Customer Welfare Research Articles

Omnichannel services in the presence of customers' valuation uncertainty

AbstractWith the advancement of online‐ordering technology, an increasing number of service providers are transforming to sell services through online channels alongside traditional offline stores. Our paper studies this emerging business model (also known as omnichannel services) in which customers can choose between online and offline ordering. We develop a queueing‐game‐theoretic model to evaluate the performance of omnichannel systems in terms of throughput and social welfare when customers strategically choose their ordering channels in the presence of service valuation uncertainty. We also contrast omnichannel services with single‐channel services, that is, online‐only and offline‐only services. Our analysis yields the following main insights. First, although customers run the risk of making suboptimal decisions and suffering from unexpected losses when they are uncertain about their service valuations, we find that all customers would be better off in expectation with an increasing level of service valuation uncertainty. Second, while social welfare improves as ordering online becomes more convenient in some cases, it (even online customer welfare) can also be worse off in others, especially when the system operates under heavy congestion, because customers' self‐interested channel choice behavior would impose significant negative congestion externalities among customers. Third, despite the fact that omnichannel services provide customers with an additional, more convenient ordering channel option in comparison with conventional offline‐only services, we find that, somewhat surprisingly, adopting omnichannel services does not necessarily guarantee improvement in social welfare. Finally, we discuss two alternative modeling assumptions to demonstrate the robustness of our main insights.

Information Transparency With Targeting Technology for Online Service Operations Platform

Social technologies have enabled the emergence of online platforms that provide offline service consultations and recommendations. In this environment, economic inefficiency arises when customers are not fully aware of their horizontally differentiated preferences. With its expertise or data dominance, a platform can be more informed about customers’ hidden preferences. We focus on an instrumental social technology, that is, targeting, which is a type of data-driven personalized information provision to manipulate customers’ beliefs about service quality. We propose a Hotelling model wherein customers are sensitive to the delays for service while making Bayesian belief updates based on a platform’s recommendations. When customers self-select their favorite service, their choices impose negative externalities through congestion and welfare loss. Our results indicate that service recommendations allow customers to navigate toward the more appropriate service, thus improving matching efficiency, reducing congestion costs, and enhancing aggregate customer welfare. We further identify the role of “information transparency” and study how the platform should strategically release information by making personalized service recommendations to customers. Interestingly, when a customer-centric platform maximizes aggregate customer welfare, we identify the “value of opaqueness” by strategically withholding service recommendations from a subset of customers and notice that this effect is more pronounced for a profit-seeking platform. Our results offer a better understanding of information transparency policies in the joint design of service recommendation systems and pricing mechanisms.

Effects of Murâbahah Financing And Mudharabah Towards Customer Welfare Case Study at Bank Syariah Indonesia Kcp Bsd South Tangerang

At this time there are not a few banks that carry out activities conventionally or based on sharia principles. Currently the development of the Islamic financial market (Financial Market Sharia) is rife in the world, especially in countries with a majority Muslim population. This was marked by the establishment of the Islamic Financial Market in Kuala Lumpur which was pioneered by Islamic countries. The progress of the Sharia Financial Market in Indonesia, especially in Islamic banking and insurance is quite significant, followed by the Islamic capital market and pawnshops. Many financing contracts are carried out in the practice of Islamic financial institutions, for example murabahah, mudharabah, ijarah, musyarakah and so on. In this research the authors focus on murabaha and mudharabah financing. The purpose of writing this thesis is to analyze the effect of murabahah and mudharabah financing on the welfare of customers of Bank Syariah Indonesia KCP BSD South Tangerang. This research includes quantitative descriptive analysis research. The design used in this study is a correlational analysis design (a problem to find a relationship between two phenomena) precisely causal correlation. Data collection uses research instruments, data analysis is quantitative/statistical. The primary data used in this study are 132 customers who received financing according to the criteria and the secondary data in this study is in the form of documents and archives at Bank Syariah Indonesia which contains reports on customer funds that carry out murabaha and mudharabah financing. The sampling technique in this study used purposive sampling, which is a method of determining respondents to be sampled based on certain criteria. Based on the results of data analysis with the help of the SPSS 26.0 program, research that has been conducted at Bank Syariah Indonesia KCP BSD Tangerang using linear regression analysis through SPSS program data processing shows that, (1) There is an effect of Murabahah financing on the welfare of customers of Bank Syariah Indonesia KCP BSD Tangerang. The statistical test results showed that Fcount = 27.898 at db 1 and 94 was 3.94 at the 5% level. Based on the explanation above, 27,898 > 3.94 at the 5% level, so H0 is rejected, meaning that there is an influence of Murabahah financing on customer welfare of Mandiri Syariah Bank KCP Tangerang, (2) There is an influence of Mudharabah financing on the welfare of customers of Bank Syariah Indonesia KCP BSD Tangerang. The statistical test results showed that Fcount = 15.048 at db 1 and 34 was 4.13 at the 5% level.

