Service Convenience and Relational Exchange in Electronic Mediated Environment: An Empirical Investigation

Academic research reflects an increasing concern that conventional knowledge on services management such as location strategy may not adequately inform management on crafting an ITdriven service strategy to succeed in the emerging electronic mediated environment. The focus of this study is to examine, from the consumer perspective, how service convenience affects the long term relational exchange in the electronic mediated environment (EME). Service convenience has been conceptualized as a second order construct with six convenience dimensions reflecting the process of online service consumption. An analytical framework has been developed and tested to validate the comprehensive framework of service convenience and its antecedents and consequences in the electronic mediated environment leading to a long-term exchange relationship. Analysis of data from 374 respondents revealed that service convenience is indeed a multidimensional concept and six convenience dimensions equally contribute to online consumers’ overall perceptions of service convenience. Service convenience was also found to serve as an important mediating variable between its antecedents and consequents. This study thus contributes to the development of the service convenience construct in the electronic mediated environment and also informs firms in developing an integrated online convenience strategy to meet customer requirements and expectations for long term exchange relationship building. Suggestions for future research and implications are discussed

Service convenience, service consumption experience and relational exchange in electronic mediated environment (EME)

There is increasing concern in academic research that conventional knowledge of services management may not adequately inform management in constructing an ITdriven services strategy to succeed in the emerging Electronic Mediated Environment (EME). Most services, in the traditional mode, are delivered through the mediation and assistance of knowledgeable human agents. In the context of services in the emerging EME, human agents are absent and are therefore not available to assist consumers. Services in the EME are consumed in the absence of mediating human agents. Since services in the traditional brick-and-mortar environment are mediated through human agents, past studies carried out in the traditional environment fail to provide insights into service convenience, service consumption experience and relational exchange in the context of services in the EME. Additionally, the extant information systems, marketing and consumer behavior research provides neither any analytical framework nor empirical assessment of service convenience, service consumption experience and relational exchange in the EME. To fill this gap in the information systems literature and provide insights into consumers’ perception of services consumption and development of longterm exchange relationship between consumers and service providers in the EME, this dissertation examines how service convenience and service consumption experience affect long-term relational exchange in the EME. In this dissertation, services in the electronic mediated environment are defined as any kinds of services that incorporate service convenience via electronic devices where the consumer interacts with an appropriate user interface for service consumption in an electronic mediated environment such as Web site, mobile phone, PDA, iPod, Virtual World Environment, etc., in order to gain a consumption experience and pursue desired benefits preferably on a long term basis. Three studies comprise this dissertation. The first study investigates service convenience and its antecedents and consequents in terms of relational exchange in the EME. Service convenience is conceptualized as a second order construct with six convenience dimensions reflecting the process of online service consumption. An analytical framework is developed and tested to validate a comprehensive research model of service convenience and its antecedents and consequents, in the EME, leading to longterm exchange relationship between the consumers and service providers. The second study examines service consumption experience and relational exchange in the EME. Service consumption experience is conceptualized as a second order construct with five consumption experience dimensions. A research framework of service consumption experience and its antecedents and consequents in the EME is developed and validated. The third study analyzes the interrelationship between service convenience and service consumption experience. This study then presents a comprehensive research model of service convenience, service consumption experience, and relational exchange in the EME. Analyses of data from 1,250 U.S. consumers, with at least six months or more experience in consuming services in the EME, reveal that both service convenience and service consumption experience are multidimensional concepts. All six service convenience dimensions contribute to online consumers’ overall perception of service convenience while the five service consumption experience dimensions significantly influence consumers’ overall consumption experience in the EME. Service convenience and service consumption experience were also found to serve as important mediating variables between their antecedents and consequents respectively. The service convenience, along with service consumption experience, was found to be significant in developing long-term exchange relationship between consumers and service providers in the EME. This dissertation contributes to information systems (IS) literature by being the first to develop service convenience and service consumption experience constructs in the EME. Additionally, this research also provides the analytical nomological network of important antecedents and consequents of both service convenience and service consumption experience. Furthermore, this dissertation informs managers on the development of an integrated service convenience and consumption experience strategy to meet consumers’ requirements and expectations for long-term relationship development between consumers and services providers in the EME. Given the current service-based and information-driven economy and the role of services in the emerging EME, this dissertation significantly advances our knowledge by contributing to the extant IS research, related to services in the EME, in terms of theory development, empirical validation and insights for managerial practice

