Kenneth E. Clow

Increasing Job Satisfaction of Service Personnel

As customer satisfaction is gaining the highest priority among the interest of corporate America′s constituent groups and the economy becomes service‐oriented, more jobs than ever before require customer contacts. Investigates the relationship between employee satisfaction, job tension, role clarity, role conflict and empathetic concern among customer service personnel. Finds that the traditional variables, i.e. role conflict, role clarity, and job tension, do influence job satisfaction as hypothesized. Additionally, identifies empathy, a previously overlooked dimension of employee‐job interactions, as a significant determinant of job tension. Discusses the managerial implications resulting from these relationships.

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.

Building a competitive advantage for service firms: measurement of consumer expectations of service quality

Reports on research into measurement of consumer expectations. Examines the stability of consumer expectations and considers whether the measurement of expectations should occur before or after the service encounter. Discusses the measurement issue as a way of building competitive advantage by meeting consumer expectations of the service.

The influence of coupon face value on service quality expectations, risk perceptions and purchase intentions in the dental industry

In recent years, professional service organizations have begun to successfully implement various sales promotion techniques, and potential customers are responding favorably to such promotions. This exploratory research examined the impact of sales promotions on consumer attitudes and intentions. More specifically, the influence of coupon face value on service quality expectations, perceived purchase risks, and purchase intentions was examined. The results indicate that while coupons positively impact the purchase intentions of dental services, the positive impact was negated by negative impacts on service quality expectations and perceived purchase risk. Further results and implications of the study for professional services are addressed.

The importance of service quality determinants in advertising a professional service: an exploratory study

Although the task of delivering consistent service quality to consumers by service professionals has been studied widely, little research has focussed on service quality cues in professional services advertising. Examines the relationship between the encoding of core service quality dimensions in a professional service’s advertisement and consumers’ perceptions of risk, service provider expertise and purchase intentions. Finds that: all five service quality dimensions decreased consumers’ perceptions of purchase risk; tangible, reliability, assurance and empathy cues in a professional service advertisement increased consumers’ perceived expertise of the professional service; both perceived expertise and perceived risk had a direct impact on purchase intentions. Discusses the relationships and the managerial implications of these ties to a professional service advertiser.

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.

Managing consumer expectations of low‐margin, high‐volume services

Service firms operating on low margins per transaction must generate a high volume of business to survive the competitive environment of the 1990s. Firms must raise the expectations of consumers to increase patronage, then successfully meet these expectations. Examines the antecedents to consumer expectations of low‐margin, highvolume service firms, and gives managerial implications, illustrating how to manage a service firm, successfully operating on low margins successfully.

Teaching Methodologies Used in Basic Marketing: An Empirical Investigation:

This article describes a study of teaching methodologies and their use. Using a teaching methodology classification suggested by Henke et al. (1988), this study examines the antecedents of six teaching methodologies and how extensively each method is used by marketing instructors in their principles of marketing course. Results from the study indicated that class size, importance of teaching in the annual faculty evaluation, nonteaching endeavors of the instructor, and rank of the instructor are the primary determinants of teaching style. The study also lends support to the existence of the three instructional style typologies proposed by Roach, Johnston, and Hair Jr. (1993) and builds upon their findings.

EXPLORATORY RELATIONSHIPS AMONG COGNITIVE STYLE, VALUES, AND SELECTED CONSUMPTION BEHAVIORS

This study presents an exploratory structural model of relationships among dimensions of cognitive style, List of Values factors, and consumption activity factors. Analysis was based on questionnaire responses from 416 alumni of a major southwestern university The findings provide insight into how measurement of values may be modified to include individual personality differences; how values may relate to consumption behavior; and how personality differences may relate to both values and consumption behavior.

Organizational Commitment Levels Among Clergy: An Empirical Investigation

Abstract This research examines demographic, personal, and organizational predictors of organizational commitment for paid employees in non-profit settings. Outcomes of commitment including hours worked and intentions to quit are also examined. These data indicate mat the calculative form of commitment, as expressed by salary in relation to hours worked and other outcomes, may be the most germane for non-profit paid-employee settings.