Boris Snoj

The relationships among perceived quality, perceived risk and perceived product value

Perceived value is an extremely important concept in marketing and many authors have dealt with it in recent years. In Slovenia perceived value of product is a rather neglected aspect of the research. Moreover, nobody has empirically researched the impact of individual factors on perceived value of a product. The researched target group was students – the fastest growing segment among the users of mobile phones in Slovenia. In their research the authors focused on two of the perceived value impact factors: perceived product quality and perceived risk. Based on literature and our own findings, their main researched objective was to design the model of relationships among perceived value, perceived quality and perceived risk. After the model had been tested with the method of structural equation modeling (LISREL 8.0), the authors found that statistically significant relationships (positive and negative, direct and indirect) among the concepts researched exist.

Market Orientation in the Transition Economies of Central Europe:: Tests of the Narver and Slater Market Orientation Scales

Abstract The Narver and Slater (Narver, J.C., and Slater, S.F.: The Effect of Marketing Orientation on Business Profitability. Journal of Marketing 54 (1990): 20–35.) market orientation scale is tested in the context of the transition economies of central Europe and found to be both valid and reliable. Relationships between market orientation and both marketing strategy and performance broadly follow predictions from the Western literature indicating that the adoption of a market orientation is equally applicable in transition as in Western economies. A number of different approaches, however, are evident in the transition economies suggesting that other business orientations may coexist with a market orientation creating a richer and more complex set or organizational drivers.

Marketing Capabilities and Firm Performance: A Hierarchical Model

The resource based theory of the firm (RBV) is briefly reviewed together with its recent application in the marketing literature. Significant contributions by Webster (1992) and Day (1994) are identified and an integration of the two presented as a hierarchical model of marketing capabilities. Three research propositions concerning the relationships between marketing capabilities and performance are developed and tested empirically in the transition economies of central and eastern Europe. In line with expectations from the theory of the RBV, higher order marketing capabilities are seen to be more important than operational capabilities in explaining superior competitive performance. The overall model is shown to be a helpful conceptualization of marketing capabilities and a number of issues for further research are identified.

Market orientation in the service sector of the transition economies of central Europe

The Narver and Slater market orientation scale is tested in the context of service firms in the transition economies of central Europe and found to be both valid and reliable. The survey examined levels of market orientation in 205 business to business services companies and 141 consumer services companies in Hungary, Poland and Slovenia. As predicted by the predominantly western marketing literature, those service firms with higher levels of market orientation; were more often found in turbulent, rapidly changing markets; were more likely to pursue longer term market building goals rather than short term efficiency objectives; more likely to pursue differentiated positioning through offering superior levels of service compared to competitors; and also performed better on both financial and market based criteria. A number of different business approaches, however, are evident in the transition economies suggesting that other business orientations may co‐exist with a market orientation creating a richer and more complex set of organizational drivers.

The measurement of perceived differences in service quality — The case of health spas in Slovenia

The authors concentrate on the importance of service quality elements in health spas. In the introduction the authors describe general characteristics of the health spa industry in Slovenia. They also point out the expanding emphasis on the service elements of products, their perceived quality and their influence upon the management practices of organisations. The main characteristics of the theoretical discussion on quality of services are presented, as well as the background of the research project. This 1999 study was a replication of part of a research project on the health spa industry in Slovenia conducted in 1991 using the SERVQUAL instrument. The project dealt with the assessment of the overall service quality in two health spas, the identification of important profiles of health spa service quality components and the identification of possible differences between important profiles of service quality components identified in 1991 and those seen in 1999. Most of the important differences in the structure of the service quality elements emerged during the interval between both research projects.

Let users judge the quality of faculty library services

The introduction stresses the role of the library in the environment and the importance of marketing thinking in the management practice of libraries. The main characteristics of library services as well as the importance and the definition of the perceived quality of services are dealt with. Reveals the current situation concerning research into service quality in libraries, and focuses on the structure of importance and the level of the service quality components in the library at the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Maribor, Slovenia. Discusses the reasons for the project and its goals, analyzes the results and submits proposals for the improvement of the overall service quality in libraries.

A requisitely holistic approach to marketing in terms of social well‐being

Purpose – The paper aims to answer the following questions. Is marketing requisitely holistic? Marketing serves managers, governors, owners and employees as well as customers, suppliers and other stakeholders with its activities in order to help company increase well‐being of stakeholders. What about the broader societys well‐being and future? What will follow, once the innovative‐society phase of socio‐economic development creates affluence, which diminishes human ambition to work in order to have? Social responsibility might be the next step in achieving success.Design/methodology/approach – There are new forms of marketing (e.g. societal marketing; relationship marketing; cause‐related marketing; and green marketing) that could help humans accomplishing this task, to some extent. Marketing will have to detect, elaborate and disseminate new data, along with using them for its action; the paper does not tackle the latter, but marketing taking into account the social responsibility of the company in orde...

The profiles of importance of service quality components in health spas

Services are a primary force for economic growth in a modern society. At the same time the concept of quality is in the midst of managerial attention in every successful organization. Yet, extensive work in the field of empirical research involving the measurement of this important marketing variable and subsequently in the marketing management of quality in numerous service organizations all over the world has started only at the end of the eighties.As a result the author undertook an empirical study to identify the salient components of service quality and the nature of impact of several factors on the guests estimation of service quality in two successful Slovenian health spas. As the basis for the investigation this study utilizes the conceptual model of service quality as proposed by Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1985).

Can Marketing Resources Contribute to Company Performance

Can Marketing Resources Contribute to Company Performance? This study investigates the relationships between market orientation, innovation resources, reputational resources, customer related capabilities and distribution-based assets, as well as their impact on both market and financial performance. The results indicate that market orientation is indirectly related to a companys market and financial performance through the four other marketing resources. Reputational resources have a positive impact on loyalty, market share and sales volume, while the impact of innovation resources on the market share and sales volume is more indirect and through customer loyalty. While customer-related capabilities significantly impact customer loyalty, their impact on the market share and sales volume can not be confirmed. On the other hand, the distribution-based assets are only weakly related to loyalty, the market share and the sales volume. The general findings indicate that selected marketing resources impact financial performance indirectly through the creation of customer loyalty and directly through the market share and sales volume.

Can innovation resources influence company performance: case of Slovenia

Innovation resources are among the resources critical for the creation of sustainable competitive advantage and therefore, for the growth and survival of companies. Authors explore partial dimensions of innovation resources and their relations with company performance from a sample of companies in Slovenia as a transforming socialist economy. The results of research show moderate positive correlation between these two variables.