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IIM Indore

<h3>Purpose</h3>Organizations worldwide are adopting software as a service (SaaS) applications, where they pay a subscription fee to gain access rather than buying the software. The extant models on software acquisition processes, several of which are based on organizational buying behavior, do not sufficiently explain how SaaS application acquisition decisions are made. This study aims to investigate the acquisition process organizations follow for SaaS software, the changes to the roles of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and the business user and also looks at the impact of SaaS on the proliferation of unauthorized software systems.<h3>Design/methodology/approach</h3>The authors used exploratory research using the grounded theory approach based on 18 in-depth interviews conducted with respondents who have studied with enterprise software delivered on-premise and as SaaS in different roles such as sales, consulting, CIO, information technology (IT) management and product development.<h3>Findings</h3>The authors identified a need to classify the SaaS software and developed a framework that uses software specificity and its strategic importance to the organization to classify SaaS applications. The aforementioned framework is used to explain how software evaluation processes have changed for different kinds of SaaS applications. The authors also found that the CIO’s and the business users’ have changed substantially in SaaS application evaluations and found evidence to show that shadow IT will be restricted to some classes of SaaS applications.<h3>Originality/value</h3>By focusing on the changes to the roles and responsibilities of the members of the buying center, this paper provides unique insights into how the acquisition process of SaaS is different from the extant models used to explain enterprise software acquisitions. An understanding of how information search is conducted by the business users will help software vendors to target business users better.

World University root node

Marketing

Fulltext

ournal of Business & Industrial Marketing

<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340463144_Impact_of_software_as_a_service_SaaS_on_software_acquisition_process">Impact of software as a service (SaaS) on software acquisition process</a>

New media has brought customers closer, they extensively indulge in eWOM. Unlike face to face WOM, which originates from known sources, eWOM on social media may originate from lesser known/unknown sources. Drawing on source credibility theory and persuasion research, aim of this study is to understand the interactive and distinct role of source and message credibility of eWOM towards consumer's brand attitude. Brand attitude may be influenced differently by different levels and combinations of source and content (message) credibility. Using the Facebook interface 246 between subject factorial design experiments are conducted. Two-way interaction effect of source and message credibility over consumer's brand attitude is tested; further one-way analysis of variance is tested to examine the varying influence of different levels and combinations of source and message credibility. A significant two-way interaction of source and message credibility moderate brand attitude. Results suggest that different levels and combinations of perceived source and message credibility, on social networking site influence consumer's brand attitude inconsistently. Study recommends caution to marketers while selecting online influencers for 'induced eWOM' campaign as believability may be moderated by all the different cues of credibility differently.

Strategic Management

International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising

eWOM via social networking site: source versus message credibility

This study selects the context of emerging markets to examine the role of ad creativity dimensions (divergence and relevance) in shaping the attitude of consumers. Most of the existing studies exploring consumer perceived creativity and its dimensions are based on inputs from consumers in developed markets. Using an experimental design, we test the differential effect of divergence and relevance for Indian consumers. The results indicate that for consumers from emerging markets, the role of relevance, which is mostly undermined, is as effective as divergence. The mediating role of attitude toward advertisement was established in the relationship between consumer perceived creativity and brand attitude. The main effects of divergence and interaction effects of divergence and relevance were found to be significant in influencing the consumers’ ad and brand attitude as well as motivation to process information. Ads high in creativity were found to result in a higher unaided product and brand recall. Ads high on divergence also resulted in increased consumers’ intentions to share the ad, which may be considered as a higher potential of becoming viral. The overall findings suggest that standardized advertising in global markets may have limited effectiveness.

