Interpreting the success of Zappos.com, Four Seasons, and Nordstrom: Customer centricity is but one‐third of the job

Kopelman, Richard E.; Chiou, Andy Y.; Lipani, Louis J.; Zhu, Zhu

doi:10.1002/joe.21439

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…A number of studies, including the aforementioned one by Locke [21] have shown that financial incentives are less important to workers than other types of incentives, such as recognition of effort or achievement. This is particularly true in collaborative work environments.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…More recently, companies known for their service have using incentives early on to separate employees motivated by personal financial gain from those who are not, under the premise that the former will not provide the same commitment to corporate culture and loyalty than the latter. Zappos.com, a company regarded for its top-notch customer service, has provided a pay-to-quit incentive of $4,000 to newly-hired employees, called "The Offer" [21,28]. This offer provides an opportunity for newbies to quit with no questions asked.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Effects of Pay-to-Quit Incentives on Crowdworker Task Quality

Harris

2015

Proceedings of the 18th ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work &Amp; Social Computing

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Companies such as Zappos.com and Amazon.com provide financial incentives for newer employees to quit. The premise is that workers who will accept this offer are misaligned with their company culture, which will therefore negatively affect quality over time. Could this pay-to-quit incentive scheme align workers in online labor markets? We conduct five empirical experiments evaluating different pay-to-quit incentives with crowdworkers and evaluate their effects on mean task accuracy, retention rate, and improvement in mean task accuracy. We find that the number of times a user is prompted for the inducement, the type and frequency of performance feedback given to participants, the type of incentive, as well as the amount offered can help retain high-performing workers but encourage poor-performing workers to quit early. When we combine the best features from our experiments and examine their aggregate effectiveness, mean task accuracy is improved by 28.3%. Last, we also find that certain demographics contribute to the effectiveness of pay-to-quit incentives.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effects of Pay-to-Quit Incentives on Crowdworker Task Quality

Harris

2015

Proceedings of the 18th ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work &Amp; Social Computing

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“…Viewed through the lens of the Cube One Framework, it is clear why three exceptionally customer-focused companies (Zappos, Four Seasons, and Nordstrom) have been successful. As Kopelman et al, and Zhu (2012) put it, customer service is but one-third of the job-even for organizations with an extraordinary dedication to customer satisfaction. Zappos pioneered in digital sales of shoes by trying to create a "wow!"…”

Section: Case Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A unique approach to achieving organizational excellence: The Cube One Framework

Kopelman

2022

Glob Bus Org Exc

Self Cite

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In this article, I present the rationale and evidence pertinent to the utility of the Cube One Framework for achieving organizational excellence. Three factors contribute to the uniqueness of the Cube One framework: (1) the reliance on measuring the frequency of enacted practices (as contrasted to the traditional emphasis on stated policies, leadership philosophies, and mission statements); (2) the empirical examination of practices directed toward satisfying the needs of three separate stakeholders—funders, customers, and employees–customers consistently being neglected from lists of High‐Performance Work Practices which focus solely on productivity and employee satisfaction; and (3) the capability of performing an empirically‐based diagnosis of organizational strengths and opportunities for improvement. I offer three types of evidence: survey data collected in four studies conducted in three countries–where results are (surprisingly) slightly stronger for organizations in the nonprofit/government sectors as compared to for‐profit companies; longitudinal stock market valuations using a sample of America's Most Admired Companies per Fortune Magazine; and seven case studies of prominent organizations such as Google, Four Seasons Hotels, and Mayo Clinic.

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“…Personal communications that offer help to the customer and build authentic relationships are on the rise (Hoekstra & Leeflang, 2020). Zappos attributes its success to a strategic focus on customer service and satisfaction (Kopelman et al, 2012). Martech company Hubspot gives marketing advice away for free.…”

Section: Emerging Marketing Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Co-creating a student-centered marketing plan for a small liberal arts college: an action research study

Turcio

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Regional, private colleges that are heavily reliant on revenue from traditional, undergraduate students are facing mounting challenges in fulfilling their enrollment targets in an increasingly competitive educational landscape (Lederman, 2019). This scenario has placed a significant strain on the marketing function of these institutions, requiring it to be adapted and positioned in a manner that is capable of meeting both present and future enrollment and revenue goals. This study aimed to enhance marketing strategy and decision-making processes at a small liberal arts college located in the Northeastern United States. To achieve this objective, the study employed a two-cycle sequential action research design. In Cycle 1, first-year college students were engaged as participants in order to gain a deeper understanding of the college admissions process from their perspective. In Cycle 2, action steps were designed, executed, and evaluated to integrate the students' insights into the development of a student-centered marketing plan. The marketing plan was co-created by a group of 13 colleagues over the course of nine planning sessions and was presented to key leadership personnel and higher education marketers from outside of the institution for feedback. The assessment of the results of the study involved a comprehensive evaluation of the marketing planning process, including feedback from participants and collaborators/co-creators. The study concluded that effective marketing planning necessitates the creation of a coalition for change through interdepartmental collaboration and the establishment of a brave space, being intentionally student-centered in decision-making, and operationalizing change agency and student-centered practices among co-creators. The study's implications for the institution include the promotion of a more collaborative approach to strategic planning and the adoption of innovative methods for gathering and leveraging audience insights to inform decision-making processes. Additionally, the study resulted in the production of a playbook that can be utilized for future plan iterations and other marketing and functional planning initiatives.

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Interpreting the success of Zappos.com, Four Seasons, and Nordstrom: Customer centricity is but one‐third of the job

Cited by 5 publications

References 4 publications

The Effects of Pay-to-Quit Incentives on Crowdworker Task Quality

The Effects of Pay-to-Quit Incentives on Crowdworker Task Quality

A unique approach to achieving organizational excellence: The Cube One Framework

Co-creating a student-centered marketing plan for a small liberal arts college: an action research study

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