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Relationship outcomes of perceived ethical sales behavior: The customer's perspective
Abstract
This research analyzes the role of ethical salesperson behavior as perceived by the customer in developing a better quality relationship between the salesperson and the customer. The results show that perceived ethical sales behavior plays a major role in affecting the quality of the buyer–seller relationship as it has a positive effect on customer satisfaction, trust and commitment to the salesperson. In addition, satisfaction with and trust in the salesperson positively influence customer commitment to the salesperson. Finally, perceived ethical sales behavior has a stronger effect on customer satisfaction with the salesperson when the customer's attitude toward the industry in which the salesperson works is more negative than when it is more positive. Implications and future research issues are discussed.
... The second stream synthesizes the main unethical practices that surround the provision of financial services (Hidajat, 2020;Tosun, 2020;Kamran and Uusitalo, 2019;Elsharnouby and Parsons, 2013;Hill and Kozup, 2007). The third stream aims to identify the impact of unethical practices on both bank metrics and bank-consumer relationship outcomes (Butt et al., 2022;Chen and Mau, 2009;Rom an, 2003;Rom an and Ruiz, 2005;Zeidan, 2013;Yi et al., 2012). ...
... The contribution of this study to the knowledge advancement in this field is threefold. First, while most studies have used a one-dimensional scale (Rom an, 2003;Rom an and Ruiz, 2005) to measure perceived unethical behaviours, we enrich the operationalization using a multidimensional scale encompassing four components (disrespect, lying, discrimination and unresponsive behaviour). Second, using a disaggregated approach that identifies the specific influence of the above four specific unethical behaviour components on both trust and satisfaction, we enrich the previous studies that have analysed unethical behaviours under an aggregated lens but have failed to emphasise the importance of their specific components (Bugandwa Ciza et al., 2021). ...
... Unethical behaviour and trust. Trust refers to the beliefs of borrowers and savers that banks operate in an honest and altruistic manner that maximises consumer interests (Boonlertvanich, 2019;Rom an and Ruiz, 2005). Basically, banks are expected to operate in a more trustful manner as banking relationships are built on positive social exchanges and interpersonal interactions between customers and bank employees (Ho and Wong, 2023). ...
Purpose – The study has two objectives: (1) expand our knowledge of the relationship between unethical behaviour and both trust and satisfaction and (2) demonstrate that unethical behaviour research should be examined multi-dimensionally.
Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected by resorting to a mixed methods approach. First, individual interviews were performed with 31 bank consumers from six main commercial banks in Bukavu city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Interview notes were submitted for content analysis to identify items and components that underpin the unethical practices construct. Second, a quantitative survey was conducted with 410 consumers from the same six banks. An aggregated-disaggregated structural equations modelling approach was used to test the impact of unethical practices on relationship outcomes through two studies. Study 1 tested a model that links unethical behaviour as a one-dimensional construct to trust and satisfaction. Study 2 tested a model that directly connects the four specific unethical behaviour components to both trust and satisfaction. Findings – Results from study 1 reveal that perceived unethical behaviour negatively influences consumer trust. Results also confirm that trust positively influences customer satisfaction. Results from study 2 confirm that unresponsive, disrespect and lying behaviours negatively influence both trust and satisfaction. Banks which are involving in those specific unethical behaviours can neither satisfy their consumers, nor maintain a sustainable and profitable relationship with them. Therefore, unethical behaviours harm the relationships outcomes in the banking sector.
Research limitations/implications – The perceived unethical behaviour scale derives from a single data set and its reliability and validity need to be improved. Relationships between constructs are tested in a more direct way and ignore moderating variables. Perceived unethical behaviour is connected to relationship outcome variables while its impact on firms’ metrics have been ignored.
Practical implications – Banks have to understand customers’ perception of unethical behaviours and find a way to overcome them. Banks should recruit, motivate and retain employees who demonstrate an ethical inclination in the service encounter and create structures and mechanisms in order to monitor and manage unethical practices. Social implications – Banks employees’ unethical behaviour and practices not only damage the trust and reputation of banks but also can lead to frustration on the part of customers and damage their relationship with the institution. Our paper is a warning of this danger and might improve the social interactions between organisations (in general) and customers.
Originality/value – Unethical behaviour is measured with a four-component scale in contrast to previous studies that have used bi-dimensional or one-dimensional scales. The study tests a disaggregated model that links four components of perceived unethical behaviour to relationship outcome variables. Perceived unethical behaviours are analysed from the customers’ perspective by resorting to mixed methods strategy.
... La fuerza de ventas asume una gran responsabilidad respecto a la ética, por lo cual -a menudo-la figura del vendedor se enfrenta a situaciones que le pueden ocasionar estrés y presión por la relación de cercanía con sus clientes, lo que compromete su actuación bajo los principios morales y éticos preestablecidos (Román and Ruiz, 2005;Martín, 2017). De hecho, el departamento de ventas ha estado considerado tradicionalmente como una de las áreas empresariales con más críticas recibidas por parte de clientes y de la opinión pública en general (Revilla y Gallego, 2007); lo anterior, fruto de técnicas y métodos muy cuestionables para conseguir la ansiada venta. ...
... Aunque no existe hasta la fecha una definición universal sobre el concepto de venta ética, se pueden mencionar los principales elementos que la conforman y que giran en torno a: (i) no engañar al cliente, ofreciendo información real del producto en cuanto a sus características; (ii) que se sea compatible con las necesidades reales del cliente; (iii) no dar información falsa sobre la disponibilidad y plazo de entrega del producto y (iv) no mentir sobre los productos de la competencia (Román and Ruiz, 2005). También se pueden citar a Román y Munuera (2005) y su concepción de venta ética como el comportamiento honesto y justo que facilita el correcto desarrollo de la relación con el cliente. ...
... Adicionalmente la confianza transmitida por el cliente genera reputación ética en la empresa proveedora, lo que conduce a la satisfacción y provoca un mayor compromiso con el proveedor (Henning, 2004;Huang y Zhang, 2008). Otros estudios han señalado como un comportamiento honesto y ético por parte del vendedor percibido por el cliente genera una mayor confianza en este, así como su satisfacción sobre el servicio recibido (Lagace, Dahlstrom and Gassenheimer, 1991;Román and Ruiz, 2005). Esto se debe al papel determinante del vendedor, gracias a proyectar una imagen directa de la empresa a la que representa en sus interacciones con los clientes. ...
En el apasionante mundo de los negocios, el cierre de acuerdos con los clientes supone la punta de lanza hacia la consecución del objetivo empresarial; en especial, en este entorno económico global tan complejo y cambiante en el que acontecimientos como la irrupción de la COVID-19 han acelerado la configuración de un nuevo escenario comercial basado en el contacto digital o a distancia. Objetivo. Examinar los efectos de la venta personal promovida por el vendedor a través de la venta ética y su impacto en las variables relacionales del cliente como son la confianza, lealtad y satisfacción. Metodología. Para dar respuesta a las hipótesis planteadas se empleó un cuestionario estructurado sobre una muestra de 341 pymes industriales españolas. Resultados. Mediante la aplicación de ecuaciones estructurales se ha podido confirmar la influencia significativa de la venta ética en las variables satisfacción, confianza y lealtad. Estos resultados pretenden ser útiles para la práctica empresarial, ya que evidencian la relevancia de la figura del vendedor industrial en su contribución hacia el éxito de las relaciones comerciales en este nuevo contexto de relaciones comerciales. Conclusiones. La figura del vendedor y su comportamiento seguirán siendo claves en la contribución hacia el desempeño empresarial como su necesaria adaptación al entorno de trabajo.
... It refers to salespeople who gain sales orders by following the social norms of fair play, honesty, and full disclosure (Wu, 2017). By contrast, unethical sales behavior is defined as a short-run salesperson's conduct that enables them to gain at the expense of the customer (Román & Ruiz, 2005), which is thus in agreement with the broad definition of unethical behavior in the workplace. Some examples of ethical sales behavior are the following: selling products that meet customer needs; giving truthful information about the product (for example, in comparison with competitors' products, or in terms of product benefits or availability); and using low-pressure selling techniques (Chonko & Burnett, 1983;Lagace et al., 1991;Reidenbach et al., 1991;Singhapakdi et al., 1999;Tansey et al., 1994;Verbeke et al., 1996). ...
... When the consumer perceives a salesperson's behavior as ethical, this perception is generalized to the entire organization (Lin, 2011). Moreover, a salesperson's ethical behavior can establish a successful relationship with the customer, thus attaining customer satisfaction and trust (Alrubaie, 2012;Legace et al., 1999;Román & Ruiz, 2005;Vesel & Zabkar, 2009). Customers tend to identify with the organization and maintain their relationship when the organization is perceived as ethical (Ahearne et al., 2005). ...
... The scale was evaluated through a confirmatory factor analysis that indicated that the ethical sales behavior factor had a coefficient alpha for reliability of .88. Results for the scale constructs were acceptable, with ESB positively correlated with consumer satisfaction, trust, and loyalty to the organization (Román, 2003). The factor loadings reported in a later study ranged from .72 to .82 and the composite reliability showed a value of .67 (Román & Ruiz, 2005). The original or adapted versions of the scale were used in later studies, showing acceptable levels for psychometric properties and confirming the single-factor structure (Alrubaiee, 2012;Chen & Mau, 2009;Hansen & Riggle, 2009;Ou et al., 2015;Pezhman et al., 2013;Román & Ruiz, 2005;Wu, 2017). ...
Purpose: Salespeople are on the front line of organizations and are often the only point of contact between the consumer and the organization. They need, therefore, to behave ethically to build lasting customer-organization relationships. This article aimed to translate, adapt and collect validity evidence for the Ethical Sales Behavior Scale in Mozambique. Design/methodology/approach: Two studies were conducted. The first one focused on exploratory factor analysis using a sample of 198 Mozambican consumers. In the second study, confirmatory factor analysis was performed with a sample of 549 consumers. Findings: Our results indicated good validity evidence for a single-factor structure scale in both samples. The confirmatory factor analysis indicates a CFI = .99; TLI = .98; RMSEA = .06 with adequate reliability indices (alpha = .85, omega = .94). The final scale contains behaviors specific to the Mozambique context, besides those used internationally. Research implications: The scale can be used for the development of research on ethical sales behavior and as a diagnostic tool for organizations in Mozambique as well as in other Portuguese-speaking countries with similar contexts. Originality/value: An original contribution of the study is the development of a scale to measure ethical behavior in the African context, which has been little explored in research in the area. And this instrument is a helpful tool for promoting ethical behavior among sales personnel.
... La fuerza de ventas personal se ha caracterizado tradicionalmente por contribuir al objetivo empresarial a través del estrechamiento de relaciones comerciales, basadas en encuentros presenciales entre vendedor y cliente, cuyo comportamiento ético (dentro de una estrategia relacional) resulta ser determinante en la proyección de clientes a largo plazo (Martín et al., 2011;Román & Ruiz, 2005), sobre todo, en un entorno industrial caracterizado por la necesidad de ofrecer soluciones complejas y muy particulares para cada cliente. ...
