A model for measuring passenger loyalty

Loyalty development is an essential condition for an increase in profit of airline, railway and road transport companies. It is undoubtedly relevant to the success of an organisation. However, there is a lack of unified and universally accepted indicators for customer loyalty. Consequently, a model for measuring customer loyalty can be barely applied to companies that provide transport services for passengers. This gap has presupposed the need to create a customer loyalty model that corresponds to modern needs of passenger transport organisations. The model needs to be flexible to be used by various transport organisations that provide services to passengers. Principal solutions for the design of a model for loyalty measurement emerged from the clarified role of passenger loyalty and evaluation problems. The worked out solutions include a selection of a proper concept (1), loyalty specification (2), and differentiation of loyalty measurement depending on accessible data (3). To measure loyalty, an informative and practical concept of loyalty has been chosen. Subsequently, a complex of indicators that correspond with features of passenger transport services was compiled and the measurement of customer loyalty was differentiated according to the situations of data accessibility. A quantitative model of passenger loyalty measurement is based on a behavioural concept and miscellaneous content. Therefore, it creates presumptions about measuring the state of passenger loyalty and choosing proper solutions for the development of passenger loyalty in transport organisations. First published online: 09 Oct 201

Paslaugų vartotojų lojalumo vertinimas

Disertacijoje teoriniu ir praktiniu lygmenimis nagrinėjama paslaugų vartotojų lojalumo vertinimo problema. Tyrimų objektas – paslaugų vartotojų lojalumo vertinimas. Disertaciniam darbui keltas tikslas – sukurti šiuolaikinius paslaugų organizacijų poreikius atitinkantį vartotojų lojalumo vertinimo modelį, lanksčiai taikomą įvairiose paslaugų organizacijose skirtingomis duomenų prieigos situacijomis. Tyrimui iškelti tokie pagrindiniai uždaviniai: 1) patikslinti vartotojų lojalumo sąvoką, nustatyti paslaugų vartotojų lojalumo specifiką, veiksnius bei išgryninti paslaugų vartotojų lojalumo vertinimo problemas; 2) atlikti kritinę vartotojų lojalumo vertinimo metodinio potencialo analizę; 3) sukurti paslaugų vartotojų lojalumo vertinimo modelį; 4) empiriškai patikrinti paslaugų vartotojų lojalumo vertinimo modelio pritaikomumą. Disertaciją sudaro įvadas, keturi skyriai, rezultatų apibendrinimas, nau-dotos literatūros, autorės publikacijų disertacijos tema sąrašai ir du priedai. Įvadiniame skyriuje pateikta tiriamoji problema, atskleistas darbo aktualumas, aprašytas tyrimų objektas, suformuluoti darbo tikslas ir uždaviniai, aprašyta tyrimų metodika, darbo mokslinis naujumas, darbo rezultatų praktinė reikšmė, pateikti ginamieji teiginiai. Pirmasis skyrius skirtas paslaugų vartotojų lojalumo vertinimo specifikai pagrįsti. Skyriaus pabaigoje pateiktos paslaugų vartotojų lojalumo verti-nimo problemos. Antrajame skyriuje išanalizuotas paslaugų vartotojų lojalumo vertinimo metodinis potencialas, aprėpiantis tiek viendimensius, tiek daugiadimensius metodus. Skyriuje taip pat suformuluotos metodinės pas-laugų vartotojų lojalumo vertinimo prielaidos. Trečiajame skyriuje pateiktas paslaugų vartotojų lojalumo vertinimo modelis, sudarantis galimybę spręsti paslaugų lojalumo koncepcijos parinkimo, rodiklių atrankos ir rodiklių reikšmingumo nustatymo, lojalumo vertinimo pritaikymo duomenų prieigai ir lojalumo būsenų priskyrimo problemas. Ketvirtajame skyriuje pateikta siūlomo paslaugų vartotojų lojalumo vertinimo modelio taikymo metodika ir, naudojant maitinimo paslaugas teikiančios įmonės duomenis, empiriniu tyrimu patikrintas siūlomas modelis. Disertacijos tema paskelbta 13 straipsnių: dešimt recenzuojamuose periodiniuose mokslo žurnaluose. Vienas iš straipsnių publikuotas užsienyje (Jungtinėse Amerikos Valstijose). Disertacijos tema perskaityta 12 pranešimų nacionalinėse ir tarptautinėse konferencijose

