Showing papers in "Journal of Marketing in 2014"
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine frontline employees responses to corporate social responsibility (CSR) using a multisourced data set at a Global 500 financial services company and find that frontline employees identify with the organization and with customers as a function of how much the employees perceive management and customers to support the company's CSR activities.
Abstract: This study examines frontline employee responses to corporate social responsibility (CSR) using a multisourced data set at a Global 500 financial services company. The authors find that frontline employees identify with the organization (i.e., organizational identification) and with customers (i.e., employee–customer identification) as a function of how much the employees perceive management and customers (respectively) to support the company's CSR activities. However, these respective effects are stronger among employees for whom CSR is already tied to their sense of self (i.e., CSR importance to the employee). In addition, both organizational identification and employee–customer identification are related to supervisor-rated job performance; however, only the effect of employee–customer identification is mediated by customer orientation, suggesting that these two targets of identification manifest through distinct mechanisms. The research empirically addresses the open questions of whether and when CSR ...
364 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a three-stage least squares model based on new product introductions from 75 brands across a four-year time period (2009-2012) was used to investigate how the introduction of green new products changes attitude toward the brand.
Abstract: In response to a top ten global consumer trend, firms are increasingly introducing environmentally sustainable (“green”) new products. Firms allocate significant resources to this area; thus, the authors consider the brand-level implications by investigating how the introduction of green new products changes attitude toward the brand. In examining this relationship, they draw from social identity and framing theories to investigate drivers of green new product introductions as well as the moderating effects of message framing, source credibility, and product type. Estimating a three-stage least squares model based on new product introductions from 75 brands across a four-year time period (2009-2012), the authors find that green new product introductions can indeed improve brand attitude and that both the brand and category's positioning influence the introduction of green new products. They also find that the quantity of green messages, the product type, and their source credibility influence the extent t...
313 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a meta-analytic review reveals that, for a doubling of portion size, consumption increases by 35% on average, but the effect has limits: as portions become increasingly larger, the effect diminishes.
Abstract: Food marketing is facing increasing challenges in using portion size (e.g., “supersizing”) as a marketing tool. Marketers have used portion size to attract customers and encourage purchase, but social agencies are expressing concern that larger portion sizes encourage greater consumption, which can cause excessive consumption and obesity. This article addresses two questions that are central to this debate: (1) How much effect does portion size have on consumption? and (2) Are there limits to this effect? A meta-analytic review reveals that, for a doubling of portion size, consumption increases by 35% on average. However, the effect has limits. An extended analysis shows that the effect of portion size is curvilinear: as portions become increasingly larger, the effect diminishes. In addition, although the portion-size effect is widespread and robust across a range of individual and environmental factors, the analysis shows that it is weaker among children, women, and overweight individuals, as well as for...
288 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors organize and synthesize findings from the literature using a framework structured around four key interactions in computer-mediated environments: consumer-firm interactions, firm-consumer interactions, consumer consumer interactions, and firm consumer interactions.
Abstract: Although an extensive body of research has emerged on marketing in computer-mediated environments, the literature remains fragmented. As a result, insights and findings have accumulated without an overarching framework to provide structure and guidance to the rapidly increasing research stream, which is detrimental to long-term knowledge development in this area. To address this issue, the authors organize and synthesize findings from the literature using a framework structured around four key interactions in computer-mediated environments: consumer–firm interactions, firm–consumer interactions, consumer–consumer interactions, and firm–firm interactions. The proposed framework serves a valuable organizational function and helps identify a broad spectrum of gaps in the literature to advance the next generation of knowledge development.
248 citations
TL;DR: The authors analyzes the Facebook viral marketing campaigns of 751 products and reveals that the same sharing mechanism that made FarmVille so successful is the worst possible mechanism for promoting primarily utilitarian products.