An Islamic “Theory of Justice” commentary on consumer well-being

PurposeIn this paper, the philosophy of John Rawls, known as “Justice as Fairness,” is discussed. This philosophy examines the responsibilities social actors hold toward their societal organizations. From an Islamic perspective, justice is pivotal in safeguarding collective interests, aligning with Rawls' conviction that just societies nurture happiness and foster well-being across various life aspects. To achieve customer welfare, our viewpoint underscores the importance of justice in reflecting on consumer well-being from both Rawls’ theory and Islamic perspectives.Design/methodology/approachWe adopt a conceptual approach where secular views of Rawls’ “Theory of Justice” are merged with the Islamic view, resulting in novel insights regarding the hermeneutics involved in the notion of justice and the preservation of consumer well-being.FindingsOur analysis reveals that John Rawls' “A Theory of Justice” aligns with the Islamic perspective in several respects yet diverges in others, notably in the concepts of pre-creation consciousness and divine guidance. These distinctions are emphasized in our paper.Originality/valueOur paper presents a perspective on justice founded on the concepts of the “Original Position” and the “Veil of Ignorance.” The commentary explores consumer well-being by integrating Rawls' principles with an analysis that elucidates the role justice plays in enhancing societal welfare.

Optimising social evolution through creating welfare and product innovation of Micro Waqf Bank in Indonesia

Micro Waqf Banks are a form of innovation of Islamic social and financial institutions by the government to provide access to business expansion and the welfare of the productive poor around Islamic boarding schools. Optimising product innovation for Micro Waqf Bank customers requires changes in micro-business actors to improve their welfare sustainably. This study analyses the product innovation of Micro Waqf Bank customers with a social evolution model approach. The qualitative method used a grounded theory approach. They collect data through observations, interviews, documentation, and literature studies—design thinking analysis with triangulation techniques. The results found that the welfare of Micro Waqf Bank customers was created for the community around Islamic boarding schools by optimising product innovation through the involvement of the Indonesian Ulama Council and government participation in product certification bodies. The study uses a design thinking approach for formulating solutions to increase Micro Waqf Bank customers' product innovation in creating their welfare by Micro Waqf Bank optimising halal labelling, intellectual property rights-protected brands, attractive packaging, and product consumption feasibility. The social evolution model's research implication is recommendations for optimising innovative products and creating welfare.

##Empowerment of BTPN Syariah ## Empowerment of BTPN Syariah customers in the development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Bogor Regency during the Industry 4.0 era

This research aims to develop the business of BTPN Syariah customers in Bogor district, West Java and to take part in the operation of Small, Micro and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the industrial era 4.0. through a theoretical study approach. This study elaborates several findings from previous researchers as a reference and explores the grounded theory of BTPN Syariah customer development. A qualitative research method with a literature study is carried out to obtain a research reference model in explaining the factors that influence the performance of BTPN Syariah customers in developing their business, capital and strategy. This study also provides suggestions for the development of factors in performance measurement, and variables that affect the performance of MSME entrepreneurs. The results of the study provide recommendations that work skills, digital literacy and economic literacy as a reference in developing MSMEs in the Industrial 4.0 era. MSME training by Bestee friends from BTPN Syariah is a mandatory and routine program to improve customer welfare because it is a successful work program and an indicator of economic growth. But there are very few performance evaluation programs and ongoing development.

