Consumer-Centric Information Systems: A Literature Review and Avenues for Further Research

While consumer centricity has been extensively discussed as a concept of organizational transformation in the marketing domain, there is little research on its operationalization as a characteristic of information systems and associated antecedents.We review the marketing literature to understand generic organizational objectives of consumer centricity which are then generalized as characteristics of consumer-centric information systems. In a second step, we draw on socio-technical theory to conceptualize antecedents of consumer centricity as capabilities to align social and technical system components.Our research contributes to the body of knowledge by theoretically deriving an operationalization and antecedents of consumer centricity in IS research. This paper lays the foundation for a structured review of IS literature to theorize on component alignment capabilities as antecedents of consumer centricity. It further is the basis for case study research to construct a nomological network for consumer-centric information systems

Customer centricity: uma análise bibliométrica da produção acadêmica

Purpose – This article presents a bibliometric analysis of the literature with the purpose of contributing to a better understanding of the evolution of the theme, and the clarification of concepts and terms associated with the Customer Centricity area.Design/ Methodology/ Approach – In this study, 656 articles indexed by Scopus in the last 26 years were analyzed with the software VOSViewer.Findings – It can be concluded that the theme is still incipient in terms of scientific production, given the volume of articles identified in this study compared to other more robust themes in the marketing area, but which has been growing and attracting the interest of researchers over the past few years.Originality/ Value – It was possible to verify that Customer Centricity represents a phenomenon that has been studied recently with considerable intensity, notably since 2007.Finalidade – O artigo apresenta uma análise bibliométrica da literatura com o propósito de contribuir para o melhor entendimento da evolução do tema, e a clarificação de conceitos e termos associados à área de Customer Centricity, ou Centralidade no Cliente.Desenho/ Metodologia/ Abordagem – Nesse estudo, foram analisados 656 artigos indexados pela Scopus nos últimos 26 anos, via software VOSViewer.Constatações – Pode-se concluir que o tema ainda é incipiente em termos de produção científica, diante do volume de artigos identificados neste estudo comparativamente a outros temas mais robustos na área de marketing, mas que vem crescendo e atraindo o interesse dos pesquisadores ao longo dos últimos anos.Originalidade/ valor – Foi possível verificar que Customer Centricity representa um fenômeno que vem sendo estudado recentemente com considerada intensidade, notadamente a partir do ano de 2007

Customer satisfaction and financial performance: does it mediate customer-centric on Islamic bank values?

This study aims to determine the influence of Customer-centric Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) within the scope of Islamic Ethics on Company Values. In addition, this study also examines the role of customer satisfaction mediation and financial performance towards Customer-centric CSR with company values and tests the role of customer satisfaction mediation for Customer-centric CSR with financial performance. The sample used is Islamic Commercial Banks registered with BI with specified sample criteria. The data was processed using smartPLS, where the direct influence of Centric Customers in Islamic Ethics (CSR) on company values was significant. The Centric Customer variables in Islamic Ethics (CSR) influence financial performance. The other four hypotheses showed insignificant results. The results of the indirect influence test show that the variables of customer satisfaction and financial performance have not been able to mediate the relationship between Customer-centric in Islamic ethics and Company Values

The growing role of customer-centricity in business concept development

Customer-centricity – a concept, a trend or an absolute must-have in a modern consumer market? The answer may seem clear, and that no further profound reflections are required. However, it is impossible to specify unambiguously the criteria that should be met by an organization to be considered a customer-centric enterprise.This doubt stimulated the analysis of the available sources in which numerous authors have taken up the topic of the customer and his strategic importance for supporting a wide range of businesses. I focus on five different business concepts that combine a qualitative approach to the customer. The article attempts to define the concept of customer-centricity, and I identify five different qualities that should be met by an organization so that it may call itself “customer-centric”

When do customers perceive customer centricity? The role of a firm’s and salespeople’s customer orientation

The concept of customer centricity is frequently debated by sales and marketing researchers and practitioners. However, to date no validated scale exists that measures to what extent customers perceive companies as customer centric. Against this backdrop, drawing on prior literature, qualitative interviews, and a customer survey (N = 246), the authors develop and validate a measurement scale for perceived customer centricity. In addition, using matched survey and financial data from industrial customers (N = 1,089), the authors examine antecedents and consequences of perceived customer centricity. Results show that customers perceive firms as customer centric if the supplier is customer oriented on both the overall firm level and the salesperson level. Furthermore, perceived customer centricity is strongly linked to customers’ loyalty intentions and objective sales revenue, particularly if customers perceive a firm to exhibit high prices. Thus, this article equips managers with a validated and easy-to-use measurement that allows monitoring a firm’s progress toward customer centricity

