in destination branding collateral. Whereas the majority of published destination image studies have been in the form of a snapshot of perceptions at one point in time, this paper presents findings from a survey implemented four times between 2003 and 2015. Brand image is the core construct in any modelling of destination branding performance, which has emerged as a relatively new field of research in the past decade. Using the consumer-based brand equity hierarchy, the project has benchmarked and monitored destination brand salience, image and resonance for an emerging regional destination, relative to key competitors, in the domestic Australian market; and the survey instrument has been demonstrated to be reliable in the context of short break holidays by car. What is particularly interesting to date is that there has been relatively little change in the market positions of the five destinations, in spite of over a decade of branding marketing communications by the regional tourism organisations and their stakeholders, and more recently, the mass of user-generated travel content on social media. The project did not analysis the actual marketing communications for each of the destination marketing organisations. Therefore, an important implication is that irrespective of the level of marketing undertaken, the destination marketing organisations seem to have had little control over the perceptions held in their largest market during this time period. Therefore, it must be recognised that any improvement in perceptions will likely take a long period of time, and so branding needs to be underpinned by a philosophy of a long-term financial investment as well as commitment to a consistency of message over time, which given the politics of destination marketing organisation decision making represents a considerable challenge.

Deterring deviant consumer behaviour: when ‘it’s wrong, don’t do it’ doesn’t work

ABSTRACT Tactics to deter deviant consumer behaviour have received limited attention in the literature despite deviance being an ongoing problem in the marketplace. Across two studies, the findings suggest there is a heterogeneous response to the rules placed on consumers’ behaviour, which manifests from an absence of consensus among consumers on what is right and wrong behaviour undermining the it’s wrong, don’t do it approach to deterrence. Further, risk perceptions of being caught and punished are low, if not absent, undermining the you will be caught and punished approach to deterrence. Alternate underlying mechanisms were tested and found to influence deviant consumer behaviour (perceived prevalence, perceived outcomes and moral identity), which could underpin alternate deterrence tactics, including social proofing, moral triggers and humanising the victim.

Affective events theory as a framework for understanding third-party consumer complaints

Poor complaint management may result in organizations losing customers and revenue. Consumers exhibit negative emotional responses when dissatisfied and this may lead to a complaint to a third-party organization. Since little information is available on the role of emotion in the consumer complaint process or how to manage complaints effectively, we offer an emotions perspective by applying Affective Events Theory (AET) to complaint behavior. This study presents the first application of AET in a consumption context and advances a theoretical framework supported by qualitative research for emotional responses to complaints. In contrast to commonly held views on gender and emotion, men as well as women use emotion-focused coping to complain.