The costs of “crony capitalism” in regional transmission grid expansion

There is an urgent need to expand regional transmission lines for reliability and clean energy, while also ensuring that new infrastructure investments are cost effective. However, several states have enacted – and some continue to consider – laws that grant incumbent monopoly utilities a right-of-first-refusal (ROFR) to build new electric power transmission lines. Transmission ROFR laws, such as those enacted by several Midwestern states, allow regional grid planners to select new transmission line projects without running competitive solicitations. While incumbent utilities have continued to lobby state legislatures to adopt transmission ROFR laws, the best evidence available shows that ROFR laws are harmful to customer welfare. Customers affected by ROFR laws do not realize the cost savings and other benefits of competition in transmission line selection, including superior cost containment and innovative grid modernization solutions. In addition, uncertainty about the legality of transmission ROFR laws–what the Iowa Supreme Court has called “crony capitalism”--does not promote a stable investment environment for new transmission infrastructure. Instead of enacting and continuing to endorse transmission ROFRs, states would better promote cost-effective grid modernization by encouraging competitive bidding selection processes for new regional transmission lines. Cost-effective transmission planning requires regulators to balance a broad range of factors in permitting and cost recovery for projects. State regulators commonly use such approaches to evaluate the purchase of power generation from competitive sources. Regional transmission line projects could benefit from similar safeguards to protect customers.

A classified retail pricing and production scheduling model for industrial customers

In the electricity retail market, it’s an important operation way for a retailer to provide diversified services and design appropriate retail pricing strategies that stimulate demand side responses in order to increase profit and maintain customer welfare. This paper proposes a novel retail contract design that a retailer can adopt to provide different time-of-use (TOU) prices for the various types of industrial customers based on their adjustabilities and a part of rewards from the demand response (DR) market to those who respond to the urgent electricity requirements. A bi-level optimization model of retail pricing for classified industrial customers is set up based on their adjustable capacities of production process operations. At the upper level, the retailer’s benefit is maximized considering the stochastic risks of load fluctuation and the spot market. This is achieved based on the electricity consumption strategies of classified industrial consumers, which are obtained from the lower level. Decisions are then made concerning purchases from the spot market and retail pricing strategies for industrial customers. Based on the retail prices from the upper level and industrial production processes modeling, the model at the lower level takes the maximum industrial user’s benefit as the objective to obtain the electricity consumption scheme of each type of industrial user. The model optimizes both the time division and price level of retail TOU prices, resulting in detailed electricity consumption strategies for all types of industrial customers. The results of the cases show that the proposed retail pricing can improve adjustable capacities of industrial production process operations, effectively smooth the load curve of the retailer by making full use of the peak-load-staggered among industrial customers, and boost profits of both the retailer and industrial customers. Thus, a mutually beneficial situation between the retailer and industrial customers is realized.

Impact of different types of corporate social responsibility on fit, attitude and behavior

Purpose Despite the fact that fit positively influences customers’ attitudes toward companies, previous research reveals differing roles of fit in the domain of corporate social responsibility (CSR) based on criteria and degree. Because the impact of fit between customers and service companies in the domain of CSR remains unclear in the hospitality context, this study aims to examine the effects of different CSR types on customer–CSR fit, attitude and behavioral intentions in hospitality settings. Design/methodology/approach A total of 219 usable hotel customer responses were collected and analyzed using SmartPLS software. Findings Results show that companies’ demonstration of CSR toward social/nonsocial stakeholders is most effective for increasing perceived fit by customers, followed by CSR toward employees and toward customers. Also, this study identifies perceived fit as an indicator of customers’ positive attitudes and revisit intentions. This study enhances our understanding of relationships among three dimensions of CSR activities and customers’ responses. Originality/value This study provides guidelines with which hospitality companies can create sustainable growth by engaging the welfare of communities, employees and customers.

