Kevin James

A brief retrospective and introspective on value

Purpose – Value as a research topic within marketing is not new. The purpose of this research note is to examine how value fits within marketing in the twenty‐first century. Specifically, the emergence of service‐dominant logic has brought the concept of co‐creation of value to the forefront. This paper comments on previous definitions of research and offers insight to stimulate future theoretical developments and serve as an aid in future research.Design/methodology/approach – The paper represents a conceptual overview of previous research and offers some logical derivatives of value from the previous work and from the emergence of a service‐dominant logic in marketing.Findings – Since the paradigm shift toward service‐dominant logic, few researchers have examined value as it specifically relates to marketing theory and practice. Value as a key outcome variable is typically overshadowed by other constructs such as satisfaction, word‐of‐mouth, and loyalty.Originality/value – Key value axioms are derived f...

Retailing and Value, Doing the Right Thing by Providing Value

Abstract This chapter focuses on how retailers can do the right thing and be successful at the same time, particularly in the light of technological innovation. Service dominant logic (SDL), with the notion of operant and operand resources as a means to connect the retailer to the customer, provides a framework for the chapter. Normative decision making is presented as a necessary ethical and practical mindset to solve problems, and we illustrate the relationship between normative decision making and value. Value becomes the ultimate outcome to the customer that will allow for sustainable retailing into the future. Utilitarian value and hedonic value are presented and elaborated upon to show how companies and consumers come together to transform resources into value through service. Sections are included showing how value delivery will evolve into the future and what mix of value will be necessary so that retailing can see continued success.

Resource Advantage Theory, Service Dominant Logic, and Healthcare Consumer Experiences: An Abstract

Resource advantage theory (RAT) and service-dominant logic (SDL) both endorse the use of operant resources and service skills as a means to formulate, create, and maintain a competitive advantage in the marketplace (Hunt, 2002; 2004; Vargo & Lusch, 2004). Healthcare administrators wishing to deliver operant resources must first have an understanding of the attributes that lead to satisfaction in the healthcare context in which they compete. Higher-order constructs such as measuring satisfaction, value, empathy, and sacrifice sensitivity in healthcare are in stark contrast to most satisfaction surveys in healthcare which instead focus solely on patient perceptions of room cleanliness, courtesy of staff, taste of food, and perception of attentiveness to needs (Joiner & Lusch, 2016). While these need to be present in a healthcare context, what is missing is the operant resources that could lead to satisfaction such as value, empathy, and sacrifice. This research seeks to investigate this gap by using SEM to test relationships between satisfaction, value, empathy, and sacrifice in clinical and hospital settings.

Commenting on “Atmospheric affect … gaining share of customer”

Abstract In the year 2000, the Journal of Business Research (JBR) published “Atmospheric affect as a tool for creating value and gaining share of customer” by Babin and Attaway. Along with the help of reviewers and the audience at a prestigious retailing symposium hosted by Jean-Charles Chebat in Montreal a year or so earlier, the authors put together a contribution that appears to have stood the test of time. Through the past five years, the article continues to see nearly 100 citations annually. The comments presented here try to offer some thoughts on what makes this particular JBR article successful.

Ethical Judgments by Salespeople and the Impact on between Salespersons and Sales Managers in the Modern Sales Environment

Trust is a core requirement in any successful relationship between salespeople and their supervisors. Trust in a supervisor has found as an antecedent of job satisfaction and turnover intention. It enables cooperative behavior, reduces conflict, and trust in a supervisor is positively related to perceptions of fairness. When salespersons have trust in a supervisor, it has been found to be a mediating factor in the impact of an ethical climate on salespersons attitudes. In times of change, salespeople with a greater trust in the sales manager are generally more accepting of anticipated changes.

Closer than you Think: Outshopping Intentions and the Perceptions of Distance

One of the tenets of marketing is that producers and consumers are separated, and the purposeful study of the marketing process is predicated on the removal of the causes of separation, whether spatial, temporal, informational or financial (Bartels 1968). Spatial theory was one of the earliest areas of study in marketing. Based upon population and distance, Reilly’s law of retail gravitation (1929) calculated a “break-even” point between two shopping areas, where consumers on either side of the calculated line would determine where to shop.

Retailer Success: Value and Satisfaction

A finite number of core elements characterize every discipline. What are the core concepts of marketing? Among marketing outcomes, consumer satisfaction represents a candidate for a core marketing concept. In many cases, marketing practitioners and academicians alike treat the concept as a catch-all term that captures the entirety of consumer results from consumption (Dixon, Freeman, and Toman 2010). The expectancy-disconfirmation model provides marketers with a deep understanding of how expectations align with current performance outcomes to arrive at a level of satisfaction (Oliver 1980; Garnesh, Arnold, and Reynolds 2000). In fact, marketing authors present research into a vast number of satisfaction topics including the “gaps” model (Zeithaml, Berry, and Parasuraman 1993), satisfied switchers (Maxham and Netemeyer 2002), and an index termed the American Customer Satisfaction Index, which remains a critical measuring stick for marketing performance for many U.S. companies (Fornell 1992).