Showing papers in "The Marketing Review in 2017"

Employer branding and its influence on employee retention: A literature review

Abstract: The subject of employer branding and its impact on employee perceptions is attracting great interest from researchers and practitioners. The main aim of this research is to explore the influence that employer branding has on employee retention. A detailed literature review of core and contemporary academic contributions on the subject areas was carried out and there were seven key themes identified within employer branding literature, which were: brand values, induction and training, internal brand communication, organisational culture, rewards and benefits, brand commitment, and employer brand management. Overall analysis of the literature review indicates that employer branding is integrated into the organisation and the various employer brand attributes, and along with the organisation's culture, holds value for employees and contributes to them staying employed within the company. These findings, along with previous research, allow the conclusion that employer branding does have a clear influence on employee retention. Scope for future research could include undertaking quantitative research testing the devised conceptual framework, in addition to looking in more depth at the seven key themes identified within retail employer branding to find out which brand attributes are valued the most by employees. Moreover, other service organisation set-ups could be researched in a similar way to see if results are similar between services organisations, and the results can then be generalised across the service sector.

Affiliate marketing: An overview and analysis of emerging literature

Abstract: Affiliate marketing is a prominent, contemporary type of performance-based Internet marketing whereby a firm reimburses affiliates for each customer referred through the affiliate’s marketing effort. This paper aims to review all existing studies on affiliate marketing (i.e., web-based affiliate marketing) to understand the overall development in this area of research. The search results on affiliate marketing and related terminologies found a total of seventeen studies on this topic. The review clearly indicates the lack of research effort in this area. In addition to explore the key findings of eighteen studies on affiliate marketing, this research reviewed these studies to analyse their keywords, benefits, methodologies, limitations and future research directions, critical success factors, and recommendations. The findings clearly indicate that there has not been any literature review undertaken on this topic. The study also provides its research contribution and limitations and future research directions based on this review.

Risk, privacy and security concerns in digital retail

Abstract: This paper provides a review of various aspects of the digital retail environment to inform understanding of the antecedents and consequences of the main barriers towards consumer acceptance behaviour and to identify limitations in literature requiring empirical exploration. Through analysis of relevant secondary research, this paper draws on significance research findings and limitations and offers three important contributions for both academics and practitioners. First, it adds to the understanding of the roles of perceived risk, privacy and security concerns throughout the digital environment and, second, specifically recognises limitations in risk related research within online shopping literature. Finally, it indicates the potential consequences of the barriers identified providing a framework for future consideration, which informs the development of mobile shopping platforms and facilitates the establishment of mechanisms to defuse the barriers affecting m-shopping acceptance.

Towards a branding oriented higher education sector: An overview of the four perspectives on university marketing studies

Abstract: The paper provides a background to the discussion of the evolution and influence of marketing and brand management within UK universities. Four perspectives are considered, namely, marketing management in universities, branding in universities, corporate branding in universities and internal branding. The discussion suggests that higher education institutions are encouraged on all sides to become more market oriented. Private universities, which may be more dependent upon tuition fees (since they receive less funding from the government), appear to be ahead of public universities in using the initiatives in internal brand communication. Employees need to understand the brand values, in order to align their attitudes and behaviour in support of the corporate brand. Although internal branding has become important for universities in increasingly competitive markets, it is still recognised as a new phenomenon and therefore more research is encouraged in this area.

Mobile Banking: A Tradeoff between Mobile Technology and Service for Consumers’ Behavioral Intention

Abstract: Purpose: This current study examines multifaceted issues of mobile banking, from security and operation to trust and consumers’ behavioral intention through synthesizing the associated seminal studies on the interrelated issues of the vast area of mobile banking. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 116 scholarly articles on different issues of mobile banking were selected to be reviewed and synthesized in this current research to reveal, postulate, and conceptualize the essential paradigms. Findings: Many seminal studies have attempted to conduct research on this emerging mobile communication-oriented service delivery channel. However, a comprehensive picture of mobile banking which captures consumers’ behavior from psychological, technological, and operational perspectives, with potential threats related to security from users, devices, applications, mobile operators, and service providers, is explicitly absent. Research limitations/implications: Weaknesses of the reviewed studies are revealed and future research guidelines are provided to contribute knowledge in the research gaps. Practical implications: This study outlined the findings to develop a grounded theory of mobile banking research through a systematic approach. Originality/value: Although this is an extensive effort to synthesize existing knowledge in mobile banking through a literature review, this study has successfully identified the major strengths and weaknesses of the current studies and developed and established a grounded theory of mobile banking for service design and customers’ satisfaction.