Personality dimensions and service failure severity : a cross-sectional study in the cellular industry

Service providers base service recovery efforts to retain consumers on service failure severity. A good understanding of possible effects on service failure severity is therefore necessary, and so this study examined the effects of personality dimensions on service failure severity. A hierarchical regression analysis was performed on data collected from 564 respondents through convenience sampling. The results indicated signifi cant effects of Extraversion and Agreeableness on perceived service failure severity. In terms of theory, this study extends the infl uence of the trait theory of personality to service failure research. Furthermore, practical recommendations for cell phone network providers’ service recovery strategies include combining restorative and apologetic strategies.The North-West Universityhttp://www.unisa.ac.za/default.asp?Cmd=ViewContent&ContentID=22335am2016Marketing Managemen

Parental influence on consumer and purchase behaviour of Generation Y

Die vaardighede, kennis en houdings om verbruikersbesluitneming te verwesenlik word bekom deur, onder andere, sosialisering. Sosialisering van verbruikers om te besluit oor die aankoop, verbruik en wegdoen van goedere geskied deur verskeie partye, onder andere rolmodelle. Verskeie studies het bevind dat rolmodelle ’n invloed het op verbruikersgedrag, waarvan die uitkoms behels dat verbruikers soortgelyke besluite neem as hul rolmodelle. Die familie is een van die belangrikste eenhede waarbinne sosialisering geskied en bied ʼn gulde geleentheid vir rolmodelle om die gedrag van jong verbruikers te beïnvloed. Binne ʼn familie sal verskeie partye wat as kennisbron geag word optree as rolmodelle. Binne die familie vervul ouers dikwels die rol van beide sosialiseringsagente en rolmodelle, en hierdie rolle mag oorvleuel. Die vertroue wat tussen ouer en kind gebou word te midde van die noue saamleefverhouding binne die familie skep ʼn veilige omgewing om rolmodelle (ouers) se gedrag na te boots. Indien die invloed van ouers as rolmodelle die verbruiksgedrag en aankoopgedrag van Generasie Y bepaal, word strategieë om jong volwassenes se gedrag te beïnvloed grotendeels toegeskryf aan sosialisering. Hierom sou die poging om Generasie Y verbruikers te behou as klante of om nuwe klante vanuit Generasie Y te bekom dus deur ouers beïnvloed kon word. Die doel van die studie was om die Sosiale Kognitiewe Toerie te gebruik as ’n riglyn om te verstaan hoe direkte rolmodelle soos ouers die aankoopgedrag van Generasie Y beïnvloed. Bo en behalwe die persepsie dat ouers as rolmodelle beskou word, kan ouers as rolmodelle die verbruikersgedrag van Generasie Y beïnvloed, hetsy met betrekking tot positiewe gedrag (byvoorbeeld om die produkte of handelsmerk aan te beveel) of negatiewe gedrag, soos om te kla by ander klante. Nie-waarskynlike, geriefssteekproeftrekking is gebruik om data onder Generasie Y respondente in te samel en drie honderd nege-en-sestig bruikbare vraelyste is ontvang. Data is ontleed deur strukturele vergelyking modellering toe te pas nadat die betroubaarheid en geldigheid van die meetinstrumente bepaal is. Die resultate van die studie ondersteun die Sosiale Kognitiewe Teorie omdat ouers as rolmodelle Generation Y se verbruikersgedrag beïnvloed het en verbruikersgedrag het weer aankoopgedrag beïnvloed. Die verbruikdergedrag en aankoopgedrag van Generasie Y weerspieël dus hul ouers se opinies, omdat hul nog steeds hul ouers as rolmodelle beskou. Alhoewel vorige studies getoon het dat Generasie Y geneig mag wees om nie hul ouers as rolmodelle te beskou of wil erken nie, is hierdie bevindinge ʼn aanduiding dat die invloed van ouers as rolmodelle tog die gedrag van Generasie Y in terme van hul verbruikersgedrag asook hul aankoopgedrag beïnvloed. Hierdie bevindinge plaas nie net ’n onus op ouers nie maar bied ook verskeie voordele vir beleidmakers en bemarkingsbestuurders. Veldtogte om sekere verbruikersgedrag of aankoopgedrag aan te moedig of om negatiewe gedrag te ontmoedig kan van ouers gebruik maak om die aanbevole gedrag te versterk en aan te moedig binne die volgende generasie jong volwassenes wat nog gesosialiseer word deur hul rolmodelle. Kwessies soos materialisme sal dus binne die familie deur die invloed van ouers as rolmodelle vir hul kinders aangespreek moet word. Die familie is hierom ʼn belangrike eenheid vir analise in toekomstige navorsing wat waardes en beleidsisteme oorweeg.http://www.journals.co.za/content/journalam2016Marketing Managemen

Young adults’ relationship intentions towards their cell phone network operators

Marketers use relationship marketing to establish mutually beneficial long-term relationships with their customers as a means to retain them in the competitive market environment. Relationship marketing should not be used to target every customer as not all customers want to build long-term relationships with organisations. In order to identify the most profitable customers for relationship marketing, organisations should consider their customers’ relationship intentions to form long-term relationships with them. The primary objective of this study was to determine young adults’ (aged 18 to 25) relationship intentions towards the South African cell phone network operators they use, namely Vodacom, MTN or Cell C. Five constructs (involvement, expectations, forgiveness, feedback and fear of relationship loss) were used to measure relationship intention. Data was collected from 315 respondents at a tertiary education institution in South Africa by means of a non-probability convenience sample. Findings indicate that a relatively high percentage of respondents have a high relationship intention towards their cell phone network operator and that respondents with high relationship intentions are more Involved with and Fear losing their relationship with their cell phone network operator than respondents with low relationship intentions.This article was co-written by P.G. Mostert before he joined the University of Pretoria.am2016Marketing Managemen

