Under the four forces of opening up of domestic telecommunication market, breakthroughs in information and communication technology, changes in consumer demand, and supplier¡¦s race for economic efficiency, industry structures have transformed. What used to be three distinct industries of divergent directions of development ¡V network service (computers), telecommunication (telephones) and cable television (television), are interacting. The market is growing rapidly with combined digital flow of the three industries. Broadband internet played a key role in such transformation. ADSL broadband internet service has prospered in recent years. As the internet population approach maturity, the market has changed focus from quantity to quality. There are two major challenges to fixed network internet service providers are: To increase market share by attracting more customers to its service base, and retain customers to minimize loss of customers. Telecommunication service providers attract new customers by offering special prices with gifts, they retain customers by elevating switching cost and long term contracts. But the result of price-cutting competition was erosion of profit margin. Customer loyalty is also swayed by low prices met by competitors. Under such intense competitive environment, service providers are actively developing digital content and making investment in fiber optic broadband to mitigate loss. It is hoped that richer internet content and faster speed broadband can attract more customers and increase customer revenue contribution. The subject of this study are ADSL broadband internet users in the greater Kaohsiung area, the regions surveyed include Kaohsiung County and Kaohsiung City. A questionnaire was used as the data collection tool. The survey was conducted on a convenient sample. Data was analyzed using SPSS statistical software. The influence of customer¡¦s expected future benefits, overall customer satisfaction and marketing strategies on customer retention were investigated. Furthermore, the interaction effects were also reviewed. The results of the study are: I.The most important factor in influencing customer retention is overall customer satisfaction, followed by marketing strategy and customer¡¦s expected future use. Further results are derived from analysis: 1.Overall customer satisfaction, customer¡¦s expected future use and marketing strategy showed significant positive influence on customer retention. 2.The influence of overall customer satisfaction, customer¡¦s expected future use and marketing strategy on customer retention vary in strength. 3.Marketing strategy showed significant positive influence on overall customer satisfaction and customer¡¦s expected future use. 4.With respect to the degree of influence on customer retention, overall customer satisfaction showed greater influence than marketing strategy and customer¡¦s expected future use. II.Customers exhibit high expectations for future use¡C Telecommunication service provider satisfying the following ¡§customer¡¦s expected future use¡¨ will significantly enhance customer retention. 1.Provide value-adding services. 2.Provide more value-adding application content. 3.Offer better prices. 4.Exchange fiber optic with ADSL in the future at free of charge

This dissertation examines the innovations in electronic commerce and their managerial impacts. In the first essay, we investigate the importance of product and retailer uncertainty in a customer's online purchase decision as well as the uncertainty-reduction effects of retailer characteristics. In the second essay, we examine online pricing strategies of B2C retailers, with an aim to understand whether and how the driving factors of price dispersion evolve over time. Based on the theories of resource-based view (RBV), IT business value, and competitive dynamics, the third essay examines the factors that affect cross-channel capabilities and competitive actions in the apparel industry in the U.S.

Transportation decision makers are tasked with doing more improvements with less funding, which requires effective tools to assess and predict the outcomes of their choices. The objectives of this research are to explore customer satisfaction in various contexts, assess its application in transportation contexts and develop quantitative, empirically-based tools that improve customer satisfaction in transportation decision making. This research conducted a survey of targeted customer satisfaction practitioners and their planning products and tested the implicit assumption. The findings are significant and contrary to current theory and practice. The results support the hypothesis that the impact of negative performance is different than the impact of positive performance on customer satisfaction in a transportation context. These findings suggest that the relationship is asymmetrical and nonlinear contrary to implicit assumptions of current decision support tools like the Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) matrix. The results also identify that transportation agencies identify quality of life and customer satisfaction as an important goal and measure for their regions. These results suggest that customer satisfaction is a tool in decision making and there is an empirical methodology to accurately assess the relationship of performance to satisfaction that can impact resource decisions in transportation. The results also suggest that customer satisfaction can be used to address issues of social equity and the broader goals of transportation plans.

