Driven by changes in the regulatory environment and pressures on productprofitability, market segmentation is increasing in importance as acompetitive weapon. However, still too…
Abstract
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.
Details
Keywords
Abstract
Details
Keywords
Vandana Pareek and Tina Harrison
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…
Abstract
Purpose
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).
Design/methodology/approach
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.
Findings
The study finds support for a five-dimensional SERVBID scale comprising: process identity; organization identity; symbolic identity; servicescape identity; and communication identity.
Practical implications
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.
Originality/value
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.
Details
Keywords
Tina M. McCarthy and Eleni Evdokia Glekas
The purpose of this paper is to address a gap in current heritage practice within the USA, as defined by the US Secretary of Interior’s Standards, which offers no treatment for a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to address a gap in current heritage practice within the USA, as defined by the US Secretary of Interior’s Standards, which offers no treatment for a building entering the end of its lifecycle.
Design/methodology/approach
Building on research conducted for “Deconstructing the Culture of Demolition,” Master of Design Studies thesis completed in 2018, this paper seeks to better understand how deconstruction industry practice could be changed by the inclusion of heritage values through a case study of the sustainability non-profit Emergent Structures of Savanah, Georgia.
Findings
The benefits of replacing demolition with deconstruction extend beyond the preservation of materials alone. Applying critical heritage theories to deconstruction practice addresses challenging issues in the discipline, such as mutability of heritage objects and equity in heritage practice. Deconstruction redefines the concept of death in the built environment, harnessing its energy to serve the heritage goals of memory, revival and sustainable community development.
Practical implications
The findings are based on real-world practice, linking heritage methodology to deconstruction practice. These examples will be useful to preservation professionals who deal with demolition in the course of their work, to rethink the idea of waste and value in heritage practice.
Originality/value
This paper explores best practices in promoting heritage value and community engagement through deconstruction. This insight will promote interdisciplinary communication around historic materials and their treatment, which remains unexplored in both deconstruction and heritage research.
Details
Keywords
Ben Kerrane and Margaret K. Hogg
The purpose of this paper is to examine children's consumption experiences within families in order to investigate the role that different family environments play in the consumer…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine children's consumption experiences within families in order to investigate the role that different family environments play in the consumer socialisation of children.
Design/methodology/approach
Key consumer socialisation literature is reviewed and family communication patterns and parental socialisation style studies are introduced. Such studies argue for the homogenous and shared nature of the family environment for children. A three‐stage qualitative study of six families is reported, incorporating existential phenomenological interviews. The voices of children and their parents are captured, and the transcribed interview texts are analyzed on two levels (within and across family cases) using a hermeneutical process.
Findings
The findings of the study point towards the differential treatment of children within the family environment by both parents and siblings. It is proposed that children inhabit a unique position, or micro‐environment, within their family setting. Consumer micro‐environments are introduced; these have important implications in terms of children's consumption behaviour and, more importantly, their consumer socialisation process within the family setting.
Research limitations/implications
Consumer micro‐environments have potentially important implications in any re‐evaluation of the literature on consumer socialisation, and it is suggested that children may not have equal access to socialisation advice and support offered by family members. A limited number of families and family types are recruited in this exploratory study, and scope exists to explore family micro‐environments across a greater variety of family forms.
Originality/value
A series of micro‐environments, which have implications for the consumer socialisation of children, will be developed on a theoretical level. Existing consumer research views the family environment in homogenous terms, with suggestions that children are socialised by their parents in a similar manner (inhabiting a shared family environment). These findings problematise such a view and also offer insights into the role played by siblings in the consumer socialisation process.
Details
Keywords
Tina Fear, Nancy Carlton, Frances Heywood, Misa Izuhara, Jenny Pannell and Robin Means
Issues raised here are drawn from the findings of a housing investigation that explored harassment and abuse of older tenants in the private rented sector. The project examined…
Abstract
Issues raised here are drawn from the findings of a housing investigation that explored harassment and abuse of older tenants in the private rented sector. The project examined older people's experiences and raised important links between health and housing. The article highlights financial abuse directed towards these older people and examines implications for professionals and agencies.
Details
Keywords
Kathryn Waite and Tina Harrison
This paper reports on young adults’ expectations and perceptions of online retail banking information. A combination of qualitative and quantitative research was used. Focus…
Abstract
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.
Details
Keywords
Tina Bedenik, Claudine Kearney and Éidín Ní Shé
In this viewpoint article, the authors recognize the increased focus in health systems on co-design for innovation and change. This article explores the role of leaders and…
Abstract
Purpose
In this viewpoint article, the authors recognize the increased focus in health systems on co-design for innovation and change. This article explores the role of leaders and mangers in developing and enhancing a culture of trust in their organizations to enable co-design, with the potential to drive innovation and change in healthcare.
Design/methodology/approach
Using social science analyses, the authors argue that current co-design literature has limited focus on interactions between senior leaders and managers, and healthcare staff and service users in supporting co-designed innovation and change. The authors draw on social and health science studies of trust to highlight how the value-based co-design process needs to be supported and enhanced. We outline what co-design innovation and change involve in a health system, conceptualize trust and reflect on its importance within the health system, and finally note the role of senior leaders and managers in supporting trust and responsiveness for co-designed innovation and change.
Findings
Healthcare needs leaders and managers to embrace co-design that drives innovation now and in the future through people – leading to better healthcare for society at large. As authors we argue that it is now the time to shift our focus on the role of senior managers and leaders to embed co-design into health and social care structures, through creating and nurturing a culture of trust.
Originality/value
Building public trust in the health system and interpersonal trust within the health system is an ongoing process that relies upon personal behavior of managers and senior leaders, organizational practices within the system, as well as political processes that underpin these practices. By implementing managerial, leadership and individual practices on all levels, senior managers and leaders provide a mechanism to increase both trust and responsiveness for co-design that supports innovation and change in the health system.
Details
Keywords
Tina Harrison, Kathryn Waite and Phil White
Attempts to understand the consumer behaviour in the context of the pension purchase process, including the decision process and factors affecting the decision.
Abstract
Purpose
Attempts to understand the consumer behaviour in the context of the pension purchase process, including the decision process and factors affecting the decision.
Design/methodology/approach
Focus groups were conducted among manual and clerical grades of employees within a public sector organization who were members of an occupational pension scheme.
Findings
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.
Research limitations/implications
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.
Practical implications
Provides useful insights for providers of pensions in understanding the role of information, reference groups and professional advice in the marketing of pensions.
Originality/value
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.
Details
Keywords
Tina Harrison, Kathryn Waite and Gary L. Hunter
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…
Abstract
Purpose
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.
Design/methodology/approach
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.
Findings
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.
Research limitations/implications
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.
Practical implications
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.
Originality/value
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.