Abstract: The success of products such as FarmVille has prompted many firms to engage in viral marketing on Facebook and other social media websites. Yet is the viral marketing approach adopted for games suitable for other, more utilitarian products? This study aims to answer questions that link product characteristics and contexts to viral marketing success: Should primarily utilitarian products rely on the same sharing mechanisms for their viral marketing campaigns as less utilitarian products? If not, why is this the case, and how should viral marketing for primarily utilitarian products differ? This empirical study analyzes the Facebook viral marketing campaigns of 751 products and reveals that the same sharing mechanism that made FarmVille so successful is the worst possible mechanism for promoting primarily utilitarian products. These findings are in line with theory from social psychology: because consumers do not visit Facebook to learn about utilitarian products, they rely on simple cues and heuristics to ...
238 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors adopt Hofstede's dimensions of culture to conduct a comprehensive, multivariate, metaregression analysis of 47,864 relationships across 170 studies, 36 countries, and six continents.
Abstract: International relationships are increasingly critical to business performance. Yet despite a recent surge in international research on relationship marketing (RM), it is unclear whether or how RM should be adapted across cultures. The authors adopt Hofstede's dimensions of culture to conduct a comprehensive, multivariate, metaregression analysis of 47,864 relationships across 170 studies, 36 countries, and six continents. To guide theory, they propose four tenets that parsimoniously capture the essence of culture's effects on RM. Study 1 affirms these tenets and emphasizes the importance of taking a fine-grained perspective to understand the role of culture in RM because of the high degree of heterogeneity across different cultural dimensions and RM linkages. For example, the magnitude of individualism's effect is 71% greater on RM than other cultural dimensions, whereas masculinity has almost no effect; however, accounting only for individualism ignores significant moderating effects of power distance an...
234 citations
Abstract: The Internet is dominated by free web services that depend on advertising revenues and powerful marketing tools to support their business models. Targeted online advertising enables websites to increase their advertising revenues by selectively displaying advertisements according to users' browsing behavior, sociodemographics, and interests. Yet targeting also creates negative consumer reactions, and websites confront increasing regulatory pressures to inform consumers about their practices. It is critical for such advertising-supported websites to address those challenges proactively. In one scenario experiment and two field studies, the authors show that a normative reciprocity argument is generally more effective than the current industry practice of using a utilitarian argument related to advertising relevance to increase acceptance of targeted online advertising. However, in some cases, this dominance switches depending on specific website characteristics such as website utility and level of user-gen...
232 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors specify the performance implications of neutral user-generated content (UGC) on product sales by differentiating mixed-neutral UGC, which contains an equal amount of positive and negative claims, from indifferent neutral UGC which includes neither positive nor negative claims.
Abstract: This article aims to specify the performance implications of neutral user-generated content (UGC) on product sales by differentiating mixed-neutral UGC, which contains an equal amount of positive and negative claims, from indifferent-neutral UGC, which includes neither positive nor negative claims The authors propose that positive and negative UGC only provide opportunities for consumers to process product-related information, whereas both mixed- and indifferent-neutral UGC affect consumers' motivation and ability to process positive and negative UGC The results of three studies using multiple measures (text and numerical UGC), contexts (automobiles, movies, and tablets), and methods (empirical and behavioral experiment) indicate contrasting premium and discount effects such that mixed-neutral UGC amplifies the effects of positive and negative UGC, whereas indifferent-neutral UGC attenuates them Empirical evidence further indicates that ignoring mixed- or indifferent-neutral UGC leads to substantial un
221 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors draw on role and script theories to demonstrate that customer reactions to technology-infused service exchanges depend on the presence of employee rapport, and that when rapport is present during the exchange, the use of technology functions as an interpersonal barrier preventing the customer from responding in kind to employee rapport-building efforts, thereby decreasing service encounter evaluations.
Abstract: Interpersonal exchanges between customers and frontline service employees increasingly involve the use of technology, such as point-of-sale terminals, tablets, and kiosks. The present research draws on role and script theories to demonstrate that customer reactions to technology-infused service exchanges depend on the presence of employee rapport. When rapport is present during the exchange, the use of technology functions as an interpersonal barrier preventing the customer from responding in kind to employee rapport-building efforts, thereby decreasing service encounter evaluations. However, during service encounters in which employees are not engaging in rapport building, technology functions as an interpersonal barrier, enabling customers to retreat from the relatively unpleasant service interaction, thereby increasing service encounter evaluations. Two analyses using J.D. Power Guest Satisfaction Index data support the barrier and beneficial effects of technology use during service encounters with and...
