Subsequent Customer Research Articles

Pengaruh Kualitas Layanan terhadap Loyalitas dengan Kepuasan Nasabah sebagai Variabel Mediasi

Customer satisfaction has become a central concept in marketing theory and practice, and is one of the essential goals for business activities. Basically, customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction with a product or service will affect subsequent customer behavior. Customers who are satisfied will show a high probability of customers returning to use the same product or service. According to Syah (2021), satisfied customers also tend to provide good references to the product or service to others. Meanwhile, dissatisfied customers can cause negative attitudes towards the brand or manufacturer or service provider, even distributors, reduced likelihood of repeat purchases, brand switching, and various types of complaint behavior.

Customer engagement in Saudi food delivery apps through social media marketing: Examining the antecedents and consequences using PLS-SEM and NCA

In this study, we (1) investigated the role of social media marketing (SMM) activities in predicting customer engagement in online food delivery applications (OFDAs); (2) predicted the influencing role of customer engagement in OFDAs on behavioral outcomes; (3) utilized the stimulus-organism-response (S–O-R) framework to assess subsequent customer behavior; and (4) empirically validated the theoretical model using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and necessary conditions analysis (NCA). We obtained valid data from 233 respondents using the survey-based approach, which was then utilized for PLS-SEM and NCA analyses. The study's PLS-SEM analysis revealed that perceived SMM activities, such as informativeness and word-of-mouth (WoM), positively influence customer engagement in OFDAs. This engagement, in turn, predicts important behavioral outcomes, including co-production value, customer referrals, purchase intention, and customer satisfaction. The NCA results further indicate that informativeness, trendiness, and WoM are essential for driving customer engagement in Saudi-based OFDAs. These findings provide valuable insights for enhancing customer engagement and behavioral outcomes in the field of OFDAs, utilizing both PLS-SEM and NCA methodologies.

Research on color and texture characteristics and visual perception of custom wardrobe finishes

In recent years, the custom wardrobe market has been steadily developing. While meeting the functional needs of users, it is gradually shifting towards aesthetic preferences. Rapidly grasping users’ preferences for the appearance of custom wardrobes is a key focus of current research. This study collected a large number of decorative surface images of custom wardrobes and objectively analyzed the design features based on color moments and Tamura texture feature data in computer image analysis methods. K-means cluster analysis was performed on the feature data. Collected images of the points closest to the cluster centers were further screened to select representative finish images, and finally a questionnaire survey was conducted at Nanjing Forestry University, with the help of semantic differential method and factor analysis. The characteristics of the samples were comprehensively summarized to infer design elements. The study found that warm-toned, medium-low saturation, and medium brightness surfaces were preferred by the panel. Different colors, contrasts, saturations, brightness, element features, and arrangements have significantly different effects on visual perception. These conclusions can provide a reference for subsequent custom wardrobe design.

The effect of online company responses on app review quality

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate textual characteristics of customer reviews that motivate companies to respond (sentiment negativity and sentiment deviation) and how aspects of these company responses (response intensity, length and tailoring) affect subsequent customer review quality (comprehensiveness and readability) over time.Design/methodology/approachLeveraging a large data set from a leading app website (Shopify), the authors combine text mining, natural language processing (NLP) and big data analysis to examine the antecedents and outcomes of online company responses to reviews.FindingsThis study finds that companies are more likely to respond to reviews with more negative sentiment and higher sentiment deviation scores. Furthermore, while longer company responses improve review comprehensiveness over time, they do not have a significant influence on review readability; meanwhile, more tailored company responses improve readability but not comprehensiveness over time. In addition, the intensity (volume) of company responses does not affect subsequent review quality in either comprehensiveness or readability.Originality/valueThis paper expands on the understanding of online company responses within the digital marketplace – specifically, apps – and provides a new and broader perspective on the motivations and effects of online company responses to customer reviews. The study also extends beyond the short-term focus of prior works and adds to literature on long-term effects of online company responses to subsequent reviews. The findings provide valuable insights for companies (especially those with apps) to enhance their online communication strategies and customer engagement.

Impacts of user-generated images in online reviews on customer engagement: A panel data analysis

Visual content has become an integral component of customers’ experience sharing, with customers increasingly searching for visual content in online reviews prior to making purchases. This study examines the effects of customer-generated images in online reviews on subsequent customer engagement using a multimethod design combining computer vision technique and panel data analysis. Based on online review data for 300 restaurants, findings revealed the following: 1) the ratio of pictorial reviews positively influenced subsequent review volume and average review length, whereas the effect on subsequent review valence was not significant; 2) review text–photo sentiment disparity had a complex impact on customer engagement (i.e., an inverse U-shaped relationship with subsequent review volume and a positive and negative linear relationship with subsequent average review length and review valence, respectively); and 3) business price level could mitigate the above effects. This study contributes to the literature on electronic word of mouth and customer engagement.