... Respecto a los distintos elementos organizativos que dan sentido a la empresa, resulta especialmente interesante estudiar el comportamiento ético desde el área comercial, ya que es la fuerza de ventas la que concretamente asume una gran responsabilidad respecto a la ética y, a menudo, se enfrenta a situaciones que pueden ocasionarle estrés al vendedor y comprometer su actuación ética por la relación de cercanía con el cliente (Martín, 2017;Román & Ruiz, 2005). Aunque no existe hasta la fecha acuerdo en la definición del concepto de venta ética y su dimensión, se pueden citar algunas definiciones empleadas por diversos autores al respecto. ...
... Por otra parte, la confianza transmitida por el cliente genera reputación ética en la empresa proveedora, lo que a su vez conduce a la satisfacción y provoca un mayor compromiso con el proveedor (Henning-Thurau, 2004). Asimismo, algunos estudios han indicado que la conducta ética del vendedor concebido por el cliente genera un incremento de la confianza del cliente sobre la empresa representada por el vendedor, así como su satisfacción sobre el servicio recibido (Lagace et al., 1991;Román & Ruiz, 2005). Por consiguiente, es de esperar que el comportamiento ético del vendedor y la confianza del cliente en la empresa proveedora generen influencia positiva. ...
This research seeks to provide an updated view of personal sales in a business-to-business (b2b) environment through the study of ethical sales and their relationship with customer satisfaction, trust, and loyalty to the selling company in an environment where face-to-face contact has been minimized and even annulled, on many occasions due to the new commercial scenario caused by the covid-19 pandemic. This research is based on an empirical study using a convenience sample comprised of customers (smes) of six supplies and industrial sales distributors. One hundred customers were randomly chosen per distributor, resulting in a sample of 600 industrial clients, from which 248 valid questionnaires were received in March 2021. Subsequently, they were analyzed through structural equations. The results show that ethical sales have a positive and direct impact on satisfaction and trust and an indirect effect on loyalty. The study results reveal sellers' critical role in the industrial market and encourage academic and business interest in the efficient sales force management from an ethical perspective.
... CRM has been considered one of the strategies to gain a competitive advantage. Also, it has been noted that ethical sales practices play a crucial role in forming and maintaining long-term customer relationships (Rom an and Ruiz, 2005;Roman and Munuera, 2005;Boroujerdi et al., 2020). ...
... Unethical sales behaviour is defined as "short-run salespersons' conduct that enables them to gain at the customer's expense" (Rom an and Ruiz, 2005, p. 440), while ethical sales behaviour is the reverse. Examples of unethical behaviour include dishonesty, exaggerating product benefits, selling inappropriate products that do not match customer needs and engaging in high-pressure sales tactics (Robertson and Anderson, 1993;Rom an and Ruiz, 2005). While such behaviours may result in more significant short-run sales, they introduce tension between sellers and customers and pressuring or fooling customers into making inappropriate purchases is associated with a lack of satisfaction (Robertson and Anderson, 1993). ...
... Trust can be defined as a customer assessment of a company's honesty and integrity. It deals with customers' perceptions and beliefs that companies will not disappoint them and work hard to achieve their benefits (Rom an and Ruiz, 2005). In addition to evaluating direct interactions with the seller, the customer also considers whether the seller's performance is satisfactory (Chen and Mau, 2009). ...
Purpose
This study aims to examine the relationship between sellers’ ethical behaviour and customer loyalty. The mediating effect of trust and satisfaction in the relationship between ethical behaviour and loyalty was also assessed in the sportswear industry.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 265 consumers. Ten hypotheses were developed and tested by applying structural equation modelling.
Findings
There is a significant influence between sellers’ ethical behaviour and consumers’ loyalty. Also, satisfaction and trust mediate the relationship between sellers’ ethical behaviour and consumers’ loyalty. Trust is also found as the most proximal antecedent to customer loyalty.
Originality/value
This study empirically justifies the relationship between sellers’ ethical behaviour towards customer satisfaction and trust. This study also provides insight into the relationships between customer satisfaction, trust and loyalty in an integrated model.
... While extensive literature has examined the economic and social facets of SEPs (Botsman and Rogers 2011;Frenken and Schor 2017), the role of circularity as a fundamental principle in these platforms has been underexplored. Extending prior research on ethical perceptions and consumer engagement (Bhattacharya and Sen 2004;Román and Ruiz 2005), this study provides a novel perspective on how circularity is operationalized within SEPs and its implications for platform sustainability. ...
... Third, this study contributes to the ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR) literature by demonstrating the central role of perceived ethics in shaping trust and reciprocity in SEPs. Previous research has established that ethical transparency strengthens consumer trust (Román and Ruiz 2005). However, our findings provide a more nuanced understanding of how these ethical perceptions cascade into reciprocal exchanges and co-creation behaviors. ...
This study investigates circularity in service‐dominant (SD) logic within sharing economy platforms (SEPs), focusing on how perceived ethics influence customer co‐creation and commitment. It further explores the mediating roles of trust and reciprocity and the moderating effect of brand identification. Data from 365 SEP users were analyzed via partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS‐SEM). Results demonstrate that perceived ethics positively affect trust and reciprocity, which subsequently strengthen customers' willingness to co‐create. Trust and reciprocity emerged as pivotal mediators, while brand identification significantly moderated their effects on co‐creation. By emphasizing the role of ethical perceptions in fostering trust‐based collaboration and illustrating how brand identification amplifies these relationships, this research advances theoretical understanding of circularity in service ecosystems. The findings contribute novel insights to the services marketing literature, particularly regarding ethical imperatives, trust‐reciprocity dynamics, and circular customer‐platform interactions in SEPs.
... According to the equity theory, tourists can perceive ethical behaviors toward them (tourists) by tour guides as an investment (Pritchard, 1969). Tourists' satisfaction with the tour and tour guides' performance can be considered an outcome (Le Tan and Trang, 2022;Rom an and Ruiz, 2005). Tour guides' positive ethical behaviors can make tourists feel they are treated fairly (Le Tan and Trang, 2022). ...
... Tour guides' positive ethical behaviors can make tourists feel they are treated fairly (Le Tan and Trang, 2022). Therefore, this can help tourists to perceive their experiences positively (Rom an and Ruiz, 2005). Accordingly, the following hypotheses were derived: ...
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the impact of tour guides’ ethical behavior on tourist satisfaction, intention to revisit and to recommend and examine whether gender plays a moderating role in these relationships.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was conducted in the Cappadocia Destination in Turkiye. A total of 910 participants were included in the study. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method was used to examine the research model in this study.
Findings
The study results indicate that the ethical behavior of tour guides has a significant impact on tourists’ satisfaction with the tour, satisfaction with the tour guide, recommendation intention and revisit intention. Furthermore, the study found that the effect of ethical behavior on these outcomes was more pronounced among male tourists than female tourists.
Research limitations/implications
Despite the tourists’ satisfaction, they may want to remember the experience using mental time travel, and they may fear not having the same positive experience during any revisits. Tour guides should be given continuous training on the concept of professional ethics throughout their education and professional life. The factors causing higher ethical perceptions in male tourists than female tourists may be examined in further studies (i.e. marital status).
Originality/value
The research fills an important gap in the literature by shedding light on the significance of ethical behavior in the context of tour guides, a topic that has received relatively little attention. In particular, the results obtained reveal the originality of the study. Besides that, investigating the moderating role of gender and determining the behavioral intentions of male and female individuals according to the ethical behaviors of tour guides are important for the future of Cappadocia tourism.
... Since extant literature has shown a positive relationship between ethical behavior of a human service agent and customer trust in service settings (Ou et al., 2015;Román & Ruiz, 2005), we assume a similar effect between customers and service robots. Therefore, we hypothesize the following: H1: Customers' trust is higher towards moral service robots than towards immoral service robots. ...
... As ethical sales behavior is positively associated with customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in human-human service interactions (Madhani, 2014;Román & Ruiz, 2005), future research could examine whether the moral or immoral sales behavior of service robots has a similar impact on the mentioned outcome variables in human-robot service interactions. ...
... Therefore, the actual engagement and application of the Metaverse's aspects strengthen the correlation between agreeableness and willingness to be matched. In contrast, perceived usage tends not to be strong enough to have an effect of a similar kind (Román & Ruiz, 2005). ...
This study examines the elements of matchmaking intention, highlighting a significant gap in matchmaking behaviors within Metaverse platforms. The study explores the socio-psychological and behavioral factors impacting matchmaking intention in this digital landscape. We developed a conceptual model integrating social presence theory and status quo bias with the technology acceptance model (TAM). Using survey data from 512 participants across various regions of India, we tested the proposed relationships through structural equation modeling. The results indicate that intimacy, interactivity, connectedness, and responsiveness contribute to increased agreeableness regarding matchmaking intention on Metaverse platforms. Furthermore, real, non-perceived usage significantly moderates the relationship between agreeableness and matchmaking intention. Our findings provide valuable insights for creating effective marketing strategies to enhance matchmaking user intentions and behaviors within the Metaverse. The study can be used to launch any new service through Metaverse.
... Firstly, a mismatch can intensify a sense of eeriness, with subsequent impressions of humanlike robots as being less amiable and trustworthy [18,112]. Secondly, relevant research has revealed that perceived morality significantly influenced the quality of buyer-seller relationship [122]. Furthermore, another study conducted by Perepelkin and Zhang [113] also emphasized the importance of morality. ...
With the rapid development of technology, VR stores are introduced into retail industry in which virtual shopping assistants(VSAs) gradually replace sales personnel to interact with consumers. Existing research has focused on the impact of sensory elements of service assistants on purchase intentions, but the exploration of multi-sensory interactions remains relatively insufficient. Based on stereotype content model(SCM) and gender consistency theories, the aim of this research is to investigate how visual-audio cues of virtual shopping assistants influence young consumers’ purchase intentions. A 2 (color: pink vs. blue) * 3(voice type: male vs. female vs. child) * 2 (voice pitch: high vs. low) online experiment (n = 507) was conducted. The results revealed that gender consistency influenced young consumers’ attitudes and behaviors when a virtual shopping assistant talked in high-pitch female voice or low-pitch male voice. Moreover, when a virtual shopping assistant talked in high-pitch female voice, the relationship between color and purchase intention is significantly mediated by competence, sociability, morality and discomfort. When a virtual shopping assistant talked in low-pitch male voice, the relationship between color and purchase intention is significantly mediated by competence, sociability and morality. However, young consumers didn’t evaluate virtual shopping assistants in children or neutral voice based on the principle of gender consistency, indicating a loosening of traditional gender norms among youth. These findings enrich theoretical research on cross-modal sensory marketing and develop SCM theory from the perspective of gender stereotype. Additionally, this study further emphasizes the necessity for retailers to prioritize gender consistency in the design of VSAs, as an optimal design has the potential to shape positive initial impressions and subsequently influence consumers’ purchasing decisions.
