Although relationship marketing has gained acceptance as a research area in the marketing field since the 1990's, theory development in this area, particularly as it pertains to consumer markets, lags behind applications and prescriptions. Arguably, the fundamental problem of a relationship lies in the consumer's perceptions, especially for service consumers. Some consumers are very receptive to the idea of relationship because they perceive that it can reduce service risk due to the service's intangibility. / Some researchers argue that a service quality guarantee can be an effective tool to reduce consumer risk and increase consumer trust. On the other hand, others argue that a service guarantee may seem redundant with the original promise of service, as it may seem to put the burden of proof on the customer. Much of this discussion lacks actual data, so that there appear to be some gaps in knowledge and lack of much research to understand the impact of the service quality guarantee. / This paper reports results of an empirical study on the impact of a service quality guarantee on customer relationships in Singapore's mobile telecommunication market. First, qualitative research was conducted using in-depth interviews. The results demonstrated that many, though not all, customers do perceive a relationship with their mobile service providers. Further, both customer views about the role of a service quality guarantee came up- some view it as useful, and some question why it is needed if service is really already good. This qualitative work indicated that the initial proposed conceptual framework of this study is feasible. We then conducted the quantitative study to focus on the impact of the service quality activities and customer relationship elements. / Quantitative results also indicated many customers do believe that a relationship exists in this mass B2C market. Continuous improvement in service quality did increase trust, loyalty, service recovery, satisfaction, and referral, but trust and loyalty were the significant elements which contributed to the relationship strength. / The service quality guarantee was found to moderate the relationship between improvement of service quality and trust; it leads to a weaker relationship. It did not affect the other relationships between improvement in service quality and the other relationship strength antecedents (i.e. service recovery, satisfaction, referral, and loyalty). Thus, firms who plan to adopt a service quality guarantee must carefully consider its possible impacts. The view that a service quality guarantee may be redundant where consumers already see good quality seems to be supported. / Overall, while not every single element of the developed framework works exactly as hypothesized, in general, results supported the main patterns of our proposed model. / Thesis (PhDBusinessandManagement)--University of South Australia, 2006.

This research portfolio consists of three papers that together investigate the intangible returns generated from customer relationship management (CRM) programmes. / Thesis (DBA(DBusinessAdministration))--University of South Australia,

The purpose of this study is to describe the telecommunications industry in Malaysia and conduct a strategic analysis. There are 3 mobile operators in Malaysia and these three players are competing in a fierce competition to capture the market share. / Critical analysis and assessment of secondary data revealed that the strongest force of competition is rivalry among the incumbent operators and the bargaining power of buyers. The threat of entry and the bargaining power of suppliers are of medium strength while the pressure from substitute products is weak. The most important resources and competencies depend on pursued strategy. A configuration of the network aligned with the operator's overall strategy is a source of potential competitive advantage. Other operations may also be a source of competitive advantage in terms of distribution, branding and low cost. / The market is getting very tough. Customers are more demanding than ever. Service continues to get worse. The pressure is increasing to reduce cost and prices. Most organizations do not find out about their unhappy customers until it is too late. Customer-base growth and retention is crucial for long-term viability. To accomplish this, one must have a sound understanding of needs. In the telecommunications market, service quality relates to being able to exceed customer expectations while at the same time reducing costs. / The relationship between service quality, customer satisfaction and behaviour responses in the cellular industry (especially in the way the three constructs have been operationalized) is still shrouded in uncertainty. / This paper aims to understand the current situation of the cellular service in the telecommunications industry and relate it to the general understanding of service quality, customer perceived service quality, customer value, customer satisfaction and customers' behavioural response. The rationale of this is to enable the management of the organization to understand the possible implication on the firm based on the customers' satisfaction and to adopt strategic change to be competitive in the industry. / A case study measuring service quality is focused on the Klang Valley. The research was conducted via a structured questionnaire based on the SERVQUAL model and modified to suit the Malaysian environment. The overall study scale reliability shows 0.919, indicating a reasonably good indicator as to 0.92 by Parasuraman et.al (1985). The findings further indicate that 'Tangibles' is being perceived the best compared to the rest of the dimensions and Celcom customers perceive higher satisfaction compared to the Digi and the Maxis. / The study investigates the behavioural consequences of customer satisfaction in the Malaysian cellular industry. More specifically, this study examines the impact of customer satisfaction on behavioural variables. The analysis also identifies that there are no differences among the races on behavioural responses variables. The assessment indicates that tangible has the highest impact on the behavioural variables and network quality (product quality) is seen as the most important factor for customers as decision making criteria. / However, when the analysis is conducted based on racial groups, it shows that there are differences in the decision making criteria to subscribe to a cellular operator in Malaysia, The 'Indians' generally perceive the price as the most important criteria and the Network Quality is second. However, the rest of the racial groups perceive Network Quality as the most important criteria and price as the second priority. / Thesis (DBA(DoctorateofBusinessAdministration))--University of South Australia, 2005

