Relationship Marketing Activities Research Articles

Follower Segments Within and Across the Social Media Networks of Major Professional Sport Organizations

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to identify segments within the social media networks of major professional sport organizations. Relational data were collected from the Twitter accounts of four major professional sport organizations based in Toronto, Canada. Users within these networks were subsequently parsed based upon their Twitter behavior (e.g., likes, retweets, and follows) and their demographic information using an automated cluster analysis. After revealing characteristics of each segment, the findings highlight both sport focused (e.g., hockey, basketball) and non-sport focused (e.g., mothers, music lovers) subgroups which, in some cases, appear in multiple professional sport team networks. The findings provide the antecedents to social media interaction and suggest managers within professional sport organizations consider this information before forging new or enhanced relationship marketing activities as well as cross-promotional campaigns with additional brands.

Drivers and approaches to the circular economy in manufacturing firms

Much of the literature has investigated what the most innovative business models are in order to successfully implement circular economy principles within a company. However, the majority of modern companies are still based on traditional business models thus, it is important to study how to get these companies to adopt more circular practices. Data were collected through a questionnaire-based survey of 821 Italian companies. A cluster analysis was performed to classify their current level of implementation of the circular economy principles and a logit regression was carried out to identify the most effective drivers. Five clusters were identified: 1) “information-oriented companies” (24%), the best at communication and marketing-related activities, but the worst in relation to all the other aspects; 2) “linear companies” (41.6%), those that perform poorly in all five phases; 3) “green marketers” (15.5%), which perform well in relation to design, production and consumption; 4) “optimizers” (10.6%), which focus more on production and logistics and 5) “circular companies” (8.1%), those that register a good performance with respect to all aspects. The bad performers, clusters 1 and 2, also registered the worst economic results in the last three years, whereas the “circular champions” reported the best performance. Finally, the logit regression showed that economic drivers were the most effective at encouraging “linear companies” to adopt more circular business models. On the other hand, no significant evidence was found of any influence exerted by the drivers related to regulatory pressure, resource exploitation risks, and the pursuit of environmental values.

Facebook and Public Relations in Higher Education

Nowadays It is essential for universities and faculties to interact on-line with their potential applicants, current students as well as other stakeholders. In recent years, social media such as Facebook has provided higher education institutions with new means of communication with their target groups. The purpose of this study is to explore the use of the most popular social network Facebook by selected faculties in the Czech Republic and Slovakia and to provide a set of practical benchmarks on successful communication with public. To answer presented research questions, a convergent parallel mixed-methods research design was used. Firstly, a focus group investigation was put forward to clarify what communication channels are generally used by applicants and students when searching and sharing information about faculties. Secondly, a quantitative data analysis, based on data mining using tools such as Power BI and Netvizz, was presented. Data for year 2017 obtained from sixteen Facebook profiles of selected faculties were used. The findings provide evidence on the use of Facebook by an institution – customer communication by the faculties. Furthermore, they reveal that different message features generated different customer behaviour. The study contributes to a better understanding of marketing-related activities on social media in higher education.

CrossFit across Three Platforms: Using Social Media to Navigate Niche Sport Challenges

Abstract Niche sports have limited opportunities to promote their sport offerings via traditional communication channels and may rely upon alternatives such as social media to accomplish their marketing goals (Puchan, 2004). Williams and Chinn (2010) developed a relationship marketing conceptual framework to examine social media usage and marketing within a sports context. This study used the framework with the burgeoning sport of CrossFit and examined three primary organizational relationship-marketing activities: (a) Information, (b) Interaction, and (c) Promotion. The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of social media by key members of the CrossFit community. The study addressed the following research questions: RQ1. What are the usage categories similarities and differences observed across the social media platforms? RQ2. What are the group usage similarities and differences observed across the social media platforms? and RQ3. What are the group usage similarities and differences observed across the usage categories? A content analysis of 5,565 Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube messages was used to explore these activities. The CrossFit social media users—CrossFit Games, regions, boxes, athletes, and sponsors—used the platforms primarily to provide information about the sport and interact with the community, while promotion was employed less frequently. CrossFit and other niche sports can use social media to provide information and build community within their sports, before attempting to create online communities and promote their products.

