Klaus Solberg Söilen and Lamiae Benhayoun
The authors investigate household acceptance of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) by drawing on the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology and institutional…
Abstract
Purpose
The authors investigate household acceptance of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) by drawing on the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology and institutional trust theory.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors build a research model including six hypotheses and quantitatively analyze it using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and importance–performance map analysis (IPMA) based on 282 answers to a survey questionnaire.
Findings
The continuous adoption of CBDCs by households is highly probable and is fostered by its expected high performance, the social recommendations and the existence of facilitating conditions. Nevertheless, institutions' efforts to propose a flexible and understandable currency can benefit its adoption only if these institutions also strive to build households' trust in the currency's system.
Originality/value
The authors provide a full review of the emerging literature on CBDCs and suggest that digital currency offerings can be divided into centralized, semi-centralized and de-centralized control in a meaningful taxonomy. The authors also complement extant studies on CBDCs that mostly apprehend its operational challenges by focusing on the customer side and provide implications to the launching of CBDCs by uncovering the customer-specific determinants of their adoption.
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Gerson Tontini, Klaus Solberg Söilen and Ricardo Zanchett
The purpose of this paper is to study the nonlinear impact of quality dimensions of third-party logistics (3PL) services on customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the nonlinear impact of quality dimensions of third-party logistics (3PL) services on customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Design/methodology/approach
By interviewing 167 small-size companies, and using penalty and reward contrast analysis, the paper explores the nonlinear impact of seven dimensions of 3PL services (safety, fault’s recovery, reliability, speed, flexibility, communication, and friendliness) on customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Findings
The results confirm the existence of the dimensions’ nonlinear impact on customer satisfaction. It also shows that some quality dimensions have a direct and nonlinear impact on loyalty. The dimension “friendliness” has a direct impact on loyalty if the company has a below market average performance, which may lead customers to switch service providers. “Flexibility on collection and delivery” has a direct impact if the company has a higher performance, contributing to customers’ intention to continue using the service. Another finding is that, if the company delivers good service recovery after the customer found faults in the service, and if customers trust the company service, they say they intend to continue to work with the company.
Research limitations/implications
The present research focused only on small companies in one country (Brazil). Further studies should be carried out to explore different countries, with different realities, and different size of companies.
Practical implications
3PL companies should not only deal with customers’ satisfaction, but also with other quality aspects that directly affect customer intention to continue doing business with the 3PL service provider. These are friendliness, flexibility regarding time and frequency of collection and delivery and faults’ recovery.
Originality/value
The present research confirms that the personal relationship is a crucial aspect to be managed in order to keep customers in the long term. In addition, as opposed to most research looking for the antecedents of satisfaction and loyalty of 3PL customers, the present research shows that there is a direct nonlinear impact of the dimensions’ performance on customers’ loyalty, what should be taken in consideration by 3PL managers. It also shows how penalty-reward contrast analysis may reveal nonlinear antecedents that could be used for better understandings companies’ success in the long term.
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Maryam Lashgari, Catherine Sutton-Brady, Klaus Solberg Søilen and Pernilla Ulfvengren
The purpose of this study is to clarify business-to-business (B2B) firms’ strategies of social media marketing communication. The study aims to explore the factors contributing to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to clarify business-to-business (B2B) firms’ strategies of social media marketing communication. The study aims to explore the factors contributing to the formation and adoption of integration strategies and identify who the B2B firms target.
Design/methodology/approach
A multiple case study approach is used to compare four multinational corporations and their practices. Face-to-face interviews with key managers, and extensive readings and observations of the firms’ websites and social media platforms have been conducted.
Findings
The study results in a model, illustrating different processes of selection, adoption and integration involved in the development of social media communication strategy for B2B firms. Major factors involved in determining the platform type, and strategies used within different phases and processes are identified.
Research limitations/implications
As the chosen methodology may limit generalizability, further research is encouraged to test the model within a B2B context especially within small and medium enterprises as only large multinational corporations were investigated in this study.
Practical implications
The paper provides insight into how B2B marketers can align social media with their firms’ goals through the strategic selection of platforms to reach the targeted audience and communicate their message.
Originality/value
The study uncovers the benefits gained by B2B firms’ through interaction with individuals on social media. This is a significant contribution as the value of such interaction was previously undefined and acted as a barrier for adopting social media in some B2B firms.
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The purpose of this article, which is based in the tradition of critical theory, is to present a number of reasons for preserving a strong production economy given that the aim of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article, which is based in the tradition of critical theory, is to present a number of reasons for preserving a strong production economy given that the aim of the nation state is to work for improved competitive advantage.
Design/methodology/approach
The critical theory approach is used in this paper.
Findings
The paper is also an attempt to show why a majority of Western countries have defended the transformation from a predominant production economy to a service economy by explaining the shift as a result of class interests, using new class theory. It argues for why a materialist perspective in economic theory is relevant today.
Research limitations/implications
The Western world should focus more on the production economy and less on the service economy.
Originality/value
To the author's knowledge, no other paper has gathered as many arguments on the issue before.