PurposeMany marketplace examples suggest that using gamification in the online retail shopping context boosts sales and positively affects customer loyalty. Nevertheless, more research is needed to understand the effects of digital games on consumer behavior and their underlying psychological mechanisms. Therefore, this article explores how combining games and monetary rewards impacts customer satisfaction, loyalty and word-of-mouth (WOM) intentions.Design/methodology/approachTo test our hypotheses, we designed two online laboratory experiments to stimulate an online shopping situation, as gamification in online retailing has the potential to affect an important set of outcomes for service firms throughout the consumer decision process (Hofacker et al., 2016).FindingsThe results of two lab experiments demonstrate that playing a shopping-related game without monetary participation incentive positively influences all three relational outcomes because games enhance consumers' enjoyment of the overall shopping experience. However, our findings also show that monetary rewards used to incentivize game participation diminish these effects. Gamification loses its positive effects if games are combined with monetary rewards, as consumers no longer play games to derive inherent enjoyment, but rather the extrinsic motivation of receiving a discount. We draw managerial implications about how gamification effectively and profitably fosters strong customer relationships and thus increases customer lifetime value and equity.Research limitations/implicationsThis research is the first to investigate the combined effects of gamification and price discounts that require consumers to play the game in order to receive the discount. Focusing on an online shopping context, this article contributes to research on motivation by providing new and more nuanced insights into the psychological process underlying the gamification effects on consumer' long-term attitudes (i.e. satisfaction) and relational behaviors (i.e. positive WOM and loyalty) toward a retailer.Practical implicationsBased on our findings, we provide recommendations for marketers that explain how gamification can be a profitable and efficient tool to foster strong customer relationships. Retail managers should use gamification as a less costly alternative to typical price discounts.Originality/valueTwo laboratory experiments investigate how the separate and combined use of games and price discounts affects consumers' satisfaction, positive WOM intentions and loyalty. Playing a shopping-related game increases satisfaction with the retailer and positive WOM intentions as well as loyalty. Monetary rewards used to incentivize game participation eliminate the positive effects of gamification.
The extant retail research has placed much emphasis on understanding customer switching and the concept of switching costs (SCs). However, the empirical evidence is inconclusive with respect to the moderating role of SCs in general and relational switching costs (RSCs) in particular. Therefore, this research focuses on the moderating role played by SCs on the satisfaction-loyalty link. Specifically, our study attempts to clarify the nonlinear moderating effect of RSCs. Furthermore, we investigate RSCs in greater depth, considering their two dimensions, brand relationship loss costs (BRLCs), and personal relationship loss costs (PRLCs). We find that there is an optimal level of BRLC whereas increasing PRLCs decreases the impact of satisfaction on loyalty in a linear manner, calling for a more nuanced assessment of this type of SC in future studies. Our findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the effectiveness of SCs as a retention strategy.
Zusammenfassung Um sich vom Wettbewerb zu differenzieren, setzen Marketingmanager unterschiedliche Kundenbindungsinstrumente ein. Gerade im Rahmen von Loyalitätsprogrammen bieten sich für Handels-und Serviceunternehmen heute vielfältige Möglichkeiten zur individuellen Kundenansprache. Die damit einhergehenden Investitionen sind allerdings nicht immer von Erfolg gekrönt, wie der Literaturüberblick zeigt. Dies liegt vor allem daran, dass Marketingentscheider unterschiedliche Wirkungsweisen bestimmter Instrumente zu wenig berücksichtigen. Der Einsatz erfolgt oft willkürlich und die Instrumente sind zu wenig auf die jeweiligen Bedingungen und die entsprechenden Zielgruppen abgestimmt. Vor diesem Hintergrund gibt der Beitrag einen Überblick zum Thema "Kundenbindungsinstrumente". Er zeigt eine umfassende Klassifizierung auf und begründet die Wirkungsweise unterschiedlicher Kundenbindungsinstrumente aus motivationstheoretischer Sicht. Auf Basis empirischer Erkenntnisse beschreibt er die Wirkung von Kundenbindungsinstrumenten unter verschiedenen Bedingungen und leitet schliesslich Implikationen für das Management zum effektiven und effizienten Einsatz von Kundenbindungsinstrumenten ab. Abschliessend werden offene Forschungsfelder in diesem Bereich diskutiert. Schlüsselwörter Beziehungsmarketing · Kundenbindung · Kundenbindungsinstrumente · Loyalitätsprogramme · Intrinsische Motivation · Extrinsische Motivation JEL Klassifikationen M31 T. Rudolph ( ) · L. NagengastAbstract In order to differentiate from their competitors, marketing managers increasingly count on relationship marketing instruments. As customer loyalty programs have gained importance during the last decade, retailers face various new possibilities to reach their customers on a one-to-one level. However, empirical evidence in this field shows that the enormous investments do not always yield the desired effects. One reason is that marketing managers disregard that the effectiveness of different instruments might depend on particular conditions, target groups, and situations. The article gives an overview about the influence of relationship marketing instruments on customers' attitudes and behaviors. It provides a holistic classification of relationship marketing instruments and explains the effectiveness from a theoretical perspective. We summarize empirical studies dealing with the effectiveness of different instruments under certain conditions. Furthermore, we derive implications for retail managers about how to successfully use relationship marketing instruments. Finally, we discuss directions for future research. Einleitung Hohe Investitionen in KundenbindungsinstrumenteUm ein möglichst hohes Mass an Kundenzufriedenheit und -loyalität zu erreichen, greifen Manager in Handels-und Serviceunternehmen auf unterschiedliche Marketing-und Profilierungsinstrumente zurück (In den vergangenen ein bis zwei Jahrzehnten haben sich das generelle Marketingverständnis sowie die Art der eingesetzten Instrumente von einer transaktionsorientierten zu einer beziehungsorient...
Aufgrund der Verbreitung von Smartphones und des mobilen Internets haben zahlreiche Handelsunternehmen Shopping Apps implementiert. Mithilfe einer Befragung wird gezeigt, dass Konsumenten Shopping Apps vor allem in Kaufphasen, die zeitlich nah beim eigentlichen Kaufereignis liegen, nutzen. Shopping Apps stiften vor allem einen utilitaristischen Nutzen und vereinfachen den Einkaufsprozess für Konsumenten.
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