Online relationship marketing and customer loyalty: a signaling theory perspective

PurposeOnline technologies have, in recent times, revolutionized the process of relationship building between firms and their customers. Nonetheless, there is a limited focus and theorization when it comes to explaining the link between online relationship marketing (ORM) activities and their impact on firm relationship marketing (RM) objectives. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to examine the signaling role of ORM activities in generating online trust and customer loyalty, through the lens of the signaling theory.Design/methodology/approachData for the study were gathered through a survey of 429 Ghanaian retail bank customers. Results were analyzed using structural equation modeling techniques.FindingsThe paper highlights the signaling role of engagement and interactivity online in influencing banks’ RM outcomes per the signaling theory. It concludes that bank’s online relationship activities, over and above the online tools utilized, need to communicate appropriate and useful signals in order to positively influence online trust and loyalty among customers.Originality/valueThe study, in its uniqueness, utilizes the signaling theory to explain the role and impact of online RM activities in the banking industry.

How market orientation contributes to innovation and market performance: the roles of business analytics and flexible IT infrastructure

PurposeMarket orientation (MO) (intelligence generation, intelligence dissemination and responsiveness) is known as one of the key concepts in marketing literature. Although prior research has widely focused on the meaning and application of MO, few attempts have been made to explore how market-oriented firms lead to innovation and market performance and what factors actually moderate this relationship. To fill this gap, the present study aims to explore the relationship between MO, innovation and market performance. This study also attempts to examine the intervening role of IT infrastructure, business analytics (BA) capabilities and market turbulence in the proposed model.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, a questionnaire-based survey was undertaken to test the proposed hypotheses. To verify the proposed theoretical model, partial least squares (PLS)/structured equation modeling (SEM) was performed with 114 valid survey data.FindingsDespite prior studies which postulated innovation performance as the final outcome of MO (Han et al., 1998; Song et al., 2015), this study focused on innovation performance as a mediating outcome which finally leads to market performance. The statistical results approve the putative relationship which means managers would be able to realize the paramount role of innovation as an integral part of achieving higher market performance. In addition, no support was found for the relationship between intelligence generation and responsiveness. This finding shows that not all obtained information can help managers in the decision-making process.Originality/valueThis study aims to enrich literature by developing a conceptual model to test the link between MO, innovation and market performance. The value of this study is to investigate the roles of flexible IT infrastructure, BA capabilities and market turbulence as the potential moderators in the proposed model. The results advance the understanding of the influence of BA capabilities on the link between intelligence dissemination and responsiveness. Findings also show innovation performance as remarkable and deemed valuable capability, leading to higher performance in marketing-related activities, particularly in highly turbulent markets.

Buyer–seller relationships of the dental devices industry in Taiwan: perspective of relationship

ABSTRACTPurpose: While research in marketing and management has addressed characteristics associated with buyer and seller, relatively little research has been reported on the marketing of relationship benefits and relationship bonding tactics, particularly involving their relationships with customers. Given a dyadic perspective, it can be surmised that gaps in buyer and seller perceptions may well dampen relationships, and will inevitably occur, since a perfect match is highly unlikely between two exchange parties. To enhance relationships, major gaps need therefore to be identified and eliminated. Therefore, the purpose of this study is developing matrices of customer relationship benefits and relationship bonding tactics separately from buyer’s and seller’s perspectives, together with the insights of interrelated propositions.Methodology: This research subjects chosen for this study consist of those distributors of dental devices, procurement in hospitals, and dentists. Using the grounded theory, four stages of coding analysis are conducted.Findings: The results indicated that buyers and sellers differed in their perceptions in all field interviews due to their different attitudes toward different benefits. While buyers’ perceived benefits were based on the consideration of confidence and trust in the practical use of purchased medical devices, sellers primarily considered specialized issues of provided services and technologies. Based on this, buyer and seller perspectives were distinguished.Research Implications: As a self-enclosed system, the medical device industry is difficult to enter for new manufacturers. Therefore, from the perspective of product providers, academic support can increase their product visibility, improve their company’s image, and provide more opportunities to contact new clients. From the perspective of medical institutions, the participation of hospitals and clinics in relationship marketing activities and seminars can raise their prestige and provide more opportunities for gaining new information.Originality/Value/Contribution: Theoretical contribution of this study is in building matrices of customer relationship benefits and relationship bonding tactics separately from buyer’s and seller’s perspectives, together with the insights of six propositions. These insights shall expose the undisclosed systems of the dental devices industry.