Organizational Behaviour and HRM

Journal of Global Marketing

Divergence or Relevance in Advertisements: What Works in Emerging Markets? Evidence from Indian Consumers

The study examines how consumers, in a Facebook eWOM context, perceived source and message credibility by utilizing self-shared and system-generated cues. It investigates:(1) to what extent source and message credibility derived from these cues may lead to significant attitudinal responses and intentions to purchase; (2) and to what extent attitudinal responses are likely to vary with different levels and combinations of these credibility cues. Data was collected from 246 respondents who were exposed to Facebook eWOM scenarios. The structural model results confirm that the perceived source and message credibility derived from self-shared and system-generated cues are significant antecedents to purchase-related consideration for a brand. The results further confirm that these cues have an overall balancing effect: one compensates for the low level of the other leading to a significant persuasive response. The study evaluates traditional antecedents of WOM adoption, namely, perceived source and message credibility derived from unique interface-related features.&nbsp;

International Journal of Online Marketing

Facebook eWOM: Self-Shared Versus System-Generated Credibility Cue

Brand names have become verbs and entered in the consumer vocabulary, as doing words that are synonymous to consumer actions. Synonymity brands are observed to be prototypical and consumer-perceived brand leaders by planting a word not only in the consumer minds, but also in the lexicon. Corporate attorneys have ignored this fact by labeling such words as potential candidates to brand genericide and projected risk of trademark loss. The 3-part study aims to explore the concept, define brand synonymity, identify the dimensions, and measure the degree of synonymity—in the first part. The second study empirically tests the relationship between brand synonymity and leadership. The study three brings practical use to address the legal concerns by outlining a continuum to plot brands in safe and risk zones, thereby segregating the marketing play (in safe zone) and attorney’s role (in risk zone). The findings show synonymity brands scoring high in four vital brand dimensions and demonstrate positive relationship with brand leadership. The authors explore this new area of brand research that is not adequately covered by extant literature, to benefit marketing scholars, brand managers, and legal attorneys.

Journal of Brand Management

Brand verbs: brand synonymity and brand leadership

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to focus on failures in online flash sales (OFS) and to explore why consumers participate in an OFS even after experiencing service failure. It also examines the role of deal proneness, attribution, and emotions.Design/methodology/approachUsing a mixed method approach to gain insights into this relatively unexplored phenomenon of OFS, this research uses netnography followed by a survey study.FindingsThe findings show that deal-prone customers tend to ignore service failures during OFS and re-participate in the future. In the context of OFS, failures attributed to internal locus of attribution (LOA) also have a negative effect on re-participation compared with failures attributed to external LOA. Furthermore, there is a three-way interaction among deal proneness, LOA, and past emotions. The results show that negative past emotions further exacerbate the impact of attribution on the link between deal proneness and re-participation.Originality/valueIn contrast with prior research, the paper shows that consumers participate even after service failure. The proposed difference is between customers who experience different LOA and past emotions offers insights into their behavior after service failure in a new context of an online/electronic commerce event – flash sales. This paper specifically explores the role of internal LOA and finds that it has a more negative impact than external LOA on re-participation.

Information Systems

Journal of Service Management

Service failures after online flash sales: role of deal proneness, attribution, and emotion

Flash sales are a recent phenomenon where e-tailer sells goods at deep discounts in a short time window. Of late in India, flash sales have become synonymous with failures where technical errors, payment channel issues and delivery problems are common due to high customer participation. A service failure leads to negative word of mouth, reduced purchase intention, and loyalty. Contrary to what previous studies on service failure indicate, even after service failure customers participate in flash sales in huge numbers. The netnographic study indicates that customers participate even after repeated service failure. Quantitative verification using PLS-SEM supports that magnitude of service failure attributed to external and internal locus of control acts as moderator in the relationship between deal proneness and intention to re-participate but in opposite direction to each other. Further, emotion experienced during service failure also influences re- participation intention. Results of the study show three segments of customers with 1) low internal failure OR 2) high external failure AND 3) high deal proneness show high re-participation intention.

Academy of Management Proceedings

‘When flash burns hands of customers’- Failure Attribution in Online Purchase

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the behavioral outcomes and effectiveness of organizational response to open complaints by consumers following a dissatisfactory service experience.Design/methodology/approachThree natural communities (WhatsApp groups) were used with reference to online food and grocery retailing. The respondents comprised community members sharing negative experiences on the group. A scenario implanted in a survey was used as the research approach.FindingsConsumer advocacy, a form of complaining, is a way to help other community members. The relationship between consumer advocacy and community usefulness strengthens the argument of consumers’ collective concern as one of the motivational frames for consumer advocacy. Consumer advocates show stronger reactions, resulting in brand avoidance following voice complaining. An effective organizational response can mitigate brand avoidance.Practical implicationsFinding ways to restrict and alleviate brand avoidance is an area that is of major interest to practitioners. The study finds that prospective explanations could be a very effective antidote to brand avoidance.Originality/valueThe social side of complaining is a relatively under-researched area. This study examines the relationship between consumer advocacy, community usefulness and brand avoidance. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to examine the moderating effect of organizational response on consumer advocacy and its outcomes in the virtual context.

