M.S. Balaji

Measuring effectiveness of customer relationship management in Indian retail banks

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a multi‐item scale for measuring the customer relationship management effectiveness (CRME) in Indian retail banks and to examine its relationship with key customer response variable.Design/methodology/approach – This research adopts two different studies to develop and validate the scale for CRME. In study 1, responses obtained from 197 Indian retail banking customers were used to identify key dimensions of CRME. In study 2, nomological validity for the CRME scale was provided using a new sample of 261 actual bank customers. Furthermore, the relationship between CRME dimensions and customer behavioral outcomes such as customer satisfaction, loyalty and cross‐buying were examined.Findings – The results of factor analyses revealed five dimensions for CRME, namely, organizational commitment, customer experience, process‐driven approach, reliability and technology‐orientation. Organizational commitment, process‐driven approach and reliability were found to pos...

Value co-creation with Internet of things technology in the retail industry

ABSTRACT Internet of things (IoT) is a novel paradigm that aims to bridge the digital world with the real world. With the rapid advancements in Internet and communication technology, we are witnessing the dawn of a new era of the IoT in various industries. The retail industry is at the forefront in embracing the IoT, which is expected to change the way customers experience shopping. Drawing on the service-dominant logic, this study proposes that customer interaction with IoT retail technology results in value co-creation. Responses are collected from 289 users of IoT technology in the retail setting. Results of partial least square (PLS) structural equation modelling reveals that ease of use, superior functionality, aesthetic appeal and presence are key determinants of value co-creation for IoT retail technology. Results also show that value co-creation influences customers’ continuance intentions and word-of-mouth intentions. The findings of this study have key implications for retailers in delivering superior customer experience. The limitations and future research directions are discussed.

Building trust in internet banking: a trustworthiness perspective

Purpose – Based on the trust theory, the purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the role of trustworthiness and trust in users’ intentions to continue using internet banking. Further, the authors position the trust beliefs of competence, benevolence, integrity, and shared values as key antecedents of trustworthiness and trust. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire survey was used to collect responses from 227 actual users of internet banking in Malaysian context. A PLS analysis was conducted to explore the relationships between trusting beliefs, trustworthiness, trust, and internet banking use. Findings – Empirical findings show that trusting beliefs of consistency, integrity, and shared values determine the trustworthiness and trust in internet banking. Moreover, trust was found to mediate the relationship between trustworthiness and internet banking use. Practical implications – The study findings help managers understand the factors that determine Malaysia users trust and trustworthiness perceptions in internet banking. With reports indicated increase in internet banking use in Malaysia, the study findings provide important insights into enhancing users’ trust in internet banking for future transactions. Originality/value – Unlike previous studies that have largely focussed on technology factors, this study based on trust theory proposes that trust is important for users to continue using internet banking services. In developing this trust, the authors propose that trustworthiness is of vital importance. Further, the authors propose and show that trusting beliefs of competence, integrity and shared values influence user trustworthiness and trust in internet banking use. Thus, this study extends the understanding of the internet banking use in Malaysian context.

Does successful recovery mitigate failure severity

Purpose – The aim of this study is to examine the role of level of failure severity and recovery efforts in customer response behavior. Specifically, the paper investigates how severity of failure influence the relationship between recovery efforts and outcome variables of recovery disconfirmation, satisfaction, loyalty and negative word‐of‐mouth.Design/methodology/approach – A 2×2 between subjects experimental design was carried out. Written scenarios were used to manipulate the level of severity and recovery efforts. Responses were collected from 103 participants on pre‐validated scale measures.Findings – The results of the study yield significant findings of impact of failure severity and recovery effort on dependent variables in the Indian context. The findings indicate significant interaction effects on satisfaction, loyalty and negative word‐of‐mouth.Originality/value – Prior studies on failure and recovery have mostly kept failure constant even though the magnitude of failure can range from low to ...