Does customer empathy mediate between the environmental orientation of retail firms and customer purchase intentions?

ABSTRACT This study investigates the mediation effect of customer empathy between theenvironmental orientation of retail firms, and subsequent customer purchasing behaviour towards eco-friendly goods. The empirical study developed conceptual and operational measurement variables from prior research and collected data from retail firm customers in the Republic of Korea. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to verify the reliability and validity of the collected data, and relationships between the variables were analysed using structural equation modelling. Two findings resulted as follows. First, a retail firm’s environmental orientation, manifested by a strategic approach to environmental issues and environmental capabilities, does positively affect customer empathy towards them. Second, positive customer empathy towards a retail firm’s environmental orientation positively affects customer purchasing behaviour towards the retail firm’s eco-friendly goods.

Exploring online consumer review-management response dynamics: A heuristic-systematic perspective

Although the effects of managerial responses (MRs) on subsequent customer reviews (CRs) has been explored, we lack a comprehensive theoretical framework to explain the interdependent relationships between previous and subsequent CRs—specifically the dynamic influences of MRs on future CRs. We draw on emotional contagion and regulation theories to develop a heuristic systematic model to explain CR-MR dynamics in online settings. We propose six systematic processing and three heuristic processing routes to delineate the determination and persuasion effects between previous and subsequent consumers' CRs. The systematic routes describe how current customers' compliments, complaints, and emotions influence their current rating scores. The heuristic processing routes describe how previous customers' rating scores and emotions influence current customers' rating scores and emotions. We suggest MR strategies to regulate these effects. The presence and length of MRs defines the numeric heuristic route while the positive-emotion heuristic route is conceptualized through expressions of thanks, sincerity, interaction, and complimenting customers. Expressions of apology, explanation, empathy, and remedy inform the negative-emotion heuristic route. We collect text from customers' reviews and managers' responses from the TripAdvisor website using text-mining techniques and analyze our hypotheses using Pooled Ordinary Least Squares (pooled OLS) and Generalized Method of Moment (GMM) modeling. Our findings not only enrich the theoretical underpinnings of the CR/MR literature, but also provide managerial guidance on how customers' emotional contagion and rating behaviors might be regulated.

Investigating the Impact of Service Quality on Customer Satisfaction and Subsequent Customer Loyalty in Bank Jago

In an increasingly competitive banking industry, it is important for banks to understand consumer satisfaction and build consumer loyalty in order to maintain market share and achieve sustainable growth. This research focuses on Bank Jago users, with the aim of analyzing the relationship between service quality, consumer satisfaction, and consumer loyalty in that context. This study uses a quantitative approach with purposive sampling method to collect and analyze data from 318 respondents who are Bank Jago users in the Bandung and Jabodetabek areas who have experience using Bank Jago services for at least 1 year. The data collection method was conducted through a questionnaire-based survey that was disseminated to a sample of bank users. The collected data were then analyzed using descriptive statistics and PLS-SEM to test the relationship between the observed variables. The results of the analysis show that service quality, especially in the indicators of Efficiency, Responsiveness, Site Organization, and User Friendliness provided by Bank Jago has a positive effect on customer satisfaction. The higher the quality of services provided by the bank, the higher the level of satisfaction felt by users. In addition, this study also revealed that consumer satisfaction has a positive influence on consumer loyalty in Bank Jago users. In other words, the more satisfied users are with the banking services provided by Bank Jago, the more likely they are to remain loyal as Bank Jago users in the future. This research makes an important contribution to Bank Jago in understanding the factors that affect the satisfaction and loyalty of their users. The findings of this research can be the basis for Bank Jago to improve the quality of their services, optimize user experience, and maintain consumer loyalty amid intense banking industry competition. In addition, this research also contributes to a broader understanding of the importance of service quality in creating consumer satisfaction and building consumer loyalty in the context of the banking industry.

The Effects of Anthropomorphised Virtual Conversational Assistants on Consumer Engagement and Trust During Service Encounters

Drawing on social exchange and anthropomorphism theory, this research examines the role of virtual conversational assistants (VCA) as frontline employees. Specifically, we investigate the effects of AI-derived features, such as anthropomorphism, in building Human-Machine relationships. Drawing on a qualitative interpretivist approach, 31 semi-structured interviews were conducted with global users of Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant. Our findings suggest anthropomorphism is an important factor in understanding the development of trust within Human-Machine interactions. More specifically, the effects of a humanised voice, interactive communication capability and cognitive features evoke a sense of social presence that may positively or negatively impact user trust. We propose that the interplay between a user’s perceptions of the bright and dark sides of interacting with an AI-empowered anthropomorphised machine determines categories of trust and subsequent customer engagement behaviours with this embedded form of organisational frontline.