Dampak Sistem Informasi Akuntansi Terhadap Kinerja Suplai Agensi

The research aims to explore the impact of SIAs on agency supply performance related to inventory management, customer welfare, operating costs and financial statements. In today's digital age and globalization, AIS is very important, especially in that marketing agencies are responsible for product distribution and their supply performance is crucial. SIAs help agencies manage inventory, monitor suppliers, and expedite deliveries. The implementation of SIA requires HR competence, technology investment, and management support. Research into the effect of SIAs on supply performance is important to improve agency understanding and success. This research contributes to the ongoing discourse on the effectiveness of AIS, offers guidance for optimal implementation and utilization, as well as helps identify areas of improvement to improve organizational performance. This study used explanatory research method with primary and secondary data. Random sampling techniques are used with Pearson correlation and simple linear regression to examine the relationship and influence between each variable. This research shows that the relationship and influence between these variables can be easily examined. Research findings show that SIAs have a positive and significant influence on inventory management, financial statements, customer welfare, and organizational performance. In addition, there is a negative relationship between AIS and operating costs. In this study, it was revealed that AIS has a significant and positive influence on organizational performance. The findings of this study provide recommendations to companies to adopt SIA to improve the performance of their organizations.

Konsekuensi Produk Penanaman Emas Dengan Perjanjian Murabahah Terhadap Kemakmuran Konsumen

This study aims to determine how the gold murabahah investment product and customer welfare, as well as to determine how the effect of gold murabahah investment product on the welfare of customers at PT. Abadi Optimization Gold Bandung City Branch. The factors tested in this study were the gold murabahah investment product as the independent variable. While the welfare of customers as the dependent variable. The research method used in this research is verification method. The population in this study were customers of PT. Optima Eternal Gold as many as 100 people. The sampling technique used in this study is a non-probability sampling technique with a saturated sampling method, while to calculate the sample size using the slovin formula, so that the sample in this study is 100 customers of PT. Eternal Optima Gold. The analytical method used in this study is simple linear regression analysis at a significance level of 5%. The program used in analyzing the data uses the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Ver.19.00. Based on the results of the partial and simultaneous research, it shows that the gold murabahah investment product has an effect on the welfare of customers at PT. Abadi Optimization Gold Bandung City Branch. In addition, the magnitude of the influence of the gold murabahah investment product in contributing to the customer's welfare is 54.0%.

APPLICATION OF ISLAMIC VALUES OF SHARIA COOPERATIVES IN INDONESIA

This study discusses the application of Islamic values in sharia cooperatives in Indonesia. Islamic values in sharia cooperatives properly and correctly reflect the welfare and trust of sharia cooperative customers. This study also aims to determine the Islamic values applied to sharia cooperatives in Indonesia and to find out how the implementation of Islamic values is carried out in their business activities. This paper adopts field research with qualitative research methods. Data collection techniques in this study by means of observation, interviews, online databases, and documentation. The results of the study indicate that Islamic values applied to sharia cooperatives in Indonesia include honesty values, consistency values, communicative values, trust values, equality values, monotheism values, ta'awun values, and family values. The application of Islamic values carried out by sharia cooperatives in Indonesia by stipulating that customers in entering into agreements must be honest, in carrying out all transactions correctly and correctly according to sharia rules, offering sharia cooperative products to the public, and expecting customers to provide full responsibility to the sharia cooperative. Consequently, sharia cooperatives in Indonesia must improve even more regarding the applied Islamic values, and are expected to maintain and carry out properly and correctly the implementation of Islamic values.

