Relationship marketing is often presented as a strategic meta-option, but little attention has been paid to the concept’s potential differentiation. In this paper, I argue that such a differentiation is possible and necessary. On the basis of the relational contracting framework I identify ten dimensions of relational behaviour. I then present the results of an empirical study conducted among 2...

One of the key issues for multinational corporations (MNCs) is whether to standardize their marketing approach across all countries or adapt their practices to fit each country. In order to make this decision, MNCs must determine if their marketing approach is cross-culturally appropriate and equivalent from country to country. Unfortunately, recent research indicates that the vast majority of ...

Over the past few decades the tertiary sector has developed from a predominantly inward focussed industry serving public interest to an internationalised and commercially competitive industry. Resulting from this fundamental change is a drive to better understand the most prominent dimensions that impact on internationalisation, more particularly, the expectations and experiences of students. A...

Firms that do better than their competitors in terms of satisfying customers, generate superior return at lower risk. Satisfied customers are more loyal, less sensitive to price movements. The aim of this study is to examine the impact of customer satisfaction on shareholders’ value creation. Customer satisfaction involves behavior of customers that typically relate to purchase or consumption o...

Cultural attributes of employees affect organizations in several different ways through their impact on organizational goals and decision-making processes. Social media create ample opportunities for organizations to improve competitiveness and efficiency of marketing and communications. We empirically investigate the impact of employee cultural dimensions on social media usage at work and at h...

Medical tourism organizations have increasingly recognized that loyalty makes a medical clinic a marketing success. To increase understanding of the importance of medical clinics, this study examined the roles of servicescapes, emotions, and satisfaction in the development of customer loyalty toward medical clinics and destination. Data were collected among international medical tourists visiti...

The primary objective of this research is to develop a theory-based model of utilitarian and hedonic website features, customer commitment, trust, and e-loyalty in an online hotel booking context. Structural Equation Modeling was deployed to test research hypotheses. Findings highlight the importance of creating loyalty by focusing on both hedonic and utilitarian features. Affective commitment ...

Following an experiential framework, this research aims to disentangle the factors influencing tourist experiences in wetland parks in the context of an emerging economy. Specifically, this study tests the causal relationships among service quality, tourist experience, and revisit intention in relation to three popular wetland parks in Zhejiang, China. Consequently a series of on-site visitor s...

Purpose – The study investigated dimensions related to the gender role and identity perceptions of adolescent girls in Hong Kong. A typology based on the dimensions was developed and its ability to predict brand relationship variables was examined. Design/methodology/approach – A convenience sample of 355 Hong Kong female secondary school students aged 12 to 19 were asked to answer questions ab...

This study analyzed the performance of cabbage marketing in Abia State, Nigeria. Specifically the study sought to: describe socio-economic characteristics of cabbage marketers; identify marketing channels of cabbage; determine marketing cost components of cabbage marketers; determine marketing margins, market share and marketing efficiency of cabbage marketers; and determine socio-economic fact...