Mobile services in retail and their influence on customer satisfaction

Table of contents

Executive summary

List of figures

List of tables

List of abbreviations

1 Introduction
1.1 Objective
1.2 Approach and methodology

2 Change in retail environment
2.1 Megatrends, technological developments and changing behaviour of the customer
2.2 Mobile device

3 The mobile environment
3.1 Mobile context
3.1.1 E-business and e-commerce
3.1.2 Mobility, m-business and m-commerce
3.2 Characteristics of mobile economy
3.2.1 Ubiquity - the 'anywhere'-feature
3.2.2 Reachability ('always on'-feature) and immediacy (the 'anytime'-feature)
3.2.3 Context sensitivity - Localization
3.2.4 Personalization and identification
3.2.5 Pro-active functionality and interactivity
3.3 Mobile Marketing
3.3.1 Permission marketing
3.3.2 Push communication
3.3.3 Pull communication
3.4 Mobile services
3.4.1 Customer Value
3.4.2 Value added service = mobile service
3.4.3 Classifying mobile services

4 Customer satisfaction
4.1 Definition of customer satisfaction
4.2 Confirmation/disconformation theory
4.3 Emergence and effects of customer satisfaction
4.4 Multi-factor approach

5 Success Factors and of mobile services in retail
5.1 Customer related
5.1.1 Security / Trust
5.1.2 Availability of technology
5.1.3 Convenience
5.1.4 Individualization and Personalization
5.1.5 Social connection
5.2 Technological related factors
5.2.1 Usabilityand simplicity
5.2.2 Context and experience
5.2.3 Effectiveness and Efficiency
5.2.4 Entertainment and rewarding mechanisms
5.2.5 Cost of usage
5.3 Environmental Factors
5.3.1 Legal regulations
5.3.2 Social-cultural factors

6 Analysis of mobile services in retail
6.1 Technological situation in retail
6.2 Customer readyness and development
6.3 Functionality and evaluation of important services
6.4 Mobile Internet in retail: information, price check and social connection
6.4.1 Examples of mobile Internet in retail
6.4.2 Mobile Internet in retail and customer satisfaction
6.5 Mobile messaging in retail: mobile couponing
6.5.1 Examples of mobile couponing
6.5.2 Mobile couponing and customer satisfaction
6.6 Mobile tagging in retail: extended packaging and augmented reality
6.6.1 Examples of extended Packaging
6.6.2 Extended packaging and customer satisfaction
6.7 Mobile Loyaltycard
6.7.1 Examples of mobile loyalty cards
6.7.2 Mobile loyalty cards and customer satisfaction
6.8 Mobile Payment & self-checkout
6.8.1 Example of mobile payment
6.8.2 Mobile scanning and self-checkout
6.8.3 Examples of mobile scanning and self-checkout
6.8.4 Mobile Payment & mobile scanning with checkout and customer satisfaction
6.9 The convergences of value enhancing mobile services: the mobile wallet
6.10 Market research
6.10.1 Research objectives
6.10.2 Research method and conduction
6.10.3 Survey results
6.11 Conclusion

Bibliography

Appendix

1. Onlinequestionaire

2. Surveydata

Executive summary

Worldwide there is a strong growth in smartphone owners in comparison to previous years and the number of them will surpass the 1,4 billion mark worldwide by the end of 2013 (statista, 2013). Today, more than one third of world's population and more than 40 percent of Germany's population own a smartphone (GS1, 2013, 5, statista, 2013).

Mobile phones and other mobiles are becoming part of our everyday life and are changing the way people manage it. They are the most used daily consumer good in the world and by this are becoming personal assistants that give users an always-connected and always-on lifestyle - a mobile lifestyle. Users are able to do everything from everywhere at any time with it: from doing business, communicating or playing interactive games to shopping.

The increasing number of mobile devices and by this the anywhere accessibility of the Internet have an impact on the consumers' behavior in stationary stores. Customers do price checks with their smartphone, watching product videos or reading product reviews in the store and more often buy the desired product elsewhere. Retailers face the challenge of understanding how customers interact with their mobiles while shopping and take advantage of any opportunities to increase customer conversion and gain loyal customers (comscore, 2012).