The Indian IT industry has grown at an impressive rate during the last decade. India's own competitive advantage in the software business is well known: cost-effectiveness, world-class quality, high reliability, and rapid delivery, all of it powered by state-of-the-art technologies. Software has penetrated different spheres of the Indian economy, namely Indian corporate sector, government and public sector units. Over the last decade, one of the sectors, which have felt the "heat" of software intrusion, has been the financial service. Indian banking industry, today is in the midst of an IT revolution. A combination of regulatory and competitive reasons have led to increasing importance of total banking automation in the Indian Banking Industry. The present level of computerization in Public Sector Banks is a result of these initiatives. RBI has also gone ahead in creating of nation wide and localized networks for integration of the entire financial system. The Software Packages for Banking Applications in India had their beginnings in the middle of 80s, when the Banks spurred on by RBI and the Rangarajan Committee Report, started computerizing the branches in a limited manner. A few software companies in the country have developed banking software products and most of the banks have adopted them. These products enable all the banks to automate their operations at the branches and corporate offices. The software companies develop 60% of the software in the company itself, which involves the development of modules, and the remaining 40% is done in the customer's site. This 40% is customization of the software. The success of these banking software products in the banks can be measured by studying the market share of the individual products, revenues earned by these products by the respective companies. The success of these products depends on the satisfaction of the users, using the software. To measure their satisfaction and arrive at those products that are performing well in terms of User satisfaction, the following objectives were designed in the present study. The objectives are: 1. To understand the attributes of the banking software products that are relevant to user/customer satisfaction. 2. To understand the user's perception of the above attributes. 3. To derive the key factors of user/customer satisfaction. 4. To develop an Importance-Performance map for the attributes of the software. Based on the literature review and the discussions held with the software professionals and bank employees, we identified few relevant variables like Implementation, Maintainability, Reliability, Security, User's Performance and Output which fall under the software related variables and variables like Vendor's meeting User's needs, Vendor's mktg skill, User involvement, Training and support, and Service falling under the vendor related variables. A structured questionnaire was developed based on these variables using a 5-pt likert scale and this instrument was checked for its construct and content validity and also Reliability by conducting Factor analysis and Computing Cronbach's alpha respectively on a small sample in the Pilot study. The questionnaire was modified and the final instrument was used for the main study. This questionnaire was administered on a sample of 141 in the main study. The collected data were subjected to Factor Analysis to arrive at the key factors of User satisfaction for banking software products. We obtained seven factors User's Performance, Output, and Vendor's Marketing skill, Implementation, Ease of Use, Security and Maintainability. The second part of the study plot an Importance -Performance Map for all the products on all variables which gives us the best performer. Since this was subjective analysis, we conducted ONE-WAY ANOVA on the data to arrive at the best performer. However, ANOVA could give only the top performer, but we were not able to identify the second best product. We computed the weighted scores for each of these products by giving weights to the variables and multiplying with the performance scores. The comparison of the total weighted scores of all the four products considered in the study helped us in ranking the products based on their performance. We obtained that Product 3 was on top followed by Product 4 and Product 1 and last was product 2. Based on these analyses we suggested the following to the software vendors: 1. The key factors identified in the study should be given the highest priority while developing and testing the software for conformance with the specifications. 2. Product 2 must be improved on variables like output by making the report generation more flexible and maintainability should be made easier by making additions more flexible without any errors. 3. Vendors of Product 1 and 2 should provide better user manuals using simple language and also train the bank employees in using the software, by involving employees during customization in a more informal way. 4. Vendor's of Product 3 and 4 should maintain the quality of their existing products respectively and try to improve them.

