John Ozment

Logistics capability, logistics outsourcing and firm performance in an e‐commerce market

Purpose – Effective and efficient supply chain management is critical to the success of firms engaging in e‐commerce. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of logistics capability and logistics outsourcing on firm performance in an e‐commerce market environment.Design/methodology/approach – This research examines the relationship between firms logistics capability, logistics outsourcing and its performance. Multiple‐item constructs are used to measure the strength of logistics capability and firm performance. The use of logistics outsourcing is represented by a dichotomous variable. Data obtained via a survey were analyzed to investigate relationships among constructs and various hypotheses were tested.Findings – Study results revealed logistics capability to be positively related to firm performance in the e‐commerce market. However, counter‐intuitively, logistics outsourcing and firm performance were not found to be positively linked. Further, the association between logistics capability a...

The electronic supply chain

The advent of the Internet and electronic communications has enabled companies to be more responsive to their customers. However, the same technological advancements are changing the marketplace and providing an impetus for changes in strategic alliance and partnership structures. Successful leaders of the future will have to understand how to operate in the new marketplace and within the evolving organizational structures where alliances and partnerships are changing. The purpose of this article is to shed light on the current and future organizational structures in the logistics industry. Toward that end, traditional supply chain management (SCM), electronic supply chain management (eSCM), and the resulting impact on strategic alliances and partnerships will be explored. Additionally, considering the inherent ability of the eSC to be dynamic and adaptable, the new type of leader that is likely to be most successful in this new structure is discussed.

The antecedents of consumer expectations of services: an empirical study across four industries

Develops a conceptual model of the antecedents of consumer expectations and firm image, based on past research in service, and empirically tested using the simultaneous equation procedures of LISREL 7. Data were collected and analyzed for four service industries (tax services, dental services, restaurants and video rental stores). Significant findings include: the image consumers have of a service firm has the strongest impact on their expectations; the relative saliences of the antecedents vary across industries; advertising has no significant impact on expectations or firm image in any of the four industries or in the aggregate analysis; and the level of customization and service provider judgment has an impact on the relative importance of each of the antecedents of consumer expectations.

The Augmented Service Offering for Perceived and Actual Service Quality

Although the augmented service offering model is a popular descriptive paradigm in marketing, little research has been done to empirically test its relationships with service quality in the service industries. The augmented service offering includes the core services and peripheral services offered by the firm, the service delivery system used to deliver these services, and the related promotional communications with customers. The present research investigates the relationships between these elements of the augmented service offering on one hand, and both measures of actual objective service quality and customerperceived service quality on the other. In general, the results imply the importance of a consumer behavior focus for managing, modeling, or doing research on the augmented service offering. The results also strongly support contingency theory, in that augmented service dynamics and managerial recommendations depend on whether objective service quality or customer-perceived service quality is being considered.

Comparing objective service failures and subjective complaints: An investigation of domino and halo effects

Abstract Customer retention and service recovery require accurate information to diagnose and prevent service failures, address customer complaints, and continuously improve service performance. The present research investigates the performance relationships between two sources of marketing information: actual objective service failures and consumer complaints. Data were obtained from two U.S. governmental agencies, the Department of Transportation for airlines and the Interstate Commerce Commission for the household goods moving industry. Several correlational analyses support the existence of consumer “halo effects” for additional complaining and, to a lesser degree, a “domino effect” across objective service failure attributes. The results also demonstrate that both sources of information need to be obtained to successfully diagnose and proactively prevent future service problems. The nature of the information obtained should vary by type, however. Objective service failure measures should be gathered on an attribute-specific basis, whereas global or overall measures may be sufficient for capturing complaints, especially under time or budgetary constraints, and when detailed information is not needed.

Research on personnel issues published in leading logistics journals: What we know and don't know

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review of the core literature pertaining to frontline logistics personnel and their managers that has been published in the leading logistics journals. An annotated, yet integrated, review presentation will aid researchers in better understanding the concepts developed and linkages between the most critical variables studied to date. The paper aims to present a comprehensive model containing the primary variables pertaining to the recruitment, development, supervising, and retention of high quality logistics personnel to meaningfully identify what is known and not known about personnel issues in logistics.Design/methodology/approach – The findings in this paper are based on a comprehensive review of articles pertaining to frontline logistics personnel and their managers, which were published in the leading logistics journals. For analysis, the paper is divided into five related areas: student samples and student perspectives compared to tho...

A Longitudinal Study of the Stability of Consumer Expectations of Services

Abstract The importance of service quality to the profitability and survival of service firms been highlighted by several researchers. However, little attention has been given to the process of measuring prior consumer expectations on which service quality measurement is based. This issue was addressed in this article by means of a longitudinal study that examines the stability of consumer expectations and their ensuing effect on the measurement of service quality. The study indicates that prior consumer expectations of a service measured after a service encounter will be affected by the type of experience. Through cognitive dissonance tension reduction methods, consumers tend to shift their prior expectations to ensure their overall evaluation of the experience is justified. Consumers who had a negative experience will shift their prior expectations of individual attributes higher and consumers who had a positive experience will shift their prior expectations lower. The impacts of these shifts and their effects on the measurement of service quality are then discussed.

Changes in the competitive environments of rural trade areas: Effects of discount retail chains

Abstract The growth of discount retail chain (DRC) stores in small communities had led to an increasing controversy concerning their impact on small-town merchants and the general competitive environments of rural areas. This article examines U.S. Department of Commerce Census data in an attempt to determine how DRCs impact the competitive environments of small-rural-trade areas. While negative impact was not observed, the presence of a DRC appears to alter the competitive structure of small economies in significant ways.

Assessment of the Relationship Between Productivity and Performance Quality in the U.S. Domestic Airline Industry

Output quality in the context of transportation productivity is investigated. The major findings relate to two distinctions: network density versus capacity utilization and productivity versus input cost efficiency. It was found that greater transportation network density is associated with increased productivity, lower output costs, and most interestingly, improved output quality. In contrast, increased capacity utilization is not associated with lower output costs or with improved quality. For the productivity versus efficiency distinction, increased productivity is associated with lower total output costs and greater output quality yet higher input costs. Thus, higher factor input costs can be justified on the basis of output costs and quality advantages. Implications for governmental policy and managerial decision making are that improvements in network density and productivity are more likely to have lasting benefits than are increases in capacity utilization or input efficiency.

Estimating Lagged and Cumulative Effects of Customer Service Variables in the Marketing Mix

This study examines the relationship between customer service variables and sales while controlling for the effects of price and promotional expenditures• Factor analysis and regression are applied to historical data from a major corporation. The results indicate that several customer service factors are significant in explaining the variation in sales over time. Service factors also tend to exhibit effects which are both lagged and cumulative.