Article

Determinants of customer price sensitivity: an empirical analysis

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Abstract

Purpose Consumer price sensitivity has become a major issue over the past few decades. This paper aims to investigate the importance that insurance customers give to premiums, insurers, intermediary recommendations and bundling strategies. The relationship between attributes and consumer price sensitivity is also studied. Design/methodology/approach To calculate the importance of attributes and part-worth utilities, a Conjoint Analysis with Full Profile was performed. To segment the market, a two-stage cluster analysis was performed. The traditional formula for estimating price elasticity of demand was also used. Findings Price sensitivity is affected by the level of purchase involvement, bundled discounts and brand loyalty. Also, brand loyalty has a strong influence on customer acceptance of bundled discounts. Price bundling increases a firm’s revenues and profits. Research limitations/implications The size of the sample of the second stage of the research could be higher. It would also be interesting to have the collaboration of an actuary to carry out more precise analysis of premium estimation of bundling strategies and to study the ideal number of products that would compose the bundling strategy. Moreover, it could be relevant to consider life insurance products as part of the bundling strategy. It would also be interesting to study whether there is any benefit in applying the bundle discount to the anchor product instead of applying it to the accessory product. Practical implications Insurers and intermediaries can benefit from price bundling strategies to increase sales and profit. Originality/value The study contributes to the service marketing literature and marketing of the insurance sector by providing empirical evidence of the impact of price bundling on insurance customer sensitivity, with the use of a methodological and experimental approach.

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... Price tolerance in general has revoked considerable attention in scholarly marketing research because of its direct impact on profitability [27,101]. Less attention has been paid towards the role of price tolerance in the PDC in online environments. ...
... Repeat buyers establish a strong connection with the retailer, leading to distinct behaviors compared to new customers [128]. A multitude of empirical research finds that repeat buyers show higher levels of price tolerance than new customers [10,17,27,40,61,69,79,81,108,116]. They prefer to maintain their business relationship with a familiar retailer rather than undertaking the added costs and risks associated with searching for alternatives. ...
... Empirical work on the effect of C X, Existing with the use of PCW in the context of price tolerance is scarce. Dickinger and Stangl [27] suggest that the influence of PCW is heterogeneous among consumers. Ratchford [103] proposes a potential interdependence of PDC criteria in general. ...
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... Another factor that influences buyer price sensitivity is loyalty. A few studies show that loyal clients are very critical since they contribute to expanding corporate benefits (Reichheld and Sasser, 1990;Bennett and Rundle-Theile, 2005;Rauyruen and Mill operator, 2007;Dominique-Ferreira, S. & et al, 2016), they spend more than non-loyal clients (Russell-Bennett, McColl Kennedy and Coote, 2007;Dominique-Ferreira, S. & et al, 2016), additionally since they tend to be less sensitive to price (e.g., Ramirez and Goldsmith, 2009;Yoon and Tran, 2011;Roy, 2012;Dominique-Ferreira, S. & et al, 2016). ...
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... Concerning shopper inclusion, the literature states that clients having a more prominent inclusion with a item are less sensitive to price (see Zaichkowsky, 1988;Datta, 2003;Dominique-Ferreira, S. & et al, 2016). In this setting, this examination analyze how diverse levels of financial inclusion (low or below normal vs. high or above normal) really influence customer price sensitivity (Dominique-Ferreira, S. & et al, 2016). ...
... Another factor that influences buyer price sensitivity is loyalty. A few studies show that loyal clients are very critical since they contribute to expanding corporate benefits (Reichheld and Sasser, 1990;Bennett and Rundle-Theile, 2005;Rauyruen and Mill operator, 2007;Dominique-Ferreira, S. & et al, 2016), they spend more than non-loyal clients (Russell-Bennett, McColl Kennedy and Coote, 2007;Dominique-Ferreira, S. & et al, 2016), additionally since they tend to be less sensitive to price (e.g., Ramirez and Goldsmith, 2009;Yoon and Tran, 2011;Roy, 2012;Dominique-Ferreira, S. & et al, 2016). ...
... Another factor that influences buyer price sensitivity is loyalty. A few studies show that loyal clients are very critical since they contribute to expanding corporate benefits (Reichheld and Sasser, 1990;Bennett and Rundle-Theile, 2005;Rauyruen and Mill operator, 2007;Dominique-Ferreira, S. & et al, 2016), they spend more than non-loyal clients (Russell-Bennett, McColl Kennedy and Coote, 2007;Dominique-Ferreira, S. & et al, 2016), additionally since they tend to be less sensitive to price (e.g., Ramirez and Goldsmith, 2009;Yoon and Tran, 2011;Roy, 2012;Dominique-Ferreira, S. & et al, 2016). ...
