Retirement Village Resident Satisfaction in Australia: A Qualitative Enquiry

ABSTRACT

There has been limited research into the types of customer satisfaction experienced by residents in leisure-oriented retirement communities, particularly in Australia and the United Kingdom. Focus groups were conducted at a series of retirement communities. Results have lead to the development of a typology of retirement community resident satisfaction containing five different domains, including the Built Environment, the Financial Environment, the Service Delivery Environment, the Social Environment, and the Spiritual Environment. Furthermore, these five satisfaction domains encompass up to 24 distinct types or facets of customer satisfaction experienced by residents. This proposed typology of leisure-oriented retirement communities’ resident satisfaction is the most comprehensive investigation of retirement village customer satisfaction to date. Implications for both researchers and practitioners are discussed, including recommendations for the measuring, managing, and marketing of customer satisfaction with retirement community living.     

Effects of Reputation,Relational Satisfaction,and Customer–Company Identification on Positive Word-of-Mouth Intentions

By combining the growing body of knowledge on organizational reputation and organization—public relationships with insights from marketing literature on customer–company identification, this study develops and tests models of customers' positive word-of-mouth (WOM) intentions. Specifically, this study examines the effects of organizational reputation and relational satisfaction on customers' positive WOM intentions, and the critical mediation role of customer–company identification in such effects. The proposed models illustrate tenable data-model fits, and the results indicate that organizational reputation and relational satisfaction predict customers' positive WOM intentions. More important, customer–company identification mediates the influence of organizational reputation on positive WOM intentions. The findings of this study suggest that, to promote customers' positive WOM intentions, companies need to obtain a favorable reputation held by customers and cultivate a satisfactory relationship with customers, while fostering customer–company identification.     

The role of individualism vs. collectivism in the formation of repurchase intent: A cross-industry comparison of the effects of cultural and personal values

As repurchase intent drives profitability and firms are facing culturally diverse customers, managers should know how individualism (vs. collectivism) influences the formation of repurchase intent. This research models individualism as a dimension of both national culture and personal values. Based on HLM of data from six countries and ten industries, study 1 shows that cultural individualism is more influential than personal individualism. Individualism positively moderates the effect of customer satisfaction and negatively moderates the effects of public brand image and relational switching costs on repurchase intent. While the effects of customer satisfaction and relational switching costs are moderated more strongly for services, the effect of public brand image is moderated more strongly for products. Study 2 illuminates psychological processes operating behind these moderating effects: importance of relational switching costs – reliance on salespeople; importance of public brand image – meeting social preferences (impressing others, expressing group identify), but not trustworthiness; importance of customer satisfaction – customization, distinctiveness, but not functional benefits. This research also tests extant theories about the main effect of individualism on repurchase intent. The results provide valuable, novel suggestions for cross-cultural adaptation of marketing strategy.     

An Inside‐Out Marketing Strategy for Innovation among Human Service Nonprofits in South Korea

In the increasingly competitive nonprofit market, innovation may be the only choice for survival among human service nonprofits. Considering the importance of service encounters and high dependence on human resources, internal marketing has potential as a management strategy to improve innovative activities in human service nonprofits. To examine the effect of internal marketing strategy focusing on employees, this study investigates the mediating effect of customer orientation in the pathway from internal marketing to innovation. The findings from 258 community‐based social service centers in South Korea support the positive impact of internal marketing on customer orientation and innovation, although the significant evidence for the mediating effect of customer orientation is not found. The current study suggests implications for practice and future research.     

Professional Associations and Members' Benefits: What's in It for Me?

In this study we examine reasons that professionals become and remain members of professional associations. We looked at tangible and symbolic benefits that an association can provide to attract members. Satisfaction with these benefits was linked to overall membership satisfaction and intent to renew the membership. We also considered the role of customer service in shaping members' attitudes. Based on the responses of 1,980 members of a large international accounting association, we found that members who were satisfied with their benefits and with the quality of customer service reported higher membership satisfaction and intent to renew. We also found that professionals who were more involved in the association were more satisfied with it. Contrary to predictions, younger professionals were less concerned with the value of the benefits of membership. As expected, longer‐tenured members were more likely to consider maintaining their memberships. We conclude with a discussion of practical and research implications for the management of professional associations.     

