Maria Bengtsson and Agneta Marell
During the 1980’s and 1990’s deregulation had become the “recipe” for many countries’ economies to obtain increased efficiency and lower prices. Yet many empirical and theoretical…
Abstract
During the 1980’s and 1990’s deregulation had become the “recipe” for many countries’ economies to obtain increased efficiency and lower prices. Yet many empirical and theoretical studies of deregulation show that expectations rarely became fulfilled. The purpose of this paper is to develop the model of competition by introducing static and dynamic competition, which has different consequences for market performance. We claim that the development of static and/or dynamic competition post deregulation can be explained by structural conditions, both regarding entry barriers and customer influence. Four different competitive conducts are identified based on an explorative study of four deregulated industries: static, dynamic, hyper, and unheated competition.
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Galina Biedenbach, Maria Bengtsson and Agneta Marell
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of satisfaction and switching costs on the development of brand equity in the business-to-business (B2B) setting. The study…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of satisfaction and switching costs on the development of brand equity in the business-to-business (B2B) setting. The study considers the hierarchical effects between brand awareness, brand associations, perceived quality, and brand loyalty. Furthermore, the conceptual model examines the direct effect of switching costs on satisfaction.
Design/methodology/approach
Structural equation modeling was used to analyze 632 responses from the CEOs and CFOs of organizations buying auditing and business consultancy services from one of the Big Four auditing companies.
Findings
The findings demonstrate the significant impact of satisfaction and switching costs on brand equity in the B2B setting. Furthermore, the findings show the positive effect of switching costs on satisfaction.
Research limitations/implications
The study is conducted in the professional services context. Future research can examine whether the observed effects can be found in other B2B settings and considering various B2B services and industrial goods.
Practical implications
The study contributes to marketing managers’ understanding of how marketing actions aimed to increase satisfaction can affect brand equity. Marketing managers are provided with insights and evidence on how switching costs can impact satisfaction and brand equity.
Originality/value
The study tests a unique conceptual model focussing on the causal relationships between four dimensions of brand equity, satisfaction and switching costs. The findings provide a strong foundation for further investigation of links between the key marketing concepts: brand equity, satisfaction, and switching costs.
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Johan Jansson, Agneta Marell and Annika Nordlund
Knowledge of green consumer behavior is important for environmental and business reasons. The purpose of this study is to examine the determinants of green curtailment behaviors…
Abstract
Purpose
Knowledge of green consumer behavior is important for environmental and business reasons. The purpose of this study is to examine the determinants of green curtailment behaviors and consumer adoption of innovations marketed as green (eco‐innovations), and to analyze factors explaining these two types of green behaviors.
Design/methodology/approach
The results from a survey on adopters and non‐adopters (n=1,832) of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) are reported. Regression analysis on willingness to curtail car use and willingness to adopt a so‐called environmentally friendly car are used to identify significant determinants across the behavioral categories.
Findings
The results show that values, beliefs, norms, and habit strength determine willingness to curtail and willingness for eco‐innovation adoption. Personal norms have a strong positive influence on willingness for the behaviors and habit strength has a negative influence. The other determinants have varying influence depending on type of behavior.
Research limitations/implications
A limitation of this study concerns the focus on only one eco‐innovation. However, since the adoption of AFVs is a high involvement behavior, the results carry implications for other high involvement products as well.
Practical implications
Attitudinal factors and habits in combination prove to be effective determinants for curtailment behaviors and willingness to adopt eco‐innovations. In addition, previous adoption is found to be a strong determinant of future willingness to adopt.
Originality/value
The contribution of the paper is the two‐sided approach on green consumer behavior and the result that values, beliefs and norms not only predict low involvement post‐purchase behaviors but also adoption of high involvement eco‐innovations.
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Elin Nilsson, Tommy Gärling, Agneta Marell and Anna-Carin Nordvall
The purpose of this paper is to develop a comprehensive set of grocery store attributes that can be standardized and used in empirical research aiming at increasing retailers’…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a comprehensive set of grocery store attributes that can be standardized and used in empirical research aiming at increasing retailers’ understanding of determinants of grocery store choice, and assessing how the relative importance of the attributes is affected by consumer socio-demographic characteristics and shopping behaviour.
Design/methodology/approach
An internet survey of 1,575 Swedish consumers was conducted. A large set of attributes was rated by the participants on seven-point scales with respect to their importance for choice of grocery store. Principal component analysis (PCA) resulted in a reduced set of reliably measured aggregated attributes. This set included the attractiveness attributes price level, supply range, supply quality, service quality, storescape quality, facilities for childcare, and closeness to other stores, and the accessibility attributes easy access by car, easy access by other travel modes, and availability (closeness to store and opening hours).
Findings
The results showed that accessibility by car is the most important grocery store attribute, storescape quality and availability the next most important and facilities for childcare the least important. It was also found that socio-demographic factors and shopping behaviour have an impact on the importance of the store attributes.
Originality/value
A comprehensive set of attractiveness and accessibility attributes of grocery stores that can be standardized and used in empirical research is established. The results are valid for the Swedish-European conditions that differ from the conditions in North America where most previous research has been conducted. The results reveal the relative importance grocery-shopping consumers place on controllable attractiveness attributes compared to uncontrollable accessibility attributes as well as the relative importance of the attributes within each category.
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Mukta Srivastava, Sreeram Sivaramakrishnan and Neeraj Pandey
The increased digital interactions in the B2B industry have enhanced the importance of customer engagement as a measure of firm performance. This study aims to map and analyze…
Abstract
Purpose
The increased digital interactions in the B2B industry have enhanced the importance of customer engagement as a measure of firm performance. This study aims to map and analyze temporal and spatial journeys for customer engagement in B2B markets from a bibliometric perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
The extant literature on customer engagement research in the B2B context was analyzed using bibliometric analysis. The citation analysis, keyword analysis, cluster analysis, three-field plot and bibliographic coupling were used to map the intellectual structure of customer engagement in B2B markets.
Findings
The research on customer engagement in the B2B context was studied more in western countries. The analysis suggests that customer engagement in B2B markets will take centre stage in the coming times as digital channels make it easier to track critical metrics besides other key factors. Issues like digital transformation, the use of artificial intelligence for virtual engagement, personalization, innovation and salesforce management by leveraging technology would be critical for improved B2B customer engagement.
Practical implications
The study provides a comprehensive reference to scholars working in this domain.
Originality/value
The study makes a pioneering effort to comprehensively analyze the vast corpus of literature on customer engagement in B2B markets for business insights.