Kurt Matzler

The asymmetric relationship between attribute-level performance and overall customer satisfaction: a reconsideration of the importance–performance analysis

Abstract The importance–performance analysis (IPA) is a widely used analytical technique that yields prescriptions for the management of customer satisfaction. IPA is a two-dimensional grid based on customer-perceived importance of quality attributes and attribute performance. Depending on the interplay of these two dimensions, strategies for satisfaction management can be derived. As theoretical and empirical work has shown, the relationship between attribute-level performance and overall satisfaction is asymmetric. These findings call into question the applicability of IPA. In this paper, an empirical study on customer satisfaction with a supplier in the automotive industry was undertaken. Using a regression analysis with dummy variables, the asymmetric relationship between attribute-level performance and overall satisfaction could be confirmed. Furthermore, it is shown empirically that the managerial implications derived from an IPA are misleading. Consequently, the traditional IPA needs to be revised.

Who Trusts? Personality, Trust and Knowledge Sharing

The strategic importance of knowledge sharing and its relationships with organizational and managerial (i.e. environmental) factors have been well documented. The effects of some context-specific individual factors—including interpersonal trust—on knowledge sharing have also been investigated. The effects of enduring and pervasive individual factors (i.e, personality) on knowledge sharing have not been adequately described empirically. This article links personality, specifically agreeableness, a broad personality domain and propensity to trust, a narrow personality facet, to knowledge sharing via interpersonal trust, thereby clarifying substantial person-related effects within these important workplace phenomena.

The factor structure of customer satisfaction

There is growing evidence that service quality attributes fall into three categories of factors that have a different impact on the formation of customer satisfaction. However, it is not clear which analytical procedure best identifies these factors. Vavra proposed a two‐dimensional importance grid based on customers’ self‐stated importance and derived importance using regression analysis. It is based on the assumption that there is a difference between self‐stated and derived importance and that by combining these importance weights, three groups of product or service attributes can be identified. Using data collected to measure customer satisfaction with the service of the IT department of a hospital, the authors test the underlying assumptions of the importance grid. They seem to be correct. When the results are compared with the penalty‐reward contrast analysis developed by Brandt, the two methods do not yield the same results. Therefore, the convergent validity of the importance grid has to be questioned. The paper closes with a discussion of the implications for research and practice.

Importance-performance analysis revisited: the role of the factor structure of customer satisfaction

The measurement and management of customer satisfaction has become a key issue in the last decade. Banks must thoroughly understand the needs of their customers and design products and services that meet and exceed their expectations. The importance-performance analysis (IPA) is a widely used analytical technique that yields prescriptions for the management of customer satisfaction. IPA is a two-dimensional grid based on customer perceived importance of service attributes and attribute performance. Depending on the interplay of these two dimensions, four strategies can be derived. Recent research in customer satisfaction, however, suggests that service attributes fall into three categories (basic factors, performance factors, and excitement factors) and that their importance depends on their performance. As a result, the traditional IPA needs to be reconsidered. In this article, the results of an empirical study on the satisfaction with bank services are presented and it is demonstrated that traditional IPA can be misleading. This is attributed to the existence of three satisfaction factors: basic, performance, and excitement factors. The authors then present an analytical procedure to identify these factors and discuss how these findings can be interpreted and how the traditional IPA should be extended and modified. The paper closes with managerial implications of the findings.

Co-creation in virtual worlds: the design of the user experience

Emerging virtual worlds, such as the prominent Second Life, offer unprecedented opportunities for companies to collaborate with co-creating users. However, pioneering corporate co-creation systems fail to attract a satisfying level of participation and engagement. The experience users have with the co-creation system is the key to making virtual places a vibrant source of great connections, creativity, and co-creation. While prior research on co-creation serves as a foundation for this work, it does not provide adequate guidance on how to design co-creation systems in virtual worlds. To address this shortcoming, a 20-month action research project was conducted to study the users experience and to identify design principles for virtual co-creation systems. In two action research cycles, a virtual co-creation system called Ideation Quest was created, deployed, evaluated, and improved. The study reveals how to design co-creation systems and enriches research on co-creation to fit the virtual world context. Practitioners receive a helpful framework to leverage virtual worlds for co-creation.

Employee Satisfaction: Does Kano's Model Apply?

