Driven by more demanding customers, global competition, and slow-growth economies and industries, many organizations search for new ways to achieve and retain a competitive advantage. Past attempts have largely looked internally within the organization for improvement, such as reflected by quality management, reengineering, downsizing, and restructuring. The next major source for competitive advantage likely will come from more outward orientation toward customers, as indicated by the many calls for organizations to compete on superior customer value delivery. Although the reasons for these calls are sound, what are the implications for managing organizations in the next decade and beyond? This article addresses this question. It presents frameworks for thinking about customer value, customer value learning, and the related skills that managers will need to create and implement superior customer value strategies.

Customer value: The next source for competitive advantage

Although researchers and managers pay increasing attention to customer value, satisfaction, loyalty, and switching costs, not much is known about their interrelationships. Prior research has examined the relationships within subsets of these constructs, mainly in the business-to-consumer (B2C) environment. The authors extend prior research by developing a conceptual framework linking all of these constructs in a business-to-business (B2B) service setting. On the basis of the cognition-affect-behavior model, the authors hypothesize that customer satisfaction mediates the relationship between customer value and customer loyalty, and that customer satisfaction and loyalty have significant reciprocal effects on each other. Furthermore, the potential interaction effect of satisfaction and switching costs, and the quadratic effect of satisfaction, on loyalty are explored. The authors test the hypotheses on data obtained from a courier service provider in a B2B context. The results support most of the hypotheses and, in particular, confirm the mediating role of customer satisfaction.

Customer Value, Satisfaction, Loyalty, and Switching Costs: An Illustration From a Business-to-Business Service Context:

This article reviews research on cross-cultural organizational behavior (OB). After a brief review of the history of cross-cultural OB, we review research on work motivation, or the factors that energize, direct, and sustain effort across cultures. We next consider the relationship between the individual and the organization, and review research on culture and organizational commitment, psychological contracts, justice, citizenship behavior, and person-environment fit. Thereafter, we consider how individuals manage their interdependence in organizations, and review research on culture and negotiation and disputing, teams, and leadership, followed by research on managing across borders and expatriation. The review shows that developmentally, cross-cultural research in OB is coming of age. Yet we also highlight critical challenges for future research, including moving beyond values to explain cultural differences, attending to levels of analysis issues, incorporating social and organizational contex...

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Cross-Cultural Organizational Behavior

How does corporate social responsibility contribute to firm financial performance? The mediating role of competitive advantage, reputation, and customer satisfaction

Environmental concerns have begun to reshape the landscape in which global organizations compete. The demands and influences of the environmental movement are evident in the dollar value size of th...

/pdf/enviropreneurial-marketing-strategy-the-emergence-of-48rplxmrfb.pdf

Enviropreneurial Marketing Strategy: The Emergence of Corporate Environmentalism as Market Strategy:

Purpose



– This study aims to examine the relationships between customer satisfaction and a variety of company performance metrics at the firm‐level of analysis.




Design /methodology/approach



– The primary research method used in the study was a longitudinal analysis of series of quarterly surveys of customer attitudes, in relation to various company performance metrics of one large Fortune 100 company. The data were collected over a five‐year period and were analyzed with several statistical tests of association.




Findings



– It was found that there are significant, and moderate‐to‐strong associations between satisfaction levels and a firm's financial and market performance. More specifically, there are strong links between customer satisfaction, and retention, revenue, earnings per share, stock price, and Tobin's q.




Research implications/limitations



– The main implication of this study is that the longitudinal findings demonstrate a strong consistent link between customer attitudes and financial performance at the firm level. The study is clearly limited to one firm, from one industry sector, but offers future researchers a wealth of replication opportunities.




Originality/value



– Numerous experts have noted that marketing needs to document the financial impact of marketing activities. Unlike most studies in this area, this study investigated these associations at the firm level, rather than at the aggregate or industry level where some relationships are potentially masked. The study also investigated the links between satisfaction and financial performance in the business‐to‐business services sector, rather than in business‐to‐customer services. Finally, the firm provided access to large samples of real customer attitude data over a five‐year period, rather than from a cross‐sectional study.

