Kostis Indounas

Pricing objectives and pricing methods in the services sector

Purpose – The purpose of this research paper is to explore the pricing objectives that service companies pursue along with the pricing methods that they adopt in order to set their prices.Design/methodology/approach – An extensive review of the literature revealed the complete lack of any previous work aiming to investigate the potential association between these two important elements of a companys pricing strategy. Thus, the value of the paper lies in the fact that it presents the first attempt to examine this issue empirically. In order to achieve the research objectives, data were collected from 170 companies operating in six different services sectors in Greece through personal interviews.Findings – The findings of the study reveal that the objectives, which are pursued, are fundamentally qualitative rather than quantitative in their nature with a particular emphasis given on the companies’ customers. However, the pricing methods, which are adopted by the majority of the companies, refer to the trad...

An empirical examination of the pricing policies and their antecedents in the services sector

Purpose – The purpose of this research paper is to investigate the pricing policies that service companies adopt in order to set their prices along with the service, organizational and environmental characteristics that influence these policies. Moreover, the extent to which these policies and characteristics are varied across different service industries is also examined.Design/methodology/approach – In order to achieve the research objectives, data were collected from 170 companies operating in six different service sectors in Greece through personal interviews. Moreover, a qualitative research through 38 in‐depth interviews was also conducted.Findings – The study found that the pricing policies tend to be influenced by a number of different service, organizational and environmental characteristics, while different patterns of pricing behavior were clearly identified across different service industries.Research limitations/implications – The practical implications of the findings refer to the fact that ...

Successful industrial service pricing

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide insight into the way industrial service firms price the services they render in the market, with particular emphasis on the pricing practices of pricing‐competent firms.Design/methodology/approach – In order to achieve the studys research objectives, data were collected through a mail survey from 129 transportation and 48 information technology companies. Moreover, 20 in‐depth personal interviews were conducted in the initial phase of the research.Findings – The study found that pricing‐competent firms have developed a “holistic” and multi‐faceted pricing approach, paying attention to both company‐ and market‐related pricing objectives, methods, policies, and information.Research limitations/implications – These findings underline the multidimensionality that characterizes pricing decisions, necessitating a systematic approach triggered by the thorough examination of both company‐ and market‐related characteristics. The significance of these findings notw...

Pricing objectives and their antecedents in the services sector

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into how service firms price the services that they render in the market. In particular, the association between the pricing objectives that they pursue and the organizational and environmental characteristics that influence pricing decisions are investigated.Design/methodology/approach – Data are collected from 170 companies operating in six different service sectors in Greece through personal interviews. Moreover, qualitative research through 26 in‐depth interviews is also conducted.Findings – Following the classification scheme put forward by Avlonitis and Indounas, it can be concluded that a combination of different organizational and environmental characteristics leads to each one of the eight pricing objectives examined in the study.Research limitations/implications – The above findings indicate the need to treat pricing decisions using a contingency approach. Formulating a specific pricing objective requires an examination of certain organi...

New industrial service pricing strategies and their antecedents: empirical evidence from two industrial sectors

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the conditions that led to the adoption of the three new industrial service‐pricing strategies, namely skimming pricing (i.e. a high initial price), penetration pricing (i.e. a low initial price), and pricing similar to competitive prices.Design/methodology/approach – In order to achieve the studys research objectives, data were collected through a mail survey from 129 transportation and 48 information technology companies. Moreover, 20 in‐depth personal interviews were conducted in the initial phase of the research.Findings – Analyzing data from two industrial sectors, the study concludes that skimming pricing and penetration pricing relate to the companys corporate and marketing strategy and the service characteristics, while market conditions influence the adoption of pricing similar to competitive prices.Research limitations/implications – Given the limited number of the sectors investigated in the current study, the research results may not be e...

The impact of market structure on pricing objectives of service firms

The purpose of this research paper is to explore the pricing objectives that service companies pursue to set their prices and to examine the impact of market structure. An extensive review of the literature revealed the complete lack of any previous work aiming to empirically investigate the impact of market structure on the companys pricing behavior and pricing objectives. Thus, the value of the paper lies in the fact that it presents the first attempt to empirically examine this issue from a marketing perspective. In order to achieve research objectives, data were collected from 170 companies operating in six different services sectors in Greece through personal interviews. The findings of the study show that the companies seem to follow a hierarchy of pricing objectives where their main focus is on the maintenance of the existing customers and the attraction of new ones, in order to ensure their long‐term position in the market without, however, disregarding financial considerations.

The relationship between pricing and ethics in two industrial service industries

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between pricing and ethics in two industrial service contexts. In particular the pricing practices that lead to non‐ethical pricing behavior along with the factors that could reduce such a behavior are examined. Moreover, the extent is addressed to which companies that do perceive that pricing decisions entail ethical considerations are differentiated from those companies that do not hold such a perception in terms of the pricing objectives that they pursue in order to set their prices.Design/methodology/approach – In order to achieve the studys research objectives, data were collected from 177 companies, operating in the transportation and information technology industries through a mail survey. Moreover, 20 in‐depth personal interviews were conducted in the initial phase of the research.Findings – The main pricing practices that were perceived as being non‐ethical by respondents are related to determination of prices that lead to ex...

The adoption of strategic pricing by industrial service firms

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to measure the extent to which selected contextual variables have an impact on the adoption of strategic pricing by industrial service firms, and determine the effect of the adoption of strategic pricing on company performance. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from 154 industrial service firms operating in four different service sectors through a mail survey. Moreover, qualitative research through 20 in-depth interviews was carried out. Findings – The study’s main findings indicate that market orientation along with a leading position in the market and market growth boost the development of strategic pricing. On the other hand, technological and market turbulence hinder this development, while the overall impact of turbulence is reduced in market-oriented firms. Finally, a positive impact of strategic pricing on company performance was found. Research limitations/implications – The adoption of strategic pricing requires attention to a variety of fact...

Success factors of new health-care services

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to provide insights into the success factors of new-to-the-firm health services. Design/methodology/approach – The study was based on the case study methodology with three leading health organizations. Findings – The study’s findings indicate that the success factors of new health services are largely in line with the literature on new service development. Our study also revealed the significance of two factors that have not been identified by previous studies, namely, branding and doctors’ participation in the new service development process. Research limitations/implications – Introducing a successful new health service into the market seems to require an emphasis on a variety of factors related to the company’s internal and external environment, while two important characteristics are the role of branding and doctors. Despite its acceptance as a scientific method, the case study approach that was selected limits the ability to generalize the results to the broader...

The antecedents of strategic pricing and its effect on company performance in the case of industrial service firms

Purpose – The purpose of this research paper is to examine the impact of a number of variables on the adoption of strategic pricing by industrial service firms, and the effect of this adoption on company performance. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from 301 industrial service firms operating in seven different service sectors through a mail survey. Moreover, qualitative research through 35 in-depth interviews was conducted. Findings – The findings reveal that market orientation and market growth boost the development of strategic pricing. On the other hand, technological and market turbulence hinder this development, while the overall impact of turbulence is reduced in market-oriented firms. Finally, strategic pricing has a positive impact on company performance in both quantitative and qualitative terms. Research limitations/implications – The adoption of strategic pricing requires attention to a variety of company- and market-related factors, while this adoption can improve various asp...