Deborah Cowles

Relationship Quality in Services Selling: An Interpersonal Influence Perspective

Salespeople involved in the marketing of complex services often perform the role of “relationship manager.” It is, in part, the quality of the relationship between the salesperson and the customer ...

Service recovery: its value and limitations as a retail strategy

Contributes to a growing body of service recovery knowledge by examining the impact of service recovery as a relationship tool, in addition to its well‐accepted role as a means to enhance customer satisfaction at the transaction‐specific level. Begins by providing an overview of the evolving concept of service recovery and continues by explaining the important and unique role that recovery plays in the service sector. A comparison of the concept of service consistency and reliability with the concept of service recovery leads to a statement of hypotheses tested in an experimental setting. Specifically, results indicate that while service recovery results in encounter satisfaction, service recovery does not significantly influence overall satisfaction, quality, image and future expectations. Rather, consistency of service influences these constructs.

The role of trust in customer relationships: asking the right questions

Takes an in‐depth look at the meaning of trust in customer relationships by drawing from the economics and communications literatures, where researchers distinguish between concepts of trustworthiness and trusting behaviour. Develops a typology of trust based on whether a marketing entity is considered trustworthy and whether a behaviour can be considered trusting, and offers the managerial implications of ideas presented, along with six propositions for future research. The perspective presented here suggests that marketing researchers must first come to terms with the meaning of trust in customer relationships before they can begin to understand its role in more comprehensive, explanatory models of customer behaviour.

Consumer perceptions of interactive media

This study examined consumer perceptions of interactive media from a uses and gratifications perspective. The structure of 11 media options, including two interactive media (videotex and teletext) in a three‐dimensional space, was found to be similar to that reported in previous research not involving the new media. However, the meaning of the dimensions that comprised the space appeared to be somewhat different. Results suggest that media gratifications theory holds considerable promise for future research involving the new media, and that such research might best occur within the context of an individuals total media environment.

Using key informant insights as a foundation for e-retailing theory development

Abstract Retailers are experiencing varying degrees of success as they strive to incorporate Internet technology into traditional retail formats. Although a variety of explanations for uncertainty surrounding electronic retailing (e-retailing) have been offered, the lack of a sound theoretical framework driving e-retailing decisions is at the heart of challenges facing Internet retailers. We argue that the Internet represents a sufficiently unique retail environment that practitioners and academicians alike should approach the development of knowledge and understanding in this arena in a mode of “discovery.” As such, qualitative and exploratory research methods can contribute significantly to e-retailing theory and decision-making frameworks. We present results of a key informant study of e-retailers, and provide the theoretical foundation for a model for effective integration of the Internet into the retail mix.

Total Quality Management at Virginia Commonwealth University: An Urban University Struggles with the Realities of TQM.

The chief administrators at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) began formally to explore Total Quality Management (TQM) during the summer of 1991. What they found initially was both surprising and revealing. A major affiliated division of the university, which operates autonomously, had already undertaken a large-scale TQM effort. Early discussions also revealed a core of faculty who were already teaching, conducting research, and providing services to the business community, as well as state and local government agencies, in the TQM arena. These discoveries gave additional impetus for the administrators to pursue a study of TQM. The unfolding of the study and related activities undertaken to date provide insights into theprocess of implementing TQM at a major university.

The Impact of Retailer Use of Point-Of-Purchase Advertising on Sales of Instant-Game Lottery Tickets

This paper investigates the relationship between retailer use of various types of point-of-purchase (POP) advertising and retailer sales of instant-game lottery tickets. Analysis of individual-store sales and POP advertising suggests that POP advertising that identifies the retailer as a lottery vendor, such as that visible from the outside of the store, may contribute more to instant-ticket sales than an increase in in-store POP items. This study takes into account the placement and visibility of POP advertising items.