<p><strong><p>Purpose:</p><p>This thesis investigates and analyzes the customer satisfaction over a 10-year time period among Trivselhus customers.</p><strong><p>Background:</p><p>More companies in the building sector are starting to realize the importance of using cus-tomer satisfaction as a tool to enhance their competitive advantage. Customer satisfaction brings several positive aspects to a company, which can contribute to a successful business. It is crucial to fulfill customers‟ wants and needs in order to obtain customer satisfaction.</p><p>Building a house is one of the largest investment people make in life, with important deci-sions that can affect their current way of living. Customer satisfaction is, therefore, crucial for a company like Trivselhus, where it is essential to keep their customers satisfied by of-fering the right products that fulfill their expectations.</p><p>Another increasingly important aspect in people‟s lives today is the environment. This has now come to affect the house building industries as they have to fulfill customer expecta-tions regarding energy efficiency and environmental friendliness.</p><strong><p>Method:</p><p>To answer the purpose, primary data have been collected by conducting a telephone sur-vey. The survey was made randomly among Trivselhus customers. From the different theo-ries, important categories that affect customer satisfaction were found. Aspects from all these categories were included in the questionnaire to explain customer satisfaction. The analysis is based on statistical data generated from the survey. Central tendency values and regression analysis makes it possible to explain which variables affect customer satisfaction among Trivselhus customers.</p><strong><p>Conclusion:</p><p>The outcome of the research signifies, that customer satisfaction among Trivselhus cus-tomers has not changed during all the years covered in this research. There are several va-riables affecting customer satisfaction. These variables are included in different categories; Complaints, Expectations, Service Quality, Energy, Product Quality, and Image. Further-more, there is not enough evidence to prove that energy efficiency and environmental friendliness affect customer satisfaction geographically.</p></strong></strong></strong></strong></p> / <p>Syfte:</p><p>Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka och analysera kundnöjdheten bland Trivselhus kun-der över en 10 års period.</p><p>Bakgrund:</p><p>Fler företag inom byggsektorn har börjat inse vikten utav att använda kundnöjdhet som ett redskap för att skaffa sig konkurrensfördelar. Kundnöjdhet medför flera positiva aspekter till ett företag, som kan bidra till en framgångsrik affärsverksamhet och det är viktigt att uppfylla kundernas förväntningar och behov för att få kunde nöjd.</p><p>Att bygga ett hus är en utav de största investeringar som görs i livet, med viktiga beslut som kan påverka ens levnadssituation. Kundnöjdhet är därför avgörande för ett företag såsom Trivselhus, där det är viktigt att hålla sina kunder nöjda genom att erbjuda rätt produkter som uppfyller deras förväntningar och krav.</p><p>En annan viktig aspekt idag är miljön. Det har visat sig att miljön har kommit att påverka byggsektorn eftersom de nu måste uppfylla kunders förväntningar även angående miljö och energi aspekter.</p><p>Metod:</p><p>För att besvara syftet har primärdata samlats in genom en telefonundersökning. Undersök-ningen gjordes slumpmässigt bland Trivselhus kunder. Från teorier hämtades viktiga kate-gorier som påverkar kundnöjdhet. Aspekter från alla dessa kategorier ingick i frågeställ-ningen för att kunna förklara kundnöjdhet. Analysen bygger på statistiska uppgifter. Me-delvärden samt regressions analys gör det möjligt att förklara vilka variabler som påverkar kundnöjdheten bland Trivselhus kunder.</p><p>Slutsats:</p><p>Resultatet utav studien visar att kundnöjdheten bland Trivselhus kunder inte förändrats under åren som behandlats, men det finns flera variabler som påverkar kundnöjdhet. Dessa variabler är inkluderade i olika kategorier; Klagomål, Förväntningar, Servicekvalitet, Energi, Produktkvalitet och Image. Vidare så finns det inte tillräckligt med bevis för att miljö och energi påverkar kundnöjdheten geografiskt.</p>

<p>Introduction</p><p>An increased globalization and competition has forced companies to change their view on the supply chain, from supply chain management to demand chain management.</p><p>The company Martela is experiencing an increased competition and a declining market. They have started a program for change in order to reclaim market shares. The goal of one of the sub-projects is to increase the customers’ confidence on Martela in order to increase customer satisfaction.</p><p>Purpose</p><p>The purpose of this study is to illustrate the strong significance of physical distribution on customer satisfaction.</p><p>Method</p><p>We have used a qualitative method. We have gathered information for this paper by means of discussions, interviews and data processing of delivery and sales. It has been an iterative process in which we have moved from empiric data to theory and then back, in order to analyze the result. A significant part of this paper are interpretations, in which the theory as well as our background had an influence in the analysis and the dis-cussion.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>Customer satisfaction plays an important role in order to compete in the office furniture market. One step towards making the customer satisfied is to have a satisfactory physi-cal distribution. The conditions for a good distribution and satisfied customers can be created by focusing on damage-free deliveries on time along with the relevant informa-tion.</p>

The development of technology and the mechanization in the Swedish forestry has during the last 60 years resulted in depopulation of the country side and due to that the amount of distance forest owners has increased. Therefore the forest companies need to make some adjustments in order to keep the distance forest owners as customers and to attract new ones. The purpose of this essay was to examine and analyze the distance forest owners satisfaction with Södras service offering and quality of service and further develop some proposals for action. A web-based survey was sent out to 634 distance forests owners in Stockholm, Sweden, all members of Södra. 269 respondents participated in the survey and of them, 27 did also participate in a follow-up telephone interview. The results show that the members generally was satisfied with the service offering and the quality of service. Suggestions for improvement regarding the service offering is all about implementing forest management courses in Stockholm and including providing financial and generational counseling, also on location in Stockholm. The quality of service can be improved if the inspector changes the way of working towards an even more customer adapted way and also improve the dialogue with the entrepreneurs. Further suggestions for improvement is to a greater extent welcome complaints and to give some compensation and/or apologize when it is motivated.

