Ibrahim Abosag

The influence of religiously motivated consumer boycotts on brand image, loyalty and product judgment

Purpose – The purpose of this paper was to examine the influence of religiously motivated boycotts, such as the one conducted in Saudi Arabia against Danish companies, on corporate brand image, customer loyalty and product judgment. Despite a growing research interest in understanding the effects of different types of consumer animosities on companies’ performance, there appears to be a scarcity of studies addressing the specific effects of religious animosity. Religious animosity is considered as an additional type which may have more stable and longer-term impacts than other animosities on behaviour. Design/methodology/approach – The study was based on a two-stage design: an exploratory qualitative stage involving 11 in-depth interviews, followed by a more comprehensive quantitative stage designed to test a proposed theoretical model. Data was collected from Saudi customers of the Danish company Arla Foods in Saudi Arabia. Data was analysed using structural equation model (LISREL 8). Findings – The mode...

Analysing the preferred characteristics of frontline employees dealing with customer complaints: A cross‐national Kano study

Purpose – This paper seeks to use the Kano model to gain a deeper understanding of attributes of effective frontline employees dealing with customer complainants in personal interactions. Previous research revealed that excitement factors deteriorate to basic factors over time. This research aims to investigate whether the same phenomenon holds true for attributes of service employees.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected using Kano questionnaires from 272 respondents with complaining experience in the UK and Saudi Arabia, these being two countries at different stages of service sector development.Findings – The analysis of the Kano questionnaires for the UK reveals that complaining customers take the contact employees ability to listen carefully for granted. The Kano results for Saudi Arabia clearly indicate that complaining customers are (still) easier to delight than their UK counterparts.Research limitations/implications – Even though the study has a sample size similar to several existin...

Dancing with macro‐boycotters: the case of Arla Foods

Purpose – Consumer boycotting is on the increase for various reasons. Macro‐boycotting campaigns, against one or more countries and their companies, rather than a specific single company, have had devastating effects on companies. The purpose of this paper is to describe how Arla Foods has combated such a ferocious campaign.Design/methodology/approach – Secondary data were collected from various sources. Importantly, primary data were collected using interviews with senior managers at Arla Foods and a survey of 254 customers in Saudi Arabia.Findings – The come‐back strategy developed and used by Arla Foods has had a good and positive impact and has helped the company to regain most of the market share it lost at the beginning of the boycotting campaign. Several steps are developed to combat the boycotting and regain the market.Originality/value – The unique position of Arla Foods during the boycotting campaign, which is unprecedented, creates a new challenge which requires new thinking on how to combat su...

Metaverse-retail service quality: A future framework for retail service quality in the 3D internet

Abstract This study argues that service quality in retailing in 3D Collaborative Virtual Environments (aka Metaverses) is distinct from service quality in the more familiar 2D, mainly menu-driven, web internet store (e-SQ) and conceptualises the determinants of Metaverse Retailing service quality (MR-SQ) through a combination of focus groups and Critical Incident Technique with current users of Metaverse retail stores. The emerging set of four overarching determining elements of MR-SQ includes customer service, product dimension, store dimension and a 3D platform dimension. While some of these features are found in 2D e-SQ others are unique to MR-SQ such as human contact, emotional expressiveness, virtual trial and fantasy products, in addition to the 3D platform features. Thus, the CVE/Metaverse context presents opportunities for retailers to enhance social experience, responsive service and creative co-production opportunities. The study provides a framework for guidance for retailers to improve service quality in 3D Metaverse stores, as well as for future research.

Second Life as a research environment: avatar-based focus groups (AFG)

Purpose – This study aims to examine the nature and the potential use of avatar-based focus groups (AFGs) (i.e. focus groups conducted in three-dimensional [3D] virtual worlds [VWs]) as compared to face-to-face and online focus groups (OFGs), motivated by the ability of VWs to stimulate the realism of physical places. Over the past decade, there has been a rapid increase in using 3D VWs as a research tool. Design/methodology/approach – Using a two-phase reflective approach, data were collected first by using traditional face-to-face focus groups, followed by AFGs. In Phase 2, an online, semi-structured survey provided comparison data and experiences in AFGs, two-dimensional OFGs and traditional face-to-face focus groups. Findings – The findings identify the advantages and disadvantages of AFGs for marketing research. There is no evident difference in data quality between the results of AFGs and face-to-face focus groups. AFG compensates for some of the serious limitations associated with OFGs. Practical i...

Saturated Nation in Social Networking Sites; An Examination of the Negative Effect of Facebook’s Brand Communities on Brand-Consumer Relationship

Social media today is highly sought after by marketers as it is being hailed as the turning point in how brands will be marketed (Owyang et al. 2009; Qualman 2010; Li and Bernoff 2011). Nonetheless, a careful evaluation needs to be done on the issues and risks this social platform presents as people are becoming overwhelmed with the fast paced society and its faster information production and distribution (Shenk 2003). Saturation, referred to as a communication overload (Shaw 1976), is one aspect of social networking sites’ risks that can negatively affect the brand-consumer relationship. Saturation is driven by information quantity (Streufert and Driver 1967; Jacoby 1977; Kerr and Hiltz 1982; Hiltz and Turrof 1985; Johnson 1998; Shenk 2003), the number of the channels or communities people engage in (Power and Wren 2011) and subsequently the limit to the number of online social relationships consumers can maintain with other members or brands at any given time (Buys and Larsen 1979; Dunbar 1993).

The Virtual Experience Economy: A Service-Dominant Logic Perspective

Marketers and advertisers are interested in using 3D3C worlds as sites for engaging consumers in deeper and more sustaining ways. In this chapter, an integrated conceptual model for the virtual experience grounded in the emerging service-dominant (S-D) logic is developed. This integrated conceptualization offers a broadened view of 3D3C worlds through evaluating the Pine and Gilmore (1998) conceptualization of the experience economy within the 3D3C context. It becomes evident that this conceptualization is less relevant to the virtual context and cannot be applied without modifications. The model developed and presented identifies that the virtual experience is centered on two dimensions: first, the type of interaction within the virtual experience, that is, individual versus collaborative interaction and second, the context of interaction: virtual consumption versus real life consumption (i.e., the interplay between 3D3C worlds and real life). The emerging concepts of service-dominant logic are presented as a means to reframe and improve the marketing experience for increased relevance and impact within 3D3C worlds.

The Bridging Role of Brand Liking: From Brand Equity to Customer Relationship with a Brand That Does Not Exist in the Market

The relationship between a consumer and a global brand, that has not yet entered a market, has not been fully examined. A conceptual model on the role of customer-brand liking was developed. Customer brand liking was found to play an essential mediating role between brand equity and future brand relationship.

Religiously Motivated Consumer Boycott: The Impact on Brand Image, Product Judgment and Customer Loyalty

The purpose of this paper is to improve theoretical and empirical knowledge first of all, about the effect of consumer ethnocentrism and religious animosity towards a country on consumers’ boycott propensity; and second about the effect of boycotting on customer product judgment, brand image and loyalty.