Customers expect mobile offerings. Today some retailers already respond on these demand and development, and try with new possibilities of mobile marketing to bring customers back from digital world into their stores (KPMG, 2012, 38), but they have to add value to all their offering and products and even to new technological possibilities like mobile services, which do not automatically generate advantages over competition (Rudolph/Emrich, 2008, 266).

Mobile services in retail are services, that can be used independently of temporal and spatial restraints, and that are accessed through a mobile device in retail environment like i.e. mobile couponing receiving or paying with mobile phone. When launching such a service the retailer has to be sure whether a mobile service has the power to influence customer satisfaction inside the store. Customer satisfaction is the important connection between activities of the retailer and the resulting behaviour like repeat purchasing, cross selling, recommendation or complaint and by this relevant for economical success of a company (Homburg, 2008,19).

This thesis is an investigation into mobile services during the shopping process in retail environment and their influence on customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction is the basis of a customer relation, which is able to turn a customer into a loyal, returning and profitable one and is able to distinguish from competitors.

Its purpose is to find out

- Which mobile services are offered inside the stores
- What are the success factors for introducing mobile services in general
- Which existing services are known to the customer and have been used
- Whether those services offer added value to the customer,

and to understand the influence they have on customer satisfaction when used during shopping during and whether offering them in retail is useful for the retailer.

This is done by research in primary and secondary literature and a primary market research with an online survey.

List of figures

Figure 1: Classification ofmobiie devices (cf. Tschersich, 2010)

Figure 2: Conceptual classification ofmobiie commerce (cf. Nicolai/Petersmann, 2001, 4)

Figure 3: Characteristics ofmobiie commerce/mobile services (author's illustration)

Figure 4: Types ofmobiie marketing tools (cf. Holland/Bammel, 2007, 76)

Figure 5: Components ofValue (cf. Naumann, 2010, 2)

Figure 6: Influence and effects ofcustomersatisfaction (cf. Homburg/Stock-Homburg, 2012, 21; Kaiser, 2005, 48; Homburg/Giering/Hentschel, 177)

Figure 7: Customer retention - chain ofeffects (cf. Bruhn/Homburg, 2008, Möhlenbruch/Dölling/Ritschel, 2008)

Figure 8: Kano Model ofcustomer satisfaction (cf. Kaiser, 2005, Hinterhuber, 2003, Berger, 1993)

Figure 9: EDEKA Suedwest application (l.t.r.): App overview, promotions, coupon (cf. iTunes, 2013)

Figure 10: Payback application (cf. MobileLifeBlog, 2012)

Figure 11: Reading mobile QR code with mobile device with link to the Internet (author)

Figure 12: Comparison QR Code, Data Matrix, Microsoft Tag (MicrosoftAG) (cf. Zheng, 2009/author)

Figure 13: Comparison marker based and marker lessAugmented Reality (cf. ARLab, 2012)

Figure 14: Barcoo application - Europe's biggestproductguide (cf. itunes.com, 2013)

Figure 15: Bandai Thundercats AR packaging (cf.Aurasma, talkandroid.com, 2012)

Figure 16: Heinz Tomato Ketchup recipe book in augmented reality (cf. blippar, 2011)

Figure 17: IBM augmented reality shopping advisor (qrcodepress.como, 2013;Kwan, 2012)

Figure 18: Esprit Friends application (www.itunes.apple.com, 2013)

Figure 19: Shopkick application (About.com, 2012, wikiHow.com, 2012)

Figure 20: Segments ofmobile Payment market (cf. Kahlmann, 2012, 2)

Figure 21: Mobile payment in the NettoApp (cf. MyNetto.de, 2013)

Figure 22: Starbucks mobile application with paymentfunction (cf. itunes.com, 2013)

Figure23: WalmartScan & Go app (cf. Walmart, itunes.com, 2013)

List of figures appendix

Figure 24: Screen 1 - Survey welcome screen

Figure 25: Screen 2 - Doyou own a smartphone?

Figure 26: Screen 3 - What isyoursex? How old areyou?

Figure27: Screen 4 - Which mobile service are known toyou or didyou already used?.

Figure 28: Screen 5 -In which ofthefollowing mobile services areyou interested in?.