215 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyzed the dynamic effects of social influence and direct marketing on the adoption of a new high-technology product and found that social influence played a role because the decision to adopt a high-involvement product requires extensive information gathering from various sources.
Abstract: Many firms capitalize on their customers' social networks to improve the success rate of their new products. In this article, the authors analyze the dynamic effects of social influence and direct marketing on the adoption of a new high-technology product. Social influence is likely to play a role because the decision to adopt a high-involvement product requires extensive information gathering from various sources. The authors use call detail records to construct ego networks for a large sample of customers of a Dutch mobile telecommunications operator. Using a fractional polynomial hazard approach to model adoption timing and multiple social influence variables, they provide a fine-grained analysis of social influence. They show that the effect of social influence from cumulative adoptions in a customer's network decreases from the product introduction onward, whereas the influence of recent adoptions remains constant. The effect of direct marketing is also positive and decreases from the product introdu...
193 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used large-scale randomized field experiments with more than 17,000 consumers and found that the impact of marketing on sales purchases may follow an inverted U-shaped relationship when price discounts are moderate rather than deep or absent.
Abstract: Can cause marketing (CM) be effective? If so, do price discounts moderate CM effectiveness? Despite the prevalence of linking product sales with donations to charity, field evidence of CM effectiveness is lacking. This is of particular concern for managers who wonder whether the findings of laboratory experiments extend to actual consumer purchases. Using large-scale randomized field experiments with more than 17,000 consumers, this research documents that CM can significantly increase consumer purchases. Notably, the answer to the second question is more complicated. Under the moderating role of price discounts, the impact of CM on sales purchases may follow an inverted U-shaped relationship—that is, strongest when price discounts are moderate rather than deep or absent. Follow-up lab experiments reveal that consumers' warm-glow good feelings from CM represent the underlying process. These findings provide novel insights into the boundary conditions and mechanisms of the sales impact of CM for researcher...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors evaluate customer prioritization strategies across two field studies and find that prioritization is best understood as a double-edged sword, which may induce customers to become overly demanding.
Abstract: Customer prioritization strategies, which focus a firm's efforts on its most important customers, are expected to improve account profitability. Anecdotal evidence suggests, however, that such strategies may also undermine account profitability by inducing customers to become overly demanding. Building on social exchange theory, this research evaluates these competing perspectives across two field studies and finds that prioritization is best understood as a double-edged sword. Specifically, the results reveal that prioritization efforts initiate both a gratitude-driven process, which enhances sales and profit, and an entitlement-driven process, which increases service costs and reduces profit. Importantly, the findings indicate that prioritization tactics differ in the extent to which they trigger these competing processes and thus in their ability to influence account profitability. Finally, the results also reveal that critical moderators (competitive intensity and prioritization transparency) determin...
TL;DR: The authors found that consumers prefer powerful brands more when the brand logo is featured high rather than low on the brand's packaging, whereas they prefer less powerful brands when the logo is positioned low rather than high on the packaging.
Abstract: Across three studies, this research examines how marketers can capitalize on their brand's standing in the marketplace through strategic logo placement on their packaging. Using a conceptual metaphor framework, the authors find that consumers prefer powerful brands more when the brand logo is featured high rather than low on the brand's packaging, whereas they prefer less powerful brands more when the brand logo is featured low rather than high on the brand's packaging. Furthermore, the authors confirm that the underlying mechanism for this shift in preference is a fluency effect derived from consumers intuitively linking the concept of power with height. Given this finding, the authors then demonstrate an important boundary condition by varying a person's state of power to be at odds with the metaphoric link. The results demonstrate when and how marketers can capitalize on consumers' latent associations through package design.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors propose a conceptual model based on mental accounting principles derived from prospect theory and develop a series of research propositions to explicate the links between distribution patterns of service failures/delights and service quality perceptions.