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... Literature offers numerous analyses of customer behaviour and the practices that online shops must adhere to in order to persuade customers to make a purchasing decision. The paper [8] investigates the relationship between attributes and consumer price sensitivity. Price sensitivity is influenced by the level of purchase commitment, package discounts and brand loyalty. ...
... The samples were generated using the CTGAN model, which is discussed in Section 3.2. The tools provided in the SDMetrics library [8] were used to assess the quality of the generated content, focusing on the degree of accuracy with which the synthetic data reproduced the properties of the real data. This process is referred to as synthetic data fidelity. ...
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... The two factors are crucial to boosting service use and repurchases. Service providers strive for loyalty and increased customer satisfaction, which lower user price sensitivity and cost for new customers (Dominique-Ferreira et al., 2016;Reichheld and Sasser, 1990). ...
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... They have explicitly chosen not to purchase it otherwise. The attributes of sensitivity provide customers information into the significant function of pricing [17]. Price is a critical determinant of purchasing decisions, particularly when the transaction is seen as hazardous, when several alternatives are available, and when there is significant ambiguity about the goods. ...
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... Castillo, 2020;Crosetto & Gaudeul, 2016;Gomez et al., 2016), marketing (e.g. Dominique-Ferreira, 2017Dominique-Ferreira, Vasconcelos, & Proença, 2016;Dominique-Ferreira & Antunes, 2020;Lichters, Bengart, Sarstedt, & Vogt, 2017), and psychology (e.g. Farmer, Warren, El-Deredy, & Howes, 2017;Hadar, Danziger, & Hertwig, 2018;Li, Sun, & Chen, 2019) literature. ...
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... In [2] it was indicated that the satisfaction of online shoppers depends on product delivery, perceived safety, quality of information and product variety. A description of customer behaviour was presented in [5] where the authors examined the importance that insurance customers give to premiums, insurers, recommendations of intermediaries and bundling strategies. The relationship between attributes and consumer price sensitivity was also investigated. ...
Chapter
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In this paper we present the results of our study on the possibilities of profiling online store users in terms of price sensitivity. As a result of the study, a model was developed to define three groups of users with a low, medium and high probability of making a repeat purchase. The model was developed on the basis of data derived from monitoring user behaviour when using the web pages of an online shop. During their subsequent visits to the website, information was collected to anonymously identify the user in order to register subsequent visits, the origin of the source of the visits, behaviour on the website and the fact of making a purchase. The results of the conducted study may provide useful information to webshop owners in order to better understand the behaviour of their customers and to adapt their offers, including discounts, according to the price sensitivity of a given user.
... 1,2 This sector plays a major role in leveraging the economies of many countries, providing stability and con dence in markets. 3 The service provided is essential and demonstrates its e ect on the lives of customers in the long run. Accordingly, special attention is dedicated to trust indexes and marketing analytics as a determinant to maintain long -term relationships with customers and gain their loyalty. ...
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... Exploring the response of consumers to prices is effective for enterprises in carrying out marketing. Price sensitivity reflects consumers' feelings in paying a certain price for a certain product [2] . Sun Xiaodong, Tian Peng, and Zhao Li proposed that the heterogeneity of consumers lies in the sensitivity of consumers to price and quality; they explained that different pricing strategies depend on the switching cost of consumers [3] . ...
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In order to make full use of the characteristics of commodity prices, merchants on e-commerce platforms have adopted the low-price marketing strategy. Regular promotional discounts can bring new vitality to the commodity sales market, but extreme discount marketing methods would lead to serious impacts on the sales of competing products, thus affecting the stable development of the online shopping market. The sales data of four electrical products using the false low-price marketing strategy on three e-commerce platforms (Taobao, JD, and Amazon) were used in this study. The sales data from different e-commerce platforms and different time periods were analyzed, and one-way ANOVA was used on the factors affecting the effect of marketing strategy. The results showed that there is a significant difference between the direct marketing of high-priced products and low-priced products on Taobao; the difference between the marketing effects of high-priced products and mid-priced products on JD and Amazon is significant. This analysis would help businesses formulate reasonable marketing strategies and promote the stable development of the online shopping market.