Customer loyalty as a concept is a critical strategic option in today’s competitive environment. It is no surprise therefore that managers and researchers have increased their study and understanding of the concept as a strategic marketing imperative over the past decades to capture market share and improve profitability. Indeed the theoretical perspective is that competitive pricing as well as company image and reputation contribute to customer satisfaction and that service quality along a number of pathways drives customer loyalty and profitability thus: service quality--&gt; customer satisfaction--&gt; customer loyalty --&gt; market share --&gt; profitability. A few empirical studies have found these linkages to be true. However these factors differ in importance based on the cultural setting. We investigate (1) whether these relationships exist and (2) which of these factor(s) is/are important in motivating consumer loyalty from the perspectives of retail banking customers in Ghana. The study draws on customer behaviour and attitude premised on the SERVQUAL and SERVPERF models originated by Parasuraman et al., (1988), Cronin and Taylor (1992), and Brady and Cronin (2001) respectively as well as other researches based on the literature on customer satisfaction and loyalty. We used both quantitative and qualitative research approaches in our study and have drawn from both primary and secondary sources of data. We made use of a 7 point likert scale to develop indexes for the main constructs measured in this study and applied correlation, chi square (χ2) and regression analyses to evaluate the hypothesised relationships. Further we qualitatively analysed aspects of the data hinging on explanatory aspects of our research. The results among other things reveal that whilst service quality (especially empathy and reliability) and bank image and reputation are important instigators of customer satisfaction and loyalty, competitive pricing showed a weak linear relationship with customer satisfaction and loyalty (r &lt; 0.5). On the other hand, increased market share was found to influence banks’ profitability. Finally we discuss the management implications of the study in terms of customer retention and profitability strategies for the banks in Ghana. We emphasise that management strategies that are service quality conscious, use person-organisation fit approaches to recruitment and effectively communicate strategies could help institutionalise a culture that is customer relation centred, help banks survive the competition, retain their customers and in the long run increase their profitability.

Customer loyalty has been investigated in years, and its importance to corporate is understood by managers. The purpose of this paper is to find out what kinds of specific and concrete operational factors have an important impact on Chinese mobile telecom customer loyalty. Firstly, a model was established to represent the relationship between customer loyalty and its influencing factors (customer satisfaction, perceived quality, customer value, switching cost and corporate image). 11 specific and concrete operational factors were found according to Chinese mobile telecom industry which were never been studied by the pre-researchers. Secondly, a survey of questionnaire has been conducted which help to found out that the 9 factors (call quality, coverage of area, SMS quality, the convenience and reliability of Inquiring phone fee system, service quality of service center and hotline, rating price of given quality, customer’s worry of troubles after change cell phone number, social responsibility, advertisements about corporate image) have an important impact on customer loyalty on Chinese mobile telecom industry. Thirdly, separating these 9 factors into 3 groups through investigate the performance of customer loyalty in China Mobile. At last, some recommendations were given to China Mobile

Introduction An increased globalization and competition has forced companies to change their view on the supply chain, from supply chain management to demand chain management. The company Martela is experiencing an increased competition and a declining market. They have started a program for change in order to reclaim market shares. The goal of one of the sub-projects is to increase the customers’ confidence on Martela in order to increase customer satisfaction. Purpose The purpose of this study is to illustrate the strong significance of physical distribution on customer satisfaction. Method We have used a qualitative method. We have gathered information for this paper by means of discussions, interviews and data processing of delivery and sales. It has been an iterative process in which we have moved from empiric data to theory and then back, in order to analyze the result. A significant part of this paper are interpretations, in which the theory as well as our background had an influence in the analysis and the dis-cussion. Conclusions Customer satisfaction plays an important role in order to compete in the office furniture market. One step towards making the customer satisfied is to have a satisfactory physi-cal distribution. The conditions for a good distribution and satisfied customers can be created by focusing on damage-free deliveries on time along with the relevant informa-tion.