European Journal of MarketingEmerald Article: E-retailing by banks: e-service quality and its importance to customer satisfactionCarmel Herington, Scott Weaven

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E-retailing by banks: e-servicequality and its importance to

customer satisfactionCarmel Herington and Scott Weaven

Department of Marketing, Griffith Business School, Griffith University,Gold Coast, Australia

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the measurement of e-service quality for e-retailbanking, the importance of e-service quality dimensions to e-retail bank customers, and therelationship between e-service quality and customer satisfaction.

Design/methodology/approach Results are drawn from a self-completed survey of aconvenience sample of 200 Australian respondents who regularly use online banking facilities.Factor analysis and regression analysis are used to ascertain factor structure and determine the impactof e-service quality dimensions on satisfaction.

Findings A four-factor solution (E-ServQual) represented by personal needs, site organisation,user-friendliness and efficiency is found, with all factors rated as important. E-ServQual is found tobe a predictor of overall customer satisfaction with banking performance, but efficiency is not foundto be predictive. Overall satisfaction is lower than overall e-service quality.

Research limitations/implications The Australian sample limits generalisability. Futureresearch should investigate the importance of human interaction in the provision of quality service,re-test the developed measure with new data, explore the e-service quality construct further, andinvestigate its relationship with customer satisfaction and the exposed unknown negative influenceson customer satisfaction, in other international settings.

Originality/value The paper informs knowledge gaps related to the measurement and structure ofe-service quality, its importance and impact on customer satisfaction. A more holistic measure ofe-service quality is supported. Good e-service performance impacts customer satisfaction positively,but does not override unsatisfactory performance in other areas. Banks need to be mindful that onlineservice provision is not sufficient for ensuring customer satisfaction with their overall service.

Keywords Virtual banking, Customer satisfaction, Customer services quality

Paper type Research paper

IntroductionAdvances in technology impact service delivery options and approaches within serviceindustries, leading to the active pursuit of e-retailing as a key method of serviceprovision. This is particularly so within the financial services sectors in Australia andthe UK, where banks actively encourage customers towards using online sites(Al-Hawari and Ward, 2006). However, greater transaction efficiency through reducingemployee numbers and physical facilities in favour of web-based service deliveryinfrastructure may negatively impact customer perceptions of service quality due toreductions in human interaction in service exchanges (Jabnoun and Al-Tamimi, 2003).

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at

www.emeraldinsight.com/0309-0566.htm

The authors would like to acknowledge their gratitude to the anonymous reviewers and theGuest Editors for their support and guidance throughout the review process.

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Received April 2007Revised February 2008Accepted August 2008

European Journal of MarketingVol. 43 No. 9/10, 2009pp. 1220-1231q Emerald Group Publishing Limited0309-0566DOI 10.1108/03090560910976456

Although banks attempt to mitigate consumer concerns through providing onlineaccounts that typically attract reduced fees and higher interest, managing the ongoingtension between efficiency and human interaction represents a challenge to bankinginstitutions wishing to encourage ongoing consumer loyalty and retention. Currentresearch suggests that customers place great importance on the value and convenienceoffered by banks (Lewis and Soureli, 2006) and that customer satisfaction (which isinfluenced by service quality perceptions) is a key antecedent of consumer loyaltytowards banking institutions. But, does the quality of the online services providedactually result in higher levels of overall satisfaction of consumers?

This paper provides a significant contribution to the literature by exploring thenature of e-service quality using the banking context. The literature review revealsconfusion and gaps in understanding the nature of the e-service quality concept, andhow it operates within the banking context as well as a lack of specific knowledge as tohow the quality of online banking sites impacts customers overall satisfaction withtheir bank. A research project designed to examine these factors is explained and theresults reported and discussed. The major contributions reported is a more holisticrepresentation of e-service quality, as well as updated information about the importantaspects of online service quality to consumers.

Literature reviewService qualityService quality represents the difference between customer expectations of what a firmshould provide (i.e. expectations) and perceived service performance (Parasuramanet al., 1988). Past research establishes relationships between service quality and costs(Crosby, 1979), profitability (Santos, 2003), customer satisfaction (Cronin and Taylor,1992) and word-of-mouth marketing (Caruana, 2002). In addition, the level of servicequality influences post-purchase behaviour and an individuals future decisions(Jabnoun and Al-Tamimi, 2003).

