Article

How customer satisfaction with respect to price and quality affects customer retention: an integrated approach considering nonlinear effects

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Abstract

There is consensus in the marketing literature that satisfaction of customers concerning the perceived quality and pricing of products or services is critical for customer retention. In contrast, there is lack of empirical evidence about the exact functional relationship. Using parametric and nonparametric regression, this contribution empirically investigates whether and to what extent nonlinear effects of and interaction effects between both satisfaction dimensions affect customer retention. The empirical results do not only reveal complex nonlinear effects for those satisfaction-retention relationships, respectively, but also indicate strong interaction effects of both satisfaction dimensions on customer retention. Furthermore, nonparametric approaches prove to be more flexible than parametric approaches to model complex interactions.

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... If customers believe they are receiving more value than what they paid for, they are more likely to feel satisfied, regardless of the actual price. However, dissatisfaction is likely if customers perceive the price as excessive given the value received [82][83][84]. Customers often associate higher prices with higher quality. Satisfaction is typically high when the product or service meets or surpasses the expectations set by its price. ...
... When customers perceive the price as reasonable and justifiable, either because the product or service meets or exceeds their expectations, they are more likely to be satisfied. However, if customers feel they are overpaying, or if the price does not align with their perception of value, dissatisfaction can arise [82,83]. Hence, the following is hereby hypothesized: ...
... When customers have high expectations for a product or service based on its price, failing to meet them can undermine loyalty. On the other hand, when a company exceeds these expectations, customers may feel more satisfied and more likely to stay loyal [82,85]. ...
Article
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UNESCO designated Borobudur as a World Heritage Site (WHS), a tourist and cultural destination capable of increasing visitor demand. However, the number of international tourists visiting the Borobudur Temple Park is still considered low compared to similar destinations in other countries, such as Angkor Wat in Cambodia. This study aims to identify the determinants of visitor loyalty to Borobudur through consumer preferences, as indicated by service quality and heritage tourism variables. This research employs the reflective measurement model. We conducted this study at the Borobudur Temple tourist site. We used a non-probability sampling technique, specifically accidental sampling, with 248 domestic and foreign tourists visiting Borobudur. The results indicate that price and responsiveness have a positive effect on satisfaction, as well as on loyalty. While communication significantly influences satisfaction, tangibles have a significant impact on loyalty. Furthermore, research has proven that tourist satisfaction positively influences tourist loyalty. The conclusion of this study is that tourists’ high loyalty to Borobudur indicates that individual experiences with service quality and price are important factors influencing travel characteristics and destination loyalty.
... Customer retention has been addressed by scholars and marketers since the mid-19th century and is still a relevant topic as part of relational marketing discipline (Eberle et al., 2016). Although there is no general agreement on its interpretation, most of the previous authors described it as a set of processes and actions that an enterprise designs and implements to maintain a good relationship with its customer base and encourage them to keep on doing business with them, thus preventing them from seeking other providers and switching to other vendors (Eberle et al., 2016;Gerpott, Rams, & Schindler, 2001;Koosha and Albadyi, 2015;Li, 2015;Steiner, Siems, Weber, & Guhl, 2014;Tawinunt, Phimonsathien, & Fongsuwan, 2015). ...
... In previous articles, researchers did not agree on a unified customer retention definition, thus, different variables were used to measure the customer retention based on the industry (Eberle et al., 2016;Gerpott et al, 2001;Koosha and Albadyi, 2015;Li, 2015;Steiner et al., 2014;Tawinunt et al., 2015). ...
... Customer retention was defined by previous papers as being the activity that a company undertake to maintain its relationship with its customer base and encourage them to keep on doing business with them, it was also mentioned that this construct is seldom confused with other relational marketing concepts such as customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, customer trust, and customer enthusiasm (Eberle et al., 2016;Gerpott et al, 2001;Koosha and Albadyi, 2015;Li, 2015;Steiner et al., 2014;Tawinunt et al., 2015). The previous findings were confirmed in the Lebanese market among top managers working in the telecommunication industry. ...