Role of tactile and visual inputs in product evaluation: a multisensory perspective

Purpose – There has been an increased interest in marketing literature in understanding the role of sensory experience. However, few researchers have addressed multisensory interaction of visual and tactile evaluation for products salient in single sensory modality. The purpose of this paper is to address this gap and investigate how multisensory evaluation influences overall attitude and purchase intentions. Further, the role of individual personality variable in influencing the interrelationship between sensory evaluation and behavioral outcomes are examined.Design/methodology/approach – The data for this study were collected from 126 students who responded to attitude towards the product and purchase intentions after evaluating three experimental tasks. Repeated measures analysis of variance was carried out to test the multisensory interaction hypotheses.Findings – The multisensory interaction of tactile and visual information was found to significantly increase the consumer attitudes for products domi...

An Investigation of Online Shopping Experience on Trust and Behavioral Intentions

The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of online experience on trust, purchase intentions, and word-of-mouth in Malaysian online retail context. Additionally, researchers examine gender differences in customers’ perception of online experience. Responses obtained from 134 online shopping users in Malaysia using an online questionnaire were analyzed with AMOS 20.0. The study results show that online experience influences purchase intentions both directly and indirectly through trust. Furthermore, significant gender differences were observed. The study findings provide insightful guidelines for online retailers in approaching emerging markets via online shopping strategies.

Customer e-complaining behaviours using social media

This paper develops a conceptual framework about customer complaining behaviours (CCB), using social media. Specifically, this research expands the current understanding of CCB by examining the differential impact of unfairness, firm response, retaliation, locus attribution, stability attribution, and personal identity on public complaining and private complaining using social media, and their subsequent impact on post-complaining satisfaction (PCS) and loyalty. Public complaining refers to customer complaints directed to a service provider, while private complaining refers to service failure complaints directed towards other customers. A structural equation model shows that high levels of unfairness, firm response, locus, and personal identity have a strong influence on public complaining, while desire for retaliation is a significant factor influencing private complaining. The findings contribute to practice by providing useful and pertinent information for developing suitable web care interventions to effectively deal with public complaining and private complaining through social media platforms.

Investigating the effects of product innovation and ingredient branding strategies on brand equity of food products

Purpose – Ingredient branding (IB) strategy and incremental product innovation (IPI) strategy are frequently used complementary strategies in food product marketing to build brand equity. The purpose of this paper is to assist managers in choosing between both the strategies based upon two governing criteria namely the involvement level of the product category and the level of parent brand equity. Design/methodology/approach – The study utilized an experimental design approach. A 2 (product involvement: high vs low)×2 (parent brand equity: high vs low)×2 (attribute strategy: IB vs IPI) balanced, completely randomized factorial design was set up to test the hypotheses. Findings – Findings suggest that IB strategy should be preferred when the product category is perceived as low involvement or when parent brand equity of the brand is low. The IPI strategy should be preferred when the parent brand equity is high. Either of strategies may be favored in case of high involvement products. Practical implications...

Managing customer citizenship behavior: a relationship perspective

This paper aims to examine customer citizenship behavior (CCB) and explore the interrelationships between relationship value, relationship quality, relationship strength, and CCB. The study conceptualizes an integrated citizenship behavior model and applies it to Indias banking services industry in the business-to-customer context. Structural equation modeling was employed to empirically test the hypotheses using a sample of 347 responses collected by a survey questionnaire. The findings indicate that relationship value significantly influences relationship quality, and relationship quality has a significant effect on relationship strength and CCBs. Relationship value had an indirect effect on relationship strength and citizenship behavior through relationship quality. This study also reveals significant differences between relationship quality and citizenship behavior across the customers gender. Implications and future research directions of the study are proposed.

Predicting Internet banking adoption in India: a perceived risk perspective

The emergence of Internet banking has transformed the banking systems across the globe. As a channel to market, Internet banking allows geographical constraints to be overcome by offering various products and services at lower customer costs. An understanding of the factors influencing customer adoption of Internet banking is both relevant and timely. This study integrates technology acceptance model and perceived risk theory in understanding Internet banking acceptance among Indian bank account holders. Specifically, this study categorizes perceived risk as external risk and internal risk, and examines its influence on customer beliefs and adoption of Internet banking. Using two-step predictive analytics of structural equation modeling and artificial neural network analysis, the 270 responses reveal that both external risk and internal risk inhibit customer acceptance of Internet banking. More importantly, neural network analysis reveals that perceived ease of use and external risk are two important factors determining how well Internet banking is accepted by customers. The implications of the study findings and future research directions are presented.