Current Search: word of mouth (x)
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- Title
- A CONSUMER-BASED ASSESSMENT OF ALLIANCE PERFORMANCE: AN EXAMINATION OF CONSUMER VALUE, SATISFACTION AND POST-PURCHASE BEHAVIOR.
- Creator
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Mouri, Nacef, Ganesh, Jai, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Strategic alliances have become a recognized strategy used by firms in the pursuit of their diverse organizational objectives. Consequently, the literature on alliances is replete with research investigating the value strategic alliances generate for participating organizations. Strategic alliances have been shown to contribute to firm value through numerous sources, including scale economies, effective risk management, cost efficient market entries, and learning from partners. Largely...
Show moreStrategic alliances have become a recognized strategy used by firms in the pursuit of their diverse organizational objectives. Consequently, the literature on alliances is replete with research investigating the value strategic alliances generate for participating organizations. Strategic alliances have been shown to contribute to firm value through numerous sources, including scale economies, effective risk management, cost efficient market entries, and learning from partners. Largely overlooked in the literature however, are issues investigating the relationship between strategic alliances and one of the organization's most important constituents, the consumer. Questions such as how the consumer reacts to inter-firm alliances, how strategic alliances impact consumer value, satisfaction, and customer post-purchase behavior have yet to be answered. This lacuna has been recently highlighted by prominent researchers in the discipline (Rindfleisch and Moorman 2003). Focusing on marketing alliances, the present dissertation attempts to address this gap in the alliance literature by advancing and testing a theoretical framework examining consumers' cognitive, affective, and behavioral reactions to organizational strategic alliances. The dissertation also contributes to the satisfaction literature. Scholars in this area have traditionally viewed satisfaction as a cognitive response to the comparison of actual consumption experiences with some comparison standard (confirmation/disconfirmation paradigm). Recently however, there have been increasing calls for satisfaction measures to capture not just how the customer thinks the product performed relative to the comparison standard, but also the resulting customer emotion. The study provides additional support of an affective route to customer satisfaction, particularly when customer hedonic value is enhanced. Moreover, the association between customer satisfaction and behavioral outcomes is also examined. While prior research shows that satisfaction is positively related to loyalty and word of mouth and negatively related to intentions to switch, it was found that these relationships are even stronger in the presence of alliances. The results of this dissertation provide important theoretical and managerial insights. The strategic alliance literature is enhanced insofar as this is the first effort aimed at investigating the impact of strategic alliances on the consumer. The study examines the relationship between marketing alliances and customer value, particularly utilitarian and hedonic value, as well as the moderating role of alliance type (functional or symbolic) in this relationship. From a managerial perspective, engaging in strategic alliances is strategically critical and costly. By providing insight into how alliances enhance consumer value, and how in turn value enhancement is related to customer satisfaction and behavioral outcomes, the present research will help managers make more appropriate and better-informed alliance decisions.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2005
- Identifier
- CFE0000744, ucf:46594
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000744
- Title
- EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE PGA's PROFESSIONAL GOLF MANAGEMENT (PGM) PROGRAM.
- Creator
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Smiley, David, Wang, Youcheng, Fjelstul, Jill, Hua, Nan, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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This study explored the relationships between knowledge, skills, ability, self-efficacy, and experiential learning and performance expectations and satisfaction. The purpose of this study was threefold. First, the study attempted to understand the motivators for student motivation to recommend the program. Second, the study looked at the contribution of both intrinsic and extrinsic motivators for retention and positive word-of-mouth. Further, the research evaluated the relationship of the...
Show moreThis study explored the relationships between knowledge, skills, ability, self-efficacy, and experiential learning and performance expectations and satisfaction. The purpose of this study was threefold. First, the study attempted to understand the motivators for student motivation to recommend the program. Second, the study looked at the contribution of both intrinsic and extrinsic motivators for retention and positive word-of-mouth. Further, the research evaluated the relationship of the curriculum in influencing the student's performance and satisfaction. The study sample consisted of 676 undergraduate students attending one of six PGA Professional Golf management programs in the spring of 2011. The survey instrument was developed specifically for this study after an extensive literature review of higher education analysis, performance, satisfaction and word-of-mouth. The instrument was constructed in eight content areas: knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA); self-efficacy; experiential learning; performance; satisfaction, and word-of-mouth. The findings indicated that experiential learning and to a lesser degree ability made the strongest contribution to the student's performance and satisfaction. Focus of degree was a predictor of performance while not a predictor of satisfaction. Satisfaction and to a lesser degree performance were strong contributors to the student's word-of-mouth. Finally, self-efficacy was found to have little relationship to satisfaction or performance contrary to findings in previous research.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- Identifier
- CFE0004443, ucf:49338
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004443
- Title
- Customer evaluation of managers' responses to online complaints.
- Creator
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Olson, Eric, Ro, Heejung, Croes, Robertico, Clark, M. H., Severt, Denver, Oliphant, Rebecca, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Managers have begun to respond to customers' online reviews of services on online review websites. However, it is not known how viewers evaluate company-initiated service recovery in the form of manager responses to online reviews. This research has three objectives: (1) to explore how managers are currently responding to electronic word of mouth; (2) to investigate whether a manager's response to electronic negative word of mouth (eNWOM) positively influences viewers' behavioral intentions; ...