... This co-ordination can enhance customer satisfaction and encourage long-lasting associations. Conversely, ethical worries arise when salespeople use adaptive strategies to manipulate customer weaknesses or manipulate decisions (Roman & Ruiz, 2005). Ethical sales practices require balancing adaptability with transparency and honesty, ensuring that the salesperson prioritizes the customer's best interests over immediate sales gains. ...
Adaptive selling, the exercise of modifying sales tactics to specific customer requirements and circumstances, has verified to augment sales performance and customer satisfaction. However, this approach advances significant ethical considerations that can affect faith, long-standing customer associations, and the wider insight of the sales job. The paper discovers the ethical scopes of adaptive selling, concentrating on matters such as manipulation, transparency, respect and equity for customer independence. It inspects the stability between influential methods and ethical duty, stressing on probable menaces such as abusing client susceptibilities or distorting data to close agreements. Through an evaluation of current literature and real-world case studies, the study delivers understandings to sales experts steering these ethical dilemmas. It offers practical procedures for upholding veracity while enhancing sales tactics, safeguarding adaptive vending nurtures belief and sustainable associations in progressively active marketplace.
... Meanwhile, trust represents the customer's evaluation of the integrity and honesty of companies (Mansouri et al., 2022). Customers believe that businesses will diligently strive to ensure their satisfaction and never disappoint (Román & Ruiz, 2005). This factor is also closely associated with customer satisfaction (Abror et al., 2022). ...
The swift growth of online commerce has significantly impacted the expedition service industry. As online shopping becomes increasingly prevalent, reliable shipping service has become crucial. Therefore, this study aims to determine the correlation between service quality, customer perceived value, and trust, as well as their impact on customer satisfaction within the expedition service industry. A survey was carried out through various messaging platforms, such as WhatsApp and Telegram, to reach users. Data were then obtained from 165 respondents, who were users of the 8 most popular expedition services in Indonesia (including J&T, JNE, SiCepat, Ninja Express, SAP, and others), followed by PLS-SEM analysis. The results showed that the three independent variables positively influenced customer satisfaction. In addition, trust acted as a mediator, indirectly affecting both service quality and customer perceived value. These results are expected to serve as a foundation for developing more efficient and contextually relevant strategies for expedition companies in the future.
... This scale has been previously utilized by Yoo and Donthu [105] and adapted for implementation in Turkey by Türkmendağ et al. [106], following explanatory factor analysis. Additionally, Demirgüneş [107] adapted this scale from instruments developed by Chen and Mau [68], Ingram et al. [108], Roman and Ruiz [109], as well as from the scale developed by Levy and Dubinsky [110;, which was applied in Turkey by Varinli and Kurtoğlu [111]. The items comprising the 25-item Marketing Ethics Scale originated from ethical codes promulgated by the American Marketing Association (AMA). ...
Although there has been considerable theoretical support outlining a relationship between marketing ethics and customer loyalty, there is limited empirical evidence validating this relationship. This study examines the relationships among perceptions of marketing ethics and customer loyalty in a sample of Turkish consumers. The results demonstrate that marketing ethics is negatively related to customer loyalty. Furthermore, this research investigates the processes through which marketing ethics affects customer loyalty. The relationship between marketing ethics and customer loyalty is sequentially mediated by customer satisfaction and customer trust. On the other hand, this research also investigates whether voluntary simplicity has a moderating role in the impact of marketing ethics on customer satisfaction and customer trust. The results demonstrate that the relationship between marketing ethics and customer satisfaction is moderated by self-sufficiency and intangible life which are sub-dimensions of voluntary simplicity; however, there is no moderating role of planned shopping and simplicity in product which are the other sub-dimensions of voluntary simplicity.
... This is especially true in marketing persuasion settings where a human salesclerk's selfish motives often reveal a lack of sincerity, thereby jeopardizing service relationships. The sincerity of salesclerks, the quality of being honest and genuine, plays a pivotal role in building lasting relationships by fostering customer trust (Perepelkin and Zhang 2014) and loyalty (Román and Ruiz 2005). However, human salesclerks often face challenges as they prioritize sales goals, resorting to aggressive persuasion tactics. ...
Our study departs from existing research, which primarily focuses on the benefits of automated social presence in customer service. Instead, we investigate the potential downsides of a service robot’s social presence in marketing persuasion, particularly its influence on consumers’ use of persuasion knowledge. Across five experiments, we aim to: (1) identify factors affecting the social presence of a salesclerk as a persuasion agent (type of service provider, persuasive intent, and robot appearance); and (2) reveal that anthropomorphized service robots in persuasion contexts lead to a decrease in perceived salesclerk sincerity (i.e., social presence effect), ultimately impacting consumer attitudes and behaviors. Additionally, we explore the mechanism behind the social presence effect by examining the moderating role of consumers’ dispositional persuasion knowledge. By applying the persuasion knowledge model to robot-mediated service encounters, this research offers valuable insights into the potential drawbacks of using anthropomorphic robots for marketing persuasion in service relationships.
... Deception in marketing practice is defined as the intentional inculcation of false information or thoughts in the minds of consumers (Aditya, 2001a). Studies suggest that engaging in deceptive selling practices has been observed to engender a decrease in the satisfaction of consumers and trust (Ingram et al., 2005;Román and Ruiz, 2005). ...
Purpose: Despite the convenience of the Online Product Recommendation (OPR) system, concerns persist regarding deception practices in online shopping, especially among consumers from the Generation Z demographic cohort, for which less attention has been given in the previous literature. Methodology/Approach: The impact of independent variables, namely Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Enjoyment, and Perceived Risk, on Susceptibility to e-commerce fraud among Gen Z consumers has been studied. By conducting a mall intercept survey in four major metropolitan cities in India with a usable sample of 488 responses, the study empirically tested the data using SmartPLS 4.0. Findings: The study concludes that Perceived Usefulness and Enjoyment positively influence continuous usage intention, while Perceived Deception and Perceived Risk are negatively connected with continuous usage intention. It depicts that the Gen Z consumer's belief categories formed during their early years as digital natives sharpen their alertness to deception practices. Research Limitation/Implication: The study may not be generalised to represent Gen Z consumers as it collected data only from those who visited malls in the metropolitan cities of India. Originality/Value of paper: This paper exclusively investigates the interrelation of belief categories to continuous usage intention. Further, the intersection of perceived Deception is proved in light of the E-commerce practices.
... Y, para que esto se propicie, resulta fundamental la implicación directa desde niveles de gerencia o desde la propia dirección de ventas, a la hora de emkNews · Número 46 · Junio 2024 EMK Expertos en Marketing del Consejo General de Economistas de España diseñar una estrategia de ventas acorde a estos preceptos. Diversos autores vienen investigando esta temática desde hace años en la búsqueda del éxito en la relación cliente-proveedor en el largo plazo (Román & Ruiz, 2005). ...
Dentro del entorno global empresarial, el sector industrial se centra en la producción de bienes y servicios en un contexto entre empresas, fundamentalmente entre fabricantes o también fabricantes con distribuidores. En la literatura empresarial, esto se traduce en la relación business to business (B2B). Actualmente, el sector industrial sigue adaptándose a una nueva estructura económica compleja, que irrumpió con la llegada del Covid-19 y que sigue todavía influyendo en el entorno empresarial a día de hoy, debido, entre otros factores, a las incesantes subidas de los principales índices de materias primas industriales, el incremento de los costes energéticos necesarios para los procesos productivos o el aumento del coste de los fletes y la dificultad de asegurar plazos de entrega razonables en el transporte marítimo internacional (agravado actual-mente por la crisis del Mar Rojo). Este panorama no hace más que amenazar y comprometer las expectativas de competitividad del tejido empresarial industrial en su conjunto, donde las pequeñas y medianas empresas asumen prácticamente todo el protagonismo por su peso global en la economía española. El arte de la venta se basa en el conjunto de habilidades y técnicas utilizadas para descubrir las necesidades y deseos del cliente, más allá de simplemente ofrecer un producto o servicio. Conseguir la fidelidad o lealtad en el cliente en el largo plazo podría considerarse como el último fin, pero para que esto suceda es fundamental considerar algunos aspectos esenciales a la hora de ejecutar la venta, como pueda ser la segmentación adecuada del público objetivo, el conocimiento del producto demandado, o las habilidades efectivas en la comunicación, entre otros factores. En este sentido, la figura del vendedor, sobre todo en el ámbito de la venta industrial, emerge como el arquitecto necesario para la construcción de relaciones exitosas y duraderas en el tiempo entre proveedor y cliente.
... Muchas han sido las investigaciones centradas en las percepciones éticas de los vendedores, y otros profesionales del área de marketing, pero muy pocos estudios han examinado las cuestiones éticas que se plantean en la relación desde la óptica del comprador (Singhapakdi et al., 1999;McIntyre et al., 1999;Román, Ruiz, 2005;Román, 2007). Sin embargo, la conducta y el comportamiento humano, así como los resultados que estos provocan, están más condicionados por la representación mental que cada persona se forja del mundo real, que por el propio mundo real en sí (Ortigueira, Ortigueira, 2000). ...
A necessidade de compreender os factores que afectam a satisfação do consumidor é um importante desafio para as organizações de qualquer sector da economia. Este facto implicou a aparição de numerosos estudos centrados em conhecer quais são esses factores. Este trabalho enquadra-se nesta linha de investigação, ao propor que a ética na venda pode ter algum efeito na satisfação dos clientes numa determinada relação de compra e venda. Para isso, e após levar previamente a cabo uma investigação académica, apresenta-se um modelo de relações que se submete a ser testado a nível do sector automóvel. Os resultados indicam uma relação entre ambas as variáveis que justificaria a necessidade de incluir a ética na venda nos estudo dos antecedentes da satisfação. A implicação para a gestão deriva da possibilidade de que a ética na venda terá tido uma certa “rentabilidade” para a organização, ao afectar o nível de satisfação do consumidor e sua consequente intenção de recompra.
... In this study, perceived deception refers to the extent to which the consumer believes that an online service provider uses deceptive or manipulative practices with the intent to persuade consumers to purchase the website's offerings (S Roman, 2010). Deception, in the context of marketing, is ''unethical and unfair to the deceived'' (Aditya, 2001), ''the exaggeration of the features and benefits of a product'' and ''selling items through high-pressure selling techniques'' as common examples of deceptive or manipulative tactics (Román & Ruiz, 2005;Ramsey, Marshall, Johnston, & Deeter-Schmelz, 2007;Riquelme & Román, 2014). ...
