Attractiveness Of Alternatives Research Articles

Switching barriers and customer retention

Purpose– By expanding on the work of White and Yanamandram (2007), the purpose of this paper is to examine the direct and indirect influences of switching barriers on the relationship between recovery satisfaction and repurchase intentions in an online auction environment.Design/methodology/approach– Data were collected from 272 customers who had experienced online service recovery in the past six months. Partial-least squares and mediated moderation analysis are employed to test the research model.Findings– The interrelationships among recovery satisfaction, relationship quality, and repurchase intentions are confirmed. Both lost benefit switching costs and inertia moderate the relationship between recovery satisfaction and repurchase intentions. Attractiveness of alternatives mediates the moderating effect of inertia on the relationship between recovery satisfaction and repurchase intentions.Originality/value– Unlike previous studies, which have treated switching cost as a switching barrier, or used various components to represent switching barriers, this study incorporates switching cost, relationship quality, inertia, and attractiveness of alternatives as four switching barrier factors. This study further examines the direct and indirect effects of switching barriers on the relationship between recovery satisfaction and repurchase intentions.

Smooth operators? Drivers of customer satisfaction and switching behavior in virtual and traditional mobile services

The present study analyses the creation of customer satisfaction and loyalty, along with the influence of switching costs in the mobile services’ market, by analyzing network mobile services – the so-called traditional operators – and virtual mobile services, in order to empirically and conceptually investigate the difference between these mobile services’ operators. A conceptual model is tested by developing structural equation modeling, in the context of a European mature market – the Spanish market, gathering a sample of 524 mobile services’ users. The analysis highlights that mobile service value exerts the strongest influence on customer satisfaction for both type of mobile companies, while the attractiveness of alternatives is the more relevant switching costs; despite some interesting differences were found between the virtual and the traditional companies. Considering our findings mobile companies should seek to improve their customers’ perceptions of the core services offered, stressing the importance of the prices charged for the services and the functional benefits provided. Moreover, we suggest to personalize mobile services in order to provide with higher value to customers, since value-added services make consumers more satisfied.

The effects of product-related, personal-related factors and attractiveness of alternatives on consumer adoption of NFC-based mobile payments

The rapid evolution of mobile technologies and the increasing diffusion of smartphones have given significant opportunities for innovative companies to create new payment solutions and offer value-added services to their customers. Near Field Communication (NFC) mobile payment has been emerging as a noticeable phenomenon that can enable consumers to turn their smartphones into digital wallets. Although there has been a lot of coverage on consumer acceptance of mobile payments, there are only few researches providing guideline to interpret NFC-based mobile payments adoption.Taking into consideration of theoretical backgrounds of innovation diffusion and specific characteristics of NFC mobile payments, this study proposes a research framework to provide a profound understanding of factors facilitating or impeding the adoption of NFC-based mobile payments among Taiwanese consumers. The results revealed that intention to adopt NFC mobile payments is affected by most of product-related factors, personal-related factors and attractiveness of alternatives.This paper is able to advance literature on innovation adoption and facilitate technology marketers in NFC mobile payments. It provides a useful guideline to help researchers investigate issues related to NFC mobile payments. It also brings some managerial implications by assisting relevant parties in NFC mobile payments ecosystem such as mobile network operators, card issuers, payment processing institutions, bank decision makers and merchants when devising their business strategies and marketing campaigns to facilitate NFC mobile payments.

Non-covalent attraction of B2N(−,0) and repulsion of B2N(+) in the B n N n ring: a quantum rotatory due to an external field

The three radical, anion and cation forms of B2N(−,0,+) have been studied inside the B12N12 ring and compared with one another in terms of non-covalent interaction. Not only does the symmetry breaking (SB) of B2N(−,0,+) exhibit an energy barrier in the scale of millihartree (10–50) (depending on whether it is in on ionic or neutral forms), but it also create several SBs through the asymmetry stretching and bending mode interactions. We have previously figured out that the double well minimum of the BNB’s potential diagram is due to the lack of the proper permutational symmetry of its wave function and charge distribution. In this study, an extreme enhancement in the energy barrier of SB effect was observed upon the interaction of BNB (both radical and cation) with B12N12 ring. Such amount was not observed for the isolated BNB structure. Depending on the diameter of B n N n and whether the system is ionic or radical, the interaction of B2N(0,−,+) with the ring is either repulsive or attractive. The BN(−,0,+) B–B12N12 system works as a quantum rotatory system, which has a range of spectrum in the IR region due to the alternative attraction and repulsion forces.

