Juha Munnukka

Dynamics of price sensitivity among mobile service customers

Purpose – Price sensitivity is one of the key factors affecting to companies pricing choices. Yet in mobile services sector business practitioners are facing problems in pricing decisions as they are short of knowledge on their customers’ price sensitivity levels and dynamics. Therefore this study aims to focus on this unexplored field in order to provide more accurate tools for mobile service providers to price their services more effectively.Design/methodology/approach – This study is conducted on Finnish mobile services markets. The focus is on examining how customers’ price sensitivity differs between different customer segments and which factors affect to the price sensitivity levels. The sample data is collected through a quantitative postal survey in which 3,000 questionnaires was sent to mobile service customers of a Finnish teleoperator. In analyzing the empirical data the explanatory factor analysis and multiple regression analysis was applied.Findings – It was discovered that mobile service cus...

Are Facebook brand community members truly loyal to the brand

Investigates two Facebook brand communities and their relationship with loyalty.Community commitment is associated with community promotion behavior and loyalty.Community promotion behavior is associated with different types of loyalty.User activity in Facebook has little or no effect on brand loyalty. This study examines members of Facebook brand communities and tests the relationships between their commitment to the community and brand loyalty. A conceptual model on the linkages between brand community commitment, community promotion behavior and brand loyalty including attitudinal loyalty, repurchase intention and positive word-of-mouth (WOM) is developed and tested with two samples. Data from 3305 Facebook brand community members were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. The results show that brand loyalty is influenced by brand community commitment and community promotion behavior. Brand community commitment and community promotion behavior have the largest effect on positive WOM in both samples.

Perceived risks and risk management of social media in an organizational context

The use of new electronic media for marketing communication is gaining in popularity with organizations, and the adoption of social media (SOME) is enjoying particularly rapid growth. However, organizations are uncertain about using SOME and perceived risks are limiting their use. This study explores the key types of risks that business organizations associate with using SOME in their marketing communication. We also explore the effectiveness of procedural control and proactive focusing processes in managing these risks. The results show that organizations perceive three types of risks that deterred companies from increasing the use of SOME. Companies applied procedural control mechanisms to manage time-loss risks. An organization’s familiarity with SOME was found to have a strong effect on time-loss as well as on other types of risks. Research revealed that the role that proactive focus and procedural control played in managing SOME-related risks was less than had been anticipated.

Brand love and positive word of mouth : the moderating effects of experience and price

Purpose This study aims to test and extend Carroll and Ahuvia’s (2006) model on the antecedents and outcomes of brand love by examining the moderating effects of experience and price on the relationship between brand love and offline word of mouth (WOM) and between brand love and electronic WOM (eWOM). Design/methodology/approach An online survey was conducted on Facebook, which generated 342 valid responses. The data were analyzed using partial least squares-structural equation modeling. Findings The results mainly support the model by confirming that the self-expressiveness of the brand and trust are positively associated with brand love. No association between hedonic product type and brand love was found. The study’s findings also suggest positive associations between brand love and both types of WOM. Experience and price were found to strengthen the relationship between brand love and offline WOM but not the relationship between brand love and eWOM. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by introducing and testing an extended model of brand love. It tests two moderating effects on the relationship between brand love and WOM.

The price‐category effect and the formation of customer value of high‐tech products

Purpose – This study aims to explore: first, the formation of the customer value of high‐tech consumer products through application of intrinsic and extrinsic cues of product quality; and second, the effect of the mental price category of the product on the construction of customer value.Design/methodology/approach – The study was conducted in the Finnish consumer market in 2008. In total, 453 completed interview forms were collected through the structured interview method. The factor model was constructed through explorative factor analysis and hypothesis testing was conducted through linear multiple‐regression analysis.Findings – The high‐tech products price category was found to have a significant effect on the construction of the customer value. The mental price category in which consumers located the product was found to dictate how the perceived value was constructed through the intrinsic and extrinsic dimensions of product quality. The customer value of high‐tech consumer products was composed of ...

