Title: Satisfaction and loyalty from a customer viewpoint Level: Final assignment for Master degree in Business Administration Authors: Thomas Blomqvist and Per Nilsson Supervisor: Lars-Torsten Eriksson Date: Januari 2010 Purpose: The overall purpose of our paper is to describe Alfas customers based on the level of satisfaction and loyalty. We also want to find out if there are specific characteristics of customers with a high degree of satisfaction and loyalty. Method: We have used both secondary and primary data in the paper. We started with a review of relevant literature to seek knowledge in the field of customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Thereafter we conducted a prestudy by interviewing three of Alfas employees, and finally we conducted a quantitative survey on Alfas customers. The results were analyzed and compared against current theory of customer satisfaction and customer loyalty Results & conclusion: The results suggest that Alfa is successful in meeting customer expectations in service delivery, even if we can confirm differences in outcome between the three businessareas. The highest customer perceived quality are found in the three areas that are most important to customers. But we can also identify areas of improvement when it comes to documentation of assignments, well defined quotations and giving information in the case of unforeseen events. Those of Alfas customers that are very satisfied tend to be far more loyal than other customers. Those of Alfas customers that are very satisfied and very loyal (Apostles) have a much more positive perception of the company's service quality and also a significantly higher share-of-wallet than other customers. Proposal for further research: It would be interesting to analyze correlations between profitability and a high degree of customer satisfaction and/or loyalty. Another area for further research could be using a qualitative approach to study the similarities and differences between the three business areas approach to customers and analyze that against the customers perceived servicequality. The contribution of this paper: This paper describes satisfaction and loyalty from a customer perspective in a service company. It also shows that the level of customer satisfaction impact loyalty, and that customers who shows a high degree of satisfaction and loyalty differentiates themeself compared to other existing customers when it comes to perceived service quality and share-of-wallet.

Financial Crisis has seriously shut down global economy and Taiwan also couldn¡¦t escape from the strike of current Financial Tsunami. Under this condition, consumers become stricter on budgeting. Especially as rising price causes real income decrease, consumers would pinch pennies on necessity spending. We all know Watsons is the famous chain store of cosmeceuticals, which sells not only medicine but also cosmetics and commodities. Thus, this research takes Watsons as the example to explore the relationship among sales promotion, perceptive value, purchasing intention, and customer¡¦s loyalty. The main purposes as follows. 1. To understand customer¡¦s view towards sale promotion campaigns of Watsons. 2. To explore whether different sales promotion campaigns influence perceptive value, purchasing intention or customer¡¦s loyalty. 3. To discuss the relationship among sales promotion, perceptive value, purchasing intention, and customer¡¦s loyalty. 4. To analyze whether impulse purchasing characteristics modifies the effect of sales promotion on perceptive value, purchasing intention, and customer¡¦s loyalty. According to SPSS statistic analysis software, I have some findings as follows¡G 1. Customers prefer ¡§pay one more dollar, get one more item¡¨ than ¡§Redeem¡¨ 2. Different sales promotion cause different influences on perceptive value, purchasing intention, and customer¡¦s loyalty. 3. The effect of sales promotion on purchasing intention and customer¡¦s loyalty is significant. 4. Impulse purchasing characteristic doesn¡¦t have modified effect.

As competition among on-line retailers escalates, more services are added to increase shopping convenience, such as free delivery, 24-hour arrival, payment-pickup service in the assigned convenience stores, etc. Many e-commerce researches have included convenience as a critical factor on on-line shopping attitudes and behavior. Although the importance of convenience in on-line shopping (this is abbreviated as e-Convenience) is recognized, very few studies have discussed it in detail. After a review of convenience literature, including physical convenience and e-Convenience, this study proposes a theoretical model to systematically evaluate e-Convenience. We first define e-Convenience with its three constructs relating to the shopping and purchasing process. These are shopping convenience, delivery convenience and post-purchase convenience. The antecedent factors are on-line shopping characteristics, such as one-stop shopping, website design, shopping service, personalized touch, and exhaustive information characteristics. In addition, the dependent factors include satisfaction and loyalty. The discussions in this paper clarify the meaning of e-Convenience and provide further commentary on the role that it plays nowadays on e-shopping.

