Informatics Publishing Limited

Harsh V. Verma ¹

Affiliations
1 Faculty of Management Studies University of Delhi, Delhi 110007

Abstract

The marketing environment both at the side of demand and supply is undergoing a subtle but very profound change. The concept of value, value creation process, and value provider is not what it used to be. The pivot around which the marketing process was built in the industrialization wave used to be the product. Now the free and unhindered movement of men, materials, process and knowledge the parity seem to be dawning on the systems creating ultimate peril for the marketers. The manifestations of this malaise are loyalty erosion, switching and promotion sensitivity. The influence of product element is wearing away leaving marketers to look for edge elsewhere. The value now needs to be liberated and transcended from the narrow confines of the product. The marketer needs to break free from the boundaries imposed by the 'productness' of the offering. It is only when the offer is pushed into a higher value orbit, then only a marketer can hope to achieve the desired consequences like the commitment and bonding.

Keywords

Networked System, Feature-benefit Marketing, Consumer Rationality, Commoditization, Rallying Points, Value Orbit, Productness, Rational And Emotional Appeals

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Sheetal B. Sachdev ¹, Harsh V. Verma ²

Affiliations
1 Bhagini Nivedita College University of Delhi, Delhi
2 Faculty of Management Studies University of Delhi, Delhi

Abstract

Service marketers bemoan what they perceive as an unprecedented increase of customer expectations in many service industries. Customer expectations are on rise with each competitive advance. While at most everybody has an intuitive sense of what expectations are, service marketers need a far more thorough and clear understanding of expectations in order to comprehend the concept of service quality and to measure and manage it. A literature review suggests that the measurement of service quality is full of controversy associated with many issues, of which an important few are : the type of expectations customers hold in the evaluation, important manageable service quality dimensions / attributes that define it in its full framework and dimensional consistency across the service categories. The paper examines these aspects in select services. The results suggest that (1) Customer 'would' and 'should' expectations differ significantly at most of the times, (2) 'would' expectations are comparatively closer to the service performance, (3) all the suggested dimensions of service quality are important, and (4) service quality may not always be the same five-factor structure as proposed by Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry from time to time.

Keywords

Service Quality, should Expectation, would Expectation, Quality Dimensions

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Harsh V. Verma ¹

Affiliations
1 Faculty of Management Studies University of Delhi, Delhi

Abstract

There is a growing realisation that customer satisfaction is necessary but not sufficient for survival. The firms must organise efforts to create a completely satisfied customer. The issue is whether marketers really act upon this prescription. This study is aimed at discovering the incidents of failures in the context of service marketing. An attempt is made to identify failure incidences; their perceived severity and adequacy of recovery efforts in select service industries. It has been found that firms stumble in doing a good job at basic or core service level what to talk about augmentations. Besides, inter-personal failures are perceived to be the most severe. The firms are not able to make effective recovery in most of the cases from the customer's point of view.

Keywords

Recovery Management, Total Satisfaction, Service Failure

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Harsh V. Verma ¹, Ekta Duggal ²

Affiliations
1 University of Delhi, IN
2 Moti Lal Nehru College University of Delhi, IN

Abstract

The current time can be described as a period of protests and public anger not only in political space but also against business. A number of business and political misdemeanors have rocked the consciousness of people in different countries. The corporate misdemeanors are unlikely to be outcomes of randomness and confusion prevalent in business systems. This study was undertaken to gauge perception of two integral territories of business - the mangers and consumers. The motivating purpose was to explore perceptions of insiders and outsiders on different facets of their orientation or philosophical underpinnings with respect to shareholders, stockholders, environment, legal compliance, societal interest and ethics. The study found that perceptions on the orientation facets do not differ between the two groups. That is, if managers perceive business to work for profit maximisation so do outsiders. Secondly, the perceptions do not exhibit extreme tendencies. This implies that insiders and outsiders' perceptions concur on the fact that business is neither extremely oriented towards ethics or environment nor has complete disregard for these aspects. This is a positive sign because at least business is not found be completely insensitive to aspects that go beyond conventionally coveted metrics of business performance.

Keywords

Business Misdemeanors, Business Raison D'Etre, Consumer Manipulation, Quasi Moral Obligation, Sustainability, Ethics, Community Orientation IntroductIon.

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Ekta Duggal ¹, Harsh V. Verma ²

Affiliations
1 Department of Commerce, Motilal Nehru College, Delhi University, New Delhi, IN
2 Delhi University, New Delhi, IN

Abstract

The retail, globally, is one of the fastest growing businesses. India, with the second largest population in the world, offers to be an attractive retail destination for both domestic as well as global retail investors. In the context of growing importance of retail in India, this paper seeks to explore the impact of consumers' gender on quality parameters in modern retail formats. The study employs exploratory and descriptive research methodologies. Customers of both department stores and hypermarkets did not differ significantly in their perceptions of service quality and relationship quality on the basis of gender. The findings of the study have direct implications on development of marketing mix or value creation strategies. The perception based analysis suggests the adoption of a marketing mix based on relevant dimensions to be effective in creating quality and relationships across the two retail formats. The study provides insights into how well the retailers contribute towards customer satisfaction on various service quality and relationship quality parameters. These could be used by store managers in resource allocation in accordance to critical service attributes and in designing strategies for improvement in lacking areas. The research contributes to furthering knowledge on retailing in India and thereby seeks to fill the gap with respect to quality in retail.

