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Customers helping customers: Payoffs for linking customers
Abstract
Purpose
– This paper aims to examine the relationship between customer networks and intercustomer social support, through the theoretical lens of service dominant logic (SDL). Co-creation and objective performance objectives are analyzed to understand the differential impact of instrumental and social/emotional intercustomer support on performance.
Design/methodology/approach
– A combination of survey and secondary data were collected within a health-club setting to test hypotheses. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.
Findings
– A customer’s network ties positively impact his/her intercustomer support perceptions, and this relationship is moderated by tie strength. Further, instrumental support impacts objective performance measures, while social/emotional has a greater impact on affective outcomes.
Research limitations/implications
– As customers become more connected, it is in the interest of the organization to capitalize on these connections. Future research should investigate what types of programming and marketing can directly enhance the number and types of connections customers form with others.
Practical implications
– Service organizations can benefit by fostering environments where customers connect with each other. These connections need not be at a high level; simple, informational connections prove to benefit the organization.
Originality/value
– The present research is designed to add to the research on intercustomer support in the service literature. This study investigates network-level antecedents of intercustomer support. Further, this research connects intercustomer support to objective (firm-reported) measures of performance. Last, this research examines intercustomer support through the lens of SDL and investigates its impact on co-creation outcomes.
... Moreover, customers often join VBCs to seek support from other customers when they encounter product problems [23]. Within intercustomer social connections, customers enhance their unique experience with the service, which leads to positive outcomes for the organization [24,25]. A study in a nursing home showed that individuals who receive social support from other customers report an intent to perform CEBs [17]. ...
... Differently from traditional service organizations, the social support that individuals receive from other customers in VBCs is intangible because of the virtuality of the network [23]. Those intangible assets impact a firm's financial performance by providing a market-based asset [25,26]. There remains a lack of understanding of how intercustomer social support affects CEBs in the context of VBCs. ...
... Intercustomer social support is a form of customer-to-customer social support [37]. Black et al. [25] define intercustomer support as "the customers' perception of the resources they receive from other customers within the service setting that result in feelings of belonging and enrich the service experience". Following Black et al. [25], we define intercustomer social support as the support that customers experience when they receive advice, help, and concern from other customers [38][39][40]. ...
Customer engagement behavior is a key factor in promoting the sustainable growth of virtual brand communities. Despite the extensive research on the antecedents of customer engagement behaviors, the influence of intercustomer social support remains a neglected area in the context of virtual brand communities. Based on a total of 293 valid questionnaires collected via an online survey, a structural equation model and hierarchical regression analysis are used to examine the effects of intercustomer social support (informational/emotional support) on customer engagement behaviors (customer-oriented/community-oriented engagement behaviors) in virtual brand communities, as well as consider the mediating role of self-efficacy and the moderating role of interdependent self-construal in the above relationships. The empirical finding shows that informational/emotional support significantly affects customer-oriented and community-oriented engagement behaviors. Self-efficacy plays a mediating role in the relationship between informational/emotional support and customer-oriented/community-oriented engagement behaviors. Interdependent self-construal positively moderates the relationship between informational/emotional support and customer-oriented engagement behaviors and positively moderates the relationship between informational support and community-oriented engagement behaviors. This article provides a more comprehensive understanding of the relationships between intercustomer social support and customer engagement behaviors in the context of virtual brand communities, and improves the existing customer engagement behaviors management practices that are beneficial for the companies.
... The majority of past research on intercustomer support has focused on firm performance variables. Findings indicate that intercustomer support affects performance variables such as consumer patronage rates, monthly spending, willingness to pay, and word-of-mouth intentions (Black et al., 2014;Rosenbaum, 2006Rosenbaum, , 2008Rosenbaum and Massiah, 2007). Although past research on intercustomer social support has demonstrated its benefits at both the firm and customer level, little research has examined what enhances intercustomer social support in an organization. ...
... Although past research on intercustomer social support has demonstrated its benefits at both the firm and customer level, little research has examined what enhances intercustomer social support in an organization. Black et al. (2014) demonstrated that a customer's network ties positively impact his or her perceptions of intercustomer social support, but few other antecedents have been tested in the literature. Thus, the goal of this paper is to examine the effects of customer satisfaction on intercustomer support and to test how these variables influence the patronage frequency of consumers. ...
... Thus, the goal of this paper is to examine the effects of customer satisfaction on intercustomer support and to test how these variables influence the patronage frequency of consumers. Our research extends domain knowledge related to intercustomer social support (Rosenbaum and Massiah, 2007;Rosenbaum, 2008;Black et al., 2014), by empirically testing the customer engagement frameworks currently in the marketing literature (Kumar et al., 2019;Pansari and Kumar, 2017). ...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to empirically test some of the consumer engagement frameworks that have been previously proposed in marketing literature.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were gathered via surveys distributed to members of a health club in the USA. Results were analyzed using structural equation modeling.
Findings
We found the effects of satisfaction on intercustomer support – the assistance received from other customers within a service setting – to be fully mediated by customer identification. The strength and direction of effects differed based on the type of identification. They also found an effect of satisfaction on customer patronage frequency. This effect was fully mediated by customer–employee identification.
Practical implications
The findings illustrate that, in most cases, intercustomer support can be built and enhanced by focusing on customer identification. Both customer–company and customer–customer identification had a positive effect on social/emotional and instrumental support; however, they did not influence a consumer’s patronage frequency. Conversely, customer–employee identification decreased perceptions of instrumental support, but increased perceptions of social/emotional support and patronage frequency. While the findings indicate that identification with a firm’s employees drives a customer’s patronage, firms must decide if the benefits received from increased patronage are worth the decreased instrumental support.
Originality/value
Past research has demonstrated the benefits of intercustomer support at both the firm and customer level, yet little research has investigated what enhances intercustomer social support in an organization. The research answers this question and illuminates some specific mechanisms that mediate this effect. Additionally, while previous research indicates that intercustomer support drives objective outcomes such as firm performance and loyalty intentions, we instead found these outcomes to be driven by customer–employee identification.
... Customers engage in service exchanges to achieve experiential value in addition to the core functional value (Varshneya and Das 2017;Wei et al. 2017b), and to develop connections and social relationships in addition to consuming the core service offerings (Huang and Hsu 2009;Rihova et al. 2013). They may seek to enjoyment and excitement during sports events (Uhrich 2014), pleasantries and relief of service dissatisfaction or discomfort resulting from friendly conversations during waiting time (Harris and Baron 2004;Davies et al. 1999), opportunities for socialization (Baron et al. 2007), exchanges of credible and valuable advice and information (Harris et al. 1997), a sense of belongingness and connectedness (Huang and Hsu 2009), and instrumental and social/emotional inter-customer supports (Black et al. 2014). It is important for service firms to accommodate opportunities for enriching customers' service experience via positive C2C interactions (Bianchi 2019) and engage customers in voluntary behaviors to utilize them as partial employees (Groth 2005). ...
... Further, provider-operated online platforms can also facilitate exchanges (e.g. customers show off achievements with each other and gain respect and reputation), which might form a sense of temporary companionship leading to on-site C2C interactions (Black et al. 2014). Wei et al. (2017b) also suggest conference organizers invest in both on-site and online facilities due to the crucial role of interactions between attendees inside and outside the main events. ...
This paper reviews the past 30 years’ worth of extant literature on customer-to-customer (C2C) interaction during on-site encounters. Based on a systematic literature review of 145 empirical and conceptual articles, the advancement of the conceptual underpinnings of C2C interaction through distinct stages and eight key research themes are outlined. The review also identifies different types of positive and negative value outcomes for customers and service providers generated through C2C interactions. A typology of C2C interaction from customers’ perspective and the corresponding organizational strategies are also proposed. The review concludes with some managerial implications for C2C interaction-rich service contexts and some directions for future research.
... Therefore, by participating in advocacy behaviour, the co-creator is able to draw rich emotional value from the behaviour (H2c). Helping behaviour is also performed by engaged customers, in broad customer support networks (Black et al. 2014). By helping, the cocreator may express their interest and passion for the brand, which strengthens their relationship connection and provides deeper immersion. ...
... When customers help other customers, perceptions of price and emotional value were negatively impacted, while social and quality value were non-significant. Previous inter-customer support research shows the co-creation of value to the customers who receive support (Black et al. 2014;Rosenbaum 2008). However, results indicate that providing support may negatively impact perceptions of value for the helper. ...
As value co-creation continues to gain traction as one of the most influential concepts in contemporary marketing, it is worthwhile to explore the role of the customer in the realisation of value. This paper considers that customer participation in a range of active customer behaviours, including development, feedback, advocacy and helping, can co-create customer perceptions of brand value. In particular, the research examines the interplay between the dimensions of quality, emotional, price and social value with respect to co-creation behaviour dimensions. Overall, the results indicate potentially positive impacts of advocacy and development behaviours, little influence from feedback and seemingly negative impacts from helping behaviour, upon brand value dimensions. This paper offers initial insight into the potential impacts of different behaviours upon forms of value, enhancing theoretical understanding and offering direction for brand management applications.
