Yelena Tsarenko

International and Local Student Satisfaction: Resources and Capabilities Perspective

ABSTRACT In this paper, we develop a conceptual model for assessing student satisfaction with universities and the likelihood of students recommending their institutions to other prospective students. Student satisfaction is conceptualised as a mediator between resources and capabilities and recommendation. The resources and capabilities that contribute to student satisfaction are identified as teaching, learning, technology, library, student services and student orientation. The resource needs of local and international students are compared. The data are analysed through path modelling, which results in a holistic perspective of the relationships. The findings suggest that more resources are required to satisfy local students than foreign students-that is, that local students perceive a larger pool of resources to be important for their satisfaction while foreign students appear to require a smaller pool. The implications of the study for university administrators are discussed and areas for future research are suggested.

The Development of Competent Marketing Professionals

The process of transition from university undergraduate to business professional is a crucial stage in the development of a business career. This study examines both graduate and employer perspectives on the essential skills and knowledge needed by marketing professionals to successfully perform their roles. From in-depth interviews with 14 graduates and 14 employers, it is apparent that the transition trajectory is both diverse and dynamic. The first main finding is that the transition from marketing graduate to employee is marked by a lack of skills to organically “fit the organization.” Another finding is related to specific competencies such as the ability to have and, most importantly, apply marketing knowledge. These findings have strong implications for the development and redesign of curricula to produce highly skilled, employable graduates and to assist universities in retaining a competitive advantage within the tertiary sector.

A transactional model of forgiveness in the service failure context: a customer‐driven approach

Purpose – The concept of forgiveness has received significant attention in the fields of philosophy and psychology. However, little is known about the application of this concept in the business domain. To address this deficiency, this paper aims to conceptualise forgiveness as a customer coping strategy in the context of service failure incidents. Specifically, deriving from both theories of emotion and coping, this article proposes a conceptual framework of consumer forgiveness in service encounters.Design/methodology/approach – A critical synthesis of the literature on forgiveness, service failure, and service recovery was conducted to generate a conceptual exploration of the role of forgiveness in the business domain.Findings – While previous consumer behaviour studies have explored the emotional and behavioural states of consumers after service incidents, they overlooked one critical intrinsic psychological aspect which has a long‐lasting effect on service outcomes: consumer forgiveness. Thus, the ma...

Emotional Intelligence as a Moderator of Coping Strategies and Service Outcomes in Circumstances of Service Failure

Superior customer service has always been recognized as a source of competitive advantage. But as the economic environment becomes more challenging, as switching costs become lower, and many service brands are experiencing difficulties, there is a compelling need to focus upon the quality of the customer experience in order to maintain competitive positioning. This is particularly important in those circumstances where services fail. Drawing upon the notion of the customer as a cocreator of his/her own service experience, this article examines the role of a specific set of customer resources referred to as emotional intelligence (EI) in shaping customer response to a specific set of circumstances: service failure. The results show that the level of EI does predict consumer responses to service failure in terms of customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions. Customer EI is identified as an important consideration for service managers in understanding how customers respond to service failure and service recovery efforts. These results highlight the need for managers to consider EI as a discriminating customer variable in circumstances where emotions and emotional management are prevalent. This innate individual resource needs to be recognized in more generalized service research involving interpersonal interaction, negotiation, and conflict resolution.

Coping with service failures: The role of emotional intelligence, self‐efficacy and intention to complain

Purpose – This study seeks to draw on the theories of personality to investigate antecedents and outcomes of consumer coping in instances of service failure. Specifically, the authors focus on the effects of emotional intelligence and self‐efficacy on three coping strategies – active, expressive, and denial. The authors further investigate the effects of coping strategies on consumer intention to complain.Design/methodology/approach – An online panel of 252 respondents representative of the Australian population participated in this study. Structural equation modelling was used to analyze data and test hypothesized relationships.Findings – Emotional intelligence has a positive association with active and expressive coping strategies but a negative relationship with denial. Expressive coping leads to greater complaining, whereas denial decreases it. Furthermore, consumer self‐efficacy mediates the relationship between emotional intelligence and active coping strategy. In contrast, the effect of self‐effica...

'You can spend your life dying or you can spend your life living': identity transition in people who are HIV-positive.