In the era of the information-communication technology with the development of electronic commerce, consumers can buy almost everything anywhere and at any time. One of the greatest benefits of e-commerce has been the convenience and the vast choices which consumers get online. However, some serious issues exist that impede consumers from transaction online. These issues have attracted the attention of many marketing researchers in recent years. In this research, the authors focus on the impact of consumers' ethics perception of e-retailer on their purchase intention and satisfaction. The authors also try to clarify the roles of trust and commitment in the relationship of ethics on consumers purchase decision and satisfaction because of their importance in e-commerce but also the privation in the research of previous studies. The data collected from a survey of 390 online consumers in Vietnam. Results reveal that there are significant relationships between online retailers' ethics and consumers' purchase intention and satisfaction via the mediation of trust and commitment.
... Similarly, for the involvement in society, ESB deals with the support of sports and cultural events, the sale of fair trade products, the financing of local associations, etc. Morgan and Hunt (1994) indicated that the customer's commitment to the seller is reflected by the desire and the efforts allocated by this customer to maintain trustworthy and honest relationships with his company/vendor. Thus, Román and Ruiz (2005) asserted the association between ESB and customer commitment. This association was sustained by the theory of social exchange; thus, increasing confidence improves consumer-seller relationship and subsequently strengthening customer commitment (Singh & Sirdeshmukh, 2000). ...
This research attempts to find out the effective ethic practices factors and their effects on customer commitment and loyalty. The conceptual framework allows us to develop hypotheses and theoretical model. Thus, the established model comprises the ethical sales behavior (ESB), relationship commitment (RC) and willingness to pay for socially responsible business to explain the consumer’s loyalty within the consumer ethical sensitivity moderation role. Furthermore, this research inspects the mediation role of the personal well-being. Surveys were administered through convenience and self-administered method. Then, we design the empirical study in exploratory and confirmatory analyses. Therefore, empirical analysis uses two surveys from Saudi consumers. Even though the first sample computed 200 invidious was tested in the exploratory phase, the second totaled 380 interviewees was utilized in the confirmatory section by means of SPSS, AMOS software. The hypotheses and model validation were achieved through the fuzzy set approach. Findings illustrate the significance of making consideration to the ethical sales practices from a company orientation to maintain customer. Likewise, the intrinsic ethical sensitivity and extrinsic ethical sensitivity make more important the correlation between the ESB and RC as a significant determinant in the loyalty process.
... Ethical practices are proven to be related to customer loyalty [29]. Moreover, customer loyalty seems to be positively affected by ethical advertisement, ethical pricing, or even ethical behavior depicted through advertisements [76], with the overall ethical image of an organization being critical for forming customer loyalty [77]. Previous research concludes that CPE has direct [78] or indirect [36] positive effects on customers' loyalty. ...
In an era marked by a growing emphasis on business ethics and sustainability, fitness centers face a compelling need to align their practices with their members’ perceived ethical values. To explore the role of ethics in the fitness industry’s expanding business landscape, this study draws upon established theories in consumer-perceived ethicality (CPE), business ethics, and customer segmentation strategies. The paper’s objectives were to adapt and validate the CPE scale for the Greek context and categorize fitness center members based on their perceived ethicality and to examine the impact of perceived ethicality on loyalty, word-of-mouth communication, and trust towards fitness centers. The research involved 286 fitness center members who completed a questionnaire measuring CPE, loyalty, trust, and word-of-mouth communication. Utilizing clustering analysis, two distinct consumer segments emerged, each demonstrating unique patterns of perceived ethicality. Intriguingly, both the high- and low-CPE groups assigned considerable importance to word-of-mouth communication, followed by trust and loyalty. These findings provide valuable insights for businesses in the fitness industry seeking to enhance their ethical reputation and bolster customer retention. Furthermore, the translated CPE scale holds the potential to contribute significantly to the ongoing discourse on consumer behavior regarding business ethics and sustainability within the fitness sector.
... For instance, Luo and Bhattacharya (2006) suggest that customers are more likely to be satisfied with market offerings by ethical organizations. Román and Ruiz (2005) find that customers' perception of salespersons' ethical behaviors increased customer satisfaction. Secondly, as previously mentioned, integrity pertains to people's perception of a firm's proven and trusted ability to fulfil its promise (Joshi & Garg, 2021). ...
It is not uncommon for business institutions to position themselves as stakeholder-caring companies or organizations. However, there is little research on conceptualizing stakeholder-caring as a component of brand image. Through a theoretical lens of brand-consumer interactions, this paper introduces a new construct—stakeholder-caring image—and proposes a model that examines stakeholder-caring’s antecedents (integrity and courtesy) and its consequence (customer satisfaction). The two antecedents—integrity and courtesy—capture intrinsic and extrinsic aspects of brand-consumer interaction practice, respectively, while the consequence (customer satisfaction) is one important behavioral outcome in marketing. The proposed model was tested with Hong Kong customers (n = 296) via a systematic survey. The data were analyzed using LISREL. Several measurement and structural models were constructed to test the proposed hypotheses. The findings reveal that the effect of integrity on customer satisfaction is mediated by a stakeholder-caring image. However, contrary to the conventional wisdom, we surprisingly find that courtesy is not effective to build a stakeholder-caring image. Managerially, this research offers guidance on how to develop stakeholder-caring image and subsequently increase customer satisfaction. In addition, we discuss the nuanced distinction between a stakeholder-caring image and related brand constructs, such as “sincerity” in Aaker’s (1997) brand personality framework.
... Mobile Services Quality dari Huang et al., (2015). Indikator-indikator yang digunakan pada penelitian ini dari (Parasuraman et al., 1985); 5 dimensi 15 pertanyaan untuk kualitas layanan dari (Román & Ruiz, 2005); 4 pertanyaan untuk kepercayaan pelanggan dari (Song, 2019) (Hair et al., 2014). Karena semua indikator pertanyaan kuesioner yang digunakan memiliki nilai Cronbach alpha lebih dari 0,70, maka dapat disimpulkan bahwa indikator penelitian dapat dipercaya. ...
Tujuan penelitian ini untuk mengeksplorasi pengaruh citra merek, kepuasan pelanggan terhadap loyalitas pelanggan pada pengguna produk herbalife. Sehingga hal ini bisa dapat memberikan masukan kepada manajemen Herbalife agar bisa mengambil kebijakan dalam meningkatkan kepuasan pelanggan dan loyalitas pelanggan. Faktor – faktor lebih lanjut dapat dilihat pada variabel Kualitas Layanan, Kepercayaan Pelanggan, Citra Merek, Kepuasan Pelanggan, dan Loyalitas Pelanggan. Jenis penelitian ini kuantitatif dengan teknik purposive sampling yang disebarkan melalui kuesioner kepada 170 responden konsumen Herbalife yang berusia 18 – 65 tahun yang berada di wilayah Kabupaten Indramayu. Analisis data primer dilakukan dengan metode Structural Equation Modeling. Hasil dari penelitian ini menunjukan bahwa empat dari enam hipotesis yang diajukan diterima, sedangkan kualitas layanan tidak dapat mempengaruhi kepuasan pelanggan dan kepercayaan pelanggan tidak dapat dipengaruhi oleh loyalitas pelanggan. Untuk membuat kualitas layanan lebih efektif, pemasar perlu menyadari perilaku konsumen. Selain itu, mencapai tingkat kualitas yang tinggi terhadap kepuasan dan kepercayaan yang tinggi terhadap loyalitas pelanggan untuk produk herbalife dapat menjadi perubahan untuk kesuksesan jangka panjang. Untuk penelitian selanjutnya para peneliti dapat memperluas penelitian baik dari demografi lokasi penelitian di Indonesia.
... The study used ordinary least square regression and found that salesperson's behavioural factors have positive effect on sales performance. Roman and de Maya, (2005) examined the relationship outcomes of perceived ethical sales behaviour and customer's perspective in Middle East University of Malaysia. The determination of ethical sales behaviour's direct consequences was the purpose of the study. ...
Purpose: This paper studied the effect of salesperson behaviuor on customer satisfaction in the services industry. The specific objectives were firstly to determine the relationship between salesperson ethical selling behaviuor in delivering services and customer satisfaction in the services industry. Secondly, to ascertain the relationship between salesperson smart selling behaviour in delivering services and customer satisfaction in the services industry. Methodology: The study comprises customers of elected restaurant in Enugu metropolis whose population is unknown. Cochran’s sample size determination formula was used to determine the sample size of 384. Survey method was used to distribute structured questionnaires to the 384 respondents who eventually retuned 300 well filled questionnaires. For the reliability of the study, Cronbach’s alpha was used and the value of 0.784 was determined. Analysis of data was done using Pearson Product Moment correlation statistical tool. Results: Findings revealed that there is a significant positive relationship between salesperson ethical selling behaviour in delivering services and customer satisfaction. Similarly, it was revealed that there is a significant positive relationship between salesperson smart selling behaviour in delivering services and customer satisfaction. The implication of this finding is that if salespersons continue with these pleasant approaches, satisfied customers will make repeat purchase and transform into loyal customers. Therefore, restaurant management should lay more emphasis on improving salesperson behaviour to satisfy customers and improve organizational performance. Also, salespersons should be taught to be innovative in the manner they deliver restaurant services to enhance customer value.
... 3.2.4.1 Salesperson and dislike, embarrassment. Consistent with previous research on consumer behavior, salespersons greatly influence consumer consumers' emotion, which in turn affects purchasing behavior (Arndt et al., 2019;Echchakoui, 2015;Jones et al., 2003;Roman and Ruiz, 2005). Good communication skills, good professional knowledge and attitudes of salesperson can effectively stimulate consumers' purchase intention of suboptimal food. ...
Purpose
Refusing to purchase suboptimal food plays an important role in food waste. However, it is still unclear what factors in the shopping situation will affect consumers' decision to purchase suboptimal food. The purpose of this paper is to identify the situational factors that affect consumers' suboptimal food purchase and provide a basis for designing effective intervention strategies for follow-up suboptimal food sales.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on in-depth interviews with 25 Chinese consumers, this study uses the grounded theory to find out the situational factors that influence consumers' purchase of suboptimal food.
Findings
These situational factors are divided into nine categories and 21 subcategories. Compared with general situational factors that affect consumers' food purchase decisions, some unique factors and remarkable roles are found. It is found that the channel of information release, store hygiene, salesmen and point-of-sale presentation are more important in influencing consumers' decisions to buy suboptimal food. Based on the findings, marketing suggestions for food retailers are put forward.
Originality/value
This paper fills in the research gaps on understanding the impacts of situational factors on suboptimal food purchase and particularly reveals the effects of face concept on the purchase. The research findings can provide a theoretical basis for subsequent large-quantitative research, and in view of the similarities between Chinese culture and East Asian culture, these findings are valuable not only for the Chinese food retailers but also for the international retailers wishing to enter the Chinese or East Asian markets.
... Ethical sales behavior affects the salesperson's performance. The ethical behavior of a salesperson is positively related to consumer satisfaction and trust to form long-term relationships with consumers that benefit the salesperson (Román & Ruiz, 2005). Consumers make transactions based on their beliefs. ...