E-management as a game changer in local public administration

The rapid development of digital technologies provides an efficient way to overcome the drawbacks of traditional management. E-management, a new form of management, is attracting much attention worldwide. The current research is aimed at examining the development of e-management in public sector organizations and anticipating possible alternatives for solving e-management problems. We use a qualitative strategy to explain the concept, specifics, benefits, drivers, situation, and progress of e-management in the public sector. Based on interviews with managers at local public administration institutions in Lithuania, we conclude that e-management in municipalities until the COVID-19 pandemic was applied only in exceptional cases due to legislation and workplace stationarity. However, at the moment, e-management in municipality administrations is treated not as an alternative but as the only possible choice

Influence of customer loyalty program on organizational performance: a case of airline industry

Loyalty programs enhance airline’s value proposition. Yet little is known about how customer loyalty programs affect organizational performance. This understanding is important because airlines must decide what design of loyalty program to choose in order to maximize the revenue, profit and the number of passengers. The authors develop and test theory proposing that specific design of loyalty program ensures better organizational performance. The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of loyalty programs on organizational performance of airlines. The methods of systemic analysis of scientific literature, secondary data analysis, comparative analysis, content analysis were used in order to reach the set purpose. Using a sample of airlines in the Baltic States, we conduct an empirical investigation of the influence of customer loyalty programs on organizational performance in airlines. The Mann-Whitney test was used to examine the differences within the organizational performance by the fact of holding a loyalty program. The results indicate that differences in loyalty programs matter. Airlines having a loyalty program can boast of a higher number of passengers carried than the ones that do not. Surprisingly no statistically significant relations were found between holding a loyalty program and airlines’ revenue, profit. It follows that airlines must consider these effects before the allocation of long-term investments into customer loyalty programs

Factors affecting customer loyalty for mobile service providers

Intense competition in the mobile services market encourages these service providers to take measures to create, maintain and enhance consumer loyalty. In such a concentrated market, it becomes important for service providers to identify and enhance the factors determining customer loyalty and their expression, whereas maintaining existing users requires significantly less effort and financial, human and time resources than attracting new ones. This article deals with a case study of Lithuania’s mobile operators: UAB “Bitė Lietuva”, UAB “Tele2”, UAB “Telia” in the context of consumer loyalty. The paper raises the question of what factors influence mobile phone user loyalty and how these factors can be evaluated. The article presents theoretical analysis of factors determining consumer loyalty in the service sector. An expert evaluation and multi-criteria study reveals which loyalty factors have the strongest influence on customers of mobile operators when choosing a particular service provider in Lithuania. The relevance of this article has potential for a practical study of consumer loyalty factors in the future. In the future, the research may be continued on a larger scale, involving more companies in the telecommunications sector, choosing research methods that are suitable for a broader sample of research and formulating consumer loyalty enhancement solutions applicable exclusively to organizations in the industry. Article in Lithuanian. Mobiliojo ryšio operatorių paslaugų vartotojų lojalumą lemiantys veiksniai Santrauka Intensyvi konkurencija mobiliojo ryšio paslaugų rinkoje skatina šių paslaugų teikėjus imtis priemonių vartotojų lojalumui kurti, išlaikyti ir stiprinti. Tokioje koncentruotoje rinkoje paslaugų teikėjams tampa svarbu identifikuoti ir stiprinti vartotojų lojalumą lemiančius veiksnius, jų raišką, kadangi esamiems vartotojams išlaikyti reikia žymiai mažiau pastangų, finansinių, žmogiškųjų, laiko išteklių nei naujiems pritraukti. Straipsnyje pristatomi vartotojų lojalumo veiksnių tyrimo rezultatai Lietuvos mobiliojo ryšio operatorių (UAB „Bitė Lietuva“, UAB „Tele2“, UAB „Telia“) atveju. Siekta rasti atsakymą į tokį probleminį klausimą: kokie veiksniai daro įtaką mobiliojo ryšio operatorių paslaugų vartotojų lojalumui ir kaip šiuos veiksnius būtų galima įvertinti? Siekiant atsakyti į šį probleminį klausimą, pirmiausia teoriniu aspektu išanalizuoti paslaugų vartotojų lojalumą lemiantys veiksniai. Atliktas ir ekspertinis tyrimas, pasitelkiant daugiakriterius metodus. Šio tyrimo rezultatai sudarė prielaidas identifikuoti veiksnius, turinčius didžiausią įtaką mobiliojo ryšio operatorių paslaugų vartotojų lojalumui Lietuvoje. Ateityje tyrimas gali būti tęsiamas platesniu mastu, įtraukiant daugiau telekomunikacijos sektoriaus bendrovių, pasirenkant platesnėms tyrimo imtims tinkamus tyrimo metodus ir formuluojant vartotojų lojalumo stiprinimo sprendimus, taikytinus išimtinai nagrinėjamo sektoriaus organizacijoms. Reikšminiai žodžiai: paslauga, vartotojas, vartotojų lojalumas, lojalumo veiksniai, paslaugų kokybė, vartotojo pasitenkinimas, teigiamas įvaizdis, pridėtinė vertė, mobiliojo ryšio paslaugos

