Article 8

Question 1

Who wrote “Does relationship marketing matter in online retailing?
A meta-analytic approach”?

Answer 1

Verma, V., Sharma, D. & Sheth, J. Does relationship marketing matter in online retailing? A meta-analytic approach. J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci. 44, 206–217 (2016). https://doi-org.ru.idm.oclc.org/10.1007/s11747-015-0429-6

Question 2

What was “Does relationship marketing matter in online retailing?
A meta-analytic approach” about?

Answer 2

this study extends the relationship marketing framework to the domain of online retailing to identify what strategies help build relationships with online customers. Specifically, this meta-analytic study identifies key antecedents and consequences of relationship marketing in online retailing. The study also examines the relationship between the four mediators, the antecedents, and the consequences of relationship marketing

Question 3

What are the four mediators in Verma et al?

Answer 3

trust, commitment, relationship quality, and relationship satisfaction (just like in Palmatier et al)

Question 4

What are the three types of antecedents in Verma et al?

Answer 4

customer, seller, dyadic

Question 5

What is an example of a customer antecedent in Verma et al?

Answer 5

relationship benefits; dependence on seller

Question 6

What is an example of a seller antecedent in Verma et al?

Answer 6

relationship investment; seller expertise

Question 7

What is an example of a dyadic antecedent in Verma et al?

Answer 7

communication, similarity

Question 8

What consequences of online relationships in Verma et al?

Answer 8

WOM, customer loyalty, expectation of continuity

Question 9

Which antecedents had the most impact on the relational mediators in Verma et al?

Answer 9

Similarity and seller expertise were found to have the strongest impact on relational mediators

Question 10

What was the most critical outcome of RM efforts in Verma et al?

Answer 10

word of mouth was the most critical outcome of relationship marketing efforts

Question 11

What does “SEM” stand for in the Verma et al paper?

Answer 11

structural equation modeling

Question 12

What are “relationship benefits”, as defined by Verma et al?

Answer 12

the various functional or social benefits received from the exchange partner. These include convenience, time-saving, and reduced prices; lead to commitment, trust, relationship quality, and relationship satisfaction

Question 13

What variables were classified under the “relationship benefits” construct by Verma et al?

Answer 13

convenience motivation, information quality, price consciousness, website design

Question 14

What is an example of convenience motivation, under “relationship benefits”, by Verma et al?

Answer 14

flexibility in shopping time, reduction in shopping time, saving the effort of visiting the physical store, saving aggravation, and the option to buy on impulse or in response to an advertisement

Question 15

What is an example of information motivation, under “relationship benefits”, by Verma et al?

Answer 15

Information about product attributes, reviews, order and delivery information, frequently asked questions, and promotions. relevancy, sufficiency, recency, consistency, understandability, and playfulness are the six components of information quality.

Question 16

What is price consciousness, under “relationship benefits”, by Verma et al?

Answer 16

Internet lowers the cost of acquiring information about the product, especially for price-conscious customers. Many online retailers offer price deals or low-price guarantees and allow consumers to
compare prices across products and sellers

Question 17

What is the website design variable, under “relationship benefits”, by Verma et al?

Answer 17

the web page should be representative and distinctive of the image that the e-tailer is seeking to portray. Some of the commonly faced problems are poor design of the primary interface, lack of good security features, complex navigation, long download times, poor
customer service, confusing return policies, and incorrect
shipping information

Question 18

What is the dependence on seller construct, in Verma et al?

Answer 18

the customer’s evaluation of the value of seller-provided resources
for which few alternatives are available from other sellers; makes it
difficult for the customer to switch to a different seller as such
an action is costly to the customer; related to commitment & relationship satisfaction

Question 19

What is the seller investment construct, in Verma et al?

Answer 19

the investments made by the seller in terms of time, effort, and resources employed for the purpose of building a relationship with
the customer; ex/ gifts, loyalty programs; affect trust, relationship quality, and relationship satisfaction

Question 20

What is the communication construct, in Verma et al?

Answer 20

the information exchange occurring among the relationship partners.
It is the amount, frequency, and quality of information shared
between the exchange partner. ex/ CRM, mailing lists, chat, electronic bulletin board. linked to trust & relationship quality.

Question 21

What is the similarity construct, in Verma et al?

Answer 21

the commonality in status, appearance or lifestyle or similar cultures, shared values, and compatibility between buying and selling organizations; strong link to trust & commitment

Question 22

What is the expectation of continuity consequence, in Verma et al?

Answer 22

Expectation of continuity is the customer’s intention to maintain the relationship in the future and captures the likelihood of continued purchases from the seller; shopping or purchase intention

Question 23

What is the customer loyalty consequence, in Verma et al?

Answer 23

Customer loyalty is a deeply held commitment to rebuy or repatronize a preferred product or service consistently in the future, despite situational influences and marketing efforts having potential to cause switching behaviour

Question 24

What is the WOM consequence, in Verma et al?

Answer 24

the likelihood of a customer positively referring the seller to
another potential customer; satisfaction, quality, commitment, trust,
and perceived value as the antecedents for word of mouth

Question 25

Similarities of Verma et al & Palmatier et al 2006

Answer 25

• the relative effectiveness of the different antecedents varies across mediators
• as in traditional retail, the influence of RM strategies on
  outcomes is mediated by four relational mediators
• similar framework, different number of constructs/variables

Question 26

Key takeaways from Verma et al

Answer 26

Our analysis also reveals that WOM was most strongly related to RM efforts, followed by customer loyalty and expectation of continuity

Question 27

Managerial implications of Verma et al

Answer 27

• The three antecedents with the greatest impact—relationship similarity, seller expertise, and relationship investment—are factors that marketers can control directly in order to build strong relationships
• develop offerings that are aligned with the tastes and preferences of their local consumers to create a perception of similarity
• make relationship investments and maintain a high level of competency and expertise to build trust and to increase relationship satisfaction and quality
• communication between the buyer and seller is essential to improve the relationship quality and build trust
• developing proper feedback mechanisms (such as prompt return policies) and encouraging consumers to share their experiences, they can improve on the communication dimension