... Because of tough working conditions, lack of autonomy, hostility, and constant pressure to perform at any cost, the banking employees suffer from considerable workplace stress (Dartey-Baah et al., 2020;Khalid et al., 2020;Afshan et al., 2021c). Common unethical practices in the banking industry include exaggeration about features of their offered products, applying pressure techniques to convince for a product or service (Roman, 2003;Roman and Ruiz, 2005;Yoo et al., 2014;, behaving rudely or disrespecting the customers, withholding, concealing or manipulating the information, or sometimes lacking information, offering favors and bribes (Cohen et al., 2013;Leonidou et al., 2013;Ferreira et al., 2016;Ameer and Halinen, 2019). One negative supervisory behavior i.e., abusive supervision, caused intention to leave among banking employees in Pakistan (Ahmad and Begum, 2020). ...
Purpose
By applying displaced aggression and conservation of resource theory, this paper aims to investigate the effect of supervisors’ workplace stress over subordinates' unethical behavior through displaced aggression as an underlying mechanism. Moreover, it tests the moderating effect of despotic leadership between supervisors’ workplace stress and displaced aggression.
Design/methodology/approach
The data consists of three hierarchy levels: despotic leadership (top manager), supervisor’s (immediate supervisor/middle manager) workplace stress and displaced aggression and subordinates’ unethical behavior. The data was collected from 80 managers about their workplace stress and displaced aggression besides perceived unethical behavior of their 240 subordinates.
Findings
The data analysis of 80 bank managers of Pakistan about their perception of top managers’ despotic behavior and unethical behavior of their 240 subordinates shows the support for all hypothesized relationships. Supervisors’ workplace stress positively affected their displaced aggression over their subordinates, which motivated subordinates to engage in unethical behavior. Moreover, the findings supported the moderating effect of despotic leadership in the relationship between supervisors’ workplace stress and displaced aggression.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the limited studies on the trickledown displaced aggression phenomenon in the service (banking) sector. Moreover, the manager’s despotic leadership role as a higher-level negative supervisory behavior in increasing the supervisors’ displaced aggression shows the critical aspect in such a stressful workplace situation.
... 스접점에서 우수한 서비스를 제공하기 위한 관리방안에 관해 제시하고 있다. 이러한 요소 로 인지적 요소, 즉 능력, 작업기술의 증진 (Walker, Churchill and Ford 1977), 높은 급여, 무형의 보상 (Kotler, Bowen and Makens 1996;Roman and Ruiz 2005) Morris and Feldman 1996;Rafaeli and Stutton 1987;Schaubroeck and Jones 2000 (Diener 1984 (Campbell 1976;Parks et al. 2012;Sheldon and Niemiec 2006 (Diener 1984;Myers and Diener 1995 (Diener 1984;Myers and Diener 1995). ...
... The success of sales relations is also related to the demographic characteristics of both parties. Román and Ruiz (2005) state that the way the customer perceives the seller's behavior is subsequently reflected in the quality of the seller-customer relationship. The customer's commitment to the seller is also affected by customer's satisfaction and trust. ...
The main goal of the study is to asssess 4 types of selling behavior of sellers from the viewpoint of customer (gender differences and differences in thecontext of place of residence). Theresearchsampleconsisted of 203 respondents (62 % of women and 38% of men) aged 17 to 45 years (mean= 23.458, standard deviation= 3.482), 64% of participantsliving in the city and 36% of participants in thecountryside. The research study used the DOS-Z methodology by Kovaľová and Birknerová (2018) designed to assess the four determinants of sales behavior of traders from the perspective of customers. Using an abridged version of the IAS (Interpersonal Adjective Scales) methodology by Wiggins (1991), the level of interpersonal relations. Statistically significant gender differences were found in the assessment of stressful sales behavior, with women judging the type of sales behavior as more stressful.
The information interaction features and deceptive promotion phenomena in live streaming e‐commerce significantly influence consumers' purchase decisions, directly affecting brand owners' choices regarding their live streaming strategies. In light of this, the impacts of information interaction and deceptive promotion on the purchase behavior of strategic consumers are considered, and a two‐period model of consumer utility and brand owner profit is constructed under nine optional sales scenarios. By optimizing the equilibrium solutions to models and conducting a comparative analysis, this study explores the impacts of factors such as informative degree, deceptive promotion degree, and penalty costs on the brand owner's optimal strategy of product quality and the selection of live streaming modes (including whether to provide live streaming, when to introduce it, and whether to conduct deceptive promotion during live streaming) under different scenarios. Moreover, the conditions in which the brand owner is more inclined to opt for deceptive promotion strategies are revealed. These findings provide optimal operational strategies for brand owners in live streaming sales while offering support for government and regulatory agencies seeking effective measures to combat deceptive promotion.
Purpose
This study aims to assess how ethical sales behaviour affects switching costs typology, mediated by trust and moderated by brand affiliation, monthly contributions and the number of dependent beneficiaries in medical schemes in South Africa.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative study targeted a non-probability judgement sample of 250 main members of medical schemes, elicited near health-care facilities in South Africa’s Gauteng province. Data was collected in a face-to-face survey and analysed using structural equation modelling on AMOS version 29 and PROCESS procedure for Statistical Package of Social Science release 2.041.
Findings
The results show that ethical sales behaviour negatively affects trust and positively affects evaluation, monetary and personal relational loss costs. Trust positively affects personal relational loss costs, economic risk, evaluation, monetary and benefit loss costs. Moreover, trust mediates the effect of ethical sales behaviour on evaluation, monetary and personal relational loss costs. Finally, the number of dependent beneficiaries, monthly contributions and brand affiliation significantly moderate these interactions.
Originality/value
The paper validates the application of commitment-to-trust theory in mediating how the effects of the general theory of marketing ethics on switching costs typology differ according to the number of dependent beneficiaries, monthly contributions and brand affiliation with medical schemes.
The increasing human-robot interactions across service domains require an examination of their moral challenges, particularly from the user’s perspective. This study explores how efficiency and morality intersect in deploying service robots during the customer encounter. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, we examine behavioral and attitudinal customers responses to service robot morality. In a field study, we uncover a trade-off between efficiency-oriented and moral robots, varying based on product involvement (Study 1). Customers prefer moral robots for high-involvement products and efficiency-oriented robots for low-involvement products. In a subsequent laboratory study (Study 2), we focus on a high-involvement retail scenario to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of customer responses to moral service robots. We demonstrate that experienced robot morality benefits relational interactions by increasing customer trust. However, in transactional interactions where customers prioritize robot functionality, experienced robot morality can lead to drawbacks. By demonstrating the inadequacy of a one-size-fits-all approach to robot morality, we underscore the importance of adopting a customer-centric design for moral service robots and show that the effectiveness of their placement depends largely on the type of service encounter. These results can serve to guide managers and robot designers towards aligning robot morality with customer demands, facilitating positive human–robot interactions.
Empowering employees is a key factor in organizational success, as it boosts motivation and improves individual performance. The aim of this paper is to determine the link between employee empowerment and customer satisfaction as well as sales performance. Sixty (N = 60) employees of a renowned insurance company in Serbia completed two surveys. Data were collected through the use of surveys digitally delivered to participants. The data were analyzed using SPSS 21.0. The findings of this study show a positive relationship between employee empowerment and customer satisfaction. Empowered employees demonstrate a greater sense of ownership and responsibility, leading to improved customer interactions and increased satisfaction levels. The results highlight the key role of employee empowerment in achieving customer satisfaction and sales performance. This study provides valuable insights for managers and decision-makers who want to implement effective empowerment strategies that bring positive results for both employees and the organization as a whole.
In recent years, India's retail industry has undergone a remarkable transformation characterized by the coexistence of organized and unorganized retail businesses. This shift is not limited to Tier 1 cities but extends to Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, where the proliferation of supermarkets and hypermarkets has been particularly noteworthy. Despite this evolution, traditional Kirana stores have managed to maintain their market share. Concurrently, the competition between malls and Kirana stores has intensified, driven by the rapid expansion of e-commerce and changing consumer preferences. Malls have emerged as comprehensive retail destinations, offering a wide array of products, services, and entertainment options. However, their urban-centric focus may impede accessibility for rural populations and potentially result in higher costs for consumers. On the other hand, kirana outlets strategically situated in residential areas provide a personalized shopping experience, along with essential items at competitive prices. This study aims to investigate the purchasing patterns of local Barasat shoppers within the context of the "Malls vs. Kirana Stores" debate. Through an in-depth analysis of customer preferences, we seek to identify the key factors influencing purchasing decisions. The insights garnered from this research will be invaluable for retailers and policymakers, enabling them to formulate effective strategies that align with consumer demands and enhance the overall shopping experience. As India's retail landscape continues to evolve, understanding these dynamics becomes essential for the industry's sustainable growth and development.
The study comprises social and cultural issues pertaining to buying and selling on the digital platform. Ethics in marketing plays a vital role in building sustainable goals. The aim of writing the chapter is to throw light on the psychological influences of the customers while ethically imparting the product information through the marketers. The varied marketing strategies like remarketing, pay per click, demographic targeting, emotional and social bond connectivity, etc., are discussed with real cases of Abbot shoes, Surf excel, Red Label, Patagonia, and others. Market research, data collection, truthful branding, ethical digital advertising, regulatory compliances, and others are a few challenges observed in the proper execution of digital marketing. It is not just a mere saying by companies that we are following the right practices; they need to follow the same in their day-to-day operations. Tata Steel, Wipro, Just Water, Ocado, Hello Fresh, People Tree's and others are few renowned organizations using the sources of digital marketing in the right direction.
Studies have shown that product scarcity appeals affect consumers’ perceived scarcity, willingness to pay, and other responses, and that scarcity appeal has the potential to cause consumers to pay higher attention to the product. However, there is a lack of research on the psychological responses of consumers to scarcity appeal from the perspective of perceived green washing. In this paper, three experiments are conducted to demonstrate the impact of product scarcity appeals on consumers’ purchase intentions. The research shows that when green products use product scarcity appeals as a strategy, consumers’ purchase intentions are affected, but consumers’ information processing about the product is the most important determinant. Perceived green washing mediates the negative effect of product scarcity appeals on green product purchase intentions. And impression management motives moderate the negative effect of product scarcity appeals on green product purchase intentions. The findings of the study not only help companies to effectively adopt the right advertising strategies to improve their marketing effectiveness, but also help them to explore the market for green products.
The unique role of salespeople as “revenue generators” for any organization is pivotal for its growth and success. An interfacing role of salesperson between organization and customers facilitates customer belief and builds long-term relationships. Due to affiliative separation, salespersons face ethical dilemmas more often than their counterparts. The chapter delineates the unique characteristics of sales behavior and major influencers that affect a salesperson's ethical/unethical decision making. The authors recommend designing of effective ethical plan and its implementation to inculcate a robust ethical environment/culture within an organization.