Banks’ Lending Relationship Quality Index (LRQI) for the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: A Review

Stiff competition in the service industry like banking sector has forced banks to search for the best approach to create, attract and retain a segment of satisfied customers. Relationship marketing is a comprehensive strategy used by many service providers to maintain an on-going long-term relationship with their existing customers. A proper implementation of relationship marketing activities is evident from good relationship quality built between the customer and the service provider. Due to the above needs, development of a new measuring instrument (Lending Relationship Quality Index (LRQI) to assess the quality of lending relationship between the banks and their SM E borrowings’ customers, a nationwide survey is proposed to identify factors presumed to influence the quality of lending relationship from SME borrowings’ customers perspective A sample size of 2,000 will be drawn from the SME customers having lending relationship with domestic commercial banks. The sampling procedures to be used for this study will be Convenient Sampling. The items in the questionnaire will be measured on a five-point Likert – type scale. Previous researches had focused on assessing relationship quality between the banks and their customers but have neglected to determine the quality of relationship in the context of lending between the banks and their SME borrowings’ customers. The new measuring instrument will be empirically tested for multi-dimensionality, reliability and validity by using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The findings from this study will add value to the existing literatures on relationship quality by linking the proposed seven factors of lending relationship quality namely, trust, communication quality of relationship, amount of information sharing, long-term relationship orientation, satisfaction with the relationship, closeness and commitment as the independent variables to the dependent variables which consist of lending relationship quality and how it relates to satisfaction and retention.

Architectural profession in India: perception towards service marketing

PurposeSpurred by the internationalization trend, many architectural professional bodies across the globe relaxed their norms related to the acceptance of promotion and marketing within the services. However, in India, the architectural services codes have not reflected any changes. This paper aims to focus on Indian architectural practice and attempts to investigate about the causes of low marketing activities within the practice in the country.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on a primary research process of data collection through survey administration. Survey is conducted using a close-ended structured questionnaire based on Likert scale technique. The data are analysed using both descriptive and empirical research techniques mainly, factor analysis. The sample is defined using random clustering sampling technique, from the list of architects registered with the professional regulating body of India, i.e. the Council of Architecture.FindingsThe findings of the study are suggestive that architectural firms in India are instinctively practising marketing-related activities, to position their firm to attract clients without formally adopting them. There appears to be a silent routinization of the marketing tasks in the firms. The findings are suggestive of academic and professional ignorance as one of the barriers towards marketing. The findings advocate that recognizing the growing competitive nature of architectural practices in the country, the regulatory and institutional body, Council of Architecture, may retrospect their code of conduct. The results of the present study have a great implication on the architectural education in the country. The findings advocate that the architectural curriculum in the country should be broadened to include the basic knowledge about marketing.Research limitations/implicationsThe present study opens a newer paradigm in the practice of architectural services. It highlights the growing linkages between the field of marketing and architecture. It opens a new area of research where linkages between interdisciplinary fields is an important aspect that needs researchers attention, to have a good model of survival for professional firms in a highly competitive environment.Practical implicationsThe research findings have great implications for the architectural firms that seek to operate in the globally volatile environment. The increasing competitive nature of the architectural services in India demands a dynamic decision and procurement methods that can strategically position firms in the market. Marketing strategies have a significant role in positioning firms and increasing their client base.Originality/valueThe subject of architectural practice and its operation is an under-researched area. The present study makes a strong point for formal involvement of marketing strategies in the promotion of architectural firms in India. The paper attempts to bridge this gap, and the strength of the paper lies in the empirical nature of its investigation.

