Tracy L. Tuten

Service recovery: its value and limitations as a retail strategy

Contributes to a growing body of service recovery knowledge by examining the impact of service recovery as a relationship tool, in addition to its well‐accepted role as a means to enhance customer satisfaction at the transaction‐specific level. Begins by providing an overview of the evolving concept of service recovery and continues by explaining the important and unique role that recovery plays in the service sector. A comparison of the concept of service consistency and reliability with the concept of service recovery leads to a statement of hypotheses tested in an experimental setting. Specifically, results indicate that while service recovery results in encounter satisfaction, service recovery does not significantly influence overall satisfaction, quality, image and future expectations. Rather, consistency of service influences these constructs.

An Expanded Model of Business-to-Business Partnership Formation and Success

Abstract In this article, the authors develop an expanded model of partnership formation and success that builds upon a previous model constructed by Mohr and Spekman. Mohr and Spekman proposed that partnership success is predicated on relationship attributes, communication, and conflict resolution techniques, but their model did not specify what factors are associated with the initial formation of the partnership. The study described in this article is based on a series of in-depth interviews with purchasing managers, and identifies factors serving as antecedents to the formation of a partnership. Purchasing managers indicated that partnerships are initially formed in order to lower costs, increase service, and to improve a firms competitive advantage. The study also confirms the existence of various characteristics of partnership success. The article concludes with suggestions for future research about business-to-business partnerships.

Performance, satisfaction and turnover in call centers: The effects of stress and optimism

This paper reports the results of a study, which measured the role of optimism and its effect on stress in call centers. Service providers at inbound call centers answered questionnaires designed to measure their personal orientation towards optimism, perceptions of job stress, work/nonwork conflict, performance, absenteeism and intent to turnover. We found that optimists did perceive lower levels of job stress and lower work/nonwork conflict. However, pessimists reported higher levels of performance and satisfaction and lower turnover intent. Implications for future research are discussed.

Prepaid and promised incentives in web surveys: an experiment

Prepaid monetary incentives consistently exert the largest positive effect on response rates in mail surveys. For web-based surveys, it has not been possible to administer monetary incentives via the Internet in advance. Recently, several new web-based services have been introduced that can transfer money to people online. Does this really have the same positive effect on response rates as shown in traditional mail surveys? The authors investigated this question experimentally in the context of a web-based survey among members of a professional association in Virginia. The results indicate that prepaid incentives in web surveys seem to have no advantages concerning the willingness to participate, actual completion rates, and the share of incomplete response patterns when compared with postpaid incentives. Furthermore, postpaid incentives show no advantages over no incentives. Finally, compared to no incentives, prize draws increase completion rates and also reduce various incomplete participation patterns.

Effects of immediate versus delayed notification of prize draw results on response behavior in web surveys: an experiment

Many online surveys offer the chance to win prizes as a primary incentive for respondents. One researcher found that prepaid monetary incentives were the most effective technique for increasing response rates, however, other researchers showed that a prize incentive outperformed other incentive types in a web-based survey. Using the immediacy effect and supporting theories as a base, this study extends the research on using prize draws as an effective incentive for web surveys by investigating the effects of immediate versus delayed notification for prize draw winners. Results indicate that the immediate notification of prize draw results did significantly increase response rates to the survey over the delayed notification, receipt of results, and control groups.

Prepaid and Promised Incentives in Web Surveys

Prepaid monetary incentives consistently exert the largest positive effect on response rates in mail surveys. For web-based surveys, it has not been possible to administer monetary incentives via the Internet in advance. Recently, several new web-based services have been introduced that can transfer money to people online. Does this really have the same positive effect on response rates as shown in traditional mail surveys? The authors investigated this question experimentally in the context of a web-based survey among members of a professional association in Virginia. The results indicate that prepaid incentives in web surveys seem to have no advantages concerning the willingness to participate, actual completion rates, and the share of incomplete response patterns when compared with postpaid incentives. Furthermore, postpaid incentives show no advantages over no incentives. Finally, compared to no incentives, prize draws increase completion rates and also reduce various incomplete participation patterns.

The Adoption of Social Media as Educational Technology among Marketing Educators.

Social media usage has grown rapidly in recent years, as individuals have incorporated social networks such as Facebook into their daily activities and businesses have begun to use social tools to interact with consumers. Many social media tools, likewise, have applications relevant for marketing education. This study assesses the adoption of social media as educational technology among marketing educators. The results suggest that, while many of those surveyed use social media personally, most tools have not been widely embraced for educational purposes. Reported barriers to adoption include limited time, challenges adjusting to the quantity of tools available, and perceived functional uses of the tools. Implications for marketing educators are discussed.

Work‐family conflict: a study of lesbian mothers

Purpose – Among the most consistent predictors of work‐family conflict for working parents are the number of hours worked, job role autonomy, and degree of support managers offer parents. Yet, little is known about the unique work experiences of lesbian women in terms of work‐family conflict. This paper seeks to identify correlates of work‐family conflict, specifically work interference with family (WIF), among lesbian mothers and identifies the role that being “out” at work plays in their experience of WIF.Design/methodology/approach – A survey of 58 working lesbian mothers engaged in long‐term, same‐sex relationships that they categorized as a family was used to collect data on constructs related to work‐family conflict and related variables. The vast majority of the sample were managers or professionals.Findings – Analyses indicate that increased job role autonomy, fewer hours worked, and increased managerial support are associated with less overall WIF. Additionally, the extent to which participants a...

Message on a bottle: the wine label's influence

Purpose – The choice facing a wine consumer is one of dizzying options with thousands of wine brands available. Packaging and labeling are among those cues consumers use when choosing wines. The purpose of this paper is to better understand the influence of two labeling variables – design genre and brand naming convention – on perceptions of wine and wine choice by occasion. In particular, three types of label design and naming conventions (traditional, contemporary, and novelty) are examined.Design/methodology/approach – A 3*3 (three versions of visual design and three brand naming conventions) factorial design was used to expose participants to a set of three wine label design variations. Participants viewed wine labels online at www.ratethelabel.com and then completed a web‐based survey designed to measure the influence of label design and brand name on wine perceptions, purchase intent by wine use occasion, and the relative importance of factors affecting wine choice.Findings – Despite the popularity ...

Real World Experience, Virtual World Environment: The Design and Execution of Marketing Plans in Second Life

Marketing educators rely upon projects in marketing courses to enhance student learning. This teaching innovation builds upon a commonly used project in principles of marketing courses — the marketing plan project. Student teams complete a marketing plan for a business in a virtual world, such as Second Life. The project design is based on the principles of authentic assessment. Specifically, the project benefits from an authentic environment and client, rubrics for setting expectations and assessing outcomes, and chunked assignments. Planning for marketing strategy in Second Life results in a realistic setting in which student recommendations can be executed and evaluated.