Monogamy Agreements in Male Same-Sex Couples: Associations With Relationship Quality and Individual Well-Being

In this study, the authors explored whether type of sexual agreement (for monogamy, unrestricted nonmonogamy, or restricted nonmonogamy) is associated with the relationship quality and psychological well-being of men in same-sex relationships. A geographically diverse sample of 219 U.S. men in cohabiting same-sex relationships reported on sexual agreement type, several relationship characteristics central to long-term couple health, and two indices of psychological well-being (depressive symptoms and internalized heterosexism). Results indicated no differences by sexual agreement type in the majority of indices of relationship health, including self-reported relationship satisfaction, hostile conflict, felt constraint, confidence in the relationship, and perceived instability. There were also no group differences in depressive symptoms or internalized heterosexism. However, men in relationships with nonmonogamous agreements reported higher perceived quality of alternatives to their relationship and lower dedication commitment than did those with monogamous agreements. These findings add to a growing literature suggesting that male same-sex relationships that adopt nonmonogamous agreements can be quite healthy and happy but raise the possibility that nonmonogamy may create some vulnerability to long-term couple stability by raising attractiveness of alternatives to the relationship and lowering commitment.

How the Conscious and Automatic Information Processing Modes Influence Consumers ’ Continuance Decision in an e-Commerce Website

Conscious and automatic information processing modes represent two approaches to deal with IS continuance. Existing IS studies mostly viewed them as two independent systems and examined IS continuance through either a cognitive deliberating process or an automatic process. In this study, we attempt to clarify the complex nature of IS continuance by examining various interactions between the two information processes. Particularly, we argued that habit activates the heuristic information processing mode and facilitates consumers’ decision making through interacting with key elements of the rational decision process. We conducted a longitudinal study to empirically test the research model with 385 consumers of an e-commerce website. The results show that the two information processing modes work in parallel to explain consumers’ continuance decision. Satisfaction, perceived enjoyment, and alternative attractiveness have significant direct effects on continuance intention. Furthermore, habit exhibits a significant negative moderating effect on the relationship between alternative attractiveness and continuance intention. We believe that this study provides new insights to both IS research and practice.

Docking studies of Pakistani HCV NS3 helicase: a possible antiviral drug target.

The nonstructural protein 3 (NS3) of hepatitis C virus (HCV) helicase is believed to be essential for viral replication and has become an attractive target for the development of antiviral drugs. The study of helicase is useful for elucidating its involvement in positive sense single-stranded RNA virus replication and to serve as templates for the design of novel antiviral drugs. In recent years, several models have been proposed on the conformational change leading to protein movement and RNA unwinding. Some compounds have been recently reported to inhibit the helicase and these include small molecules, RNA aptamers and antibodies. The current study is designed to help gain insights for the consideration of potential inhibitors for Pakistani HCV NS3 helicase protein. We have cloned, expressed and purified HCV NS3 helicase from Pakistani HCV serum samples and determined its 3D structure and employed it further in computational docking analysis to identify inhibitors against HCV genotype 3a (GT3a),including six antiviral key molecules such as quercetin, beta-carotene, resveratrol, catechins, lycopene and lutein. The conformation obtained after docking showed good hydrogen bond (HBond) interactions with best docking energy for quercetin and catechins followed by resveratrol and lutein. These anti-helicase key molecules will offer an alternative attraction to target the viral helicase, due to the current limitation with the interferon resistance treatment and presences of high rate of resistance in anti-protease inhibitor classes.