Top management attention to trade shows and firm performance: A relationship marketing perspective

B2B marketers allocate significant resources to trade shows, but often struggle to make a strong business case for these activities. Responding to calls to justify such investments, this research examines the effect that top management attention to trade shows has on firm value. Based on attention theory, this study suggests that top management's focus on trade show relationship marketing efforts results in better trade show performance. This helps develop market-based assets that in turn augment firm value. Using an event study to extrapolate the contingent effect that top management attention to trade shows has on firm value, the basic hypothesis is supported. Additionally, this research tests three top management orientations that are key to performing trade show relationship marketing activities. The findings address the absence of top management from extant trade show research and provide marketers with new insights related to maximizing their trade show investments.

Internet-Based Relationship Marketing: A Sub-Saharan African Perspective

ABSTRACTEstablishing, maintaining, and enhancing relationships over the Internet have progressively gained global attention. Nevertheless, the dawn of this modernization draws many theoretical debates and practical concerns, some of which have received little research attention, especially within the Sub-Saharan region of Africa. On this premise, we explored the contemporary practice, challenges, and benefits of Internet-based relationship marketing (RM) within the Ghanaian telecommunication industry. Expert interviews with 12 employees from four telecommunication firms elicited a wealth of experiential data analyzed thematically to understand the practice, challenges, and emerging benefits of Internet-based RM. Our findings suggest that issues of privacy concerns, erosion of face-to-face communication, and the tendency of unsolicited communication do not necessarily militate Internet-based RM within the Ghanaian telecommunication industry. We also identified emerging benefits, including online “virality,” a discovery environment, and improved firm reputation. We suggest enhancing online personalization through empathy, creating value with analytic information and managerial openness, and supporting enhanced knowledge development within the area. Directions for future studies include the possibility of comparative studies across service industries and examining the role of content marketing in Internet-based relationships. The challenge of exploring Internet-based RM was similar to hitting a moving target, as the use of the Internet for relationship marketing activities is constantly evolving. Additionally, our findings and conclusion are confined to the knowledge contribution of the experts interviewed. As one of the few studies within the Sub-Saharan region, we expand contributions from the Sub-Saharan domain. The findings of this study also bring to light new insights for establishing, maintaining, and enhancing Internet-based relationships.

Impacting ethnic marketing practices in the pharmaceutical industry: A qualitative study of transformative African American women leaders

The pharmaceutical industry reports itself to be in need of transformation in light of its maturity and complexity. Additionally, marketing practices within healthcare have shifted from mass market approaches to approaches that recognise the value of targeted markets, inclusive of ethnic markets such as the African American market. This qualitative study includes semi-structured interviews with eight African American women mid-level and senior-level leaders in three global pharmaceutical companies. Their experiences are reviewed in the context of the seven tenets that comprise the transformative leadership model, and examples of their impact on ethnic marketing practices within the industry are discussed. Marketing-related activities specifically mentioned include clinical trial recruitment, targeted promotional activities and sales team diversity. This research adds to the body of knowledge relative to ethnic marketing considerations for the pharmaceutical industry and has implications for both scholars and practitioners regarding the importance of diverse and transformative leadership, and marketing practices within the pharmaceutical industry.

Social bonding as a determinant of share of wallet and cross-buying behaviour in B2B relationships

PurposeResearch on how social bonding between boundary spanners influences relationship outcomes in business-to-business (B2B) settings is sparse and controversial. This longitudinal study aims to close this gap and assess the impact of social bonding on the share of wallet and actual cross-buying behaviour.Design/methodology/approachB2B relationships between a manufacturer of light commercial vehicles and its customers were investigated. A random sample of fleet managers answered two telephone surveys.FindingsSocial bonding was found to affect both investigated relationship outcomes, share of wallet and cross-buying, through the generation of trust over and above the customer’s perceptions of value.Research limitations/implicationsOnly one product category was investigated in this study, and further research should explore boundary conditions for the relevance of social bonding in B2B.Practical implicationsSocial bonding represents one lever (next to value perceptions) for building a competitive advantage in a B2B context. Relationship marketing activities that are intended to strengthen the development of social bonds between customers and account managers should be encouraged.Originality/valueThe authors provide clear evidence regarding the disputed impact of social bonding between boundary spanners on relationship outcomes in B2B relationships by testing its impact on real purchase behaviour and not only purchase intentions, as is the case in most published studies to date.