Customer satisfaction and business performance: a firm‐level analysis

Concepts drawn from models of the employee turnover process have been neglected as explanatory variables in the study of expatriate turnover. The study presented here attempted to provide a partial validation of turnover models in the international environment. The results indicated that several categories of predictor variables hypothesized as important in domestic situations are also strongly related to expatriate job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Additionally, a variety of unique international variables are also related to the expatriate's attitudes. Both job satisfaction and organizational commitment were also strongly related to the expatriate's intention to quit.

Antecedents and Consequences of Satisfaction and Commitment among Expatriate Managers

Many factors may contribute to the high rate of expatriate turnover experienced by U.S. multinational corporations. The objective of this article is to present a comprehensive model of the expatriate turnover process by identifying the key contributing factors and suggesting intermediate linkages and relationships. The model appears to have both managerial and theoretical implications.

A Conceptual Model of Expatriate Turnover

The study presented here attempted to identify the factors under the control of the organization that may predict expatriate job satisfaction. The results indicate that both job/task and organization characteristics are significantly related to both intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction. The results appear to have both managerial and research implications.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1057%2Fpalgrave.jibs.8490225.pdf

Organizational Predictors of Expatriate Job Satisfaction

Chapter 1: Complacency: Success Sows The Insidious Seeds of Failure Complacency Is the Enemy Complacency in Business Schools Complacency in Business Complacency at Xerox Complacency is More of a Problem Than Ever Consumers and Customers Technology Globalization Summary Application Ideas Chapter 2: The Customer Value Triad: Product Quality Alone is not enough The Customer Value Triad Product Quality and Service Quality are Inseparable to the Customer The Five Basic Customer Value Lessons Lesson One, Lesson Two, Lesson Three, Lesson Four, Lesson Five Brands and Value Economic Darwinism Survival of the Fittest Summary Application Ideas Chapter 3: The Quality Imperative: Creating Value Through Product Quality The Average Firm Strategic Reasons to Pursue Total Quality Six Sigma Quality Quality Pays Customer-driven Quality The Evolution to Total Quality Quality Leaders GAO Report Employee Relations Operating Performance Customer Satisfaction Financial Performance Other Evidence PIMS Study Two-Factor Model of Product Quality Summary The Motorola Story The Globe Metallurgical Story The Zytec Corporation Story The Graniterock Company Story Application Ideas Chapter 4: The Service Imperative: Creating Value Through Service quality Types of Services Presale Services Transaction Services Postsale Services Services as a Competitive Advantage Two-Factor Model of Service Quality Unique Characteristics of Services Intangibility Heterogeneity Perishability Inseparability of Production and Consumption Customer's Evaluative Criteria for Services Service Quality Model Gap1, Gap 2, Gap 3, Gap 4, Gap 5 Using the Serv-Qual Model Summary Application Ideas Chapter 5: Value-based Pricing Defining Customer Value Expected Benefits Search Attributes Experience-based Attributes Credence-based Attributes Expected Sacrifice Transaction Costs Life Cycle Costs Risk Value Profiles Reference Points Zone of Indifference Zone of Acceptability A Value-Based Pricing Model Contextual Factors Search, Experience, and Credence Attributes Product and Service Quality, Expected Benefits Reference, Actual, and Reasonable Prices Perceived Expected Sacrifice Expected Customer Value Willingness to Buy Channel Issues Competitive Response Summary Application Ideas Reference Chapter 6 The high cost of low value: Direct Costs Customer Service Department Returns Warranties and Guarantees Acquisition Costs Indirect Costs Word-of-Mouth Referrals Lost Innovations Customer Retention Summary Application Ideas Chapter 7: A Customer Satisfaction Program: The scorecard that meaures delivered customer value Ten Basic Rules of Customer Satisfaction Rule 1: Involve Top Management Rule 2: Know the Customers Rule 3: Let the Customer Define What Attributes Are Important Rule 4: Know the Customers' Requirements, Expections, Wants Rule 5: Know the Relative Importance of Customer's Decision.

Earl Naumann

Papers

Customer satisfaction and business performance: a firm‐level analysis

Antecedents and Consequences of Satisfaction and Commitment among Expatriate Managers

A Conceptual Model of Expatriate Turnover

Organizational Predictors of Expatriate Job Satisfaction

Creating Customer Value: The Path to Sustainable Competitive Advantage