ORCID Profile
0000-0002-1516-1072
Current Organisation
University of Adelaide
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Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 27-03-2019
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 02-03-2021
Abstract: Despite a long-standing interest in service offshoring from both academics and practitioners, the questions how and under what conditions customers react when a well-known national brand decides to outsource its services to an offshore service provider (OSP) is an understudied area. Drawing on cognitive consistency theory, we test a new construct called, “service offshoring fit” (SOF) that captures customer overall perceptual consistency in their memory networks between the focal firm and the OSP as indicated by the suitability, appropriability, and logicality of the alliance. Using 393 responses from a panel of customers of focal brands, we show that customer certainty mediates the relationship between SOF and intention not to switch by current customers. Our findings also reveal an inverted U-shaped relationship between marketing communications and customer certainty at different levels of SOF. Specifically, if firms communicate consumers’ benefits associated with offshoring, they can mitigate or avoid negative customer reactions (and subsequently increase customer certainty) however, after a certain point, such effects are reduced.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 05-2020
DOI: 10.1016/J.AUSMJ.2019.07.003
Abstract: Past research focuses on the location effects in explaining consumers’ responses to service offshoring while the role of service offshoring partners (OSPs)’ characteristics has not yet been addressed. Adapting from information integration and inference theories, this paper develops “service offshoring fit” which is influenced by OSPs’ characteristics and explains the differential responses to service offshoring. Both qualitative and quantitative studies explore the concept of fit and the characteristics of OSPs. The results confirm that corporate reputation of the OSPs and advanced technology owned by the OSPs are the important characteristics that influence service offshoring fit, which in turn affects consumers’ responses to service offshoring. Results also indicate not all the OSPs’ characteristics equally contribute to service offshoring fit but rather be contingent on service types. This study contributes to the current literature as it looks beyond the location effect and explains the differential responses by introducing the concept of fit.
Publisher: Emerald
Date: 11-05-2020
DOI: 10.1108/JSTP-02-2019-0045
Abstract: This research extends existing services offshoring literature by investigating how the type of information exchanged, technical support or personal billing, in conjunction with country-of-service-origin (COSO) influences consumer likelihood to react negatively (boycott issue importance, NWOM, perceived service quality) to an offshore service exchange. Structural equations modelling is employed to assess relationships among constructs when country of service origin (New Zealand and the Philippines) and type of service provided (technical support and personal billing services) are varied. Using a scenario-based experimental design we collected 337 responses from a consumer panel across Australia. Results indicate that both COSO and type of information exchanged affect service sentiment. Overall, consumers feel more negative and more likely to punish a company for offshoring to culturally dissimilar countries such as the Philippines than to culturally similar ones such as New Zealand. However, consumers were more concerned with personal billing services provided from offshore providers than technical support, regardless of COSO. Practitioners need to understand customer sentiment about services offshoring in general as well as the relationship between service type and country of service origin when designing the global service supply chain. This study extends theory by applying a multi-dimensional portfolio perspective in examining customer sentiment of offshore services. Understanding the underlying bases of customer concerns and how companies can mitigate negative perceptions allows firms to better manage service offshore strategy.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 18-03-2021
Abstract: Despite the importance of branding in customer acquisition, little is known about the extent to which brand salience influences brand choice intention of new customers. Drawing upon associative network memory theory, we propose that brand salience is composed of brand prominence and brand distinctiveness, which are linked to brand choice intention of new customers. Our theoretical contention was empirically examined in the context of monetary donation to international aid-related charities by new donors. A mixed-method approach was utilized with semi-structured interviews with practitioners and donors, and two cross-sectional surveys. The study offers a holistic view for understanding brand salience and, as such, advances recent work focusing on the breadth and depth of brand associations in the customer’s mind.
No related grants have been discovered for Lu Lu.