Distinct difference between professional services and other types of service may increase customer reliance on social aspects of the relationship as a means to increase…
Abstract
Distinct difference between professional services and other types of service may increase customer reliance on social aspects of the relationship as a means to increase satisfaction with the service encounter. These services are characterized by one‐on‐one interactions involving repeated, frequent encounters with the same professional service provider and contain differences including: complexity, the intimate nature of exchange, and co‐production of service outcomes by both the client and the service provider. This study investigates the relative impact of technical and functional (social) aspects of professional service relationships on client satisfaction in four different professional services contexts. Findings support the positive impact of social aspects of the relationship on satisfaction in all four contexts, however, the strength of the association varies with context. The more classically professional occupations, like medicine, show a stronger relationship between social aspects of the relationship and satisfaction than less professional occupations, such as hairstyling. Social aspects also affect positive organizational outcomes, specifically positive word‐of‐mouth and re‐patronization intentions, in three of the four contexts.
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Morris Kalliny, Angela Hausman, Anshu Saran and Dina Ismaeil
The purpose of this paper is threefold: to extend the animosity model developed by Klein et al. (1998) by adding cultural and religious animosity constructs, to provide a tool…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is threefold: to extend the animosity model developed by Klein et al. (1998) by adding cultural and religious animosity constructs, to provide a tool with which to measure the cultural and religious constructs and to provide explanations, and thus an understanding, of how cultural and religious differences impact consumer intention to purchase.
Design/methodology/approach
Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to test the model.
Findings
The cultural and religion animosity scale is created.
Originality/value
This fills a gap in the literature where there is not currently a scale to measure cultural or religious animosity.
Angela Hausman, Wesley J. Johnston and Adesegun Oyedele
The purpose of this study was to develop a better understanding of cooperation among members of network firms.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to develop a better understanding of cooperation among members of network firms.
Design/methodology/approach
An extensive literature review of industrial cooperation/adaptation was conducted, especially research pertaining to industrial adoption of communication technology across partner firms. This review was combined with elements of population ecology, as it has been applied to business networks, and other sociological aspects of inter‐firm relationships to develop a set of propositions related to cooperative adoption.
Findings
This is a conceptual paper, so there were no quantifiable results. Instead, the paper contains a number of propositions related to the relational, structural, and influential aspects that affect adoption and sustained use of innovative products in a network context.
Research limitations/implications
The lack of empirical support for hypothesized relationships is the major limitation. However, the study provides guidance toward empirical testing and suggests a number of managerial implications resulting from the understandings provided by the proposed relationship.
Originality/value
This study helps extend earlier models developed to understand intra‐organizational adoption to reflect the more common situation where adoption occurs within and affects a network of related firms.
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Wesley J. Johnston and Angela Hausman
The paper seeks to enrich current and future research on the topic of long‐term business relationships within organizational networks through expansion of the marriage metaphor.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper seeks to enrich current and future research on the topic of long‐term business relationships within organizational networks through expansion of the marriage metaphor.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reviews the relationship marketing literature as well as incorporating sociological literature dealing with marriage and the family, specifically with respect to inter‐family working relationships. An extended family metaphor is proposed as a more appropriate metaphor for firms involved in network relationships. The paper is divided into three sections. The first contains a re‐conceptualization of the original stages developed by Dwyer et al. (1987). Next, non‐phase elements of these relationships are discussed. Finally, areas for future research building on this metaphor are suggested.
Findings
The extended family metaphor implies several interesting opportunities for future research, including investing the compensatory nature of relationships and specific factors that might impact relationship discussion.
Practical implications
This paper brings our conceptual thinking more in line with organizational reality, namely that organizations are more likely involved in dyadic relationships embedded in a network of inter‐relationships. Using an extended family metaphor highlights additional stressors on the relationships, suggesting areas that need attention in an effort to maintain the relationship. It also more clearly focuses on the dynamic of interactions outside the dyad and how these affect the dyadic relationship.
Originality/value
The marriage metaphor has been a catalyst for a wide variety of managerially significant research efforts. This extension of the metaphor to include the extended family may do the same.
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This study used both qualitative and quantitative data to test hypotheses related to consumers’ motivations to engage in impulse buying. A grounded theory approach was used to…
Abstract
This study used both qualitative and quantitative data to test hypotheses related to consumers’ motivations to engage in impulse buying. A grounded theory approach was used to develop hypotheses from in‐depth interviews. These hypotheses were tested by the collection and analysis of survey data. Data support the theory that impulse buying is a common method of product selection, in part, because the shopping act and impulsive product selection provide hedonic rewards. Further information‐processing overload confounds product selection, reinforcing the rewards to be obtained from alternative section heuristics, like impulse buying.