... Kasus lain seperti Netflix memaksa menaikkan harga tanpa memperdulikan kemarahan para pelanggannya, akhirnya harga sahamnya anjlok lebih dari dua pertiga dalam waktu tiga bulan setelah keputusan tersebut (Mohammed, 2012 (Hayes, 1987), meningkatkan nilai dan loyalitas (Johnson et al., 1999;Arora, 2008), meraup surplus konsumen (Janiszewski & Cunha, 2004), persepsi dan perilaku konsumen (Ahmetoglu et al., 2014) (Trope, 1983(Trope, , 1986 (Adams & Yellen, 1976;Guiltinan, 1987;Ahmetoglu et al., 2014), mempertahan dan meningkat pelanggan baru (Andrews et al. 2010) dan meningkat loyalitas pelanggan (Johnson et al., 1999;Arora, 2008 Varibel dynamic pricing diukur dengan menggunakan tiga butir pertanyaan (Petro, 2015). Variabel dynamic bundling dengan tiga butir pertanyaan (Dominique-Ferreira et al., 2016;Li et al., 2018). Variabel persepsi ketdakadilan harga yang berisi empat butir pertanyaan (Li et al., 2018). ...
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Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis pengaruh antara dynamic pricing dan dynamic bundling terhadap persepsi ketidakadilan harga yang akhirnya menentukan tingkat kepuasan umum dalam membeli sebuah produk/jasa. Sebesar 340 responden dijadikan sebagai sampel setelah melalui proses penyaringan. Hasil analisis menemukan bahwa harga dinamis berpengaruh signifikan terhadap persepsi ketidakadilan harga. Kedua dynamic bundling berpengarauh tidak signifikan terhadap persepsi ketidakadilan harga. Ketiga persepsi ketidakadilan harga yang disebabkan oleh dynamic pricing berpengaruh tidak signifikan terhadap kepuasan. Terakhir persepsi ketidakadilan harga yang disebabkan oleh dynamic bundling berpengaruh signifikan terhadap kepuasann.
... Memblunding produk maupun harga secara dinamis dapat mengurangi resiko ketidakadilan harga dimata konsumen (Li et al., 2018;Dominique-Ferreira et al., 2016;2017 ...
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This study aims to analyze the effect of responsiveness and switching costs on customer retention. A total of seventy respondents were selected in this study, they are graduate students (master degree) for the Department of Management of the Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (UPI) who used SIMPATI cellular cards on their cell phones. The purposive sampling was a sampling technique for this study. The method of analysis in this study used multiple linear regression analysis with the support of the SPSS tool. The results showed that simultaneously the responsiveness and switching cost variables had an influence on the customer retention variable. Partially, the responsiveness variable has an influence on the customer retention variable, while not the switching cost variable. The coefficient of determination is 0.146, which means that customer retention in this study is explained by only 14.6% by responsiveness and switching costs. Several recommendations are stated in this article for the perfection of further research.
... Furthermore, it would be important to develop synergies between service providers to improve the distribution of consumers (Prentice et al., 2020). In this context, bundling strategies could play an important role (Dominique-Ferreira, 2017; Dominique-Ferreira & Antunes, 2019; Dominique-Ferreira et al., 2016), as well as educating intermediaries on the benefits of strategic creation of itinerary packages (Dominique-Ferreira, 2018). ...
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Contemporary architecture has an increasing importance in tourism. The marketing implications of digital or mobile content in this niche tourism space has not been previously studied. With this project we aim to build a mobile app to cater to this market and show that it can positively impact tourism in Portugal. A two-step multidimensional approach was applied to achieve this goal. The first step was based on benchmarking, as well as interviews with two architects. The second step was based on visual identity factors, prototyping, and usability tests. We found that it was possible to develop an intuitive app that positively adjusted to the needs and preferences of future users. Improvements to the platform should include new metrics, blog links, and augmented reality.
... Price sensitivity is the consumers' perspective towards the amount of the product to be purchased. This antecedent is significant in marketing decisions (Dominique-Ferreira, Vasconcelos, & Proença, 2016;Goldsmith & Newell, 1997). The sensitivity of the consumers towards price impact economic motivations (Guiot & Roux, 2010;Roux & Guiot, 2008;Valaei & Nikhashemi, 2017). ...
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This paper aims to identify the antecedents of buying behavior for secondhand clothing among millennials, as well as to determine their underlying causal relationships. Upon a comprehensive literature search, a total of 18 antecedents were found, and these are categorized into three motives, namely, economic, hedonic and recreational, and critical. As a case study in the Philippines, a focus group discussion among experts who are active millennial secondhand clothing users and buyers were tasked to identify the antecedents they have experienced and further confirm those extracted from the literature. To establish the causal relationships of these antecedents, categorize them into net causes or net effects, and address the vagueness associated with the decision-making process, a fuzzy DEMATEL method is used. Results reveal that avoidance of conventional channels proves to be the antecedent providing the highest impact among all other antecedents. Uniqueness, high quality, and fashion trend found to be the antecedents with the highest impacts received, making them the major net effects. Findings from this work hope to provide a framework among practitioners that would lead to a better understanding of millennials’ buying behavior for secondhand clothing.
