Does supply chain agility create customer value and satisfaction for loyal B2B business and B2C end-customers?

Abstract

PurposeDespite the recent wealth of supply chain agility literature, scholars have yet to thoroughly examine its impacts on the customer experience. To address this gap, we assess the effects of supply chain agility on customer value and customer satisfaction, including the moderating role of customer loyalty, from the perspectives of both business customers (B2B) and end-customers (B2C).Design/methodology/approachWe used multivariate regression analysis to evaluate direct, indirect and conditional effects across survey responses from 148 senior-level supply chain managers (buyers) (Study 1) and 170 end-customers (i.e. consumers) (Study 2).FindingsThe results reveal that supply chain agility retains a direct link to both B2B and B2C’ value and satisfaction. However, a higher level of customer loyalty reduces the strength of these relationships, signifying that agility is less important with established customers. In this respect, agility is important to attract new customers, but more agility is not always beneficial once the customer relationship is established.Originality/valueThe current study is among the first to examine end-customer response to supply chain agility. The findings complement existing literature by providing novel insights into the impact of supply chain agility on both business customers (B2B) and end-customers (B2C).

CRM system and potential customer loyalty trends: Some evidence of customer engagement

“…It is, therefore, essential to bear in mind that value does not depend on more sophisticated information and technology. The value creates by knowledge about customers and how the organization uses this knowledge to manage CRM (Gligor et al, 2020). Knowledge is the basis of CRM.…”

“…It is also: "a constant psychological engagement of customers towards the service providers, which results in the bank's customers not becoming competitive with the preference of the service provider over other competitors" (Berman, 2006;Dowling and Uncles, 1997;Gligor et al, 2020;Rahayu et al, 2020). Loyalty defines as: "a deep commitment on the part of the customer to buy back and care for a particular product (service/favor) by taking positive attitudes towards him, talking about it positively (spoken word of mouth), and recommending it to others with no intention of switching to other items in The status of exposure to any promotional campaigns" (Aldas-Manzano et al, 2011; Dick and Basu, 1994).…”

“…*CRM's main objective is to enhance customer loyalty by analyzing detailed customer details, improving productivity (Gligor et al, 2020), and the customer value over the long term through a focus on customer relationship management, marketing, and customer support (Chang, 2008). CRM also aims to attract current customers through improved loyalty and a higher profitability range of customers (Hansotia, 2002).…”

The role of perceived social media agility in customer engagement

“…Moreover, we make a novel theoretical contribution by introducing to the social media marketing literature a fundamental operations management construct. Agility is considered one of the key constructs within operations management and has been largely acknowledged to be one of the most desirable attributes of modern-day supply chains (Gligor et al , 2019a; Gligor et al , 2020). Merging insights from the two disciplines allows us to capitalize on the theoretical developments within the field of operations management.…”

Examining the Role of Top Management in Corporate Sustainability: Does Supply Chain Position Matter?

“…Despite the important strategic role of TMTs in shaping their companies' sustainability behavior, and in spite of a predominantly positive effect of corporate sustainability on firm performance [7], adoption of sustainability practices is conspicuously lagging behind or lacking altogether in large portions of the global economy, and company size and industry are not sufficient to fully account for these gaps [8]. Recent studies identify supply chain position as an important factor in explaining these uneven outcomes, a term that distinguishes between upstream business-to-business (B2B) companies, and downstream consumer-facing businesses (B2C) [9]. In particular, upstream B2B suppliers have been found to experience less stakeholder pressure for sustainability due to their lack of proximity to consumers and other key stakeholders, and to gain less from sustainability initiatives in terms of both reputation and performance than their consumer-facing counterparts [10,11].…”