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Esther Laryea, Matthew Ntow-Gyamfi and Angela Azumah Alu
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the bank-specific and macroeconomic determinants of nonperforming loans (NPLs) as well as the impact of NPLs on bank profitability.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the bank-specific and macroeconomic determinants of nonperforming loans (NPLs) as well as the impact of NPLs on bank profitability.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a sample of 22 Ghanaian banks over the period 2005-2010, the study employs a fixed effect panel model in estimating three different empirical models.
Findings
The study finds new evidence of bank-specific factors as well as macroeconomic factors determining NPLs. Inflation and industry concentration are not significant in determining NPLs, although both are positively related to NPLs.
Practical implications
The findings of this study have important implications for policy makers and bank managers.
Originality/value
The paper offers significant value in shaping and improving the banking sector of emerging markets.
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This paper aims to explore the effect on consumer responses of firms’ manipulating online reviews based on review valence (positive vs negative) and the relationship between…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the effect on consumer responses of firms’ manipulating online reviews based on review valence (positive vs negative) and the relationship between consumer trust and purchase intentions.
Design/methodology/approach
This study was designed as an experimental study using a scenario method, and data were randomly collected from 2,080 online shoppers in the USA.
Findings
Findings reveal that the unfair business practice of manipulating online postings considerably undermined consumer trust toward online reviews. Consumer trust in reviews thus seems to be a critical predictor of purchase intentions, which was strengthened even when respondents knew that online reviews were manipulated.
Practical implications
Companies may thus need to focus on maintaining transparency and truthfulness in online consumer reviews rather than artificially improving ratings scores or feedback levels.
Originality/value
This study was the first attempt to provide empirical supports that the level of consumer trust in online reviews significantly decreased after consumers were informed that the review content had been manipulated by a company in both the positive and negative conditions. These results also support previous research articulating the negativity effect.
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Develops a summary construct, relationship strength, composed of interfirm trust, relationship commitment, and relationalism and supports the role of relationship strength in…
Abstract
Develops a summary construct, relationship strength, composed of interfirm trust, relationship commitment, and relationalism and supports the role of relationship strength in achieving positive relational outcomes, like relationship satisfaction and performance. The survey sample comes from a national population of hospital material managers who make decisions regarding purchases from a small group of large medical/surgical supply firms. Structural models support improved fit provided by relationship strength over a model containing the individual constructs comprising relationship strength. Managerial and academic implications of relationship strength include improved strategic planning and actionable information on improving relational outcomes.
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Tina Harrison and Kathryn Waite
To provide an investigation of e‐commerce development via an examination of the forces shaping web site development among intermediaries in an extended supply chain.
Abstract
Purpose
To provide an investigation of e‐commerce development via an examination of the forces shaping web site development among intermediaries in an extended supply chain.
Design/methodology/approach
A two‐stage research design combining qualitative and quantitative methods. Unstructured interviews conducted in the spirit of phenomenology elicited a range of critical incidents of web site development which were further examined via a quantitative survey of intermediaries to test for relationships between critical incidents and web site adoption.
Findings
Adopter groups were identified which showed statistically significant differences in terms of the critical incidents driving web site development as well as differences in terms of key company characteristics. The timing of web site adoption was also found to affect the subsequent use of the technology, with early adopters making more advanced use.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations associated with the use of retrospective data and respondents’ abilities to recall events, although attempts were made to minimise these through external validation.
Practical implications
Provides useful insights for providers of financial services in understanding how to progress the adoption of web site technology by intermediaries, suggesting the development of networks of relationships involving IT suppliers rather than simply focusing on relationships with preferred intermediaries.
Originality/value
Addresses a research gap in terms of business‐to‐business e‐commerce and offers practical guidance on how to widen participation in the financial services supply chain.
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Shannon Cummins, James W. Peltier, John A. Schibrowsky and Alexander Nill
– The purpose of this article is to review the consumer behavior and social network theory literature related to the online and e-commerce context.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to review the consumer behavior and social network theory literature related to the online and e-commerce context.
Design/methodology/approach
To conduct the review, the authors draw on a sample of 942 articles published from 1993 to 2012 addressing consumer behavior or social network issues in the online or social media context. The sample is analyzed by both era (incubation, expansion and explosion) and primary topic.
Findings
Eight categories of online consumer behavior research are described. In the order from largest to smallest, these are: cognitive issues, user-generated content, Internet demographics and segmentation, online usage, cross cultural, online communities and networks, strategic use and outcomes and consumer Internet search.
Originality/value
The literature has been summarized in each category and research opportunities have been offered for consumer behavior and social network scholars interested in exploring the online context.