... Considering the importance of customer retention in the insurance business and the influence of intermediaries, such as exclusive agents and insurance brokers, on the buying process, satisfaction and loyalty of customers in this industry (Brophy 2013;Dominique-Ferreira et al. 2016), the purpose of this paper is to provide an overall picture of the current investigation of insurance cancellation in the non-life business using the systematic quantitative literature review (SQLR) method (Pickering and Byrne 2014; Pickering et al. 2015), and to take into consideration the influence of intermediaries on customers' decisions. ...
Article
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overall picture of the current investigation of insurance cancellation in the non-life business, taking into consideration the influence of intermediaries on customers’ decisions using the systematic quantitative literature review method. This article identifies the most important factors that explain switching behaviour in non-life insurance. It also highlights the impact and responsibility of insurance companies’ marketing strategies and tactics on insurance policy cancellations and customer churn. This research contributes to increasing scientific knowledge on insurance cancellation in the non-life business and to the development of actions to retain customers, with a higher level of effectiveness, improving the results of insurance companies and the performance of the industry.
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This study investigated how customer engagement, such as social media interaction, reduces price sensitivity. It further explored the positive relationships between engagement, brand identity, brand equity, and customer loyalty. Correlation analyses revealed that higher engagement leads to lower price sensitivity and strengthens brand identity, brand equity, and customer loyalty. The findings suggest that managers can leverage customer engagement strategies to create a more resilient customer base, less sensitive to price competition, and with a stronger connection to the brand.
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Purpose This study investigates how insurance intermediaries in Portugal and Ireland evaluate supply chain management (SCM) practices within the insurance industry, specifically focusing on potential regional variations in their assessments. Design/methodology/approach A comparative research design was employed, collecting data through surveys administered to insurance brokers in Portugal and Ireland. These countries were chosen due to their well-developed intermediary-based insurance markets. Findings The results show that some dimensions of supply chain management are significantly different between Portugal and Ireland. Nevertheless, the insurance brokers from the two countries also share similar views on key aspects of supply chain management. Practical implications This study offers valuable insights for insurance industry management, particularly regarding the dynamics of the insurer-intermediary relationship and the importance of catering to intermediary needs. The findings also highlight potential areas for European Union policy consideration, such as addressing potential asymmetries within the insurance sector across member states. Social implications Improved relationships and collaboration within the insurance supply chain can lead to enhanced access to insurance products and more tailored services for consumers. Originality/value This research addresses two key gaps in the literature. Firstly, it examines the insurer-intermediary relationship from the intermediary perspective, a viewpoint often neglected in prior research. Secondly, the study investigates and confirms the existence of regional variations in insurance SCM practices across two European countries.
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The South African short-term insurance industry is diverse and competitive. Consumers can choose from a wide variety of motor vehicle insurance policies. The aim of this paper was to determine the specific factors that influence individuals’ decision to purchase personal motor vehicle insurance in South Africa. A quantitative research approach was followed, which involved collecting data by means of a self-administered questionnaire. A three-phased analysis strategy, consisting of (1) exploratory factor analysis, (2) confirmatory factor analysis and (3) logistic regression model building, was followed to test and refine a consumer purchase decision model until an acceptable model could be established. The acceptable model identified specific internal and external factors, namely, marketing efforts (people, process and price of a policy); factors related to the sociocultural environment (items such as positive social class and negative reference family member); communication sources (paid-for social media efforts, buzz agents and customized messages); psychological attributes (items such as motivation and personality); and demographic variables (household income, highest level of education and age). It is recommended that insurance companies take note of the identified factors that influence the market since they are the policymakers who offer and market motor vehicle insurance products to consumers and potential consumers.
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Social media has perennially transformed consumers' purchasing cycles. Today, consumers can effortlessly conduct online information searches about brands based on their interest in brands' social media pages or read brand reviews made by other consumers on social media networks. Social media is undisputedly characterised by ratings, comments, reviews, and other features found on websites that indicate what users think of the content being discussed. Taking note of what users say on social media and engaging in discussions is a great way for brands to influence these discussions and condition consumers' purchase decisions and intentions. To achieve the objectives of this research, this study adopts a quantitative research method in which convenience and purposive sampling were utilised to recruit research participants. Self-administered, structured questionnaires are used to collect primary data. Both descriptive and inferential statistics are utilised in this study. Data is analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24.0. The outcomes of this research advocate that social media is an immensely powerful communication tool that can be used to shape consumers' purchase intentions.