Objective: The study was carried out to demonstrate the effect of listening to tourists’ satisfaction and trust in tour guides. Method: A mixed-method approach combining qualitative and quantitative research is employed to test the research hypotheses. The quantitative analysis methods utilized include the reliability test of measurement scales using Cronbach’s alpha, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation modeling (SEM). Results: The research results have proved that the listening process of the tour guide is systematic, resonating positively in each stage. The result shows that sensing listening beneficially impacts evaluating listening, thereby positively affecting responding listening. Active listening helps enhance visitor satisfaction and trust in tour guides. Conclusions: Research has evaluated the impact of listening on the satisfaction and trust of tourists with tour guides. Several managerial implications are proposed to improve listening skills and increase tourist satisfaction and trust.
Bu araştırmanın amacı, çalışanların etik davranışlarının çalışma performansları üzerine etkisinde iş etiğinin aracı rol üstlenip üstlenmediğini belirlemektir. Söz konusu amaç doğrultusunda, Konya ili Organize Sanayi Bölgesi’nde ağırlıklı olarak otomotiv sektöründe faaliyet gösteren işletmelerde çalışan satış elemanları üzerine araştırma yapılmıştır. Anket yöntemi ve soru sorma tekniğinden yararlanılarak yüz elli bir çalışandan veriler elde edilmiş, bu verilerin toplandığı ölçeklerin ayrı ayrı doğrulayıcı geçerlilik analizi yapılmıştır. Araştırma hipotezlerinin testi için Çoklu Regresyon Analizi ve Hayes Process Makrosu yardımıyla Önyükleme (Bootsrap) Yöntemi uygulanmıştır. İlgili analizler sonucunda beklenti karşılanmış ve iş etiğinin etik davranışlar ile çalışma performansı arası ilişkiye aracı etkisi kanıtlanmıştır. İlgili araştırmanın, yazarlar tarafından Türkçe’ye uyarlanan bazı ölçeklere ilk kez doğrulayıcı faktör analizi yaparak orijinal ölçekle kıyaslamasını yapması, ilgili değişkenler arası ilişkilere ilk kez aynı anda yer veriyor olması ve konunun özellikle satış mesleğini icra edenlere yönelik bir birleşimle sunuluyor olması açılarından ulusal literatürde önemli boşlukları dolduracağı tahmin edilmektedir.
Purpose
It is becoming easier for end-users to modify their information system, sometimes against the wishes of management or the original manufacturer. In the mobile device context, “modding”, “jailbreaking” or “rooting” allows a mobile phone user to select operating software and network providers other than those mandated by the original provider. Prior studies have theorised that modders and non-modders possess different perspectives on the relationship between them and their device provider. However, these differences have not been empirically demonstrated in prior work. This paper aims to test theoretical pathways to explain the behavioural relationship effects of security within the modding context.
Design/methodology/approach
This study models four relationship conceptualisations from prior research. The study tests this model using a survey of 464 mobile device users to compare the user attitudes of modders and non-modders.
Findings
Modder and non-modder relationships differ. Both groups value security, but in different ways: modder relationships are governed by satisfaction and commitment, while non-modder relationships are governed more by trust.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to empirically demonstrate the relationship differences between IS modifiers and non-modifiers. Most published work has focused on IS that are unmodified. Incorporating device modification may improve behavioural understanding of end-users.
Nowadays, consumer ethics represents a relevant field of review. There have been some attempts to conduct literature reviews; however, these have been few and incomplete. For this reason, this paper follows two main objectives: (1) to develop a performance analysis to measure the impact/perceptibility of academic production on consumer ethics (most cited authors, journals and themes) and (2) to visually present the scientific structure by themes of research in consumer ethics as well as its evolution along time. Using SciMAT software, a comprehensive thematic review is discussed. 568 scientific papers (2569 keywords and 8642 citations) were retrieved from the Web of Science from 1995 to 2021 (May). Our results show three main periods with two main research themes (consumer and corporate social responsibility), which remain relevant themes at the time. Also, some new themes that promote ethical consumption have gained weight or appear over time, some of which are linked to the marketing field (such as experiences, satisfaction, attitudes or privacy among others).
It is critical to focus on the demands of the consumer in today’s fast-changing marketing landscape, particularly in financial services organizations. In the present context, customer centricity will not be adequate since customers are becoming more intentional and mobile in switching their preferences between competing financial service providers. Customers must hold financial service providers and those who work for them to a high standard of ethics. This study is unusual in that it looks at the importance of ethical sales behavior in establishing and keeping relationships with clients from the perspective of life insurance customers. The findings demonstrated that ethical behavior has a clear link to client enjoyment, trust, and loyalty in the life insurance market, where salespeople are primarily accountable for these aspects. The implications for management and research are also discussed in the paper.
Using a combination of co-citation and co-word analysis, this paper reviewed the intellectual structure of the sales ethics research domain and its development over time. This multi-method bibliometric analysis included 183 sales ethics articles published between 1990 and 2020. Using co-citation analysis, we identified intellectual clusters within the research domain and explored the evolution of these clusters across three decades. We further leveraged co-word analysis to identify core themes (keywords) and delineated the field’s changing landscape. The evolutionary trends and keyword network disconnections (i.e., structural holes) suggest promising areas for future research. In particular, our analyses identified potentially fruitful opportunities related to topics such as compensation, relationship marketing outcomes, salesperson job attitudes and well-being, training, sales force control, and sales technology.
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are one of the sectors not affected by several financial crises. However, Covid 19 pandemic has affected business performance due to restrictions on business activities. This Study aims to see Business Ethics, Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) influence company performance with moderation by SME Business Strategy in Indonesia. The research was conducted on Performing Loan borrowers at Bank Mandiri who came from seven provinces in Indonesia. According to Slovin Formula, the minimum sample size required is 362 companies from a population of 3,777. They have at least three years of business experience and annual sales of more than 5 billion rupiahs to a maximum of 50 billion rupiahs. The Structural Equation Model (SEM) method is used in quantitative research, and SmartPLS 3.0 and SPSS 26 software are used in data processing and analysis. Study results indicate that Business Ethics and Enterprise Risk Management positively and significantly influence company performance. In contrast, Business Strategy does not have a moderate relationship between Business Ethics and Enterprise Risk Management Company Performance. Based on the findings, in facing the economic crisis, SMEs must continue to apply Business Ethics, Business Risk Management, and other variables that affect their business performance appropriately.
Motivation: The digitization of financial services has brought a noticeable decline in the importance of branch banking for customers wanting to contact their bank or receive financial services. The lack of personal contact with bank employees has become particularly significant during the pandemic, with remote modes of communication reducing the risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2. Aim: The present study applies the Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient and binomial logit model to determine the impact of the digitization of bank services and the COVID-19 pandemic on retail customers’ needs for branch banking. Results: The empirical research conducted demonstrated that the factors significantly positively influencing the need to use financial services provided by staff in bank branches were respondent experience in using bank advisory services and fear of interpersonal contact in the pandemic context. Meanwhile, variables with a negative effect were the use of the electronic banking platform, attitudes towards the use of the artificial intelligence technology in the banking sector, and perceptions of the advantages of remote communication with institutions in the pandemic context.
Purpose
The premise of this article is to investigate the role of neutralization techniques by business-to-business salespeople as they influence ethical views and impact unethical behaviors, performance, and relationships. Research has previously noted the prevalence and impacts of excuse-making by individuals. Identified as neutralization techniques, these practices have been linked to salespeople in both academic and practitioner literature, but remain chiefly unexplored in terms of impacts on individual outcome measures.
Methodology
The data used in this research are from a sample of 240 business-to-business salespeople collected electronically by using the online platform of a national data broker. A scenario presented a typical sales activity previously determined to be unethical. The salespeople were asked to evaluate the level of harm (Moral Intensity) of an activity described in a scenario and indicate their agreement/disagreement with possible justifications (Neutralization techniques). The two most common types are denial of injury where the accused claims there is no harm resulting from the unethical act and appeal to higher loyalties which involves the unethical actor claiming the unethical behavior was committed on behalf of loyalty to some other party, rather than the norms guiding expected ethical behavior. Self-reports were made about their ethical/unethical behaviors, relationship quality with customers and estimates of their performance in their sales position. All constructs as shown in the Figure were combined in a structural equation model. SPSS/Amos software was used to conduct multivariate analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess the measurement properties of each construct, while structural equation modeling was applied to evaluate the hypothesized relationships.
Findings
Moral intensity was found to directly reduce unethical behaviors as moderated by neutralization techniques (excuses). Unethical behaviors were negatively related to relationship quality and value enhancing behavior performance. The results from this study lend credence to ethical decision-making models and serve to extend our understanding of them, specifically as applied to business-to-business salespeople. In particular, we learn more about the role of neutralization techniques in affecting the ethical decision-making of salespeople.
In terms of the theoretical contribution, this study explores a seller’s perspective of moral intensity, neutralization techniques, and important sales behaviors and outcomes to extend findings reported in previous studies. Previous research suggests that unethical behaviors by salespeople can negatively impact both their performance in creating customer value and the quality of their customer relationships. This study extends previous research as to how neutralization techniques may work in this process and relate salesperson unethical behavior negatively to relationship quality among a broader sample of business-to-business salespeople.
Research Implications
Our research strengthens the importance of moral intensity in ethical decision-making by finding it is negatively related to business-to-business salespeople’s unethical behavior. Salespeople’s “detachment” from the company does not appear to lessen the power of moral intensity in ethical decision-making within the organization. Excuses or neutralization techniques are found to moderate the relationship between moral intensity and unethical behavior such that excuses may reduce the perceived harmfulness or moral intensity and be less likely to dissuade unethical behavior. The salesperson who uses excuses for unacceptable behavior is less likely to let the seriousness of harm resulting from a behavior deter him or her from acting unethically.
This study adds to our research regarding ethical decision-making by examining associated outcomes such as relationship quality and performance which have received little attention concerning ethical decision-making in business-to-business sales research. While salesperson behavior performance has received research attention, little focus has been placed specifically on factors considered by buyers as the most important activities salespeople can do to add value to a customer relationship (i.e., value enhancing behavior performance). While sound moral judgment will result in positive value enhancing behaviors, unethical behavior, presumably resulting from immoral judgment, is associated with lower levels of salesperson value enhancing behavior.
Practical Implications
The study makes a practical contribution through an improved understanding of how a seller’s ethical perspective relates to their use of excuses and their ethical behaviors, relationships and performance with customers. The findings underscore the importance of engaging in activities to reduce unethical behavior, which is critical given it can detrimentally affect relationship quality. Because unethical behavior may be perceived by some salespeople as a shortcut to achieve desired ends, organizations will benefit from taking steps to increase moral intensity perceptions and reduce the use of neutralization techniques to help salespeople understand the connection between what they may consider inconsequential indiscretions (e.g., misleading a customer on a delivery date; overpromising, etc.) and relationship quality, thus reducing the chances salespeople will commit such questionable acts. An improved understanding of business-to-business salespeople’s perspectives of the variables under study can potentially improve the hiring and training of salespeople to adopt high moral ethics, avoid excuse-making, commit less frequent unethical behavior, build customer relationships and improve sales performance.
