Gordon H.G. McDougall

Customer satisfaction with services: putting perceived value into the equation

This research investigated the relationship between three elements – core service quality, relational service quality‐ and perceived value – and customer satisfaction and future intentions across four services. The results revealed that core service quality (the promise) and perceived value were the most important drivers of customer satisfaction with relational service quality (the delivery) a significant but less important driver. A direct link between customer satisfaction and future intentions was established. The relative importance of the three drivers of satisfaction varied among services. Specifically, the importance of core service quality and perceived value was reversed depending on the service. A major conclusion was that both perceived value and service quality dimensions should be incorporated into customer satisfaction models to provide a more complete picture of the drivers of satisfaction.

Determinants of customer satisfaction in retail banking

Points out that customer satisfaction and retention are critical for retail banks, and investigates the major determinants of customer satisfaction and future intentions in the retail bank sector. Identifies the determinants which include service quality dimensions (e.g. getting it right the first time), service features (e.g. competitive interest rates), service problems, service recovery and products used. Finds, in particular, that service problems and the bank’s service recovery ability have a major impact on customer satisfaction and intentions to switch.

Exploring How Intangibility Affects Perceived Risk

Studies have found that product intangibility increases consumers’ perception of risk. However, most of these studies measured the intangibility and perceived risk constructs unidimensionally. The primary objective of this article is to examine the effects of the multiple dimensions of intangibility on the various types of risk. An empirical investigation revealed that, of the three intangibility dimensions, physical intangibility was the least correlated to the consumers’ perception of risk in most situations, whereas mental intangibility and generality had a great impact on most dimensions of perceived risk. However, there were variations in the strength of the relationships between the intangibility dimensions and the risk dimensions when contrasting goods and services, generic products and brands, and online and offline purchase contexts. Theoretical and practical contributions to the service marketing literature are discussed.

Complexities of Household Energy Consumption and Conservation

A national sample of Canadian households was used to relate climatic variables, dwelling/appliance/vehicle descriptors, demographic characteristics, and attitudinal variables to actual in-home energy consumption and self-reported gasoline consumption. Using split-sample replications, dwelling and vehicle descriptors indicated a strong association with energy consumption, and both male and female attitudes indicated weak associations.

Waiting for service: the effectiveness of recovery strategies.

Two experiments examined the effectiveness of service recovery strategies in situations where the service firm made customers wait even though they had made a reservation. The recovery strategies ‐ apology only, assistance, compensation, assistance plus compensation ‐ which reflected industry practices, did not lead to positive future intentions towards the service firm. While assistance plus compensation was the most effective strategy, respondents still held negative future intentions towards the service firm. Other factors that had an impact included the type of hospitality service, restaurant or hotel, and the purpose for buying the service. The major implication was that current industry recovery practices were inadequate in mitigating negative intentions. When service firms break a promise, effective recovery requires considerable effort to overcome customers’ negative intentions.

The Intangibility of Services: Measurement and Competitive Perspectives

Explains how tangibility can be a useful concept for the services marketer, enabling a firm to identify its position relative to competition by measuring tangibility at various levels such as product class, brand, segment and thus develop specific strategies for improvement. Provides a scale, based on three empirical studies, for measuring tangibility and shows how the results can be used strategically.

Benefit Segmentation Using Service Quality Dimensions

Effective segmentation is a challenge for financial service managers. Investigates the use of service quality, convenience, and competitiveness as a basis for benefit segmentation. Identifies two segments, a performance driven segment that in the retail bank sector is primarily interested in having the bank “get it right the first time” and a convenience driven segment that wants location. An important benefit for both segments was competitive rates. Results indicate that the segments differ with respect to evaluation of their main financial institution and satisfaction levels.

A model of online customer behavior during the initial transaction: Moderating effects of customer characteristics

Recent research shows that observations based on overall online consumer behavior can lead to erroneous conclusions since behavior can be substantially different among groups of individuals. This article proposes a theoretical model, which captures the main characteristics of the website and explains how the user reaction to the website, determined by a set of user characteristics, could moderate consumer perceptions of websites as well as subsequent behaviors especially in a B2C context. A comprehensive understanding of these user characteristics will enable researchers to further the understanding of online consumer behavior during the crucial initial transaction, which often raises the biggest challenge for service providers. An understanding of user characteristics will assist service providers in designing customized websites for competitive advantage.

Web site satisfaction and purchase intentions: Impact of personality characteristics during initial web site visit

Purpose – A main focus in recent online consumer research has been on context specific trust, risk, and online buying experience. Despite the importance, their individual level “equivalents” – trust disposition, risk aversion, and technology readiness – have received limited attention. This research attempts to fill that gap by focussing on these crucial personality traits.Design/methodology/approach – This research employs a survey‐based method to test a theoretically grounded set of hypotheses. The measurement model is tested using SEM and the hypotheses are tested using regression techniques.Findings – The personality characteristics are found to have significant moderating effects on online purchase intentions. Interestingly, provided the consumers are satisfied, risk aversion is found to increase the likelihood of purchase. Moreover, while technology readiness increases the likelihood of online purchase, dispositional trust is found not to have a similar effect.Research limitations/implications – Sig...

Designing the service guarantee: unconditional or specific?

When designing a guarantee, service firms have a choice ‐the unconditional that guarantees customer satisfaction or the specific, which guarantees a major aspect of the service such as on‐time delivery. To date, this decision has been based primarily on anecdotal observations. This investigation examined consumer reactions to unconditional versus specific service guarantees in terms of risk reduction, preference, and trust in the service provider. In an experimental setting, respondents preferred firms which offered an unconditional guarantee. However, specific guarantees were favoured when subjects considered the ease of getting their money back. For a service firm, the implementation of an unconditional guarantee with a specific payout would have the broadest appeal in the market.