A Super Efficiency Model for Product Evaluation

This study applies a Super Efficiency Data Envelopment Analysis model to evaluate the efficiency of cars sold on the German market. Efficiency is conceptualized from a customers' perspective as a ratio of outputs that customers obtain from a product relative to inputs that customers have to invest. The output side is modeled as a set of customer-relevant parameters such as performance attributes but also nonfunctional benefits and brand strength. More than 60% of the cars are efficient but the analysis shows marked differences regarding their degree of Super Efficiency. Super Efficiency indicates the extent to which the efficient products exceed the efficient frontier formed by other efficient units. Based on the parameter weights, segments of cars with a particular mix of characteristics can be identified; cars with a comparative advantage relative to their competitors who provide the same mix are characterized as the reference points within a given segment.Customer Value, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), Marketing Efficiency, Product Marketing, Super Efficiency Model

Benchmarking the Health Sector in Germany – An Application of Data Envelopment Analysis

At present, a first round of hospital benchmarking as required by German law on health care reform takes place. After extensive discussions between hospitals and insurance companies, which are jointly responsible to deliver benchmarking results, a method with some peculiar characteristics was chosen. In this paper it is argued that the deficiencies of said method could be overcome by using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The reasons that make DEA an advisable tool for policy decisions within the context of relative performance evaluation in the health care sector are discussed. In order to illustrate the potential of nonparametric frontier estimation for hospital benchmarking in Germany, a comparison of hospitals, which provide the same basic clinical care, is carried out. Controlling for differences in the case mix and for possible heterogeneity of the services which hospitals provide, substantial productivity differences can be detected. Beyond simply identifying inefficient providers DEA leads to additional insight about the reasons of inefficiency and to useful management implications.Health care reform benchmarking relative performance evaluation Data Envelopment Analysis

DEVELOPING AND VALIDATING A QUALITY ASSESSMENT SCALE FOR WEB PORTALS

The Web portals business model has spread rapidly over the last few years. Despite this, there have been very few scholarly findings about which services and characteristics make a Web site a portal and which dimensions determine the customers’ evaluation of the portal’s quality. Taking the example of financial portals, the authors develop a theoretical framework of the Web portal quality construct by determining the number and nature of corresponding dimensions, which are: security and trust, basic services quality, cross-buying services quality, added values, transaction support and relationship quality. To measure the six portal quality dimensions, multi item measurement scales are developed and validated.Construct Validation, Customer Retention, E-Banking, E- Loyalty, Service Quality, Web Portals

THE CUSTOMER LIFETIME VALUE CONCEPT AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO CORPORATE VALUATION

The shareholder value and the customer lifetime value approach are conceptually and methodically analogous. Both concepts calculate the value of a particular decision unit by discounting the forecasted net cash flows by the risk-adjusted cost of capital. However, virtually no scholarly attention has been devoted to the question if any of the components of the shareholder value could be determined in a more marketoriented way using individual customer lifetime values. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to systematically explore the contribution of both concepts to the field of corporate valuation. At first we present a comprehensive calculation method for estimating both the individual lifetime value of a customer and the customer equity. After a critical examination of the shareholder value concept, a synthesis of both value approaches allowing for a disaggregated and more realistic corporate valuation will be presented.Customer Lifetime Value, Shareholder Value, Corporate Valuation

STRUCTURING PRODUCT-MARKETS: AN APPROACH BASED ON CUSTOMER VALUE

We offer an efficiency-based approach to derive market partitions and respective benchmarks using Data Envelopment Analysis. Product efficiency is measured as an output to input value from the customer’s perspective. Products offering a maximum customer value relative to alternatives represent benchmarks for different sub-markets. The framework is applied to data on compact cars. relevant product segments.Customer Value, Product-Market Structuring, Market Partitioning, Data Envelopment Analysis, Product Efficiency, Frontier Functions