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The motivation behind this study is to propose a bundling strategy for the food market that integrates consumer preferences and producer revenue. Previous studies have addressed the benefits of bundling for producers and marketers, but they did not consider consumer preferences when selecting and designing the bundled content. Therefore, this study aims to fill this gap by proposing a bundling strategy that maximizes both consumer utility and producer revenue. The study uses a nested logit model to measure consumer preferences for dairy products in a bundle and an algorithm to suggest the optimal bundle. The proposed theoretical algorithm is tested on empirical data collected through a consumer survey. The study proposes a bundling strategy for a specific case of dairy products. The study's main results show that demographic characteristics and marketing mix elements significantly influence consumer preferences for dairy products. Additionally, the algorithm-based approach proposed in the study can be a useful and attractive marketing and sales tool for retailers, dairy suppliers, and policymakers. The study has some limitations that can be addressed in future research. Firstly, the survey was conducted in a developing country, and its results should be validated in other contexts. Secondly, the dairy preference data used in this study were collected in 2018, following an increasing number and variety of dairy products in that market. Future studies should examine the effect of the latter on consumer preferences. Finally, the study did not consider the impact of external factors such as economic conditions, cultural differences, and social norms on consumer preferences and producer revenue. Therefore, future research should investigate the impact of these factors on the proposed dairy bundle strategy.
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Purpose This research examines the role of a therapist’s attributes, namely, expertise, sociability, likability and mind-set similarity, in building trust, satisfaction and commitment amongst visitors in Indian wellness resorts and hotels. Design/methodology/approach The text mining approach was adopted to collect a large corpus of 3,94,373 online reviews from TripAdvisor, Google Reviews and hotels.com. Reviews were taken from 1,677 resorts and hotels that deal in spa and wellness care across India. This study uses unsupervised Naïve Bayes classification and n-gram lexical TF-IDF vectorizer method to classify and find the sentiment of the reviews shared by the visitors of the wellness resorts. Additionally, multiple linear regression is performed to understand the impact of the therapist’s identified attributes on the visitor’s relationship quality. Findings The research found positive sentiment towards the therapist’s likability, and visitors seemed satisfied with the overall wellness service. The sentiment towards trust and commitment is low. The study also found significant links between likability and expertise in building the relationship quality between the therapist and the visitors. The expertise of the therapist enhances visitors’ trust and willingness to return. The therapist’s likability nature helps in increasing visitor satisfaction. Research limitations/implications This study helps to understand the service personnel's level of relationship with the customer in hospitality services. Further, the study empirically verifies the important factors that build relationship quality in Indian wellness services. Practical implications The present study argues the need for greater clarity in understanding the customer perception of the services provided by wellness therapists in Indian wellness resorts and hotels. The study guides hotel managers to perform training of wellness therapists to improve customer satisfaction. Using the findings of the current study, managers can prioritize therapists’ attributes and realign their core strategies and provide satisfying wellness services to customers. Originality/value This study demonstrates the essential qualities a therapist should develop to enhance the relationship with the resort visitors and foster trust, commitment and satisfaction. The study goes a step further by using a vast database of online data for deep insights into the visitor’s view and the use of machine learning for amplifying results.
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The purpose of this study is to evaluate the role of marketing strategy, information communication technology (ICT) marketing support, and service quality in the market orientation–performance relationship. Even though there are many studies considering the market orientation–performance relationship they rarely take into consideration ICT marketing support and marketing strategy, especially concerning the companies operating in B2B markets. Additionally, this study compares the impacts of the constructs between two emerging economies (Slovenia and Serbia) and one developed economy (Austria) on a random sample of 636 companies. Results were obtained based on the set hypotheses using the covariance-based structural equation modeling (SEM) and invariance testing procedure to make comparisons between the three countries. Market orientation strongly influenced the successful development and implementation of marketing strategies, ICT support, and service quality. The impact of service quality on company performance was statistically insignificant and only the indirect impact of market orientation on company performance through service quality was determined. ICT marketing support and successful development and implementation of B2B marketing strategy were also positively related to company performance. This study can help managers in B2B companies in emerging and developed markets to learn how to use specific marketing resources in order to achieve higher company performance.