Hybrid happening: Organizational reputations in corporate crises

Public relations professionals strive to develop mutually beneficial relationships among key publics that will result in favorable organizational reputations, but crises typically threaten those reputations. Much of public relations crisis research focuses on how to respond after a crisis, but drawing on Expectation Violation Theory (EVT), this research focuses on the expectations of stakeholders before a crisis and how they process information during a crisis. Drawing from reputation management research in marketing, it conceptualizes corporate reputations as encompassing associations related to corporate ability (CA) and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Reputation management research generally has investigated reputations as strong on either CA or CSR, but this research examines the effects of a “hybrid” reputation, which is strong in terms of both CA and CSR associations. The results of an experiment reveal that stakeholders’ responses during a crisis vary based on their expectations, how they perceive a hybrid reputation, and the crisis type. The study has theoretical implications regarding stakeholders’ information processing during a crisis, and it provides public relations professionals insights regarding how to cultivate and protect an organizational reputation.     

Marketing Archetypes: Applying Jungian Psychology to Marketing Research

In the current situation of growing information overload, individuals are gradually becoming less sensitive to traditional marketing communications. For this reason, traditional marketing research models are no longer capable of giving useful insights to management. This calls for new approaches that can grasp the inner meaning of consumer behaviors and evaluate their relevance. To this end, a new multidisciplinary approach is needed to interpret complex behavioral patterns so as to gain deeper and more effective insights into customers and to understand their behavioral patterns. In this paper, following a short introduction to the basic concepts of Jung's analytical psychology and their relevance for marketing, we propose the use of the Jungian archetypes to implement a market research model, considering the case of an Italian research company's development of the Archetipus® model.     

Constructing a strategy map for banking institutions with key performance indicators of the balanced scorecard

This study presents a structural evaluation methodology to link key performance indicators (KPIs) into a strategy map of the balanced scorecard (BSC) for banking institutions. Corresponding with the four BSC perspectives (finance, customer, internal business process, and learning and growth), the most important evaluation indicators of banking performance are synthesized from the relevant literature and screened by a committee of experts. The Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method, a multiple criteria analysis tool, is then employed to determine the causal relationships between the KPIs, to identify the critical central and influential factors, and to establish a visualized strategy map with logical links to improve banking performance. An empirical application is provided as an example. According to the expert evaluations, the three most essential KPIs for banking performance are customer satisfaction, sales performance, and customer retention rate. The DEMATEL results demonstrate a clear road map to assist management in prioritizing the performance indicators and in focusing attention on the strategy-related activities of the crucial indicators. According to the constructed strategy map, management could better invest limited resources in the areas that need improvement most. Although these strategy maps of the BSC are not universal, the research results show that the presented approach is an objective and feasible way to construct strategy maps more justifiably. The proposed framework can be applicable to institutions in other industries as well.     

Customer First and Customer Sexual Harassment: Some Evidence from the Taiwan Life Insurance Industry

Empirical research suggests that customer sexual harassment is a far more common problem than employee to employee harassment for female salespeople. However, to date, there has been relatively little research conducted on the problem of customer sexual harassment. Insurance salespeople sometimes need to meet customers outside the company, and customer sexual harassment problems may occur. Hence, by using Taiwan's life insurance industry as an example, this study explores three research questions: (1) When the idea of ‘customer first’ is fully recognized by insurance salespeople, does it make the salespeople more tolerant of customer sexual harassment problems? (2) When the idea of customer first is supported by the insurance company, will insurance salespeople expose customer sexual harassment problems? (3) Will insurance salespeople tend to be more tolerant of quid pro quo sexual harassment? A total of 223 full‐time and self‐employed insurance salespeople participated in and completed this study survey. The results showed that the company's attitude may significantly affect the respondents' intention to expose the customer sexual harassment, but the personal belief in ‘customer first’ may not affect the respondents' intention to expose the customer misconduct. Since the three research questions have been less studied in the literature, and customer sexual harassment problems could have serious effects on salespeople, we think the results of this empirical study may have some implications for researchers and practitioners.     

