Important Customer Research Articles

The value of membership service sharing in the e-commerce marketplace

Many firms have introduced membership programs as an important customer service initiative. However, little research has focused on how to enforce e-commerce retailing through membership service sharing. To explore the value of membership service sharing in e-commerce retailing, we build a game-theoretical model in which the brand decides whether to enable e-commerce retailing through online direct selling, and then all participants determine whether to engage in membership program sharing. Our findings show that in the case with a low consumer acceptance to the e-commerce channel, the brand will enter the downstream market if the entry cost and product cost are low, or the entry cost is low and the unit cost of the product is very high. One of the interesting findings is that the brand might fall into the encroachment trap when the product cost is moderate. Meanwhile, improving consumer acceptance of the e-commerce channel or the ratio of point exchange are effective ways to escape this trap. Moreover, when consumers are more willing to accept the e-commerce channel, the brand will adopt an e-commerce retailing strategy if the entry cost is low. Also surprisingly, our study shows that the brand would be better off from membership service sharing if the product cost is moderate, or very high, while the retailer would be worse off. Furthermore, when the unit cost of the product is moderate, membership program sharing has a remarkable impact on the brand’s retailing strategy. In addition, we also make some extensions to verify the robustness of the core model.

EU, 미국, 중국시장에서 한국 신재생에너지 산업의 품목별 수출 품질경쟁력과 시장점유율 변화 요인 분석

This study applied product and market segment analysis (PMSA) and intra-industry trade (IIT) indices to capture the quality and price competitiveness and high- and low-quality IIT of new renewable energy (NRE) items in Korea’s trade with major economic powers (i.e., European Union [EU], United States, and China) for the period 2012-2022. Additionally, this study used the constant market share (CMS) technique to divide the causes of fluctuations in Korea's market share in large economies’ import markets into demand side, supply side, and adaptation side. The empirical results can be summarized in the following three points. First, PMSA of quality and price competitiveness confirmed Korea’s weakness in securing price and quality competitiveness in trade with the EU and the United States and Korea’s inability to secure price competitiveness in trade with China. Additionally, analysis of high- and low quality IIT showed that in trade with the EU, low-quality vertical IIT and horizontal IIT were mixed, whereas in trade with the United States and China, the majority of items showed low-quality vertical IIT and high-quality vertical IIT patterns, respectively. More importantly, the CMS results by item in the NRE industry based on the 2017/2022 period showed that in the EU and US import markets, supply factors caused most of the market share changes for the majority of items, and in the Chinese import market, the main causes were a mixture of supply and demand factors. In conclusion, policy and institutional support for research and development of independent and convergence technologies are needed to strengthen the NRE industry’s quality competitiveness, and market expansion of the NRE industry can be accomplished by expanding direct investment in the United States and the EU, as well as through government financial support.

How digital finance impacts listed companies' green innovation in China: a product market perspective.

We empirically test whether and how digital finance impact green innovation utilizing data from Chinese listed companies and the Digital Inclusive Finance Index at the city level over the period from 2011 to 2020. The results show the following: (a) digital finance has a positive impact on green innovation, (b) improving consumer demand and strengthening market competition are two important influence channels, (c) customer concentration and corporate social responsibility are two important moderating variables that affect the aforementioned product market mechanisms, and (d) the positive impact of digital finance is more prominent within state-owned enterprises, companies with high financial risks, economically underdeveloped regions, and low-polluting industries. This research provides insights for China and similar economies on how to leverage the significant role of digital finance in achieving their net-zero-carbon targets.

Firearm manufacturing and imports in the USA and their association to firearm homicides in Central America and the Caribbean, 1991–2019

BackgroundFirearm manufacturing and imports grew in the US during the mid-2000s. We hypothesise those increases corresponded to increased international firearms trafficking and in turn were associated with increases in firearm...