... Programming is one way in which managers can help customers by fostering initial ties to facilitate the transfer of task-related information (G. Black et al., 2014). ...
... Larger networks built among the customers can lead to extend emotional support among the customers as well (G. Black et al., 2014). ...
Purpose The study aims at identifying and classifying the types of value stemming from
cooperative creation of experience among customers present in various social and interaction
rich service settings, thus leading to customer-customer value co-creation.
Design/methodology/approach This exploratory qualitative study uses phenomenological
approach and involves ten semi-structured in-depth interviews conducted in different
interaction-rich service settings. The interviews were analysed using soft laddering interview
technique to uncover various customer-to-customer co-created values.
Findings Based upon the literature available and the interviews conducted, the types of value
classified in this article are Hedonic value (further classified as Relational/ Social/
Interactional value, Emotional value, Epistemic/Novelty/Learning/Information seeking,
Personal value, Symbolic/Expressive value), Atmospheric value, Economic/ Utilitarian value
(Efficiency, Quality) based upon the services availed by the interviewees.
Research limitations/implications One of the major limitations would be the small number
of interviews conducted in a few service setups, which makes it difficult to generalise the
results. Also, customer-customer interactions, leading to value co-creation online, were not
considered.
Practical implications By facilitating customer-to-customer value co-creation, service firms
would be able to obtain increased contributory support among customers and also facilitate
its customers in providing superior customer experience indirectly to the others present,
which is considered to be the ultimate goal of a firm.
Originality/value This would be among the first articles to classify the types of value taking
place when customers interact among themselves and to provide concrete suggestions for the
managers fostering C2C value co-creation during a service.
... By talking to others, customers can display their knowledge of the service , thereby enhancing their reputation and gaining social approval (e.g., Nambisan and Baron, 2009;Wasko and Faraj, 2005). Finally, customers have been found to interact more with others if they possess the necessary abilities and resources, such as navigation of Internet platforms (Gruen et al., 2006 and possession of a good network (Davies et al., 1999;Black et al., 2014). ...
... • Wanting to interact with others similar to them • Wanting to interact with others who share the same interests Johnson andGrier, 2013 Brack andBenkenstein, 2012;Wang et al., 2012Yi et al., 2013Zaglia, 2013Pongsakornrungsilp and Schroeder, 2011 Davies et al., 1999Black et al., 2014Gruen et al., 2006Gruen et al., 2007Xu et al., 2016 ...
Purpose
Customer-to-customer (C2C) interaction plays a significant role in service. The purpose of this paper is to identify the drivers that motivate customers to interact with other customers, the interactions through which customers affect other customers and the value outcomes of C2C interactions for the participants.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on a systematic literature review of C2C interactions. The authors analyzed 142 peer-reviewed articles to synthesize existing knowledge about C2C interactions. A generic value framework is used to categorize earlier research and reveal areas for further research.
Findings
The main outcome of this study is an integrative framework of C2C interaction that bridges C2C interactions and customer value. The findings indicate customer-, firm- and situation-induced drivers of C2C interactions. Outcome- and process-focused C2C interactions are identified to result in functional, emotional and social value outcomes. Avenues for additional research to explore issues related to current technology-saturated service settings are proposed.
Research limitations/implications
The paper proposes an agenda for future research to extend the C2C interaction research domain and explore how such interactions create value for the customer. The role of the service provider is not explicitly addressed but is an important area for further research.
Practical implications
Companies can use the framework to understand how they can become involved in and support beneficial C2C interaction.
Originality/value
This paper reviews empirical studies on C2C interaction, offering a systematic review of C2C interaction and producing an integrative framework of C2C interaction. It identifies a research agenda based on the framework and on topical issues within service research and practice.
... For example, Granovetter (1973) has shown that weak ties allow access to new information and could be more beneficial in social support. Black et al. (2014) have examined that weak ties are more effective in providing instrumental support, where information transfer is useful. On the other hand, other studies emphasize the power of strong ties. ...
... Second, this study contributes to the CCB literature by investigating the antecedents of a specific type of CCB, helping other customers, and more importantly, the motives of such behaviors. Related to CCB, Black et al. (2014) have also paid attention to the inter-customer support in the service landscape and investigated its influence on firm performance as well as future intentions to cocreate. Their research has investigated inter-customer support at a macro-level, but the current research extends the inter-customer support literature by taking it to a more psychological level, examining personal motivations and decisions of whether to help or not. ...
Service recovery through inter-customer helping is especially meaningful in the self-service technology (SST) failure context because SSTs are associated with a high risk of failure due to the lack of face-to-face contacts with employees. In understanding the phenomenon of inter-customer helping, two fundamental questions are investigated in the current research: (1) does social influence play a role in customers’ helping decisions? and (2) what are the motives for helping? Through two experimental studies, we provide evidence that two different forms of social influence play a role in helping others during SST failures, and customers have self-centered (vs. other-centered) motives. Results from Study 1 showed that individuals in the private environment indicated more willingness to help than individuals in the public environment did due to heightened perceived responsibility. Study 2 revealed that tie strength influenced willingness to help via a dual pathway: perceived responsibility and social approach motives. Finally, we discuss and highlight the positive influence that self-centered motives can exert in the SST failure scene.
... Customers offer tangible resources to assist others and share their time during both core and post-service encounters. This finding resonates with prior studies (Nicholls, 2020;Camelis et al., 2013; IJBM 42,7 Black et al., 2014), demonstrating the variation in how customers offer resources and support for others. Moreover, it emphasizes the importance of assisting others, especially in selfservice technologies such as ATMs, as highlighted by Parker and Ward (2000), Kim andYi (2017), andVan Tonder et al. (2020). ...
Purpose
Customer-to-customer (C2C) interactions substantially affect the overall service experience. This study attempts to provide a better and deeper understanding of C2C interactions during the customer journey in the banking industry. The study aims to investigate the complexities of these interactions and to detect their outcomes and further implications in banking services.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used a sequential mixed-method approach. Firstly, semi-structured interviews were conducted to identify the components of C2C interactions during the customer journey. Subsequently, thematic analysis was performed to categorize the data and extract relevant components. Secondly, structural equation modeling was used to investigate the role of C2C interactions in behavioral outcomes.
Findings
The findings reveal that during the customer journey, C2C interactions plays a key role by providing information, managing queuing behavior, providing resources, and addressing issues related to other customers’ misbehavior. Additionally, C2C interactions have a positive direct effect on the customer experience, satisfaction, and loyalty. Customer experience, in turn, affects customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Originality/value
This study highlights the need for academic scholars to prioritize customers’ interaction during the customer journey in financial services, addressing a gap between industry directions and academic research in customer experience. Also, the findings help service providers develop effective strategies to enhance the customer experience by focusing on C2C interactions during the customer journey.
... 2.5 Warmth, social support and service failure Social support is defined as a positive relationship between people in a social network (Smith et al., 1990) and a feeling and experience of being cared for and respected (Burroughs and Eby, 1998). Social support is a kind of social resource that provides the necessary love, emotion and information to form a good social relationship (Black et al., 2014), which can be derived from social connections with others (Smith et al., 1999). A lack of social support or connection during interpersonal communication can lead to consumer disappointment and a negative experience (DeLongis and Holtzman, 2005). ...
Purpose
Intelligent customer service has started replacing human employees in providing services to customers in numerous industries. Based on the expectancy disconfirmation theory, this study explores how different types of anthropomorphic avatar images of the intelligent customer service would affect consumer responses such as the willingness to interact, in the context of a service failure. The underlying mechanism and boundary conditions are also examined.
Design/methodology/approach
Two experimental studies were conducted to investigate the effect of the anthropomorphic image of intelligent customer service on consumers' willingness to interact and the potential role of consumer expectation and disappointment, following a service failure (Study 1). The moderating effect of anthropomorphic type was also explored (Study 2).
Findings
In the context of a customer service failure, an anthropomorphized intelligent customer service avatar that appeared competent (vs. warm) induced higher customer disappointment. However, if the anthropomorphic avatar had a cartoon-like appearance, the effect of avatar image perception (competent vs. warm) on consumers' willingness to interact diminishes.
Originality/value
This research enriches and expands the literature on interactive marketing and artificial intelligence and provides practical guidance for companies to design or choose avatar images for intelligent customer service.
... In addition, service academicians formed communal bonds by participating in services-focused forums on social media, including Facebook and LinkedIn. Interestingly, this era also saw researchers increasingly considering the role of communities, such as other customers (Black et al., 2014), in customer engagement and/or consumers using service organizations as "third places" to support their needs for some types of human interactions (Meshram and O'Cass, 2013). ...