This research portfolio consists of three papers that together investigate the intangible returns generated from customer relationship management (CRM) programmes. / Thesis (DBA(DBusinessAdministration))--University of South Australia,

The thesis extends previous loyalty research by comparing the performance of brands in subscription markets, specifically financial services and insurance, on a cross-category basis. Large investments are made in these industries on cross-selling initiatives with the hope of bringing about brand growth through increased loyalty. This research found very little variation between the loyalty scores for major brands in each market, suggesting that cross selling attempts are likely to play only a minor role in brand performance. / thesis (MBusiness-Research)--University of South Australia, 2005.

The purpose of this study is to describe the telecommunications industry in Malaysia and conduct a strategic analysis. There are 3 mobile operators in Malaysia and these three players are competing in a fierce competition to capture the market share. / Critical analysis and assessment of secondary data revealed that the strongest force of competition is rivalry among the incumbent operators and the bargaining power of buyers. The threat of entry and the bargaining power of suppliers are of medium strength while the pressure from substitute products is weak. The most important resources and competencies depend on pursued strategy. A configuration of the network aligned with the operator's overall strategy is a source of potential competitive advantage. Other operations may also be a source of competitive advantage in terms of distribution, branding and low cost. / The market is getting very tough. Customers are more demanding than ever. Service continues to get worse. The pressure is increasing to reduce cost and prices. Most organizations do not find out about their unhappy customers until it is too late. Customer-base growth and retention is crucial for long-term viability. To accomplish this, one must have a sound understanding of needs. In the telecommunications market, service quality relates to being able to exceed customer expectations while at the same time reducing costs. / The relationship between service quality, customer satisfaction and behaviour responses in the cellular industry (especially in the way the three constructs have been operationalized) is still shrouded in uncertainty. / This paper aims to understand the current situation of the cellular service in the telecommunications industry and relate it to the general understanding of service quality, customer perceived service quality, customer value, customer satisfaction and customers' behavioural response. The rationale of this is to enable the management of the organization to understand the possible implication on the firm based on the customers' satisfaction and to adopt strategic change to be competitive in the industry. / A case study measuring service quality is focused on the Klang Valley. The research was conducted via a structured questionnaire based on the SERVQUAL model and modified to suit the Malaysian environment. The overall study scale reliability shows 0.919, indicating a reasonably good indicator as to 0.92 by Parasuraman et.al (1985). The findings further indicate that 'Tangibles' is being perceived the best compared to the rest of the dimensions and Celcom customers perceive higher satisfaction compared to the Digi and the Maxis. / The study investigates the behavioural consequences of customer satisfaction in the Malaysian cellular industry. More specifically, this study examines the impact of customer satisfaction on behavioural variables. The analysis also identifies that there are no differences among the races on behavioural responses variables. The assessment indicates that tangible has the highest impact on the behavioural variables and network quality (product quality) is seen as the most important factor for customers as decision making criteria. / However, when the analysis is conducted based on racial groups, it shows that there are differences in the decision making criteria to subscribe to a cellular operator in Malaysia, The 'Indians' generally perceive the price as the most important criteria and the Network Quality is second. However, the rest of the racial groups perceive Network Quality as the most important criteria and price as the second priority. / Thesis (DBA(DoctorateofBusinessAdministration))--University of South Australia, 2005

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of British Columbia (Canada), 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Indiana University, 1993. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 260-271).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Dalhousie University, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 342-384).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--City University of Hong Kong, 2010. / "Submitted to Department of Information Systems in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 104-118)