Employee satisfaction has become one of the critical issues in total quality management. Numerous studies investigate the antecedences and consequences of the construct. It has been found that employee satisfaction drives productivity and customer satisfaction. In order to better understand the drivers of employee satisfaction, the authors investigate whether Kanos model of customer satisfaction also applies to employee satisfaction. Kanos model distinguishes three categories of factors that have a different impact on the formation of customer satisfaction: basic factors (dissatisfiers), excitement factors (satisfiers) and performance factors (hybrid factors). In the first part of the paper, the authors review the literature on Kanos model of customer satisfaction. Next, they discuss whether and how it applies to employee satisfaction. The authors then report the findings of an empirical study in a pharmaceutical company. Using a regression analysis with dummy variables, the authors find an asymmetric relationship between the satisfaction with different factors and overall employee satisfaction, thereby confirming Kanos model in the context of employee satisfaction. In the final section of the paper, the theoretical and managerial implications of these findings are discussed.

Communitition: The Tension between Competition and Collaboration in Community-Based Design Contests

Following the concepts of crowdsourcing, co-creation or open innovation, companies are increasingly using contests to foster the generation of creative solutions. Currently, online idea and design contests are enjoying a resurgence through the usage of new information and communication technologies. These virtual platforms allow users both to competitively disclose their creative ideas to corporations and also to interact and collaborate with like-minded peers, communicating, discussing and sharing their insights and experiences, building social networks and establishing a sense of community. Little research has considered that contest communities both promote and benefit from simultaneous co-operation and competition and that both types of relationships need to be emphasized at the same time. In this article, it is argued that the firm-level concept of co-opetition might also be relevant for an innovations success on the individual level within contest communities. Our concept of communitition should include the elements of competitive participation without disabling the climate for co-operation, as numerous user discussions and comments improve the quality of submitted ideas and allow the future potential of an idea to shine through the so-called wisdom of the crowd.

The impact of satisfaction and image on loyalty: the case of Alpine ski resorts

Purpose – Customer satisfaction is seen to be one of the main determinants of loyalty. However, the relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty does not seem to be linear, many researchers have reported doubts about the predictability of loyalty solely due to customer satisfaction ratings which ignore image as predictor of loyalty. This paper aims to address the issues.Design/methodology/approach – The authors report a study of ski resorts where they first established a causal model of customer satisfaction and image predicting customer loyalty, and then map the scores in a four‐fields‐grid. Additionally the authors conducted a moderator analysis to assess the relative importance of image and satisfaction for loyalty intentions between two different groups (first‐time‐visitors, and regular guests).Findings – The results show that those ski resorts with the highest satisfaction ratings and the highest image ratings have the highest loyalty scores. Among first‐time‐visitors overall satisfaction i...

Risk aversion and brand loyalty: the mediating role of brand trust and brand affect

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between the customers risk aversion and its relationship with brand loyalty and to test empirically whether this relationship is mediated by brand trust and brand affect.Design/methodology/approach – A randomly selected sample of Austrian mobile phone users was drawn. Their risk aversion, two forms of loyalty (attitudinal and repurchase loyalty), brand trust and brand affect have been measured with existing and tested scales. The hypothesized model has been tested using PLS (Partial least squares).Findings – Customers risk aversion is significantly related to the two forms of loyalty (attitudinal loyalty and brand loyalty). When brand affect and brand trust are introduced into the model, the previously highly significant relationship between domain‐specific risk aversion and attitudinal loyalty becomes insignificant and the risk aversion‐repurchase relationship becomes much weaker, while risk aversion strongly influences brand trust and ...

Linking customer lifetime value with shareholder value

Abstract The measurement of customer lifetime value has become a key issue for developing and maintaining long-term profitable customer relationships. It plays a significant role in customer acquisition and retention decisions. Given the growing importance of creating value for shareholders, market strategies have to be evaluated by their capacity to achieve this goal. Accordingly, both the acquisition and maintenance of customers must result in superior cash flows and augmented shareholder value. However, little attention has been paid to the link between customer lifetime value and shareholder value. The authors of this paper provide a conceptual framework for linking customer lifetime value to shareholder value. It is argued that customers have to be treated as assets that increase shareholder value by accelerating and enhancing cash flows, reducing cash flow volatility and vulnerability and increasing the residual value of the firm.