Role of brand attachment and satisfaction in driving customer behaviors for durables: a longitudinal study

PurposeThis study aims to extend research in marketing on two important relational constructs, customer satisfaction and brand attachment, by comparing their long-term effects on customer behaviors with different levels of performance difficulty in a relatively understudied domain of durable products.Design/methodology/approachUsing a two-stage quantitative study with US customers from five durable product categories, the authors first explored the hierarchy of customers’ loyalty behaviors based on increasing effort in a pretest study (N = 675). Then, the authors tested the effectiveness of satisfaction and brand attachment for customers’ loyalty behaviors over a nine-month period in a longitudinal study (N = 2,284) with customers from the same product categories.FindingsCompared to satisfaction, brand attachment emerges as a stronger long-term predictor of customer behaviors. The performance difficulty of customer behaviors positively moderates the impact of brand attachment and negatively moderates the impact of customer satisfaction. Brand attachment is particularly effective in predicting difficult-to-perform customer behaviors, which require customers to expend resources such as time and money. Customer satisfaction is mainly effective for predicting easy-to-perform behaviors, but its long-term impact is significantly lower for easy-to-perform behaviors than brand attachment.Research limitations/implicationsThe use of consumer durables in the study and samples from only one country restricts the generalizability of the findings.Practical implicationsThe complementary roles of customer satisfaction and brand attachment are highlighted. Only satisfying customers is not enough to engage customers in behaviors that require resources such as money, time and energy for the brand.Originality/valueA comparative study on the long-term effectiveness of two established relational metrics in explaining different customer behaviors varying in their performance difficulty in an understudied domain of durable products.

İLAÇ SEKTÖRÜNDE MÜŞTERİ DENEYİMİ YÖNETİMİ: BİR ROPÖRTAJ ÇALIŞMASI

The word of customer and its meaning has been evaluated to todays meaning since 1920s. In the begining the word of customer is used for who buys and pays for the products. Recently this meaning has changed into the service taker for whose personal and institutional needs are afforded by companies or personal. Customer experience management is important to stay alive and competitive in any sector. Addiotinally in supply chains also customer experience management is great opportunity to win a piece in the sectorial pie. 
 
 The pharmaceutical industry as being the 3rd greatest sector in the world, manufactures synthetic, herbal, animal and biological chemicals used for therapeutic, protective, and diagnostic purposes in human and veterinary medicine in accordance with pharmaceutical technology. The pharmaceutical industry has also particular importance with his value-added position and is critical with his capacity in production and trade volume in the world. In the globalizing world, the pharmaceutical sector has entered into rapid growth process in recent years, with the effect of both demographic changes and increases in life expectancy and increased access to health services.
 
 The logistics & transportations of pharmaceutical sector is very important and needs OTIF (on time in full delivery performance) results on high level which means that cost reduction in the meantime is very important for efficency.
 
 In this study an interview has been done with Özge Karataş(MSc) who is Business Intelligence and Customer Relations Senior Manager in pharmecuetical sector and has won a number awards in mentioned area and Olga Potaptseva who is in top 20 CX professional in the world. The questions of the interview and their experience in the sector will help us to understand importance customer relationship & expreince management in pharmecuetical sector

Trade, institutional quality and economic growth in Africa: does China and United States trade matter?

We investigate the relationship between China and the United States’ trade with sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and the region's economic growth (EG). The research analyzes trade dynamics, distinguishing between the effects of exports and imports, while highlighting the significant role of institutional quality (IQ) in shaping EG within the context of China–US trade with Africa. Despite increasing trade with China and the US, SSA’s growth has lagged, prompting exploration into the specific trade forms contributing to EG and the role of IQ. Using data from 30 SSA countries from 2002-2020, we employed AMG and IV-2SLS estimations for our analysis. The study reveals that IQ complements Chinese and US trade to promote EG. Importantly, Chinese and US imports from Africa consistently boost growth, with the impact of exports diminishing. Chinese trade proves influential in countries with strong institutions but lacks impact in those with weaker institutions at higher levels of IQ. In contrast, US trade benefits growth in both strong and weak institutional contexts. These findings are instrumental for policymakers, offering insights into the specific trade activities that drive growth in SSA. Additionally, we emphasize the pivotal role of robust institutions in ensuring the positive impact of trade on growth.

