Seigyoung Auh

Creating a Firm-Level Dynamic Capability through Capitalizing on Market Orientation and Innovativeness

Drawing on the resource-based view of the firm, this study addresses the dynamic capability-generating capacity of market orientation on firm performance. Whereas prior literature has examined environmental turbulence as a contextual condition shaping the market orientation-firm performance relationship, this study takes an internal approach by focusing on existing stocks of resources within the firm while controlling for environmental conditions. A conceptual model is developed that explains how market orientation can be transformed into dynamic capability when complemented by transformational (reconfig-urational) constructs, such as innovativeness. The empirical results support the authors— theory that the effect of market orientation on firm performance is strengthened when market orientation is bundled together with internal complementary resources, such as innovativeness. The authors discuss the findings in the context of varying stages of the product life cycle and at different levels of market development.

Customer Relationship Dynamics: Service Quality and Customer Loyalty in the Context of Varying Levels of Customer Expertise and Switching Costs

As customer-organization relationships deepen, consumers increase their expertise in the firm’s product line and industry and develop increased switching costs. This study investigates the effects of customer investment expertise and perceived switching costs on the relationships between technical and functional service quality and customer loyalty. Technical service quality is hypothesized to be a more important determinant of customer loyalty than functional service quality as expertise increases. Both technical and functional service quality are hypothesized to have a reduced relationship with customer loyalty as perceived switching costs increase. Three-way interactions between the main effects of service quality, customer expertise, and perceived switching costs yield additional insight into the change in relative importance of technical and functional service quality in customers’ decision to be loyal. Six of eight hypotheses receive support. Implications are discussed for customer relationship management over the relationship life cycle.

Acta Non Verba? The Role of Customer Participation and Word of Mouth in the Relationship Between Service Firms’ Customer Satisfaction and Sales Performance:

Evidence has shown that satisfied customers do not necessarily buy more of a company’s products and services, thus spurring researchers to look for a missing link between customer satisfaction and purchase behavior. Word of mouth (WOM) has been advocated as the elusive missing link and as a key indicator of customer-firm relationship strength. Yet, WOM is only one type of customer voluntary performance (CVP). In this study, a second type of CVP, namely customer participation (i.e., customers’ willingness to provide the firm with constructive feedback and suggestions), is argued to be crucial to ensure that a satisfied customer repurchases. The authors develop and test a model that predicts that satisfied customers repurchase when they become productive resources through two spontaneous and cooperative customer behaviors: WOM and participation. The empirical findings support the predictions, thus complementing and extending previous research. This research suggests that while WOM has been heralded as an important factor in firm growth, another factor that is at least equally if not more important to future sales is customer participation.

The Application of the Technology Acceptance Model Under Different Cultural Contexts: The Case of Online Shopping Adoption

Global usage of the Internet has increased remarkably in the past few decades, thus necessitating a better understanding of e-commerce adoption across cultures. Against this backdrop, this study contributes to the existing technology adoption and acceptance literature in the following ways. First, the authors develop an extended technology acceptance model that incorporates trust and perceived behavioral control and examine it in settings outside the United States to better understand the adoption of e-commerce across cultures. Contrary to the authors’ expectations, the predictive power of the technology acceptance model seems robust and holds true for both Pakistan and Canada, despite some noteworthy differences between the two cultures. Second, although the importance of perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness on consumers’ intentions to shop online was validated across both cultures, the results highlight the complex relationships between perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and intention to adopt in each country. The authors offer suggestions to technology managers and e-retailers regarding navigating through new technology and e-commerce adoption under various cultural contexts.

The effects of soft and hard service attributes on loyalty: The mediating role of trust

Purpose – Drawing on social exchange and similarity attraction theories, the purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of soft attributes (e.g. social and relational attributes) on hard attributes (e.g. core attribute performance) in a high contact service context, namely in the hair care service environment.Design/methodology/approach – This research extends the key mediating variable model (KMVM) of Morgan and Hunt by hypothesising that, while trust fully mediates the effect of soft attributes on loyalty, trust only partially mediates the effect of hard attributes on loyalty. Data were collected using the critical incident technique from 176 students.Findings – Supports the fully mediating role of trust for soft attributes and a partially mediating role of trust for hard attributes.Research limitations/implications – Future research should test the model in contexts that involve less employee‐customer contact and interaction.Originality/value – The study underscores the practical importance of inve...