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The study intends to assess the level of marketing mix strategies (people, product, place, physical evidence, price, promotion, and process) and the level of customer satisfaction of resorts in Mati. This study also aimed to look into the utilization and importance of the marketing mix strategies and their effectiveness in customer satisfaction. A non-exploratory plan was utilized for the study using elucidating overview strategy procedure. This study used an online survey through google forms to disseminate the survey questionnaire to the 500 beachgoers who visited the resorts of Mati City, Philippines. The study's findings revealed an overall mean score of 3.91 with a standard deviation of 0.560. This means that the marketing mix strategies of resorts in Mati City are high. On the other hand, the customer satisfaction of resorts in Mati has an overall mean score of 4.30 with a standard deviation of 0.649, which is very high. This means that both marketing mix strategies and customer satisfaction are completely correlated and have a significant relationship. The results above have marketing implications for resort management. Sustaining satisfaction among resort customers means that they could provide the need and wants for a beach experience and stay in the aspects. This will like the result in sustainable resort management if they continue to meet the customers' expectations (marketing) and experience (product & service mix).
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This is my Dissertation on the topic - "ROLE OF PRICING STRATEGY AND OTHER MAJOR FACTORS IN THE DOMINANCE OF DISCOUNT BROKERS IN THE STOCK MARKET" College: Jindal Global Business School University: O. P. Jindal Global University Month & Year of Submission: June 2020
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Consumers expect companies to practice fair pricing. Understanding the underlying cognitive mechanism that determines consumers’ price fairness perceptions is significant. It could help mitigate negative outcomes from unfairness perceptions and place firms in a better competitive position. This study examines the role of consumers’ thinking styles in perceived price fairness and purchase intention in a price increase situation. An online experiment was conducted wherein 171 participants across India, primarily from tier-1 cities frequently using car rental services, took part from September to December 2021. The majority of the participants (72) were 21-30 years old (42%). All involved participants met the initial criteria of using car rental services at least once a week. Proposed hypotheses were checked by one-way ANOVA following Tukey post hoc test and PROCESS. One-way ANOVA results shows a significant influence of thinking styles on cognitive attribution with large effect size, F(2, 168) = 28.04, p < .001, η2 = 0.25; presents a significant influence of thinking styles on perceived price fairness with large effect size, F(2, 168) = 30.07, p < .001, η2 = .0.26; demonstrates a significant influence of thinking styles on purchase intention F(2, 168) = 19.94, p < .001, η2 = .0.19. Findings revealed that, in the face of a price increase occurrence, consumers thinking holistically and analytically differ in perceived price fairness and purchase intention. Furthermore, holistic thinkers with higher cognitive attribution perceive a price increase as fairer. Thereby, they have higher purchase intention than analytic thinkers. Acknowledgment This study received support from Internal Grant Agency (project number IGA/FaME/2022/010), Tomas Bata University in Zlín.
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In the present fast paced mechanical world individuals are constantly worried about enhancing their earning capacity to lead a comfortable life. They experience a lot of stress in the course of satisfying their materialistic needs. This research paper has made an attempt to explore the factors influencing the customers to investment in health insurance policies at Religare Health Insurance PVT Ltd. The primary data collection has been made through structured questionnaire. The opinions of 100 respondents were considered for the analysis,to understand which factors have more influence on customers and rank these factors according to the ratings given by the respondents. Demographic variables play a very important role in understanding customer's perception. Thus, the impact of demographic profiles was also assessed. Through this analysis it was found that factors like tax benefits, risk coverage and savings, security with high returns, insurance services and premium charges are the major factors that are influencing customer's investments in health insurance policies. Based on the findings the relevant suggestions like promotional methods, discount schemes, choice of media to promote insurance policies etc., were made.
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Purpose Prior hospitality studies have reviewed review trustworthiness and perceived price as predictors of restaurant selection. However, the impacts of these two factors may vary by sales promotion and customer types. This study aims to determine whether sales promotions and customer type are the key elements that facilitate behavioral intentions by moderating the linkage between perceived price and behavioral intentions as well as the linkage between online review trustworthiness and behavioral intentions. Design/methodology/approach Analysis of the responses of 533 individuals familiar with the Michelin Guide for restaurants in Seoul provided evidence supporting a sales promotion theory wherein promotions signal benefits in consumers’ minds. Findings The findings show that when perceived price is positive and the trustworthiness of online reviews is high, repeat customers prefer mixed coupons to price discounts. Notably, the results indicate that when the trustworthiness of online reviews is high, first-time customers also prefer mixed coupons to price discounts. Furthermore, the findings suggest that negative evaluations of perceived price increase the impact of mixed coupons by signaling to first-time customers that given restaurants’ offerings provide monetary benefits regardless of their intentions to revisit said restaurants. Research limitations/implications The study findings provide insights that should help managers better understand various levels of promotion. Managers can design their pricing strategies to strengthen customers’ motivations to visit their restaurants – the very thing customers often seek in sales promotions. Originality/value This study provides indisputable evidence for a sales promotion theory, wherein promotions signal benefits in consumers’ minds; however, it also shows that first-time and repeat customers do not respond equally to sales promotions.
