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This paper re-conceptualizes and measures brand identity (BI) from a services perspective. This paper aims to develop and test a psychometrically valid and reliable scale to measure service brand identity (SERVBID).

A multi-stage research design was adopted drawing on qualitative and quantitative studies consistent with extant scale development procedures. Qualitative studies comprised a comprehensive literature review, expert panel review and interviews to develop a theoretical framework and generate items. Quantitative studies comprised pilot testing (n = 106), online survey for scale development (n = 246) and scale validation (n = 245) on UK-based consumers using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis.

The study finds support for a five-dimensional SERVBID scale comprising: process identity; organization identity; symbolic identity; servicescape identity; and communication identity.

The SERVBID scale provides practitioners with a practical tool to understand, benchmark and assess SERVBID. The scale will assist marketers in assessing the strength of BI overall as well as the strength of individual facets of BI.

This study provides a deeper and complete understanding of the theoretical construct of BI through a service-dominant lens, in particular recognizing the defining role of the service process and servicescape in SERVBID construction.

This paper reports on young adults’ expectations and perceptions of online retail banking information. A combination of qualitative and quantitative research was used. Focus groups proved valuable in eliciting criteria grounded in the experience of users of bank Web sites. The subsequent questionnaire survey allowed the measurement of gaps between perceptions and expectations. The results indicate that respondents expect bank Web sites to be easy to use and to provide them with basic account/product details. These features are valued more than the technological aspects. Yet, perceptions of actual information provision differ. While basic account and price information is perceived to be provided, certain features are perceived to be less prevalent, rendering bank Web sites ineffective at aiding consumer decision making. The research questions the role of the Internet in information provision and suggests how banks can improve their Web sites to assist consumer decision making.

To critically assesses the extent to which consumers are being empowered by the internet, focusing specifically on the role of the internet in the context of online pension information provision.

A mixed method study involving focus groups and observational research. Focus groups explored consumer meanings of empowerment and pension information needs. Actual information provision was measured using a content analysis of a sample of 20 pension web sites from 1996 to 2004 accessed from the internet archive.

While consumers generally feel that the internet is empowering, the sense of empowerment has not been fully realised in the context of pensions. The findings reveal gaps between consumer needs for information and information provision with implications for pension providers and consumers.

Relies on consumers' own reported information needs. Pensions are complex and consumers may not fully appreciate the most relevant information in order to make an informed pension decision. Researching professional financial advisors could close the loop and help understand what information consumers should be using to make decisions.

Provides useful insights for pension providers and employers in understanding the value of pension web sites and the features/facilities that consumers value most in using them.

Addresses a key concern of government – insufficient pension provision – and helps to understand how the internet can be used to engage consumers in pensions and encourage them to take greater responsibility for and ownership of their retirement saving.

Attempts to understand the consumer behaviour in the context of the pension purchase process, including the decision process and factors affecting the decision.

Focus groups were conducted among manual and clerical grades of employees within a public sector organization who were members of an occupational pension scheme.

Despite the relative importance of pensions and the degree of risk associated with the purchase, the findings clearly indicate that purchasing decisions in this context are neither completely informed nor rational. The process described by focus group participants suggests “analysis by paralysis”, characterized by complexity, confusion and apathy.

Small number of focus groups and a focus on manual and clerical grades of employment only. A larger sample and representation of other grades of employment might yield differences in decision making between different segments of the population.

Provides useful insights for providers of pensions in understanding the role of information, reference groups and professional advice in the marketing of pensions.

Addresses a key concern of government – insufficient pension provision – and helps to understand some of the barriers and challenges facing individuals in making pension decisions.

The purpose of this paper is to propose that customer readiness and web-channel readiness for internet banking (IB) adoption are the twin universal determinants of retail customers’ attitudes and intention towards IB-adoption. The paper delineates IB-readiness as the state of preparedness, ability, and willingness to engage in IB, and the authors argue that both the potential banking customer and the financial institution's web-channel must be equally ready before IB-adoption can occur. This paper presents the results of the initial test of the IB-readiness model with a sample of retail banking customers in Scotland.

Nine customer-related and ten channel-related predictor-variables isolated from existing literature were tested for their effects on attitude and intention towards IB-adoption. Seven demographic mediators were also tested for their impacts on the effects of the predictor-variables on attitude and intention. A sample of 1,000 customers was surveyed. Multiple regression and logistic regression analyses were used to test the influence of the predictors and mediators.

Of the seven mediators, only three were significant. Also, only eight of the original 19 predictor-variables were significant, with the impact of mediation, in determining customer attitude and intention towards IB-adoption.

The results present some consumer behaviour and marketing communications implications for bank marketing. To convince potential customers to adopt and continue using IB, bank marketers must ensure that the eight predictors validated in this study are facilitated and sustained.

