Doreén Pick

Customer Engagement Behavior: Theoretical Foundations and Research Directions

This article develops and discusses the concept of customer engagement behaviors (CEB), which we define as the customers’ behavioral manifestation toward a brand or firm, beyond purchase, resulting from motivational drivers. CEBs include a vast array of behaviors including word-of-mouth (WOM) activity, recommendations, helping other customers, blogging, writing reviews, and even engaging in legal action. The authors develop a conceptual model of the antecedents and consequences—customer, firm, and societal—of CEBs. The authors suggest that firms can manage CEBs by taking a more integrative and comprehensive approach that acknowledges their evolution and impact over time.

Antecedents of knowledge generation competence and its impact on innovativeness

Purpose – This study aims to present the conceptualization and measurement of knowledge generation competence (KGC) as the fundament for firms internal knowledge generation. Furthermore, it seeks to assess different antecedents of a firms KGC and its potential for improving a firms innovativeness.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected by nationwide mail survey in the German automation and the consulting industry. The final sample consists of 110 respondents (response rate of 32.9 percent). The measurement model was tested by using structural equation modeling applying partial least squares (PLS) estimation. PLS was also used to investigate the relationships between KGC, its antecedents and innovativeness.Findings – The findings support the conceptualization and measurement of knowledge generation competence (KGC). The included dimensions explained 47.6 percent of the variance of knowledge generation competence. Furthermore, most of the relationships included in the research model were suppor...

From CM to CRM to CN2: A Research Agenda for the Marketing Communications Transition

Marketing, and particularly marketing communication (marcom), has experienced dramatic transitions over the last 60 years. From the dependency on mass media to the development of data-based systems, to today’s digitally-driven, interactive approaches, marcom has evolved based on new approaches and methodologies that were not even imagined six decades ago.

Customer Responses to Switching Costs: A Meta-Analytic Investigation of the Moderating Influence of Culture

Relationship marketing effectiveness varies across different markets, but prior research has provided limited evidence on how cultural variations relate to the effects of relationship variables such as switching costs. The authors develop and test a theoretical framework that explains how culture moderates the relationship between perceived switching costs and key consequences. The findings of a meta-analysis, based on 451 effect sizes collected in 25 countries, show that similar components that refer to a match between the value essence of Hofstedes cultural dimensions and the motivators that steer particular consequences explain how individualism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity moderate the impact of switching costs on word of mouth of customers and loyalty types. Furthermore, the economic development of a country explains when switching costs either reduce or increase switching of customers. The findings of this study support international companies in making decisions about the generation of switching costs in particular markets and the formation of international relationship marketing and referral programs.

Retailing in India - Background, Challenges, Prospects

India has become the second-largest consumer market and seventh-largest retail market worldwide. The prerequisite for this event was the liberalisation of several sectors of the economy, whereas the main driver was a continuous increase of the gross domestic product (GDP). As a consequence, the Indian retail market has shown impressive and constant growth. Although the global financial crisis affected the Indian economy, the prospects for the Indian retail market are encouraging. With a steadily growing economy, a broad middle class is evolving as progress is made in reducing poverty. Nevertheless, the knowledge about specific features of the Indian market is still unsatisfactorily low. Hence, our article provides a description of the status quo of India’s retail market, including an analysis of Indian consumers and the positioning of Indian and foreign retailers. It concludes with predictions of plausible further developments.

Status quo des Rückgewinnungsmanagements

Selbst bei extensiven Unternehmensaktivitaten, die auf die Erhohung der Kundenzufriedenheit mit dem Anbieter, dessen Leistungen und Mitarbeiter zielen, ist eine hundertprozentige Kundenbindung als unerreichbares Ziel anzusehen (Dodson 2000). Die Grunde hierfur liegen in den intensivierten Vertriebs-und Werbeaktivitaten der Wettbewerber und einer zunehmenden Wechselbereitschaft vieler Konsumenten. In der Praxis sind daher hohe Abwanderungsquoten von bis zu 66 Prozent nicht unublich (Griffin/Lowenstein 2001, S. 5). Fur die betroffenen Unternehmen ist die Abwanderung ihrer Kunden unmittelbar mit Umsatz-und Deckungsbeitragsverlusten verbunden, woraus in der Konsequenz die Notwendigkeit erwachst, diese Kunden entweder zuruckzugewinnen oder aber Neukunden zu akquirieren, um den bisherigen Kundenstamm aufrechtzuhalten.

Kundenserviceintegration als Erfolgsbaustein eines Customer Experience Management-Ansatzes im Telekommunikationssektor

Schon seit Jahren sind in zahlreichen Dienstleistungsbranchen hohe Abwanderungsraten zu beobachten (fur einen Uberblick Stauss/Seidel 2009, S. 145). So liegt etwa die Wechselrate im Bankgeschaft fur Privatkunden bei bis zu 22 Prozent pro Jahr (Colgate/Lang 2001). Durch sehr hohe Kundenfluktuationen ist speziell der Mobilfunkmarkt gekennzeichnet, wo sich jedes Jahr mehr als 30 Prozent der Kunden dazu entschliesen, ihren Anbieter zu wechseln (Lee et al. 2001; Aydin/Ozer 2005, S. 920; Ahn et al. 2006, S. 552). Einer Erhebung des Instituts fur Demoskopie Allensbach vom Oktober 2010 zufolge wechseln in Deutschland im Jahr ca. 10 Mio. Kunden ihren Telefon-, Internet- oder Handyanbieter (Institut fur Demoskopie Allensbach 2010).

Kundenattributionen am Service Counter – Arten, Wirkung und Konsequenzen für das Revenue Management

In diesem Beitrag werden die Arten und Wirkungsweisen von Kundenattributionen am Service Counter aufgearbeitet und beschrieben. Attributionen sind Interpretationsprozesse, durch die Individuen den Ereignissen und Handlungen Ursachen und Grunde zuschreiben. Daruber hinaus konnen Attributionen aber auch als Ergebnisse dieser kognitiven Bewertungsprozesse verstanden werden. Konsumenten attribuieren die Ursachen zu Ereignissen vor allem danach, welche Konsequenzen fur sie selbst durch ein Ereignis entstehen. Derartige Konsequenzen konnen Nachteile, aber auch Vorteile sein. Um die Attributionen in Bezug auf das Revenue Management der Dienstleistungsunternehmen adaquat zu differenzieren, werden in diesem Beitrag die Attributionen in erlebten negativen Kontaktsituationen und in positiven Kontakterfahrungen unterschieden.

Alternative Economies as Marketing Systems? The Role of Value Creation and the Criticism of Economic Growth:

Actors engaged in alternative economies organize resource transfers, exchange resources (with and without the use of money), and create value. As value creation is a definitional attribute of marketing systems, we examine whether alternative economies fall under the concept of marketing systems. That is, the conceptual framework of the marketingsystems approach applicable to alternative economies must help answer this question, and the approach’s empirical claims must hold true in alternative economies. We refer to the distinction between the conceptual framework of a theory and its empirical claims to substantiate our notion that alternative economies are marketing systems. Informed by the theoretical analysis and insights gleaned from interviews, we suggest modifications of the conceptual framework of the marketing-systems approach to improve or extend its applicability to alternative economies.

Understanding the new, Negotiated Phase of Relationship Marketing: A Proposed Research Agenda

Marketing and marketing communications have changed dramatically over the past 50 years. This article traces the changes through a set of models, starting with Customer Marketing (CM) then Customer Relationship Marketing (CRM) and finally CN2, the Customer Networked/Negotiated system. Illustrative details are provided for each of the systems. Based on this evolution, a new academic/professional research agenda is proposed.