Digital Listener as a tool to enhance Customer Experience in projects

The present study focused on assessing whether customer service enhancement via digital listening leads to customer satisfaction and loyalty. To achieve this objective, the study employed a descriptive research and used survey as the main data collection method. Notably, the findings clearly indicate that the customers are highly aware of the concept of customer service enhancement and that they expect businesses to offer them competent and high-quality services.
 Further, the findings indicate that failing to use up-to-date digital listening technologies, difficulty in accessing the call centres, the call centre employees’ inability to understand the specific service needs required by the consumers and inability of the employees to provide customizable customer engagement services are some of the main issues associated with digital listening strategies. This research also focuses on the implementation of Digital Listener technology with the understanding towards how it may improve the professional attitudes between customers and employees. In addition, the findings indicate that providing relevant training to all employees on a regular basis, using up-to-date technologies and facilities, and employing big data analytic technologies are some of the specific strategies that can be employed by companies in order to effectively enhance the customer care services.
 Digital technology has been improving over the past 10 years as organization seek for fundamental ways through which they can adopt and implement digital listeners efficiently. This research aims at communicating the practical theory and the importance of customer care services being emphasized by different organizations. The research examines the effects of Digital Listeners in organizations and how this technology is of importance to companies, which aim at providing effective services and product delivery to their customers. The research also demonstrates how important customer service is to organizations as it measures the successfulness of their performance. The research upholds digital listeners as one of the tools being utilized by companies to enhance communication with their customers while enhancing their reach to more consumers. This research aims at studying and analyzing the idea of implementing Digital Listening to the new world while revealing how important this concept is towards earning more competitive advantage for organizations. The rareness of research in this field accounts for the importance of this research as it will help IT consultants and customer service advisers in the GCC region towards understanding concepts of digital listening in their region.
 Based on the research findings, therefore, the study approves the research hypothesis that customer service when enhanced properly leads to customer satisfaction and loyalty. Thus, the study concludes that maintaining customers and their loyalty require careful attention to the customer’s needs, strategically investigating what they seek and being able to provide the same in an enhanced manner.

Social media-based e-commerce consumer behavior prediction model in marketing strategy

Abstract The rapid development of information technology has entered the era of network big data, online shopping for young people has become a fashion, and social media platforms have gathered a large amount of consumer purchase data. In this paper, for the current social media facing the problem of user consumption behavior prediction accuracy, data mining technology is referenced to analyze and predict user consumption behavior. The entropy weight method is used to segment e-commerce consumers based on RFM, and on this basis, the simple Bayesian method is used to model consumer behavior and construct an algorithm suitable for analyzing and predicting consumer behavior using social media data. Consumers are categorized into important value customers (7.21%), important development customers (18.76%), important retention customers (7.32%), general value customers (9.86%), general development customers (37.14%), and general retention customers (19.71%). The accuracy rate (ACC) for social media-based e-commerce consumer behavior is 84.92%, which allows for more accurate predictions. The study provides a scientific foundation for e-commerce platforms or enterprise decision-making, incubates emerging industries by analyzing big data, addresses major user needs, and becomes a new engine for promoting social progress.

Quantifying economic vulnerabilities induced by interdependent networks.

Under economic globalization, countries are linked through trade and investments. This economic interdependence creates vulnerabilities. The indirect vulnerability induced by interdependent networks of trade and investments can put a country's economy at risk, but this risk has yet to be systematically quantified and investigated. In this paper, we developed the novel Potential Indirect Vulnerability Index (PIVI) to capture how interdependencies between networks of trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) may induce economic vulnerabilities. The model consisted of three main components: a target country (the importer of goods), an investing country (the exporter of FDI), and the intermediary countries that export commodities to the target country and receive FDI from the investing country, serving as conduits of the vulnerabilities caused indirectly by the investing country. The PIVI quantifies the indirect vulnerabilities based on the product of two fractions: 1) the dependency of the target country on commodities from each intermediary country; and 2) the dependency of each intermediary country on FDI from the investing country. We demonstrated the utility of PIVI by examining the US economy's vulnerability to China using 2019 trade and FDI data. Several Asian countries and a mix of agricultural products and raw materials were identified as conduits through which China could potentially influence the US economy. Vietnam was a sizeable risk because, while it has been a primary source of many US imports, it also received about 30% of its FDI from China. The US policy makers might opt to increase diversity in trade partners or to promote investment in countries such as Vietnam. We also applied the PIVI analysis to critical minerals, identifying cobalt, tungsten, and copper as the most vulnerability-inducing among them. PIVI is a flexible metric than can be aggregated and modified to provide a more nuanced and focused assessment of an economy's vulnerability.

