Spiros Gounaris

Trust and commitment influences on customer retention: insights from business-to-business services

Despite the importance of trust and commitment in relationship marketing, the scholarly inquiry on the issue is rather impeded in several ways. Furthermore, when it comes to the marketing of services and specifically for business-to-business (B2B) markets, the empirical documentation is even slimmer despite the fact that services are increasingly becoming a vital component of the product that the customers buy even when it comes to tangible goods such as computers or cars. In view of this gap, the present empirical study attempts an investigation of two specific antecedents of trust and consequently of commitment: the perceived quality of the service and the customer bonding techniques used by the supplier. In doing so, the causality of the relationships between the various constructs is also examined.

An empirically based typology of product innovativeness for new financial services: success and failure scenarios

Abstract During the last decade, an increasing number of studies have been concerned with the factors that lead to new service success. Quite a few studies, however, have examined the role of product innovativeness in new service development and performance. The present article aims to test empirically a widespread, yet under-researched argument, according to which, different innovative types may be associated with different development patterns and performance outcomes. On the basis of a detailed literature review we designed the conceptual framework for the present study. More specifically, we propose that the performance outcome of a new service is the result of the development process followed, which, in turn, is influenced by the innovativeness of the new service. The development process is examined through three blocks of variables, namely new service development activities (i.e., the “what” component), process formality (i.e., the “how” component) and cross-functional involvement (i.e., the “who” component). Performance is viewed in relation to both financial and non-financial outcomes. The different dimensions of innovativeness form the basis of our classification scheme. To collect the data, we followed the “dropping off” method. That is, we handed in self-administered questionnaires to participants and, a picking-up appointment was set. Respondents were NSD project leaders who were asked to select two financial services, one successful and one unsuccessful, that they had developed within the last three years and reply to all questions relating to the development and launching of these services. Overall, 84 financial companies participated in the study, providing data for 132 new financial services (80 successes and 52 failures) developed and marketed in Greece. Data analysis revealed that six distinct service innovativeness types exist. They can be represented in the form of a continuum depending on the degree of innovativeness that characterizes each type. At the most innovative extreme of the continuum we find the new-to-the-market services followed by new-to-the-company services, new delivery processes, service modifications, service line extensions, while at the least innovative end service repositionings are placed. These six types are found to be associated with different development patterns in terms of activities, formality and cross-functional involvement as well as performance outcomes. Interestingly enough, our data suggest an almost inverted U-shaped relationship between the degree of innovativeness of a new financial service and financial performance. On the other hand, the major service innovations make the strongest contribution on non-financial performance, while “me-too” offerings are the least successful ones. The study has a number of research contributions as well as implications for managers involved in new service development in the financial services industry. The conceptualization of the continuum of innovativeness helps disclosing the critical points of the NSD process and its structuring which, depending of the type of new service and the degree of innovativeness that characterizes it, ensures that the management’s objectives regarding the performance of the new service are attained.

Behavioural responses to customer satisfaction: an empirical study

Investigates the behavioural consequences of customer satisfaction. More specifically, the authors examine the impact of customer satisfaction on customers’ behavioural responses. The results support the notion of direct effects of customer satisfaction on three criterion variables (decision to stay with the existing service provider, engagement in word‐of‐mouth communications, and intentions to switch service providers). Implications for practice, study limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.

Marketing orientation and its determinants : an empirical analysis

While a strong association between Marketing Orientation development and company performance has been established, the understanding of the Marketing Orientation remains unclear since some studies have suggested a philosophical nature for Marketing Orientation and some other studies concluded that Marketing Orientation represents a behavioural notion. As a result of this antithesis, research has not proceeded in the investigation on the factors that determine the degree of Marketing Orientation development. Shows that Marketing Orientation should be conceptualised synthetically since it represents the integration of a certain culture with specific behaviour. Closely examines the major determinants of Marketing Orientation development. Although exploratory in nature, suggests that Marketing Orientation development is determined by company‐specific, as well as by market‐specific factors with the former having a facilitating effect and the latter a coercive effect.

