Deirdre O'Loughlin

From relationships to experiences in retail financial services

This study investigates the nature of customer‐supplier interaction that currently exists within Irish retail financial services. Specifically, issues relating to the role, meaning and importance of financial service interaction within the context of current demand‐ and supply‐side relationship marketing issues are explored. Although the literature proposes that the relationship marketing (RM) approach is particularly applicable to the financial services sector, the research findings raise questions as to the appropriateness of general RM theory to the current nature of interaction between consumers and their financial services providers. In an age of increased depersonalisation and automation impacting upon financial service quality and delivery, the paper questions the relevance of the “relationship” concept and proposes the notion of an “experience” as a far more relevant and meaningful construct. The nature and importance of this experience to consumers is explored and three levels of customer experience are conceptualised which are identified as brand, transactional and relationship experience.

Customer perspectives on the role and importance of branding in Irish retail financial services

Purpose – This paper explores the role of financial services brand values and compares the importance of process and outcome factors in terms of their impact on customer perceptions, behaviour and experience.Design/methodology/approach – Building on exploratory managerial and consumer research, 50 in‐depth interviews were conducted with a quota sample of Irish consumers representing the desired range of demographic and product‐related characteristics, including income and financial experience.Findings – Contrary to the literature, functional values are deemed by consumers to be significantly more important than emotional values. In addition, process factors, facilitated through positive interactions with staff, play a comparatively more salient role than outcome factors in building positive brand experience.Research limitations/implications – Further in‐depth qualitative and/or quantitative studies need to be conducted with larger sample sizes to address issues in terms of making inferences and generalisa...

“I'll always be in debt”: Irish and UK student behaviour in a credit led environment

Purpose – This research seeks to explore current attitudes, motivations and behaviours in relation to student credit and debt consumption in the UK and Ireland.Design/methodology/approach – Key qualitative consumer research based on 20 interviews with Irish and UK higher education students is presented.Findings – The findings highlight that, while the UK and Irish student contexts are significantly different in terms of accommodation costs, tuition fees and living expenses, many Irish students reported relatively high debt levels, with some exceeding their UK counterparts. The research identifies key contextual factors associated with the credit‐friendly environment in which students live in addition to shedding light on student orientation towards credit and debt, with specific conclusions for future student debt.Research limitations/ implications – Given the rise in debt and its detrimental consequences, the study has far‐reaching implications for policy makers, consumer agencies financial providers and...

Services Branding: Revealing the Rhetoric within Retail Banking

This paper presents key branding findings from a qualitative study of consumers and financial services practitioners and explores the current role, importance and challenges associated with branding within Irish retail financial services. Managerial and consumer research highlighted the limited role of branding and the growing gap between brand-based expectations and service brand execution. Key conclusions and implications are proposed in terms of developing an effective multidimensional brand strategy which is both profitable to suppliers and desirable to consumers. The paper recommends that financial services branding be focused upon the promotion of meaningful functional values, delivered through a customer-centred, process-driven approach.

Customer Relationship Typologies and the Nature of Loyalty in Irish Retail Financial Services

This paper presents the key relationship findings from an in-depth qualitative consumer study of Irish retail banking and explores the nature of customer loyalty and its effects on relationship preferences and decisions. Building upon prior exploratory managerial and consumer research, 50 in-depth interviews were conducted with a purposive stratified sample of Irish consumers representing the desired range of demographic and product-related characteristics. From the research findings, key customer relationship typologies were identified and profiled which included Transactional Experiences, Outcome-Focused Relationships, Interactive Friendships and Personal Relationships. Furthermore, the nature of customer loyalty was explored and key moderating factors including type of product, financial experience and income and customer lifecycle were identified and investigated.

The rhetoric and reality of research reputation: ‘fur coat and no knickers’

Evaluation systems including global university rankings have been recently introduced as mechanisms for assessing overall academic quality, appraising research reputation and as a basis for funding and policy decisions. This study explores the concept of research reputation in terms of how it is defined, constituted and assessed. Eight professor-level academics from a range of disciplines based at European universities were interviewed. The findings highlight the subjective and multidimensional nature of research reputation, the role of informal and formal communications in creating and building research reputation, and the inter-relationships between academics, departments and institutions in enabling research reputation, individually and collectively. Given the problematic nature of research reputation, it is critical that higher education institutions engage in effective strategic reputation management at all levels. Consistency of understanding of research reputation should also exist among all users of ranking systems, particularly those involved in higher education policy and research strategy decision-making.

A qualitative study of Irish postgraduate students’ alcohol consumption.

Abstract This exploratory qualitative study investigated Irish postgraduate students’ experiences of alcohol consumption and the motives that work to encourage their engagement in the consumption practice. Utilising a non-probability purposive sampling method, seven semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with postgraduate university students from a range of academic disciplines. The findings of the research indicate that, during their studies, these young people underwent an important transition regarding the manner in which they engage in alcohol consumption. The excessiveness that characterised their initial behaviour as undergraduates has given way to a more restrained approach to alcohol consumption as postgraduates. A number of factors sustain this desire to adopt a more controlled approach to alcohol consumption, including an increasing sense of responsibility, critical self-reflection and experience gained. The research also provides valuable insight into the motives that continue to underlie engagement by this more mature group in the consumption practice, namely pleasure-seeking and the belief that drinking represents a form of expected behaviour.