The impact of discriminatory pricing based on customer risk: an empirical investigation using indirect lending through retail networks

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to understand the profit implications of analytics-driven centralized discriminatory pricing at the headquarter level compared with sales force price delegation in the purchase of an aftermarket good through an indirect retail channel with symmetric information.Design/methodology/approachUsing individual-level loan application and approval data from a North American financial institution and segment-level customer risk as the price discrimination criterion for the firm, the authors develop a three-stage model that accounts for the salesperson’s price decision within the limits of the latitude provided by the firm; the firm’s decision to approve or not approve a sales application; and the customer’s decision to accept or reject a sales offer conditional on the firm’s approval. Next, the authors compare the profitability of this sales force price delegation model to that of a segment-level centralized pricing model where agent incentives and consumer prices are simultaneously optimized using a quasi-Newton nonlinear optimization algorithm (i.e. Broyden–Fletcher–Goldfarb–Shanno algorithm).FindingsThe results suggest that implementation of analytics-driven centralized discriminatory pricing and optimal sales force incentives leads to double-digit lifts in firm profits. Moreover, the authors find that the high-risk customer segment is less price-sensitive and firms, upon leveraging this segment’s willingness to pay, not only improve their bottom-line but also allow these marginalized customers with traditionally low approval rates access to loans. This points out the important customer welfare implications of the findings.Originality/valueSubstantively, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to empirically investigate the profitability of analytics-driven segment-level (i.e. discriminatory) centralized pricing compared with sales force price delegation in indirect retail channels (i.e. where agents are external to the firm and have access to competitor products), taking into account the decisions of the three key stakeholders of the process, namely, the consumer, the salesperson and the firm and simultaneously optimizing sales commission and centralized consumer price.

ANALISIS TINGKAT KESEJAHTERAAN MASYARAKAT DAMPAK PEMBERIAN KREDIT (Studi Pada Debitur PD. BPR NTB Sumbawa)

This study aims to examine the impact of the provision of credit by PD. BPR NTB Sumbawa on the welfare of debtor customers through per capita income indicators. This research is a comparative study to compare the income levels of customers before and after receiving working capital loans from PD. BPR NTB Sumbawa. The type of data used is quantitative data in the form of customer income before and after receiving working capital loans from PD. BPR NTB Sumbawa obtained directly from customers. The research subjects were customers who received working capital loans from PD. BPR NTB Sumbawa in 2022, totaling 37 people. Data collection was carried out through structured interviews using a list of questions that had been prepared by the researcher to obtain relevant data related to the research object. Data analysis techniques were carried out using the two-average difference test method, including calculating the difference in income, standard deviation, and one variable test. Based on the results of the research that has been done, it can be concluded that there are differences in the average income of respondents before and after receiving working capital loans from PD. BPR NTB Sumbawa. There was an increase in the income of customers who were used as respondents after receiving working capital loans from PD. BPR NTB Sumbawa of Rp. 81,432,081.04/month.

The Impacts of Tax Policy on Platform Markets in Digital Economy

This paper examines the effects of governmental policy in digital economy, especially the tax policy. We analyze how preferential tax policy affects the platform market and customer welfare. First, our findings demonstrate that prices have negative relation with preferential tax level in incompatible case and no relation in asymmetric compatible case. Corporation profits have positive relation with preferential tax level in asymmetric compatible case and no relation in incompatible case. Second, we derive a specific range in which preferential tax level could make it beneficial for both customers and platforms to improve compatibility. High compatibility is only good for platforms but not for customers when preferential tax level is too high. And oppositely, it’s only good for customers when preferential tax level is too low, but platforms have no incentives to support for it.

Information sharing in an MTO supply chain with upstream adjustments

We study a make-to-order (MTO) supply chain that includes a manufacturer and its supplier, both of which are MTO firms. Once a manufacturer receives an order from a customer, the manufacturer orders needed parts from its supplier. The supplier can adjust its delivery of parts in terms of locations, batches, schedule, etc., to address the manufacturer’s delivery preference. Information sharing is required for the supplier to make a delivery adjustment. We model the problem as a multi-stage game between the supplier and the manufacturer to analyze their incentives to share information. We abstract the information to be shared as the supplier’s production load (downstream information sharing) and the manufacturer’s ideal delivery plan (upstream information sharing). We find that the supplier shares information if its production load is distributed over higher values. The manufacturer shares information if the supplier’s production load is low enough or if the distribution of production loads is less than a threshold – depending on whether the supplier shares information. We also show that the supplier can design a price ceiling mechanism to motivate upstream information sharing, and that a price ceiling increases the supply chain’s profit and yields equivalent customer welfare. Finally, we show how an outside option can provide a naturally formed price ceiling. Our results find the root cause why information sharing in a MTO supply chain is sometimes easy to achieve, and sometimes difficult. The insights from this research can be easily applied in other types of supply chains with similar structures.