Мировая торговля: долгосрочные тренды и структурные сдвиги

The paper considers long-term trends of global trade and there structural changes. We determine the elasticity of trade to GDP and the dynamics of the ratio of goods and services exports, as well as structural shifts in the major countries and regions of the world. The case study was focused on the USA–China trade relations and contradictions. Since 2007, PRC is the undisputed world’s largest exporter of goods. According to author’s estimates, in 2022 China was ahead of the United States in the total merchandise export by 1.5 trillion dollars. This corresponds to 6.3% of total world exports or 5.8% of US GDP. The trade war unleashed by former president D. Trump administration in 2018–2019 inevitably resulted in a decline in bilateral trade. However, this was just a temporary trend. The recent WTO statistics shows that US imports from China recovered by 2021 both in general volume and in the main categories of goods, both for intermediate and final consumption. Moreover, in 2022 its value, in particular for the analyzed commodity groups (aluminum, iron and steel) exceeded the indicators of 2017–2018. The author argues that, most importantly, there are long-term and fundamental implications of the trade conflict between the US and China rather than a transient decrease in mutual trade between the two flagships of globalization. In particular, it substantially exacerbated the protectionist biases in the international trade policies that became evident after the global financial crisis of 2008–2009. It triggered appearance of new rapidly rising actors at the international trade field such as India and Brazil. This points at major underlying shifts in the global production and supplies schemes. Basically, tensions between the two flagships of globalization produced much higher uncertainty in the global trade which, in the next decade, is unlikely to show the dynamics comparable to that of the period 2002–2008.

Decoupling Where it Matters? US Imports from China in Critical Sectors

Decoupling Where it Matters? US Imports from China in Critical Sectors

Application of Virtualization Digital Technology in Intelligent Platform Construction Pattern Analysis System

Intelligent platforms are mainly service platforms composed of machine learning integrations that rely on continuous reasoning and learning. This technology has been widely used in today's the Internet Age, and its analysis system, as an important customer oriented feedback link, is also very important. Therefore, this article would optimize the intelligent platform analysis system by applying virtual digital technology, and use intelligent platforms for ship shipping and smart home platforms as examples.

ІНСТРУМЕНТИ ЦИФРОВОГО МАРКЕТИНГУ: СУЧАСНИЙ ЕТАП ЕВОЛЮЦІЇ

The article is devoted to the study of the modern stage of the evolution of digital marketing. Attention is focused on the concept of marketing 4.0 with a focus on the differences in the application of marketing tools in the previous concept, which made it possible to distinguish the focus of marketing orientation at the present time. The main characteristic of Marketing 4.0 is the combination of traditional media (such as physical points of sale, television advertising, radio, etc.) and digital (e-commerce, online advertising, social media, etc.). This forces to reconsider how the customer interacts with the brand, what are the touch points, what is the path to purchase. Some concepts used by marketers, such as segmentation, targeting, positioning, customer journey, have been further developed. Alan Perez in his own research clearly distinguishes the differences in marketing concepts, therefore, in this study, the modern focus of marketing orientation was distinguished. A critically important customer segment is generation Z, which is characterized by individual self-expression, dialogic and realistic perception, refers to many sources of information and integrates virtual and offline experiences. Young people played that social role by creating and interpreting trends. They deeply believe in the effectiveness of dialogue to resolve conflicts and improve the world, make decisions and treat institutions very analytically and pragmatically. The behavior of Generation Z can be characterized by uncertain identity, dialogicity and realism, and consumption by uniqueness, limitlessness and ethics. The main marketing tools are analyzed and attention is focused on digital ones. The integrated approach of using traditional and digital marketing tools with the adaptation of traditional to the needs of the 4.0 concept using a personalized approach is analyzed. The relationship between modern marketing and artificial intelligence tools is indicated. The relationship of modern marketing with AI tools is reflected in such tasks as data creation and analysis, personalization, chatbots, automation of various aspects of marketing.