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In order to enhance both purchase willingness and consumer satisfaction, firms may sell products in a customized bundling way, with which consumers are allowed to select their preferred products to form a bundle. However, such a way needs to be carried out with an efficient strategic tool. This study contributes to the literature by proposing a two-stage customized bundling strategy with the aims of maximizing the firm's profit and satisfying the consumers' demands. The proposed strategy may assist managers in enhancing consumer satisfaction and loyalty under consideration of consumer heterogeneity. Consumers can select one main product with the greatest utility from the main product category at the first stage, and then, at the second, consider the associations between the chosen main and possible add-on products in the add-on product category, and finally select an add-on product to form a customized bundle with the greatest overall utility. Pricing strategies are investigated and compared for the customized and other traditional bundling strategies. The results show that when consumers are highly sensitive in their preferences, the use of a customized bundling strategy would be more profitable. However, in an extreme case when the consumer's perceived value of the add-on product and product association are both high, the traditional individual sales strategy would earn more profits than the customized bundling strategy.
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Bu bölümde öncelikle fiyat duyarlılığı kavramı tanımlanarak önemi ifade edilmiştir. Fiyat duyarlılığı kavramının gelişimi ve kapsamı kavramın araştırıldığı çeşitli bağlamlar, birlikte incelendiği değişkenler, farklı değişkenler üzerindeki etkileri ele alınmıştır. Yüksek ve düşük fiyat duyarlığına neden olan faktörler belirtilerek açıklanmıştır. Ayrıca, fiyat duyarlılığını ölçmenin sağladığı faydalar ve ölçme teknikleri belirtilmiştir ve alan yazında yaygın olarak kullanılan fiyat duyarlılığı ölçekleri hakkında bilgi verilmiştir. Alan yazınında yer alan fiyat duyarlılığı ile ilgili yapılan ulusal ve uluslararası örnekler sunulmuştur. Fiyat duyarlılığı kavramı teorik ve yönetimsel katkılara değinilerek özetlenmiştir. Bunlara ek olarak, bölüm sonunda fiyat duyarlılığının incelendiği bir örnek olaya yer verilmiştir.
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Among all the elements of the marketing mix, price is the only element that brings revenues to a firm. Pricing-related research is broadly carried out in two different disciplines, namely economics and marketing. The research in economics domain is primarily theoretical. The research in marketing is multi-disciplinary and uses principles of game theory, behavioral decision theory, psychology, and social dimensions to address various pricing-related managerial decision problems. Scholars have proposed multiple theories explaining the pricing-related decision-making processes of firms. However, most of the work is descriptive in nature and does not give adequate directions to operationalize the decisions related to pricing strategy. This paper is normative in nature and provides useful insides to practitioners on how pricing strategy decisions can be made. This paper proposes a decision hierarchy that can be used to operationalize decisions related to the pricing strategy of a firm. Since the inherent components of the problem structure closely resemble the axiomatic requirements of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) which is a popular multi-criteria decision-making method, this paper also demonstrates how the AHP method can be used to solve a strategic pricing decision problem.
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This paper reports on an empirical analysis of the readiness of Polish regions to develop business tourism products. The main purpose of this paper is to evaluate the potential of hotel facilities to support business tourism in Poland. The objective of this study was to identify and analysis of the potential of business tourism in Poland, and what internal and external conditions are important for business tourism development. The authors researched these issues by analyzing the statistical data of the Polish Central Statistical Office. Based on the collected data, the components of the business tourism potential were specified. Two analytical methods—Hellwig’s and TOPSIS—were implemented, and then, the strength of interdependence of both rankings was analyzed by using the Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. The results of the analysis indicate that particular conditions for shaping business tourism products existing in the country. However, the diversity of business tourism potential in Poland is clearly visible. The highest value of synthetic measures of the potential attractiveness of business tourism was characteristic for those regions which have a wide range of tourist attractions. In order to verify how the regions used their potential to attract business tourists, a comparison of the obtained results and coefficients related to density of tourist movement and Schneider’s intensity of tourist movement was made. The analysis of both indicators showed that some of the Polish regions used their possibilities in an appropriate way.