Abstract: Service delivery often involves a series of events or stages of exchange between a service provider and its customer. At each stage, performance can meet, exceed, or fall below the customer's expectations. This article contributes to the literature by examining how the patterns of distribution (frequency, timing, proximity, and sequence) of service failures and delights affect customers' perceptions of service quality. The authors propose a conceptual model based on mental accounting principles derived from prospect theory and develop a series of research propositions to explicate the links between distribution patterns of service failures/delights and service quality perceptions. The study integrates prospect theory with service encounter research and provides a comprehensive theory-driven platform for exploring the impact of various service failure and delight distribution patterns. In addition, it offers important managerial implications for service design and resource allocation regarding when, how of...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors introduce a theoretical model to study the antecedents and profit impact of salesperson perceptions of customer relationship quality using matched survey responses from salesperson-customer dyads and secondary performance data.
Abstract: Firms often utilize salesperson intelligence in marketing strategies to improve sales performance. However, this approach is problematic if the information is based on inaccurate perceptions. In light of this, the authors introduce a theoretical model to study the antecedents and profit impact of salesperson perceptions of customer relationship quality. Dyadic analyses using matched survey responses from salesperson–customer dyads and secondary performance data reveal several insightful findings. Results show that self-efficacious salespeople are upwardly biased, whereas customer-oriented salespeople are downwardly biased in their perceptions of customer relationship quality. However, managers can correct these inaccuracies using a behavior-based control system. Response surface analyses illustrate that the effects of salesperson accuracy and inaccuracy are distinct and curvilinear. During later relationship phases, salespeople profit more from salesperson accuracy in high- and low-quality relationships (...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined consumers' news consumption behavior on mobile news websites in response to the introduction of a mobile news app and found that the adoption of mobile apps by a major national media company leads to a significant increase in demand at the corresponding mobile news website.
Abstract: The media industry has undergone a fundamental shift over the past decade as new online distribution channels have proliferated in an unprecedented manner. Although mobile devices have experienced rapid adoption among consumers, their effect on consumer behavior and their subsequent implications for publishers and advertisers have yet to be understood. The authors examine consumers' news consumption behavior on mobile news websites in response to the introduction of a mobile news app. Pseudo-panel analysis based on repeated cross-sectional data suggests that the introduction of a mobile app by a major national media company leads to a significant increase in demand at the corresponding mobile news website. In addition, the authors report that this effect is greater for consumers with (1) greater appreciation for concentrated news content, (2) stronger propensity for a particular political viewpoint, and (3) fewer time constraints. The results are consistent with the interpretation that the adoption of a p...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on new middle class consumers to identify the new, shared socio-ideological sensibilities informed by the recent neoliberal reforms in emerging markets and examine how these sensibilities are actualized in consumption.
Abstract: Although the new middle classes in emerging markets are a matter of significant interest for marketing scholars and managers, there has been little systematic research on their values and preoccupations. This article focuses on new middle class consumers to identify the new, shared socio-ideological sensibilities informed by the recent neoliberal reforms in emerging markets and examines how these sensibilities are actualized in consumption. Through an ethnographic study of fashion consumption in Turkey, the authors explicate three salient new middle class sensibilities, which implicate the mastery of the ordinary in pursuit of connections with people, institutions, and contexts. These sensibilities crystallize into a particular mode of consumption—“formulaic creativity”—which addresses consumers' desire to align with the middle and helps them reconcile the disjuncture between the promises of neoliberalism and the realities of living in unstable societies. The article provides recommendations on product po...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate whether a firm's announcement of an increase in distribution intensity or the establishment of a new channel influences firm value and test their hypotheses with an event study of 240 announcements of major channel expansions.