Applying marketing management and communication management theories to increase client retention in the short-term insurance industry

Businesses must retain their clients to remain profitable. The academic field of marketing management considers customer relationship management (CRM) as most appropriate to achieve this, while communication management focuses instead on public relations (PR). The purpose of this research was to analyse theories in these two disciplines and derive an integrated theoretical framework of CRM and PR client retention. The framework was then tested through in-depth interviews with short-term insurance clients and short-term insurance providers (brokers and direct insurers) in South Africa to gain perspectives from both sides. The importance of some fundamental elements found in literature were affirmed, two elements’ importance were questioned and it was established that three inconsistencies existed between what providers regard as essential to retain clients and what clients regard necessary for them to stay in a relationship with an insurance provider. This may explain the many unsuccessful client retention efforts of South African brokers and direct insurers. Six new CRM and/or PR elements, not found in literature, are presented in the article for exploration in future research. In order to assist client retention in the very competitive short-term insurance industry, results were applied to the core tenets of Niemann's (2005) SA model for the implementation of strategic integrated communication (IC). Finally, the authors present an integrated approach to client retention strategies in the South African short-term insurance industry, incorporating both marketing and communication theories.     

Paradigm shift of employee communication: The effect of management communication on trusting relationships

Even though normative contention suggests that a favorable organizational climate leads to efficient job performance, empirical research has not addressed the trusting relationship as a variable mediating organizational climate and job satisfaction or performance.Supportive oral communication relates positively to individuals’ perceptions of management's supportiveness and friendliness. Perceived support creates trust that the organization will fulfill its exchange obligations by rewarding employee efforts. The survey results indicated that trusting relationship was positively related to measures of communication management, suggesting that those employees receiving positive communication are more likely to be motivated to form trusting relationships with the management level.     

Occupational differences in the wage penalty for obese women

Prior research indicates overweight women are penalized with lower wages. The connection between weight and wages is tested for several occupational categories. The results suggest weight significantly reduces pay only for women in sales and service occupations, a finding consistent with customer discrimination. Obese females who are self-employed also receive a significant wage penalty in customer-oriented occupations, suggesting the pay discrepancy is not originating from employer discrimination.     

”Is public sociology such a good idea?”

Michael Burawoy’s call for a public sociology disciplined by professional and policy sociology, on the one side, and driven by critical sociology, on the other, exposes the ideological biases of sociology to publics. In so doing, public sociology will thwart non-ideological efforts for sociology to exert influence on broader publics and on political decision-makers. In order for sociology to be able to influence public opinion and the decisions of key players in the political and economic arenas, it will need to earn respect through a long evolutionary process of careful research and explanation without ideological fervor. To expose the ideological biases of sociology will thwart this evolutionary process. In contrast, sociology would be much better to develop an engineering mentality in addressing issues, problems, and concerns of publics in present-day societies.     

Brand alliance and event management for social causes: Evidence from New Zealand

This paper uses findings from research on the effectiveness of a New Zealand health promotion program to make two arguments. The first is that, in appropriate cases such as this program, event management can play a key role in a social marketing health promotion campaign. In showing how event management added value to achieving that particular program's goals, it argues that event management could often be a valid and effective part of the mix for other campaigns promoting social causes. The second highlights important issues that can arise in relationships between non-profit organizations and the commercial sponsors of their events. It contends that organisers of campaigns for social causes need to be alert to the risks in brand alliances between such organizations and need to consider not only the appropriateness of the fit but also the need for an appropriate balance between the sponsor's commercial interests and the non-profit organization's goal.     

Enhancing Wellbeing in Social Work Students: Building Resilience in the Next Generation

The need for social workers to be resilient is widely emphasised. Although enhancing resilience in social work trainees presents a challenge to educators, they are nonetheless responsible for developing professionals who are able to cope with the emotional demands of the job. This paper argues that building resilience in the future workforce should be a key element of social work education. However, as little is known about the competencies and support structures that underpin resilience or the extent to which resilience protects the wellbeing of trainees, an evidence-based approach is required to inform curriculum development.