Originality/Value/Contribution of the paper
The originality and value of this study rest with proposed connections between three prevalent issues in business-to-business sales organizations. Moral intensity, interpretations of the potential harm of sales actions, the ongoing existence of excuse-making, and their connections between unethical behaviors and relationship performance provide valuable and unique insights into business-to-business selling behaviors and seller consequences.
There has obviously been a recent increased concern over unethical business practices. Certainly, in this era of customer-orientation and emphasis on long-term business relationships, unethical salesperson behavior would be a detriment. We extend the model of relationship quality as developed by Crosby, Evans and Cowles (1990) to include ethical salesperson behavior. In regression analyses, ethical behavior and expertise of pharmaceutical salespersons impact both trust of the salesperson and satisfaction with the exchange as reported by physicians. Implications and suggestions for the pharmaceutical industry are offered.
Charitable organizations are under increasing financial pressure to attract and retain private donors. However, scales measuring consumer attitudes toward giving to charity have yielded ambiguous results in the past. Scales to measure consumer attitudes toward the act of helping others and toward charitable organizations are developed and tested for dimensionality and internal consistency using advocated procedures. The resulting measures are important to academicians, policymakers, and practitioners in the development of theory, public policy, and marketing strategy.
In this article, we provide guidance for substantive researchers on the use of structural equation modeling in practice for theory testing and development. We present a comprehensive, two-step modeling approach that employs a series of nested models and sequential chi-square difference tests. We discuss the comparative advantages of this approach over a one-step approach. Considerations in specification, assessment of fit, and respecification of measurement models using confirmatory factor analysis are reviewed. As background to the two-step approach, the distinction between exploratory and confirmatory analysis, the distinction between complementary approaches for theory testing versus predictive application, and some developments in estimation methods also are discussed.
This research, investigating retailer-consumer relationships, has three distinct intended contributions: (1) It shows that different relationship marketing tactics have a differential impact on consumer perceptions of a retailer's relationship investment; (2) it demonstrates that perceived relationship investment affects relationship quality, ultimately leading to behavioral loyalty; and (3) it reveals that the effect of perceived relationship investment on relationship quality is contingent on a consumer's product category involvement and proneness to engage in retail relationships. The authors empirically cross-validate the underlying conceptual model by studying six consumer samples in a three-country, transatlantic, comparative survey that investigates two industries.
It is widely held that a customer-oriented firm is more likely to deliver exceptional service quality and create satisfied customers. However, little research has addressed the question of how the orientation can be disseminated among employees throughout the firm. This dissemination is especially important in service firms in which frontline, customer contact employees are responsible for translating a customer-oriented strategy into quality service. The authors propose a structural model that explains how service firms can disseminate their customer-oriented strategy by aligning the strategy with specific management- and employee-initiated control mechanisms (i.e., formalization, empowerment, behavior-based employee evaluation, and work group socialization) that lead to increased commitment and shared values on the part of customer contact employees. The findings indicate that there are three "corridors of influence" between customer-oriented strategy and shared employee values. The dominant corridor, which focuses on dual (management- and employee-initiated) control, emphasizes the importance of work group socialization and organizational commitment in the dissemination of customer-oriented strategy. A secondary corridor focuses on two management-initiated control mechanisms: formalization and behavior-based evaluation. The final corridor, which focuses on the empowerment of customer contact employees, has a more limited impact than originally hypothesized. The authors discuss implications for the implementation of customer-oriented strategy and the management of customer contact employees, along with several directions for further research.
Several theories of relationship marketing propose that customers vary in their relationships with a firm on a continuum from transactional to highly relational bonds. Few empirical studies have segmented the customer base of an organization into low and high relational groups to assess how evaluations vary for these groups. Using structural equation analysis, the authors analyze the relationships of satisfaction, trust, and commitment to component satisfaction attitudes and future intentions for the customers of a New York off-Broadway repertory theater company. For the low relational customers (individual ticket buyers and occasional subscribers), overall satisfaction is the primary mediating construct between the component attitudes and future intentions. For the high relational customers (consistent subscribers), trust and commitment, rather than satisfaction, are the mediators between component attitudes and future intentions.
Relationship marketing-establishing, developing, and maintaining successful relational exchanges-constitutes a major shift in marketing theory and practice. After conceptualizing relationship marketing and discussing its ten forms, the authors (1) theorize that successful relationship marketing requires relationship commitment and trust, (2) model relationship commitment and trust as key mediating variables, (3) test this key mediating variable model using data from automobile tire retailers, and (4) compare their model with a rival that does not allow relationship commitment and trust to function as mediating variables. Given the favorable test results for the key mediating variable model, suggestions for further explicating and testing it are offered.
Building on previous work suggesting that trust is critical in facilitating exchange relationships, the authors describe a comprehensive theory of trust in market research relationships. This theory focuses on the factors that determine users' trust in their researchers, including individual, interpersonal, organizational, interorganizational/interdepartmental, and project factors. The theory is tested in a sample of 779 users. Results indicate that the interpersonal factors are the most predictive of trust. Among these factors, perceived researcher integrity, willingness to reduce research uncertainty, confidentiality, expertise, tactfulness, sincerity, congeniality, and timeliness are most strongly associated with trust. Among the remaining factors, the formalization of the user's organization, the culture of the researcher's department or organization, the research organization's or department's power, and the extent to which the research is customized also affect trust. These findings generally do not change across different types of dyadic relationships.
We review empirical and conceptual developments over the past four years (1992-1995) on attitudes and persuasion. A voluminous amount of material was produced concerning attitude structure, attitude change, and the consequences of holding attitudes. In the structure area, particular attention is paid to work on attitude accessibility, ambivalence, and the affective versus cognitive bases of attitudes. In persuasion, our review examines research that has focused on high effort cognitive processes (central route), low effort processes (peripheral route), and the multiple roles by which variables can have an impact on attitudes. Special emphasis is given to work on cognitive dissonance and other biases in message processing, and on the multiple processes by which mood influences evaluations. Work on the consequences of attitudes focuses on the impact of attitudes on behavior and social judgments.
This study examines ethical perceptions of industrial salespeople in the United States, Japan, and South Korea. Marketing ethics in general and selling ethics in particular have experienced increasing research attention. Many of the empirical studies have focused on ethical situations confronting marketing and sales practitioners. Despite the abundance of research in the general topic of marketing ethics, as well as the globalization of competition in recent years, a topic that has been virtually ignored is whether ethical perceptions of sales personnel are consistent across countries. This paper reports a cross-national comparison of business ethics of industrial salespeople across the three countries. The findings indicate that nationality influences salespeople's beliefs about the ethics of selling practices and the need for company policies to guide those practices.© 1991 JIBS. Journal of International Business Studies (1991) 22, 651–670
Previous study of exchange by marketing scholars has emphasized events and conditions leading to and the outcomes of exchange interaction. However, limited attention has been directed toward the role of ethics and law in exchange. The emerging perspective of relational exchange suggests the importance of these foundations. The authors examine the interrelationship of contract law and ethics for building and sustaining marketing exchanges. They explore dimensions of ethical exchange and offer managerial and research implications.
Salespeople involved in the marketing of complex services often perform the role of “relationship manager.” It is, in part, the quality of the relationship between the salesperson and the customer that determines the probability of continued interchange between those parties in the future. A relationship quality model is advanced and tested that examines the nature, consequences, and antecedents of relationship quality, as perceived by the customer. The findings suggest that future sales opportunities depend mostly on relationship quality (i.e., trust and satisfaction), whereas the ability to convert those opportunities into sales hinges more on conventional source characteristics of similarity and expertise. Relational selling behaviors such as cooperative intentions, mutual disclosure, and intensive followup contact generally produce a strong buyer-seller bond.
Marketing managers must know the time orientation of a customer to select and use marketing tools that correspond to the time horizons of the customer. Insufficient understanding of a customer's time orientation can lead to problems, such as attempting a relationship marketing when transaction marketing is more appropriate. The author suggests that long-term orientation in a buyer/seller relationship is a function of two main factors: mutual dependence and the extent to which they trust one another. Dependence and trust are related to environmental uncertainty, transaction-specific investments, reputation, and satisfaction in a buyer/seller relationship. The framework presented here is tested with 124 retail buyers and 52 vendors supplying to those retailers. The results indicate that trust and dependence play key roles in determining the long-term orientation of both retail buyers and their vendors. The results also indicate that both similarities and differences exist across retailers and vendors with respect to the effects of several variables on long-term orientation, dependence, and trust.
Relationship marketing—establishing, developing, and maintaining successful relational exchanges—constitutes a major shift in marketing theory and practice. After conceptualizing relationship marketing and discussing its ten forms, the authors (1) theorize that successful relationship marketing requires relationship commitment and trust, (2) model relationship commitment and trust as key mediating variables, (3) test this key mediating variable model using data from automobile tire retailers, and (4) compare their model with a rival that does not allow relationship commitment and trust to function as mediating variables. Given the favorable test results for the key mediating variable model, suggestions for further explicating and testing it are offered.
Salespeople can generate liability problems for their organizations through both intentional and inadvertent statements, yet the sales management and personal selling literature has not provided adequate discussion of these problems. The authors describe the various ways salespeople initiate such liability and include specific advice for sales managers interested in guiding salesperson behavior.
A survey of purchasing professionals was conducted to investigate the effect of perceived unethical salesperson be havior on intentions to choose a supplier. Results suggest that as salesperson behavior is perceived as more unethical, the purchaser is less likely to choose the firm that the sales person represents. This result is due to norm violations influencing intentions in two ways: (1) through externally controlled rewards or punishments (e.g., harming the pur chaser's career), and (2) through internally self-bestowed rewards or punishments (e.g., feeling bad for not doing the "right" thing).
The statistical tests used in the analysis of structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error are examined. A drawback of the commonly applied chi square test, in addition to the known problems related to sample size and power, is that it may indicate an increasing correspondence between the hypothesized model and the observed data as both the measurement properties and the relationship between constructs decline. Further, and contrary to common assertion, the risk of making a Type II error can be substantial even when the sample size is large. Moreover, the present testing methods are unable to assess a model's explanatory power. To overcome these problems, the authors develop and apply a testing system based on measures of shared variance within the structural model, measurement model, and overall model.
In this article, we provide guidance for substantive researchers on the use of structural equation modeling in practice for theory testing and development. We present a comprehensive, two-step modeling approach that employs a series of nested models and sequential chi-square difference tests. We discuss the comparative advantages of this approach over a one-step approach. Considerations in specification, assessment of fit, and respecification of measurement models using confirmatory factor analysis are reviewed. As background to the two-step approach, the distinction between exploratory and confirmatory analysis, the distinction between complementary approaches for theory testing versus predictive application, and some developments in estimation methods also are discussed.