The influence of sensory marketing on customer satisfaction and its behavioral intention

With the rapid development of global tourism, the emergence of hot spring hotels has met the demand for one-stop entertainment pursued by a large number of consumer groups. Therefore, the target customer market of hot spring hotels is broader than that of ordinary hotels. At the same time, sensory marketing, as an emerging marketing strategy, has gradually been favored and applied by first-class enterprises. Therefore, to have a deeper understanding of the impact of sensory marketing on hot spring hotels, this paper analyzes the actual data obtained from the questionnaire survey, that is whether the visual, olfactory, auditory, and tactile experience will have a positive impact on customers' pleasure and satisfaction, so as to affect the subsequent customer behavior intention. By confirming the relationship between sensory marketing and planning behavior theory, this study shows that sensory experience can indeed influence customers. Future behavior intention is influenced the perception of customers' emotional value. This result not only enriches the content of the marketing strategy but also provides the hot spring hotel managers with more effective methods and strategies to improve consumer loyalty.

Fewer Clicks, More Purchases

E-commerce retailers are increasingly faced with challenges of finding ways to provide a seamless shopping experience to customers. The checkout process and its related touch points are especially critical in shaping the customer experience. We study the impact of adopting one-click buying, a feature that reduces the number of steps required to place a purchase order to a single click, on subsequent customer behavior. Using quasi-experimental data over a period of 35 months from an online retailer before and after the launch of one-click buying, we find adopting one-click buying is effective in lifting customer purchases and does so by making treated customers purchase more often and more items. The impact of adopting one-click buying on customer purchases after adoption is economically significant, persistent over time, and heterogeneous across customers. Analyzing clickstream data of customer activity online and purchases across product categories, we provide evidence that the increase in purchases is driven by richer engagement through both more visits to the website and more page views on visit and the expansion of purchases across categories. We discuss the implications of our findings for customer experience and targeting. This paper was accepted by Duncan Simester, marketing. Supplemental Material: The data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.4716 .

How organizations leverage digital technology to develop customization and enhance customer relationship performance: An empirical investigation

Digital technology (DT) is critical for realizing customization to create business value. However, research on how DT affects customization and customer relationship performance is limited and lacks clarity. Drawing upon organizational learning theory, we examine the impact of firms' DT use on customization and subsequent customer relationship performance. Using survey data from 214 Chinese firms, we find that both DT use for customer exploitation and DT use for customer exploration have positive effects on customization. The effect of DT use for customer exploration on customization is moderated by absorptive capacity. Customization has a positive impact on customer relationship performance. This study contributes to the current literature and managerial practice by promoting a systemic conceptualization of customization and empirically examining the mechanism of DT-driven customization and its benefits.

Conrad Seabaugh & Company: An Inside Look at an Illinois Hinterland Merchant

Conrad Seabaugh & Company: An Inside Look at an Illinois Hinterland Merchant

Hate the wait? How social inferences can cause customers who wait longer to buy more.

Waiting is a mundane yet inevitable customer experience. Surprisingly, little research has analyzed the effects of waiting on subsequent customer behavior. The current research explores a counterintuitive effect of waiting times on behavior during a shopping trip: Longer waits, compared with shorter waits, can lead to a larger number of purchases despite generating more negative emotional reactions. Results of a field study and three lab experiments demonstrate this effect in the context of waiting for hedonic products. Consistent with a social-inference account, the experiments further show that the effect of waiting duration occurs when wait times are thought to depend on others' preferences. This article explores the multifaceted effects of waiting duration on purchase behavior of hedonic products and sheds light on the social cognitions that underlie these effects.

Double Jeopardy: Moderators and Mediators of Non-Native Speaker Status on Stress And Performance

We integrate arguments from the diversity, stress, and linguistics bodies of literature to specify the relationship between non-native speaker status and stress at work, and subsequent customer service performance. In two field studies, we find that non-native speakers who are also either female or older report the highest level of stress. In our first study, we also uncover a curvilinear mediated relationship with customer service performance via felt stress, such that performance improves as stress increases from low to moderate, then plateaus. Moderated mediation analyses in our first study further reveal that felt stress functions as a mediator of the effects of non-native speaker status on performance, but only for female or older employees. In our second study, we delineate three mediating mechanisms of the relationship between non-native speaker status and stress, finding that perceived discrimination based on accent or ethnicity as well as language anxiety each help explain why certain non-native speakers may experience more stress than native speakers. In particular, non-native speakers in general report higher levels of perceived discrimination based on accent or ethnicity, resulting in more stress. Further, female non-native speakers report more discrimination based on accent, leading to more stress. Finally, older female non-native speakers report more language anxiety, also leading to more stress. We conclude with a discussion of theoretical and practical implications.