The assessment of service quality is largely based upon Parasuraman et al.s (1988)original development of the measure of perceived service quality. Considerableempirical examination of the reliability and validity of the scale has resulted in a22-item scale (Parasuraman et al., 1991), measuring five dimensions of service quality:

(1) reliability;

(2) tangibles;

(3) empathy;

(4) responsiveness; and

(5) assurance.

SERVQUAL is widely utilised in a variety of industries, including the bankingindustry (e.g. Caruana, 2002) and is an important antecedent to customer satisfaction,which is inextricably linked to consumer pre-purchase behaviour and consumptiondecision-making (Cronin and Taylor, 1992).

Studies specific to the traditional retail banking industry confirm the link betweenservice quality, productivity, reduced costs and profitability (Newman and Cowling,1996). Zhu and Chen (2002) find that IT-based services indirectly impact upon acustomers perceived service quality and satisfaction, and Wang et al. (2003) find

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support for service and product quality impacting upon the reputation of financialinstitutions. Caruana (2002) discover customer satisfaction mediating the relationshipbetween service quality and service loyalty. Jun et al. (1999) uncover differencesbetween bankers and customers with regards to the importance each placed upondifferent service quality dimensions. Al-Hawari and Ward (2006) provide broadsupport for the mediating role of customer service between automated (i.e. internet,telephone and ATMs) service quality and financial performance, whilst Jabnoun andAl-Tamimi (2003) discover that customers value the human skills dimension the most.The examination of the literature finds a research tradition supporting the importanceof the provision of quality service by banks is well established, although theexamination of service quality within the online banking context is less clear.

E-service qualityThe rise of internet-based services has changed the way that firms and consumersinteract. E-service is conceptualised as an interactive information service (Rowley,2006) providing a mechanism for firms to differentiate their service offering and buildcompetitive advantage (Santos, 2003). Key themes within the e-service qualityliterature include the dimensions and measurement of e-service, elements of the webexperience and the relationship between the web-experience, trust, customersatisfaction, intention to purchase, and loyalty (Rowley, 2006). This emphasis on therole of technological service facilitators contrasts to traditional service quality researchwhich emphasises the human element of service delivery (Jabnoun and Al-Tamimi,2003).

Previous e-service quality research has attracted criticism for adopting traditionalSERVQUAL dimensions in online environments, developing scales without sufficientempirical validation, focusing on the evaluation of web site quality rather than entireservice quality dimensions, and excluding the assessment of the consumer buyingprocess (Kim et al., 2005; Parasuraman et al., 2005). For instance, Szymanski and Hise(2000) examine satisfaction assessments rather than customer service or fulfilment inthe context of online convenience, merchandising, site design and financial security(Zeithaml et al., 2002) and Yoo and Donthu (2001) develop a four-item SITEQUAL scalefocusing mainly on web site characteristics including ease of use, aesthetic design,processing speed and security.

On identifying these deficiencies, Zeithaml et al. (2002) develop an e-service qualitymeasure (e-SQ), consisting of five dimensions:

(1) information availability;

(2) ease of use;

(3) privacy/security;

(4) graphic style; and

(5) reliability.

In a subsequent study (Parasuraman et al., 2005) examining e-service quality in onlineshopping sites, this is reduced to four dimensions:

(1) efficiency;

(2) fulfilment;

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(3) availability; and

(4) privacy.

In an examination of e-service quality provided by online book and CD stores, Ribbinket al. (2004) also support five dimensions:

(1) assurance;

(2) ease of use;

(3) e-scape;

(4) responsiveness; and

(5) customisation.

While the research into the nature of e-service quality remains exploratory, at thisstage e-service quality appears to be multi-dimensional in nature. Importantly, we notethat existing research into e-service quality is based on the examination of actualservice quality performance. The opportunity now exists to extend this by assessingthe degree to which the measures are fully representative of customer expectations.

There are many studies assessing e-service quality in banking contexts, with mostemphasising the importance of technical aspects of web site delivery. Tsikriktsis (2002)finds two dimensions of customer culture related to quality expectations in onlinebanking. Jayawardhena (2004) determines that customers place importance upondownloading speed, navigatability and search feature efficiency, and concludes thatbanks should focus on building trust through ensuring the security and privacy ofcustomer information. In the context of online retail brokerage services, Chen and Hitt(2002) establish that system quality, product line breadth and product line qualityimpact upon consumer switching behaviour and retention.