Abstract: Although changes to the channel system are among a firm's most critical decisions, prior research has neglected to examine the impact of channel expansions on firm value. This article investigates whether a firm's announcement of an increase in distribution intensity or the establishment of a new channel influences firm value. The authors also consider the moderating role of context-specific firm, market, and channel strategy contingencies. They test their hypotheses with an event study of 240 announcements of major channel expansions in the United States, Germany, and China. The results indicate that channel expansions affect firm value (i.e., through abnormal stock returns). However, the two types of channel expansions affect firm value differently. Whereas the establishment of a new channel positively influences firm value, reactions to an increase in distribution intensity are highly contingent. For example, firms operating in exceedingly turbulent or competitive markets experience firm value reductio...
TL;DR: In this article, a comparative analysis of the effectiveness of customer satisfaction and customer-company identification in driving important customer outcomes over time is presented, showing that customer satisfaction has positive initial effects on customers' loyalty and company identification has positive early effects on customer loyalty.
Abstract: Previous research has identified customer satisfaction and customer–company identification as two of the most important concepts in relationship marketing. Yet despite their proclaimed importance, research on their long-term effectiveness is surprisingly scarce. Furthermore, comparative research acknowledging the concepts' different theoretical roots and illuminating the differences in their long-term effectiveness is lacking. In addition, little is known about how competitive actions affect the long-term effectiveness of both concepts. This study makes a first attempt to address these research gaps and offers a comparative analysis of the effectiveness of customer satisfaction and customer–company identification in driving important customer outcomes over time. Latent growth analyses of rich longitudinal data from customers over nine measurement points spanning 43 weeks (n = 6,930) show that customer satisfaction and customer–company identification have positive initial effects on customers' loyalty and ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors conceptualize and develop measures of customer and organizational complexity and examine the effects on salesperson outcomes, finding that personal resources (sales selfefficacy) help manage complexity in general but create greater role stress in the face of customer complexity.
Abstract: Salespeople face increasingly complex work environments, both externally with customers and internally with various departments in their own organizations. Because managing such customer and organizational complexity is crucial to performance, the authors conceptualize and develop measures of customer and organizational complexity and examine the effects on salesperson outcomes. In line with job demands-resources theory, salespeople leverage personal and supervisory resources to manage complexity. The test of the conceptual model uses matched salespeople–sales manager data gathered from a large business-to-business firm. The empirical findings reveal that personal resources (sales self-efficacy) help manage complexity in general but create greater role stress in the face of customer complexity. The effectiveness of supervisory resources (transactional leadership behavior) is contingent on the type of complexity and the personal resources available to a salesperson. These results indicate not only how sale...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors developed a framework predicting that deal popularity increases consumers' purchase likelihood and decreases redemption time, conditional on purchase, and the social influence-related factors of referral intensity and group consumption amplify these effects.
Abstract: Group-buying (GB) deals entail a two-phase decision process. First, consumers decide whether to buy a deal. Second, they decide when to redeem the deal, conditional on purchase. Guided by theories of social influence and observational learning, the authors develop a framework predicting that (1) deal popularity increases consumers' purchase likelihood and decreases redemption time, conditional on purchase, and (2) the social influence–related factors of referral intensity and group consumption amplify these effects. The authors test this framework and support it using a unique data set of 30,272 customers of a GB website with several million data points. Substantially, these findings reveal a two-phase perspective of GB, longevity effects of deal popularity, and the amplifying role of customer referrals (influencing others) in the effects of deal popularity (others' influence). In light of the criticism of GB industry practice, this study builds the case for GB websites and merchants to heed deal populari...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated how the social elements of a retail store visit affect shoppers' product interaction and purchase likelihood, using a bivariate model of the shopping process, implemented in a hierarchical Bayes framework, which models the customer and contextual factors driving product touch and purchase simultaneously.