This article examines, through the lenses of HIV-positive people, the unique phenomenon of identity transition. This research proposes that life-changing illnesses, such as HIV, are an undesired ‘possession’ that people accept to varying degrees, which we refer to as ‘ownership’. While illnesses, such as HIV compel individuals to undergo a transformation process that usually begins with a deep feeling of detachment, and then proceeds to acceptance of their illness, and to feeling empowered and in control of their HIV status and lives, this process is very complex and non-linear as it involves many iterative progressions in identity transition. These transitions are highly individualistic; however, the underlying theme is that the more positive trajectories were those of people who focus on their new lives, living with HIV (i.e. taking ownership of their illness), rather than focusing on what they have lost when they became HIV-positive. The findings demonstrate that identity transition is a result of the ways that individuals rework, negotiate and transform their roles, actions and behaviours through their active engagement with support mechanisms. This study suggests that it is vital to promote positive interactions with support mechanisms to ensure that those with HIV view themselves positively.

Measurement Invariance of Marketing Instruments: An Implication across Countries

Researchers have used the Narver and Slater’s construct (1990), hereafter (N&S), to operationalise market orientation (MO). The assumption is that the construct is universally equivalent across cultures, countries and research contexts. We develop a way of testing the invariance of N&S operationalisations as an example of how researchers can establish measure invariance across diflerent cultures, countries or languages. In this particular study we test the N&S operationalisation across Australian and UK samples. The results suggest that the conceptualisation of MO is similar in the two countries at a weak factorial invariance level. Thereafter the operationalisation is diferent ie intercepts are significantly diflerent and item reliabilities are also different. These results suggest that because measure equivalence is not strong, contextualisation of findings is necessary since generalisability may be limited. The significance of this research is in alerting researchers to the assumptions, rarely tested, that underlay comparisons across qualitatively distinct populations. We suggest researchers test these assumptions before substantive tests of theories are undertaken.

Examining customer privacy concerns in dealings with financial institutions

Purpose – This paper aims to develop a customer typology based on consumer attitude towards information privacy and examine the driving factors of privacy concern.Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 456 Australian consumers who have applied for a credit card or mortgage is used in this study. Consumer concern with privacy statements, the privacy legislation at the federal level, trust and the willingness to disclose personal information for some form of compensation are used as drivers of consumer privacy in regression analysis. These variables are used in cluster analysis in order to segment financial consumers.Findings – The results indicate that that the level of privacy concern is primarily driven by trust that far outweighs any concerns with privacy statements and the provision of nationally legislated safeguards. Furthermore, a cluster analysis reveals three distinctive customer segments in the domain of financial services: the pragmatist, indifferent, and competent.Originality/value – This st...

Consumers’ forgiveness after brand transgression: the effect of the firm’s corporate social responsibility and response

Abstract In this article we examine the interplay between the severity of a brand transgression, consumers’ prior awareness of the firm’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, and the firm’s response (apology vs. apologia) on the rates of forgiveness among consumers. Results of two experiments show that consumers’ prior awareness of the firm’s CSR initiatives significantly differentiates apologia from apology, with the effect of apology on consumer forgiveness being more apparent when brand transgression severity is mild. Results also show that consumer forgiveness mediates the effect of brand transgression severity, firm response, and consumer awareness on repurchase intentions. In this way, the study enables managers to determine whether or not an apology or apologia will be sufficient to solicit consumer forgiveness, using information about the levels of awareness of CSR among consumers.

Performance measurement in the Australian on‐line securities marketplace

This study examines performance measurement in on‐line securities companies in the Australian marketplace. Marketing managers of seven on‐line stock brokerage companies in Australian capital cities were interviewed and their on‐line strategies and approaches were systematically reviewed and analysed. The findings suggest that only four of the seven companies were able to articulate a core value proposition and that only two companies used performance measurement in strategic decision‐making about the on‐line component of their businesses. None of the firms was able to draw a direct connection between the performance measures implemented and the value proposition they claimed to offer to their customers. These findings have important implications for both practitioners and academics as they indicate a substantial deficiency in both the theory and practice of on‐line performance measurement. Avenues for further research in the area of on‐line performance measurement are suggested.