Strategic planning of marketing communications in the digital age: an empirical study of small and medium freight transport companies

Small and medium transport companies play an important role in creating jobs and wealth of economy. Being related with the consumption of other products, transport companies should build marketing communication strategies. However, strategic planning of marketing communication might have specific challenges in this industry as recent innovations in the field of marketing communication (chatbots, groups in social networks, etc.) gain a considerable appreciation. Prior research has almost neglected specificity of marketing communication challenges faced by small and medium transport companies. Thus, the present research explored strategic planning of marketing communications in aforementioned industry. A qualitative research approach was adopted in order to collect information about peculiarities of strategic planning of marketing communication in transport industry. Interviews with marketing managers showed that their knowledge in the field of strategic planning of marketing communications is insufficient. Gaps in the stages of market analysis, mission statement, and measurement were identified. The lack of compatibility between mission statements and measures used for the evaluation of marketing communication results let authors to conclude that transport companies should pay more attention in ensuring the integration of marketing communication

Service Customer Loyalty: An Evaluation Based on Loyalty Factors

This study sheds light on customer loyalty based on three groups of factors (customer, service provider, and environment). Noting the diversity of the effects of customer loyalty factors, this research investigates the impact of every factor upon customer loyalty. This paper provides an innovative insight into how a variety of customer loyalty factors might be combined into a single measure of customer loyalty. Finally, this study examines phases of customer loyalty and identifies the factors that prevent a peak of customer loyalty. The factors determining customer loyalty explain why customers move across different loyalty phases over time. The results of the empirical testing confirmed the practical applicability of the suggested approach for evaluating customer loyalty based on these factors. An innovative approach to the evaluation of customer loyalty is essential for marketers because it will help them to evaluate loyalty in cases where data about customer behavior are not collected. The findings of the research contribute to a better understanding of which factors are a viable basis for increasing customer loyalty, specifically in the catering and beauty markets, and offer guidance to marketing managers on how to shift customers to more desirable loyalty phases.This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Tourism Innovations, Consumer Behavior, and Sustainable Developmen

Influence of customer loyalty program on organizational performance: a case of airline industry

Loyalty programs enhance airline’s value proposition. Yet little is known about how customer loyalty programs affect organizational performance. This understanding is important because airlines must decide what design of loyalty program to choose in order to maximize the revenue, profit and the number of passengers. The authors develop and test theory proposing that specific design of loyalty program ensures better organizational performance. The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of loyalty programs on organizational performance of airlines. The methods of systemic analysis of scientific literature, secondary data analysis, comparative analysis, content analysis were used in order to reach the set purpose. Using a sample of airlines in the Baltic States, we conduct an empirical investigation of the influence of customer loyalty programs on organizational performance in airlines. The Mann-Whitney test was used to examine the differences within the organizational performance by the fact of holding a loyalty program. The results indicate that differences in loyalty programs matter. Airlines having a loyalty program can boast of a higher number of passengers carried than the ones that do not. Surprisingly no statistically significant relations were found between holding a loyalty program and airlines’ revenue, profit. It follows that airlines must consider these effects before the allocation of long-term investments into customer loyalty programs