Does buyer-seller similarity affect buyer satisfaction with the seller firm?

With the increased reliance on diverse markets in multi-cultural contexts, the role that similarity can play in the relationship between a salesperson and a buyer is receiving increased attention. Similarity is regarded as the cornerstone of positive communications, and salespeople rely on the trust that can be created by this recognition of likeness. However, there are different types of similarity, and not all have an equal bearing on the salesperson-buyer relationship. In this study, we examine similarity in appearance, similarity in lifestyle, and similarity in status. Most studies go no further than examining the effect of similarity on a buyer’s satisfaction with a salesperson, and to date there appear to be few studies relating to the effect of similarity on satisfaction with a firm. This study examines the effect of similarity on a buyer’s sense of satisfaction with a firm represented by a salesperson in the banking context. The results of the study show that appearance similarity and status similarity have a significant effect on the salesperson-buyer relationship, whereas lifestyle similarity has no effect. The buyer’s satisfaction with a salesperson is found to mediate the relationship between similarity in appearance and the buyer’s satisfaction with a firm. In this paper, we discuss these findings and look at their implications for both research and practice. Findings of the study are particularly important because of New Zealand’s increasing interaction with Asia and its people, which has transformed New Zealand to become a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic country

Electrical Conductance of Molten Salts: Part IV - Mixtures of Lithium, Sodium & Potassium Nitrates with Magnesium Nitrate

447-44

Electrical Conductance in Molten Salts: Part VI - potassium Nitrate-Strontium Nitrate Mixtures

645-64

From Cultural Chameleons to Pygmalion Performers: Impact of Service Employees’ Acculturation Behaviors on Customer Satisfaction and Commitment

This paper explores the impact of four types of acculturation behaviors (assimilation, integration, separation and marginalization) used by service employees on the satisfaction and commitment of their customers. A field-survey with retail banking customers in New Zealand (N=377), shows that assimilation and integration have significant positive effects on customer satisfaction and commitment. In contrast, marginalization (but not separation) have a negative effect on customer satisfaction and commitment. Moreover, the effects of the three types of acculturation behaviors on customer commitment are fully mediated by customer satisfaction. We discuss the conceptual contribution and managerial implications of these findings in this paper

Electrical Conductance in Molten Salts: Part V- Mixtures of Lithium, Sodium, Potassium & Thallium Nitrates with Cadmium Nitrate

579-58

Conductivity of Highly Concentrated Aqueous Electrolyte Solutions: Ammonium Nitrate-Water System

84-8

Impact of frontline service employees’ acculturation behaviors on customer satisfaction and commitment in intercultural service encounters

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of four types of acculturation behaviors of frontline service employees (assimilation, separation, integration, and marginalization) on customer satisfaction and customer commitment. Design/methodology/approach: In total, 377 ethnically diverse customers of a retail bank in New Zealand participated in this study. SmartPLS3 was used to test all the hypotheses. Findings: Assimilation and integration have positive effects on both customer satisfaction and commitment. Marginalization has a negative effect on both customer satisfaction and commitment but separation has a negative effect only on customer satisfaction and not on customer commitment. Research limitations/implications: Future research may validate and extend the authors findings in diverse cultural settings and use experimental method to explore the socio-psychological mechanisms underlying the influence of frontline service employees’ acculturation behaviors on customer satisfaction and commitment. Practical implications: This study will help managers understand the importance of service employees’ acculturation behaviors and develop suitable recruitment strategies and training programs to improve their impact on customer satisfaction and commitment. Originality/value: This study extends current research on intercultural service encounters by looking beyond the moderating effects of four types of service employees’ acculturation behaviors, to explore their direct effects on customer satisfaction and commitment

Multi-band optical variability of three TeV Blazars on Diverse Timescales

We present our optical photometric observations of three TeV blazars, PKS 1510-089, PG 1553+113 and Mrk 501 taken using two telescopes in India, one in Bulgaria, one in Greece and one in Serbia during 2012 - 2014. These observations covered a total of 95 nights with a total of 202 B filter frames, 247 images in V band, 817 in R band while 229 images were taken in the I filter. This work is focused on multi-band flux and colour variability studies of these blazars on diverse timescales which are useful in understanding the emission mechanisms. We studied the variability characteristics of above three blazars and found all to be active over our entire observational campaigns. We also searched for any correlation between the brightness of the sources and their colour indices. During the times of variability, no significant evidence for the sources to display spectral changes correlated with magnitude was found on timescales of a few months. We briefly discuss the possible physical mechanisms most likely responsible for the observed flux variability.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, 9 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRA

Chronopotentiometry with Spherical Electrodes – Sphericity Correction to Sand's Equation

150-15