Heiner Evanschitzky, Florian v. Wangenheim, David Woisetschläger and Markus Blut
International marketing researchers have long been concerned with determining whether consumers are predisposed towards a preference for domestic products, as opposed to foreign…
Abstract
Purpose
International marketing researchers have long been concerned with determining whether consumers are predisposed towards a preference for domestic products, as opposed to foreign products. The purpose of this paper is to assess such a domestic‐country bias (DCB) in the German market.
Design/methodology/approach
This study empirically investigates DCB across six countries and 14 product categories in the Germany market. By so doing, it replicates an earlier study conducted in the UK. Ordered logit analysis was employed as well as multidimensional unfolding to present results.
Findings
As in the study conducted in the UK, there is in general a strong DCB in the German market. However, it differs largely across the 14 product categories. Results indicate that consumer preference rankings can best be explained by a combination of demographic variables and country‐of‐origin effects.
Practical implications
Results indicate that domestic firms in Germany can well rely on a safeguarding effect when marketing their products. At the same time, managers from foreign countries cannot rely on consumer ethnocentrism as a reliable indicator of the inclination of consumers to downgrade their products.
Originality/value
This study confirms some findings from the UK. However, results from Germany indicate that at least economic competitiveness of the country‐of‐origin plays a role in determining respondents' judgments. This study underlines the value of replication studies in cross‐cultural settings in particular.
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Florian v. Wangenheim and Tomás Bayón
The effects of word of mouth (WOM) on the receiver's attitudes and intentions have been studied at length, but the question under which conditions WOM leads to a behavioural…
Abstract
The effects of word of mouth (WOM) on the receiver's attitudes and intentions have been studied at length, but the question under which conditions WOM leads to a behavioural outcome (such as a purchase or switching decision) has received less attention. This paper studies the effects of WOM in the context of service provider switching. An empirical study is presented which researches whether perceived influence of a switching referral is related to subsequent switching behaviour, and whether the variables that have an effect on perceived influence of the switching referral also predict switching. Results show that the strength of WOM influence is determined by perceived communicator characteristics. Perceived risk dimensions, in turn, moderate these effects.
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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.
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Marcus Fischer, Florian Imgrund, Christian Janiesch and Axel Winkelmann
Digital transformation has been changing the economic environment of enterprises in recent years. To remain competitive, they rely on an extensible software architecture, flexible…
Abstract
Purpose
Digital transformation has been changing the economic environment of enterprises in recent years. To remain competitive, they rely on an extensible software architecture, flexible workflow execution, and automated decision management. The concepts of service-oriented architectures (SOA), business process management (BPM), and business rules management (BRM) provide an adequate, yet isolated means of addressing many of these requirements. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adapts from established research frameworks to structure the current state of research on the integration of SOA, BPM and BRM. The authors highlight the current research scope, point to disregarded topics and sketch out multidisciplinary research approaches.
Findings
While the three concepts are often discussed only in isolation or pairwise, approaches that integrate them are scarce. Against this backdrop, this study defines three types of research opportunities and identifies several directions for future research that should be explored from a technological as well as organizational perspective. Given the breadth of open questions, the authors present sources for each area of our research framework, which can serve as starting points for future investigations.
Practical implications
Except for well-established support for separate tasks and technologies, there is a lack of integrated standards, methods and platforms, which for example enable integrated decision-making across BPM and SOA.
Originality/value
Our contribution builds on established frameworks and clearly shows that the discussion on the integration of SOA, BPM and BRM cannot yet be regarded as sufficient. The research agenda highlights which areas explicitly benefit from a more precise consideration.
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Stephan Klingner, Stephanie Pravemann and Michael Becker
The purpose of this paper is to quantitatively evaluate of the current status of productivity management of industrial and non-industrial service companies in Germany. Based on…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to quantitatively evaluate of the current status of productivity management of industrial and non-industrial service companies in Germany. Based on that knowledge, best practices and needs regarding tools and methods can be identified.
Design/methodology/approach
In two qualitative pre-studies the theoretical foundation of service productivity was built. Using this knowledge, a quantitative empirical survey was conducted, including almost 2000 service companies. The sampling frame was based on a company database provided by Hoppenstedt. Samples were randomly selected using proportionate stratified sampling.
Findings
The findings show the economic importance and meaningfulness of service productivity management, independently from the industry.
Research limitations/implications
Due to the chosen population, the findings are limited to Germany. Furthermore, a more detailed comparison of service industries beyond industrial and non-industrial services was not feasible.
Practical implications
The data contained evidence that companies conducing productivity management are more successful than those who are not. This underlines the economic importance service productivity management.
Originality/value
The paper provides reliable, quantitative insights of the current status, demands, and benefits of service productivity management in the industrial as well as non-industrial sector.