Other research investigating electronic delivery channels (including internetbanking, ATMs and telephone banking) confirms banking success and profitability asbeing dependent upon service quality (Al-Hawari and Ward, 2006; Santos, 2003).However, as Al-Hawari and Ward (2006) indicate, a significant relationship betweeninternet service quality and consumer satisfaction is yet to be established, and this gapprovides the impetus for an examination of how important attributes of online deliverysuch as web site content, information accuracy, security, timeliness of information andweb site aesthetics are to consumers. Hence, this research is positioned within thespecific context of internet banking exclusively, to avoid biasing influences of multiplee-channel distribution methods.

Therefore, this research extends current understanding of e-service quality throughexamination of the following questions:

RQ1. How is e-service quality best measured for online banking?

RQ2. Are there any particular e-service quality aspects that are of particularimportance to online banking customers?

RQ3. How do banks actually perform in relation to e-service quality?

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MethodA quantitative study is determined most appropriate for examination of themeasurement of e-service quality, taking the form of distribution of a surveyquestionnaire. The sample is a convenience sample of 200 respondents from the GoldCoast region of Australia. Consistent with Pope et al. (2004), respondents areapproached at a drive-through petrol station as they pay for their fuel. This approach isdeemed appropriate as petrol stations offer the dual benefit of accessing prospects froma broad range of backgrounds, as well as providing a captive audience for achieving aresponse. Online administration of the survey is not adopted due to low recordedresponse rates to web-based surveys (Comley, 2000, cited in Ilieva et al., 2002).

A qualifying question, Do you use the internet to do your banking? is used to seekonly respondents who utilised online banking facilities. Willingness to participate inthe self-complete survey about their overall experience with online banking servicesprovided by their main bank is sought from qualified respondents. They are given theoption of taking the questionnaire away and returning it in an attached unidentifiableenvelope, to a box provided at the service station or alternatively completing thequestionnaire immediately. All respondents are offered a free cup of coffee as anincentive to participate.

Examination of demographic characteristics indicates the most common respondentto be female (55 percent female, 45 percent male), aged between 20 and 40 (44 percent),who accesses the internet every day (43 percent) or nearly every day (i.e. 2-6 days perweek 39 percent). Respondents are mostly in the mid-income ranges for Australia($AUD21; 6012 63; 000 40 percent; $AUD63; 0012 95; 000 19 percent). Allrespondents have made at least one previous online purchase, qualifying them ashaving the experience and knowledge to evaluate the online service provided by theirbanks.

E-service quality is measured using the items from the efficiency and availabilitydimensions of the Parasuraman et al. (2005) scale. The other two dimensions offulfillment and privacy are not used, as they pertain to order fulfillment andsafeguarding of customers private information (eg not selling private information).These are deemed not relevant for online banking. Instead, the items from the ease ofuse, e-scape, responsiveness, customisation and assurance dimensions of Ribbinket al.s (2004) e-service quality scale are included. These items cover areas that arejudged (by the researchers) as likely to be important to online bank customers in theirevaluation of e-service quality, and their inclusion is supported by a pre-test ofe-service quality items. A total of 32 items are used to capture respondent views aboute-service quality. Respondents are asked to indicate both the level of importance theyplace on each item and how they rate their own banks performance on each of theitems. Satisfaction is measured using a four-item measure previously used by Ribbinket al. (2004) in their online research. Five point Likert scales are utilised to collectparticipant responses, in an effort to increase the response rate and quality ofresponses and to reduce respondent fatigue.

ResultsThe e-service quality measure (E-ServQual)Average importance ratings are calculated to exclude items not deemed important byrespondents. With means below 4 (all,3.7), five items are discarded. Careful scrutiny

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of these items confirms that they are not likely to be important to customers whenutilising online banking services.

Reliability is improved by removing 12 items that fail to correlate at the 0.3 levelwith at least 50 per cent of all other individual e-service quality items (Hair et al., 1995).These items are mostly from Ribbink et al.s (2004) scale. Closer inspection suggeststhese are measuring technical aspects of web-site quality design (e.g. web siteappearance) rather than the quality of the online service offering. This finding supportsKim et al. (2005), who argue against the inclusion of items related to web site qualityrather than service quality when examining e-service dimensions.