Figure 29: Screen 6 - Mobile services are most interesting for me, ifthey provide thefollowing value

Figure 30: Screen 7 - Doyou have concerns aboutyour privacy when using mobile services?.

Figure 31: Screen 7a - Mobile services need personal data to assistyou while doing shopping. Under what circumstances would you provide personal information?

Figure 32: Screen 8 - Which other mobile services doyou which during shopping?

Figure 33: Results - Q1

Figure 34: Results - Q2

Figure 35: Results - Q2a

Figure 36: Results - Q3

Figure 37: Results - Q3 - Non smartphone owners know mobile price check, mobile tagging and mobile couponing

Figure 37: Results - Q4 -

Figure 38: Results -Q4 - Smartphone owners who used services are more interested in others

Figure 38: Results - Q5

Figure39: Results - Q6

Figure 40: Results - Q7

Figure 41: Results - Q8

List of tables

Table 1: Characteristics ofthe mobile business (Reichwald, 2002,11, author)

Table 2: Comparison classical marketing, directmarketing and mobile marketing (cf. Holland/Bammel, 2006,19, Üngör,Ö, 2012, 9)

Table 3: Emergence ofcustomer satisfaction - Overview ofmore special concepts and theories (cf. Homburg/Stock-Homburg, 2012)

Table 4: Theories on the effects ofcustomersatisfaction (cf. Homburg/Stock-Homburg, 2012, 37)

Table 5: Successfactor ofmobile services (author)

List of abbreviations

illustration not visible in this excerpt

1 Introduction

Worldwide there is a strong growth in smartphone owners in comparison to previous years and the number of them will surpass the 1,4 billion mark worldwide by the end of 2013 (statista, 2013). Today, more than one third of world's population and more than 40 percent of Germany's population own a smartphone (GS1, 2013, 5, statista, 2013).

Mobile phones and other mobiles are becoming part of our everyday life and are changing the way people manage it. They are the most used daily consumer good in the world and by this are becoming personal assistants that give users an always-connected and always-on lifestyle - a mobile lifestyle. Users are able to do everything from everywhere at any time with it: from doing business, communicating or playing interactive games to shopping.

The increasing number of mobile devices and by this the anywhere accessibility of the Internet have an impact on the consumers' behavior in stationary stores. Customers do price checks with their smartphone or read product reviews in the store and more often buy the desired product elsewhere. Retailers face the challenge of understanding how customers interact with their mobiles while shopping and take advantage of any opportunities to increase customer conversion and gain loyal customers (comscore, 2012).

Customers expect mobile offerings. Today some retailers already respond on these demand and development, and try with new possibilities of mobile marketing to bring customers back from digital world into their stores (KPMG, 2012, 38), but they have to add value to all their offering and products and even to new technological tools like mobile services, which do not automatically generate advantages over competition (Rudolph/Emrich, 2008, 266).

Mobile services in retail are services that can be used independently of temporal and spatial restraints, and are accessed through a mobile device in retail environment like i.e. mobile couponing receiving or mobile payment. When launching such a service the retailer has to be sure whether a mobile service has the power to influence customer satisfaction inside the store. Customer satisfaction is the important link between activities of the retailer and resulting customer behaviour like repeat purchasing, cross selling, recommendation or complaint and by this relevant for economical success of a company (Homburg, 2008,19).

1.1 Objective

This thesis is an investigation into mobile services during the shopping process in retail environment and their influence on customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction is the basis of a customer relation, which is able to turn a customer into a loyal, returning and profitable one and is able to distinguish from competitors.

Its purpose is to find out

- Which mobile services are offered inside the stores
- What are the success factors for introducing mobile services in general
- Which existing services are known to the customer and have been used
- Whether those services offer added value to the customer,

and to understand the influence they have on customer satisfaction when used during shopping during and whether offering them in retail is useful for the retailer.

1.2 Approach and methodology

The questions are answered by research in primary and secondary literature and a primary market research with an online survey. In the first part the problem and the objectives of the work are explained.

