Pierre Chenet, Caroline Tynan and Arthur Money
Focuses on the service performance gap, which occurs when service is not performed according to the standards set. It attempts to define the antecedents of the gap. The research…
Abstract
Focuses on the service performance gap, which occurs when service is not performed according to the standards set. It attempts to define the antecedents of the gap. The research is set in the European airline industry with a theoretical framework based on service quality and the trust‐commitment theory of relationship marketing. With support from a literature review on exchange theory, equity theory, role theory and the trust‐commitment theory of relationship marketing, 18 hypotheses are advanced to develop and test an alternative to the original model by Parasuraman et al. Data were collected from two European airlines. A postal survey of 600 customer contact employees produced 193 respondents, an overall response rate of 32 per cent. The empirical investigation involved the use of structural equation modelling to estimate the proposed model. Exploratory factor analysis was used to assess the measurement instrument. The study offers some support to the work of Parasuraman et al., in another industrial context. It extends their findings by proposing an alternative model, which shows that the service performance gap is influenced both directly and indirectly by a significant number of critical factors including trust, commitment and co‐operation.
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Pierre Chenet, Tracey S. Dagger and Don O'Sullivan
While service quality, trust and commitment are frequently cited as critical to achieving important firm outcomes, the role of service differentiation in this framework is largely…
Abstract
Purpose
While service quality, trust and commitment are frequently cited as critical to achieving important firm outcomes, the role of service differentiation in this framework is largely unknown. Yet, differentiation is important because a firm's distinctiveness is linked to client‐perceived value, competitive advantage, and a target market focus. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine the role of service differentiation in business‐to‐business relationships.
Design/methodology/approach
Hypotheses were tested using a sample of business clients from a large European financial services firm. The senior primary contact in each client firm was contacted by phone/e‐mail to arrange for completion of the survey. Using the survey instrument, respondents provided information on their relationship with the provider organization.
Findings
Results indicated that service quality had an impact on trust, differentiation and relationship outcomes. Trust was found to drive service differentiation. Differentiation, in turn, drove commitment which ultimately had an impact on both satisfaction and word‐of‐mouth. Importantly, it was found that service differentiation is a full mediator of the impact that service quality and trust have on client commitment towards the firm.
Originality/value
The findings clearly show the importance of service differentiation in achieving high levels of relationship commitment and ultimately satisfaction and positive word‐of‐mouth. As the role of differentiation in business‐to‐business relationships has received limited research focus, this paper offers managers new insights into relationship development. Importantly, differentiation is a managerially controlled variable that firms can use to influence relationship outcomes.
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Catherine Viot and Juliette Passebois‐Ducros
The purpose of this paper is to show that the branded wine concept refers to a very heterogeneous category as regards wine made in France, but this sort of wine can appeal to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to show that the branded wine concept refers to a very heterogeneous category as regards wine made in France, but this sort of wine can appeal to certain types of consumers.
Design/methodology/approach
An initial qualitative study was carried out to explore consumer representation as regards branded wine. A second, quantitative, study enabled us, through a cluster analysis, to identify brand‐sensitive consumer segments in the wine field.
Findings
There is a divergence in consumer representation between novices and experts. The former considers A.O.C.s (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée, a French official label of protected geographical indication) and regions as brands while the latter have a narrower vision of what a branded wine means. The “discoverers”, the youngest consumers (18‐29 years old), who are interested in wine and have little knowledge of it are most liable to be influenced by wine brands. The novices and routine consumers are also brand sensitive but to a lesser degree. The experts, on the other hand, are not influenced by brands.
Research limitations/implications
The influence of the brand derives from the declarative. A more indirect measure which mixes the brand with other wine attributes would be preferable. The use of a sample of convenience means results can only be generalized with caution.
Practical implications
There indeed exists a place for branded wines on the French market but an association is needed with other attributes such as the origin and/or the grape variety.
Originality/value
Little research has been devoted to the French consumer's acceptance of branded wines.
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Tibor Kostovčík, Karel Šrédl and Dita Hommerová
Vine growing for the production of wine constitutes one of the major areas of agriculture of the Czech Republic, and in recent years, it has been qualitatively improved. The…
Abstract
Purpose
Vine growing for the production of wine constitutes one of the major areas of agriculture of the Czech Republic, and in recent years, it has been qualitatively improved. The purpose of this paper is to find out whether oligopolistic market structures have come into being on the sparkling wine market in the Czech Republic, and whether some wine firms have a dominant position on the sparkling wine market.
Design/methodology/approach
The purpose of this study is to find, compare and carry out a statistical analysis of data on the production and sale of sparkling wines in the Czech Republic, in particular the indicators of the sales and profits of the dominant producer, Bohemia Sekt. In retail chains in the Czech Republic, the price of domestic and foreign sparkling wines was then compared with a comparative analysis.
Findings
The dominant seller of sparkling wine on the Czech market is Bohemia Sekt, which is also the largest domestic non-sparkling and sparkling wine producer. Bohemia Sekt sold 11 m bottles of sparkling wine on the Czech market in 2015 and maintained a 67 per cent share of the domestic market. Traditionally, Christmas time and the end of the year is the main season for selling sparkling wines in the Czech Republic, as more than one-third of the annual production of all wineries is sold at this time.
Originality/value
The paper presents a finding about the consistency of the prices of sparkling wines offered in retail chains in the Czech Republic. This confirms the validity of using the model of oligopolistic competition with a dominant company on the sparkling wine market in the Czech Republic. The dominance of Bohemia Sekt in the given market is mainly due to the loyalty of Czech consumers to this brand.