Purpose-This paper aims to identify the opportunities in the service marketplace that have arisen because of the changes brought about by the global pandemic (COVID-19). Design/methodology/approach-A conceptual methodological approach is used to analyze trends in the history of service research and discuss how articles presented in this issue help scholars and practitioners with planning for opportunities and confronting challenges in the new (post COVID-19) service marketplace. Findings-This special issue puts forth six viewpoints and seven research articles that outline opportunities in the new service marketplace from regional and global perspectives. Further, the research articles presented in this issue identify four opportunities for managers to consider when designing services in the new service marketplace; these are labeled as reassurance and fear reduction, rethinking physical space and supply chains for multichannel service delivery, the rise of local and community importance and resilience building to combat customer discourtesy. Practical implications-Managers can understand how the pandemic has profoundly and permanently impacted consumers' perceptions and expectations for service delivery and processes. Originality/value-This work presents scholars with a historical overview of trends in service research. The challenges posed by the pandemic represent the beginning of a new era in service research thought and practice as many previously held theories and understandings of consumers' marketplace behaviors have permanently changed because of behavioral changes that transpired during governmental mandated lockdowns.
... Era 6. Building community -the future (2010 -2014) The period between 2010-2014 is characterized by a solidifying of the field by with a strong sense of community, through conferences such as the American Marketing Association SERVSIG, Frontiers in Services, QUIS, which was fueled in large part using social media among members of a global service community. Interestingly, this era also saw researchers increasingly considering the role of communities, such as other customers (Black, Vincent, and Skinner, 2014) in customer engagement and or consumers using service organizations as 'third places' to support their needs for some type of human interaction (Meshram and O'Cass, 2013). Interestingly, the scope of TSR expanded the scope of the discipline into domains that have an interest in induvial and communal welfare, including healthcare and government services. ...
Purpose
This paper aims to identify the opportunities in the service marketplace that have arisen because of the changes brought about by the global pandemic (COVID-19).
Design/methodology/approach
A conceptual methodological approach is used to analyze trends in the history of service research and discuss how articles presented in this issue help scholars and practitioners with planning for opportunities and confronting challenges in the new (post COVID-19) service marketplace.
Findings
This special issue puts forth six viewpoints and seven research articles that outline opportunities in the new service marketplace from regional and global perspectives. Further, the research articles presented in this issue identify four opportunities for managers to consider when designing services in the new service marketplace; these are labeled as reassurance and fear reduction, rethinking physical space and supply chains for multichannel service delivery, the rise of local and community importance and resilience building to combat customer discourtesy.
Practical implications
Managers can understand how the pandemic has profoundly and permanently impacted consumers’ perceptions and expectations for service delivery and processes.
Originality/value
This work presents scholars with a historical overview of trends in service research. The challenges posed by the pandemic represent the beginning of a new era in service research thought and practice as many previously held theories and understandings of consumers’ marketplace behaviors have permanently changed because of behavioral changes that transpired during governmental mandated lockdowns.
... (Brocato et al., 2012;Grove & Fisk, 1997). Research on customer-to-customer interaction (CCI) highlights the importance of CCI, as customers with long-term (relational) orientation with the brand are highly invested in seeking the social benefits of CCI and demonstrate customer citizenship behaviors (Black et al., 2014;Heinonen et al., 2018;H. S. Kim et al., 2018). ...
The purpose of this study is to investigate how self-brand connection in an interactive multi-actor single-brand retail context can lead to consumers' willingness to pay premium through the sequential mediation of brand attitudes (intransigent and flexible) and brand love. Study 1 shows that self-brand connection strengthens (weakens) consumers' intransigent (flexible) brand attitude, thereby increasing their brand love and willingness to pay price premium. Furthermore, consumers' high level of cynicism attenuates brand love and willingness to pay premium for consumers' displaying flexible brand attitudes. Study 2 shows that favorable other customer perceptions can mitigate the detrimental impact of high consumer cynicism on consumers' brand responses. In Study 3, we found that other customers' favorable behaviors (over similarity and/or appearance) can best mitigate the negative effects of consumer cynicism on brand love and willingness to pay premium. The research contributes by showing how varying degrees of consumers' self-brand connection can develop willingness to pay premium through developing either intransigent (constructive route) or flexible (mitigating route) brand attitudes and brand love. For consumers harboring flexible brand attitudes accompanied with high cynicism, other customer perception serves as a conditioning tool, that alleviates their cynicism, and garners higher brand love as well as willingness to pay premium, and behavior dimension of other customer perception dominates in this quest.
... Companies ought to influence the efficiency and strengthen assistance from other customers and raise the amount of co-creation counselling (Black, Vincent, & Skinner, 2014), which would be helpful for their interplay with the service process. Consumers calculate the equity between what it gets and what it can receive. ...
This is a conceptual research paper that focuses upon is the perspective of the influence of service failure and service recovery upon consumers’ experiences. This conceptual research paper explores circumstances relevant to the inevitability of a service failure and the importance of obtaining a mechanism for rehabilitation and service recovery within the spectrum of the ‘Justice Theory.’ This paper reviews research on service insufficiencies concerning customer dissatisfaction, thus leading to service failure. Service failure is connected to the incomprehension during the interaction, whether real or theoretical, with the provider. Recovery of calls for recession resolution initiatives reverses the poor positions of the dissatisfied customers and eventually preserves them. The further improvement of the business bid should also be considered. Therefore, this research explored service failure and service recovery throughout the field of the “Justice Theory.” Moreover, explored the other-consumer-Effect within the process of the online service recovery.
... Based on the frequency of purchase (visits), the focal customer may be classified as a transactional customer, who has a low frequency of purchase (visit) vs relational customer who has a high frequency of purchase (visit). Previous research on customer to customer interactions (CCI) posits that it is mostly the customers with long-term relationship orientation with the brand (relational focal customers) that seek and experience social benefits of CCI and engage in customer citizenship behaviors, such as engaging in voluntary helpful behaviors (Gwinner et al., 1998;Black et al., 2014). During service recovery co-creation, other customers may involve in behavioural actions to help and resolve problems for the focal customer (inter-customer recovery) (Kim, 2017), and a successful service recovery with the help of other customers would be an opportunity for firms to build trust with relational customers, which indeed is a 'service recovery paradox' as characterized by Hart et al. (1990). ...
This research examines how perceived service failure severity (SFS) in an interactive multi-actor service context may lead to customer retaliation and revisit intention via sequential mediation of dissatisfaction and brand hate. The research also examines how other customer perception, reflected in appearance (OCP-A), similarity (OCP-S) and behaviour (OCP-B), conditions these relationships. In this attempt, the research employs two-experimental studies (Studies 1 & 2) and two self-reported surveys (Studies 3 & 4). Findings from Study 1 establish that service failure leads to retaliation via sequential mediation of dissatisfaction and brand hate. This study also supports that other customer perception can shape the adverse effect of service failure severity on dissatisfaction. Further, in Study 2 it is established that OCP-B is more influential (over OCP-S and OCP-A) in mitigating the adverse effect of SFS on dissatisfaction. Followed by this, Study 3 extends the findings into a different setting, and also confirms the external validity of Studies 1 and 2. Finally, Study 4 incorporates the transactional vs. relational orientation of customers, and the findings elucidate that OCP-B (over OCP-A and OCP-S) dominates in mitigating dissatisfaction for relational customers. However, no such dominance is observed for transactional customers. The findings from the research provide novel insights for managing service failure in hospitality sector.
... These interactions can also be interpreted as a platform for joint value co-creation (Grönroos & Voima, 2013). Co-created contents generally outperform the contents which are professionally created by the provider, on key market performance metrics (Black, Vincent, Skinner, 2014;Santos-Vijande, González-Mieres, & Lopez-Sanchez, 2013). From an innovational point of view, providers often tend to focus on the information which they consider as relevant and miss opportunities to develop innovations which correspond to customers' needs and demands. ...
... The ability of unknown patients to generate hope is weaker, as they lack medical expertise and training, and do not have a strong personal connection or tie to the consumer. In line with this rationale, Black et al. (2014) find that strong (vs weak) ties are more highly associated with personal and affective connections and therefore lead to social and emotional support among customers. In the wordof-mouth realm regarding services, positive recommendations from those with strong ties are more likely to have positive effects than those from strangers (Koo, 2015). ...
Purpose
The dynamic landscape of healthcare has seen significant changes in marketing by the various types of healthcare providers. This research aims to explore the impact of emotions in healthcare advertising.
Design/methodology/approach
Two consumer panel experiments investigate the role of hope and empathy appeals in fostering positive evaluations toward healthcare providers (medical centers for serious illnesses).