Opportunism in buyer–seller relationships: Some unexplored antecedents

Opportunism is recognized as a key factor that can affect the quality of relationship between buyers and sellers. However, there is a relative lack of research in the antecedents of opportunism. This paper draws upon transaction cost economics and relationship marketing paradigms to propose a conceptual framework involving six potential antecedents. Data from 270 franchisees in a Korea based franchise system is used to test the hypotheses. Results from a structural equation model show that the conflict in a relationship significantly increases franchisee opportunism. Furthermore, conflict mediates the effects of other antecedents in the framework which include alternative attractiveness, goal incongruity, unfairness, transaction-specific investments, and termination cost. The study provides theoretical and managerial insights into understanding and controlling opportunism.

First-class airline travellers' perception of luxury goods and its effect on loyalty formation

This study examines how first-class airline travellers' perception of luxury goods influences the formation of their loyalty to first-class flights. Based on the proposed hypotheses, a conceptual model was developed and tested using empirical data collected from a sample of 202 first-class airline travellers in the USA. The results indicate that the five types of perceptions of luxury goods (e.g. quality, hedonism, conspicuousness, exclusivity, and the extended self) were generally associated with consumer attitudes towards first-class flights and thus led to well-being perceptions and perceived price fairness. In addition, well-being perceptions enhanced perceived price fairness, customer identification, and loyalty. Finally, alternative attractiveness moderated the relationship between consumer attitudes towards first-class flights and perceived price fairness. The results have important theoretical and managerial implications.

Impact of Relationship Marketing Tactics (RMT's) & Relationship Quality on Customer Loyalty: A Study within the Malaysian Mobile Telecommunication Industry

Today's business is becoming extremely competitive and challenging. As such, continuous development of mutual long term relationship strategy with customers has been one of the top priorities for most companies recently. By looking specifically into Pull-Push-Mooring (PPM) Migration model and Commitment-Trust Relationship Marketing Theory, the proposed study aims to examine the impact of relationship marketing tactics (RMT's) and relationship quality on customer loyalty. Three types of RMT's (labelled as Pull and Mooring factors) and RQ dimension are proposed and to be tested. Specifically, this study intends to assess the impact of RMT's Brand Reputation and Alternative Attractiveness on RQ's - Trust, which in turn, then lead to customer loyalty in terms of retention behavior. In addition, the study also aims to determine whether Emotions have a direct impact on such behavior.

Revealing hidden attractions in a rural Kenyan periphery

Tourism geographers have noted the tendency for enclaves to develop in attraction-rich tourism zones and population centres. The accumulation of tourism in such enclaves can act to limit the spread of benefits to the most impoverished regions and their inhabitants. This research addresses the question of whether peripheral regions can utilise the inherent motivations of specific types of tourists in order to reveal hidden attractions and build sustainable tourism. Within the frameworks of enclave theory and complex systems analysis, this case study of a charitable field project in Gatarakwa, Kenya, utilises qualitative approaches including in-depth interviews, blog analyses and participant observational research to examine whether a philanthropist-as-tourist model could reveal hidden attractions and spread the benefits of tourism beyond the enclaves. It was found that the philanthropists’ religious motivations, cultural drives and desire to experience poverty and to assist in its alleviation enabled their broader engagement with the largely experiential offerings of the peripheral region. This created an alternative tourist attraction at no cost to the local community and with no repatriation of profits to foreign investors. The programme also created transferable job skills and had the potential to generate income for local businesses. If managed accordingly, such projects can reveal the attractiveness of peripheral areas of other developing countries and so spread the benefits of tourism more equitably.

Route Choice Modeling Using GPS-Based Travel Surveys

The extensive use of GPS-based travel surveys in the past few years now allows vehicle movements to be traced and, thus, data on the actual routes chosen for various trips to be collected. However, efforts on the empirical modeling of route choices through the use of GPS traces are still limited. In this context, the broad focus of this research was to combine data from a large-scale GPS-based travel survey and geographic information system-based roadway network databases to develop models for route choice. Data from GPS streams for 1,913 trips were used in this analysis. Three models that considered choice set sizes of five, 10, and 15 alternatives were built. The estimation results indicated statistically significant and intuitively reasonable effects of free-flow travel time, left turns, right turns, intersections, and circuity on the attractiveness of different route alternatives. Furthermore, the sensitivity to these factors was found to vary on the basis of trip (purpose, time of day, and day of the week) and traveler (gender, age, and length of stay at the current home) characteristics.