The remaining 15 items are factor analysed, finding a four-factor solutionaccounting for a combined 83.5 per cent of total variance. Using Varimax rotation, allbut one item are found to load strongly on to a single factor. This item is discarded.Final items and factor loadings are provided in Table I. The extracted factors are notdissimilar to the original factors identified by Parasuraman and colleagues (Zeithamlet al., 2002; Parasuraman et al., 2005; Ribbink et al., 2004). However, we choose factorlabels reflecting the online banking context. The first factor encompasses the need forsecurity of personal banking details and is labelled personal needs. The siteorganisation factor includes items from the original Parasuraman et al. (2005) scaleconcerning the ease of access to the web site due to good web site organisation. Welabel the third factor user-friendliness, as these items pertain to the ease with whichusers can navigate within the site. Consistent with Parasuraman et al. (2005), the final

FactorPersonal

needsSite

organisationUser-

friendlinessEfficiency of

web site

I feel completely safe when makingtransactions on this site 0.955I feel that my personal needs have beenmet when using this site 0.954This site provides me with informationand products according to mypreferences 0.895This site is simple to use 0.948The site is well organised 0.948I can get on to the site quickly 0.947I am satisfied with the site design 0.497This site is user-friendly 0.917Navigation on this site is easy 0.915This site launches and runs right away 0.781Pages at this site do not freeze 0.775It is easy to find what I need on theweb site 0.882It is easy to get anywhere on the site 0.832I can complete a transaction quickly 0.811

Reliability 0.96 0.92 0.91 0.80

Note: Extraction method: principal component analysis. Rotation method: Varimax with Kaisernormalisation

Table I.Factors, factor loadings

and reliabilities forE-ServQual

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factor is termed efficiency, as these items relate to web site efficiency whencustomers interact and transact on the site.

All four factors demonstrate reliability, with Cronbachs alphas all above therequired 0.70 cut-offs. Reliabilities are reported in Table I. Composites are created foreach of the four dimensions to assess validity, and the relationships amongstdimensions and with customer satisfaction. Discriminant validity is determined withall AVEs larger than inter-correlations and all greater than 0.50 (Fornell and Larcker,1981), as reported in Table II. This e-service quality measure is labelled E-ServQual.

SatisfactionFollowing assessment of item-total correlations, which reveals that no removal of itemswould enhance reliability of the measure, the four items used to measure satisfactionform a single factor explaining 78.5 per cent of total variance. A Cronbachs alpha of0.88 establishes reliability for the measure. Discriminant validity from the e-servicequality dimensions is determined through finding lower correlations with e-servicequality dimension composites (see Table II).

Regression analysisThe results of the multiple regression analysis are reported in Table III. The varianceexplained in the dependent variable (i.e. satisfaction) by the E-ServQual dimensions is38 per cent, which is significant (F 21:03, p , 0:00). All variables are significantlycorrelated with satisfaction. The personal needs factor correlates strongly,user-friendliness and site organisation are moderately correlated, whilst theefficiency correlation is small (Cohen, 1988). In addition, correlations between theindependent variables are all below the cut-off of 0.70, indicating that inter-correlations

1 2 3 4

1 Personal needs 0.932 Site organisation 0.34 0.723 User-friendliness 0.27 0.49 0.704 Efficiency 0.22 0.56 0.43 0.74

Satisfaction 0.02 0.05 0.01 0.01

Note: aAVE on diagonal

Table II.Squared correlations andAVEa amongst theE-ServQual factors

Beta weights t VIF

Personal needs 0.69 * * 9.08 1.57Site organisation 0.22 * * 2.74 2.41User-friendliness 0.17 * 2.18 2.09Efficiency 0.07 1.02 2.42

R 2 0.38Adjusted R 2 0.37Overall F-value 21.03 * *

Notes: Dependent variable: satisfaction. *Significant (p , 0:05); * *significant (p , 0:01)

Table III.Relationships betweenE-ServQual factors andsatisfaction withe-retailer

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are acceptable (Tabachnick and Fidell, 2001). No evidence of serious multicollinearityis found between the independent variables, with all VIF scores less than 3 and wellbelow the cut-off of VIF 10 (Neter et al., 1989).