Findings
Study 1 shows that two types of emotion-based healthcare appeals are more effective than non-emotional appeals. Study 2 compares the relative effectiveness of hope versus empathy appeals with medical expert or typical person (patient) testimonials.
Research limitations/implications
Findings demonstrate that in a healthcare context, an expert testimonial enhanced the persuasiveness of a hope-based appeal, whereas testimonials from unknown patients were not effective.
Originality/value
Understanding the role of emotions in healthcare advertising is increasingly important as healthcare providers compete on care and quality outcomes and advertising agencies vie for the attention of consumers.
... For instance, research shows that group fitness instructors can positively affect the climate of a firm (Brown & Fry, 2011). Furthermore, the promotion of inter-customer support and relationships in service firms has been found to increase consumer well-being on a number of levels, which results in increased financial gain for the service establishment (Black, Vincent, & Skinner, 2014;Rosenbaum, 2008). ...
This paper adopts a process perspective on sport entrepreneurship in the fitness industry, utilizing phenomenological inquiry into the entrepreneurial lives of eleven fitness entrepreneurs. The purpose of this paper is to reveal how fitness entrepreneurs strategize and pursue competitive advantage in a non-traditional industry. Our findings show that while fitness entrepreneurs share many similarities with non-sport entrepreneurs, fitness entrepreneurs are affected by a variety of factors attributable to working in a non-conventional industry. The present study contributes to the emerging theoretical discussions surrounding the concept of sport entrepreneurship and highlights the value of process perspectives when examining entrepreneurial activities. No empirical studies thus far exist that seek to illuminate the exact nature of individual sport entrepreneurship. This study is a first step in developing testable hypotheses and to contrast sport entrepreneurship to non-sport entrepreneurship. Additionally, our research provides fitness entrepreneurs in the industry with information on what they may face when pursuing their own business objectives. Finally, sport management and entrepreneurship curricula can be enhanced based on information gathered in this study.
... From a company perspective, value cocreation invites external stakeholders to contribute to the generation of ideas and solutions (Hoyer et al., 2010). These cocreated contents generally outperform professionally created consequences on key market performance metrics such as sales, newness, or strategic impact (Black et al., 2014;Nishikawa et al., 2013;Santos-Vijande et al., 2013). Furthermore, with regard to innovation, producers tend to assimilate only the knowledge that they consider relevant, such that they miss the opportunity to develop radical innovation based on customers' needs. ...
Since Prahalad and Ramaswamy published their seminal text, vast literature on value cocreation has emerged. Yet value cocreation still suffers from the lack of a clear consensus about its conceptualization. Using a systematic method, this integrative review provides an overview of 10 years of research dealing with this still emerging concept, to clarify insights into its definition, foundations, drivers, related processes, expected consequences, and measurement. The resulting integrative framework summarizes existing knowledge and provides a foundation for further empirical investigations, as well as offering propositions to continue stimulating this dynamic research field.
... From a company perspective, value cocreation invites external stakeholders to contribute to the generation of ideas and solutions (Hoyer et al., 2010). These cocreated contents generally outperform professionally created consequences on key market performance metrics such as sales, newness, or strategic impact (Black et al., 2014;Nishikawa et al., 2013;Santos-Vijande et al., 2013). Furthermore, with regard to innovation, producers tend to assimilate only the knowledge that they consider relevant, such that they miss the opportunity to develop radical innovation based on customers' needs. ...
Alors que les robots anticipent nos désirs et rédigeront peut-être les articles de demain, nous avons choisi de rassembler 15 cerveaux et 30 mains pour bâtir un projet qui cible l'humain dans cet univers digital.
Les nouveaux métiers liés au digital et aux NTIC, parce qu'intangibles, doivent à un moment donné se concrétiser sous forme visuelle. Chaque chapitre est illustré via facilitation graphique et design d'animation vidéo.
... Du point de vue de l'entreprise, la co-création de valeur incite les parties prenantes externes à contribuer à la génération d'idées et de solutions (Hoyer et al., 2010). Ces contenus co-créés surpassent généralement les créations professionnelles en termes de performances sur le marché telles que les ventes, le caractère innovant des produits/services ou encore les impacts stratégiques (Black et al., 2014 ;Nishikawa et al., 2013 ;Santos-Vijande et al., 2013). De plus, en ce qui concerne l'innovation, les producteurs ont tendance à n'assimiler que les connaissances qu'ils considèrent eux-mêmes comme pertinentes, manquant ainsi l'opportunité de développer de réelles innovations de ruptures répondant aux besoins des consommateurs. ...
Depuis l’article fondateur de Prahalad et Ramaswamy (2004a), nous avons assisté à l’émergence d’une vaste littérature dédiée à la co-création de valeur. Cependant, à l’heure actuelle, ce thème souffre toujours d’un manque de consensus en ce qui concerne sa conceptualisation. Adoptant une approche systématique, cet article propose une revue intégrative des recherches menées au cours de la décennie traitant de ce concept émergent, et clarifie les connaissances entourant sa définition, ses fondements, ses moteurs, mais également les processus sous-jacents, ses conséquences et sa mesure. Il en résulte un cadre intégratif résumant les connaissances sur le sujet et posant les fondations théoriques pour les recherches futures. Nous proposons également des pistes d’investigation afin de nourrir la dynamique de ce domaine de recherche.
Purpose
This research paper aims to examine the power of customer-to-customer (C2C) oriented self-service technology (SST) in enhancing customers’ perceived C2C interaction qualities in collectively interactive service settings where C2C interactions are crucial for value co-creation.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors collected survey data within a collectively interactive service setting (massively multiplayer online role-playing games, MMORPGs) to test hypotheses. The data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).
Findings
The results reveal that C2CSST attributes (enjoyment, usefulness) significantly influence users’ perceived C2C interaction qualities (friend-, neighboring customer-, audience-interaction quality).
Research limitations/implications
The current research theoretically proposes and empirically validates new relational links from C2CSST attributes (enjoyment, usefulness) to each online C2C interaction quality in a collectively interactive service setting (MMORPG). However, future studies may need to explore further antecedents of each C2C interaction quality to help enhance the understanding of the model suggested.
Practical implications
The results of this study provide important guidance for designers looking to incorporate SST into collectively interactive services. Collectively interactive service providers should promote C2CSST attributes (enjoyment, usefulness) so that the users experience better C2C interactions, which may lead to customer-firm affection and loyalty.
Originality/value
Via the study, the present paper proposes a customized subcategory of self-service technology (C2CSST) and posits that the C2CSST attributes (enjoyment, usefulness) can be key managing targets for enhancing C2C interactions. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is one of the first SST studies to explore the role of C2CSSTs as enablers of C2C interactions, extending the SST literature.
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to present a methodology for enhancing the quality and usefulness of online reviews for prospective customers to investigate how this contemporary form of instrumental support can be facilitated to strengthen customer-to-customer support.
Design/methodology/approach
This study develops an analytics framework with applications of machine learning models using customer review data from Amazon.com. Linear regression is commonly used for review helpfulness and sales prediction. In this study, Random Forest model is applied because of its strong performance and reliability. To advance the methodology, a custom script in Python is created to generate Partial Dependence Plots for intensive exploration of the dependency interpretations of review helpfulness and sales. The authors also apply K-Means to cluster reviewers and use the results to generate reviewer qualification scores and collective reviewer scores, which are incorporated into the review facilitation process.
Findings
The authors find the average helpfulness ratio of the reviewer as the most important determinant of reviewer qualification. The collective reviewer qualification for a product created based on reviewers’ characteristics is found important to customers’ purchase intentions and can be used as a metric for product comparison.
Practical implications
The findings of this study suggest that service improvement efforts can be performed by developing software applications to monitor reviewer qualifications dynamically, bestowing a badge to top quality reviewers, redesigning review sorting interfaces and displaying the consumer rating distribution on the product page, resulting in improved information reliability and consumer trust.
Originality/value
This study adds to the research on customer-to-customer support in the service literature. As customer reviews perform as a contemporary form of instrumental support, the authors validate the determinants of review helpfulness and perform an intensive exploration of its dependency interpretation. Reviewer qualification and the collective reviewer qualification scores are generated as new predictors and incorporated into the helpfulness-based review facilitation services.
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate patient perceived value as a stimulus of patient engagement behaviors both from the conceptual and empirical perspectives.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the stimulus–organism–response framework, the authors developed a model to determine the impact of patient perceived value on patient engagement behavior in health care. The data were collected from a sample of 391 patients hospitalized in private hospitals. Structural equation modeling technique was used to test the research hypotheses.
Findings
The findings confirmed relevance of the service quality dimensions reliability, tangibility, responsiveness and empathy as significant antecedents of patient perceived value. Perceived value plays a significant role in shaping word of mouth and patient helping behaviors.