Airline loyalty determinants among business travelers: empirical evidence from Croatia

Airline passenger loyalty has been the subject of several studies set within a general travel context. These studies have helped understanding the influence of variables like brand equity, airline service levels, customer commitment, but also price in tying a passenger to a particular airline. Despite the great economic importance of the business traveler market, no study has, however, so far, exclusively focused on this traveler segment and tried to investigate drivers of repurchase intentions and loyalty of this specific traveler type. This study aims to address this research gap. The findings reveal that business passenger loyalty is far stronger driven by emotional than rational elements, in particular trust. Accordingly, airlines aiming to tie business travelers should set the focus of relationship marketing activities primarily to affective than calculative commitment building.

Went in for Botox and left with a rhinoplasty

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how customer relationship marketing (CRM) activities are utilized by plastic surgery providers to encourage the sale of non-surgical cosmetic procedures (such as Botox). These procedures are considered to be an important gateway for future, more invasive (and profitable) services. As a result, the techniques used to build relationships with clients may be unethical, as they prioritize increased financial performance and profitability over customer well-being. Design/methodology/approach Conceptual models are presented that compare and contrast the CRM activities, mediators and expected outcomes for plastic surgery providers, motivated primarily by profit, with those primarily motivated by mutual betterment. Findings It is suggested that when accompanied by sales promotions, problem augmentation – an approach used by plastic surgeons to broaden the scope of a patient’s aesthetic problem to other areas of concern – may generate increased sales in the short term, but reduce the opportunity of positive word-of-mouth to recruit new clients. Originality/value This paper applies relationship marketing to a novel context to demonstrate how practices to retain and improve clients may harm their well-being and commoditize the service, unless mutual betterment is a key objective.

Bilevel Game-Theoretic Optimization for Product Adoption Maximization Incorporating Social Network Effects

Viral product design involves sophisticated interactions between product portfolio planning and viral marketing. However, social network effects are mainly considered in marketing-related activities, and there is still limited investigation of the interplay between product design and viral marketing. In the context of social networks, it is important to jointly leverage both viral product attributes and viral influence attributes for product adoption maximization and product line performance optimization. In order to deal with the joint optimization problem, this paper presents a systematic formulation of a bilevel decision-making strategy for viral product design based on the Stackelberg game theory. The product adoption maximization problem with viral influence and product attributes is modeled as the leader and the product portfolio optimization problem with product attributes is modeled as the follower. The interaction and coupling of these two optimization problems are addressed with a coordinate-wise optimization strategy, in which adoption maximization is tackled with an improved greedy algorithm and a hybrid Taguchi genetic algorithm. A case study of Kindle Fire HD tablets demonstrates the feasibility and potential of the bilevel decision-making strategy for viral product design, which is advantageous over the existing viral marketing methods that only consider viral influence attributes.

Membership-based consumer switching intentions and benefit exchange theory

Purpose This research aims to predict private club members’ intentions to switch service providers based on the benefit exchange theory through a structural model with a second-order factor. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a qualitative procedure to develop a functional, social and psychological model based on the benefit exchange and switching intention literatures. A further quantitative analysis surveyed a sample of 366 private club members and assessed the usefulness of this model. Findings The results of the confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling indicate that social benefits have a stronger impact on switching intention than loss of functional benefits under the context of a high level of interaction between members and between members and service providers. In addition, they confirm the moderating effects of psychological benefits on the relationship between functional benefits and switching intention. Practical implications The findings indicate that members are unlikely to switch if there are positive word of mouth and interpersonal interactions between members and the club (social benefits). Even if they are disappointed with the functional benefits of the club’s products or services, they may still choose to stay with it owing to psychological benefits affecting their decision to switch. The findings offer managerial insights into utilizing relationship marketing activities to strengthen interpersonal relationships, word of mouth, trust, commitment and emotional factors to retain members. Originality/value This research confirms that the benefit exchange theory can explain members’ intentions to switch from their current clubs and provides valuable recommendations to managers on retaining their clubs’ members. Because the switching intentions of club members have not previously been adequately studied, this study fills an important gap in the literature.