The establishment of medical institutions in Kaohsiung municipal is mainly to cooperate with the Kaohsiung City government in promoting health policy, equally allocating medical resources, enhancing the health of the citizens, looking after mid- or low-income citizens, and taking charge of the medical care services of special patients. However, many institutions encounter various internal constraints and environmental challenges, such as bureaucratic personnel management, inflexible accounting system, faulty implementation of national healthy insurance and competition between hospitals, the Taiwanese medical system has become ¡§high competition, low profitability¡¨. More institutions follow the trend to modify their medical care operation. Outsourcing is one of the methods to strength their medical services. The medical industry currently is highly competitive. By increasing awareness of health concern, patients are more cautious in searching for appropriate and reliable medical care. Therefore, the hospital management regards patient satisfaction, confidence, and loyalty as the core values to improve its medical care services. In this research paper, we discuss the relationship between the quality of medical care services in Kaoshiung municipal hospitals and their operating performance. We also compare the operating differences between public hospitals and outsourcing hospitals to provide authoritative reference. In our research, we selected samples of patients from the Kaoshiung Municipal Minsheng Hospital, United Hospital (Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Art Branch), Hsiaokang Hospital, and Cijin Hospital. We sent out 310 surveys and collected 287 responses by Apr 15 2010. Data analysis and hypothesis testing was based on SPSS for Windows12.0. Based on this research, we concluded that: 1.There is a significant correlation between quality of medical care services and hospital operating performance. Also, process of medical care services was highly correlated with operating performance. In addition, hospital operating performance could be effectively evaluated by quality of medical care services. 2.With regards to the evaluation of medical care services and operating performance for the four municipal hospitals, United Hospital received the highest scores, followed by Minsheng Hospital, Hsiaokang Hospital, and Cijin Hospital. However, the performance of these hospitals is average, indicating that their medical care services need improvement. 3.Finally, outsourcing hospitals have a competitive advantage, which could help the improvement of medical care services. Due to the different operating systems for each hospital, the regulatory authority should be cautious in supervising the performance of the hospital.

In the service economy, service has dominated economic development. Service industries in the face of the incessant and changing competition, companies not only continuing to create advantages of marketing strategy, but also still need to "service innovation" to create sustainable service advantage. This study aimed to explore the service using innovative services impact study for the Ministry of Economic Affairs premises to promote "innovative service technology projects" The YH-based resorts use the RFID technology creating customer value. From the science service point of view (Service science, management and engineering, SSME), use the latest technology improve service efficiency and customer satisfaction that create greater profits leap. The theoretical development framework Hertog (2000) proposed the "Service Innovation Model" as the main core of this study architecture theory. The results can be observed from the case analysis, YH resort in response to the use of innovative technology, hardware and software for the organizations have done thoroughly improved, but the analysis also pointed that the extent of staff training and attention is relatively scarce, companies only technological innovation is insufficient, and to a management innovation can be technological innovation to achieve the desired efficiency. On the other hand the Empirical results that service innovation and customer satisfaction is positively related to significant, and this can provide that service innovation affect customer satisfaction.

Abstract The goal of this research is to know whether higher degree of customer involvement in the service value creation would help firms build stable and valued relationship with customers. To be more specific, this research studies whether firms can implement co-production as the strategy to develop bonds with customers and to strengthen the relationship with customers. In this thesis, a research is conducted by studying the customers¡¦ feedback of a law firm which specializes in resolving disputes regarding intellectual property rights. This research focus on studying the relationship in the business to business context as the customers of the law firm are mainly foreign associates and foreign and domestic companies in different business field. The author develops a framework and investigates the correlation between co-production and customer¡¦s loyalty and their future intention by using overall satisfaction, trust, and commitment as intermediate factors. The testing results show co-production is positively related to overall satisfaction, trust, and commitment and each of these intermediate factors has a positive relationship with customer loyalty and future intention. Also, future intention is positively related to loyalty. This study provides valuable insights for firms and managers by demonstrating that firms can create competitive advantage by retaining customer loyalty and influencing future intention of purchases through the implementation of co-production.

When the generation of experience economy coming, customers are becoming care if the products or services which are company provide is what they need. Customers want what let them feel dizzy, what is able to touch their mind, stimulate their think, what is related to them, and also the product or marketing activities is connected to their life style(Pine II & Gilmore, 1999¡FSchmitt, 1999), it means that experience economy is becoming a trend of product consuming. Therefore, this study attempt to quote the Comprehensive model raised by Cronin, Brady and Hult (2000) and the Cognitive Model raised by Oliver(1980) as basic research frames, to prove the following goals of this study. After consumers which have been shopping in IKEA cognize the experiential value, whether their cognition will affect consumers¡¦ satisfaction or not. In addition, consumers will have the brand loyalty to IKEA. According to the result, it provides some suggestions to their experiential marketing. According to the results, consumers¡¦ experiential value will affect consumer satisfaction positively. When consumers¡¦ satisfaction becomes higher, and their brand loyalty becomes higher. In addition, when consumers¡¦ experiential value of playfulness becomes higher, and their brand loyalty becomes higher. However, some kinds of experiential value including aesthetics, service excellence and customer ROI have to let consumer have consumer satisfaction, then it can make consumers have loyalty to the brand.