Marketing orientation and company performance: Industrial vs. consumer goods companies

Marketing orientation, still an intriguing concept for many, carries the pledge of superior company performance through the satisfaction of customers needs. This article draws conclusions from an empirical investigation showing that this relationship does really exist and, in the case of industrial markets, building a marketing orientation it is indeed a significant contributor to the companys performance.

Antecedents to perceived service quality : an exploratory study in the banking sector

Using empirical data derived from the Greek banking sector, the authors attempt to model the influence of bank‐specific (market orientation) and customer‐specific (comparison shopping, influence by word‐of‐mouth‐communication and personal relations with banks’ employees) parameters on the customer’s perception of service quality. The latter is conceptualised and examined as a multidimensional concept comprising employee competence, the bank’s reliability, the innovativeness of the bank’s products, its pricing (value for money), the bank’s physical evidence and the convenience of the bank’s branch network. As the findings suggest, the various dimensions of the quality of service offered by a bank are not influenced by all the antecedents examined in this study. Moreover, the gravity of the influence that each of the examined parameters exercises on the customer’s perception of the various dimensions of quality was also found to vary considerably, with certain dimensions being more influenced by the same parameter than others. Based on these findings, the authors suggest specific implications for both the academia and practitioners in the banking industry.

Assessing service quality on the Web: evidence from business-to-consumer portals

The article explores the quality dimensions that the visitors of national and foreign business‐to‐consumer portals use to assess the performance of their service offering. Based on the SERVQUAL model and previous research on Web site evaluation and quality, the paper identified three quality dimensions that proved to be stable across sites’ nationality and user profiles. Several implications are drawn from these results for both Web site marketers and future academic research.

The notion of internal market orientation and employee job satisfaction: some preliminary evidence

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of Internal Market Orientation (IMO) on the application of internal marketing practices and employee job satisfaction.Design/methodology/approach – Data were secured through personal interviews with hotel managers and employees from 20 different five‐star hotels. Hierarchical regression analysis is used to examine the hypotheses put forward in the study.Findings – Job satisfaction is positively related with the practice of internal marketing. However, IMO is also a significant variable in explaining employee job‐satisfaction while moderating the relationship between internal marketing and job satisfaction.Research limitations/implications – Drawing the analogy from the market‐orientation research stream, this study reveals the importance of developing an internal‐market orientation before internal marketing practices can be truly effective.Practical implications – Service providers seeking differentiation through customer service and delight hav...

Measuring service quality in B2B services: an evaluation of the SERVQUAL scale vis-à-vis the INDSERV scale

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to validate an empirically derived measure for assessing perceived service quality in the business‐to‐business (b2b) context. In doing so, the SERVQUAL scale is evaluated against the alternative measure.Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire was mailed to 1,285 companies from different industries. Respondents were identified by approaching companies from four service industries, namely consultants offering middle and senior management training and recruitment services, banks offering corporate banking, software development and maintenance houses and freight shipping providers in Athens, Greece.Findings – SERVQUAL appears to suffer from significant methodological problems when applied to b2b services. This comes hardly as a surprise since the instrument has been developed using consumer markets as a frame of reference.Practical implications – For practitioners, the major implication is that the developed instrument allows them to make the most out of their effo...

Trust in industrial service relationships : behavioral consequences, antecedents and the moderating effect of the duration of the relationship

Building on previous studies which suggested that trust is a critical factor in facilitating exchange relationships, the authors investigate with empirically derived data the role of service quality and customer bonding as antecedents of trust in relatively newer vis‐a‐vis a relatively mature relationship between the provider of business‐to‐business services and the client. The findings presented here show that the time element is critical to the effect that both service quality and successful customer bonding bear in trust development. Furthermore, the results of the study suggest that not all dimensions of the quality of the service offered by the provider contribute equally in the provider’s trustworthiness. Similarly, specific customer bonding techniques foster the extent to which the client trusts the service provider while others do not have an impact on the trustworthiness of the provider.