Dynamics of loyalty programs in Malaysian retailing: A strategic marketing perspective

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this article is to consider the development of research in loyalty programs and relationship marketing in international retailing and review their application in specific retail stores in Malaysia, namely, AEON, Parkson, the Store Corporation, and Metrojaya. The article reviews the development of the relationship marketing and loyalty programs literature and its application in Malaysia and suggests how relationship marketing and loyalty programs have emerged over the years and their significance to retailing in Malaysia. The article also emphasizes the importance of relationship marketing and loyalty programs in retailing and discusses where research needs to go with respect to loyalty programs to enable them to continue to offer a competitive advantage to retailers. At the moment most loyalty programs are too similar to provide any real differentiation advantage to the retailer. Furthermore, the article highlights the loyalty programs that have been successful in Malaysia, why they have been successful, and their contribution to the success of the respective retail outlet. Finally, it explores the current understanding of relationship marketing and loyalty program activities and processes within the international retail firm in a developing country context. The achievements and limitations of loyalty programs in the area of international retailing are examined over the past 20 years and issues are addressed surrounding the future of loyalty programs in retailing that require further research.

Banks’ Lending Relationship Quality Index (LRQI) for the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises: A Review

Stiff competition in the service industry like banking sector has forced banks to search for the best approach to create, attract and retain a segment of satisfied customers. Relationship marketing is a comprehensive strategy used by many service providers to maintain an on-going long-term relationship with their existing customers. A good implementation of relationship marketing activities is evident from good relationship quality built between the customer and the service provider. Due to the above needs, development of a new measuring instrument (Lending Relationship Quality Index (LRQI) to assess the quality of lending relationship between the banks and their SME borrowings’ customers, a nationwide survey is proposed to identify factors presumed to influence the quality of lending relationship from SME borrowings’ customers perspective A sample size of 2,000 will be drawn from the SME customers having lending relationship with domestic commercial banks. The sampling procedures to be used for this study will be Convenient Sampling. The items in the questionnaire will be measured on a five-point Likert-type scale. Previous researches had focused on assessing relationship quality between the banks and their customers but have neglected to determine the quality of relationship in the context of lending between the banks and their SME borrowings’ customers. The new measuring instrument will be empirically tested for multi-dimensionality, reliability and validity by using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The findings from this study will add value to the existing literatures on relationship quality by linking the proposed seven factors of lending relationship quality namely, trust, communication quality of relationship, amount of information sharing, long-term relationship orientation, satisfaction with the relationship, closeness and commitment as the independent variables to the dependent variables which consist of lending relationship quality and how it relates to satisfaction and retention.

The influence of trust and perceived playfulness on the relationship commitment of hospitality online social network-moderating effects of gender

PurposeFrom the commitment–trust theory angle, this study aims to understand why members of social network sites (SNSs) are willing to build a relationship commitment with hospitality SNSs, engage in online word-of-mouth (WOM) and show a willingness to repurchase. This paper proposes a model to express the relationship commitment and gender as a moderator in the relationship.Design/methodology/approachThe interviews of a formal survey were selected by a purposive sampling method, and an online questionnaire survey was conducted in Taiwan. This study used the partial least square method to conduct structural equation modeling analysis.FindingsThe findings suggest that trust and perceived playfulness of the hospitality community have positive influences on relationship commitment, and also that the relationship commitment has a positive influence on online WOM and willingness to repurchase. This analysis provides strong support for the view that gender exerts a significant moderating role on our model relationships.Practical implicationsSNSs aspiring to stand out in the highly competitive internet environment must cultivate consumers’ trust and relationship commitment, and develop strategies to retain community members, as well as strengthen the safeguard personal information and the playfulness of activities. SNSs that launch relationship marketing activities should encourage community members to spread positive WOM through various activities.Originality/valueThis study combined the commitment–trust theory and technology acceptance model. It aimed to develop a theory-based model of relationship commitment in the hospitality SNSs’ context. Both trust and perceived playfulness are positively related to commitment; they are essential and important elements of successful hospitality SNSs. The gender difference plays a vital role in determining individuals’ behavior intention in the hospitality SNSs, as females and males have different decision-making processes.