Women’s careers in Academia: understanding local constraints to the boundaryless career view

The paper aims to shed light on how contextual realities shape/ bind women’s career choices and career patterns in academia in the Arab Middle East. By doing so, this paper hopes to bring new insights to the current academic career literature debate and the career debate more generally in regards to the bounded/ boundaryless nature of contemporary careers. The study is qualitative and exploratory in nature. It draws on one-to- one interviews with 23 female academics in early, mid and late careers, working in research universities in the Arab Middle East region. Results show that the choice of academia as a profession is mainly driven by the subjective perception of an academic career as a calling, the attractiveness of the flexibility it provides in addition to many contextual factors such as the lack of attractiveness of alternatives and the encouragement of family members and professors. Moreover, the findings highlight both organizational (Lack of mentoring and university support) and cultural factors (family centrality) that shape/bind women’s careers choices and patterns allowing thus for a better understanding of local constraints to the boundaryless career view in the Arab Middle East context.

The push, pull and mooring effects in virtual migration for social networking sites

AbstractSocial networking sites (SNSs) have become increasingly common in recent years, and their use has become integrated into the daily lives of millions of people across the world. Attracting new users and retaining existing ones are critical to the success of SNS providers. This study applies the push‐pull‐mooring model of the migration theory to improve our understanding of factors that influence the switching behavior of SNS users. Following the migration theory, this study empirically examines the three categories of antecedents for SNS switching intention: push (i.e., dissatisfaction and regret), pull (i.e., alternative attractiveness), and mooring (i.e., switching costs) factors. The results show that the three categories of factors had varying degrees of effects on switching intention. Additionally, the strong moderation effects of both pull and mooring factors help answer the question why switching does not necessarily occur when push factors are in effect. Managerial implications are provided.

IT서비스 전환의도에 대한 전환비용의 조절효과

Nowadays IT service users meet various new IT services and are considering a switch into a new IT service. IT service providers are also developing the strategies to retain and expand their customer base. Studies on switching intention have been one of the most interesting topics in the on-line and off-line markets. In this paper we investigate the factors influencing the IT service switching intention. Our research model includes the relationship between `switching intention` and `habit`, `alternative attractiveness`, `present service satisfaction`. In addition, we try to find the effect that `habit` and `alternative attractiveness` give to `switching intention` through `present service satisfaction`. Finally, the moderating effects of `switching cost` are examined. This empirical paper proves that `habit` and `present service satisfaction` give effects to `switching intention`, and `alternative attractiveness` give the indirect effects to `switching intention`. In addition, `switching cost` has the moderating effects between `switching intention` and `habit`.

소셜 네트워킹 사이트의 전환에 미치는 영향 요인 : 필리핀의 프렌드스터와 페이스북을 중심으로

소셜 네트워크를 활용한 웹 사이트(SNS)의 사용이 광범위해짐에 따라 소셜 네트워크 서비스의 영향력이 점차적으로 증가하고 있다. 한국을 비롯한 다양한 국가에서의 SNS 사용이 증가하고 있으며 필리핀 역시 급격한 SNS 사용량과 행태적 변화를 보이고 있다. 특히, 필리핀의 경우 Friendster에서 Facebook으로의 사용자 전환이 매우 급격하게 이루어지고 있다. 기존의 온라인 커뮤니티와 다른 특성을 가진 SNS의 특성을 반영한 전환비용의 특성은 아직까지 명확하지 않다. 본 연구에서는 필리핀에서 SNS 간의 급격한 전환이 이루어진 상황을 바탕으로 SNS 간의 전환 의도에 영향을 미치는 변수들을 조사하고자 하였다. 소셜 네트워크 사이트를 사용 중인 필리핀 사용자들의 설문조사를 통하여 본 연구는 SNS 간의 전환비용에 직접적인 영향을 미치는 변수들로 SNS에 대한 사용자의 만족, 대체 주목성, 사회적 영향력이 주요 요인으로 작용함을 확인하였다. Considering the widespread use of social networking sites (SNSs) and the sudden shift of Filipino SNS usage from Friendster to Facebook, this paper examines five factors that affect user intentions to switch SNSs. By surveying switchers from Friendster to Facebook in the Philippines, satisfaction, alternative attractiveness, and social influence were significant factors affecting switching intent.

