The Customer Experience Framework as Baseline for Strategy and Implementation in Services Marketing

AbstractResearchers in service marketing have recently considered customer satisfaction from the viewpoint of what and how they experienced the service encounter resulting in the concept of customer experience management. Whilst several works have been developed in this area, there is still much that can be done to provide a comprehensive guide for marketers in understanding the service encounter from the point of view of customers. Building on the work of Verhoef et al's article in the Journal of Retailing (2009) and other works in the field, we propose a new customer experience framework (CEF) that focuses more centrally on the journey of the customer in experiencing the service. Our framework consists of five interacting layers: (1) Customer values, needs and wants; (2) Experiential Marketing Strategy; (3) Customer Experience Stages; (4) Accumulated Customer Experience (5) Customer Behavior Change. This differs from Verhoef et al's framework, which primarily focuses on looking at designing the optimal consumer experience from the viewpoint of the provider. We propose that the CEF will be useful both as a tool for experience creation and to analyze consumer experiences post-encounter

The impact of an elevated sense of power on consumer behavioural responses toward service failures

This study examined how a heightened sense of power affects customers’ behavioural response following a service failure. Power in the context of this investigation is defined as the subjective ‘sense of power’, which focuses more on how powerful individuals perceive themselves to be as opposed to an objective appraisal based on tangible possessions such as wealth or hierarchical status. A thorough reading of contemporary literature regarding power and its effect was synthesised into two main issues. First, current findings have not been able to definitively conclude how power impacts on behaviour in a service failure setting. Thus, a thorough investigation into this matter is required. Furthermore, contradictory evidence exists regarding whether power would bring about conciliatory tendencies such as forgiveness or encourage hostile tendencies such as revenge. As such, further investigation is needed to establish the conditions in which power would lead to these different behaviours. Secondly, the researches regarding power, its triggers, and its effect on behaviour have been largely conducted in the social psychology literature. Although the concept of power is highly relevant to marketing, its usability is still currently limited and needs further investigation. To address these issues, five experimental studies were conducted, which are described in six chapters of this thesis. The first chapter establishes the background, objectives and aims of this thesis in detail. The second chapter presents the current literature pertaining to power. Chapters Three to Five report the results of the experimental studies that have been conducted. Chapter Three is dedicated to investigating the role of power in a service failure setting. A more focused literature review is given, and two studies were conducted which found evidence that heightened power leads to lower perception of service failure severity, and higher likelihood of conciliatory behaviour such as decreased likelihood of complaining and reduced demand for compensation. Chapter Four attempts to establish a connection between the recent upsurge in studies about power in the social psychology field and the concept of consumer empowerment which exists in the marketing literature. Two studies were conducted which found that when consumers’ sense of power was managed using ways derived from the paradigm of consumer empowerment, they produced results consistent with those presented in Chapter Three, when power was activated using methods rooted in the social psychology field. Chapter Five focuses on establishing the boundary conditions determining where power would produce positive or negative effects. One study found that ego-depletion interacted with power. Powerful individuals who were not ego-depleted exhibited lower perceptions of service failure severity, consistent with the findings of studies in previous chapters. However, those who were experiencing a state of ego-depletion showed increased perceptions of severity, implying a more hostile reaction to the failure. This is aligned with conventional wisdom which often illustrates that the powerful are more hostile when dealing with conflict. The final chapter, Chapter Six, presents a summary and discussion of the findings. It will discuss the notion that, contrary to conventional perception, power does not always have a negative connotation. Second, by extending power’s usability more widely in the marketing discipline, the findings and methods developed in this thesis enable service marketers to utilize customer power advantageously when managing negative service encounters

The impact of an elevated sense of power on consumer behavioural responses toward service failures

This study examined how a heightened sense of power affects customers’ behavioural response following a service failure. Power in the context of this investigation is defined as the subjective ‘sense of power’, which focuses more on how powerful individuals perceive themselves to be as opposed to an objective appraisal based on tangible possessions such as wealth or hierarchical status. A thorough reading of contemporary literature regarding power and its effect was synthesised into two main issues. First, current findings have not been able to definitively conclude how power impacts on behaviour in a service failure setting. Thus, a thorough investigation into this matter is required. Furthermore, contradictory evidence exists regarding whether power would bring about conciliatory tendencies such as forgiveness or encourage hostile tendencies such as revenge. As such, further investigation is needed to establish the conditions in which power would lead to these different behaviours. Secondly, the researches regarding power, its triggers, and its effect on behaviour have been largely conducted in the social psychology literature. Although the concept of power is highly relevant to marketing, its usability is still currently limited and needs further investigation. To address these issues, five experimental studies were conducted, which are described in six chapters of this thesis. The first chapter establishes the background, objectives and aims of this thesis in detail. The second chapter presents the current literature pertaining to power. Chapters Three to Five report the results of the experimental studies that have been conducted. Chapter Three is dedicated to investigating the role of power in a service failure setting. A more focused literature review is given, and two studies were conducted which found evidence that heightened power leads to lower perception of service failure severity, and higher likelihood of conciliatory behaviour such as decreased likelihood of complaining and reduced demand for compensation. Chapter Four attempts to establish a connection between the recent upsurge in studies about power in the social psychology field and the concept of consumer empowerment which exists in the marketing literature. Two studies were conducted which found that when consumers’ sense of power was managed using ways derived from the paradigm of consumer empowerment, they produced results consistent with those presented in Chapter Three, when power was activated using methods rooted in the social psychology field. Chapter Five focuses on establishing the boundary conditions determining where power would produce positive or negative effects. One study found that ego-depletion interacted with power. Powerful individuals who were not ego-depleted exhibited lower perceptions of service failure severity, consistent with the findings of studies in previous chapters. However, those who were experiencing a state of ego-depletion showed increased perceptions of severity, implying a more hostile reaction to the failure. This is aligned with conventional wisdom which often illustrates that the powerful are more hostile when dealing with conflict. The final chapter, Chapter Six, presents a summary and discussion of the findings. It will discuss the notion that, contrary to conventional perception, power does not always have a negative connotation. Second, by extending power’s usability more widely in the marketing discipline, the findings and methods developed in this thesis enable service marketers to utilize customer power advantageously when managing negative service encounters