Article
Purpose: The purpose of this article is to assess the switching costs impact on the customer retention in the Lebanese telecommunication industry. Design/methodology/approach: Based on previous literature around customer retention and switching costs, a qualitative survey was conducted on one of the two operators managing the telecommunication market in Lebanon. Focus groups were organized to capture the point of view and perspective of top managers of the operator, results were then coded, and analyzed. Findings: Due to the current duopoly and status quo of the Lebanese telecommunication market, owned completely by the government and managed by two operators sharing the market equally and offering nearly the same portfolio, technologies and network coverage, the switching costs include only the time and effort needed to switch to the other operator, the financial fees to be paid upon buying a new subscription, the attachment to mobile number, and the relational loss from breaking bond with the current provider. Research limitations/implications: Focus group sessions were conducted with managers of one of the two telecom operators in Lebanon, and it might be relevant to interview the managers of the other operator as well. This topic was tackled from the provider’s point of view; it would be interesting to check the customers’ point of view. Practical implications: Managers in the Lebanese telecommunication industry can prepare marketing strategies including customer retention programs and well-designed switching costs to protect and increase their market share once this sector induces more competition either with the introduction of the number portability service or with the privatization of this sector in Lebanon. Originality/value: The customer retention and switching costs constructs are not yet studied in the Lebanese telecommunication market, and also due to the saturation in this industry, customer retention is becoming an imperative topic to all operators in this business.
... Customer retention is studied in many disciplines, however, it is always defined in the context of relationship marketing, where companies struggle to place customers at the heart of their strategies in order to develop and maintain their customer base (Steiner, Siems, Weber and Guhl, 2014). ...
... In fact, due to its theoretical nature, customer retention could not be conceptualized clearly and observed directly since it is often confused with many other constructs such as customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, customer trust, customer enthusiasm and other concepts (Gerpott et al., 2001;Eberle, Milan and de Matos, 2016). Nevertheless, many scholars agreed that customer retention is the activity that a company undertakes to maintain its relationship with its customer base and encourage them to keep on buying their products and services (Gerpott et al, 2001;Steiner et al., 2014;Koosha and Albadyi, 2015;Li, 2015;Tawinunt, Phimonsathien, and Fongsuwan, 2015;Eberle et al., 2016). Researchers have adopted various variables and dimensions to measure the customer retention construct. ...
... The intent to repurchase products and services from the current service provider variable has been used by many researchers (Gürsoy and Umman, 2010;Steiner et al., 2014;Li, 2015). Some scholars considered that customer retention is a continuous variable measuring the intent to repurchase over time, for instance, within one, three and six months respectively (Gerpot et al., 2001;Wong and Mula, 2009). ...
Conference Paper
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the strategic impact of the switching costs on customer retention in the Lebanese telecommunication market. Few studies have evaluated the impact of the switching costs on customer retention and none has tackled the Lebanese market. A quantitative method using a questionnaire technique was used to probe the Lebanese mobile phone subscribers. The outcome of this research suggests that the switching costs are able to explain third of customer retention, also, there is a moderate positive relationship between customer retention and the switching costs. If the number portability service was introduced in Lebanon or in case this sector was privatized, it will be very interesting to re-evaluate the outcome of this paper. Managers can design customer retention strategies including well-tailored switching costs structure to retain their customer base, which shall increase/maintain their revenues and reduce their operating costs, thus increase bottom-line financial figures.
... Instead, existing literature has predominantly examined consumer-brand identification from the perspective of brand management and relationship marketing, thereby predominantly focusing on the role of the construct in consumer-brand relationships and relationship variables. Specifically, to the best of our knowledge, research has not attempted to empirically examine the causal relationships between consumerbrand identification and pricing, though the management of price perceptions entails great opportunities for management (Steiner et al, 2013). An explanation for this surprising research gap might be that relationship marketing and branding have made customers less price sensitive by providing them with added value, that is, something that is not physically part of the product (Grönroos, 1997). ...
... An explanation for this surprising research gap might be that relationship marketing and branding have made customers less price sensitive by providing them with added value, that is, something that is not physically part of the product (Grönroos, 1997). As a result, marketing scholars have increasingly focused on relationships and brands, thus neglecting the role of price perception in the management of customer satisfaction and customer Popp and Woratschek loyalty (Steiner et al, 2013;Varki and Colgate, 2001). However, price still plays a considerable role even for branded products because it may have a stronger influence on consumers' assessment of a brand than quality (Voss et al, 1998), and it is directly linked to profitability (Homburg et al, 2005a). ...