Особливості запровадження процедури спільного транзиту в Україні

The article is devoted to the topical issues of legal regulation of the customs transit regime in Ukraine in the context of adaptation of customs legislation to the norms and standards of the European Union. Establishment of customs regimes is one of the central components of the customs system. Their introduction is intended to serve the development of foreign trade, economic cooperation and contribute to the state budget. Customs regimes play a stimulating, regulatory and protective role in the process of economic growth. The authors examine the customs transit regime and its variant, the common transit regime, and analyse its legal nature and peculiarities of legal regulation. Transit is an important customs regime which performs a stimulating function and contributes to the development of Ukraine's foreign economic relations, and its functioning requires proper legal support. The article reveals the concept and essence of the novelty of customs legislation "unified clearance system", which is a legal regulation of the procedure and conditions for moving goods through the customs territory of Ukraine under the unified clearance system. The rights and obligations of the subjects of the common transit regime, legal support of customs procedures and electronic data exchange in the course of application of the common transit regime are considered. The author analyses the legal support of customs procedures and electronic data exchange during the application of the common transit procedure through the electronic transit system. The analysis of national and international legal acts proves that the system has its own specifics, its own content and is an integral element of the common transit regime. It is emphasised that a number of issues related to the coexistence of two customs regimes (transit and common transit) require further regulation in the relevant legislation. In addition, the legislator will face the task of further reforming the functioning of the customs system by introducing appropriate amendments and additions to the Customs Code of Ukraine and other legislative acts.

An Application of Quality Function Deployment to Explore a Product Design Concept—A Case Study of a Triple-Effect Green Energy Generator for the Taiwan Environment

Taiwan has been actively promoting renewable energy technologies and applications to achieve sustainable development goals, aiming to increase the share of renewable energy in the domestic electricity structure. Among them, solar energy and wind energy have been developed and matured, especially solar water heaters, which have been popularized in people’s homes. This study proposes a triple-effect green energy generator, which is an innovative concept of combining a solar water heater with a wind turbine and thermoelectric devices, which have been gradually emphasized in recent years. Therefore, quality function deployment (QFD) was used to investigate the customer requirements and engineering measures of the product, and the results show that the product has leakage protection, is waterproof and rustproof, and does not affect health; furthermore, the product is resistant to high temperature and heavy rain, has a stable base, is suitable for most residential conditions, has 24 h operation, and has a remarkable power generation effect. Electricity can be used for general household appliances, which are the most important customer needs, and small wind turbines, energy management systems, and exterior materials are the three most important engineering initiatives to be emphasized. Although this study only analyzes preliminary design concepts, the results can provide references for related or similar product development strategies and contribute to the progress of Taiwan’s sustainable development goals.

Expanding the UTAUT2 framework to determine the drivers of mobile shopping behaviour among older adults

In the current severe aging of the population, the problem of "digital divide" of the elderly has become increasingly prominent, and the elderly market represents a vast demographic that is increasingly becoming an important customer segment for mobile shopping in the future. However, there is currently insufficient attention given to the research on mobile shopping behavior among older adults. This study tries to answer what are the driving factors of mobile phone shopping behavior among the elderly? The purpose of this study is to analyze the factors that drive the elderly’s mobile phone shopping behavior, and to establish a mobile phone shopping acceptance model for the elderly to predict the factors of the elderly’s behavioral intention of using smart phones. Based on the second edition of Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology theory (UTAUT 2), this study proposed a mobile phone shopping acceptance model for the elderly. The study collected valid data from 389 Chinese elderly people through questionnaires and analyzed them using structural equation models. The results showed that utilitarian, anxiety, trust, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions and habit directly impact the older adults’ intention to engage in mobile shopping. Additionally, facilitating conditions, habit and the older adults’ intention to engage in mobile shopping act as driving factors for actual use behavior. This study further expands the UTAUT theoretical model, provides a theoretical basis for the research of mobile shopping behavior of the elderly, and enricues the application groups and fields of the UTAUT theoretical model. The results of this study provide inspiration for the development, design and marketing of age-appropriate mobile shopping products, and contribute to the realization and further adoption of age-appropriate mobile shopping, and also contribute to promoting the active aging of the elderly.