Recent research conducted by the authors of this paper has highlighted the protective nature of resilience in social work trainees. Emotional intelligence and associated competencies, such as reflective ability, aspects of empathy and social confidence, were found to be key predictors of this important quality. The important role played by social support from various sources was also emphasised. The present paper summarises this research, and presents interventions based on the findings that have the potential to promote resilience and wellbeing in social work trainees. Also considered are ways in which the curriculum might be further enhanced to provide trainees with an internal ‘tool-box’ of strategies that will help them manage their wellbeing more effectively in their future career.     

Forward-looking activities: incorporating citizens’ visions

Looking back on the many prophets who tried to predict the future as if it were predetermined, at first sight any forward-looking activity is reminiscent of making predictions with a crystal ball. In contrast to fortune tellers, today??s exercises do not predict, but try to show different paths that an open future could take. A key motivation to undertake forward-looking activities is broadening the information basis for decision-makers to help them actively shape the future in a desired way. Experts, laypeople, or stakeholders may have different sets of values and priorities with regard to pending decisions on any issue related to the future. Therefore, considering and incorporating their views can, in the best case scenario, lead to more robust decisions and strategies. However, transferring this plurality into a form that decision-makers can consider is a challenge in terms of both design and facilitation of participatory processes. In this paper, we will introduce and critically assess a new qualitative method for forward-looking activities, namely CIVISTI (Citizen Visions on Science, Technology and Innovation; www.civisti.org), which was developed during an EU project of the same name. Focussing strongly on participation, with clear roles for citizens and experts, the method combines expert, stakeholder and lay knowledge to elaborate recommendations for decision-making in issues related to today??s and tomorrow??s science, technology and innovation. Consisting of three steps, the process starts with citizens?? visions of a future 30?C40?years from now. Experts then translate these visions into practical recommendations which the same citizens then validate and prioritise to produce a final product. The following paper will highlight the added value as well as limits of the CIVISTI method and will illustrate potential for the improvement of future processes.     

"Is Public Sociology Such a Good Idea?"

Michael Burawoy's call for a public sociology disciplined by professional and policy sociology, on the one side, and driven by critical sociology, on the other, exposes the ideological biases of sociology to publics. In so doing, public sociology will thwart non-ideological efforts for sociology to exert influence on broader publics and on political decision-makers. In order for sociology to be able to influence public opinion and the decisions of key players in the political and economic arenas, it will need to earn respect through a long evolutionary process of careful research and explanation without ideological fervor. To expose the ideological biases of sociology will thwart this evolutionary process. In contrast, sociology would be much better to develop an engineering mentality in addressing issues, problems, and concerns of publics in present-day societies.     

Public relations and customer service: Employer perspectives of social media proficiency

Social media has enhanced integration between marketing and public relations. As such, public relations professionals have had to adapt and grow their knowledge and skillsets to stay relevant and current throughout the evolution of the digital landscape (Gesualdi, 2019). One of the growing areas of focus for public relations professionals has been customer service skills online. This specialization, often referred to as social care or social customer service, has been promoted and discussed heavily in industry circles and publications, but not in academic research. This study focuses on the survey results from 396 employers exploring the social media skills they most prefer university graduates to possess when entering the workforce. The results indicate that public relations and customer service are the social media skills most sought after by employers of university graduates ahead of proficiency in areas such as social media content production, strategy development and analytics. The potential implications of these findings to the public relations profession are examined and future research is also discussed.     

Comparing customer satisfaction across industries and countries

Although aggregate satisfaction measures continue to proliferate, their value in making broad-based comparisons remains unclear. This study uses arguments from the economics, psychology, sociology and marketing domains to predict systematic differences in aggregate customer satisfaction across both industries and countries. These predictions are tested using a database created from three broad-based national satisfaction surveys in Sweden, Germany and the United States. The results reveal that, across countries, satisfaction is highest for competitive products, lower for competitive services and retailers, and lower still for government and public agencies. However, the differences vary by country. Satisfaction is also predictably lower in Sweden and Germany compared to the US, and shown to change systematically in Sweden over time. Methodological differences do not appear to limit the comparability of the aggregate satisfaction measures. Overall the study supports the use of national indices for making meaningful comparisons of satisfaction on a broad scale.