Concluded Laboratory 2014/03/31
Director : Shuzo ABE
Special duty professor,Faculty of Commerce
Research theme
International comparison of customer satisfaction determinant communication strategies based on construal level theory
Overview of research
This research aims to shed light on the temporal changes in customer satisfaction determinants using the construal level theory, which has been gaining attention within fields such as social psychology in recent years, and to draw out implications that may be beneficial for corporate marketing and communication strategies.
As the development of the convenience store industry suggests, Japanese consumers place great importance on achieving convenience in terms of time, and there is a strong possibility that the determinants for customer satisfaction for Japanese consumers differ from determinants for consumers in other countries. Through applying the construal level theory based on this perspective and using it as a theoretical framework to carry out international comparisons of consumer satisfaction determinants, we believe that it will be possible to produce research with a high level of originality.
As evidenced by the rise of behavioral economics, approaches that employ social psychological perspectives and methods in the analysis of the irrational aspects of consumer behavior are garnering attention not only in the field of economics, but also in the domain of marketing research. While this research makes use of a similar approach, it is based upon different theories from approaches within behavioral economics, and has the potential to produce highly unique research results that may have significant impact upon the international community.
We plan to carry out the research over three general phases. The first phase involves the construction of a new conceptual model relating to the formation of customer satisfaction determinants, based on the construal level theory. The second phase involves a review of the efficacy of the conceptual model and its managerial implications, which will be carried out through the continuous implementation of a number of surveys and experiments. The third phase involves the collection of data from a number of countries including North America, Europe, and Asia based on findings obtained within Japan, followed by international comparisons. The research findings obtained at each phase will be presented at academic conferences and symposiums within and outside Japan, and submitted to academic journals for publication.
Researchers
Shuzo ABE (Professor , Faculty of Commerce)
Hisashi TAKEI (Professor, Faculty of Commerce)
Kazue SHIMAMURA (Professor, Faculty of Commerce)
Takeshi MORIGUCHI (Professor, Faculty of Commerce)
Kazuhisa TAKEMURA (Professor, Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences)
Naoto ONZO (Professor, Faculty of Commerce)
Daisuke ISHIDA (Research Associate, Faculty of Commerce)
Adjunct Researcher
Hiroaki ISHII (Assistant Professor,Faculty of Service Innovation,Chiba University of Commerce)
Yoshiyuki OKUSE (Associate Professor,Senshu University)
Daigo MATSUMOTO (Assistant Professor,Faculty of Service Innovation,Chiba University of Commerce)
Taku TOGAWA (Assistant Professor,Faculty of Commerce and Economics,Chiba University of Commerce)
Akira YASHIMA (Assistant Professor,School of Commerce,Senshu University)
Contact
Room.No.1247, Bldg.No.11 Waseda University
1-6-1 Nishiwaseda, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 169-8050, JAPAN Tel: +81-3-3203-6431
E-mail: [email protected]