Marketing managers must know the time orientation of a customer to select and use marketing tools that correspond to the time horizons of the customer. Insufficient understanding of a customer's time orientation can lead to problems, such as attempting a relationship marketing when transaction marketing is more appropriate. The author suggests that long-term orientation in a buyer/seller relationship is a function of two main factors: mutual dependence and the extent to which they trust one another. Dependence and trust are related to environmental uncertainty, transaction-specific investments, reputation, and satisfaction in a buyer/seller relationship. The framework presented here is tested with 124 retail buyers and 52 vendors supplying to those retailers. The results indicate that trust and dependence play key roles in determining the long-term orientation of both retail buyers and their vendors. The results also indicate that both similarities and differences exist across retailers and vendors with respect to the effects of several variables on long-term orientation, dependence, and trust.
Automobile purchasers were surveyed about feelings toward their inputs to and outcomes from the sales transaction, as well as their perceptions of the inputs and outcomes of the salesperson. Structural equation modeling with maximum likelihood estimation shows two concepts advanced in the equity literature, fairness and preference (advantageous inequity), to be related differentially to input and outcome judgments. No necessary symmetry is observed between the weights attached to inputs and outcomes or between those attached to self and salesperson. When framed in a larger perspective involving satisfaction with the salesperson, the fairness dimension mediates the effect of inputs and outcomes on satisfaction whereas preference does not. The fairness influence is robust against the simultaneous inclusion of disconfirmation in the satisfaction equation. Satisfaction, in turn, is related strongly to the consumer's intention cognitions. The findings suggest that the retail sales transaction may differ in substantive ways from the subject-peer and worker-coworker comparisons in other disciplines and that models of interpersonal satisfaction in the sales transaction should include the mediating effect of the fairness dimension of equity. The managerial implications of these findings are discussed.
A holistic construal is presented to represent and test organizational theories, using examples from contemporary organizational theory and data from a recent study of wholesale distribution companies. The methodology provides a mechanism for linking theory construction and theory testing in organization research by explicitly representing theoretical and empirical concepts, nonobservational hypotheses, and correspondence rules. Unlike traditional methods used for construct validation and hypothesis testing, the methodology permits the researcher to model the extent of random and systematic error in measures of theoretical concepts and to control these sources of error when testing substantive hypotheses. Comparisons made between the holistic construal and traditional procedures show how the latter can lead to inaccurate conclusions about the status of a theory's constructs, hypotheses, and measures.
Salespeople can generate liability problems for their organizations through both intentional and inadvertent statements, yet the sales management and personal selling literature has not provided adequate discussion of these problems. The authors describe the various ways salespeople initiate such liability and include specific advice for sales managers interested in guiding salesperson behavior.
The objective of this research was to determine the effects of a firm's control system and dimensions of the work task environment upon ethical judgments made by salespeople. Industrial field salespeople are likely to encounter ethical conflicts on a daily basis in their dealings with customers, competitors, and their own management. How they resolve such conflicts is believed to be a function of both individual characteristics and factors in the situation. This study focuses on situational factors in the form of organization design variables, particularly control system and task environment. The firm's control system includes its method of monitoring, supervising and compensating salespeople. The study develops fourteen ethics-related selling scenarios and assesses, via projective questioning, how 446 salespeople would react to them. Findings indicate that organization design does influence the behavior a salesperson considers appropriate to cope with ethical conflicts. In particular, salespeople operating under a more bureaucratic, input-based control system advocate more ethical behavior than do salespeople operating under a more output-based, laissez-faire control system. Also, salespeople who perceive the market to be competitive recommend less ethical behavior. However, the proportion of salary versus commission in the salesperson's compensation system does not have an effect on response. Differences are also discovered with respect to the salesperson's seniority, rank, and certain features of the task environment.
Salespeople involved in the marketing of complex services often perform the role of "relationship manager." It is, in part, the quality of the relationship between the salesperson and the customer that determines the probability of continued interchange between those parties in the future. A relationship quality model is advanced and tested that examines the nature, consequences, and antecedents of relationship quality, as perceived by the customer. The findings suggest that future sales opportunities depend mostly on relationship quality (i. e., trust and satisfaction), whereas the ability to convert those opportunities into sales hinges more on conventional source characteristics of similarity and expertise. Relational selling behaviors such as cooperative intentions, mutual disclosure, and intensive followup contact generally produce a strong buyer-seller bond.
The statistical tests used in the analysis of structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error are examined. A drawback of the commonly applied chi square test, in addition to the known problems related to sample size and power, is that it may indicate an increasing correspondence between the hypothesized model and the observed data as both the measurement properties and the relationship between constructs decline. Further, and contrary to common assertion, the risk of making a Type II error can be substantial even when the sample size is large. Moreover, the present testing methods are unable to assess a model's explanatory power. To overcome these problems, the authors develop and apply a testing system based on measures of shared variance within the structural model, measurement model, and overall model.
A model is proposed which expresses consumer satisfaction as a function of expectation and expectancy disconfirmation. Satisfaction, in turn, is believed to influence attitude change and purchase intention. Results from a two-stage field study support the scheme for consumers and nonconsumers of a flu inoculation.
Previous study of exchange by marketing scholars has emphasized events and conditions leading to and the outcomes of exchange interaction. However, limited attention has been directed toward the role of ethics and law in exchange. The emerging perspective of relational exchange suggests the importance of these foundations. The authors examine the interrelationship of contract law and ethics for building and sustaining marketing exchanges. They explore dimensions of ethical exchange and offer managerial and research implications.
Conceptual arguments favouring a relational rather than a transactional
approach to the study of buyer-seller relationships are now well
understood. However, attempts to quantify the factors contributing
towards relationship quality have been held back by the complexity of
the underlying factors and their interrelatedness. Traditional
regression techniques are not effective in analysing data with high
levels of multi-collinearity and missing information, typical in many
studies of buyer behaviour. Makes use of a relatively new technique
– neural network analysis – to try to quantify the factors contributing to
buyer-seller relationship quality. The technique uses a
statistically-based learning procedure modelled on the workings of the
human brain which quantifies the relationship between input and output
variables through an intermediate “hidden” variable level analogous to the
brain. For this study, a neural network was developed with two outcome
components of relationship quality (relationship satisfaction and
trust), and five input antecedents (the salesperson's sales orientation,
customer orientation, expertise, ethics and the relationship's
duration). In a comparison of multiple regression and neural network
techniques, the latter was found to give statistically more significant
outcomes. New applications within marketing for neural network analysis
are being found. Contributes towards the development of the technique
and suggests a number of further possible applications.
A survey of purchasing professionals was conducted to investigate the effect of perceived unethical salesperson behavior on
intentions to choose a supplier. Results suggest that as salesperson behavior is perceived as more unethical, the purchaser
is less likely to choose the firm that the salesperson represents. This result is due to norm violations influencing intentions
in two ways: (1) through externally controlled rewards or punishments (e.g., harming the purchaser’s career), and (2) through
internally self-bestowed rewards or punishments (e.g., feeling bad for not doing the “right” thing).
A thorough understanding of how businesses gain and maintain long-term relationships with clients is critical in today’s environment.
This study develops a scale for salesperson listening behavior and investigates the impact of customers’ perceptions of salespeople’s
listening behavior on trust, satisfaction, and anticipation of future interaction. A structural equations model is developed
and empirically tested using a sample of new car buyers. The research results suggest that listening is a higher-order construct
composed of three dimensions: (a) sensing, (b) evaluating, and (c) responding. When customers perceive a high level of listening
behavior by a salesperson, it enhances their trust in the salesperson and leads to greater anticipation of future interaction.
Implications and future research issues are discussed.
Criteria for evaluating structural equation models with latent variables are defined, critiqued, and illustrated. An overall
program for model evaluation is proposed based upon an interpretation of converging and diverging evidence. Model assessment
is considered to be a complex process mixing statistical criteria with philosophical, historical, and theoretical elements.
Inevitably the process entails some attempt at a reconcilation between so-called objective and subjective norms.
We examine one-on-one relationships between customers and sales associates, which we refer to as relationship selling to differentiate it from relationship marketing, using a qualitative research approach. We conducted observations of and interviews with a successful group of retail sales associates and a set of their “call customers.” Based on our data, a relationship formation/enhancement model emerged, which focused on: (1) commitment and orientation to customer service by top management and employees, as well as a desire for a relationship by the customer; (2) augmented personal service and team playing by employees; (3) repeat customer-employee interactions based on trust, friendship, and functionality; and (4) development of customer loyalty to the sales associate and firm, and employee reinforcement and loyalty to the company and customer.
An important factor in retail store loyalty is interpersonal relationships between retail salespeople and customers. However, relationships can also exist at the person-to-store level. This paper examines the linkages between trust in a salesperson, trust in the store, and repeat purchase intention. A model of store loyalty which includes relationships at both the person-to-store as well as person-to-person level is tested. The findings reveal that for those with an interpersonal relationship, trust and commitment to the salesperson are directly linked with purchase intention as well as indirectly through store attitude. For customers without a salesperson relationship, trust in the store leads to loyalty indirectly through store attitude, but does not have a direct impact on purchase intention. The results illustrate the existence of multi-level relationships between customers and stores and how those relationships link to store loyalty. The research adds to our understanding of the complexity of relationship retailing, while providing further evidence of the value of generating and maintaining interpersonal relationships as a retail strategy.
This paper examines the effect of the customer's relationship with the salesperson on defection intentions in a business-to-business setting. Responses were received from 844 decision-makers. Findings indicate that the buyer's perception of equity in a buyer-salesperson relationship is related to both customer satisfaction with the salesperson and commitment to the salesperson. Findings also indicate that buyer satisfaction with the salesperson only indirectly influences a buyer's intentions to defect. Buyer commitment to the salesperson and perceptions of available alternative suppliers directly affect a buyer's defection intentions. The benefit necessary from the new supplier to induce buyer defection only has an indirect effect on buyer intention to defect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management is the property of M.E. Sharpe Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Diff�rents travaux sur la Responsabilit� Sociale des Entreprises (RSE) montrent que les consommateurs per�oivent plus favorablement les entreprises agissant de mani�re responsable, mais n'�tudient pas sp�cifiquement les effets de la communication soci�tale et de ses caract�ristiques sur le capital-marque. Dans cette recherche, des hypoth�ses sont formul�es � partir du cadre conceptuel du capital-marque propos� par Keller (1993) et test�es exp�rimentalement. Les r�sultats montrent que la communication soci�tale renforce le capital-marque, et que trois autres facteurs interviennent : la sensibilit� soci�tale des consommateurs, la congruence entre l'entreprise et la cause d�fendue, et l'interaction entre la cr�dibilit� de l'information soci�tale et le scepticisme du consommateur.
Prudential fine $20 million by NASD over its sales of variable life insurance:c1,c11. Oliver RL. A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of satisfaction decisions
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Service management and marketing: managing the moments of truth in service competition. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books Ethical and legal foundations of relational mar-keting exchanges
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Prudential fine $20 million by NASD over its sales of variable life insurance
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