Tim Böttger

Customer Inspiration: Conceptualization, Scale Development, and Validation

Introducing customers to new ideas lies at the heart of marketing, yet surprisingly little is known about customers’ state of inspiration within this domain. This article reviews prior conceptualizations of general inspiration in psychology and introduces the concept of customer inspiration as a customers temporary motivational state that facilitates the transition from the reception of a marketing-induced idea to the intrinsic pursuit of a consumption-related goal. The authors develop and validate a two-state, ten-item customer inspiration scale that consists of inspired-by and inspired-to states. The scale development process begins with item generation, followed by five studies: (1) scale purification and initial validation, (2) exploration of the nomological network, (3) tests for the experimental and predictive validity, (4) replication within a field experiment, and (5) assessments of generalizability and boundary conditions. Empirical results reveal sound psychometric properties of the scale, demonstrate its unique position in relation to established marketing constructs, and support experimental and predictive validity. Applying the scale in marketing practice offers a new way for firms to increase demand, motivate customers’ exploration behavior, and build customer loyalty.

Price Framing and Choice Order Effects in Bundle Customization Decisions

One-to-one marketing has become increasingly popular in the consumer product and service industry. Customization emerged as a marketing trend and allows consumers to proactively participate in the configuration or production process by choosing one or more elements of the marketing mix (Arora et al. 2008). Today, consumers can customize a wide variety of products and services. For example, Dell Computers allows customers to choose the hardware components (e.g., processor, RAM, hard drive) which best fits their needs when buying a new laptop. By offering consumers the opportunity to tailor products and services to their individual preferences, needs, and budgets, firms aim to differentiate themselves from competitors, increase customer satisfaction, and generate loyalty (Arora et al. 2008). During the customization process of a service bundle (e.g., smartphone plan), consumers typically have to make a series of choices, one for each bundle component (e.g., a choice for minutes, SMS, and data). In this research, we will provide evidence that consumers’ satisfaction with the final bundle configuration, bundle price perceptions, and overall spending amounts are determined by (1) whether the choice options for the bundle components are presented all at the same time and decision are made simultaneously versus sequentially (i.e., only the options of one bundle component are presented and choices for each component are made step-by-step) and (2) the price framing used in the configuration process (aggregate bundle price as a running total vs. aggregate bundle price together with the detailed option prices). The results of two online experiments show that consumers are more satisfied with the outcome of the customization process and less price sensitive if only the aggregate bundle price (i.e., the running total) is advertised in simultaneous (vs. sequential) customization processes. In contrast, when decisions for each bundle component were made step-by-step, consumers are more satisfied and less price sensitive if detailed option prices are provided in addition to the aggregate bundle price. Our two studies also shed some light into the psychological process that underlies consumers’ different reactions. Besides contributing to consumer decision-making and behavioral pricing research, our findings have important implications for service providers on how to design a bundle configuration process that increases both customer satisfaction and spending at the same time.References available upon request.

Improving Retailer Profitability with Self-Service Technologies throughout all Sales Phases – The role of the business model

The purpose of this conceptual paper is to provide input for the study of self-service technologies (SST) from the perspective of the retail industry. Drawing on existing literature an improved typology of SST technologies for retailer is developed. Further, the potential ways to increase profitability through SST for retailers and the role of the retailer’s business model are discussed. Finally, it is proposed that retailers should consider all three phases in the purchase process, when implementing SST. Real-life examples of SST applications in each phase in the purchase process are provided for all three business models. Possible future research directions are offered.