Sanjaya S. Gaur

Market orientation and manufacturing performance of Indian SMEs

Purpose – This paper sets out to investigate the link between market orientation and manufacturing performance for small and medium enterprises in India.Design/methodology/approach – The paper collected the data for this research through intensive surveys of the CEOs or top managers of small and medium‐sized enterprises in India. The paper utilized scales, well established in literature, and revalidated them for the Indian context. It also utilized confirmatory factor analysis for scale validation, and hierarchical regression analysis for testing the hypotheses.Findings – This study found a positive link between two sub‐dimensions of market orientation – customer orientation and inter‐functional coordination – and manufacturing performance. Competitor orientation, however, did not have a positive impact on manufacturing performance. Further, the paper found that firm resources and competitive intensity moderate the relationship between some of the sub‐dimensions of market orientation and firm performance....

Environmental and Firm Level Influences on Inter‐Organizational Trust and SME Performance

We investigate the effects of focal firm knowledge intensity and uncertainty on inter‐organizational trust and subsequent performance of small and medium size enterprises (SMEs). We integrate the trust literature with transaction cost literature as both of these offer partial explanations of the dynamics of inter‐organizational trust in the context of an SME. We propose that knowledge intensity of the focal firm will have a positive relationship while uncertainty will have a negative relationship with inter‐organizational trust in an exchange relationship. Further, we propose a positive relationship between trust and SME performance, which will be contingent on the level of external and internal uncertainty faced by the focal firm. Empirical evidence, based on the survey data of 565 German SMEs, mostly supports our arguments.

Relational impact of service providers' interaction behavior in healthcare

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to examine how patients’ loyalty, and confidence in their doctors, are influenced by doctors’ interaction behavior, namely, listening and explaining behavior. Design/methodology/approach – Primary data were collected through a survey of patients in an advanced developing economy – India. Patients visiting the same specialist doctor more than three times a year, in selected clinics in the city of Mumbai, were asked to complete the study instrument. All the constructs were measured using multiple items and well-established scales were revalidated to suit the context of the research. A total of 320 responses were analyzed to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings – Results confirm that the doctor-patient relationship is positively influenced by the interaction behavior of service providers, i.e. doctors. The study demonstrates that doctors’ interaction behavior is instrumental in developing an effective relationship with their patients and boosts patients’ confidence in their doctors. Furthermore, effective interaction enhances patients’ loyalty to their service providers. Originality/value – This would appear to be the first study of its kind conducted in the context of an advanced developing economy. The study suggests that development of effective communication skills in doctors warrants due attention in medical education. Furthermore, this study validates relevant measurement scales in India’s context.

Relational switching costs, satisfaction and commitment

Purpose – This study attempts to understand the impact of relational switching costs and satisfaction on commitment as well as its impact on the satisfaction – commitment link in a supplier‐to‐manufacturer context in manufacturing.Design/methodology/approach – The data for this study were collected from the small and medium size manufacturing firms located in and around Mumbai. A total of 67 CEOs/business heads were randomly selected and personally interviewed with the help of a structured questionnaire.Findings – Study strengthens the view that small and medium enterprises need to invest in relationships so that such investments are turned into relational switching barriers and they would thereby help in increasing customer retention. It also shows that if relational switching costs are higher, then even if satisfaction is lower the customer is less likely to terminate the relationship.Research limitations/implications – For marketing practitioners, the findings validate the long‐held belief that relatio...

An empirical investigation of customer dependence in interpersonal buyer‐seller relationships

Purpose – In the current highly competitive marketing environment, there are few situations in which customers attempt to build and maintain relationships with marketers. In large‐format retail situations, customers maintain a non‐personal association with the store and personal relationships with salespersons. By contrast, many customers in developing countries such as India build and maintain long‐term relationships directly with the small‐scale retailers, who happen to be the owners as well as the salespersons of the store. The purpose of this paper is to focus on customer dependence on the retailer, a rare phenomenon which is evident in rural areas of India even today.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on an empirical study of a buyer‐seller relationship between a farmer and a chemical fertilizer retailer, which is a common interpersonal business constellation in India.Findings – The paper identifies the determinants of customer dependence as customer perceived market uncertainty, produc...

Does buyer–seller similarity affect buyer satisfaction with the seller firm?

