Caroline Tynan

Relationship marketing in consumer markets – Rhetoric or reality?

Relationship marketing (RM) was conceived as an approach to industrial and service markets, and was considered inappropriate in other marketing contexts. Recently, however, the domain of RM has been extended to incorporate innovative applications in mass consumer markets. Much has changed in a few short years. Recent applications of RM in consumer markets have been facilitated by developments in direct and database marketing within an increasingly competitive and fragmented marketplace. This paper presents a critical review of the history of RM in consumer markets, and incorporates important conceptual, practical, empirical and popular contributions. A number of critical issues which remain unresolved are identified in the paper. These form the basis of ten research propositions which are crucial to justifying and advancing the domain extension into consumer markets.

Experience marketing: a review and reassessment

For the last twenty-five years customer experiences have been considered to be a key concept in marketing management, consumer behaviour, services marketing and retailing with the result that the underlying logic and managerial rationale for experience marketing is well established in the marketing literature. However, the gulf between academics and practitioners on this topic is now as wide as ever with bestselling titles on experience marketing written by and for practitioners, which are rich in examples and step-by-step guides to managerial success yet pay scant attention to the contributions of academics in this area. The purpose of this paper is to review and reassess the extant work on experience marketing. Service-Dominant logic is employed to bridge the divide between theory and practice in this respect. A model of customers experience proposed, implications for practitioners and academics are discussed and greater dialogue is called for between marketers and their academic counterparts.

The Utility of the Relationship Metaphor in Consumer Markets: A Critical Evaluation

The popularity currently enjoyed by relationship marketing obscures a host of problems relating to the apparent domain extension into consumer markets. Such problems are argued to include: the lack of an accepted definition; fragmented and limited theory development; a boundary-less domain and a limited understanding of exchange relationships (Buttle, 1996; Gummesson, 1997; Wilson, 1995). This paper contends that the root of these difficulties lies in the process of metaphoric transfer (Hunt and Menon, 1995). As such there is a need to review the role of metaphor within academic research generally, and to investigate the extent to which the metaphor of interpersonal relationships remains apposite within the domain of consumer markets. In attempting to address this issue, the paper appraises the process of metaphoric transfer, evaluates the utility of the interpersonal relationship metaphor in the context of mass consumer markets and highlights a number of important implications for theory development in t...

A review of the marriage analogy in relationship marketing

This paper offers a review of the marriage analogy in relationship marketing as used by many marketing authors. Accepting a Christian view of marriage as adopted in Levitts seminal paper, marriage is seen as a successful, public, contractual, and monogamous relationship, freely entered into by two consenting adults of different genders, which is intended to endure a lifetime. However, while parallels do exist in relationship development, the metaphor fails to deliver on issues concerning the number of parties involved in the relationship, on the attendant costs and benefits, on the willingness of the parties involved and on the “ideal” timescale of the relationship. Parallels from the full range of relationships between the sexes, both functional and dysfunctional, suggest polygamy, prostitution, stalking, rape, and seduction may be more apposite.

Service Performance Gap: Re-evaluation and Redevelopment

Abstract This study aims to re-evaluate and redevelop the concept of the service performance gap, which occurs when a service is not performed according to the standards set by management (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry, 1985) . The original theoretical framework is based on a conceptualization of service quality offered by Zeithaml, Berry, and Parasuraman (1988) , Parasuraman, Berry, and Zeithaml (1990) , Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1991) and on work by Morgan and Hunt (1994) on the trust–commitment theory of relationship marketing. Additional conceptualizations from the literature on exchange theory, equity theory, and role theory are used to develop an alternative model based on 10 propositions.

The service performance gap: testing the redeveloped causal model

Focuses on the service performance gap, which occurs when service is not performed according to the standards set. It attempts to define the antecedents of the gap. The research is set in the European airline industry with a theoretical framework based on service quality and the trust‐commitment theory of relationship marketing. With support from a literature review on exchange theory, equity theory, role theory and the trust‐commitment theory of relationship marketing, 18 hypotheses are advanced to develop and test an alternative to the original model by Parasuraman et al. Data were collected from two European airlines. A postal survey of 600 customer contact employees produced 193 respondents, an overall response rate of 32 per cent. The empirical investigation involved the use of structural equation modelling to estimate the proposed model. Exploratory factor analysis was used to assess the measurement instrument. The study offers some support to the work of Parasuraman et al., in another industrial context. It extends their findings by proposing an alternative model, which shows that the service performance gap is influenced both directly and indirectly by a significant number of critical factors including trust, commitment and co‐operation.

Interpreting value in the customer service experience using customer-dominant logic

Abstract Traditionally, customer value has been examined from the perspective of the firm. New understandings of customer value from the customer-dominant logic perspective of services emphasise the need to move away from the service-dominant perspective and adopt a customer-based approach that considers value within the broader context of a customer’s lifeworld. This article explores how individual customers make sense of their participation in an extraordinary, commercially-driven consumption experience. A phenomenological approach is taken to understand the lived experience of these participants. The findings of this exploratory study reveal the highly complex nature of value in the experience in the chosen context of luxury driving experience days. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

Where are we and where are we going?: The status and future of research in marketing

Purpose – The paper strives to assess the current status of research in marketing.Design/methodology/approach – The paper examines statistics showing the current position of market area studies. The paper also looks at the range of supply and demand factors affecting the quality and volume of research in marketing.Findings – The paper argues that there is a range of extrinsic factors that affect in some way how research in marketing is undertaken, how it is perceived more widely and the form of its output. Research in marketing also has its own internal drivers that reflect in particular the current position of its knowledge base, and the manner in which those engaged in research perceive research potential. Finally, on the basis of the analysis the paper suggests some practical means of enhancing research in marketing.Originality/value – This is important in identifying areas of concern that can be addressed in order to enhance the status of marketing.

Self-gift giving in China and the UK: Collectivist versus individualist orientations

Abstract While research on self-gift consumer behaviour (SGCB) has shown evidence of the importance of this behaviour in Western cultures, particularly that of the United States, there is no understanding of self-gift giving in collectivist cultures. Given the self-oriented nature of this behaviour, research is required to address its possible differences in a collectivist society. In this paper, we use personal interviews with consumers to establish the existence of SGCB in China, and further to compare motivations for and the emotions associated with SGCB in positive-related contexts in the UK and mainland China, with a particular focus on the Chinese side. We also address the nature of this behaviour for Chinese participants. Findings indicate that SGCB is less self-oriented for the Chinese than for the British, and suggest that academics should reflect on the meaning of this behaviour in non-Western countries. Implications from these findings for practitioners are also presented.

Halloween in a material world: trick or treat?

The contemporary secular celebration of Halloween is a far cry from its ancient Celtic pagan origins. Since it was brought over to the United States in the 1840s by Irish immigrants, its observance as an American festivity has grown in popularity, particularly since the 1980s when mass-produced and mass-marketed Halloween-related paraphernalia began to flood the marketplace allowing retailers to make it a major seasonal event. This American rendition of Halloween has somewhat ironically migrated back to Europe, where it has been readily embraced by retailers and consumers alike. This paper explores the perceptions of British consumers towards the contemporary Halloween celebration. The findings of a qualitative study of adults reveal ambivalence about the rising level of commercialisation and Americanisation of the event, yet demonstrate how an enhanced understanding of hedonic meanings attached to Halloween can lead to new insights into why consumers are so attracted to celebrating this increasingly popular festivity.