Vlasis Stathakopoulos

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.

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.

Standardization versus adaptation of international advertising strategies: Towards a framework

In the international marketing literature the issue of advertising standardization has ignited a lively and heated debate among academics and managers alike. However, the decision whether to standardize or not cannot be considered a dichotomous one. Develops a comprehensive framework to capture the relevant factors that determine the selection of the appropriate international advertising strategies and tactics. More specifically, first identifies three broad sets of factors (“local”, “firm” and “intrinsic”) which influence international advertising decisions. Then proposes that the standardization and adaptation of international advertising strategies represent the polar ends of a continuum of transitional stages. Finally, discusses the ways and the degree to which international advertising strategies can be adapted to different situations.

An examination of the effects of service quality and satisfaction on customers' behavioral intentions in e‐shopping

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of service quality and satisfaction on three consumer behavioral intentions, namely word‐of‐mouth, site revisit, and purchase intentions in the context of internet shopping.Design/methodology/approach – To achieve this objective 240 online interviews were carried out (response rate 24 percent) from a randomly generated sample of 1,052 online shoppers using the database of a leading Internet provider in Greece as the sample frame.Findings – Data analysis involved the comparison of three rival models using structural equations modeling. The prevailed model reveals that e‐service quality has a positive effect on e‐satisfaction, while it also influences, both directly and indirectly through e‐satisfaction, the consumers behavioral intentions, namely site revisit, word‐of‐mouth communication and repeat purchase.Research limitations/implications – The results confirm that cognitive evaluations precede emotional responses and that quality is a strong...

Antecedents of perceived quality in the context of internet retail stores

This study investigates specific antecedents of perceived service quality in the Internet environment for trust to a retail store, experience with e-commerce, Internet familiarity, excitement with e-commerce, extent of using e-commerce, frequency of purchases from a company, in addition to exploring the reasons for shopping on line: such as price discounts, convenience, product availability, and purchase conditions. The results indicate that perceived e-service quality is comprised of four key dimensions: information, user friendliness, interaction / adaptation and aesthetics. Moreover, the study reveals that different dimensions of perceived e-service quality are influenced by diverse antecedents. For instance, whilst customer trust to a company influences all four dimensions, Internet familiarity has an impact solely on user friendliness. This picture remained when the type of store, either pure dot. com versus hybrid retailer, was tested as a moderator variable. Implications for practice, the limitations of the study, and directions for future research are discussed.

Enhancing the performance of marketing managers

This article examines the relationships among two types of strategy (defender and prospector), two types of evaluation systems (output‐oriented and behavior‐oriented), and one dimension of organizational structure (centralization) and their interactive effects on the job performance of marketing managers. Findings from an empirical study indicate that marketing strategies must be matched with the appropriate types of evaluation systems and structure to affect job performance positively. More specifically, the results suggest that an output‐oriented evaluation system combined with a high level of centralization is associated with higher managerial performance for organizations pursuing a defender strategy, whereas a behavior‐oriented evaluation system combined with a low degree of centralization is associated with higher managerial performance for a prospector strategy. Implications for the successful implementation of marketing strategies are discussed. Finally, study limitations and directions for future research are noted.

Visual and verbal rhetoric in advertising

There has been a growing stream of research focusing on the application of rhetorical figures in advertising. Resonance, a rhetorical figure based on a visual–verbal interaction, is the issue of interest in the present paper. Specifically, we conducted two experiments in order to explore consumers’ responses towards resonance as well as test its limits in terms of visual–verbal incongruity. According to our results, resonance influences consumers in a positive manner. However, care should be taken with regard to the extent of applied incongruity between the visual and verbal elements on which resonance is grounded. A higher degree of incongruity is most likely to generate negative results.

Functional vs relational benefits: what matters most in affinity marketing?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to classify and compare the importance of the benefits consumers derive from affinity credit card programmes. Design/methodology/approach – A random sample of affinity credit card holders of a major Greek athletic club (AC) was surveyed and a multi-group structural equation model was run to assess the hypothesised relationships among the study constructs. Findings – Overall, the relational benefits of affinity credit cards outperform the functional ones. However, this finding depends on the number of additional credit cards held by affinity credit card holders. Originality/value – The study is the first one to test formally the viability of a core services marketing theory (relational benefits) within the affinity marketing field as a means of explaining consumer behaviour within such a context.

Rhetorical Maneuvers in a Controversial Tide: Assessing the Boundaries of Advertising Rhetoric

Despite strong evidence on the effectiveness of advertising rhetoric, the extant literature has not theorized or empirically assessed conditions under which this effectiveness may be nullified. The present research argues that the application of rhetoric in advertisements grounded in controversial topics such as violence and eroticism may be ineffective. Results from two studies suggest that the application of a widespread rhetorical figure such as resonance within controversial ad settings cannot attenuate consumers’ negative responses and under certain conditions may even worsen them. Implications for advertising theory and practice, along with study limitations and future research avenues, are presented.