Marketing Intelligence and Planning

Investigating consumer advocacy, community usefulness, and brand avoidance

Dissatisfactory service experiences and consumer complaints following such experiences are everyday occurrences. Prior research has not only examined the emotions experienced because of failed service encounters but also has explored the resultant behaviours towards the service provider and the service. However, prior research does not distinguish between negative word-of-mouth (NWOM) motivated by marketplace-helping behaviour such as consumer advocacy and NWOM as venting triggered by emotions such as anger and frustration. The current study examines the direct relationship between regret and disappointment and consumer advocacy. Unlike past studies, the current study explores two types of customer dissatisfaction: agent based and outcome based. Study 1 uses a vignette methodology, and Study 2 uses experience sampling in which respondents provide personal episodes of failed service encounters. In contrast with a previous proposition, we find that regret has a significant negative relationship with consumer advocacy. Disappointment based on external events demonstrates a significant positive relationship, whereas disappointment caused by another person has a weaker relationship with consumer advocacy.

Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services

Consumer advocacy: Examining the feeling and doing following a failed service encounter

The paper reviews the existing models of e-government service quality in the context of service delivery in emerging markets like India and proposes the development of a conceptual model with recommendations for modifications. Prior literature indicates that constructs for service quality measurement are contingent upon contextual factors. The context of the delivery of e-government services in emerging markets is quite different from developed countries because of the widespread use of kiosks and mobile phones for the delivery of services, low broadband and PC penetration, and infrastructure constraints. We identify such distinguishing features of the delivery of e-government services in emerging markets like India and propose the development of a conceptual model that can be used for measuring the service quality of e-government offerings. For researchers, the study presents a comprehensive review of recent e-government service-quality measurement models and opportunities for future research. It is useful for practitioners as it suggests new avenues for improving service quality, leading to better adoption and the subsequent success of e-government projects.

The Marketing Review

Assessment of e-government service quality: An emerging market perspective

Marketplace helping behavior such as opinion leadership, market maven, and purchase pals that benefit others has been extensively studied. A diverse but similar to other marketplace helping behaviors is the concept of consumer advocacy. Extant review of literature reveals that customer advocacy and consumer advocacy are conceptually different. The former is an organization level construct, and the latter is an individual consumer's ‘generalized tendency to share market information’. It is argued that a following dissatisfactory service encounter, consumer advocates would indulge in market placing helping behavior such as negative word of mouth to prevent other consumers' from having similar marketplace disappointments. Hence, prior studies link consumer advocacy to ‘altruistic tendencies’. On the basis of self-construal theory, this study investigates the motivations for consumer advocacy. Using a scenario-based experimentation implemented in survey method; we establish that consumer advocacy is motivated by an amalgamation of altruism and self-interest. We also operationalize third-party complaint construct and empirically test whether consumer advocacy is a predictor.

Journal of Strategic Marketing

I complain for your good? Re-examining consumer advocacy

The purpose of this paper is to identify antecedents contributing to consumer dissatisfaction in a virtual setting. The purpose is not to contravene existing work but rather extend the existing work on consumer dissatisfaction to virtual setting. While much of the literature till date focuses on consumer satisfaction in online buying, there are only a handful of papers describing consumer satisfaction in virtual purchases. This paper attempts to identify the antecedents contributing to consumer dissatisfaction in a virtual setting as an update to the existing antecedents on consumer dissatisfaction. While some of the antecedents are common in a virtual setting and real world, other antecedents may not be such as intangibility of the product purchase. The paper concludes with a discussion associated with launching new brands through virtual platforms and its impact on consumer dissatisfaction.