Analyzing Product Efficiency – A Customer-Oriented Approach

The purpose of this study is to provide a broader, economic perspective on customer value management. By developing an efficiency-based concept of customer value we aim at contributing to the presently underrepresented research field of marketing economics. The customer value concept is utilized to assess product performance and eventually to determine the competitive market structure and the product-market boundaries. Our analytical approach to product-market structuring based on customer value is developed within a microeconomic framework. We measure customer value as the product efficiency viewed from the customer’s perspective, i.e., as a ratio of outputs (e.g., resale value, reliability, safety, comfort) that customers obtain from a product relative to inputs (price, running costs) that customers have to deliver in exchange. The efficiency value derived can be understood as the return on the customer’s investment. Products offering a maximum customer value relative to all other alternatives in the market are characterized as efficient. Different efficient products may create value in different ways using different strategies (output-input- combinations). Each efficient product can be viewed as a benchmark for a distinct sub-market. Jointly, these products form the efficient frontier, which serves as a reference function for the inefficient products. Thus, we define customer value of alternative products as a relative concept. Market partitioning is achieved endogenously by clustering products in one segment that are benchmarked by the same efficient peer(s). This ensures that only products with a similar output-input structure are partitioned into the same sub-market. As a result, a sub-market consists of highly substitutable products. In addition, value-creating strategies (i.e., indications of how to vary inputs and outputs) to improve product performance in order to offer maximum customer value are provided. The impact of each performance parameter on customer value is determined, identifying the value drivers among them. This methodological framework is applied to data of the 1996 German Automobile Club (ADAC) survey.Customer Value, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), Efficiency Analysis, Market Partitioning, Product-Market Structuring

Analyzing Product Efficiency – A Customer-Oriented Approach

The purpose of this study is to provide a broader, economic perspective on customer value management. By developing an efficiency-based concept of customer value we aim at contributing to the presently underrepresented research field of marketing economics. The customer value concept is utilized to assess product performance and eventually to determine the competitive market structure and the product-market boundaries. Our analytical approach to product-market structuring based on customer value is developed within a microeconomic framework. We measure customer value as the product efficiency viewed from the customer’s perspective, i.e., as a ratio of outputs (e.g., resale value, reliability, safety, comfort) that customers obtain from a product relative to inputs (price, running costs) that customers have to deliver in exchange. The efficiency value derived can be understood as the return on the customer’s investment. Products offering a maximum customer value relative to all other alternatives in the market are characterized as efficient. Different efficient products may create value in different ways using different strategies (output-input- combinations). Each efficient product can be viewed as a benchmark for a distinct sub-market. Jointly, these products form the efficient frontier, which serves as a reference function for the inefficient products. Thus, we define customer value of alternative products as a relative concept. Market partitioning is achieved endogenously by clustering products in one segment that are benchmarked by the same efficient peer(s). This ensures that only products with a similar output-input structure are partitioned into the same sub-market. As a result, a sub-market consists of highly substitutable products. In addition, value-creating strategies (i.e., indications of how to vary inputs and outputs) to improve product performance in order to offer maximum customer value are provided. The impact of each performance parameter on customer value is determined, identifying the value drivers among them. This methodological framework is applied to data of the 1996 German Automobile Club (ADAC) survey.Customer Value, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), Efficiency Analysis, Market Partitioning, Product-Market Structuring

Finanzportale im Internet : Geschäftsmodell, Kundenbindungspotenziale und Qualitätsanforderungen

Das Ziel der vorliegenden Studie ist die Analyse des Nutzungsverhaltens von Online Portal-Usern, insbesondere im Bereich Bank- und Finanzdienstleistungen. Zu diesem Zweck wird ein Portal zunächst als integriertes Geschäftsmodell vorgestellt, dessen Entwicklung aus der zunehmenden Notwendigkeit von Online-Kundenbindung resultiert. Anschließend werden aus den Ergebnissen einer umfassenden Online-Befragung mittels moderner statistischer Verfahren jene Dimensionen identifiziert und überprüft, die aus Nutzersicht die Qualität eines Portals bestimmen. Auf diese Weise wird ein empirisch abgesichertes Modell für die Messung der Qualität eines Finanzportals entwickelt. Es zeigt sich, dass aus Kundensicht sechs Qualitätsdimensionen existieren: "Sicherheit und Vertrauen", "Basisleistungen", "Cross Selling-Leistungen", "Added Values", "Transaktionsunterstützung" und "Beziehungsqualität". Diese werden durch insgesamt 60 Qualitätskriterien gemessen. Wie die Befragung ebenfalls belegt, unterscheiden sich die Nutzer hinsichtlich der Bedeutung, die sie den einzelnen Dimensionen beimessen. In Abhängigkeit von der Interneterfahrung, des Bildungsstandes, der Portalnutzungsintensität, des Einkommens und des Alters erfolgt eine Ausdifferenzierung des Nutzungsverhaltens von Bankportal-Kunden. Im Ergebnis werden fünf große Nutzersegmente mit jeweils spezifischen Qualitätsanforderungen an das Portal identifiziert