Personal needs is found to have the greatest influence on satisfaction (b 0:69,t 9:08, p , 0:05). Hence, personalisation of web sites is a significant predictor ofcustomer satisfaction in online banking situations. The next strongest contribution ismade by site organisation (b 0:22, t 2:74, p , 0:05) and then user-friendliness(b 0:17, t 2:18, p , 0:05). Efficiency makes the smallest contribution (b 0:07,t 1:02, p 0:3) which is not statistically significant. The results provide predictivevalidity for the model, with examination of the t-values indicating that personalneeds, site organisation and user-friendliness contribute to prediction ofsatisfaction. Tests with co-variances did not alter results.

Finally, we compare the mean scores for the banks in terms of performance andimportance. Overall, banks are found to be performing best on efficiency, exhibitinga mean performance rating of 4.00 (SD 0:70), slightly higher than the otherE-ServQual factors (see Table IV). Yet, this dimension does not have a significantimpact upon customer satisfaction. The overall level of satisfaction, however, is foundto be considerably lower than the ratings of the E-ServQual dimensions as well asoverall E-ServQual, indicating that some other unknown (and unmeasured) factor isnegatively impacting on overall satisfaction[1].

In relation to ratings of importance, even though all dimensions exhibit meanimportance well above 4 (ranging from 4.20 to 4.60), efficiency is also found to berated as slightly more important than the other three dimensions, despite not beingsignificantly related to satisfaction.

DiscussionWe are able to find a four-dimensional representation of E-ServQual, drawn from itemspreviously used by Parasuraman et al. (2005) and Ribbink et al. (2004), that explains ahigh proportion of variance in E-ServQual. Our four dimensions represent factors in asimilar manner to both Parasuraman et al. (2005) and Ribbink et al. (2004), and thesefour factors are determined to be valid elements for measuring online banking usingE-ServQual. Our contribution is bring together the e-service quality elementsseparately identified by Parasuraman et al. (2005) and Ribbink et al. (2004) to providean all-encompassing measure of e-service quality, called E-ServQual.

As expected, e-service quality is found to be related to satisfaction, and our measureexplains 38 per cent of variance in satisfaction, although most of this was explained bythe personal needs dimension. This result is not unexpected as service quality isbased upon customers personal perceptions, and previous research indicates that

Mean importance SD Mean performance SD

Efficiency 4.60 0.56 4.00 0.70Personal needs 4.35 0.60 3.88 0.89User-friendliness 4.34 0.74 3.83 0.70Site organisation 4.20 0.67 3.86 0.63Overall service quality N/A N/A 3.90 0.61Satisfaction N/A N/A 3.21 0.59

Table IV.Means for actual

performance of banks onE-ServQual and

satisfaction and meanimportance for

E-ServQual dimensions

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individual/personal interaction aspects are highly valued by customers (Jabnoun andAl-Tamimi, 2003).

Although efficiency is found to be most important overall, and rated highest byrespondents, it has the least impact upon satisfaction. From our perspective, we believethat efficiency is important, but automatically expected by bank customers. Thus,efficiency may be acting as a hygiene factor (Herzberg, 1982), in that it is an expectedrequirement, but leads to no dissatisfaction rather than to satisfaction. However (ashappens when hygiene factors are missing), it is valuable to investigate whetherefficiency impacts upon dissatisfaction when efficiency is not evident on web sites.Also, efficiency might be indirectly related to service quality, via some othercurrently unexamined and unknown mediator.

In terms of actual performance in relation to the provision of e-service quality ontheir e-retailing sites, the banks appear to be performing well. Means, in terms ofperformance across the four E-ServQual factors, are similar, with the efficiencydimension rating slightly higher overall. However, despite these good results, overallsatisfaction is significantly lower, just above the mid-point (3.21), whilst overallE-ServQual scores a high mean of 3.90. Although E-ServQual has an important impacton satisfaction (as indicated by the R 2 value) it is possible that another importantfactor is negatively impacting upon satisfaction amongst respondents to this survey. Ina further examination of other possible factors effecting satisfaction, and in particularonline satisfaction, we suggest price as one possible factor. Whilst price is not arelevant direct factor in relation to the provision of online quality for banks, bank feesand charges do impact upon customer satisfaction, and price has previously beennominated as an issue for customers (Al-Hawari and Ward, 2006). Hence, it is possiblethat the price of dealing with a bank moderates the relationship between e-servicequality and customer satisfaction with banking institutions.

