No abstract

This theoretical paper argues that the concept and construct of convenience is at the forefront of customer and user evaluation of service experiences and should play, therefore, a much more pivotal role in marketing theory than it does at present. With increasing evidence that convenience is important to customers, it is timely to revisit the concept with a view to developing a research agenda that delivers an improved understanding of the nature of convenience. Accordingly, the paper concludes by proposing a definition of convenience and offering questions for further research based on a critique of existing models of convenience, and on the positioning of convenience in relation to associated concepts such as customer value, co-production and experiential consumption.

Purpose -The purpose of this study is to develop and empirically test a model examining the relationship between customer perceptions (product attributes, benefits, customer satisfaction, trust, commitment and customer behavioral loyalty) and financial performance of a merchant bank. Design/methodology/approach -Based on the SEM tool of Linear Structure Relation (LISREL), this study develops and empirically tests a model examining the relationships between customer perspectives (product attributes, benefits, customer satisfaction, trust, commitment and customer behavioral loyalty) and the financial perspective (financial performance). A cross-department study in the financial services industry was conducted based on three consumer samples (department of Loans, Deposits, and Credit Cards) drawn from XYZ bank, one of the most famous banks providing merchant banking services in Taiwan. Findings -SEM results indicate that: customer perceptions positively affect financial performance; and customers purchase financial services with dissimilar benefits, all of which come with corresponding attributes, and hence result in different levels of customer satisfaction and behavioral sequence, which is important in reinforcing customers' trust, commitment, repurchase intentions and corporate financial performance. Practical implications -The findings suggest that financial service managers could consider treating consumers as partners in their provision of existing services or their quest to develop successful new services. Reciprocal behavior will foster a positive atmosphere, remove barriers arising from risk, and enable relationships to progress, ultimately improving financial performance. Originality/value -The research proposes an empirical model of the customer perceptions in the consumption of financial services that has a positive impact on the financial performance of the company. The findings are based on data from one company across three product departments.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: ENGAGING WITH COMMUNITY AbstractPurpose: This paper extends corporate social responsibility (CSR) theory by exploring how firms engage with community. The community is frequently cited as a stakeholder of the firm but in spite of its status in networks has not been the focus of research. Drawing on community theory and Carroll's pyramid for the foundation of our study, we undertake an empirical investigation to advance knowledge in CSR engagement with a particular stakeholder group.Design/methodology/approach: To generate in-depth insight, the study adopts a multiple case study approach involving the purposeful selection of three retail banks in Ghana as units of analysis. It draws on multiple data sources to strengthen its findings. Findings:The study finds that community engagement consists of four spheres of activity:donations, employee voluntarism, projects and partnerships. Philanthropy forms part of largely ad hoc CSR actions by firms. The study also finds that philanthropy is not merely a desired function of the CSR pyramid but an essential one. Social implications:This research imparts increased understanding of how firms engage with an important but frequently overlooked stakeholder group -community. Originality/value: This study presents specific theoretical extensions to CSR through its identification of four core activities of community engagement.Keywords: stakeholder network, corporate social responsibility, community, philanthropy, retail banking.Paper type: Research paper. IntroductionStakeholder theory states that a firm can enhance its corporate strategy by recognizing and addressing the complexity of understanding the roles and interactions of firms and stakeholders (Freeman, 1997). Debates on stakeholder theory also draw on the role of social responsibility (for example Greenwood and Van Buren, 2010), in particular where stakeholder network expectations inform a normative framework of social responsibility (Maignan, Ferrell and Ferrell 2005). For this reason, several researchers assess that engagement with stakeholders and different kinds of communities will impact on the firm (Luoma-aho and Paloviita, 2010). The purpose of this paper is to investigate how CSR strategies inform engagement with community. We find that firm CSR strategies consist of five specific spheres of activities as follows: donations, employee voluntarism, projects, partnerships and employee welfare. These activities as yet do not form part of a formalised CSR strategy but are rather more ad hoc, they currently focus on the activity rather than the outcome. Opportunities for optimising the CSR value may not be optimised.The structure of the paper is as follows: a literature review of corporate social responsibility and community, followed by the research design, findings and a discussion and conclusion section. Corporate social responsibilityBy identifying and considering a range of stakeholders firms can gain competitive advantage by engaging with customers and other partners and encoura...

The evolution of the internet, including developments such as Web 2.0, has led to new relationship realities between organizations and their stakeholders. One manifestation of these complex new realities has been the emergence of an internet-based democratization of brand management. Research about this phenomenon has so far mainly focused on investigating just one or more individual themes and thereby disregarded the inherent multilayered nature of the internet-based democratization of brand management as a holistic, socio-technological phenomenon. The aim of this paper is to address this limitation through an investigation of the various socio-technological democratization developments of the phenomenon. To achieve this aim, a balanced and stakeholder-oriented perspective on brand management has been adopted to conduct an integrative literature review. The review reveals three key developments, which together form the essential parts of the phenomenon: (I) the democratization of internet technology, (II) the democratization of information, and (III) the democratization of social capital. The insights gained help to clarify the basic structures of the multi-layered phenomenon. The findings contribute also to the substantiation of a call for a new brand management paradigm: one that takes not only company-initiated but also stakeholder-initiated brand management activities into account.