Research limitations/implications
The findings of this study are relevant and applicable to patients in private hospitals.
Practical implications
This study contributes to the literature by providing new evidence on patient perceived value and engagement behaviors as a response to care quality. With adequate focus on perceived value and service quality, service providers can strengthen the relationship with patients and build a sustainable competitive advantage, by stimulating engagement behaviors in patients.
Originality/value
This study is of unique value to the health-care literature, both from the theoretical and managerial point of views. This study proposes a conceptual model of patient perceived value which can be used in the private health sector. Moreover, this study contributes to the health-care literature by introducing patient-helping behavior.
Customer engagement has important implications for the organization. The study developed a typology to understand customer engagement and its relationship with corporate misconduct. Customer engagement is categorized into co-developing, augmenting, influencing, and mobilizing behaviors, which are typologized into organizational and peer engagement, with co-developing and augmenting behaviors classified as organizational engagement, and the remaining two as peer engagement. In view of a focus on negative engagement in the case of corporate misconduct in previous research, this study deployed a netnographical approach to exploring positive and neutral engagement within the organization and with peers. The findings indicate that corporate misconduct not only elicits a negative response but may also elicit positive or indifferent engagement behaviors. This study contributes to customer engagement and corporate misconduct research by delving into underexplored aspects of consumer behavior.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of CSR initiative preference, customer helping orientation and customer participation on willingness to engage in CSR and to demonstrate the influence this engagement has on their commitment and loyalty to the organisation.
Design/methodology/approach
This study entailed an online survey of customers from a large not-for-profit organisation ( n = 210). Choice modelling is used to test a structural equation model of drivers and outcomes of willingness to engage in CSR.
Findings
Results demonstrate the CSR initiative preferred by customers has a stronger impact on their willingness to engage with the CSR initiative (volunteering their time, effort, money) than either customers' helping orientation or customer participation. Furthermore, willingness to engage in CSR influences customer commitment and loyalty to support and recommend the organisation.
Research limitations/implications
The results clearly demonstrate the significant impact that customers' preferences for and willingness to engage in CSR initiatives have on customers' relationship with not-for-profit organisations.
Social implications
The results highlight the importance of taking into account customer preferences for CSR issues to encourage customers to engage in CSR initiatives designed to benefit society.
Originality/value
Traditionally CSR literature has focused on how commercial firms' engagement in CSR creates value for the firm and society. The marketing literature has focused on how customer engagement in brand communities benefits the firm. This study extends the research by exploring customers’ willingness to engage in CSR with not-for-profit organisations. It uses Choice modelling to demonstrate the impact of customer preferences for local and aligned CSR initiatives on customer willingness to engage.
Although the presence of other customers is an indispensable part of the service consumption experience, there is little work that investigates the role of other customers in the service recovery process and how this affects multiple actors in the service ecosystem. To address these gaps, this research uses a mixed-methods approach. Study 1 qualitatively content analyzes other customers’ participation in the recovery process. Study 2 tests support receiver’s perception and Study 3 examines the support giver’s perception using two 3 (other customer support: emotional, information, no support) × 2 (employee extra role behavior: in-role, extra role) between-subjects experimental designs. The research extends upon the customer interaction and service failure and recovery literature through qualitative and quantitative analysis of how other customers can support the service recovery process and act as a new type of recovery actor, which affects the service recovery evaluation, citizenship behavior, and behavioral intentions toward the firm.
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the effect of customer-to-customer (C2C) interaction while using a service on the willingness of consumers to engage in altruistic customer participation (CP) or co-production efforts aimed at helping other customers. It further examines the role of consumer skepticism toward the service category in moderating the effects of C2C interaction on altruistic CP and customer satisfaction.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey methodology was used to collect data from 374 consumers of health-care services in India. The data collection involved interviews of patients visiting diabetes clinics and focused primarily on the interaction between customers and their willingness to participate in educating members of the community on diabetic self-care.
Findings
The analysis shows that C2C interaction positively affects customer satisfaction and willingness to engage in altruistic CP. Consumer category skepticism does not moderate the effect of C2C interaction on customer willingness to engage in altruistic CP. However, category skepticism does have the moderating effect of significantly reducing the positive effect of C2C interaction on customer satisfaction.
Research limitations/implications
Data for this study were collected via interviews of consumers in India. Each consumer was interviewed by a trained interviewer. Although the authors do not detect any systematic influence in the results, the possibility of bias is acknowledged. Regarding the research implications, the finding that category skepticism does not moderate the effect of C2C interaction on willingness to engage in altruistic CP suggest that ultimately consumers may have stronger commitment and loyalty to themselves and that their relationships with the firm’s might be peripheral.
Practical implications
The study finds that consumer skepticism toward a service category can have adverse effects for service co-creation. The authors advise managers in troubled industries not to focus exclusively on improving brand differentiation but to also consider working with major industry players and regulators to address the deepest fears of consumers.
Originality/value
The findings have implications for the service dominant logic of marketing in that it suggests that category skepticism is disruptive to the value integration process on which service co-creation relies for value creation. This has strong implications for how managers should structure their interaction processes with customers and for future research that seeks to them prove customer productivity.
Drawing on customer-dominant (C-D) logic, the main objective of this study is to examine value co-creation behaviours that emerge from customer-to-customer interactions (CCIs) in recreational dance experiences. In-depth interviews were held with 15 dance participants located in Chile, who take social tango classes. The findings identify seven CCI value co-creation behaviours, such as seeking and sharing information about the service with other participants, complying with service requirements and behaving responsibly towards other participants, developing personal interactions with other participants, helping and providing feedback to other participants, and finally being tolerant of and courteous to other participants. The findings of this study advances knowledge on value co-creation and can assist recreational services and dance school managers to develop more effective service strategies for improved customer experiences.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to expand on existing co-creation knowledge in order to accurately conceptualize, operationalize and contextualize the customer brand co-creation behavior concept from a customer perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative approach is adopted in this study, using structural equation modeling to verify the co-creation of brand value for those customers who co-create.
Findings
A new four-dimensional co-creation behavior concept is supported, highlighting the role of development, feedback, advocacy and helping, in the co-creation of brand value. Furthermore, a range of customer-level and brand-level antecedents are empirically verified.
Research limitations/implications
The research takes a customer-centric view of co-creation and in doing so provides new insight into the effect on the co-creator. Additionally, the research offers an improved level of specificity in the co-creation domain by conceptualizing, operationalizing and contextualizing customer co-creation in a comprehensive research study.
Practical implications
The findings offer new insight to brand managers, identifying avenues for increasing customer participation in co-creation programs and critically highlighting that co-creation behavior has positive effects on the co-creator’s perception of brand value.
Originality/value
The customer-centric approach offers an original perspective from which to explore co-creation, demonstrating the positive potential of co-creation in brand management strategies.
Customers give and receive help from others during service encounters, which is called intercustomer helping. Inter-customer helping is a form of customer-to-customer interactions (CCI). CCIs are more common in the current economy where more customers deliver services on their own, without involvement of service workers through self-service technologies, and therefore, it is critical to understand CCI. However, there have been only limited efforts to understand interactions between customers, and more emphasis was on understanding the interactions between employees and customers. Thus, the current research fills this gap through investigating the effect of receiving help from another customer (vs. no help) on customer satisfaction during service failures. In particular, the current research suggests that receiving inter-customer helping (vs. receiving no help) would increase customer satisfaction through mitigating disappointment.
Purpose
The increased involvement of customers in their experience is a reality for all service organisations. The purpose of this paper is to explore the way organisations collaborate with customers to facilitate consumption of cultural experiences through the lens of co-production. Although organisations are typically an integral part of the co-production process, co-production is typically considered from a consumer angle. Aligned with the service ecosystem perspective and value-in-cultural context, this research aims to provide greater insight into the processes and resources that institutions apply to co-produce experiences with consumers and the drivers and inhibitors of such processes.
Design/methodology/approach
Case study research with three exemplar organisations, using in-depth interviews with key informants was used to investigate the processes organisations follow in co-producing the service experience with customers, as well as the drivers and inhibitors of organisational co-production of the service experience in the cultural sector.
Findings
The findings illuminate that cultural organisations are co-producing the service experience with their customers, as revealed through a number of key processes: inviting customers to actively participate in the experience, engaging customers and supporting customers in the co-production of the experience. Increasingly demanding consumers and a changing competitive landscape are strong external drivers of co-production. Visionary leadership and consumer-focussed employees are internal factors impelling organisations to co-produce experiences with consumers. A strong curatorial orientation, complex organisational structure, employee attitude and capability gaps and funding constraints are impediments towards organisations co-producing experiences with consumers.