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Abstract: Industries in Iran are not aware of the characteristics of after-sales service and its impact on customer satisfaction. Despite the research, a coherent model has not been developed on the vital issue of after-sales services in the liquid gas industry in Iran. Considering the complexity of designing the after-sales service model in the world-class liquid gas industry, a methodology approach to soft systems has been exploited. In this research, using the above approach, the problem of non-structured design, model design at the world-class level is explained, and then by specifying its boundaries, the image of the various actors of the system and their benefits are depicted. In the third step, the CATWOE approach is used to explain the basic definition of the after-sales service model in this industry, and in the fourth stage, a conceptual model of activities is presented using the root definition. The researcher will exploit this phase of the integration of ISM and Fuzzy Delphi in the process of solution. In the fifth step, the developed model is compared with the real world. In Phase VI, desirable and feasible changes were identified in terms of identifying system whit IAP Technique constraints. Finally, suggestions are given to authorities and stakeholders to develop the model to reach the world-class level.
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Purpose Digital technology is revolutionizing insurance distribution allowing the insurer companies to reach customers via multichannel. The aim of this study is to segment potential customers of life insurance based on their information search, purchasing channels and personal characteristics in the digital environment. Design/methodology/approach The study uses cross-sectional research survey. In total, 422 questionnaires were collected through a convenience sample of the Romanian population. The data was segmented based on consumer information touchpoints (online vs offline), purchase channel preference (offline by a professional vs online by a standardized platform) and personal characteristics (age, marital status and children). Findings The channel segmentation analysis revealed that information channel preferences are the most important clustering variables, followed by purchase channel preferences, marital status, having children and age. Four distinct segments were identified: young fully offliners (23.7%), mature fully offliners (31.5%), committed online searchers (23.2%) and cross-channel onliners (21.6%). Practical implications Insurance companies should adapt their communication and distribution strategy based on multichannel segmentation and should focus on digital touchpoints with costumers. Originality/value Firstly, the paper reveals multichannel and hybrid segmentation for life insurance. Secondly, it extends the already studied retail channels with search engines and companies' websites. Thirdly, it extends the behavioural variables for channel segmentation with technology acceptance behaviour, attitude towards life insurance, knowledge about life insurance, attitude towards personal selling and quality appraisal of online information sources.
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A common goal in tourist sector planning is assessment of the demand for a given destination or destination type. For effective development of a marketing mix it is very useful to first categorize the tourist population into homogenous groups, or segments. The principal aim of the present study was to categorize the Spanish adult population as regards tourism preferences. A conjoint analysis procedure was used to characterize subjects on the basis of preferences for hypothetical destinations showing different attribute combinations, and cluster analysis was then used to identify subject groups on the basis of these preferences. Our results indicate the existence of 8 well-defined subject groups. The characteristics of these groups were explored on the basis of questionnaire data, using analysis of residuals to identify statistically significant associations.
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The present paper seeks to offer the most decipherable and widely applicable antecedents of customer loyalty. It explores the extant literature on customer loyalty and brings out seven variableswhich are responsible for formation of customer loyalty. Further, the relative importance of these variables has been ascertained through Multiple Regression Analysis which revealed that service quality and commitment are the strongest predictors of customer loyalty in theIndian life insurance industry. The paper also attempts to assess the loyalty status of life insurance customers in India and draw a comparison between public and private sector life insurancecompanies in order to provide significant insights to the life insurance companies that may assist them in devising better loyalty practices. The findings suggest that Indian customers do care about the public sector status of a financial service provider as it entails a sense of security and stability and thus creates a difference between customer loyalty of public sector life insurerand that of private sector life insurer. The paper holds significant implications for academicians interested in dynamics of customer loyalty as well as the marketers of life insurance services whoare concerned with customer relationships.
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The rapid development of current markets justifies brands' need to constantly and innovatively modify their products in order to meet the needs and preferences of increasingly demanding consumers. Advertising companies' main objective for attaining leadership in their respective areas is to adjust these changes to suit consumers' preferences and necessities. In this context, a well-known company that deals in bottled water considered modifying some elements of its current containers. To minimize risk, a hall test was carried out on 100 consumers, in which the task of ascertaining consumer preferences using real stimuli and subsequent application of the conjoint algorithm on the data (quantitative research) was combined with personal interviews with consumers (qualitative research). The integration of quantitative and qualitative derived data was useful to show that the intuition of the people responsible for the brand or the creative aspect of advertising is not always accurate and can be completely different from the preferences of the final consumers.
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