Critical review of the e-loyalty literature: a purchase-centred framework

Over the last few years, the concept of online loyalty has been examined extensively in the literature, and it remains a topic of constant inquiry for both academics and marketing managers. The tremendous development of the Internet for both marketing and e-commerce settings, in conjunction with the growing desire of consumers to purchase online, has promoted two main outcomes: (a) increasing numbers of Business-to-Customer companies running businesses online and (b) the development of a variety of different e-loyalty research models. However, current research lacks a systematic review of the literature that provides a general conceptual framework on e-loyalty, which would help managers to understand their customers better, to take advantage of industry-related factors, and to improve their service quality. The present study is an attempt to critically synthesize results from multiple empirical studies on e-loyalty. Our findings illustrate that 62 instruments for measuring e-loyalty are currently in use, influenced predominantly by Zeithaml et al. (J Marketing. 1996;60(2):31-46) and Oliver (1997; Satisfaction: a behavioral perspective on the consumer. New York: McGraw Hill). Additionally, we propose a new general conceptual framework, which leads to antecedents dividing e-loyalty on the basis of the action of purchase into pre-purchase, during-purchase and after-purchase factors. To conclude, a number of managerial implementations are suggested in order to help marketing managers increase their customers’ e-loyalty by making crucial changes in each purchase stage

From post-consumption experience evaluation to online generated content and intensification

En el contexto de los museos, el presente trabajo analiza hasta qué punto la evaluación de la experiencia in situ (satisfacción y valor percibido) que realizan los visitantes refuerza sus comportamientos online a corto plazo (consultar y generar contenido online). Sobre la base de la teoría del equilibrio y de la teoría del nivel óptimo de estimulación, proponemos la existencia de un efecto de la evaluación de la experiencia que adoptará forma de U invertida sobre la intensificación y forma de U sobre la intención de generar contenido online después de la visita. Los resultados indican que la satisfacción fomenta la intención de consumir más contenido, mientras que la percepción de haber alcanzado el máximo valor lo limita (efecto U invertida). Por otro lado, si bien la satisfacción y la percepción de una visita rentable motivan a los visitantes a publicar comentarios, las malas experiencias en los museos no tienen ningún impacto en la generación de contenido online.In the context of museums, this paper analyses to what extent visitor evaluation of the in situ experience (satisfaction and perceived value) drives their short-term online behaviours (visiting online content and generating content in online sites). On the basis of the balance theory and on the optimal stimulation level theory, it proposes that the evaluation of the experience has an inverted U-effect on visit intensification while a U-effect on the intention to generate content after the visit. Findings indicate that satisfaction fosters the intention to consume further content, while the perception of having gained the maximum value limits it (inverted U-effect). On the other hand, while satisfaction and the perception of a profitable visit motivate visitors to post online comments, poor experiences in museums have no impact on the generation of online content

A structural model to examine the antecedents and consequences of customer with experiential brands

Despite the increasing attention towards customer experience, empirical research to explain this notion, its antecedents and its consequences is still limited. Hence, this research aims to develop a framework of customer experience based on a number of antecedents that influence customer experience in the service sector. This paper presents the first part of the study which includes the review of literature, the application of netnography method to the development of customer experience construct, the development of the research measures and the hypotheses development for the structural model. The second part of the study, which is presented in another paper, provides the results of the empirical study and discusses the findings of the structural model