Marketing für elektronische Marktplätze : Kundenakquisition - Kundenbindung - Beziehungsmarketing

Mittlerweile sind nahezu alle Branchen lückenlos durch elektronische Marktplätze abgedeckt mit der Folge eines fast ausschließlichen Verdrängungswettbewerbs. Der überwiegende Teil der Marktplätze hat das Problem des Erreichens der kritischen Masse zur Realisierung von Netzeffekten gelöst. Eine effiziente Transaktionsvermittlung ist langfristig für eine umfassende Nutzenstiftung nicht ausreichend. Die Matching-Grundfunktionen sind in der Reifephase zu selbstverständlichen Minimalleistungen geworden, die allein nur ein geringes strategisches Erfolgspotential aufweisen. Bei etablierten Marktplätzen wird daher verstärkt die Kundenbindung zum zentralen Marketingziel. Kundenbeziehungsmarketing kann hier als ein "Megatrend" bezeichnet werden, der die reine Transaktionsorientierung ablöst. Das primäre Ziel besteht im Erreichen langfristiger Transaktionsbeziehungen auf dem Marktplatz, was nur durch langfristige Kundenbindung erreichbar ist. Ziel der Studie ist die Entwicklung von Ansatzpunkten eines erfolgreichen Beziehungsmarketing von elektronischen Marktplätzen. Nach Begründung der Notwendigkeit eines Beziehungsmarketing und der Darstellung grundlegender strategischer Optionen unterbreiten wir Vorschläge für die Gestaltung der Leistungs-, Kommunikations- und Preispolitik. Dabei stellt das Anbieten einer ganzheitlichen Problemlösung eine kritische Voraussetzung für die langfristige Teilnehmerbindung dar. Es wird argumentiert, dass Marktplätze Zusatzleistungen anbieten müssen, die über die Einzeltransaktionsvermittlung hinaus die gesamte Geschäftsbeziehung zwischen Marktplatzteilnehmern unterstützen

Customer-based corporate valuation: integrating the concepts of customer equity and shareholder value

Purpose – Synthesis of the customer lifetime value and the shareholder value (SHV) approach in order to develop an integrated, marketing-based method for corporate valuation. Design/ methodology/ approach – Discusses the limitations and assumptions of existing methods to estimate customer value components and examines the limitations of the SHV concept. By linking the customer equity (CE) and the SHV approach, a formal model to calculate corporate value is developed. The discounted cash flow method is used for modelling the profit streams. Findings – Provides formulas for the estimation of both the individual lifetime value of a customer and CE. Provides a comprehensive model to estimate corporate value based on customer-related cash flows and traditional financial metrics. Introduces typical cases, in which the use of a customer-based valuation seems beneficial. Illustrates how our approach can be applied by using a simple case study on M&A in the telecommunication industry. Gives suggestions on how to obtain the necessary data, partially even from publicly available sources. Research limitations/ implications – Advancement of the quantitative techniques for modelling the customer value components would allow for relaxing some restrictive assumptions. The explicit modelling of the future growth of the customer base (the acquisition rate) would increase the applicability of the model. Additionally, taking into account heterogeneity within the customer cohorts is a task for future research. Finally, our model needs to be applied more extensively using real data for the input variables. Practical implications – A CE-based valuation approach can guide marketing investments and helps to avoid misallocation of resources. Based on an example in the field of M&A, we demonstrate the usefulness of the approach for obtaining a realistic indicator of firm value. It helps to assess whether an acquisition is economically sensible. We provide evidence for the superiority of a customer-based approach over traditional financial methods. Originality/ value – While the traditional SHV method considers cash flows at a highly aggregated level, our approach employs disaggregated cash flows on the level of individual customers. Thereby we do incorporate the lifetime values of future customers by considering different cohorts. We do capture customer defection by incorporating retention rates. Our model enables a more detailed and valid estimation of corporate value by accounting for the single customer activities that drive marketing actions. This enables a better forecasting of the free cash flow. Incorporating customer-related drivers into financial valuation models makes easier to assess the return on marketing investments