Sudhir H. Kale

Spirituality, Religion, and Globalization

Issues of spirituality and religion are seldom discussed in the globalization context. Spirituality and religion affect the globalization phenomenon and are, in turn, significantly influenced by globalization. This article explores the interplay between spirituality and religion, and the forces of economics, technology, and globalization. Contemporary globalization exhibits five main trends in spirituality and religion: increasing attempts to harness religion and spirituality as means toward reterritorialization, the integration of spirituality in all aspects of life, a greater thrust toward the individualization of spirituality among consumers, the enhanced role of cyberspace in the spiritual domain, and the syncretization of spirituality. These five trends affect quality of life as well as the relationship between governments and markets, two areas of interest to macromarketers.

The enneagram system for enhancing workplace spirituality

The notion of “spirituality in the workplace” continues to receive growing attention in practitioner as well as academic circles. Realizing that a spiritual workplace is not just a more harmonious workplace but a more profitable workplace as well, companies are looking at means and methods to fulfill spiritual needs of their workforce. This paper makes a case for using the enneagram as a tool for enhancing spirituality in the workplace.

Philosophising on the elusiveness of relationship marketing theory in consumer markets: a case for reassessing ontological and epistemological assumptions

Relationship marketing in consumer markets came to the forefront of marketing in the 1990s. However, theory development in this area lags behind applications and prescriptions. We attribute this lack of development, in part, to researchers asking the wrong questions. A case is made for reassessing the epistemological and ontological assumptions about relationships in consumer markets. We argue that humans appear to be genetically predisposed to forming relationships. Instead of concentrating on why consumers seek relationships, researchers should ask, “How do consumers get into relationships with marketing entities?” The rephrased research question will prove more apt in consumer markets where reality is socially constructed. Finally, we assert that a discovery-oriented phenomenological approach should be adopted to answer the rephrased question.

Designing and delivering compelling experiences: Insights from the 2008 Democratic National Convention

Purpose – Joseph Pine and Jim Gilmore coined the term “experience economy” to describe a paradigm shift in consumption. To survive in this new economy, businesses must provide customers with memorable consumption experiences. The purpose of this paper is to suggest eight ingredients that need to be incorporated into a compelling experience. Commercial experience providers, not‐for‐profit organizations, and political entities stand to benefit by integrating these elements in the experiences they provide to their targeted constituencies.Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative phenomenological case study approach is employed using the 2008 Democratic National Convention as the referent for dissemination of a compelling experience.Findings – Eight attributes were distilled that together constitute an unforgettable experience: planning, resourcing, targeting, anticipating, enabling, empathizing, framing, and engaging.Practical implications – All experience providers desirous of creating compelling customer...

Optimising the internal value chain: Principles and practices

The employee–customer interface in hedonic services requires high quality interactions at key touch points to ensure experiences are positively remembered. We propose an approach that combines service blueprinting with internal marketing to achieve these experiences. While internal marketing suggests using marketing techniques for hiring, retaining and motivating employees, the literature in this field has been largely independent of each employees contribution to the internal value chain. Service blueprinting is a useful approach which makes explicit the value creation processes used in service production. No study has thus far connected the blueprint (which identifies functions to be performed) to internal marketing (which specifies the mechanisms for hiring, retaining and motivating the people performing the functions). This paper proposes a service value chain optimisation framework to enhance employee–customer interactions in hedonic services using these two research streams.

The antecedents of tourists’ gaming spend: does the brand prestige matter?

ABSTRACT This study endeavors to empirically analyse the influential effect among brand prestige, service quality, casino visitor satisfaction and spend. Data from 304 tourists who had travelled to Macau and had participated in gambling activities were used and structural equation modelling and multi-group analysis were employed in hypotheses testing. The findings demonstrated that both brand prestige and perceived service quality are determinants of satisfaction and gaming spend, and that brand prestige also affects service quality positively. Furthermore, past experience moderates the service quality and visitors’ satisfaction relationship, also service quality and visitors’ gaming spend relationship.