Christine T. Ennew, Mike Wright and Des Thwaites
Traditionally, marketing in financial services had been a largelytactical activity, concerned primarily with the advertising and sellingof existing products. With the growth in…
Abstract
Traditionally, marketing in financial services had been a largely tactical activity, concerned primarily with the advertising and selling of existing products. With the growth in environmental turbulence which characterized the 1980s the notion of marketing as a strategic activity became increasingly important. The 1980s were, in many senses, an era of expansion and diversification. However, many organizations over‐stretched themselves in this period and the 1990s has seen many organizations looking to refocus on core businesses.
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James F. Devlin and Christine T. Ennew
The strategic importance of distribution for financial services wasreflected in and reinforced by the provisions of the Financial ServicesAct. Through requirements relating to…
Abstract
The strategic importance of distribution for financial services was reflected in and reinforced by the provisions of the Financial Services Act. Through requirements relating to polarization, best advice and commission disclosure, the Financial Services Act sought to create a regulatory framework which would provide the level of investor protection which was appropriate in a market characterized by a high level of information asymmetry and a heavy dependence on commission‐based selling. In practice the desired level of investor protection has failed to materialize, and this can be attributed not so much to a failure of the principles within the Financial Services Act as to a failure in the way in which those principles have been implemented.
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Rania AbuRaya, Mohamed Yassin and Salah A. Ali
Customer satisfaction (CS) is a key factor in maintaining customer relations and achieving corporate success. This paper aims to empirically investigate the value relevance of CS…
Abstract
Purpose
Customer satisfaction (CS) is a key factor in maintaining customer relations and achieving corporate success. This paper aims to empirically investigate the value relevance of CS accounting for corporate performance (CP) of top global brands worldwide.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of top 100 global brands located in different countries and operating over various industries is examined for a period of three years comprising 2020 till 2022. A quantitative research methodology is used for conducting content analysis of companies’ annual reports and carrying out ordinary least squares multiple regression tests using different financial and market measures, as proxies for CP.
Findings
Results show that CS can significantly enhance CP. Findings indicate a significant positive association of current and lagged CS with both profitability and market value, thereby documenting consistent evidence in a global market setting.
Research limitations/implications
The study provides an aggregate picture of the value relevance of CS while a disaggregated view across different industries can reveal deeper insights. However, the study has important implications for corporate executives, investors, accountants and standard setters, offering global insights that appreciate CS for improving CP and creating value for businesses. It helps in understanding customers preferences, designing corporate policies and strategies, predicting CP, developing alternative methods of CS measurement and reporting and recommending possible accounting treatments.
Originality/value
This study adds to the relatively limited literature on the potential contribution of CS within the accounting literature. It extends the scope of prior research by documenting quantitative empirical evidence of the value relevance of CS for CP of top global brands, using different financial and market measures. It provides international insights into a global market setting, in which diversity is inherent and competition is fierce. Hence, the study largely contributes to resolving existing debate by documenting consistent objective evidence over a wide regional diversity using various indicators.
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Sabine Fliess, Stefan Dyck and Mailin Schmelter
The purpose of this paper is to investigate customer perceptions of their own contribution to service provision, in order to enhance our understanding of customer contribution and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate customer perceptions of their own contribution to service provision, in order to enhance our understanding of customer contribution and its dimensions.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 27 in-depth interviews were conducted across nine service contexts. Qualitative data were then analyzed to identify the various dimensions of customer contribution.
Findings
First, the study contributes to the understanding of customer contribution in identifying physical, mental, and emotional dimensions. The physical and mental dimensions of customer contribution are represented by activities, while emotions comprise mood and emotional states. Second, relationships among the three dimensions were identified; in particular, physical and mental activities were found to influence customer emotions. Third, the findings reveal that customer understanding of their own contribution to service provision encompass the co-creative sphere of customer and provider, and extends to the customer-sphere before the service encounter.
Research limitations/implications
The qualitative study is limited in terms of generalizability, since the 27 interview cases were based on nine interviews each covering three service settings. Further research is needed to investigate how the dimensions of customer contribution are linked to different outcomes (e.g. service value, satisfaction, loyalty), thus providing a quantitative validation of our findings.
Practical implications
Understanding the customer contribution to service provision is pivotal for service design. Service managers need to reflect on how the different dimensions of contribution manifest in their existing or potential service offering, since physical and mental customer activities shape their emotions, which in turn impact on the service experience and value.
Originality/value
Little in-depth research has been conducted on the nature and dimensionality of customer contributions to service provision, particularly with regard to perceptions of their own contribution. Most previous empirical research on customer contribution is limited to a specific context and concerned with customer behaviors. Hence, this qualitative study examines customer contribution across different service context, focussing on customer perceptions in terms of physical, mental, and emotional contributions to service provision.
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Gábor Nagy, Carol M. Megehee and Arch G. Woodside
The study here responds to the view that the crucial problem in strategic management (research) is firm heterogeneity – why firms adopt different strategies and structures, why…
Abstract
The study here responds to the view that the crucial problem in strategic management (research) is firm heterogeneity – why firms adopt different strategies and structures, why heterogeneity persists, and why competitors perform differently. The present study applies complexity theory tenets and a “neo-configurational perspective” of Misangyi et al. (2016) in proposing complex antecedent conditions affecting complex outcome conditions. Rather than examining variable directional relationships using null hypotheses statistical tests, the study examines case-based conditions using somewhat precise outcome tests (SPOT). The complex outcome conditions include firms with high financial performances in declining markets and firms with low financial performances in growing markets – the study focuses on seemingly paradoxical outcomes. The study here examines firm strategies and outcomes for separate samples of cross-sectional data of manufacturing firms with headquarters in one of two nations: Finland (n = 820) and Hungary (n = 300). The study includes examining the predictive validities of the models. The study contributes conceptual advances of complex firm orientation configurations and complex firm performance capabilities configurations as mediating conditions between firmographics, firm resources, and the two final complex outcome conditions (high performance in declining markets and low performance in growing markets). The study contributes by showing how fuzzy-logic computing with words (Zadeh, 1966) advances strategic management research toward achieving requisite variety to overcome the theory-analytic mismatch pervasive currently in the discipline (Fiss, 2007, 2011) – thus, this study is a useful step toward solving the crucial problem of how to explain firm heterogeneity.