Originality/value
This paper addresses a gap in Service-Dominant logic theory, arts/cultural marketing and broader services marketing literature by proposing a broadened conceptualisation of co-production of the service experience. This conceptualisation can be used as a platform to derive strategic imperatives for managers of service organisations. The findings highlight the key practices and resources that are central to organisations co-producing experience with customers. In this way, greater understanding of institutional logics and practices that underpin experience co-production emerges.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate which types of service employees provide their customers with social support and to understand why they do so.
Design/methodology/approach
The article employs a network‐based inventory method to evaluate a customer's commercial‐based social support network and grounded theory to develop a framework illustrating the interdependence between service providers and their customers regarding the exchange of intrinsic support and extrinsic financial incentives and gifts.
Findings
Indirect service employees who do not directly receive tips from customers emerge as key providers of social support. Also, commercial friendships are not marketplace niceties. Service providers and customers engage in a mutually beneficial exchange of social support, gifts, and tips under the guise of commercial friendships.
Research limitations/implications
The article is based upon service provider and customer relationships in an American diner. Researchers may want to apply the offered model to other contexts and locals. Also, researchers may want to reconsider the idea that service providers willingly provide social support to their customers.
Practical implications
The hiring and training of service employees, such as cashiers, hostesses, and “bus boys,” should be taken into consideration as they may be key providers of social support. Service providers should realize the extrinsic and intrinsic benefits or providing support.
Originality/value
The paper empirically investigates the role of indirect service employees in providing customers with social support. Also, it demonstrates that commercial friendships are mutually beneficial relationships where service providers and customers realize extrinsic and/or intrinsic benefits from these relationships.
This state-of-the-art book examines the effect of social relationships on physical health. It surveys and assesses the research that shows not only that supportive relationships protect us from a multitude of mental health problems but also that the absence of supportive relationships increases the risk of dying from various diseases. Bert N. Uchino discusses the links between social support and mortality from cardiovascular disease, cancer, and HIV/AIDS. He investigates whether social support is more effective for some individuals and within certain cultures. After evaluating existing conceptual models linking social support to health outcomes, he offers his own broader perspective on the issue. And he suggests the implications for intervention and for future research in this area.
How do members' and leaders' social network structures help or hinder team effectiveness? A meta-analysis of 37 studies of teams in natural contexts suggests that teams with densely configured interpersonal ties attain their goals better and are more committed to staying together; that is, team task performance and viability are both higher. Further, teams with leaders who are central in the teams' intragroup networks and teams that are central in their intergroup network tend to perform better. Time sequencing, member familiarity, and tie content moderate structure-performance connections. Results suggest stronger incorporation of social network concepts into theories about team effectiveness.
Since the introductory article for what has become known as the “service-dominant (S-D) logic of marketing,” “Evolving to
a New Dominant Logic for Marketing,” was published in the Journal of Marketing (Vargo, S. L., & Lusch, R. F. (2004a)), there
has been considerable discussion and elaboration of its specifics. This article highlights and clarifies the salient issues
associated with S-D logic and updates the original foundational premises (FPs) and adds an FP. Directions for future work
are also discussed.
KeywordsService-dominant logic-New-dominant logic-Service
In this paper, we review and analyze the emerging network paradigm in organizational research. We begin with a conventional review of recent research organized around recognized research streams. Next, we analyze this research, developing a set of dimensions along which network studies vary, including direction of causality, levels of analysis, explanatory goals, and explanatory mechanisms. We use the latter two dimensions to construct a 2-by-2 table cross-classifying studies of network consequences into four canonical types: structural social capital, social access to resources, contagion, and environmental shaping. We note the rise in popularity of studies with a greater sense of agency than was traditional in network research.
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 study introduces the concept of return on community (ROC) to the services marketing domain. The ROC represents the health outcomes to customers and financial outcomes to firms that materialize when customers receive social support from other customers in service establishments. By administering Barrera's Arizona Social Support Interview Schedule to teenagers who patronize a video arcade, to members of Gold's Gym, and to middle-aged women who exercise at Curves, the author shows that customers can obtain six types of social support from other customers: intimate interaction, social participation, physical assistance, feedback, guidance, and material aid. In terms of health benefits, intercustomer support provides customers with group cohesion and enhanced well-being. Service firms that host supportive customer networks benefit from customer satisfaction, positive intentional behaviors, and the ability to charge higher prices. By using the contingent valuation method, this article also reveals how customers value support from other customers and employees.
This study introduces theory about how deficits in social support motivate consumers to replace lost social resources by forming relationships with customers and employees in commercial “third places.” The authors demonstrate support for a multiple-indicator, multiple-cause model that illustrates how six common events that destroy or erode a person's social support can cause the person to obtain emotional support and companionship in a third place. The model supports the linkage between commercial social support and a consumer's sense of attachment to a third place that harbors his or her social support network. The authors also propose and test hypotheses that reveal that consumers obtain social support in a third place to the extent to which they lost it outside the place. In essence, third-place patrons match their lost support to their commercial support, thus remedying negative symptoms associated with isolation. The article concludes with a discussion of managerial implications and limitations.
Using grounded theory methodology, a framework that illustrates how and why third places—that is, places such as diners, coffee shops, and taverns—become meaningful in consumers'lives is offered. The framework suggests that some consumers patronize third places to satisfy not only their consumption needs but also their needs for companionship and emotional support. These supportive needs are prevalent in older-aged consumers, who often experience events that diminish relationships. Therefore, these consumers may turn to their “commercial friendships” in third places for support. On the basis of the consumer needs that a third place satisfies, consumers identify a third place as place-as-practical, place-as-gathering, or place-as-home. The framework is verified with the Social Support Questionnaire for Transactions instrument. The data reveal that as the frequency to which consumers obtain companionship and emotional support from their commercial friendships increases, so too does their loyalty.
This article develops and discusses the concept of customer engagement behaviors (CEB), which we define as the customers’ behavioral manifestation toward a brand or firm, beyond purchase, resulting from motivational drivers. CEBs include a vast array of behaviors including word-of-mouth (WOM) activity, recommendations, helping other customers, blogging, writing reviews, and even engaging in legal action. The authors develop a conceptual model of the antecedents and consequences—customer, firm, and societal—of CEBs. The authors suggest that firms can manage CEBs by taking a more integrative and comprehensive approach that acknowledges their evolution and impact over time.
This research examines the benefits customers receive as a result of engaging in long-term relational exchanges with service
firms. Findings from two studies indicate that consumer relational benefits can be categorized into three distinct benefit
types: confidence, social, and special treatment benefits. Confidence benefits are received more and rated as more important
than the other relational benefits by consumers, followed by social and special treatment benefits, respectively. Responses
segmented by type of service business show a consistent pattern with respect to customer rankings of benefit importance. Management
implications for relational strategies and future research implications of the findings are discussed.
The authors develop a conceptual framework of the marketing-finance interface and discuss its implications for the theory and practice of marketing. The framework proposes that marketing is concerned with the task of developing and managing market-based assets, or assets that arise from the commingling of the firm with entities in its external environment. Examples of market-based assets include customer relationships, channel relationships, and partner relationships. Market-based assets, in turn, increase shareholder value by accelerating and enhancing cash flows, lowering the volatility and vulnerability of cash flows, and increasing the residual value of cash flows. ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR Copyright of Journal of Marketing is the property of American Marketing Association 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)
Focuses on customer-to-customer interaction between strangers. It begins by reviewing the literature in the field and establishing a number of roles that customers may play while participating in this type of interaction. The study then goes on to measure the frequency of interaction and the propensity of 467 garden centre customers to adopt the roles identified by the literature (namely helpseeker and help providers). From analysis of their responses the authors are able to produce typical role scripts associated with each of the roles identified. These will help those interested in managing and facilitating these potentially valuable interactions and give some structure for future research in the area.
Service establishments would relish the opportunity to have their customers display customer voluntary performance (CVP) behaviors, which refer to helpful, discretionary customer behaviors that support an organization’s service performance and quality. This article draws on resource exchange theory to offer an explanation as to why some customers display CVP in the form of customer citizenship and customer care behaviors. The data reveal that customers who receive social-emotional support and, to a lesser extent, instrumental support from other customers in a service establishment reciprocate by exhibiting CVP toward the establishment and to customers in the establishment. This article demonstrates that socially supportive service environments are beneficial for customers’ health and for organizational profitability.
