Customer equity drivers, customer experience quality, and customer profitability in banking services: the moderating role of social influence

Financial service organizations are increasingly interested in ways to improve the service experience quality for customers, while customers progressively perceive the commoditization of banking services. This is no easy task, as factors outside the control of the service firm can influence customers’ perceptions of their experience. This study builds on the customer equity framework to understand the linkages between what the firm does (customer equity drivers: value equity, brand equity, and relationship equity), the social environment (social influence), the customer experience quality, and its ultimate impact on profitability. Using perceptual and transactional data for a sample of customers of financial services, we demonstrate the central role played by factors under the control of the firm (value, brand, and relationship equity) and those outside its control (social influence) in shaping customers’ perceptions of the quality of their experience. We offer new insights into the moderating role of social influence in the linkages between the customer equity drivers and the customer experience quality. The managerial takeaway is that the impact of customer equity drivers on the customer experience quality is contingent on the influence exerted by other people and that enhancing customer experience quality can be a way to increase monetary returns

Customer experience management: Expanding our understanding of the drivers and consequences of the customer experience

The present doctoral dissertation aims to analyze thenew business landscape that suggests the importance of customer experience ¿ its drivers and consequences from a dynamic perspective. The drivers of customer experience provide firms with crucial knowledge about the experience expectations and desires of the customers, thereby enabling firms to identify the key determinants which significantly shape customer perceptions toward the experience with the firm. This is very important for firms, since the effort dedicated by firms to improve customer experience is not always equally perceived and/or valued by customers. Likewise, integrating the consequences of customer experience allows firms to translate their investment in customer experience into specific opportunities and enhanced performance outcomes (financial, behavioral, and relational). This is specifically critical, considering that a customer experience perceived as favorable by customers might not have a positive impact on firm outcomes. Customer experience is not static but evolve over time. By taking into account the dynamic nature of customer experience, firms may capture the occurred changes in customers and adjust the factors under their controls immediately, thereby ensuring the alignment between customer experience expectations and firms¿ offerings. In this way, through a dynamic lens, we establish the linkage across what firms do, what customers think, what customers do, and finally what firms get. The thesis is consisted of three studies. Study 1 investigates the impact of firms¿ investments in three key strategic levers (i.e., value, the brand, and the relationship) on the customer experience as well as the direct and moderating role played by social influence. We integrate research in customer relationship management (i.e., customer equity framework) (Rust, Lemon, & Zeithaml, 2004) and customer experience management (Lemon & Verhoef, 2016; Verhoef et al., 2009) and offer a unifying framework to understand the linkages between the three equity drivers (i.e., value equity, brand equity, relationship equity), social influence, the customer experience, and its ultimate impact on profitability. Study 2 focuses on the separate and joint effects of customer experience and lock-in on customer retention. Building barriers to lock customers and improving the customer experience are two key strategies employed by firms to enhance customer retention. Although pursuing the same goal, these strategies work differently: the former relies more on a calculative, cost¿benefit approach to the exchange, while the latter promotes the affective aspects of the relationship. Finally, study 3 investigates how different dimensions of customer experience (recency effect, peak effect, trend effect, and fluctuation effect) and different relationship marketing (RM) actions (i.e., advertising communication, product innovation, and conflict) impact customer relationship expansion from a dynamic perspective, and distinguishes their short-term and long-term effects. Self-determination theory posits that motivation for pursuing activities are consisted of intrinsic (the ones originating from the self and one¿s desire) and extrinsic factors (originating from external demands).<br /

Water Pipeline Leakage Detection Based on Machine Learning and Wireless Sensor Networks

The detection of water pipeline leakage is important to ensure that water supply networks can operate safely and conserve water resources. To address the lack of intelligent and the low efficiency of conventional leakage detection methods, this paper designs a leakage detection method based on machine learning and wireless sensor networks (WSNs). The system employs wireless sensors installed on pipelines to collect data and utilizes the 4G network to perform remote data transmission. A leakage triggered networking method is proposed to reduce the wireless sensor network’s energy consumption and prolong the system life cycle effectively. To enhance the precision and intelligence of leakage detection, we propose a leakage identification method that employs the intrinsic mode function, approximate entropy, and principal component analysis to construct a signal feature set and that uses a support vector machine (SVM) as a classifier to perform leakage detection. Simulation analysis and experimental results indicate that the proposed leakage identification method can effectively identify the water pipeline leakage and has lower energy consumption than the networking methods used in conventional wireless sensor networks

Posicionamiento Estratégico en el Sector de Servicios de Educación del Idioma Chino. Un Análisis del Caso

El presente trabajo fin de grado consiste en el análisis del posicionamiento estratégico de la academia Enseñalia y la identificación de las fuentes de ventajas competitivas para la empresa, con el fin de Abordar mejoras en la estrategia para así conseguir y/o mantener la ventaja competitiva

The influence of communication in destination imagery during COVID-19

A little over a year after the pandemic and ensuing state-of-emergency were officially declared, it seems timid signs of budding recovery are finally appearing. This paper presents empirical evidence related with a destination recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected during the early reopening of tourism in Spain (Easter break). This research evaluates the links between communication -both DMO (destination marketing organization) and tourist-generated communication- and destination awareness, imagery and perceived health safety. We also analyzed the impact of travel frequency on the entire construct set, as well as its role as potential moderator in the causal model. Results allow us to put forth a series of recommendations for tourist destination managers, aimed at meeting the challenges of progressively opening up tourism and mobility as the COVID-19 pandemic reality continues to evolve

Sigma metrics for assessing the analytical quality of clinical chemistry assays: a comparison of two approaches

Introduction: Two approaches were compared for the calculation of coefficient of variation (CV) and bias, and their effect on sigma calculation, when different allowable total error (TEa) values were used to determine the optimal method for Six Sigma quality management in the clinical laboratory. Materials and methods: Sigma metrics for routine clinical chemistry tests using three systems (Beckman AU5800, Roche C8000, Siemens Dimension) were determined in June 2017 in the laboratory of Peking Union Medical College Hospital. Imprecision (CV%) and bias (bias%) were calculated for ten routine clinical chemistry tests using a proficiency testing (PT)- or an internal quality control (IQC)-based approach. Allowable total error from the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 and the Chinese Ministry of Health Clinical Laboratory Center Industry Standard (WS/ T403-2012) were used with the formula: Sigma = (TEa − bias) / CV to calculate the Sigma metrics (σCLIA, σWS/T) for each assay for comparative analysis. Results: For the PT-based approach, eight assays on the Beckman AU5800 system, seven assays on the Roche C8000 system and six assays on the Siemens Dimension system showed σCLIA > 3. For the IQC-based approach, ten, nine and seven assays, respectively, showed σCLIA > 3. Some differences in σ were therefore observed between the two calculation methods and the different TEa values. Conclusions: Both methods of calculating σ can be used for Six Sigma quality management. In practice, laboratories should evaluate Sigma multiple times when optimizing a quality control schedule