... However, price still plays a considerable role even for branded products because it may have a stronger influence on consumers' assessment of a brand than quality (Voss et al, 1998), and it is directly linked to profitability (Homburg et al, 2005a). Hence, an important field of marketing has remained vastly untapped in relationship marketing (Varki and Colgate, 2001;Steiner et al, 2013). ...
Article
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practitioners in recent years. We contribute to previous research by proposing an integrative model that includes consumer–brand identification, customer satisfaction, and price image to investigate the interrelationships among these constructs as well as their effects on brand loyalty and positive word of mouth. To provide general results, we empirically test the model using a sample of 1443 respondents from a representative consumer panel and 10 service/product brands. The results demonstrate that identification, satisfaction, and price image significantly influence both loyalty and word of mouth. Moreover, we find significant interrelationships among the constructs: Identification positively influences both satisfaction and price image, which also increases satisfaction. By disclosing the relative importance of three separate ways of gaining and retaining customers, this study helps managers more appropriately choose the right mix of branding, pricing, and relationship marketing. From an academic point of view, our research is the first to explicitly examine the effects of the concept of identification for price management and to integrate variables from the fields of branding, relationship marketing, and behavioral pricing, which have separately been identified as particularly important determinants of marketing outcomes.
... Although SEM is a very efficient and reliable technique for testing hypotheses and examining causal relationships, SEM is a linear technique that can only test linear relationships between predictor variables and dependent variables (Kalinić et al., 2021). Previous research has proven that there is a non-linear relationship between product quality and customer satisfaction (Steiner et al., 2014;Tuu and Olsen, 2010). Artificial Neural Networks have emerged as an important decision-making method in various problem domains (Ogwueleka et al., 2015). ...
... Price in the mobile service industry has generally been studied along the line of subscription plan (Lim et al., 2006;Santouridis and Trivellas, 2010) or switching costs (Chuah et al., 2017;Clemes et al., 2014;Kim et al., 2004). However, price fairness has generally been overlooked compared with other price-related variables such as pricing strategy and perceived price on attitudinal or behavioral outcomes (Steiner et al., 2014). Therefore, inclusion of perceived price fairness that positively affects customer satisfaction reinforces the existing knowledge base in the technology-based industry. ...
Article
Purpose This study aims to examine the extent of corporate image of mobile telecommunication company on service quality and price fairness, which subsequently play important roles in influencing customer satisfaction and loyalty. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire was administered to subscribers of mobile service providers in Brunei. The proposed research model was tested using structural equation modeling to estimate the relationships between corporate image, service quality, price fairness, customer satisfaction and loyalty. Findings The results indicated that favorable corporate image positively affects network quality, customer support and price fairness, which, in turn, lead to formation of customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Originality/value This study demonstrates the magnitude of corporate image as an enabler of market dominance, recognizing that superior corporate image can become a first mover advantage and competitive advantage, which explains the high customer retention of a mobile telecommunication company. The effects of corporate image as a first mover advantage have not been highlighted in the literature of first mover advantage of mobile telecommunication; therefore, this study provides a new insight in this study area.
... From Fig. 2, it seems that service quality was positively affecting customer retention [2,20,32,47]. Moreover, customer satisfaction is significantly influencing customer retention as it acts as a moderator in some studies [48,49]. Furthermore, price, customer service, reliability, assurance, tangibles, empathy, customer relationships, value, and responsiveness are affecting customer retention positively [50][51][52]. ...