The value drivers of high-tech consumer products

Abstract This study investigates the influence of the customer-value hierarchy model and social network on the perceived economic value of high-tech consumer products. This quantitative empirical study was conducted among Finnish households in early 2008 using the form interview method. The non-probability quota sampling method was applied. The data consisted of 453 completed questionnaires. Hypothesis testing was conducted by linear multiple regression analysis. Goal-, consequence-, and attribute-level value perceptions were found to have a positive effect on the perceived economic value of high-tech consumer products. Attribute-level value had the strongest effect on the formation of perceived economic value. Although the network effect was found to contribute positively to perceived economic value, the opinions of others in the consumers social network had a negative effect. Consumers seem to rationalise the buying decision with personal factors, while social factors have a background effect on value perceptions.

How do brand personality, identification, and relationship length drive loyalty in sports?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to extend brand identification theory to the sports team context by testing the direct and indirect effects of a sports team’s personality, sports fans’ identification with the team, and the effect of the length of fans’ relationship with a team on their loyalty to it. Design/methodology/approach – The authors conducted a quantitative study among ice hockey fans of one Finnish hockey team before play-off games. Data came from an online questionnaire generating 1,166 responses. Findings – The authors find that: first, identification with a team mediates the effects of brand personality on attitudinal loyalty and behavioral loyalty; second, brand personality is a stronger driver of identification among newer fans; and third, brand personality has a stronger influence on both attitudinal and behavioral loyalty among newer fans. These findings stress the importance of sports brand’s personality in driving fans’ identification with the team and their loyalty to it. Origin...

Impact of service quality dimensions on the formation of customer value in B to B services

Purpose – Customer and value‐oriented business strategies are increasingly important in the context of business to business services. However, little is known about the construction of customer value of B to B services. Also the influences of specific dimensions of service quality on customer value are open to debate. This study aims to explore the construction of customer value of B to B services, and to examine how specific dimensions of service quality contribute to customer value.Design/methodology/approach – The research data consists of 90 questionnaires which were collected through the structured interview method among Finnish business organizations. Hypothesis testing was conducted through linear multiple‐regression analysis.Findings – The results suggest that customer value of B to B services is composed of attribute and consequence level elements. Reliability, responsiveness, and assurance were found as the key contributors of consequence level customer value. Attribute level customer value is a...

Credibility of a peer endorser and advertising effectiveness

Advertisers use various tactics to influence consumer purchases and create positive associations with their brands. The purpose of this study is to explore the formation of peer-endorser credibility and its influence on attitude formation. The role of product involvement in the formation of attitudes and endorser credibility is also examined.,A quantitative study was conducted among university students. Data were collected using an online questionnaire concerning three advertisements for which identical questionnaires were constructed; 364 responses were generated.,The authors show that the credibility of a peer endorser is constructed from trustworthiness, expertise, similarity and attractiveness dimensions that positively affect consumers’ attitude toward an advertisement and a brand. Product involvement affects advertising effectiveness indirectly through the endorser-credibility construct. Finally, the authors show that a consumer’s experience with an advertised product affects the perception of endorser credibility and the effectiveness of the advertisement.,The findings reveal new insights into the little studied area of peer-endorser effectiveness. The authors shed light on the construction of peer endorser credibility and the relative importance of specific credibility dimensions on the effectiveness of an advertisement. This study also provides information on the direct and indirect effects of consumers’ brand involvement on attitudes toward advertisements.

The dynamics and characteristics of buying centre networks

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study does the structure of buying centre networks dynamically change between buying situations and during the buying processes. Furthermore, the influence of organizational culture on participation, extensivity, lateral involvement, and vertical involvement of buying centre networks is studied.Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative study with empirical data gathered by semi‐structured interviews with the help of structured questions among Finnish business organizations early in 2007. The empirical data consist of 40 interviews conducted among small and medium sized companies. For the data analyses, the data were separately classified into themes relevant for each of the topics analyzed. The structured questions were used for validating the findings of qualitative analyses.Findings – The structure of buying centre networks was found to be highly dynamic and change significantly between buying situations and phases of the buying process. Five types of networks...