With the increased reliance on diverse markets in multi-cultural contexts, the role that similarity can play in the relationship between a salesperson and a buyer is receiving increased attention. Similarity is regarded as the cornerstone of positive communications, and salespeople rely on the trust that can be created by this recognition of likeness. However, there are different types of similarity and not all have an equal bearing on the salesperson–buyer relationship. In this study, we examine similarity in appearance, similarity in lifestyle and similarity in status. Most studies go no further than examining the effect of similarity on a buyers satisfaction with a salesperson, and to date there appear to be few studies relating to the effect of similarity on satisfaction with a firm. This study examines the effect of similarity on a buyers sense of satisfaction with a firm represented by a salesperson in the banking context. The results of the study show that appearance similarity and status similarity have a significant effect on the salesperson–buyer relationship, whereas lifestyle similarity has no effect. The buyers satisfaction with a salesperson is found to mediate the relationship between similarity in appearance and the buyers satisfaction with a firm. In this article, we discuss these findings and look at their implications for both research and practice. Findings of the study are particularly important because of New Zealands increasing interaction with Asia and its people, which have transformed New Zealand to become a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic country.

Ownership concentration, board characteristics and firm performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to advance the understanding of the relationship between firm-level governance mechanisms and firm performance using a contingency framework. The contingency framework is based on an integration of agency theory, stewardship theory, resource dependence theory and stakeholder theory of firm governance. Design/methodology/approach – The authors test the arguments on a sample of all the listed firms on the New Zealand Stock Exchange between 2004 and 2007. Given the longitudinal nature of the data, the authors employ random effects, generalized least square estimation to run the regression models. Findings – The authors find that the presence of internal directors, CEO duality, board size and presence of professional directors leads to superior firm performance. A lack of ownership concentration leads to agency problems resulting in inferior performance. However, the positive effect of board independence on firm performance reduces in firms that have a high-ownership con...

Impact of frontline service employees’ acculturation behaviors on customer satisfaction and commitment in intercultural service encounters

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of four types of acculturation behaviors of frontline service employees (assimilation, separation, integration, and marginalization) on customer satisfaction and customer commitment. Design/methodology/approach In total, 377 ethnically diverse customers of a retail bank in New Zealand participated in this study. SmartPLS3 was used to test all the hypotheses. Findings Assimilation and integration have positive effects on both customer satisfaction and commitment. Marginalization has a negative effect on both customer satisfaction and commitment but separation has a negative effect only on customer satisfaction and not on customer commitment. Research limitations/implications Future research may validate and extend the authors findings in diverse cultural settings and use experimental method to explore the socio-psychological mechanisms underlying the influence of frontline service employees’ acculturation behaviors on customer satisfaction and commitment. Practical implications This study will help managers understand the importance of service employees’ acculturation behaviors and develop suitable recruitment strategies and training programs to improve their impact on customer satisfaction and commitment. Originality/value This study extends current research on intercultural service encounters by looking beyond the moderating effects of four types of service employees’ acculturation behaviors, to explore their direct effects on customer satisfaction and commitment.

The Effect of Customers’ Perceived Value of Retail Store on Relationship between Store Attribute and Customer Brand Loyalty: Some Insights from Malaysia☆

Abstract Customer brand loyalty has been an important area for practitioners in retailing industry due to various developments in the increasingly competitive environment. The objective of the current study is to identify the role of perceived value of the store brand in relationship between store attributes and customer brand loyalty. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data (n=418), from the customers visiting hypermarkets such as Tesco, Aeon Big, Mydin and Giants in metropolitan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Structural Equation Modeling is employed to analyze the data. The results demonstrate that store attribute has a direct effect on customers’ perceived value as well as on their loyalty with the store brand. The store attribute also has an indirect effect on store brand loyalty via customers’ perceived value of the store brand. The study recommends hypermarkets to understand customers’ perception towards their brand in order to develop better marketing strategy which can enable them differentiate themselves from competitors.

Consumers ' beliefs about firm’s CSR initiatives and their purchase behaviour

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships among corporate social responsibility (CSR) beliefs, support intentions and purchase behaviour of consumers. Although there is a rich stream of research reporting the relationship between CSR beliefs and support intentions, there is scant reporting on the mediating role of support intentions between CSR beliefs and purchase behaviour of consumers, hence presenting an opportunity to contribute to the marketing knowledge-base. Design/methodology/approach – This study employs a quantitative research design to test the relationships among CSR beliefs, support intentions and purchase behaviour. The associations among these three constructs are tested using Hayes Process tool which is a versatile computational tool for observed variable – mediation, moderation and conditional process modelling. Findings – The results provide support for the relationships among CSR beliefs, consumer support intentions and purchase behaviour. Of the four meas...