Abstract: This research investigates how the social elements of a retail store visit affect shoppers' product interaction and purchase likelihood. The research uses a bivariate model of the shopping process, implemented in a hierarchical Bayes framework, which models the customer and contextual factors driving product touch and purchase simultaneously. A unique video tracking database captures each shopper's path and activities during the store visit. The findings reveal that interactive social influences (e.g., salesperson contact, shopper conversations) tend to slow the shopper down, encourage a longer store visit, and increase product interaction and purchase. When shoppers are part of a larger group, they are influenced more by discussions with companions and less by third parties. Stores with customers present encourage product interaction up to a point, beyond which the density of shoppers interferes with the shopping process. The effects of social influence vary by the salesperson's demographic similarity to...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors leverage a longitudinal design including group interviews (initial/follow-up) and participant diaries to track how families' consumption practices shift in response to separation, morphing across time and place to retain and strengthen family bonds.
Abstract: Increasingly, circumstances such as divorce, employment commuting, and military service have resulted in the geographic dispersion of family networks, and this reality holds both risks and opportunities for brands, products, and services embedded in family life. The authors leverage a longitudinal design including group interviews (initial/follow-up) and participant diaries to track how families' consumption practices shift in response to separation, morphing across time and place to retain and strengthen family bonds. Their findings generate a framework that explains how and when colocated consumption practices reassemble through technologies across distances. The framework considers practice dimensions, separation type, motivation, potential/realized capacities, and mobilized technologies to forecast potential practice trajectories under conditions of extended separation. Five potential trajectories emerge: no trial, heroic quests, failed trial, easy translations, and sacred pieces. The authors' discuss...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the role of four moderating factors in strengthening the private label brand share-store loyalty link: customers' price-oriented behavior, degree of commoditization of the product category, product category involvement, and retailer's price positioning.
Abstract: A key benefit of private labels for retailers is their potential to increase customers' store loyalty. However, previous research has not examined how this relationship varies across customers and situations. This study contributes to knowledge in this area by developing a conceptual framework that guides the investigation of the role of four moderating factors in strengthening the private label brand share–store loyalty link: (1) customers' price-oriented behavior, (2) degree of commoditization of the product category, (3) product category involvement, and (4) the retailer's price positioning. This article draws on a large-scale empirical study using a household panel and questionnaire data for 35 diverse fast-moving consumer goods product categories. The results of this study show that the relationship between private label share and store loyalty is more complex than previous research has suggested. Specifically, the private label brand share–store loyalty link is stronger for customers with high price...
TL;DR: In this article, the results of seven experimental studies (two conducted in field settings, three conducted in a laboratory, and two conducted online) demonstrate that the order in which consumers sample products and the level of (dis)similarity between the sensory cues of the products influence choices.
Abstract: Marketers are increasingly allowing consumers to sample sensory-rich experiential products before making purchase decisions. The results of seven experimental studies (two conducted in field settings, three conducted in a laboratory, and two conducted online) demonstrate that the order in which consumers sample products and the level of (dis)similarity between the sensory cues of the products influence choices. In the absence of any moderators, when sampling a sequence of sensory-rich experiential products (e.g., fragrances, chocolates, flavored beverages, music) with similar sensory cues (e.g., smell, taste, color, sound), consumers prefer the first product in the sequence. However, when sampling a sequence of products with dissimilar sensory cues, consumers prefer the last product. These findings (1) contribute to a better understanding of the role of sequential sensory cues on consumer choice formation, (2) have implications for effects related to sensory habituation and sensory trace fading, and (3) h...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors empirically examined the effect of customer loyalty in retail price negotiations, and established what they call the "loyalty-discount cycle" in price negotiations with salespeople, whereby loyal customers receive deeper discounts that, in turn, increase customer loyalty.
Abstract: This article is the first to empirically examine the effect of customer loyalty in retail price negotiations. Across three field studies and one negotiation experiment, the authors establish what they call the “loyalty–discount cycle”: in price negotiations with salespeople, loyal customers receive deeper discounts that, in turn, increase customer loyalty, resulting in a downward spiral of a company's price enforcement. The reason for the positive effect of customer loyalty on discount is twofold: (1) loyal customers demand a reward for their loyalty and invoke their elevated perceived negotiation power, and (2) to retain loyal customers, salespeople grant discounts more willingly. Furthermore, the mechanisms are moderated by the basis of a customer's loyalty (price vs. quality) and the length of the relationship between the salesperson and the customer. To escape the loyalty–discount cycle, salespeople can use functional and relational customer-oriented behaviors. The study helps managers and salespeople...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors developed a customer base model to investigate the effectiveness of recovery in preventing customer churn, and calibrate it on panel data that track actual purchases, complaints, and recoveries for 20,000 new customers of an Internet and catalog retailer over 2.5 years.