Service quality measurement in the internet context: A proposed model

The survival of any organisation in a highly competitive environment depends on its ability to provide the best service quality to its existing customers as the quality of service is a key factor in the success of any organisation. It is well established that the measurement of service quality is an important procedure for the improvement of the success and performance of any organisation. Facts indicate that more attention is needed toward developing an industry-specific scale for measuring customer service quality within the still-developing sector of Internet-based self-service technologies. The main objectives of this research paper are two-fold; firstly, to review comprehensively previous and contemporary literature on service quality measurement and to discuss the key issues on the development of an industry-specific scale for measuring customer service quality in the specific context of Internet-based self-service technologies, secondly, to propose a conceptual model for service quality perceptions of Internet-based self-service technologies through identifying its key antecedents and consequences. The findings of this study will be significant for both scholars and practitioners in this area as it provides a deep understanding of the way customers evaluate services provided via self-service technologies

Environmental Sustainability and the Hospitality Customer Experience: A Study in Tourist Accommodation

Academic research on sustainability in the hospitality industry is scarce and fragmented, and requires a general structure to lend coherence to its approach. There is a need for empirical research to fathom the question of environmental sustainability and customer experience in the hospitality industry and to study the interaction between the two concepts. This paper aims to close these gaps by establishing the nature of the relationship between customers’ perceptions of the environmental practices in tourism accommodation and their customer experiences and levels of satisfaction. The working hypotheses, based on a review of the literature on environmental sustainability and customer experience in the hospitality industry, are tested in an empirical study of 412 Spanish customers who stayed in various types of tourist accommodation. The main conclusion is that the relationship between environmental sustainability and customer experience in the hospitality industry can be demonstrated. This paper also validates a measurement scale based on the most accepted dimensionality of the construct: cognitive (think), affective (feel), behavioral (act), sensory (sense) and social (relate)

IMC customer-based perception: strategic antecedents and consequences on post-purchase customer behaviour

Last decades Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) have been mainly analysed from a managerial perspective, overlooking the customer opinion. Thus, this research studies IMC customer-based perception, its strategic antecedents and consequences on post-purchase customer behaviour (satisfaction, word-of-mouth recommendations, and repurchase intention), from a multi-country perspective. The structural equation modelling and multi-group analysis are based on the customers´ survey data in Belarus and Spain. The results suggest that technology orientation positively affects IMC, and, customer orientation does not. IMC positively affects customer satisfaction, which in turn positively impacts on WOM and repurchase intention. WOM does not influence on repurchase intention. IMC directly affects WOM and repurchase intention in Spain and does not in Belarus, which is the significant country difference

The Impact of Trust on Acceptance of Online Banking

Major benefits of Online Banking include for banks cost savings, and for customers convenience. Nevertheless, many people perceive Internet banking as risky. This paper introduces a tentative conceptual framework. Trust will be integrated into the Technology Acceptance Model – TAM - (Davis, 1989). Recent research showed that Trust has a striking influence on user willingness to engage in online exchanges of money and personal sensitive information. Detailed literature about Online Banking and Trust is provided. TAM is discussed in depth; external variables that are suitable for the Online Banking context is suggested. In addition the theoretical justification for the conceptual framework integration is discussed. Finally managerial implications and recommendations for Online Banking acceptance are suggested

What Matters to Whom? Managing Trust Across Multiple Stakeholder Groups

Trust has been widely recognized as a key enabler of organizational success. Prior research on organizational trust, however, has not distinguished between the potentially varying bases of trust across different stakeholder groups (e.g., employees, clients, investors, etc.). We develop a framework that distinguishes among organizational stakeholders along two dimensions: intensity (high or low) and locus (internal or external). The framework also helps to identify which of six potential antecedents of trust (benevolence, integrity, competence, reliability, transparency, and identification) will be relevant to which type of stakeholder. We test the predictions of our framework using survey responses from 1,296 respondents across four stakeholder groups from four different organizations. The results reveal that different antecedents of trust are indeed relevant for different stakeholder types, and provide strong support for the validity of the intensity and locus dimensions. This publication is Hauser Center Working Paper No. 39. The Hauser Center Working Paper Series was launched during the summer of 2000. The Series enables the Hauser Center to share with a broad audience important works-in-progress written by Hauser Center scholars and researchers