In 1973, Mark Granovetter proposed that weak ties are often more important than strong ties in understanding certain network-based phenomena. His argument rests on the assumption that strong ties tend to bond similar people to each other and these similar people tend to cluster together such that they are all mutually connected. The information obtained through such a network tie is more likely to be redundant, and the network is therefore not a channel for innovation. By contrast, a weak tie more often constitutes a “local bridge” to parts of the social system that are otherwise disconnected, and therefore a weak tie is likely to provide new information from disparate parts of the system. Thus, this theory argues, tie strength is curvilinear with a host of dependent variables: no tie (or an extremely weak tie) is of little consequence; a weak tie provides maximum impact, and a strong tie provides diminished impact. Subsequent research has generally supported Granovetter’s theory (Granovetter 1982), but two issues have been neglected in the research stream. First, there is considerable ambiguity as to what constitutes a strong tie and what constitutes a weak tie. Granovetter laid out four identifying properties of a strong tie: “The strength of a tie is a (probably linear) combination of the amount of time, the emotional intensity, the intimacy (mutual confiding), and the reciprocal services which characterize the tie” (1973:1361). This makes tie strength a linear function of four quasi-independent indicators. At what point is a tie to be considered weak? This is not simply a question for the methodologically curious. It is an important part of the theory itself, since the theory makes a curvilinear prediction. If we happen to be on the very left side of the continuum of tie strength, then increasing the strength of the tie (going from no tie to weak tie) will increase the relevant information access. On the other hand, at some point making the ties stronger will theoretically decrease their impact. How do we know where we are on this theoretical curve? Do all four indicators count equally toward tie strength? In practice, tie strength has been measured many different ways.
The central argument of network research is that actors are embedded in networks of interconnected social relationships that offer opportunities for and constraints on behavior. We review research on the antecedents and consequences of networks at the interpersonal, interunit, and interorganizational levels of analysis, evaluate recent theoretical and empirical trends, and give directions for future research, highlighting the importance of investigating cross-level network phenomena.
In today's highly dynamic and interactive business environment, the role of ''customer engagement'' (CE) in cocreating customer experience and value is receiving increasing attention from business practitioners and academics alike. Despite this interest, sys-tematic scholarly inquiry into the concept and its conceptual distinctiveness from other, associated relational concepts has been limited to date. This article explores the theoretical foundations of CE by drawing on relationship marketing theory and the service-dominant (S-D) logic. The analysis also examines the use of the term ''engagement'' in the social science, management, and marketing academic literatures, as well as in specific business practice applications. Five fundamental propositions (FPs) derived from this analysis are used to develop a general definition of CE, and distinguish the concept from other relational con-cepts, including ''participation'' and ''involvement.'' The five propositions are used in the development of a framework for future research, the undertaking of which would facilitate the subsequent refinement of the conceptual domain of CE. Overall, CE, based on its relational foundations of interactive experience and the cocreation of value, is shown to represent an important concept for research in marketing and service management.
In this paper, we review and analyze the emerging network paradigm in organizational re-search. We begin with a conventional review of recent research organized around recognized research streams. Next, we analyze this research, developing a set of dimensions along which network studies vary, including direction of causality, levels of analysis, explanatory goals, and explanatory mechanisms. We use the latter two dimensions to construct a 2-by-2 table cross-classifying studies of network consequences into four canonical types: structural social capital, social access to resources, contagion, and environmental shaping. We note the rise in popularity of studies with a greater sense of agency than was traditional in network research. © 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. The volume of social network research in management has increased radically in recent years, as it has in many disciplines. Indeed, the network literature is growing exponentially, as shown in Figure 1. The boom in network research is part of a general shift, beginning in the second half of the 20th century, away from individualist, essentialist and atomistic explanations toward more relational, contextual and systemic understandings. The shift can be seen in fields as diverse as literary criticism, in which consideration of literary works as self-contained immutable objects has given way to seeing texts as embedded in a system of meaning references decoded by myriad interacting readers (Barthes, 1977; Kristeva, 1980), and physics, in which there is no hotter topic than modeling the evolution of every kind of network including collaboration in the film industry and co-authorship among academics (Barabasi, 2002; Newman, 2002).
Electronic commerce is an increasingly popular business model with a wide range of tools available to firms. An application that is becoming more common is the use of self-service technologies (SSTs), such as telephone bank-ing, automated hotel checkout, and online investment trading, whereby customers produce services for them-selves without assistance from firm employees. Widespread introduction of SSTs is apparent across industries, yet relatively little is known about why customers decide to try SSTs and why some SSTs are more widely accepted than others. In this research, the authors explore key factors that influence the initial SST trial decision, specifically focusing on actual behavior in situations in which the consumer has a choice among delivery modes. The authors show that the consumer readiness variables of role clarity, motivation, and ability are key mediators between established adoption constructs (innovation characteristics and individual differences) and the likelihood of trial., Department of Marketing, Arizona State University. The authors thank the Center for Ser-vices Leadership at Arizona State University for its support in securing a research partner for the study. The authors extend their gratitude to the sponsoring firm for its involvement in the project and to the three anony-mous JM reviewers for their insights throughout the review process.
The benefits of customer co-creation of value in the service context are well recognized. However, little is known about service
failures in a co-creation context and the consequent roles of both firms and customers in the advent of service recovery.
In conceptualizing a new construct, “customer participation in service recovery,” this study proposes a theoretical framework
that delineates the consequences of the construct and empirically tests the proposed framework using role-playing experiments.
The results indicate that, when customers participate in the service recovery process in self-service technology contexts,
they are more likely to report higher levels of role clarity, perceived value of future co-creation, satisfaction with the
service recovery, and intention to co-create value in the future. Theoretical and managerial implications of the findings
are discussed.
KeywordsCustomer participation-Service recovery-Services marketing-Co-creation-Service-dominant logic-S-D logic
Marketing inherited a model of exchange from economics, which had a dominant logic based on the exchange of "goods," which usually are manufactured output. The dominant logic focused on tangible resources, embedded value, and transactions. Over the past several decades, new perspectives have emerged that have a revised logic focused on intangible resources, the cocreation of value, and relationships. The authors believe that the new per- spectives are converging to form a new dominant logic for marketing, one in which service provision rather than goods is fundamental to economic exchange. The authors explore this evolving logic and the corresponding shift in perspective for marketing scholars, marketing practitioners, and marketing educators.
The author proposes an alternative estimation technique for quadratic and interaction latent variables in structural equation models using LISREL, EQS, and CALIS. The technique specifies these variables with single indicants. The loading and error terms for the single indicants can be specified as constants in the structural model. The author's technique is shown to perform adequately using synthetic data sets.
The authors develop a conceptual framework of the marketing–finance interface and discuss its implications for the theory and practice of marketing. The framework proposes that marketing is concerned with the task of developing and managing market-based assets, or assets that arise from the commingling of the firm with entities in its external environment. Examples of market-based assets include customer relationships, channel relationships, and partner relationships. Market-based assets, in turn, increase shareholder value by accelerating and enhancing cash flows, lowering the volatility and vulnerability of cash flows, and increasing the residual value of cash flows.
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 critical element in the evolution of a fundamental body of knowledge in marketing, as well as for improved marketing practice, is the development of better measures of the variables with which marketers work. In this article an approach is outlined by which this goal can be achieved and portions of the approach are illustrated in terms of a job satisfaction measure.
Despite voluminous research indicating that women and minorities have limited access to or are excluded from organizational networks, two central questions remain unanswered: (a) In what specific ways, if any, do the interaction networks of men and women and whites and racial minorities differ? and (b) What mechanisms produce those differences? The central thesis of the article is that the organizational context in which interaction networks are embedded produces unique constraints on women and racial minorities, causing their networks to differ from those of their white male counterparts in composition and characteristics of their relationships with network members. Organizational context is hypothesized to affect personal networks directly, as well as through its impact on individuals' strategies for managing constraints. A theoretical perspective that views women and minorities as active agents who make strategic choices among structurally limited alternatives is offered.
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.
Interest in the problem of method biases has a long history in the behavioral sciences. Despite this, a comprehensive summary of the potential sources of method biases and how to control for them does not exist. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to examine the extent to which method biases influence behavioral research results, identify potential sources of method biases, discuss the cognitive processes through which method biases influence responses to measures, evaluate the many different procedural and statistical techniques that can be used to control method biases, and provide recommendations for how to select appropriate procedural and statistical remedies for different types of research settings.
This study examines the effects of five attributes - authority, education, sex, race, and branch assignment - on the proximities among the members of five professional organizations in networks of instrumental and primary relations. Sex and race are found to have greater influence on primary ties than instrumental ties. While there is some evidence in two organizations that authority and education affect instrumental ties more than primary ties, the data as a whole favor the hypothesis that these two attributes, which are associated with position in the formal division of labor, give rise to both instrumental and primary ties. These attributes generally serve to place high status persons in central network positions. In one organization where these attributes prove to have little predictive power, we examine the effects on network form of a conflict which led to the disintegration of the organization shortly after it was surveyed. The factions into which the organization was divided are readily apparent in a spatial representation of the network. In conclusion we review the implications for organizational theory and research of the attribute analysis in conjunction with the case study findings.
