Impact of customer loyalty and service operations on customer behaviour and firm performance: empirical evidence from UK retail sector

Abstract

Retail networks are striving to achieve competitive advantage by increasing value through loyalty and efficiency with a focus on service operations. As sales promotions have become an integral part of the retail supply chain planning, customer behavioural aspects based on loyalty and service operations have been challenged greatly. Subsequently, management capabilities, such as planning and timely replenishment, have become complicated tasks for many retail store managers. This study develops a model integrating retail network value and efficiencies with customer behaviour and performance. We validate the model using survey data from prominent U.K. retail store customers. Our data analysis shows that both loyalty and service operation attributes have positive significant impact on customer behaviour, while the service operation mediates the relationship between loyalty and customer behaviour. This result gives a new outlook to build managerial capability based on customer loyalty and service operations. Our results specifically show that the service operation attributes will indirectly influence the customers’ buying behaviour even in the presence of loyalty attribute such as promotion schemes. This result sends a strong signal to retail supply chain managers to offer customised promotions considering local community rather than having uniform sales promotion nationwide.     

A model of substance abuse risk: adapting to the Sri Lankan context

This study translated and validated the Substance Use Risk Profile Scale (SURPS) among 13 to 18 year old Sri Lankan adolescents attending school. A standard systematic translation procedure was followed to translate the original SURPS into Sinhala language. A Delphi process was conducted to determine judgmental validity of Sinhala SURPS. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed to test the translated version against the original theoretical model of the SURPS. Test-retest and internal consistency were used to ensure reliability. A few terms in one of the items posed some difficulty in translating into Sinhala. Adequate judgmental validity was determined except for one item, which was modified to suit the Sri Lankan setting. The four subscales introversion/ hopelessness, impulsivity, sensation seeking and anxiety sensitivity showed satisfactory test-retest reliability estimates of .74, .68, .76, and .88, respectively. The Sinhala SURPS is applicable in Sri Lankan context. Several implications based on the results are discussed.     

A Class of Estimators of Population Variance Using Auxiliary Information in Sample Surveys

This article advocates the problem of estimating the population variance of the study variable using information on certain known parameters of an auxiliary variable. A class of estimators for population variance using information on an auxiliary variable has been defined. In addition to many estimators, usual unbiased estimator, Isaki's (1983), Upadhyaya and Singh's (1999), and Kadilar and Cingi's (2006) estimators are shown as members of the proposed class of estimators. Asymptotic expressions for bias and mean square error of the proposed class of estimators have been obtained. An empirical study has been carried out to judge the performance of the various estimators of population variance generated from the proposed class of estimators over usual unbiased estimator, Isaki's (1983), Upadhyaya and Singh's (1999) and Kadilar and Cingi's (2006) estimators.     

UNMARRIED PARENTHOOD AND REDISTRIBUTIVE POLITICS

Political survey data for nine West European countries show that women have become increasingly left‐wing compared to men, and that this trend is positively correlated with the rise of nonmarriage in these countries. This pattern is mirrored in German longitudinal data (GSOEP), where transitions out of marriage make women, but not men, significantly more left‐leaning. Analysis of public spending data for high‐income OECD countries (1980–1998) suggests that the political impact of nonmarriage extends to the allocation of State resources with increases in nonmarriage first reducing, and then increasing, State redistribution towards children. (JEL: H31, H42, J12, J13)     

On dynamic weighted survival entropy of order α

Recently, Abbasnejad et al. (2010 Abbasnejad, M., Arghami, N.R., Morgenthaler, S., Mohtashami Borzadaran, G.R. (2010). On the dynamic survival entropy. Stat. Probab. Lett. 80:1962–1971.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) proposed a measure of uncertainty based on survival function, called the survival entropy of order α. A dynamic form of the survival entropy of order α is also proposed by them. In this paper, we derive the weighted form of these measures. The properties of the new measures are also discussed.     

RELATIONSHIP TRANSITIONS AMONG YOUTH IN URBAN KENYA

The process of courtship and marriage in sub-Saharan Africa has changed remarkably. These changes, however, have received scant attention, as recent research has focused on adolescent relationships' links to HIV/AIDS rather than to marriage. Drawing on detailed reports of 1,365 romantic and sexual partnerships from youths in Kisumu, Kenya, we find that marital aspirations, school enrollment, emotional attraction, pregnancy, and independence from kin are all predictors of getting engaged or married. Furthermore, though men and women are much more likely to marry partners they believe are sexually exclusive, men who have multiple partners are actually more likely to get married. By focusing on the contemporary process of marriage, this paper offers an alternative portrayal of premarital relationships in sub-Saharan Africa.     

What Does Being an “American” Look Like in the Therapy Room?

ABSTRACT

A clinical experience of an Asian Indian therapist working with a client of a similar ethnic background is analyzed. The relational dynamics in the therapy and the impact of a perceived shared identity are examined. Transference and countertransference processes are emphasized. A shared perceived ethnic identity created complexities in the therapeutic relationship and affected the therapy in surprising ways. Assumptions related to a shared ethnic identity affected the ability to form a therapeutic alliance.     

Women’s Political Empowerment and Investments in Primary Schooling in India

Using a national district-level dataset of India composed of information on investments in primary schooling [data from the District Information Survey for Education (DISE, 2007/8)] and information on demographic characteristics of elected officials [data from the Election Commission of India (ECI, 2000/04)], we examined the relationship between women’s representation in State Legislative Assembly (SLA) seats and district-level investments in primary schooling. We used OLS regressions adjusting for confounders and spatial autocorrelation, and estimated separate models for North and South India. Women’s representation in general SLA seats typically was negatively associated with investments in primary-school amenities and teachers; women’s representation in SLA seats reserved for under-represented minorities, i.e., scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, typically was positively associated with investments in primary schooling, especially in areas addressing the basic needs of poor children. Women legislators’ gender and caste identities may shape their decisions about redistributive educational policies.     

Explaining son preference in rural India: the independent role of structural versus individual factors

Much research has been done on demographic manifestations of son preference, particularly girls’ excess mortality; however, there is less research that focuses on son preference itself. This paper analyzes the determinants of son preference in rural India. We separate the independent, relative effects of characteristics of individual women and their households, village opportunities for women and village development, and social norms. We look at both socioeconomic and sociocultural variables. Finally, we examine whether predictors of son preference differ by desired family size. Our data come from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) India, 1992–1993. We use an ordered logit model, with dummy variables for state of residence. Our analysis shows that women’s education, particularly at secondary and higher levels, is consistently and significantly associated with weaker son preference, regardless of desired family size. Once factors measuring social norms, such as marriage customs, caste and religion, are included, economic wealth and women’s employment at household or village levels are not significant. Media access remains significant, suggesting an influence of “modernizing” ideas. Among social factors, caste and religion are associated with son preference but, once state of residence is controlled for, marriage patterns and cultivation patterns are insignificant. The strength and significance for son preference of many determinants differs by desired family size. Our results suggest that policy makers seeking to influence son preference need to identify and target different policy levers to women in different fertility and social contexts, rather than try an approach of one size that fits all.