Sandra L. Schmidt

Multisource Effects on the Satisfaction Formation Process

Customer satisfaction research is integrated with research on higher education in developing a model of alumni satisfaction with college education. The model proposes that alumni satisfaction with higher education is a function of two performance and disconfirmation attributes: intellectual environment and employment preparation. The model was tested among 475 alumni of a major Eastern undergraduate business school and demonstrates the advantage of modeling the disconfirmation paradigm with multiple sources of satisfaction.

UNDERSTANDING STUDENT/ALUMNI SATISFACTION FROM A CONSUMER'S PERSPECTIVE: THE EFFECTS OF INSTITUTIONAL PERFORMANCE AND PROGRAM OUTCOMES

The benefits of understanding and promoting student/alumni satisfaction are numerous. While this article draws on previous studies of the determinants of satisfaction in higher education, it has a different research focus. The study investigates the student/alumni satisfaction phenomenon in a consumer satisfaction framework. Results indicate that the formation of satisfaction judgments is a multidimensional process, and that the process is dependent on the degree of goal development that a student has for a particular aspect of his or her educational experience. If students have poorly formed goals for an aspect of education, they are likely to base their satisfaction judgments on institutional performance. If their goals are well formed, they are likely to base satisfaction judgments on the outcomes of the institutional performance. In general, however, student/alumni assessments of satisfaction with higher education are influenced by both the perceived quality of the service providers performance and the perceived outcomes of that performance.

Segmentation and the Senior Traveler: Implications for Today's and Tomorrow's Aging Consume

Abstract When one combines their greater economic well-being with their escalating numbers, more independent living, and better overall health, aging consumers constitute a very attractive market for the travel and tourism industry. This paper examines key factors that impact the consumption decision-making, attitudes, and behavior of the mature consumer, with particular attention to the service sector of travel. It presents a review of relevant segmentation studies and recommends specific, additional variables to increase the predictive and explanatory power of models intended to segment current and future senior travelers. Finally, it discusses implications of the segmentation process for effective strategy formulation.

Marketing Majors' Satisfaction With Their College Experience: Implications for Strategic Planning in Marketing Departments

This study examines the criteria marketing majors used in selecting a college, their evaluation of and satisfaction with their chosen college, and the extent to which marketing majors differ from other business majors on these issues. Results indicate that marketing majors are satisfied with their college experience overall, but that they are less satisfied than other business majors on some dimensions. Recommendations are offered to enhance strategic planning in marketing departments.

Integrating Information Management Skills into the Marketing Curriculum: An Example Using the Marketing Research Course

As the management of information takes on greater importance, one key question becomes that of determining how the increased emphasis of this subject will be approached within the marketing curriculum. In this article one institutions innovative and effective pedagogy to solve this challenge is described. Through a marketing research course, students are exposed to the collection, use and management of information, as well as to the more traditional aspects of research.

Banking: Taking a Marketing Perspective

The paper presents a brief review of the use of marketing in the banking industry since deregulation. Deregulation has exposed banking to increased competition from a proliferating group of financial service providers. As retail banking changes in the 1980s and 1990s, the importance of the development of an effective marketing program will magnify. Marketers will become more strategic and less tactical in orientation, emphasizing strategic planning. Banking institutions can choose to compete on rates, which will always meet with some success, or through products, services and promotions aimed at a particular target market. A bank needs to have a contemporary image and create products for the up-and-coming affluent individual. A successful marketing program will build a strong customer base by understanding its market, and will respond quickly to changes in both the market environment, and be knowledgeable in new products and services designed for the retail market.

The Diffusion of Innovations: Let’s Take Another Look

Diffusion theory, popular in the marketing literature in the 1960s and 1970s, has received very little attention in recent years. The accomplishments based on the diffusion process concept are notable ones. However, there are some gaps in this literature. This paper attempts to explain some of the inconsistencies present in diffusional theories and proposes competing and/or complementary explanations based on the theory of weak ties.

A Practical Application of Strategic Planning and Positioning for aMarketing Department: Start With Consumers’ Evaluations

A number of authors have encouraged the use of strategic planning in institutions of higher learning. Strategic planning and positioning strategies are based on consumer information such as the value of and satisfaction with benefits received, as well as, images of and preferences for the institution and its products. This study was designed to gather and evaluate such information and suggest how it might be used to further the planning process in a practical manner. Alumni and industry representatives from firms that hired this school’s marketing alumni were included in the sample.