Achieving preferred customer status in the Dutch plastics recycling industry

Klaes Eringa,Rink Groenveld

doi:10.1080/22243534.2016.1253286

Klaes Eringa, Rink Groenveld

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1080/22243534.2016.1253286

Copy DOI

Abstract

The aim of this research is to gain insight into the aspects and processes in the Dutch plastic recycling industry which might lead to a preferred customer status and acquiring benefits once the status has been reached. The whole process of reaching preferred customer status goes through various phases in which customer attractiveness, supplier satisfaction, commitment and reinforcement play a role. The study used a qualitative approach. Semi-structured interviews were held with suppliers, customers and traders in the plastic recycling industry in the Netherlands. The results show that during the customer attractiveness phase, a customer needs to convince the supplier that they are dealing with a trustworthy partner. Relational dimensions are not a priority for the supplier but do play a role if operational aspects are seen as more or less equal, which is often likely to be the case in a competitive market. In contrast, traders do attach importance to the personal relationship with customers from the start. A supplier will confer a preferential status to customers who (according to their feelings) will deliver the highest levels of satisfaction. Alternatives seem to come into question mainly where someone is significantly dissatisfied with the existing customer or if a significantly better alternative arises. The whole study is summarised in a reverse marketing model.

Highlights

The past few decades have shown an interesting development in the treatment of plastic waste (PlasticsEurope Market Research Group, 2015)
This leads to the following problem statement: Which aspects and processes in the Dutch plastic recycling industry play a role in achieving a preferred customer status and how do businesses benefit from this status? Most of the literature on preferred customer status and reverse marketing is either conceptual, uses a case study approach with secondary data, or it uses a quantitative approach with survey research
Customer attractiveness dimensions In the customer attractiveness phase the supplier determines whether a customer may be considered as a potential buyer of plastic waste materials

Summary

Introduction

The past few decades have shown an interesting development in the treatment of plastic waste (PlasticsEurope Market Research Group, 2015). As raw resources for plastics became scarcer, in recent years there has been increasing pressure on the availability of certain commodities. A product derived from oil, is one the commodities for which demand has risen sharply over recent decades and which is expected to increase further in the future (Constantinesco & Heuvel, 2012; Dobbs, Oppenheim, & Thompson, 2011). As a result of this increasing pressure on availability and the price level of new (virgin) plastics, a new B2B market for recycled plastics has developed in recent decades. An increasing number of companies make use of recycled plastics in their production processes as an alternative to virgin plastics

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion