Customer segmentation based on commitment and ICT use
| Published date | 13 March 2009 |
| Date | 13 March 2009 |
| Pages | 206-223 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/02635570910930109 |
| Author | Irene Gil‐Saura,Maria‐Eugenia Ruiz‐Molina |
| Subject Matter | Economics,Information & knowledge management,Management science & operations |
Customer segmentation based
on commitment and ICT use
Irene Gil-Saura and Maria-Eugenia Ruiz-Molina
Department of Marketing, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine and characterize groups of retail customers,
based on their perception of commitment to the retailer and the degree of use of its technological
equipment.
Design/methodology/approach – A CHAID algorithm is performed and differences between the
resulting segments are tested through the analysis of variance.
Findings – Four segments are obtained that differ significantly in commitment to the retailer and
level of use of the store’s information and communication technology (ICT) facilities, as well as in other
variables related to the retailer-consumer relationship. In particular, customer segments differ in their
use of retailers’ payment facilities.
Practical implications – The study provides a typology of consumers that enable retailers to take
efficient decisions regarding their technology investments and to design effective marketing
strategies.
Originality/value – Although literature concerning interorganizational relationships has reported
that commitment is influenced to a great extent by supplier investment in technology, the relation
between these variables in retailing has received little attention. The paper explores the relationship
between commitment and use of retailers’ ICT solutions for retail customers.
Keywords Communicationtechnologies, Market segmentation,Retailing
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Marketing focuses on the establishment, development and maintenance of continuous
relations between buyer and seller as a source of mutual benefits for both pa rts (AMA,
2004). Marketing managers should be able to understand the factors that explain the
establishment of long-lasting relations in order to manage their customer portfolio in
an effective way (Srivastava et al., 2001). Given the existing highly competitive market,
the literature recommends customer segmentation (Shani and Chalasani, 1992). Diverse
variables, mainly of a descriptive nature, have been considered in this segmentation
process. Nevertheless, due to the increasing complexity and diversity of consumer
behavior, these criteria are less and less valid. Thus, following a relational approach,
one of the suggested segmentation criteria is based on commitment (Story and Hess,
2006). In this way, by defining segments of consumers with different assessments of
their commitment to their retailers, retail managers can design marketing strategies
according to the characteristics of each type of customer.
Notwithstanding, Lewis and Soureli (2006) have suggested that maintaining a
portfolio of loyal clients involves increasing difficulties in the present context in which
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
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This research has been financed by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science ( Projects ref.:
SEJ2004-05988 and SEJ2007-66054/ECON).
IMDS
109,2
206
Received 16 May 2008
Revised 24 August 2008
Accepted 4 September 2008
Industrial Management & Data
Systems
Vol. 109 No. 2, 2009
pp. 206-223
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0263-5577
DOI 10.1108/02635570910930109
many economic sectors are moving from personal communications with the customer
to phone or online customer service. In this sense, whereas the information and
communication technologies (ICT) have allowed the fast growth of the service industry
through enhanced safety, convenience, accurateness, flexibility, variety, and reliability
of business internal processes (Lapierre, 2000), improving the total efficiency of the
supply chain through higher levels of commitment and a long-term orientation (Kent
and Mentzer, 2003), there are segments of consumers who consider the service
supplier’s technology as a source of dissatisfaction (Mick and Fournier, 1998;
Parasuraman and Colby, 2001; Burke, 2002; Walker et al., 2002; Snellman and Vihtkari,
2003). Furthermore, given the wide and heterogeneous range of ICT solutions in
marketing channels, several technological solutions might exert a significantly
different influence in customer value in the context of retail-consumer relationships.
Even if the relationship between commitment and ICT has been investigated and
proven in the service industry, scarce attention has been paid in the retailing context.
Thus, from a relational marketing approach, the present paper aims at analyzing
the existence of differen tiated segments of retail co nsumers regarding thei r
commitment level and the influence on this variable of the use of retailer’s ICT
solutions. In particular, the study is developed on two sectors of personal consumer
retail goods (grocery and textile/footwear) and two types of household goods stores
(electronics-household appliances, and furniture-decoration).
2. Theoretical framework
2.1 Commitment and ICT in the service industry relationships
Commitment, defined as “the belief of an exchange partner that the ongoing
relationship with another is so important as to warrant maximum efforts at
maintaining it” (Morgan and Hunt, 1994, p. 23), has been considered as one of the main
determinants in the establishment of long-term relations between the provider and
customer (Ulaga, 2003; Ryssel et al., 2004).
Literature has reported the positive influence that provider’s investment in ICT
exerts on customer commitment (Kent and Mentzer, 2003). In particular, buyers feel
more optimistic towards the future of the relationship with their providers when they
perceive that they make an effort to maintain the relationship, with investments
effected by providers generating trust in buyers over the extent of the seller’s
commitment to the relationship (Sharland, 1997; Kent and Mentzer, 2003). This finding
has been explained by the fact that technologies can improve customer relationship
management and service customization (Kaynama et al., 2003).
Nevertheless, the mere implementation of ICT solutions does not guarantee that the
provider will be able to establish closer relationships with customers (Larson and
Kulchitsky, 2000), since their influence depends on several factors – , e.g. relationship
atmosphere (Ryssel et al., 2004), market conditions (Sharland, 1997) – which means
that the cost of building a relationship may not be worth the investment costs, since the
absence of these investments has neither an apparent impact on the perception of
relationship value nor on the expected duration of the relationship.
Furthermore, it has been pointed out that technology can generate a feeling of
isolation, lack of control or ineptitude (Mick and Fournier, 1998). In particular,
Snellman and Vihtkari (2003) observe that there is approximately the same number of
complaints about an unsatisfactory service in traditional banking services and in
Customer
segmentation
and ICT use
207
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