Distance-Based Service Priority: An Innovative Mechanism to Increase System Throughput and Social Welfare

Problem definition: The main goal of many nonprofit or nongovernmental organizations is to increase the number of customers who receive service (i.e., service coverage) and social welfare. However, the limited number of employees, volunteers, and service locations results in long service wait. In addition, getting customers living in remote areas to receive services by traveling long distances is difficult. We propose an innovative distance-based service priority policy that would reduce the service waiting time for customers who must travel farther for the service by giving them higher service priority, thereby providing them with a new incentive to seek service. Methodology/results: Using a game-theoretic queueing model, we show that the proposed policy can significantly attract more customers to a service. The increase can be up to 50% compared with the ordinary first-come-first-served service discipline. The policy can also achieve higher social welfare, however, that may come at the cost of reduced customer welfare. We therefore propose a possible remedy for a social planner to coordinate welfare under such circumstance. It ensures all stakeholders, including the service provider, customers, and society, can benefit from the policy at the same time. Finally, we compare our distance-based service priority policy with two existing strategies from the literature—namely, the price discrimination strategy and the probabilistic priority strategy. Managerial implications: Our proposed policy can play a pivotal role in a nonprofit service provider’s mission to increase service coverage and social welfare, especially when customers’ travel costs to obtain service are significant. Furthermore, our policy may create fewer implementation and fairness concerns compared with related strategies. Funding: Z. Wang acknowledges financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grants 72001118 and 72132007], and L. Fang acknowledges financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant 72271129]. Supplemental Material: The online appendices are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/msom.2022.1157 .

Demand response modeling in a day-ahead wholesale electricity market in Japan, considering the impact of customer risk aversion and dynamic price elasticity of demand

This study aims to develop a mathematical modeling approach to maximize the welfare of the price-responsive customers (CUs) in a wholesale electricity market in Tokyo, Japan. The contributions made by this paper in the quest to determine the role of CUs in a demand response market are twofold. First, the aversion of the CUs to the risk of choosing the Demand Response Programs (DPRs) is taken into account by considering their expected utility from consuming electricity. The proposed model is founded on the customer theory in microeconomics, using the concept of the expected utility function to model the behavior of the risk-averse CUs in response to different DPRs. Second, it introduces an hourly-based model for the short-term price elasticity of demand, considering the day-ahead price mechanism defined in the Japan Electric Power Exchange (JEPX) market. The estimated price elasticities are used in a price elasticity matrix of demand (PEMD) to precisely reflect the different response strategies, including flexible, in-flexible forward-shifting, backward shifting, and optimizing responses. An accurate day-ahead hourly load forecasting is performed, using the Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) model, which is trained on four years of data provided by the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), with a mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of 0.94%. The developed model is used to analyze the CUs’ behaviors with different response strategies in the JEPX market in Tokyo. By applying the Time-of-Use (TOU) and Real-Time-Pricing (RTP) programs, the results reveal a peak reduction potential of 10.7% and 7.3%, respectively, for the flexible CUs. Applying the RTP program to the curtailable loads can achieve a 7.7% reduction in daily peak demand and a 1.6% reduction in daily electricity consumption.

