Walesska Schlesinger

Sticking with your university: the importance of satisfaction, trust, image, and shared values

In a context of increasing competition and financial difficulties for higher education institutions, alumni loyalty is a key factor for survival and success. This study tests a model derived from a relationship marketing perspective to investigate the roles of four variables (brand image, trust, satisfaction, and shared values) in the direct and indirect explanation of alumni loyalty. Based on a literature review, a theoretical model is proposed and tested through structural equations modeling for a sample of 1000 university alumni. The results reveal three direct antecedents of alumni loyalty (satisfaction, shared values, and trust) and one indirect antecedent (university brand image). In addition, this research offers theoretical contributions related to the relationship between shared values, trust, perceived university image, and satisfaction. The research highlights how education managers can increase alumni loyalty through strategic planning and direct policies to develop satisfaction, trust, positive brand image, and shared values.

Key Elements in Building Relationships in the Higher Education Services Context

In a context of globalized higher education, new stakeholders have emerged, and building stronger relationships between them is of the utmost relevance in todays environment. The approach from the graduate perspective helps reinforce bonds and manage lifelong learning in an innovative way. This study empirically tests a model that includes variables such as university image, student–professor interaction, satisfaction, identification, and loyalty, which are topics of increasing relevance for competitive and innovative universities. The results show the relationships among the variables, which can explain loyalty behavioral intentions. The article concludes with the managerial implications of the study.

Customer’s role in knowledge management and in the innovation process: effects on innovation capacity and marketing results

Scholars have acknowledged customer knowledge management (CKM) as a key strategic resource for improving innovation and supporting long-term customer relationship management. This study provides a deeper understanding of the internal antecedents of business innovation capacity overcoming previous approaches. A model that had not previously been tested was used to analyse the role of customer collaboration and CKM – measured as a second-order construct – in innovation processes and marketing results. To test the model, structural equation modelling (partial least squares) was applied to a random sample of 210 Spanish companies. Results confirm that CKM and customer collaboration are antecedents of innovation capacity and marketing results. Furthermore, the effect of CKM is greater than the effect of customer collaboration. This paper provides a basis for managers to encourage innovation in their companies and explains how managers can improve marketing results.

An Approach to Measuring Perceived Quality of Life in the City Through a Formative Multidimensional Perspective

Cities compete to attract multinational companies, more tourism flows and to improve the quality of life of citizens. From a public service orientation, perceived quality of life should become a strategic input. In the last decades, scientists offered several alternative approaches to defining and measuring quality of life: social indicators, subjective measures and economic indices all with their strengths and weaknesses. This chapter conceptualizes and operationalizes perceived quality of life in the city from the perspective of its residents, proposing and validating a new measure with six dimensions through a formative index. The conceptual model and the hypotheses are tested using Partial Least Squares approach to Structural Equation Models based on 200 personal interviews to Italian residents from Latina. The results corroborate that residents’ perceived quality of life can be measured with a formative construct with six dimensions: perceived standard of living, quality of health care, educational services, perception of safety, infrastructure and environment. All dimensions are decisive in the city perceived quality of life formation. The key benefit derived from this framework is that it provides a more robust model for understanding the dynamics of this variable. The paper concludes by considering the implications for academics and authorities responsible for the strategic management of cities committed with a public service orientation.

Contrasting quality of service experience for northern and southern Mediterranean tourists

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine quality of service experience as reported by tourists in seven northern and southern Mediterranean cities. Design/methodology/approach – A self-report study was used to gather data from 1,362 tourists. Once validity of Otto and Ritchie’s (1996) scale had been confirmed, ANOVA and the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test were used to analyse the data. Findings – Tourists in all destinations highlighted the importance of the dimension peace of mind. Significant differences between tourists in the northern Mediterranean and those in the southern Mediterranean were observed in two quality of service experience dimensions: hedonics and involvement. Research limitations/implications – Although the sample was large, this study’s scope was limited to seven Mediterranean tourist cities. Further research is therefore required to generalize findings to other Mediterranean tourist destinations. Practical implications – Knowledge about quality of service experience dimen...

MEDICIÓN DE LA IMAGEN DE LA UNIVERSIDAD Y SUS EFECTOS SOBRE LA IDENTIFICACIÓN Y LEALTAD DEL EGRESADO: UNA APROXIMACIÓN DESDE EL MODELO DE BEERLI Y DÍAZ (2003)

RESUMEN Dado el valor de la imagen para las instituciones, esta investigacion desarrolla un modelo para la medicion de la imagen de la Universidad percibida por sus egresados. Ademas, busca analizar la influencia que tiene esta imagen en la identificacion y lealtad del egresado para con su institucion. El analisis de resultados evidencia empiricamente la estructura cognitiva-afectiva de la imagen y su influencia positiva en la identificacion y lealtad. Las conclusiones e implicaciones sugieren acciones encaminadas a la mejora de la gestion de la imagen de la universidad, haciendo enfasis en las dimensiones que tienen mayor peso en su formacion.

EFFECTS OF CUSTOMER KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND CUSTOMER ORIENTATION ON INNOVATION CAPACITY AND MARKETING RESULTS IN SMEs: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF INNOVATION ORIENTATION

Managing customer knowledge is a key of source for SMEs. The principal aim of this paper is to provide empirical evidence on the direct effects of two specific strategic resources: customer orientation and customer knowledge management (CKM), on innovation capacity and marketing results in SMEs. The study also examines the role of innovation orientation as a mediator between customer orientation and CKM. For this purpose, a structural model was proposed and tested through an empirical investigation with variance-based structural equation modeling (PLS) using a sample made up of 210 Spanish SMEs. The findings highlight the relevance of CKM and customer orientation as important strategic resources for developing innovation capacity and marketing results, and they confirm the mediation effect of innovation orientation. Empirical evidence supports the importance of customer orientation and CKM in boosting innovation and performance. These findings have important implications for performance in SMEs.