Show moreManagers have begun to respond to customers' online reviews of services on online review websites. However, it is not known how viewers evaluate company-initiated service recovery in the form of manager responses to online reviews. This research has three objectives: (1) to explore how managers are currently responding to electronic word of mouth; (2) to investigate whether a manager's response to electronic negative word of mouth (eNWOM) positively influences viewers' behavioral intentions; (3) to examine which elements in a manager's responses increases viewers' evaluations of trust and behavioral intentions towards the company.Three studies were conducted, one for each objective. Study #1 examined 21,211 online reviews and manager responses from Tripadvisor.com from 184 hotels in five cities. Study #2 was a single-factor between-subject experimental design by manipulating a manager's response to eNWOM (response message vs. no response message) through scenarios. Study #3 was a 2 (procedural justice: high vs. low) x 2 (interactional justice: high vs. low) x 2 (social presence: high vs. low) between-subject experimental design that manipulated manager's responses through scenarios.Findings from Study #1 revealed that managers were more likely to respond to eNWOM compared to neutral word of mouth. A content analysis of 432 company responses to eNWOM determined that managers used nine online review management strategies: appreciation, apology, future patronage encouragement, explanation, follow up, flexibility, correction, compensation, and social presence. Results from Study #2 indicated that viewers were more likely to visit a restaurant when a manager responded to eNWOM compared to no response to eNWOM. Results from Study #3 revealed a three-way interaction of procedural justice, interactional justice, and social presence on trust. There were also main effects of procedural justice and interactional justice on trust. Additionally, results provided partial support for the mediating role of trust in the relationship between the three-way interaction and behavioral intentions. This study contributes to the online service recovery literature and online trust formation literature by enhancing the understanding of how viewers evaluate manager responses to eNWOM and how social presence can be used with procedural justice and interactional justice to enhance trust in the online review management context. Service organizations should create a comprehensive online review system to respond to eNWOM and identify ways to enhance procedural justice, interactional justice, and social presence into their responses. Online review websites should encourage companies to provide managerial response to online complaints and allow for social presence and enhanced creative options in manager responses.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2014
- Identifier
- CFE0005390, ucf:50462
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005390
- Title
- PERCEIVED SERVICE QUALITY'S IMPACT ON BEHAVIORAL INTENTIONS IN THE TIMESHARE INDUSTRY.
- Creator
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Pollard, Leonard, Malone, Linda, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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This study created a model using factor analysis and structural equation modeling to investigate the relationship of service quality, word-of-mouth recommendation and price sensitivity of individuals who experienced a timeshare mini vacation at a branded timeshare resort. The constructs of service quality were developed by creating a survey tool. A total of 4,797 surveys were electronically sent resulting in a total of 1,275 of the individuals surveyed who met the criteria of staying at a...
Show moreThis study created a model using factor analysis and structural equation modeling to investigate the relationship of service quality, word-of-mouth recommendation and price sensitivity of individuals who experienced a timeshare mini vacation at a branded timeshare resort. The constructs of service quality were developed by creating a survey tool. A total of 4,797 surveys were electronically sent resulting in a total of 1,275 of the individuals surveyed who met the criteria of staying at a branded hotel or resort during their mini vacation. Six different variables were created from the ordinal level questions on the survey: Resort Accommodations, Sales Gallery, Sales Presentation, Resort Activities, Resort Staff and Brand Value. These were then used in an exploratory factor analysis to identify latent factors after which structural equation modeling was used to define the relationship between the factors and the independent variables. A total of 44 models were explored and evaluated based on goodness-of-fit metrics. The model that had the best level of fit was a first-order two-factor model. This model was created with an 80% subset and confirmed with a 20% subset of the sample. The factors found represent the Vacation Experience Promise (VEP) and the Vacation Experience Delivery (VED). There was a positive correlation for both VEP and VED with word-of-mouth recommendation and price sensitivity. The research also posited 24 hypotheses of the relationship between the service quality constructs, word-of-mouth recommendation and price sensitivity with the demographic characteristics of guest type, gender, stay type, age, marital status, gross income, timeshare ownership and the number of presentations attended. There was not enough information to support a relationship between the service quality constructs, word-of-mouth recommendation and price sensitivity with regards to gender, gross income and marital status. There was a difference in the scores for the service quality constructs and the varying categories within the age, stay type, and timeshare ownership demographic variables. There was a difference only in the VED scores and the varying categories within the guest type and presentations attended demographic variables. There was also a difference in the scores for the word-of-mouth recommendation construct and the varying categories within the age, guest type, timeshare ownership and number of presentations attended demographic variables. Lastly, there was also a difference in the scores for the price sensitivity construct and the varying categories within the guest type, timeshare ownership and presentation attended demographic variables. The research discusses the business implications associated with these findings and proposes next steps for future research.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2010
- Identifier
- CFE0003475, ucf:48942
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003475