Nathalie Demoulin

Waiting time influence on the satisfaction‐loyalty relationship in services

Purpose – Delay is an important issue for service providers. Indeed, previous studies have widely shown the negative effect of waiting time on consumer service satisfaction. However, being satisfied with the service seems to be insufficient for customers to remain loyal. Creating customer loyalty is even more crucial than just satisfying them. The paper aims to investigate how customers weigh up their service satisfaction and waiting time satisfaction in order to determine whether they will remain loyal or not.Design/methodology/approach – A survey was conducted in the Belgian health care industry. The final sample includes 946 respondents. Regression analyses were performed and the Baron and Kenny method used to test moderator and mediator impacts of variables.Findings – The results confirm that waiting time satisfaction is not only a service satisfaction determinant, but it also moderates the satisfaction‐loyalty relationship. Moreover, determinants of customer waiting time satisfaction include the perc...

An integrated model of self-service technology (SST) usage in a retail context

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose and test a comprehensive model that captures individual, system and situational drivers of customers’ intention to use and actual use of self-service technologies (SSTs). Design/methodology/approach – This paper is based on a survey conducted among 143 users and 150 non-users of SSTs at the exit of a grocery store. The proposed model was analysed using structural equation modelling and a logistic regression. Findings – The results demonstrate that: first, in addition to previous usage behaviour (i.e. usage frequency), situational factors (time pressure, basket size, coupons and queue length at the SSTs and staffed checkouts) influence customers’ decisions to use SSTs during a specific shopping trip; and second, perceived behavioural control is the most important determinant of behavioural intention, followed by perceived usefulness, need for interaction and perceived ease of use and enjoyment. Originality/value – Although an abundance of research has investigated the adoption of SSTs, little is known about what drives real usage. This study considers the actual usage of SSTs in a specific context, as well as the situational factors that influence the choice of SSTs over traditional checkouts. In addition, this paper provides an integrative model including actual usage, use frequency and behavioral intention and its antecedents by extending the Technology Acceptance Model 3.

Adoption of Proximity M-Payment Services: Perceived Value and Experience Effect (An Abstract)

The increasing penetration rate of smartphone changes behaviors based on mobile unique features. The present research provides a first attempt to better understand a particular new emerging behavior which transforms the shopping experience: adoption of in-store smartphone usage to facilitate and enhance a brick-and-mortar experience. In order to probe the in-store mobile usage, we distinguish in-store mobile information search (in-store m-infosearch) which consists in collecting information about products (e.g., scanning QR codes, comparing prices) from in-store proximity mobile payment (p-m-payment), which enables customers to access and redeem coupons through their smartphone, link automatically their loyalty program membership to the m-payment app, digitally save receipts, pay quickly without queuing at the cashier, and finally load value into a store account. We aim more particularly at understanding in-store proximity m-payment as the rate of adoption appears to be still much lower than for any other mobile task (GfK 2015).

Corporate Social Responsibility and Irresponsibility: How do Consumers React to Ambivalent CSR Information? Application in the Retailing Sector

Both poll results and academic research suggest that many company stakeholders expect firms to be socially responsible, what leads companies to spend substantial resources in development of innovative social and environmental programs and in their communication to consumers. Yet at the same time, the world has witnessed some of the greatest cases of corporate irresponsibility with environmental disasters such as the BP oil disaster or human abuses in some parts of the world, such as the Rana Plaza case, and more recently the VW’s ongoing emissions scandal. Quite surprisingly, irresponsible corporate activities have received limited attention in the CSR literature until recently.