The theoretical implications of this research are manifold. First, the support for andimportance placed upon all service quality dimensions suggests that Ribbink et al.(2004) and Parasuraman et al. (2005) previously captured different aspects of e-servicequality. We integrate these to provide an updated representation of E-ServQual for thee-retailing banking context. In an attempt to address Santoss (2003) call forcontext-specific service quality research, we recommend that this updated E-ServQualmeasure be applied in the context of high and low e-service quality providers in otherfinancial services firms (for example brokerages) and other online service industries.Second, it is possible that some as yet unknown factor is negatively impactingcustomer satisfaction. Qualitative interviews with e-retail bank customers should beconducted to reveal the issues influencing positive customer satisfaction outcomes.

This research implies that the provision of functional, safe and reliable bank websites is an insufficient means of satisfying customers. Consistent with previousresearch (e.g. Al-Hawari and Ward, 2006), our findings confirm that some aspects ofservice quality do not impact upon customer satisfaction. We speculate that an absenceof human interaction in online service provision may be the main driver for lowercustomer satisfaction levels (Jabnoun and Al-Tamimi, 2003). This has implications forprior approaches to rationalise branches and local staff, and may explain why someAustralian banks are now choosing to differentiate their brand through re-openingoutlets, extending operating hours and employing local staff to manage customerinteractions. Therefore, bank e-retailers need to be mindful of the role and importance

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of traditionally provided services in fostering long-term relationships with theircustomers.

LimitationsAs the sample is derived from one region of Australia, generalisability of the results islimited. Replication in other settings is recommended. The items are drawn fromexisting measures and although tests for reliability and validity provide initial supportfor the adopted measures, there remains a possibility that not all e-service qualitydimensions are captured. We recommend qualitative interviews with customers toprovide additional insight into any other aspects of e-service quality that are yet to beexamined. This may be achieved through comparison with other measures or and/or aglobal measure of e-service quality. Finally, although this research considers customersatisfaction as an overall outcome, future qualitative research may provide a betterunderstanding of the factors influencing lower levels of customer satisfaction withcurrent e-retailing approaches and uncover aspects that are missing from currentbanking online service provision.

ConclusionThe aim of this article was to explore the measurement of e-service quality in thefinancial services setting, finding that a combination of four dimensions relating topersonal needs, site organisation, user-friendliness and efficiency, bestrepresents the measurement of e-service quality (E-ServQual) within the onlinebanking context in Australia. The scale demonstrates good psychometric properties.Our results show that (apart from efficiency) personal needs, user-friendlinessand site organisation impact significantly and positively upon customer satisfaction.Importantly, we also uncover an unknown factor that is negatively affecting customersatisfaction, which we suggest may relate to the absence of human interaction. Thiswarrants further investigation, as does the possible moderating influence of bank feesand charges as the price of banking service. This approach will assist banks inassessing their individual performance in relation to e-service quality, and provide abasis for researchers to further investigate alternative methods of customer interactionthat will assist in improving customer satisfaction, loyalty and retention on e-retailbanking sites.

Note

1. The 12 discarded E-ServQual items and did not negatively impact customer satisfaction.

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About the authorsCarmel Herington is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Marketing, Griffith University GoldCoast Campus, Australia. Her research interests include service quality and the provision ofquality service processes through relationship building, internal relationships and their impacton other relationships of the firm, ethical business practices and marketing education. She haspublished in Journal of Business Research, Journal of Business Ethics, International Journal ofHospitality Management, Journal of Travel Research, Academy of Marketing Science Review,Journal of Marketing Education and Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, amongstothers. Carmel Herington is the corresponding author and can be contacted at:c.herington@griffith.edu.au

Scott Weaven is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Marketing, and Deputy Director of theAsia Pacific Centre of Franchising Excellence at Griffith University. He holds a Bachelor ofBusiness, Master of Business Administration (with Distinction) and PhD in franchising fromGriffith University. He co-authored the Franchising Australia surveys in 2002, 2004, 2006 and2008 and has published franchising and services marketing research in such journals asEuropean Journal of Marketing, International Small Business Journal, and Journal of BusinessEthics.

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