Veronica Liljander

Comfort your online customer: quality, trust and loyalty on the internet

In e‐commerce, loyal customers are considered extremely valuable. Loyalty is generally attributed to satisfaction with the quality of service. Since online transactions involve many uncertainties for the customer, trust is a condition for exchange. Trust in the electronic medium – here called “e‐trust” – is believed to increase online customer loyalty, but empirical confirmations are scarce. The present study empirically investigates the roles of service quality, satisfaction and trust in an e‐commerce context. In the study, e‐trust is found to directly affect loyalty. The e‐service quality dimension of assurance, i.e. trusting the merchant, influences loyalty via e‐trust and e‐satisfaction. Other e‐quality dimensions, such as ease of use, e‐scape, responsiveness, and customization influence e‐loyalty mainly indirectly, via satisfaction. Managerial implications and suggestions for further research are provided.

Exploring Consumer Evaluations of e-Services: A Portal Site

The commercial importance of e‐services, accessed via Internet or mobile phone, grows steadily. There is a clear need to develop a better understanding of how consumers evaluate these services and develop e‐loyalty. An empirical study of an Internet portal was tied in with extant theories about service quality, customer satisfaction and loyalty. Data were collected by means of an on‐line survey. The effect of customer satisfaction with three service components on value perception and overall satisfaction was measured. Customers’ overall satisfaction was influenced by their satisfaction with the core service, supplementary services and the user interface. A strong positive effect of overall satisfaction on the intention to continue using the portal was found. Noteworthy was the predominant effect of satisfaction with supplementary services on value perception. No significant direct effects were found of satisfaction with the user interface on value perception. Some implications as well as future research directions are provided.

Customer loyalty to content‐based Web sites: the case of an online health‐care service

Past e‐service research has largely concentrated on customer responses to online retailers. The present study sheds light on the determinants of customer loyalty to a content‐based service, a healthcare Web site. Content‐based service providers must build a loyal customer base in order to attract advertisers and sponsors. Lack of trust has been one of the most important reasons for consumers not adopting online services involving financial exchanges, but trust appears to be equally important to exchanges that require divulging sensitive information, such as health issues. Results reveal that loyalty to the health site is satisfaction‐driven, but that trust is the main antecedent of satisfaction. Need fulfilment, responsiveness, security and technical functionality of the Web site are shown to influence trust. Managerial implications are provided.

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION WITH E-SERVICES: THE CASE OF AN ONLINE RECRUITMENT PORTAL

In this contribution we aim to present a state of the art review of academic literature on e-service quality and customer satisfaction with online services. We illustrate some of the research issues by means of a presentation of an empirical study, performed with respect to an online job-search service, or so-called job board. In addition we develop a number of suggestions for further research.

Do Mobile CRM Services Appeal to Loyalty Program Customers

Not until very recently has mobile phone technology become sophisticated enough to allow more complex customized programs, which enable companies to offer new services to customers as part of customer relationship management (CRM) programs. In order to enhance customer rela-tionships and to be adopted by customers, new mobile services need to be perceived as valuable additions to existing services. The purpose of this study was to investigate the appeal of new mobile CRM services to airline customers. An empirical study was conducted among loyalty program customers (frequent flyers) of an airline that was considering using MIDlet applica-tions in order to add new mobile services to enhance customer relationships. The results show that customers do not yet seem to be ready to fully embrace new mobile applications. Although the services appeared to slightly improve customers’ image of the airline, the services did not seem to enhance their loyalty towards it. However, customers who already used sophisticated mobile services, such as the Mobile Internet, had a significantly more positive attitude towards the proposed services. Thus the success of mobile CRM seems closely linked with customers’ readiness to use existing mobile services. Before engaging in costly new investments, companies need to take this factor into serious consideration.

Young consumers’ responses to suspected covert and overt blog marketing

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the responses of young consumers to suspected covert and overt product-brand recommendations in a blog. Design/methodology/approach – Experimental design was applied to investigate the effect of covert and overt marketing on young consumers’ perceptions of blogger credibility and their behavioural intentions. Findings – Overt marketing had a negative effect on behavioural intentions, such as future interest in the blogger, intention to engage in word-of-mouth, and purchase intention. Covert marketing did not affect the intended behaviour. Neither covert nor overt marketing influenced the blogger’s credibility. Research limitations/implications – The study was delimited to a small sample; one blog, one type of product recommendation, and a well-known brand. Young, well-educated consumers with experience in reading blogs may be able to filter the brand recommendations and focus on the content of the blog. Practical implications – This study has implications fo...

EU Deregulation and dealer-supplier relations in automotive distribution

Purpose – The automotive industry in the European Union (EU) faces a sharply reduced regulatory environment, with Block Exemption (1400/2002). Economists have predicted fundamental changes in the market as a result of the modified Block Exemption. In this article, the aim is to investigate how the relationship between a car dealer and its main supplier (i.e. an OEM or its national representative), affects how the dealer perceives threats and opportunities in this more competitive environment.Design/methodology/approach – Based on relationship marketing theory, propositions about antecedents and consequences of commitment to a supplier are formulated for the changing automotive market. Data were collected from 413 car dealerships in Belgium, The Netherlands and Finland, countries without domestic automobile brands.Findings – Commitment to the main supplier is mainly driven by satisfaction and trust. The more car dealers are committed to their main supplier, the lower the threat they perceive from new inter...

Preferential treatment in the service encounter

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine reactions when customers in service encounters receive preferential treatment (i.e. something extra in relation to other customers). The examination is conducted in a social context that allows the customer to compare what he or she receives with what other customers receive. The main effect variables are perceived justice and customer satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach – An experimental method is employed to examine the effects of providing customers with preferential treatment. The study involves four treatment groups with various combinations of receiving or not receiving preferential treatment. Findings – Customers perceived preferential treatment as relatively unjust. This was true for customers who received the preferential treatment and for those who did not. However, customer satisfaction among those receiving preferential treatment was enhanced, thus signaling that preferential treatment affects perceived justice and satisfaction differentl...

Does a Short Brand Story on the Package Affect Consumers’ Brand Responses?

The persuasiveness of stories and their influence on consumers have been acknowledged within the fields of advertising, tourism, and services. Despite these findings, stories have not caught the attention that they deserve in the product and brand literature. Nothing indicates that stories would have less of an effect when applied to brands. It is especially intriguing that stories—of various kinds—have become ubiquitous on product packaging in practice. Yet there are no studies on the effect of such stories on the consumer’s response to the brand. Can it be taken for given that consumers will react more positively to a package when some of the brand information is presented in story form? Packages have limited space and are filled with information required by law, which is not the case for advertisements. Thus, findings from advertising cannot be directly applied to packing. Currently, there is scant empirical research that directly investigates the impact of short brand stories on consumer responses, and such research is particularly lacking on packaging, where stories are ubiquitously used in practice.