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Martin R. Binks, Christine T. Ennew and Geoffrey V. Reed
Increased competitive pressure in the market for loanable funds hasencouraged the banks to place greater emphasis on the marketing of theirservices to both corporate and personal…
Abstract
Increased competitive pressure in the market for loanable funds has encouraged the banks to place greater emphasis on the marketing of their services to both corporate and personal customers. The small business sector of the corporate market covers the majority of corporate accounts and for a substantial volume of bank lending. However, the proliferation of product differentiation in relation to small business customers in order to improve banks′ competitive position appears to have been less than successful. The small business sector is heterogeneous; customer needs vary but there is little evidence to suggest that banks differentiate their products sufficiently to appeal to distinct market segments. On the contrary, despite competitive pressures and new marketing strategies, small business customers generally perceive the services provided by the different banks as indistinguishable.
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Consumer protection was an important motivating factor behind theintroduction of polarization in the Financial Services Act. Despite thepotential benefits to the consumer of using…
Abstract
Consumer protection was an important motivating factor behind the introduction of polarization in the Financial Services Act. Despite the potential benefits to the consumer of using independent financial advice as a source of information and a medium for the purchase of financial services, the majority of consumers appear to attach little value to the status of a financial adviser per se and instead attach importance to the image and reputation of particular suppliers. Reports a survey by in‐depth interviews of 140 consumers in the East Midlands, UK, that confirms the relatively low level of interest in independent financial advice, with the groups most likely to use such advisers being identified as the younger consumers from higher social class groupings who do not regularly collect product information from alternative sources such as newspapers and television.
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Stephen Oduro, Kwamena Minta Nyarku and Rotimi A. Gbadeyan
Integrating the social exchange and resource dependency theories, the study aims to comparatively examine the supplier relationship management (SRM) dimensions and organizational…
Abstract
Purpose
Integrating the social exchange and resource dependency theories, the study aims to comparatively examine the supplier relationship management (SRM) dimensions and organizational performance links of private and public hospitals in Ghana.
Design/methodology/approach
Comparative in nature; employing a quantitative approach; and using simple random and convenience sampling techniques, the study tested the proposed hypotheses using structural equation model-partial least square based on 205 usable questionnaires. Partial least square-multigroup analysis (PLS-MGA) was performed to test the significance of the difference in the parameters between the two samples: private and public hospitals in Ghana.
Findings
The dimensions of SRM (communication, cooperation, trust, atmosphere and adaptation) have a significant, positive impact on private hospitals’ performance in Ghana. Similarly, communication and trust were found to be positively and significantly correlated to public hospitals’ performance. In contrast, cooperation, atmosphere and adaptation dimensions showed no significant, positive effect on public hospitals’ performance. PLS-MGA disclosed that these observed differences in the findings between the private and public hospitals in Ghana are statistically significant.
Research limitations/implications
The findings of the study, while limited to hospitals in Ghana, are likely to be relevant in other emerging economies for effective and enhanced supply chain relationship management.
Practical implications
The findings provide pragmatic insights for marketing practitioners and organizational leaders of hospitals about the significance of SRM dimensions in today’s globalized marketplace, and how to nurture them to enhance organizational performance.
Originality/value
The value of the study lies in the examination of the relationship between SRM and organizational performance in the health sector by comparing private and public hospitals in an emerging economy context.
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The purpose of this research is to examine an empirical model of marketing strategy and shareholder value through customer satisfaction and financial performance by using a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to examine an empirical model of marketing strategy and shareholder value through customer satisfaction and financial performance by using a value‐based marketing approach on organisations listed in Amman Stock Exchange Market operating in Jordan.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative methodology was employed through conducting two surveys targeting Jordanian organisations' marketing managers and their customers as well as utilising hard measures for financial performance and shareholder value data analysis. A total of 218 marketing managers were involved in the managers' survey and 1,200 customers were involved in the customers' satisfaction survey. A series of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to assess the research constructs dimensions, unidimensionality, validity and composite reliability. Structural path model analysis was also used to test the hypothesised research model.
Findings
The empirical results indicate that external and internal marketing orientations (IMOs) exerted a positive and significant effect on marketing strategy components, namely: product, price, promotion and distribution strategies. Marketing strategy components exerted a positive and significant effect on customer satisfaction. The findings also indicate that product and price strategies are the strongest drivers of customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction has a positive and significant effect on financial performance. More importantly, financial performance has a strong positive contribution to shareholder value measured by market value added and earning per share.
Originality/value
This is the first empirical research paper that has investigated a model of marketing strategy and shareholder value through customer satisfaction and financial performance especially in developing countries, e.g. Jordan. This research offered executives and marketing directors empirical evidence on drivers of shareholder value maximisation and how to enhance marketing's strategic influence on strategic decisions which were not available to them before.