The author proposes an alternative estimation technique for quadratic and interaction latent variables in structural equation models using LISREL, EQS, and CALIS. The technique specifies these variables with single indicants. The loading and error terms for the single indicants can be specified as constants in the structural model. The author's technique is shown to perform adequately using synthetic data sets.
This chapter begins with a history of the theoretical perspectives on the importanceof social relationships for health and well-being. It then presents a seriesof models that explain how social factors can influence health and discusses thechallenges facing the field in regard to the development of measurements andinterventions. The chapter concludes with an overview of the remainder of thevolume.
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This paper argues that organizations with a particular social network structure are more effective than most organizations in responding to crises. Further, it is argued that the effective structure does not occur naturally, but must be designed consciously and carefully. A theory is developed based on well-founded principles of social science, most notably work on formal structure, conflict, friendships, and organizational crises. The paper concludes with an experimental test of one of the four propositions deduced from the theory. Six trials of the experiment found significant support for this propositon.
Regardless of the specific tools and methods a firm adopts or what quality experts an organization follows, managing for quality and competitive advantage means a firm must become customer oriented. Unfortunately, many quality-management programs and efforts to enhance competitiveness take a rather limited view of potential customer involvement in the process. This article first examines familiar roles that customers play in both manufacturing and service organizations. Then, insights from organization theory, services marketing, strategic management, and total quality concepts are integrated to develop both a conceptual model and 10 propositions based on a more complex view of potential customer contributions to competitive quality. Both a research agenda and ideas for improved organizational practice are discussed.
Despite voluminous research indicating that women and minorities have limited access to or are excluded from organizational networks, two central questions remain unanswered: (a) In what specific ways, if any, do the interaction networks of men and women and whites and racial minorities differ? and (b) What mechanisms produce those differences? The central thesis of the article is that the organizational context in which interaction networks are embedded produces unique constraints on women and racial minorities, causing their networks to differ from those of their white male counterparts in composition and characteristics of their relationships with network members. Organizational context is hypothesized to affect personal networks directly, as well as through its impact on individuals' strategies for managing constraints. A theoretical perspective that views women and minorities as active agents who make strategic choices among structurally limited alternatives is offered.
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 critical element in the evolution of a fundamental body of knowledge in marketing, as well as for improved marketing practice, is the development of better measures of the variables with which marketers work. In this article an approach is outlined by which this goal can be achieved and portions of the approach are illustrated in terms of a job satisfaction measure.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate which types of service employees provide their customers with social support and to understand why they do so.
Design/methodology/approach
The article employs a network‐based inventory method to evaluate a customer's commercial‐based social support network and grounded theory to develop a framework illustrating the interdependence between service providers and their customers regarding the exchange of intrinsic support and extrinsic financial incentives and gifts.
Findings
Indirect service employees who do not directly receive tips from customers emerge as key providers of social support. Also, commercial friendships are not marketplace niceties. Service providers and customers engage in a mutually beneficial exchange of social support, gifts, and tips under the guise of commercial friendships.
Research limitations/implications
The article is based upon service provider and customer relationships in an American diner. Researchers may want to apply the offered model to other contexts and locals. Also, researchers may want to reconsider the idea that service providers willingly provide social support to their customers.
Practical implications
The hiring and training of service employees, such as cashiers, hostesses, and “bus boys,” should be taken into consideration as they may be key providers of social support. Service providers should realize the extrinsic and intrinsic benefits or providing support.
Originality/value
The paper empirically investigates the role of indirect service employees in providing customers with social support. Also, it demonstrates that commercial friendships are mutually beneficial relationships where service providers and customers realize extrinsic and/or intrinsic benefits from these relationships.
The traditional system of company-centric value creation (that has served us so well over the past 100 years) is becoming obsolete. Leaders now need a new frame of reference for value creation. In the emergent economy, competition will center on personalized co-creation experiences, resulting in value that is truly unique to each individual. The authors see a new frontier in value creation emerging, replete with fresh opportunities. In this new frontier the role of the consumer has changed from isolated to connected, from unaware to informed, from passive to active. As a result, companies can no longer act autonomously, designing products, developing production processes, crafting marketing messages, and controlling sales channels with little or no interference from consumers. Armed with new tools and dissatisfied with available choices, consumers want to interact with firms and thereby co-create value. The use of interaction as a basis for co-creation is at the crux of our emerging reality. The co-creation experience of the consumer becomes the very basis of value. The authors offer a DART model for managing co-creation of value processes.
Purpose
This paper aims to identify new directions for research into customer‐to‐customer interaction (CCI). It also aims to examine thematically the main achievements of two decades of CCI research.
Design/methodology/approach
Consultations both with CCI experts and with experts from a selection of management fields were undertaken. A selective literature review, based on an extensive search of the CCI literature, was conducted.
Findings
A large number of opportunities for future investigation are identified. A significant quantity of CCI literature is revealed. CCI is shown to be conceptually quite complex. Convincing evidence supports the claim that CCI has now joined the mainstream of services marketing.
Practical implications
For service management researchers, a number of service management topics, such as service recovery, SST, e‐service, and ergonomics, are shown to have CCI‐related aspects worthy of research attention. For service managers, the emphasis on showing the relevance of CCI, and the possibilities for influencing CCI, should encourage them to incorporate CCI considerations into their strategic and operational plans.
Originality/value
The wide‐ranging proposals for future research into CCI will undoubtedly stimulate investigation of many new avenues of CCI. Service management researchers are provided with a concise, thematic guide to the most influential CCI literature; the article contributes to the service‐dominant logic literature by broadening the discussion of the customer as an operant resource.
This research considers how different features of informal networks affect knowledge transfer. As a complement to previous research that has emphasized the dyadic tie strength component of informal networks, we focus on how network structure influences the knowledge transfer process. We propose that social cohesion around a relationship affects the willingness and motivation of individuals to invest time, energy, and effort in sharing knowledge with others. We further argue that the network range, ties to different knowledge pools, increases a person's ability to convey complex ideas to heterogeneous audiences. We also examine explanations for knowledge transfer based on absorptive capacity, which emphasizes the role of common knowledge, and relational embeddedness, which stresses the importance of tie strength. We investigate the network effect on knowledge transfer using data from a contract R&D firm. The results indicate that both social cohesion and network range ease knowledge transfer, over and above the effect for the strength of the tie between two people. We discuss the implications of these findings for research on effective knowledge transfer, social capital, and information diffusion.
Selected antecedents of customers’ service recovery expectations are considered in this study. A conceptual model is proposed
in which customer perceptions of service quality, customer satisfaction, and customer organizational commitment function as
antecedents to service recovery expectations. The proposed model was tested with covariance structure analysis. The results
support the hypothesized relationships, suggesting that service quality and customer organizational commitment have direct
effects on customer service recovery expectations and that customer satisfaction has an indirect effect on service recovery
expectations.
The magnitude, degree or extent of a customer relationship with a service worker or provider/firm has variously been referred to in the services literature as relationship closeness, relationship quality, or relationship strength. This has led to inconsistency in both the terminology and measures used. We summarize this literature and proceed to provide clear guidelines as to when each of these terms is appropriate.
We examine the role of social support in a service business and its effects on clients' willingness to recommend the service. This study utilized interviews (n − 28) and surveys (n − 92) with clients of a non-profit introductory service assisting singles in finding a lifelong partner. We examined clients' beliefs about marriage, children, singlehood, and service utilization; the practical, social support, and psychosocial benefits in service utilization; and the relationship of these benefits to clients' willingness to recommend the service. Results show that clients received social support and psychosocial benefits in these brief encounters. Clients' assessment of this assistance was significantly related to their willingness to recommend the service. The findings point to the importance of the quality of interpersonal contact in service encounters and extend earlier work on the provision of social support in business transactions.
Understanding sources of sustained competitive advantage has become a major area of research in strategic management. Building on the assumptions that strategic resources are heterogeneously distributed across firms and that these differences are stable overtime this article examines the link between firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Four empirical indicators of the potential of firm resources to generate sustained competitive advantage—value, rareness, imitability, and substitutability—are discussed. The model is applied by analyzing the potential of several firm resources for generating sustained competitive advantages. The article concludes by examining implications of this firm resource model of sustained competitive advantage for other business disciplines.ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR
This paper combines the concept of weak ties from social network research and the notion of complex knowledge to explain the role of weak ties in sharing knowledge across organization subunits in a multiunit organization. I use a network study of 120 new-product development projects undertaken by 41 divisions in a large electronics company to examine the task of developing new products in the least amount of time. Findings show that weak interunit ties help a project team search for useful knowledge in other subunits but impede the transfer of complex knowledge, which tends to require a strong tie between the two parties to a transfer. Having weak interunit ties speeds up projects when knowledge is not complex but slows them down when the knowledge to be transferred is highly complex. I discuss the implications of these findings for research on social networks and product innovation.