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on Marketing |
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Issue of 2014‒01‒10
nine papers chosen by Joao Carlos Correia Leitao Universidade da Beira Interior and Universidade de Lisboa |
| By: | Pérez-Amaral, Teodosio; Gijón, Covadonga; Garín-Muñoz, Teresa; López, Rafael |
| Abstract: | Consumer satisfaction is a key determinant of customer retention, profitability of operators, consumer welfare and a strategic variable for competition and international comparisons. Spain's mobile customer satisfaction is the lowest in the European Union according to recent EU studies (SMREC, 2013). Consumer complaints are numerous according to official statistics. In turn, consumer complaints (and how well they are dealt with) influence customer satisfaction and retention. This paper analyzes the determinants of the different types of complaints filed by residential consumers in Spain using the survey CIS (2009) and the report Ministerio de Industria (2012a). The first survey uses disaggregated information on 4,249 residential consumers while the report summarizes the complaints received by the Ministry of Industry's Telecommunications Customer Service Office. Econometric models are specified and estimated to quantify the effects. The results are used to characterize the profiles of typical complainers as well as the possible existence of a complaints divide due to income, age or education. Finally, policy recommendations are proposed to improve customer satisfaction and diminish the reasons for filing complaints. -- |
| Keywords: | consumer satisfaction,complaints,mobile phones,residential consumers,survey data,econometric models |
| JEL: | C21 D12 D18 L52 L96 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse13:88537&r=mkt |
| By: | Apanasevic, Tatjana; Markendahl, Jan; Arvidsson, Niklas |
| Abstract: | Swedish public transport organizations have set an objective to double usage of the public transport during the next coming five years. This study attempts to investigate if the current ticket solutions support the goal of the public transport companies, and if the available mobile phone solutions can lower barriers for consumers. In order to do that, critical travelling moments for users of different market segments were estimated during a pre-study stage. The following focus group discussions helped to validate problems identified during the pre-study. At the same time, focus groups provided deeper consumer insights on general consumer perception of the transport service, ticketing, mobile payment, quality of service, consumer expectations related to the public transport services, and consumer satisfaction and loyalty. The conducted research helped to identify problems existing in public transport ticketing and mobile payment areas, which have the negative impact on the usage of the public transport service and contribute with additional barriers for users. Moreover, this conclusion is supported by multiple examples that clearly illustrate what does not work, and why it does not work. Hence, mentioned solutions do not support the overall objective of the public transport operators. The comprehension of these problems and barriers can contribute to a better understanding of consumer needs and expectations, and help the public transport service providers to improve the service. -- |
| Keywords: | Mobile Payment Services,Public Transport,Public Transport Ticketing,m-Ticketing,Focus Group,Consumer Expectations of a Service,Perception of a Service,Quality of Service,Customer Satisfaction,Loyalty |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse13:88466&r=mkt |
| By: | McDonough, Carol C. |
| Abstract: | -- |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse13:88485&r=mkt |
| By: | Milena Klasing Chen (CGS - Centre de Gestion Scientifique - MINES ParisTech - École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris) |
| Abstract: | Low cost products and services are nowadays present in most sectors. However a clear definition of what makes a low cost product seems to be missing. This article proposes a state of the art on low cost products (through the study of a sample of 50 products recognized as "low cost") and aims to develop a framework to classify them through their design principles, to identify their main characteristics, how they emerge, how they are managed, as well as the impact they have on markets. One of the main conclusions of this work is that two main low cost models should be distinguished. They are labeled i) 'low cost adaptation', where the classical products are striped naked of their non-essential functions to reduce costs, following a functionalist design approach; and ii) 'smart low cost design', that develops a less costly new product from scratch answering to consumer needs, and that can be linked to innovative design theories. These two models should not be mixed up with cost efficiencies models, which are also aimed at reducing costs, but are not a company's main strategy. The studied products show that 'smart low cost design' products are more innovative than 'low cost adaptation' products. The second model is richer and uses elements of the first one. Furthermore, similar effects on the market are observed for both low cost product models, like the creation of demand and the overall price reduction, but the second model seems to have a stronger impact. This work illustrates that a low cost approach can be used as a design tool. |
| Keywords: | " low cost "; innovation; design |
| Date: | 2013–12–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00921886&r=mkt |
| By: | Valcke, Peggy; Wahyuningtyas, Sih Yuliana; Graef, Inge |