C2C interaction in the online review system: Effect of other customers’ responses on subsequent review volume

Customer-to-customer (C2C) interactions can be realised through other customers’ responses (OCRs) in the online review system. However, the externality of such interactions has not been clearly understood. We address this deficiency by exploring the effects of OCRs on subsequent review volume. Drawing on social learning theory and reinforcement theory, we hypothesise that OCRs have positive effects on subsequent review volume through the visibility mechanism. We verify this hypothesis by matching restaurants across two online platforms using a difference-in-differences strategy. The results show that restaurants with OCRs show an average increase of 5.286 reviews per month, but the effect fades if subsequent customers have not observed OCRs in the last five review pages. We further validate the visibility mechanism and conduct robustness checks by examining review heterogeneity and performing within-platform analysis. Our findings highlight the importance of C2C interactions and provide implications for the design and management of online review systems.

Innovating into trouble: When innovation leads to customer complaints

This paper examines the unintended consequences of innovation. We show that innovative activity can have adverse outcomes in the form of increased customer complaints with the potential for reputational and financial damage. Complaints may arise directly from adverse reactions to innovative services or indirectly from service failures where firms over-prioritise innovation. Our empirical analysis focuses on legal services in England and Wales. Survey data on innovation by legal service providers is matched with complaints data from the Legal Ombudsman for England and Wales. This allows us to identify the links between innovation activity and subsequent customer complaints. Our analysis reveals that higher levels of innovation activity increase the probability and number of consumer complaints. We identify how firms can reduce the potential for consumer complaints by adopting collaborative innovation strategies. In addition, firms with international competitors are less likely to face complaints. Our results have strategic, regulatory and policy implications.

How emotional regulation and conscientiousness break the reciprocal circle between customer mistreatment and surface acting: an experience sampling study

PurposeDrawing on the conservation of resource theory and emotional contagion perspective, this study aims to propose that customer mistreatment has an indirect effect on subsequent customer mistreatment by triggering high levels of surface acting. In other words, there is a vicious circle formed as a result of customer mistreatment and surface acting. This paper further argues that emotional regulation and conscientiousness are effective in breaking this vicious circle.Design/methodology/approachAn experience sampling study was conducted on 97 frontline service employees in a hotel chain’s restaurants in China, with two daily surveys for ten consecutive days. Multilevel path analyses were used to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe results indicate that employees experiencing customer mistreatment in the morning would adopt the surface acting strategy more frequently in the afternoon, which in turn induces more customer mistreatment in the afternoon. Further, this indirect effect can be mitigated by high (versus low) levels of emotional regulation and conscientiousness.Originality/valueRecently, there has been growing recognition of the vital links between customer mistreatment and negative employee outcomes. However, these studies have failed to consider the carryover effect of customer mistreatment. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first pioneer study on whether and how customer mistreatment can affect subsequent instances of customer mistreatment, thereby offering a more comprehensive understanding of the consequences of customer mistreatment.

A self‐verification perspective on customer mistreatment and customer‐directed organizational citizenship behaviors

SummaryCustomer mistreatment events play a major role in employees' subsequent customer service behaviors, and is believed to have implications for employees' sense of self. We extend this line of research by developing a self‐verification account of the relationship between customer mistreatment and customer‐directed OCBs (OCB‐Cs) by examining theoretically prescribed novel mechanisms (i.e., self‐verification) and boundary conditions (i.e., self‐esteem and entity customer appreciation) for this relationship. We conducted a programmatic series of studies using daily diary (Study 1), audio vignette (Study 2), and behavioral experiment (Study 3) designs to test the proposed model. The overall pattern of results showed that customer mistreatment led employees to feel less self‐verified, especially among those with higher trait self‐esteem. These employees in turn were more likely to withhold OCB‐Cs, especially among those perceiving lower levels of entity customer appreciation. Overall, these results deepen our understanding of the role of the self‐concept in how employees experience and react to customer mistreatment‐‐depending on how employees see themselves and how they see their customers in general.

Customer transactional behaviour analysis through embedding interpretation

Modelling customer behaviour is extremely important in areas such as banking, allowing for improvement in the quality of customer service. Embedding methods have proven adequate for predicting subsequent customer interactions in several areas. However, there is little research on banking data, and it is also unclear which factors most influence the model's decisions. At the same time, knowledge graph embeddings are gaining more and more popularity, explicitly taking into account various types of relations in the data. In this study, we consider the problem of predicting the store of a customer's next purchase based on historical transactional data. The results show that knowledge graph-based embeddings better account for repetitive customer behaviour, while traditional matrix factorization-based methods better predict previously unobserved triplets. The paper also presents exciting discoveries regarding the interpretation of representations.