A valuable contribution of the paper to the global IB-adoption theory is an equal evaluation model of potential universal antecedents of IB-adoption – the “EQUAEVAL” – which can be further-tested in future cross-national research.

The paper has two objectives. First, it seeks to present a procedure for exploring web site development using the Internet archive (www.archive.org). Second, it aims to test the assumption that over time a progression in web site numbers and interactivity is visible within an industry sector.

The Internet archive was used to view web site activity from 1998‐2004 for 21 randomly selected organisations generating a final sample of 106 web sites. Content analysis was used to gather information on web site numbers and functionality. Web sites were evaluated using existing models of web site evolution adapted for the financial services sector.

This paper produces meaningful data on patterns of web site development. Results indicate that UK pension provider web sites have increased in sophistication but remain underdeveloped.

In this paper there is no qualitative web site assessment and thus no information on web site quality. This method is recommended as a starting point for a wider enquiry due to the incompleteness of some archived records.

The paper shows that for practitioners, a methodology for mapping the configuration and evolution of sector web sites will assist in developing Internet marketing strategy. For academics, awareness of web site evolution patterns will inform Internet research. For the pension sector this identification of unrealised cost‐efficiencies from developing online payment and processing functionality highlights a competitive opportunity.

Considerable commentary exists on paths of Internet development but there is little longitudinal research into patterns of web site change, this research addresses this gap. This paper is a novel approach to web site metrics that allows both practitioners and academics to trace changes in the Internet landscape.

To demonstrate the successful use of lifestage segmentation and survival analysis to identify cross‐selling opportunities.

The study applies lifestyle analysis and Cox's regression analysis model to behavioural and demographic data describing 10,979 UK customers of a large international insurance company.

There are clear differences between the lifestage segments identified with respect to customer characteristics affecting the likelihood of a second purchase from the company and the timeframes within which that is likely to take place. The “mature” segments appear to offer greater opportunities for retention and cross‐selling than the “younger” segments.

The study was limited by the type of data available for analysis, which related mainly to life insurance and pension products characterised by low transaction frequency. Different results might be expected for banking or credit‐and‐loan products. The findings could be enhanced by incorporating a wider range of customer characteristics into the analysis.

The findings show clear differences in behaviour across the segments identified, providing a basis on which marketing planners might differentiate marketing and communication strategies for particular products market segments.

The paper illustrates the adaptation of survival analysis methodology, familiar in other disciplines but comparatively rare in marketing, to the cross‐selling of financial services. It shows how planners cannot only identify customers most likely to repurchase but also predict the timeframe in which that will take place.

To provide an investigation of e‐commerce development via an examination of the forces shaping web site development among intermediaries in an extended supply chain.

A two‐stage research design combining qualitative and quantitative methods. Unstructured interviews conducted in the spirit of phenomenology elicited a range of critical incidents of web site development which were further examined via a quantitative survey of intermediaries to test for relationships between critical incidents and web site adoption.

Adopter groups were identified which showed statistically significant differences in terms of the critical incidents driving web site development as well as differences in terms of key company characteristics. The timing of web site adoption was also found to affect the subsequent use of the technology, with early adopters making more advanced use.

Limitations associated with the use of retrospective data and respondents’ abilities to recall events, although attempts were made to minimise these through external validation.

Provides useful insights for providers of financial services in understanding how to progress the adoption of web site technology by intermediaries, suggesting the development of networks of relationships involving IT suppliers rather than simply focusing on relationships with preferred intermediaries.

Addresses a research gap in terms of business‐to‐business e‐commerce and offers practical guidance on how to widen participation in the financial services supply chain.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a response to an article in Marketing Intelligence & Planning, Vol. 25 No. 4.

This is a commentary piece.

The paper finds that certain aspects of the practical application of a statistical model may need to be reconsidered. Marketing planners should take this discussion into account before applying the model in the same way.

Despite the questions raised, the original article and this commentary together provide the impetus for further research studies, potentially leading to a fruitful approach to the planning of “cross‐selling” initiatives.

Driven by changes in the regulatory environment and pressures on product profitability, market segmentation is increasing in importance as a competitive weapon. However, still too much emphasis is being placed on descriptive studies which do not sufficiently explain differences in financial services consumer behaviour. Reports the results of a qualitative study which attempts to offer a more detailed explanation of financial services consumer behaviour. Investigates consumer‐perceived knowledge, confidence and level of involvement in dealing with financial services, and analyses the impact of these factors on financial services usage. Four segments are identified (Apathetic Minimalists, Capital Accumulators, Cautious Investors, and Financially Confused) which differ in terms of their financial services usage. The results also suggest that consumer‐perceived knowledge and confidence have an impact on the level of potential profitability which can be expected from the segments identified. Further work is being conducted to substantiate this evidence.