판매원의 지각된 고객 인게이지먼트가 적응판매행동에 미치는 영향 연구: 접근·회피성향의 조절효과를 중심으로

Purpose: This study aims to confirm the effect of perceived customer engagement of department store salespersons on adaptive selling behavior. Based on the job demand-resource model, we want to verify whether perceived customer engagement plays a role as a salesperson’s job resource. In addition, it is intended to check whether approach orientation and avoid orientation, which are the goal-oriented characteristics of individual salesperson, have moderating effects between perceived customer engagement and work engagement. Research design, data, and methodology: To verify the hypotheses, a survey was conducted with department store sales representatives in South Korea. After conducting a pretest with 30 people, some ambiguous and awkward expressions were corrected. The survey was conducted for about two weeks from September 20, 2021, and 468 responses out of 480 distributed questionnaires were collected. SPSS22.0 and SmartPLS 3.3.3. were used for statistical processing, and after verifying the validity and reliability of the questionnaire items, hypothesis testing was conducted. Results: As a result, all the hypotheses were supported. First, the more the salesperson recognizes the customer’s positive engagement, the more the salesperson will interact with the customer to enhance their work engagement and ultimately create higher value with the customer. This indicates that salesperson who perceive customer’s engagement are inclined to be more faithful to their job, and the higher the likelihood of showing performance. Second, it was found that the salesperson’s approach orientation positively strengthens the relationship between perceived customer engagement and work engagement. This means that salespeople with a strong tendency to achieve personal goals increase their enthusiasm for their jobs by interacting positively with customer-level efforts such as customer engagement. Third, it was found that salespersons with passive and negative motivation for personal goal achievement reduce the effect of perceived customer engagement on work engagement. The avoidance tendency of salespeople, such as pre-checking and taking action on problematic areas to achieve organizational goals, reduces the positive effect of perceived job resources on work engagement. Fourth, it was found that when salespersons increase their engagement for their jobs, this in turn induces high motivation for work and has a positive effect on adaptive selling behaviors to achieve actual sales goals. Salespersons with enthusiasm for their job will show high sales performance by flexibly and actively responding to fluid sales situations, non-flexible sales conditions, and various customer needs. Fifth, it was found that salespeople who actively perform their duties will actively engage in stewardship for customers who are dedicated to their customers’ interests. This means that a salesperson with high work engagement will act as a steward to his/her duties and responsibilities towards customers and to help the welfare of customers. Sixth, salesperson who are tend to have customer-oriented stewardship would increase customer-oriented adaptive sales behavior. This means that the salesperson actively responds to the sales situation by serving the customer with a stewardship attitude and prioritizing the customer’s interests. Based on the above study results, the following implications are suggested. First, it was verified that the salesperson’s perceived customer engagement plays as an antecedent variable of work engagement. Unlike previous studies, this paper examines customer engagement from the perspective of a salesperson. Second, the empirical analysis targeting department store salespeople expanded the field of application and added depth to the study. In previous studies, empirical analysis was mainly conducted in the tourism industry, but it was extended to the distribution industry and focused on the salesperson rather than the customer. In particular, it is meaningful to empirically analyze the relationship between the salesperson’s approach/avoidance tendency and perceived customer engagement formed based on emotional factors in the salesperson-customer relationship. Conclusions: Summarizing the above results, the salesperson

The Effect of Social Marketing Strategy on Urban Tourism Growth and Economic Development in Zanjan, Iran

Tourism for cities with tourist attractions such as Zanjan can become the most important source of monetization. Provided that proper and comprehensive planning is planned and implemented for it. The concept of social marketing is based on that each organization must first determine the needs, wants and interests of its target markets, then providing those needs and demands more effective than other competitors in a way that welfare of both customers and society are provided. This article investigates the impact of social marketing strategy on the urban tourism growth and economic development with emphasis on the mediating role of trust. This study, in terms of purpose, is application-oriented and is descriptive-correlational in terms of method. The statistical population of the study consist of experts, specialists and students of Tourism science at Zanjan city. The sampling method was random, and the sample size was calculated based on the Cochran formula of 391 people. The data collection tool is the standard questionnaire which validity and reliability were evaluated by experts and Structural Equation Model (SEM) using desired Cronbach's alpha (0.896), respectively. Data were analyzed using pls3 and SPSS software. The results of the study indicated that social marketing with an intensity of "0.556" and trust with an intensity of "0.258" are effective in the tourism growth and economic development. There is also a meaningful relationship between social marketing and trust.