John E. Swan

SERVQUAL revisited: a critical review of service quality

As competition becomes more intense and environmental factors become more hostile, the concern for service quality grows. If service quality is to become the cornerstone of marketing strategy, the marketer must have the means to measure it. The most popular measure of service quality is SERVQUAL, an instrument developed by Parasuraman et al. (1985; 1988). Not only has research on this instrument been widely cited in the marketing literature, but also its use in industry has been quite widespread (Brown et al., 1993).

Customer Trust in the Salesperson: An Integrative Review and Meta-Analysis of the Empirical Literature

Abstract The development of trust between salespeople and their customers has traditionally been considered a critical element in developing and maintaining a successful sales relationship. This article presents the first comprehensive literature review and meta-analysis of the antecedents of trust and consequences of trust in a sales context. A summary conclusion is that trust has a moderate but beneficial influence on the development of positive customer attitudes, intentions, and behavior. Another conclusion is that salespeople have modest influence over the development of trust between themselves and their customers. A comprehensive model of the role of trust in sales is presented. Directions for future research are identified.

Product life cycle research: A literature review

Abstract The purposes of this paper are threefold: to review the scope of product life cycle (PLC) research; to pinpoint areas requiring further investigation; and to provide guidelines for future researchers. Because of the paucity of empirical evidence, only tentative conclusions are advanced. For example, the most common PLC pattern is the classical, bell-shaped curve, but it is not the sole shape. The application of various forecasting techniques across the PLC have met with merely moderate success. Very little research has been conducted either on how different characteristics of the firm influence the PLC or on the actual use of various PLC-strategy theories by business planners. Finally, investigators have focused almost exclusively on validating the existence of the PLC concept among nondurable consumer goods. Industrial items, as well as major product changes, have been nearly ignored. The main conclusion is that additional research-more diversified and extensive in nature-is needed on many PLC topics.

Do appealing hospital rooms increase patient evaluations of physicians, nurses, and hospital services?

This article investigates the effects of appealing hospital rooms on patient evaluations of hospital services. A field study contrasting appealing and typical rooms finds that appealing rooms result in more positive patient evaluations of physicians and nurses, as well as more favorable patient judgments of the service.

Services quality and satisfaction

Contemporary research on service quality and satisfaction has limitations. First, current satisfaction models treat the consumer as an isolated individual, not considering the social context of the service provision. Second, while satisfaction and quality are thought to be process outcomes, the dominant survey research approaches are not well suited to learning about processes. Finally, popular paradigms assume consumers’ determination of service quality and satisfaction is based solely on a set of attributes. Symbolic interaction and ethnographic methods expand the theoretical basis of service quality/satisfaction research beyond an individually centered psychological view to consider social influences and processes, thereby providing a deeper understanding of how consumers experience quality and satisfaction. The knowledge gained from this approach is easily accessible to service managers and may serve to improve employee recruiting, training and evaluation. Examples of employing symbolic interaction and ethnographic methods are provided. Actions to improve the management of service providers are listed

Customer involvement in the selection of service specifications

Many types of services involve a sequence in which customers choose a service provider followed by selection of service specifications, that is selecting when and how the service will be performed. Specifications selection can be dominated by the provider, the customer or the customer and provider can jointly select specifications. Customer satisfaction results if specifications selection meets customer expectations of the provider‐customer role. Specifications selection unfolds as a process where information is exchanged between the customer and provider and the provider can be more or less customer oriented. Effective information exchange and a strong customer orientation by the provider contribute to customer satisfaction. Customers make attributions of provider or customer responsibility for specifications selection depending on the type of specifications selection that occurs and provider provision of specifications information. Customers who attribute specification selection to their decisions assume responsibility for the specifications selected.

Career Research Productivity Patterns of Marketing Academicians

Abstract Scholarly productivity is an important issue for all academic disciplines. Empirical examinations of career research productivity have not been conducted in the marketing discipline, however. This study reports the analysis and classification of total and career research publication activity for a cohort of 374 marketing academicians over a 20-year period. The analysis revealed seven different career patterns as well as substantial differences in overall levels of career research productivity. Patterns of productivity included those where academicians reached a peak productivity early or midway in their careers as well as those who produced at an increasing level over the course of their careers. Productivity levels were identified based on four groupings that included nonproducers, low producers (one to four articles), medium producers (five to nine articles), and high producers (10 or more articles). Approximately one-third of the cohort were nonproducers, one-third were low producers, and one-third were medium to high producers.

Modeling Industrial Buyer Complaints: Implications for Satisfying and Saving Customers

For industrial marketers to retain customers it is important to understand the behavior that buyers undertake following an unsatisfactory purchase. The responses that individual consumers undertake...

Influence of Buyer Ethics and Salesperson Behavior on Intention to Choose a Supplier

A survey of purchasing professionals was conducted to investigate the effect of perceived unethical salesperson behavior on intentions to choose a supplier. Results suggest that as salesperson behavior is perceived as more unethical, the purchaser is less likely to choose the firm that the salesperson represents. This result is due to norm violations influencing intentions in two ways: (1) through externally controlled rewards or punishments (e.g., harming the purchaser’s career), and (2) through internally self-bestowed rewards or punishments (e.g., feeling bad for not doing the “right” thing).

The perceived effectiveness of marketer responses to industrial buyer complaints: suggestions for improved vendor performance and customer loyalty

It is important for the industrial marketer to understand and effectively manage the process of complaining behavior in which dissatisfied buyers typically engage. By better managing this process, marketers can improve customer loyalty and prevent buyers from undertaking further complaining behavior which may damage the seller’s reputation. Reports on the types of order problems that occur with suppliers, as well as buyers’ perceptions of the effectiveness of supplier responses to different types of complaints from the buyer.