Peran Pemasaran Digital, Fasilitas, Kepuasan terhadap Minat Berkunjung Ulang Pada Desa Wisata


 This study aims to find out how important digital marketing, facilities, and customer satisfaction are to the desire to return to Bukit Kehi Tourism Village. A descriptive quantitative research approach was used in this study. The population and sample are visiting tourists, with a sample of 100 respondents and an Accidental Sampling technique. Questionnaires, interviews, and field observations were used to collect data regarding application, appreciation, and perception. Data engineering using SmartPLS program version 4.0 and Partial Least Squares (PLS) analysis. Research findings reveal that digital marketing has a significant influence on revisit interest and tourist satisfaction, that facilities do not significantly affect revisit interest directly, that tourist satisfaction has a significant influence on revisit interest, that intervening variables of tourist satisfaction have an indirect influence in driving digital marketing on revisit interest, and that facilities do not indirectly affect tourists' satisfaction with revisiting interest is influenced by intervening circumstances.
 Keywords: Digital Marketing, Tourism Facilities, Tourist Satisfaction, Revisit Intention

An interval valued Pythagorean fuzzy AHP integrated quality function deployment methodology for hazelnut production in Turkey

This study aims to investigate the effect of customer expectations and cultivation processes on the hazelnut industry in Turkey. Hazelnut is an essential fruit for meeting the energy needs of the body, and it grows in temperate climates, with Turkey being the largest producer in the world. However, changing climatic conditions, activities carried out unconsciously in the field of production, and the use of agricultural products and their content affect the quality of hazelnuts. To survive in this competitive environment, hazelnut producers in Turkey need to improve the cultivation process and meet customer expectations. In this context, the Pythagorean Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (PF-AHP) integrated Quality Function Deployment methodology is employed to analyze the cultivation process of hazelnuts grown in Turkey. Firstly, customer expectations are defined through literature review, experts' opinions, and customers' opinions on the Quality Function Deployment application. The expectations are then prioritized using PF-AHP. In order to meet the customer expectations, strategies to achieve required technical characteristics are designed based on interviews with producers. A relationship matrix is established to examine the impact of customer expectations on the product and production process, taking into account the technical characteristics. This process is examined using Quality Function Deployment. The results show that “Price stability due to state policies” is the most important customer expectation, and “Low costs” is a vital strategy to improve the quality of hazelnut production. Sensitivity analysis and comparative analysis are performed to evaluate the proposed method and test its accuracy. This study presents a practical and effective approach for farmers and companies to improve the quality of hazelnut production, and can be used as a reference for other agricultural products. The results of the study can provide directions to be developed in the cultivation process for hazelnuts grown in Turkey.

LEVEL OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION WITH THE MARKETING MIX (9P) IN KOPI NAKO SLIPI

Marketing strategy is a way to gain competitive advantage for companies that produce goods or services. The importance of analyzing the value of the level of customer satisfaction with the company's marketing mix to determine the characteristics of consumers, the level of importance and performance of the company's marketing mix and the level of customer satisfaction. With this research, it is hoped that the company can improve and develop its marketing strategy and provide recommendations to improve the performance of the marketing mix (9P). This research uses a descriptive quantitative approach and was conducted in December 2021-February 2022. The research method used is Importance Performance Index and Customer Satisfaction Index. The research respondents were 90 people using purposive sampling method and processed using SPSS 26 and Microsoft Excel. Based on the results of the Importance Performance Analysis, the overall results have an average value of the indicator suitability level at the Nako Slipi Coffee Shop of 91.37 %. This value is included in the good category. However, the indicator performance level has not reached 100% so that the store needs to improve the performance indicators of the marketing mix attributes which are still unsatisfactory, especially on the promotional media indicator (X4.2). Based on the results of the analysis using the Customer Satisfaction Index, the general level of customer satisfaction is 87.20 % and is included in the very satisfied category. This explains that most consumers are very satisfied with the performance of the marketing mix attributes (9P) carried out by the Nako Slipi Coffee Shop in general.