Conference Paper
This paper aims to identify the influence of service quality on customer retention and the factors that affect this relationship using a systematic review and meta-analysis method to use in the second stage in examining the relationship of service quality on customer retention in higher educations. A systematic review method was conducted to select the studies that will assist in the current studies. This systematic review covered 32 research articles published in peer-reviewed journals from 1996 till 2018 and were reviews critically. The main findings of the study indicate that service quality-related factors is the most common factor, flowed by customer satisfaction, trust, commitment, and loyalty. Moreover, it has been noticed that the quantitative method using questionnaire was found to be the primary relied upon research methods for collecting data followed by a focus group. Furthermore, 75% of the analyzed studies recorded positive research outcomes. Most of the analyzed studies that had a positive outcome were conducted in the United Kingdom followed by the United States in terms of the context, most of the analyzed studies where done for Banks, followed by Mobile Service Industry, Retailing industry, Small firms, Steel industry, Tourism industry, Airline industry, Zoo, and Advertising service respectively. To that end, this systematic review attempts to investigate the relationship between service quality and customer retention and the factors affecting this relationship.
... Interaction of quarter dummies and price that yields a path for the price effect only + linear regression of time-varying price elasticity on economic factors (e.g., GDP) This study Logit Yes All utility parameters P(enalized)-splines: nonparametric approach that yields parameter paths; flexible function estimates and level of smoothness are determined simultaneously; different models for parameter dynamics depending on the number of knots, degree of spline, and type of roughness penalty Briesch, Chintagunta, & Matzkin, 2002;Kim, Menzefricke, & Feinberg, 2007;Kneib, Baumgartner, & Steiner, 2007;Schindler, Baumgartner, & Hruschka, 2007). Furthermore, Baumgartner and Hruschka (2005) study the allocation of catalogs to customers, Steiner, Siems, Weber, and Guhl (2014) apply nonparametric regression to the field of customer satisfaction research, and Haupt, Kagerer, and Steiner (2014) propose flexible semiparametric quantile regression models. For studying customer defection, Singh and Jain (2014) employ the semiparametric proportional hazard model of Lillard (1993), where the baseline hazard rate is modeled by piecewise linear splines. ...
Article
Nowadays, brand choice models are standard tools in quantitative marketing. In most applications, parameters representing brand intercepts and covariate effects are assumed to be constant over time. However, marketing theories, as well as the experience of marketing practitioners, suggest the existence of trends or short-term variations in particular parameters. Hence, having constant parameters over time is a highly restrictive assumption, which is not necessarily justified in a marketing context and may lead to biased inferences and misleading managerial insights. In this paper, we develop flexible, heterogeneous multinomial logit models based on penalized splines to estimate time-varying parameters. The estimation procedure is fully data-driven, determining the flexible function estimates and the corresponding degree of smoothness in a unified approach. The model flexibly accounts for parameter dynamics without any prior knowledge needed by the analyst or decision maker. Thus, we position our approach as an exploratory tool that can uncover interesting and managerially relevant parameter paths from the data without imposing assumptions on their shape and smoothness. Our approach further allows for heterogeneity in all parameters by additively decomposing parameter variation into time variation (at the population level) and cross-sectional heterogeneity (at the individual household level). It comprises models without time-varying parameters or heterogeneity, as well as random walk parameter evolutions used in recent state space models, as special cases. The results of our extensive model comparison suggest that models considering parameter dynamics and household heterogeneity outperform less complex models regarding fit and predictive validity. Although models with random walk dynamics for brand intercepts and covariate effects perform well, the proposed semiparametric approach still provides a higher predictive validity for two of the three data sets analyzed. For joint estimation of all regression coefficients and hyperparameters, we employ the publicly available software BayesX, making the proposed approach directly applicable.
... Price is often a major sacrifice that people make in exchange for a service or product (Zeithaml, 1988). Price is relative in nature, and previous studies have suggested that price is closely associated with the quality of products and services (Bolton, Warlop, & Alba, 2003;Dodds, 1991;Steiner, Siems, Weber, & Guhl, 2014). However, Gan et al. (2009) claimed that consumers do not infer quality from price; other factors relating to reputation, trainer expertise, and course content were provided to the authors as cues with which to judge the quality of training courses. ...