International Journal of Marketing Studies

Relooking Antecedents to Consumer Dissatisfaction through the Virtual Cosmos

The current study attempts to explore the phenomenon of Polarizing brands and brand dispersion in the context of destination brands. The study attempts to understand the parameters that shape the perceptions of consumer towards a particular destination. Brand knowledge determined by the existing brand image and brand awareness is proposed to be responsible for extreme consumer perceptions regarding destinations. But at the same time we also propose that the polarization of a particular brand also depends on the motivation for tourism and thus may vary depending on the motivation. Thus the relationship between brand knowledge and polarization is moderated by tourism motivation. The study is divided into 2 studies, study 1 follows a survey and interview approach. Study 2 is a scenario based experiment to test the moderating effect of travel motivation on polarization. This study is one of the few studies exploring the issue of polarizing brands and also to the best of our knowledge it is the first one to explore polarizing brands in the context of tourism. Marketers (Destination Marketing Organizations (DMO)) can utilize the findings of this study to understand polarization and exploit this consumers' perception by using measures to polarize the destination brand in a positive manner.

THE 5th ADVANCES IN HOSPITALITY & TOURISM MARKETING AND MANAGEMENT (AHTMM) CONFERENCE

Polarizing brands: an investigation in tourism context

The research examines service delivery innovation architecture and its role in achieving sustainable competitive advantage of firms. The study develops and empirically examines an antecedent based model of service delivery innovation. We collected data from 203 service sector professionals working in Mexican financial and information technology firms, and tested the proposed relationship. Further, the study investigates the moderating role of customer orientation on innovation driven performance outcomes. Results show that customer orientation strengthens the service delivery–performance relationship. This paper aims to contribute to the strategic planning of service firms by guiding their resource allocation to ensure sustainable growth.

IIMB Management Review

Service delivery innovation architecture: An empirical study of antecedents and outcomes

Social media has a lot to offer to the marketers in the form of a ‘web of brand-related-conversations’. With the popularity of social media, users indulge in ‘eword-of-mouth’ (eWOM) behaviour while interacting with other users of social media, thereby diffusing the brand-related discussions to a much larger audience. Consumers have compelling stories to share about their brand experiences, seek recommendations and exchange product information with other users of social media. This research brings to the fore factors that can, at outset, induce eWOM behaviour in the form of motivation and social relational properties. Drivers or motives of eWOM behaviour on social media are unique and at the same time nurturing relationships and networking is one of the fundamental functionality users of social media derive. Therefore, both of these factors ought to play a crucial role in comprehending the underlying eWOM behaviour. Researchers have empirically found eWOM on social media to be capable of influencing, both, consumption-related behaviour and brand equity. Even marketers, with the help of technology, are closely monitoring eWOM to capture consumer sentiments and insights. Unlike traditional WOM, which mostly originated from known and trustworthy sources, eWOM may originate from sources where no significant prior relationship exists. Therefore, the influence of eWOM towards consumption-related behaviours is likely to be moderated by credibility perceptions consumers derive from both, the source of the eWOM and the message itself. Hence to understand the phenomenon better, this is a conceptual article based on extensive review of relevant literature that attempts to understand the precursors that lead to eWOM behaviour on social media and the role of credibility. The study suggests a conceptual model along with testable propositions.

IIM Kozhikode Society & Management Review

Brand-related, Consumer to Consumer, Communication via Social Media

The need for developing new services organically is well recognized. Extant review of literature reveals that various issues pertaining to NSD (New Service Development)/Service innovation like NSD initiation strategies, internal functional integration, need for simultaneous involvement of employees, evaluation of NSD and measuring the performance of new service, leadership role, role of customers, communication, factors influencing innovative co-worker behavior, etc., have been investigated.However, in comparison to New Product Development (NPD), New Service Development (NSD) has received significantly less attention. Innovations that are initiated and implemented by individuals have been largely bypassed as most of the studies have investigated NSD at firm level or project level. This lack of attention is in-spite of the recognition that employees (customer contact employees in case of service firms) can be major contributors of blockbuster new ideas.Notwithstanding the benefits, the role of customer contact employees in the new service development stands largely under investigated. In this paper, an attempt has been made to understand the potential contributions front-line personnel can make, and empirically testable propositions are presented based on the extant review of literature

Vision-The Journal of Business Perspective

<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258199766_New_Service_Development_NSD_Role_of_Customer_Contact_Executives">New Service Development (NSD): Role of Customer Contact Executives</a>