The influence of cell phone users' relationship intentions on expectations and perceptions of service recovery

With the first-time cell phone user market quickly shrinking, it is becoming increasingly important for South African cell phone network providers to retain customers by building long-term relationships with them and consistently offering quality service. Despite cell phone network providers' best intentions, service failures do occur. Not all customers want to build relationships with cell phone network providers, and therefore it is important to consider the influence of customers' relationship intentions within a service failure and recovery setting. The purpose of the study was to determine the influence of relationship intention on expectations and perceptions of two service recovery scenarios within the cell phone industry. Non-probability convenience sampling was used to collect data from 605 cell phone users residing in Gauteng. Results indicate that as respondents' relationship intentions increase, so do their expectations that their cell phone network providers should take service recovery action. It was also found that respondents with high and moderate relationship intentions perceived service recovery strategies of their cell phone network providers including an acknowledgement, apology, explanation and rectification of the problem more favourable, compared to a service recovery strategy only rectifying the problem, than those respondents with low relationship intentions.http://www.journals.co.za/content/journalam2016Marketing Managemen

The influence of relationship intention on cell phone users’ attitudes towards complaining and complaint

In any service environment, there is a strong possibility that customers’ expectations and the actual service delivery are not in unison. When service failures do occur, customers’ attitudes towards complaining directly infl uence their actual complaint behaviour. As not all customers want to build relationships with service providers, it is imperative that service providers gain a deeper understanding of the behaviour, and specifi cally the complaint behaviour, of those customers who do have relationship intentions. The purpose of this study was to determine the infl uence of relationship intention on customers’ attitudes towards complaining and complaint behaviour following a service failure within the cell phone industry. Convenience sampling was used, and 605 respondents participated in the study. The results indicate that the majority of respondents who participated in this study had a propensity to complain, and that respondents with high relationship intentions are more likely to voice a billing error to their cell phone network provider than respondents with low relationship intentions. Furthermore, relationship intention should be considered as a variable that could infl uence customers’ attitudes towards complaining and complaint behaviour. The results make a valuable theoretical contribution and have managerial implications for service providers in the cell phone industry.http://www.unisa.ac.za/sabusinessreviewam201

The influence of relationship intention and population group on South African cell phone users’ positive attitude towards complaining

As most customers do not voice their dissatisfaction to service providers following service failures, it is important to identify those customers most likely to do so. Since customers with positive attitudes toward complaining are the most likely to voice their dissatisfaction, identifi able customer characteristics – such as customers’ relationship intentions and population group – infl uencing such attitudes can be an effi cient way to acquire feedback from customers. This study accordingly investigated the infl uence of relationship intention and population group on cell phone users’ positive attitude towards complaining to their cell phone network providers. By means of non-probability convenience sampling, 605 respondents from South Africa’s Johannesburg metropolitan area participated in this study. The results indicate that population group as well as relationship intention practically signifi cantly infl uence respondents’ positive attitude towards complaining. Despite this fi nding, no interaction effect was found between respondents’ population group and relationship intention on positive attitude towards complaining.http://www.unisa.ac.za/Default.asp?Cmd=ViewContent&ContentID=257842017-10-31am2016Marketing Managemen

The influence of relationship intention on relationship length and contractual agreements : an exploratory study among South African cell phone users

Within the competitive cell phone industry, long-term customer relationships can result in much needed customer retention. However, relationship marketing strategies should only be applied to customers receptive to relationship building; relationship marketing strategies should be targeted at customers with relationship intentions. This article examined relationship intention within the South African cell phone industry through a non-probability convenience sample of 605 respondents. Findings suggest that cell phone users’ overall or level of relationship intentions is not associated with their relationship lengths or contractual agreements with their cell phone network providers. Consequently, cell phone network providers should be cautious to use customers’ relationship lengths or contractual agreements in isolation to identify customers for relationship building. It is recommended that cell phone network providers should target customers with relationship intentions for relationship building, as these customers are the most likely customers to be retained and provide return on such an investment.This article was co-written by P.G. Mostert before he joined the University of Pretoria.http://www.journals.co.za/content/journalam2016Marketing Managemen

The dimensions of brand romance as predictors of brand loyalty among cell phone users

In a competitive cell phone industry where consumers have a wide variety of cell phone brands to choose from, it is imperative for marketers to foster brand loyalty in order to establish enduring consumer-brand relationships. Nurturing brand romance has been suggested to marketers to cultivate emotional attachments between consumers and brands so as to increase brand loyalty. This study focussed on determining the extent to which the three underlying dimensions of brand romance, namely pleasure, arousal and dominance predict brand loyalty among cell phone users in the North West province. In total 371 respondents participated in the study. Results indicate that with respect to brand romance, respondents’ current cell phone brands generate brand pleasure and brand arousal, but that these brands are not dominant in their minds. Although respondents participating in the study did not exhibit strong levels of brand loyalty towards their current cell phone brands, the three underlying dimensions of brand romance are statistically significant predictors of brand loyalty