Understanding online business simulation games: the role of flow experience, perceived enjoyment and personal innovativeness

This study aimed to empirically predict the degree of acceptance of an online business simulation game in an educational context. To do so, this study proposed an extended technology acceptance model that includes variables such as perceived enjoyment and flow. In addition, the moderating role of students'' personal imiovativeness in the technology field was analysed. The framework was empirically tested applying partial least squares to a sample of 266 students. Results reveal that perceived enjoyment is a key variable in explaining students'' perceived ease of use, usefulness and attitudes towards the simulation. Perceived ease of use is not significantly related to flow experience. However, this relationship is moderated by personal innovativeness. Indeed, results indicate that the higher the students'' personal innovativeness, the more attenuated the effect of perceived ease of use on the attitude towards the game and on flow experience. The study offers relevant insights for the pedagogical use of competitive digital technologies in university contexts

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

Are multichannel customers really more valuable? An analysis of banking services

Conventional wisdom suggests that multichannel customers are more profitable. With a focus on goods, Kushwaha and Shankar (2013) demonstrate that it depends on the type of product purchased. Our study looks at the profit implications of multichannel customers in services (banking). Our research shows that fully multichannel customers (using all channels available) are not the most profitable for service firms. We find that concentrating the interactions through high-margin channels as well as using specific dual-channel combinations produce improvements in profitability

Channel Habits and the Development of Successful Customer-Firm Relationships in Services

Technology advances have profoundly changed the way customers and service organizations interact, leading to a multitude of service channels. This study investigates consumer habits toward service channels in order to understand the influence of these channel habits on perceptions and intentions (perceived switching costs and attitudinal loyalty) and on consumer behavior (service usage and cross-buy). We empirically test the framework in the financial services industry, and the results reveal that physical store habit increases perceived switching costs and that acquired habits toward the physical store and self-service kiosks have a positive influence on attitudinal loyalty. Perceived switching costs positively affect service usage, and attitudinal loyalty positively influences cross-buy. In addition, habits in each channel lead to an increase in the number of services acquired (cross-buy), but online and self-service kiosks channel habits negatively impact service usage, as the lack of physical presence may increase customer uncertainty. Because habits are built on the frequency and stability of channel usage, firms can manage habits by encouraging frequent interactions under stable contexts. In addition, firms should stimulate customer habits toward the physical store as it is central to the promotion of loyalty and for increasing service usage

La experiencia del cliente como modelo de negocio en la era digital el caso del sector financiero

Ante los avances tecnológicos y la proliferación de nuevos canales de compra y comunicación, asistimos a una transformación fundamental en la manera en la que las empresas interactúan y se relacionan con los consumidores. En este nuevo paradigma, valoramos el papel activo del cliente en los procesos de creación de valor, con un mayor nivel de exigencia y unas expectativas superiores, así como la mayor transparencia de los mercados y el incremento en el número y complejidad de los puntos de contacto entre cliente y empresa. Todo esto ha provocado un nuevo patrón de comportamiento del consumidor. Ahora, sus decisiones se fundamentan no solo en los aspectos materiales y funcionales de los productos o servicios, como la calidad o el coste, sino en la obtención de experiencias personalizadas, únicas y satisfactorias. En este estudio, basándonos en la literatura de marketing de relaciones y experiencia!, proponemos un nuevo modelo de negocio que sitúa la experiencia del cliente en el epicentro con el fin de mejorar la comprensión sobre los determinantes (por ejemplo, equidad del cliente, influencia social) y las consecuencias (por ejemplo, rentabilidad del cliente) de la experiencia del cliente. Con datos transversales de 1.990 clientes, validamos empíricamente el modelo conceptual en el sector de servicios financieros. De este modo, contribuimos al avance del conocimiento en el ámbito tanto académico como empírico

El aprendizaje y la innovación como determinantes del desarrollo de una capacidad de gestión medioambiental proactiva

Este trabajo, a través del enfoque de capacidades dinámicas, plantea y estima un modelo en el que las dimensiones de la orientación al aprendizaje y la predisposición a innovar influyen en la capacidad de gestión medioambiental proactiva. Adicionalmente, analiza el efecto mediador de la predisposición a innovar en la relación entre las dimensiones de la orientación al aprendizaje y la estrategia medioambiental proactiva. Para alcanzar los objetivos se realizó un estudio empírico a 250 establecimientos hoteleros. Los resultados contribuyen a llenar un vacío en la literatura existente, ya que analiza cómo determinadas capacidades organizacionales significativamente explican el desarrollo de una capacidad de gestión medioambiental proactiva. En concreto, estas tienen que ver con los valores asociados a la consideración del aprendizaje como un recurso crítico, la implantación de estructuras que faciliten la acumulación y la diseminación de conocimiento, la existencia de una mentalidad abierta y la predisposición de la empresa a desarrollar innovaciones organizacionales

Company image and corporate social responsibility: Reflecting with SMEs' managers

Purpose This paper is focused on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the context of small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). Its main interest consists of establishing a framework for clarifying the drivers of CSR activities in such a context. This paper also aims to analyse how CSR influences SMEs' image and positioning. Design/methodology/approach The general conceptual framework proposed by the literature is complemented with empirical research based on a longitudinal multi‐case study (inter and intra‐industry). Findings The research proposes that the owner/managers' values, market pressures and laws are key drivers for CSR in the SMEs context. Managers expect positive outcomes when CSR is implemented. However, the data suggest that while proactive and consistent SMEs may build up a good image and strong positioning, reactive and opportunistic firms may be penalised by stakeholders (e.g. customers). Practical implications CSR activities, when adequately managed, contribute for a better SME image and market positioning. Originality/value The ideas presented in this paper may help in achieving better management of resources in SMEs