Leveraging Underdog Positioning and Consumer Trait Agreeableness for Sustained Marketing Strategy

Independent and small businesses often rely on underdog positioning strategies to gain market share against larger and more established companies. However, the effectiveness of these strategies remains unclear. The current study aims to investigate how different consumer personalities may influence their responses towards underdog positioning strategies. Two experimental studies with U.K. consumers (n = 349) show that the relationship between underdog status and positive attitudes is not as straightforward as previously believed. The research uses the lens of self-efficacy theory and found that underdog status positively correlates with perceived effort, consumer preference, and willingness to commit only among consumers with high trait agreeableness. In other words, although consumers generally acknowledge the efforts exerted by underdog providers, our study found that only agreeable consumers are more likely to reciprocate these efforts with increased positive attitudes. These findings contribute to the growing literature that examines the efficacy of the underdog effect. Subsequently, the findings have strong implications in ensuring the sustainability of small businesses by ensuring that marketing spending is optimized to target only the most effective consumer segments

Leveraging Underdog Positioning and Consumer Trait Agreeableness for Sustained Marketing Strategy

Independent and small businesses often rely on underdog positioning strategies to gain market share against larger and more established companies. However, the effectiveness of these strategies remains unclear. The current study aims to investigate how different consumer personalities may influence their responses towards underdog positioning strategies. Two experimental studies with U.K. consumers (n = 349) show that the relationship between underdog status and positive attitudes is not as straightforward as previously believed. The research uses the lens of self-efficacy theory and found that underdog status positively correlates with perceived effort, consumer preference, and willingness to commit only among consumers with high trait agreeableness. In other words, although consumers generally acknowledge the efforts exerted by underdog providers, our study found that only agreeable consumers are more likely to reciprocate these efforts with increased positive attitudes. These findings contribute to the growing literature that examines the efficacy of the underdog effect. Subsequently, the findings have strong implications in ensuring the sustainability of small businesses by ensuring that marketing spending is optimized to target only the most effective consumer segments

Consumer's Attitude Toward Private Label and Its Relationship with Their Motivational Values

Private label penetration is increasing from time to time. Past research have highlighted individual customer demographic characteristics that relate to private label purchase. Those research, however, have neglected the role of personal values in driving consumer behavior. This research is aimed to fill this gap by studying private label purchase behavior in a university in Bandung, Indonesia and its relation to the personal values of the respondents. Schwartz Value System is applied after comparing this with other value systems. Two dimensions in the system, which are opennes to change and conservation are analyzed in relation with private label purchase behavior of students in the university. The dimensions are selected because of their direct intuitive link with private label purchase. Using correlation analysis, the research provides an important finding about the role of personal values (in terms of opennes to change vs conservation) in private label purchase.Keywords: private label, personal value, Schwartz Value Systems, Bandung, Indonesia, openness to change, conservation, purchase behavior, consumer behavi

Influence Covid-19 Disinformation Against Panic- Buying Attitudes in Family Whatsapp Groups

This study aims to determine how much influence the distribution of disinformation in the family whatsapp group has on the panic buying attitude of middle-aged housewives in South Jakarta. With the rise of panic buying actions that occurred during the period leading up to the strict PSBB period in April 2020, researchers wanted to see if there was an influence on the use of social media, especially WhatsApp, which had increased since this pandemic happened. The method used in this research is quantitative with explanatory type. Information Integration Theory from Martin Fishbein is the theory chosen by the researcher in this research. The sample in this study amounted to 204 middle-aged housewives living in South Jakarta, which were divided based on the proportion per district using a purposive sampling technique. The results of this study found a very strong relationship and influence between the distribution of disinformation in the family whatsapp group and the panic buying attitude of middle-aged housewives in South Jakarta. The dimensions of the theory used by researchers, namely the valence and weight of information on disinformation messages were found to have a strong relationship and influence with the panic buying attitude of middle-aged housewives in South Jakarta. The government and the public often pay more attention to the spread of disinformation messages to prevent emotional contagion that leads to panic buying in South Jakarta. The dimensions of the theory used by researchers, namely the valence and weight of information on disinformation messages were found to have a strong relationship and influence with the panic buying attitude of middle-aged housewives in South Jakarta. The government and the public often pay more attention to the spread of disinformation messages to prevent emotional contagion that leads to panic buying in South Jakarta. The dimensions of the theory used by researchers, namely the valence and weight of information on disinformation messages were found to have a strong relationship and influence with the panic buying attitude of middle-aged housewives in South Jakarta. The government and the public often pay more attention to the spread of disinformation messages to prevent emotional contagion that leads to panic buying in South Jakarta