A Test of Strategic Orientation Formation versus Strategic Orientation Implementation: The Influence of Tmt Functional Diversity and Inter-Functional Coordination

The authors argue that strategic orientation formation and strategic orientation implementation are different. The authors also assert that they require different levels of the same antecedents. More specifically, the proposed model posits that strategic orientation formation and implementation are a function of top management team’s (TMT) functional diversity and interfunctional coordination. This two-stage model of strategic orientation suggests that on the one hand strategic orientation formation is about consensus making based on diverse views. Strategic orientation implementation underscores the significance of efficient and seamless operationalization of the strategic orientation formed in the first stage of the model. Data obtained from TMTs support our empirical results in that moderate to high TMT functional diversity and high inter-functional coordination are important in the strategic orientation formation stage while low to moderate TMT functional diversity and inter-functional coordination are critical in the implementation stage.

Order Effects in Customer Satisfaction Modelling

This research examines the effects ofquestion order on the output of a customer satisfaction model. Theory suggests that locating product attribute evaluations prior to overall evaluations of satisfaction and loyalty should increase the impact of performance drivers in the model, explain more variation in the overall evaluations, and make positive satisfaction and loyalty evaluations more extreme. Our results show that, although customers′ overall evaluations are more extreme and better explained when provided after attribute evaluations, the impact of satisfaction drivers is relatively unaffected. Consistent with expectations, question order does affect the explained variation in satisfaction and the levels of satisfaction and loyalty. Implications for satisfaction modelling are discussed.

A test of a model of new salespeople's socialization and adjustment in a collectivist culture

Drawing largely on organizational socialization theory and its derivations, such as uncertainty reduction and sense-making theory, the authors propose and test empirically a process model of newcomer salesperson socialization in the South Korean context. The results indicate that both organization-initiated and newcomers’ proactive socialization tactics (i.e., seeking performance feedback and information seeking, building relationships and networks) significantly influence newcomers’ perceived level of accommodation (i.e., role clarity and social integration) and thus their adjustment to the new work environment (i.e., level of organizational commitment, job performance, and job satisfaction). The authors discuss the theoretical and managerial implications and present future research directions.

When Does (Mis)Fit in Customer Orientation Matter for Frontline Employees’ Job Satisfaction and Performance?

The role of coworkers’ customer orientation (CO) in influencing an employees CO has received sparse attention in the literature. This research serves two purposes. First, the study draws on person–group fit theory to develop and test a model of a frontline employees CO relative to that of his or her coworkers as well as the effects of CO (mis)fit on job satisfaction and service performance through coworker relationship quality. Second, the authors propose three work-group characteristics—group size, service climate strength, and leader‒member exchange differentiation—that they expect to mitigate the (negative) positive effect of employee‒coworker CO (mis)fit on coworker relationship quality. Data collected in a multirespondent (i.e., frontline employees and supervisors) longitudinal research design indicate that as group size increases, service climate becomes stronger, and group leaders develop different exchange relationships with employees, the inherently (negative) positive role of employee–coworker CO (mis)fit in influencing coworker relationship quality diminishes. Furthermore, coworker relationship quality fully mediates the associations of employee–coworker CO (mis)fit with job satisfaction and service performance. The authors close with a discussion of the theoretical and practical implications of the boundary conditions of CO (mis)fit.

The Complex Relationship between Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty for Automobiles

Increasing customer satisfaction is the key to increasing customer loyalty in the highly competitive automotive industry. However, the relationship between satisfaction and loyalty is likely complex. This paper provides a theoretical basis for modeling this complex relationship. Accordingly, customers move categorically from problem solving behavior to an evoked set of preferred alternatives as satisfaction increases. This should result in an increase in the impact of satisfaction on loyalty at a relatively high level of satisfaction which subsequently decreases, or levels off, at an extreme level of satisfaction. An empirical study is reported which supports these predictions as well as the arguments on which they are based.