Keywords

Retail Service Quality, Relationship Quality, Perceptions.

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Harsh V. Verma ¹

Affiliations
1 University of Delhi, New Delhi, IN

Abstract

Brands are powerful determinants of success. It is unsurprising to see how branding tools and processes are employed in political context. Notwithstanding the differences, the exchange, choice and discrimination between competing candidates makes the political arena similar to marketing in general. A democratic form of governance enjoys several similarities with competition. The Indian political space is highly divided and fragmented based on voter demographics and psychology. In sync with market reality, the political players are also highly diversified. In the next general elections, the most dominant voting group is going to be the youth segment often called 'now generation'. Change is also visible in the political leadership of two major national parties. The competing leaders Narendra Modi of the BJP and Rahul Gandhi of the Congress have a brand building is task in their hands. The first question in brand building is to understand what the brand stands for. This study explores the identity of these two leaders by applying content analysis to their communication. It is interesting to find that both brands are driven by a dominant discourse on change, but seem to adopt different routes to achieving the same.

Keywords

Political Marketing, Brand Identity, Democracy, Competition, Brand Image.

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Ragini Bhati ¹, Harsh V. Verma ¹

Affiliations
1 University of Delhi, Delhi, IN

Abstract

The purpose of the present conceptual paper is to identify the elements of online brand building, based on a literature review and mini case studies of successful brands. It is based on a thorough analytical review of literature and an extensive web-based search. The available literature on online brand building presents many different ideas about the domain. The study aims at delineating the concept of online brand building. It finds that brand-building efforts need to be aligned with the changing technology and provides a basis for the formulation and implementation of online branding strategies.

Keywords

Online Brand Building, Internet.

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Harsh V. Verma

Abstract

The word ‘cool’ has entered in the currency of language, especially that of young people. The term enjoys a distinct and well defined meaning in dictionary. In denotative sense it is related to the degree of temperature of a liquid or object or a body. It implies a state when something is ‘neither warm nor very cold or is moderately cold’ 2. Often ‘cool’ is also used in contexts other than relating to temperature, when it signifies character of a person, place or brand. Anything that is considered to be cool enjoys attraction and hence enjoys customer following. However, a perception of ‘un-cool’ has a value robbing effect from a product, place or phenomenon. If being cool can possibly give competitive edge in terms of customer desirability and following, it assumes significance from marketing perspective.

Keywords

Marketing, Brand

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Harsh V. Verma

Abstract

The usage of value statements by companies has become a common practice. These value statements are aimed at providing a context or implicit framework to guide behaviors. A clear set of values provides exact standards against which corporate behaviors can be judged for their appropriateness. The purpose of this study is to explore what values are espoused by organizations through these statements and are these values given only to provide business success related context or beyond to encompass other ‘existentialist’ concerns. The espousal of values assumes greater significance in the light of various corporate misdemeanors and scandals. The study finds four types of espoused values: the outcome values, performance values, external values and spiritual values. One most striking outcome of the pareto analysis is the supremacy of customer satisfaction, delight or value as the most commonly value incorporated by companies across all the categories. Although the external and spiritual values considered in this study are not commonly cited in the value statements, these are beginning to enter in the corporate consciousness.

Keywords

Corporate values, Value statements, Business purpose, Social responsibility, Profit orientation.

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Kriti Chadha ¹, Harsh V. Verma ²

Affiliations
1 PhD Research Scholar, Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi, Delhi – 110007, IN
2 Professor, Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi, Delhi – 110007, IN

Abstract

Purpose and meaning have always been fundamental to human and human institutions. In current times, “purpose” is actively researched by academic scholars and practiced by businesses. Purpose and values supersede product features or price in forming deeper connections with consumers by targeting emotional triggers. This paper, with its focus on alcohol beverage industry, studies how these brands target the innate need of humans to reach their terminal values or higher-order purpose in life to sell their products, consumption of which is associated with both health and social issues. Analysis of the selected alcohol beverage advertisements shows how marketers cleverly shift attention from the product attributes to consumers’ values, thus skipping the steps of Means-End chain. These personal values help in the attainment of one’s purpose (the reason for existence beyond oneself) ensuring satisfaction and contentment at an emotional level. In a category where brand preference is key, people’s motivation for selecting a particular brand they drink might be closely related to the underlying personal values.

Keywords

Means-End Chain, Values, Purpose, Alcohol Beverage

JEL classification: M31, M37

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