Antecedents of Customer Switching Intentions: A case study of Nokia Mobile Phones’ users

The current study moves beyond satisfaction and proposes that switching variables are important factors impacting a customer’s decision to switch from a service provider. The purpose of the study analyzes customer switching intention about Nokia mobile. In this sample only one company’s customers include, so the findings may not be generalized to other companies. There are many variables which impact on customer decision and enable to customer choose the better services which available in market. These variables impact on customer decision in many ways like, perceived switching cost, the attractiveness of alternatives and service quality. We propose this study to find and support those variables model which influence between core-service satisfaction and customer switching intention. The results indicates that the influence of core-service quality satisfaction on repurchase intentions and decreases switching intention and make customer loyal with that product for a long period. Although switching variables had no influence on repurchase intentions when satisfaction was high, switching variables positively influenced on repurchase intentions when satisfaction was low. Future research in other service industries is called for.

Inertia and Customer Loyalty in the Varying Levels of the Zone of Tolerance and Alternative Attractiveness

ABSTRCT The main aim of the present research is to investigate influence of inertia on customer loyalty regarding to moderating role of the Zone of Tolerance (ZOT) and Alternative Attractiveness (AA); This survey studied mobile phone industry and The model consists of inertia as independent variables and customer loyalty as dependent variable and also zone of tolerance and alternative attractiveness as moderating variables. In this research, for collecting the data relevant to the under studied variable, a standardized questionnaire in the international researches was used and for studying the relationship between the research variables and hypothesis test, the path analysis model have been used. The conceptual model and hypothesis are tested using Structural Equation Models (SEM). Findings also indicate that customer inertia has a positive and significant impact on customer loyalty. While, in case of moderating variable, zone of tolerance not only strengthens the relationship between inertia and customer loyalty but also with wider ZOT reduces that of strengthen and alternative attractiveness have not effect on relationship between inertia with loyalty.

Antecedents of Customer Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty for Emerging Devices in the Initial Market of Korea: An Equity Framework

This study investigates the relevant predictors of customer satisfaction and customer loyalty, and explores the group difference by innovativeness or device type, based on equity theory for emerging devices in the initial market of Korea. The results from an online survey of users of emerging devices and structural equation modeling indicate that utilitarian benefit, hedonic benefit, nonmonetary cost, and alternative attractiveness are significant predictors of customer satisfaction, which in turn affects customer loyalty. Hedonic benefit has a stronger relationship with customer satisfaction for more innovative users and nonmonetary cost has a stronger relationship with customer satisfaction for less innovative users. Nonmonetary cost has a negative relationship with customer satisfaction for netbooks; an additional exploratory analysis produced no such evidence for smartphones. These findings suggest managerial implications for customer loyalty regarding emerging devices.

Effects of inertia and satisfaction in female online shoppers on repeat‐purchase intention

PurposeWith the prevalence of the internet, whether various interactive relationship building between online channel and consumers may lead or not to profit has been paid much attention by researchers and practitioners. It is also to note that the ratio of female shoppers online has been increasing, and female shoppers now outnumber male shoppers online. Based on the perspective of switching path analysis technique (SPAT), the aim of this study is to explore the effects of consumer inertia and satisfaction on repeat‐purchase intention among female online shoppers, and also to examine whether positive word‐of‐mouth and alternative attraction moderate the above relationships.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from a self‐developed online survey system. The formal questionnaire consisted of three sections. The first section screened participants by gender and online shopping experience. The second section measured respondent perceptions of each construct in the research model. The last section aimed to understand respondent basic personal data.FindingsThe study results indicate that both consumer inertia and satisfaction positively influence repeat‐purchase intention, and that consumer inertia is more influential than satisfaction; moreover, positive word‐of‐mouth negatively moderates the relationship between consumer inertia and repeat‐purchase intention, but positively moderates that between satisfaction and repeat‐purchase intention; finally, alternative attraction does not moderate any of the above relationships significantly.Originality/valueTo the authors’ knowledge, the difference between the direct effect of inertia and satisfaction on purchasing behavior has not been investigated. Based on the study findings, suggestions are made for shopping website operators.