Abstract: Although customer complaints are a well-studied aspect of business, no study has measured the impact of actual complaints and recoveries on subsequent customer purchasing. The authors develop a customer base model to investigate the effectiveness of recovery in preventing customer churn. They calibrate it on panel data that track actual purchases, complaints, and recoveries for 20,000 new customers of an Internet and catalog retailer over 2.5 years. Complaints are associated with a substantial increase in the probability that the customer stops buying, but the size of the increase depends on prior customer experiences: prior purchases mitigate the effect, and their impact is long-lasting, whereas prior complaints exacerbate the effect, but their impact is short-lived. Thus, unless the customer leaves the company after a complaint, or a second failure occurs shortly after the first, the relationship quickly returns to normal. Recovery counters the effect of the complaint but, in almost all cases, does not ...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated how the information contained in social tags can act as a proxy measure for brand performance and can predict the financial valuation of a firm using data collected from a social tagging and bookmarking website.
Abstract: Social tagging is a new way to share and categorize online content that enables users to express their thoughts, perceptions, and feelings with respect to diverse concepts. In social tagging, content is connected through usergenerated keywords—“tags”—and is readily searchable through these tags. The rich associative information that social tagging provides marketers new opportunities to infer brand associative networks. This article investigates how the information contained in social tags can act as a proxy measure for brand performance and can predict the financial valuation of a firm. Using data collected from a social tagging and bookmarking website, Delicious, the authors examine social tagging data for 44 firms across 14 markets. After controlling for accounting metrics, media citations, and other user-generated content, they find that social tag–based brand management metrics capturing brand familiarity, favorability of associations, and competitive overlaps of brand associations can explain unanti...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors proposed that customer orientation of platform firms consists of total customer orientation (customer orientation toward both the buyer and seller sides) and customer orientation asymmetry, and examined the antecedents and consequences of these orientations.
Abstract: Internet-based business-to-business platforms involve a buyer side transacting with a seller side, both of which are customers of an intermediary platform firm. Dyadic viewpoints implicit in conventional theories of customer orientation thus must be modified to apply to a triadic relationship system (seller–platform–buyer) in platform settings. The authors propose that customer orientation of platform firms consists of total customer orientation (customer orientation toward both the buyer and seller sides) and customer orientation asymmetry (customer orientation in favor of the seller relative to the buyer side) and examine the antecedents and consequences of these orientations. Data from 109 business-to-business electronic platforms reveal that buyer- (seller-) side concentration increases total customer orientation and customer orientation asymmetry toward sellers (buyers). These positive effects are weaker when buyers and sellers interact directly (two-sided matching) versus indirectly (one-sided match...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors integrate relationship marketing and social network perspectives to develop and test a model that links objective sales performance with the informational and cooperative benefits that stem from relationship managers' social capital structure (brokerage and density) and relations (formal and informal networks).
Abstract: This article integrates relationship marketing and social network perspectives to develop and test a model that links objective sales performance with the informational and cooperative benefits that stem from relationship managers' (RMs') social capital structure (brokerage and density) and relations (formal and informal networks). The authors demonstrate the effect of cross-network and overlap-network synergies on performance. Data about both formal and informal networks of 464 employees, including 101 RMs, demonstrate that RMs' performance improves with cross-network synergy when informational benefits from wide-reaching, nonoverlapping ties in the informal network combine with the cooperative benefits of a densely interconnected formal network. In addition, the effects of formal and informal social capital structure on performance increase significantly when RMs have a high degree of network overlap between their formal and informal networks.