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The current study is the first exploratory study of participants’ preferences in selecting an ecotourism-training course. Three hundred and seventy-two completed questionnaires were received from participants in an ecotourism-training programme in Hong Kong. The results illustrate that the participants were primarily concerned with the content of the courses, whereas friends’ recommendations were of minor importance. This empirical finding indicates that the preferences that govern the selection of ecotourism courses are somewhat different from those that govern the selection of other types of vocational or academic training programmes. Three clusters were identified based on the identified participants’ preferences, namely ‘reputation seeking’, ‘good value seeking’, and ‘want-it-all’. These clusters exhibit different demographic characteristics and preferences that can inform training organisations in formulating suitable marketing strategies for targeted groups.
... In a field study, Anderson and Simester (2008) show that price unfairness due to individual price differentiation significantly reduces sales and company revenues. Because price fairness is also a facet of price satisfaction, which is a special type of customer satisfaction resulting from the subjective evaluation of price (Diller 2000;Steiner et al. 2014), price fairness is correlated with customer retention, with the nature of this relationship being non-linear. Neuroimaging evidence can help explain why consumers reject an unfair offer. ...
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Behavioral pricing extends traditional price theory by exploring consumers’ reactions to prices from a psychological perspective. With the constant and substantial evolution of this research field, we review the progress on the state of knowledge on consumers’ processing of price information and price behavior. To this end, we develop a framework to classify the advances made in behavioral pricing research during the past decade. We discuss conceptual developments, the contribution of the adoption of new theories, and new relationships and pricing phenomena. We show that several concepts have undergone conceptual developments (e.g., price search) while other concepts are new to the literature (e.g., participative pricing mechanisms). Regarding theoretical developments, the adoption of theories from other disciplines has contributed to enhance understanding of price-related effects. Finally, new pricing phenomena, such as the zero price effect or the placebo effect of price promotions, challenge the traditional view of consumers’ response to price information. Furthermore, a number of recent empirical findings contradict existing knowledge on price-related concepts and phenomena. Thus, it is of prime importance to integrate the latest findings with prior literature. From the key findings in the literature, we derive directions for future research.
... Neben der Möglichkeit, in der Wirkungsfunktion die werbeinstrumentellen Wirkungsparameter (Wirkungskoeffizienten) als "instrumentell-€ uber-Kreuz" von der Aktivit€ at in jeweils anderen Werbeinstrumenten funktional abh€ angig zu machen (z. B. Gatignon und Hanssens 1987) oder besonders flexible Funktionsformen zu nutzen (Steiner et al. 2014), wird dem Synergieeffekt h€ aufig € uber additive Interaktionsterme in der Wirkungsfunktion Rechnung getragen (Hanssens et al. 2001;Hallemann 2001;Naik und Raman 2003;Naik und Peters 2009). Der empirisch zu sch€ atzende Wirkungskoeffizient des Interaktionsterms zeigt dann an, wie stark der betreffende Interaktionseffekt zwischen den jeweils im Verbund wirkenden Instrumenten ausf€ allt. ...
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Markets respond to prices in complex ways. Multiple factors such as price points, odd pricing, and just-noticeable differences often cause steps and spikes in response. The result is market response functions that are frequently nonmonotonic. However, existing regression-based approaches employ functions that are inherently monotonic, which thereby limits representation of important irregularities. In this article, the authors use a stochastic spline regression approach in the framework of a hierarchical Bayes model that permits the estimation of irregular pricing effects and apply the approach to data sets from several product categories. A simulation study indicates that the stochastic spline approach is flexible enough to accommodate irregular response functions. The empirical results show that there are irregularities in own-price response for most of the brands examined and that there are important profit implications of these irregular response functions in pricing decisions. The authors find that the irregularities in the response functions include sales increases associated with odd prices in the range of 12% to 76%, flatness at the extremes of the range of observed prices, and kinks in the response function that are consistent with segmentation effects.
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Behavioral learning theory has been generally overlooked in the development of marketing thought. The central concept states that behavior that is positively reinforced is more likely to recur than nonreinforced behavior. This runs parallel to the marketing concept and may be a sufficient model for dealing with most low involvement purchase situations. Its greatest value may be in the development of promotional strategies. This paper extends some of the ideas presented in an earlier paper in this journal.
