Richard A. Spreng, Linda Hui Shi and Thomas J. Page
The purpose of the paper is to investigate the effects of service quality and service satisfaction on intention in a business‐to‐business setting.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the paper is to investigate the effects of service quality and service satisfaction on intention in a business‐to‐business setting.
Design/methodology/approach
This research addresses three unanswered questions regarding satisfaction and service quality: the distinction between customer satisfaction and perceived service quality; their causal ordering; and their relative impact on intentions. The data were collected using a large survey of buyers in a business setting.
Findings
The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results show that service quality has a larger impact on intentions than does customer satisfaction. The results also show that the effects of individual transactions on intentions are mediated by corresponding cumulative constructs.
Research limitations/implications
The primary implications for theory include demonstrating the distinction between satisfaction and service quality; specifying, based on theory and logic, the causal ordering between transaction constructs and cumulative constructs, and between service quality and satisfaction; and assessing their relative impact on behavioral intentions.
Originality/value
The results show that one negative transaction outcome may not be sufficient to cause the customer to switch if the cumulative levels are sufficiently positive. Thus, a negative outcome may be discounted by the user if it is seen as a unique occurrence. However, a series of successive negative transaction outcomes may cause the cumulative constructs to become less positive, resulting in lower intentions to repurchase from the same supplier.
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Paul G. Patterson and Richard A. Spreng
Examines the relationship between four key post‐purchase constructs: perceived performance, satisfaction, perceived value, and repurchase intentions, in a causal path framework in…
Abstract
Examines the relationship between four key post‐purchase constructs: perceived performance, satisfaction, perceived value, and repurchase intentions, in a causal path framework in an empirical study of business‐to‐business professional services. Attempts to disaggregate performance into its component multiple dimensions, and assess the individual impact of each on post‐purchase evaluation processes. Shows that the effect of perceived value on repurchase intentions is completely mediated through satisfaction. Confirms six performance dimensions, each having a significant impact on both value and satisfaction and adds new insight to our understanding of the respective roles of perceived value, satisfaction and post‐purchase intentions.
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Richard A. Spreng and Jyh‐shen Chiou
Consumer satisfaction continues to be an important area of both academic research and managerial interest. Yet most satisfaction research has utilized US subjects to develop and…
Abstract
Consumer satisfaction continues to be an important area of both academic research and managerial interest. Yet most satisfaction research has utilized US subjects to develop and test satisfaction theory. The purpose of this research is to test the basic disconfirmation of expectations model in a very different culture than the USA, and compare the results to a matched sample of subjects in the USA. Specifically, a sample of student subjects from Taiwan is compared to a sample of student subjects in the USA. The results indicate support for the generalizability of the model in this Asian culture.
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Richard A. Spreng, Gilbert D. Harrell and Robert D. Mackoy
Examines the relative importance of service recovery in determiningoverall satisfaction and behavioral intentions. Recommendations includesuggestions for implementing a service…
Abstract
Examines the relative importance of service recovery in determining overall satisfaction and behavioral intentions. Recommendations include suggestions for implementing a service recovery program and for encouraging dissatisfied customers to complain.
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Mohamed E. Ibrahim and Ahmed Al Amiri
This paper examined engineers’ satisfaction with services of a building permission unit at a local municipality using a focus group, a questionnaire and follow‐up interviews…
Abstract
This paper examined engineers’ satisfaction with services of a building permission unit at a local municipality using a focus group, a questionnaire and follow‐up interviews. Obtained satisfaction indexes are reported. Differences in satisfaction levels were tested using parametric t‐tests and Kruskal‐Wallis non‐parametric tests according to engineer’s specialization, size of office and number of building projects submitted to the building permission unit. The results indicate no significant statistical differences in satisfaction levels based on specialization (civil engineers versus architectural engineers), size of the consulting office, or the number of projects submitted. However, satisfaction indexes were not high. They were about 60 per cent.
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Man Lai Cheung, Guilherme D. Pires and Philip J. Rosenberger III
This paper aims to investigate the causal relationships between constructs related to consumer–brand engagement (CBE), including consumers’ enduring involvement, ongoing…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the causal relationships between constructs related to consumer–brand engagement (CBE), including consumers’ enduring involvement, ongoing information search behaviour, online engagement behaviour and brand attitude in Hong Kong.
Design/methodology/approach
The theoretical framework is tested using data from 302 customers of a durable technology product, a smartphone, in Hong Kong, collected using a self-administered online survey. Partial least squares-structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data.
Findings
The results reveal that consumers’ enduring involvement and ongoing information search behaviour are key drivers of CBE, ultimately enhancing customers’ brand attitude. The importance of enduring involvement in strengthening ongoing search behaviour, online engagement behaviour and CBE is confirmed, together with the importance of ongoing search behaviour in strengthening CBE. Further analysis demonstrated the full mediating role of ongoing search behaviour in the relationship between enduring involvement and online engagement behaviour, such that CBE fully mediates the impact of ongoing search behaviour on brand attitude.
Research limitations/implications
The research contributes to the extant literature by providing an understanding of how to strengthen CBE for durable technology products, such as smartphones. However, this study is cross-sectional in nature, focusing on smartphones in Hong Kong only. Thus, future research should consider comparisons between countries with diverse cultures as well as other industries, such as the service sector, to enhance the generalisability of the study’s findings.
Practical implications
Marketers should seek to heighten customers’ involvement levels by encouraging customer–brand interactions, which is not only useful in encouraging customers’ ongoing search and online engagement behaviour but also critical in strengthening CBE. Additionally, marketers are recommended to encourage customers’ ongoing search behaviour (at the category level), which is useful in encouraging consumers’ online engagement behaviour as well as strengthening CBE.
Originality/value
The role of ongoing search behaviour in brand building has received little attention in the branding literature. This paper makes a noteworthy contribution to CBE research by empirically testing a holistic framework, confirming that enduring involvement and ongoing search behaviour are critical drivers in the process of strengthening CBE. This paper also demonstrates the mediation roles of ongoing search behaviour and CBE in the holistic framework.