Customer satisfaction in industrial markets: opening up the concept

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to "open up" the concept of customer satisfaction in industrial markets through arguing for a broader, contextually sensitive perspective to the phenomenon in its real-life settings. The conceptual argumentation put forward in this paper is based on an action-oriented research project on customer satisfaction in industrial markets conducted in two globally operating case organizations, the first one in paper machine manufacturing and the second one in the production of high quality steel for industry. On the basis of the "three steps" highlighted in this paper-the inner context of a business relationship, the connected network of the customer-supplier relationship, and the outer context of the connected network-it is argued that one can gain a more complete understanding of the context within which customer satisfaction actually emerges in industrial markets. The main function of the three steps proposed in this paper is to structure the inherent complexity and multiple facets of different contexts affecting customer satisfaction as a managerial phenomenon.

Exploring and Managing Negative Incidents in Business Relationships

“…Relationship strength is a soft experience-based factor while customer profitability represents a hard fact-based factor. In the business relationship literature a variety of concepts can be found describing the nature of relationships, such as relationship commitment (Dwyer et al 1987;Moorman et al 1992;Morgan and Hunt 1994), customer satisfaction (Backhaus and Bauer 2001;Tikkanen and Alajoutsijärvi 2002), relationship bonds (Håkansson 1982), and tension (Flint et al 2002;Beverland and Lockshin 2003;Holmlund-Rytkönen and Strandvik 2005).…”

Customer response to dissatisfaction: A synthesis of literature and conceptual framework

“…As the role of the business relationship and focus on the customer has come to the foreground, the business-to-business literature has paid increasing attention to customer satisfaction (see Emerson & Grimm, 1999;Tikkanen & Alajoutsijarvi, 2002;Tikkanen, Alajoutsijarvi, & Tahtinen, 2000). The satisfaction literature derives its concept Industrial Marketing Management 40 (2011) 118-127 Table 1 Summary of business-to-business research relevant to (dis)satisfaction and response behaviors.…”

“…Tikkanen and Alajoutsijarvi (2002) Customer satisfaction • Discussion of current procedures for tracking customer satisfaction. Three steps proposed (the inner context of a business relationship, the connected network of the customer-supplier relationship, and the outer context of the connected network) that must be considered for industrial customer satisfaction.…”

Linking account portfolio management to customer information: Using customer satisfaction metrics for portfolio analysis

“…In this sense, satisfaction metrics have been accepted as one of the most valued elements of customer information (Homburg & Rudolph, 2001;Sanzo, Santos, Vasquez, &Alvarez, 2003;Sharma, Niedrich, & Dobbins, 1999;Tikkanen, Alajoutsijärvi, & Tahtinen, 2000). The concept has been studied in various contexts with many aspects, mostly in association with or referring to the Oliver's (1980) disconfirmation of expectations theory (Anderson & Sullivan, 1993;Fornell, 1992;Gustafsson, Johnson, & Roos, 2005;Szymanski & Henard, 2001;Tikkanen & Alajoutsijärvi, 2002). Industrial customer satisfaction can be defined as an outcome of the complex information processing that is operated by the buying unit of the customer organization regarding both economic and social performance of the supplier in an interactive environment.…”