Article
The issue of alternative methods for estimating factor scores is raised and, in particular, the case of using common factors as independent variables in regression problems is singled out for investigation. A Monté Carlo simulation experiment (varying: factor scoring method, uniqueness, assumption about factor correlations, and number of observed variables factored) is reported. Though several factor score estimators perform “equivalently” in the simulation, the best overall results are obtained with the Dwyer factor extension technique.
Article
The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) is a new type of market-based performance measure for firms, industries, economic sectors, and national economies. The authors discuss the nature and purpose of ACSI and explain the theory underlying the ACSI model, the nation-wide survey methodology used to collect the data, and the econometric approach employed to estimate the indices. They also illustrate the use of ACSI in conducting benchmarking studies, both cross-sectionally and over time. The authors find customer satisfaction to be greater for goods than for services and, in turn, greater for services than for government agencies, as well as find cause for concern in the observation that customer satisfaction in the United States is declining, primarily because of decreasing satisfaction with services. The authors estimate the model for the seven major economic sectors for which data are collected. Highlights of the findings include that (1) customization is more important than reliability in determining customer satisfaction, (2) customer expectations play a greater role in sectors in which variance in production and consumption is relatively low, and (3) customer satisfaction is more quality-driven than value- or price-driven. The authors conclude with a discussion of the implications of ACSI for public policymakers, managers, consumers, and marketing in general.
Book
In dieser Einführung werden erstmals klassische Regressionsansätze und moderne nicht- und semiparametrische Methoden in einer integrierten, einheitlichen und anwendungsorientierten Form beschrieben. Die Darstellung wendet sich an Studierende der Statistik in Wahl- und Hauptfach sowie an empirisch-statistisch und interdisziplinär arbeitende Wissenschaftler und Praktiker, zum Beispiel in Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften, Bioinformatik, Biostatistik, Ökonometrie, Epidemiologie. Die praktische Anwendung der vorgestellten Konzepte und Methoden wird anhand ausführlich vorgestellter Fallstudien demonstriert, um dem Leser die Analyse eigener Fragestellungen zu ermöglichen.
Book
Qualität ist ein zentraler Erfolgsfaktor für jedes Dienstleistungsunternehmen. Daher bietet dieses Buch Hilfestellungen zur Sicherstellung und Erhöhung der Dienstleistungsqualität an. Der Autor, ein renommierter Marketingfachmann, stellt einen ganzheitlichen, wissenschaftlich fundierten Ansatz des Qualitätsmanagements für Dienstleistungen vor, der sich konsequent am Managementprozess mit den Phasen Analyse, Planung, Steuerung und Kontrolle des Qualitätsmanagements ausrichtet. Kernteile des Buches sind Verfahren zur Messung der Dienstleistungsqualität, Instrumente zur Steuerung des Qualitätsmanagements und des Erwartungsmanagements, die Umsetzung des Qualitätsmanagements anhand der ISO 9000 ff.-Normen sowie des EFQM-Modells und ein wirkungsbezogenes Qualitätscontrolling. In der siebten Auflage wurden alle Kapitel gründlich überarbeitet und verschiedene Inhalte vertieft oder um neue Konzepte, Methoden und Beispiele ergänzt. Weit mehr als 100 Abbildungen runden den Inhalt des Buches ab.
Book
In "Kundenorientierte Unternehmensführung" geben renommierte Fachvertreter aus Wissenschaft und Unternehmenspraxis verlässliche Antworten auf aktuelle Fragen zu den Themen Kundenorientierung, Kundenzufriedenheit und Kundenbindung. Ziel der Herausgeber und Autoren ist es, dem Leser einen fundierten Überblick über Grundlagen, Instrumente und Methoden zu vermitteln. Die kompakte und in sich geschlossene Darstellung der Thematik beinhaltet im Einzelnen: - Die Customer-based View der Unternehmung - Kundenorientierung und Unternehmensstrategie - Kundenzufriedenheit - Kundenbindung und Kundenloyalität - Kundenwert - Preiszufriedenheit - Beschwerdemanagement - Messung der Kundenzufriedenheit - Kundenorientierte Produktentwicklung - Instrumente der Kundenbindung Die vierte Auflage wurde überarbeitet und um Beiträge zur virtuellen Kundeneinbindung in die Produktinnovation sowie Customer Relationship Management erweitert. Erfahrungsberichte erfolgreicher Unternehmungen über die Anwendung verschiedener Konzepte und Methoden runden das Werk ab. Das Buch richtet sich an Dozenten und Studierende der Betriebswirtschaftslehre mit den Schwerpunkten Marketing und Unternehmensführung sowie an Entscheidungsträger in Unternehmen, die einen umfassenden Einblick in den Wirkungszusammenhang der einzelnen Komponenten der kundenorientierten Unternehmensführung wünschen. Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Hans H. Hinterhuber ist Inhaber des Lehrstuhls für Unternehmensführung, Tourismus und Dienstleistungswirtschaft an der Universität Innsbruck. Univ.-Prof. Dr. Kurt Matzler ist Inhaber des Lehrstuhls für Marketing und Internationales Management an der Universität Klagenfurt.