Customer habits in a B2B context : impacts on cash flow level and volatility

Hábitos estão presentes em uma grande parte do dia-a-dia das pessoas. À medida que são repetidas ações com resultados satisfatórios em contextos estáveis, as respostas para ações futuras começam a ser ativadas automaticamente na memória de um indivíduo. Com o tempo, as decisões tornam-se menos impulsionadas por objetivos e intenções e, desta forma, um hábito é formado. Medidas empíricas de hábitos baseadas em dados de transações de clientes foram desenvolvidas pela área de marketing e vincularam comportamentos habituais de pessoas na hora da compra e o impacto financeiro nas empresas. Esta dissertação tem como objetivo analisar o impacto de comportamentos habituais no contexto B2B de transações entre fabricantes e varejistas. O responsável por efetuar uma compra em uma empresa pode comparar especificações, preços e avaliar os concorrentes antes de fazer um pedido. No entanto, é praticamente impossível avaliar todos os produtos sempre que for necessária uma compra para reabastecer estoques ou para solicitar um item vendido no catálogo por um vendedor dentro da loja. Portanto, espera-se que com o tempo, uma parte das transações que são realizadas começam a ser conduzidas por comportamentos habituais de alguém envolvido no processo de compra. Esta dissertação propõe medir os hábitos de compra e promoção em um banco de dados de transações e aplicar análises quantitativas para avaliar como os hábitos impactam os níveis de fluxo de caixa e a volatilidade dos mesmos. Uma análise posterior é proposta para comparar como os clientes habituais se relacionam com os clientes mais valiosos da empresa e uma simulação é proposta para analisar o impacto de uma eventual aquisição de clientes. Os resultados mostram que os hábitos mais fortes de compra aumentam os níveis de fluxo de caixa, mas também afetam positivamente a volatilidade do fluxo de caixa. Em contrapartida, os hábitos de promoção, com o passar do tempo, tendem a gerar fluxos de caixa menos voláteis que os hábitos de compra, mas com a desvantagem de diminuir os níveis dos mesmos.Habits are widespread in most of life. As people repeat actions with satisfactory outcomes in stable contexts, responses start to become automatically retrieved in memory. Over time decisions become less driven by goals and intentions, and therefore, a habitual behavior is formed. Empirical measures of habits based on customer transactions data were developed by marketing scholars and have linked habitual behaviors of people when purchasing and their impact on firms’ performance. This dissertation aims to analyze the impact of habitual behaviors in the context of business-to-business transactions with manufacturers and retailers. The responsible for buying in a firm may compare specifications, prices and assess competitors before making a purchase. However, it is unfeasible to evaluate all products every time it is required a purchase to replenish stocks or to order a sold item in a catalog by a sales employee. Therefore, it is expected that over time, a portion of repeat transactions start to be driven by habitual behaviors of someone involved in the process of buying. This dissertation proposes to measure the Purchase and Promotion Habits in a database of transactions and to apply quantitative analyzes to evaluate how habits affect cash flow levels and their volatility. A later analysis is proposed to compare how regular customers relate to the company's most valuable customers and a simulation is proposed to analyze the impact of eventual customer acquisition. The results show that stronger Purchase Habits increase cash flow levels, but also positively affect cash flow volatility. On the other hand, Promotion Habits, over time, tend to generate less volatile cash flows than Purchase Habits, but with the disadvantage of reducing their levels

User research in product development in business to business software as a service

Customers are more empowered to make purchasing decisions than ever before, and customer experience has become a critical decision factor. Business to business (B2B) software as a service (SaaS) companies are changing their strategies and ways of working to become more customer-centric and stay competitive. To understand users, their needs, motivations and the problems that they are facing, companies do user research and involve users in product development. This thesis explores how B2B SaaS organizations utilize user research when developing products. It aims to answer some of the most fundamental questions: which user research methods companies use, how they involve internal stakeholders in user research and how they select the users and motivate them to take part in product development. A qualitative multiple case study approach was used in this thesis to answer the research questions. The literature review aims to provide a broad overview of the topic. Six B2B SaaS companies and two service design companies were interviewed to learn about user research in B2B SaaS field. The results of the thesis show that less customer-centric organizations do ad-hoc user research. More customer-centric companies incorporate user research into the development process. Both approaches are valuable for developing a product that fits customer needs but incorporated user involvement is necessary for achieving a better outcome. Customer-centric organizations include various stakeholders in user research to increase the transparency of findings and create empathy towards users. Furthermore, qualitative user research is essential for customer-centric product development. Regarding the users, while they are motivated to take part in product development, it was discovered that in the B2B field the process of approaching users can be challenging. This thesis compares how different B2B SaaS companies do user research. It reveals the best practices, challenges and opportunities of user involvement. This information can be useful for organizations that aim to become customer-centric. The findings contribute to the literature by providing insights into successful examples and the challenges of user involvement in product development in B2B SaaS organizations

Research in marketing strategy

Marketing strategy is a construct that lies at the conceptual heart of the field of strategic marketing and is central to the practice of marketing. It is also the area within which many of the most pressing current challenges identified by marketers and CMOs arise. We develop a new conceptualization of the domain and sub-domains of marketing strategy and use this lens to assess the current state of marketing strategy research by examining the papers in the six most influential marketing journals over the period 1999 through 2017. We uncover important challenges to marketing strategy research—not least the increasingly limited number and focus of studies, and the declining use of both theory and primary research designs. However, we also uncover numerous opportunities for developing important and highly relevant new marketing strategy knowledge—the number and importance of unanswered marketing strategy questions and opportunities to impact practice has arguably never been greater. To guide such research, we develop a new research agenda that provides opportunities for researchers to develop new theory, establish clear relevance, and contribute to improving practice