Thousands of Alumni are in all walks of life in domestic and foreign after graduated. They are not only the important economic supports but also the connections between school and business. However, relationship needs long-term maintenance, and virtual community becomes the brand¡¦s communitive and interactive distributions. In Taiwan, many universities are awared of the trend of community media and established their own virtual alumni associations on Facebook fan page, in order to enhance alumni serving and relationship connecting. This study is a partnership with National Sun yat-sen University¡¦s alumni service center as a case study, analyzing from relationship marketing view point to realize the influence of virtual alumni association management on alumni loyalty. By academic and empirical exploring to observe the excutive status of NSYSU alumni service on Facebook fan page and provide suggestions as a model to those organizations which willing to manage virtual communities to increase loyalty. This study is cooperated with NSYSU¡¦s alumni service center, and collected questionaires by the ¡§filled questionnaire, join lottery¡¨ activity on NSYSU¡¦s alumni service Facebook fan page. Furthermore, researcher also sent email invitations with the link of online questionarie from alumni database, to investigate alumni¡¦s understandings and recommendations of NSYSU¡¦s alumni service Facebook fan page. The study outcomes are as following, relationship marketing has positive influence on relationship quality; relationship quality has positive influence on loyalty; relationship marketing has positive influence on loyalty. Which means virtual community does help maintaining relationship between alumni and school, raising the loyalty. It is an efficiency way to manage the customers¡¦ relationship and loyalty. However, the influence of social bond of relationship marketing strategy on loyalty is not significant. This study conjecture that users can not be awared of the specialties of interactive communications on Facebook fan page since Facebook originally based on the social network. When users feel limited relationship marketing intention and qualities, they can not increase their loyalties.

With the high competition of prosperous catering industry motivated by the mammoth population of dining out, the business model is on the way to diversity. How to meet customer¡¦s need and build up customer loyalty has been playing an essential role to manage catering industry in the near future. According to the literature, customer loyalty is vitally associated with service quality, brand image, service value and customer satisfaction as opposed to the connection between relationship quality and customer loyalty. Consequently, the study attempts to explore whehter service quality, brand image and relationship quality have a certain impact on customer loyalty, and whether mediating effect occurs among them. The study utilizes linear structure relationship model along with service perceived value by Petrick (2002) to build up the relationship model among service quality, brand image, relationship quality and customer loyalty with a view to comprehending the effects existing among them. Based on SERVQUAL brought up by Parsuraman (1988) as well as overall evaluation of product effectiveness referring to SERV-PERVAL, it comes to the result- twelve observed variables. Data analysis is particularly divided into two parts ¡V Fundamental Analysis and Mode Analysis, which respectively undergoes the analyses with SPSS12.0 and AMOS. The subjects of this study are aimed at the customers from well-known chain hot pot restaurants in Kaohsiung. Six hundred questionnaires are given out and three hundred sixty five collected; the overall response rate is 60.8% in which there are eleven questionnaires are invalid and three hundred fifty four instead. The finding of empirical analysis indicates that service quality has an obvious impact on relationship quality and so does relationship quality to customer loyalty. Only the value in brand image can¡¦t make a remarkable impact on customer loyalty. The part of result seems fairly differs from empirical analysis. According to the accounts of some experts¡¦ interviews, the researcher points out certain impact truly exists in brand image and customer loyalty, which is taken as an evidence to modify the data of the questionnaires. Ultimately, to improve service quality, brand image, relationship quality and customer loyalty, we provide the suggestions.

With the rise of Web 2.0 concept, the development of virtual communities focuses more on the factors of relationship and interaction. Micro-blogging, the kind of community platforms that limit the length of a post and emphasize real-time and interactive features, has become popular these years. Seeing the potential of micro-blogging marketing, many businesses start to use micro-blogging as a promotional channel. With the different characteristics and multiple features of micro-blogging services, however, most businesses are still exploring how to make relationship marketing successful. This study uses commitment-trust theory by Morgan & Hunt (1994) to investigate the building of trust and commitment between users and communities and their influence on community loyalty from the perspective of relationship commitment. An online-survey was conducted among Plurk users, and 300 valid respondents were used for data analysis by structural equation modeling (SEM). The results indicate that commitment and trust have a significantly positive effect on loyalty. Trust is significantly influenced by shared values, communication and opportunistic behavior, and commitment is significantly influenced by relation-ship benefits and trust. Information quality and shared values, however, do not have significant impact on commitment. Furthermore, user characteristics and usage frequency have significant moderating effect on the level of causal influence. The results show the importance of trust and commitment building in micro-blogging and provide useful suggestions for micro-blogging marketing.