Article
Qualität ist auch für Dienstleistungsunternehmen ein zentraler Erfolgsfaktor. So will dieses Buch Hilfestellungen zur Erhöhung der Dienstleistungsqualität anbieten. Der Autor, ein renommierter Marketingfachmann, diskutiert die Instrumente zur Messung der Dienstleistungsqualität und erörtert Fragen der Implementierung des Qualitätsmanagements sowie der Zertifizierung von Dienstleistungen. In Erweiterung der 2. Auflage werden Fragen der Wirtschaftlichkeit des Qualitätscontrollings ausführlicher behandelt. Zusätzliche Messansätze der Dienstleistungsqualität, Qualitätsauszeichnungen und das internationale Kundenbarometer werden vorgestellt. Um der notwendigen Vernetzung einzelner Maßnahmen im Rahmen eines Qualitätsmanagementsystems Rechnung zu tragen, wird schließlich ein integriertes Qualitätsmanagementkonzept entwickelt. Zahlreiche Beispiele und weit über 100 Abbildungen runden das Buch ab.
Book
This book is based on the author's experience with calculations involving polynomial splines. It presents those parts of the theory which are especially useful in calculations and stresses the representation of splines as linear combinations of B-splines. After two chapters summarizing polynomial approximation, a rigorous discussion of elementary spline theory is given involving linear, cubic and parabolic splines. The computational handling of piecewise polynomial functions (of one variable) of arbitrary order is the subject of chapters VII and VIII, while chapters IX, X, and XI are devoted to B-splines. The distances from splines with fixed and with variable knots is discussed in chapter XII. The remaining five chapters concern specific approximation methods, interpolation, smoothing and least-squares approximation, the solution of an ordinary differential equation by collocation, curve fitting, and surface fitting. The present text version differs from the original in several respects. The book is now typeset (in plain TeX), the Fortran programs now make use of Fortran 77 features. The figures have been redrawn with the aid of Matlab, various errors have been corrected, and many more formal statements have been provided with proofs. Further, all formal statements and equations have been numbered by the same numbering system, to make it easier to find any particular item. A major change has occured in Chapters IX-XI where the B-spline theory is now developed directly from the recurrence relations without recourse to divided differences. This has brought in knot insertion as a powerful tool for providing simple proofs concerning the shape-preserving properties of the B-spline series.
Book
Dieses Buch liefert eine anwendungsorientierte Einführung in die Datenauswertung mit der freien Statistikumgebung R. Es behandelt deskriptive Auswertungen ebenso umfassend wie inferenzstatistische Analysen. Neben klassischen univariaten Verfahren berücksichtigt das Buch nonparametrische Tests, Resampling-Methoden und multivariate Statistik. Zudem deckt es die vielfältigen Möglichkeiten ab, Daten aufzubereiten und Diagramme zu erstellen. Die statistischen Verfahren werden anhand von Beispielen erläutert und an vielen Stellen mit Diagrammen illustriert. Das Buch richtet sich an alle, die R kennenlernen und in konkreten Aufgabenstellungen einsetzen möchten, ohne bereits über Vorerfahrungen mit befehlsgesteuerten Programmen oder Programmiersprachen zu verfügen. Für die fünfte Auflage wurde das Buch vollständig aktualisiert: Es bezieht sich nun auf die Version 4.0.0 von R, auch die Auswahl und Darstellung verwendeter Zusatzpakete wurde der dynamischen Entwicklung angepasst. Außerdem wurde insbesondere der Abschnitt zur Datenaufbereitung überarbeitet: Zur stärkeren Ausrichtung auf Data-Science-Anwendungen stellt er nun ausführlich das Paket dplyr vor, enthält eine erweiterte Darstellung von R-Markdown-Dokumenten und bespricht Hinweise zur Reproduzierbarkeit von Auswertungen. Der Autor PD Dr. Daniel Wollschläger lehrte viele Jahre am Institut für Psychologie der Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel und ist nun am Institut für Medizinische Biometrie, Epidemiologie und Informatik der Universitätsmedizin der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz tätig.