| Abstract: | [Introduction] Since several years companies in the internet economy have been offering online media platforms such as YouTube, Google and Facebook. These platforms are multi-sided markets. Instead of targeting one customer group, platform providers are competing for users, advertisers and developers. The fact that the platforms are offered exclusively on the internet, distinguishes them from other multi-sided markets such as the newspaper industry. Furthermore, contrary to ‘traditional’ companies in the information technology sector like Intel and Microsoft, platform providers do not bring their technology to the market but rely on deriving benefits from valuable information they collect about their users. By preventing users from exporting their data to competing platforms and by blocking competitors from accessing the user data on their platforms, these providers may gain such a powerful position allowing them to control the market to the detriment of effective competition and consumer welfare. This paper aims to analyze how European competition law may intervene to redress access problems in these multi-sided markets. In the first part of the paper, economic literature on two-sided markets will be studied in order to analyze how the multi-sided nature of online media platforms impacts the legal assessment of anticompetitive behaviour. The analysis on competition law issues will highlight market definition for multi-sided platforms, multi-sided nature and access to users, and merger assessment. In the second part of the paper, a comparative law approach will be used to study how European competition law can approach access issues in online media platforms. While there is no decision or judgment on these issues yet in the European Union, a few private antitrust cases dealing with these problems have already occurred in the United States. The US cases will be discussed and it will be analyzed whether EU competition authorities and courts will take the same approach. -- |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse13:88529&r=mkt |
| By: | Tseng, Kuo-Feng |
| Abstract: | As the voice profits of the mobile phone companies continuously decline in Taiwan, they need to find other revenues from the digital contents to survive in the mobile age. The mobile phone companies had created several online platforms to sell digital video, music and books. Especially in the past two years, as more and more customers had the big screens of portable tablet PC or smart phones, the sale of the e-books becomes the major marketing strategy to promote the penetration of smart phones in Taiwan. However, few e-books were available in the mobile online platforms in the past few years, so this study conducted the survey of the book publishing industry to understand the major factors. The results show: first, few copyrights of the popular oversea books are available; second, only the book conglomerate are willing to take the risk to launch the e-book services; third, currently the sales of the e-books are not able to compensate the costs; fourth, there is no such a platform to let all kind of e-books available in Taiwan. -- |
| Keywords: | e-book,digital book,business model,industry survey,mobile device |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse13:88545&r=mkt |
| By: | Greiff, Matthias; Egbert, Henrik; Xhangolli, Kreshnik |
| Abstract: | Pay What You Want (PWYW) pricing has received considerable attention recently. Empirical studies show that when PWYW pricing is implemented buyers do not behave selfishly in a number of cases and that some sellers are able to use PWYW to increase turnover as well as profits. In this paper we present a theoretical model of buyer behavior under asymmetric information about production costs. Our model shows that information asymmetries provide an explanation for the results found in empirical studies. |
| Keywords: | PWYW pricing, information asymmetry, fairness, buyer behavior |
| JEL: | D4 M2 M3 |
| Date: | 2013–12–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:52766&r=mkt |
| By: | Gambaro, Marco; Puglisi, Riccardo |
| Abstract: | During the last decade the internet has been the fastest growing segment in advertising. Exploiting Nielsen data, we analyze the advertising pattern displayed by the population of organizations (i.e. companies, non-profit institutions and public entities) that were active on the Italian national market during the period 2005-2009. Some reduced form evidence shows that - during this time period - smaller firms increased their ads investment on newspapers, magazines cinema comparatively more than larger firms. Radio and the internet display an opposite pattern, whereas are larger firms increasing their expenses more than smaller firms. In the lack of firmspecific output data, we also estimate a homothetic advertising cost function for different subsets of the sample. We find that media segments are (loose) substitutes, in that the estimated cross-price elasticities are positive but decidedly less than one. -- |
| Keywords: | Advertising,Internet,Media Substitution |
| JEL: | L2 L82 L86 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse13:88464&r=mkt |
| By: | Hsu, Wen-yi; Shih, Stone |
| Abstract: | Large broadcasters and independent media companies are already aware of the global developments in transmedia storytelling and understand that this is the trend (Gambarato, Renira R., 2012). In Taiwan, the HwaCom New Media project started with a government funded HbbTV development project, and then turned into a transmedia trial. The Fun Travel infrastructure has been built since June, 2013. The HwaCom Systems, Inc. establishes alliances to gain access to other firms' valuable resources. This study focuses on single case and tries to provide an exploration of how strategic alliances help the HwaCom New Media project achieve resource combinations through the resource-based theory of strategic alliances. To facilitate this study, direct observations and a focus group interview were conducted to explore some insights of this trial case... -- |
| Keywords: | complementary resources,Hybrid Broadcast Broadband Television (HBBTV),resource-based theory of strategic alliances,The HwaCom Systems,Inc.,transmedia storytelling (TS) |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse13:88502&r=mkt |