Book
The first edition of this book has established itself as one of the leading references on generalized additive models (GAMs), and the only book on the topic to be introductory in nature with a wealth of practical examples and software implementation. It is self-contained, providing the necessary background in linear models, linear mixed models, and generalized linear models (GLMs), before presenting a balanced treatment of the theory and applications of GAMs and related models. The author bases his approach on a framework of penalized regression splines, and while firmly focused on the practical aspects of GAMs, discussions include fairly full explanations of the theory underlying the methods. Use of R software helps explain the theory and illustrates the practical application of the methodology. Each chapter contains an extensive set of exercises, with solutions in an appendix or in the book’s R data package gamair, to enable use as a course text or for self-study.
Article
This third edition of Total Relationship Marketing confirms it as a classic text on the subject of relationship marketing and CRM, areas which have become accepted - and debated - parts of marketing but are currently undergoing dramatic change.
Article
Der vorliegende Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit der Modellierung von Absatzreaktionsfunktionen im Kontext von Handelsdaten. Im Mittelpunkt steht dabei die insbesondere auch aus Praxissicht relevante Frage, ob sich die Inkaufnahme einer höheren Modellkomplexität, welche durch die Berücksichtigung von Heterogenität einerseits bzw. von größerer funktionaler Flexibilität andererseits gegenüber einem einfachen parametrischen Absatzreaktionsmodell entsteht, lohnt. Dazu werden im Rahmen einer empirischen Anwendung auf der Basis von Handelsscannerdaten entsprechende Absatzreaktionsfunktionen geschätzt und anhand der Anpassungsgüte, Prognosevalidität, den resultierenden Preiselastizitäten sowie den geschätzten Verläufen für Preis- und Konkurrenzpreiseffekte miteinander verglichen. Die Ergebnisse der Studie zeigen, dass die Berücksichtigung von Heterogenität nicht per se vorteilhaft sein muss, die flexible (nicht- bzw. semiparametrische) Modellierung von Absatzreaktionen dagegen erhebliche Potenziale für Modellverbesserungen in sich birgt.
Article
Behavioral learning theory has been generally overlooked in the development of marketing thought. The central concept states that behavior that is positively reinforced is more likely to recur than nonreinforced behavior. This runs parallel to the marketing concept and may be a sufficient model for dealing with most low involvement purchase situations. Its greatest value may be in the development of promotional strategies. This paper extends some of the ideas presented in an earlier paper in this journal.
Article
The issue of alternative methods for estimating factor scores is raised and, in particular, the case of using common factors as independent variables in regression problems is singled out for investigation. A Monté Carlo simulation experiment (varying: factor scoring method, uniqueness, assumption about factor correlations, and number of observed variables factored) is reported. Though several factor score estimators perform "equivalently" in the simulation, the best overall results are obtained with the Dwyer factor extension technique.
Article
This article presents an overview of behavior modification and investigates its applicability to marketing. It is suggested that this perspective provides a useful complement to the more cognitively-oriented approaches which currently dominate the marketing literature. Some of the approach's potential contributions and unresolved issues are also discussed.
Book
Florian Siems leitet theoriegestützt Hypothesen zu Wirkungsbeziehungen zwischen der Preiswahrnehmung und Kundenzufriedenheit und Kundenbindung ab und überprüft sie kausalanalytisch. Abschließend präsentiert der Autor Implikationen für Wissenschaft und Praxis und stellt ein Mess- und Steuerungskonzept vor.