The second part gives theoretical information that introduces the topic. The retail environment, developments in technology and customer behavior and the mobile phone are explained. Further it introduces the mobile environment with its unique characteristics, explains and classifies mobile services into the broader field of mobil business, mobile commerce and mobile marketing. Then the concepts of customer value with the concept of customer satisfaction, its emergence and influential factors, and the importance for developing customer retention and its resulting effects for the company are explained.

The next chapter examines the success factors to be aware of when developing or introducing mobile services in retail. Based on the success factors mobile services are chosen, described with existing real world examples and analyzed. The analyzed services are used is a primary research to support and check the researched findings of the thesis.

2 Change in retail environment

The word 'retailing' is derived from the French word 'retaillier' meaning to ‘cut a piece off or ‘break the bulk'. Retail is defined as distribution function. Retailer buy products from the supplier or manufacturer in large quantities and sell goods and services to customers in smaller and more manageable quantities, not for resale, but for the use of their personal consumption (Madaan, 2009). The thesis does not look further into specific retail categories.

The retail environment is evolving continuously and changed over time by many factors like social demographic ones, consumption behavioral changes or technological innovation like electronic scanner cash registers, the Internet as new sales channel, mobile devices and megatrends (Eggert, 2011).

2.1 Megatrends, technological developments and changing behaviour of the customer

John Naisbitt, US futurologist, originally defined: ‘Megatrends (... are) large social, economical, political, and technological changes (...), they influence us for some time - between seven and ten years, or longer.' Megatrends arouse out of a combination of minor trends. In detail megatrends have a holistic impact, its scope extends to all regions of the world, cause multidimensional changes of all social systems - politically, socially and economically, their specific characteristics differ from region to region and have a profound impact on all stakeholders - governments, individuals and their consumption patterns, but also on companies and their strategies. Megatrends are long-term, they do not only last for short period of time, but are likely to influence for decades (Glockner, 2008). Known Megatrends are i.e. increasing ecological and environmentally consciousness, spreading globalization, networking in general and of people through Internet and social media, individuality, mobility or the demographic shift with lower birthrate caused by prosperity etc. (Walter, 2010).

There are several important megatrends influencing retail. The most important megatrends are ‘lifestyle and convenience' and the ‘Social Local Mobile Search' (SoLoMo) with social interaction in general.

Customers today have the choice between a huge amount and a diversity of products. Consumers can decide when and where to do shopping i.e. in local malls offline or from couch 24/7 hours in thousands of online shops. The customer wants convenience during their daily shopping process of grocery and the shopping experiences for clothing on weekends (Lux, 2012, 123). They are looking for solutions that will maximize their free time and disposable income. The convenience trend is driven by his desire to create more leisure time even while shopping (IMB, 2008).

Another megatrend connected with the lifestyle and convenience trend is based on the ‘hyperlocal search'-technology, which describes the fact, that Internet users are searching for latest local information such as shopping tips, prices or particular store promotions on search engine sites. By using mobile phones equipped with ‘General Packet Radio Service‘ (GPRS) consumers are able to get nearby information on demand on the move from every location they want. Such offers are called location-based services (LBS) (Lux, 2012, 185).

In combination with social search functions, i.e. finding friends nearby, using social networks for product recommendations like i.e. Facebook or twitter, it is called Social Local Mobile Search (SoLoMo) (Murphy, 2012). It is a connection of virtual space, personal networks and actual location (iBusiness, 2012).

Customers want to stay in touch with friends, family or community because of scarcity of time and share experiences about everything that matters to them, wherever they are. This sharing ranges from product recommendations, price checks, disappointment about customer service up to just showing the new haircut to best friend and all of this in relation to a current location. For retailers that means, customer are sharing and receiving information and experience on the go and inside a store, which influences the shopping process and others (Ahlqvist, 2008, 16).

Influenced by this megatrends consumers tend to shop in a tension field between price, emotional experience and convenience: price-orientation: customer wants to save money; convenience-orientation: the consumer wants to save time and demands a convenient solution; experience orientation: consumer wants to enjoy a ‘small luxury' - experience something and have fun and stay in touch with friends. Additionally today's consumers keep themselves all options open, always looking for the best solution (Eggert, 2011, 26).

This ‘hybrid' customer is unpredictable and switches between different shopping world's on- and offline, discount retailer and luxury department store or no name brand and branded product. This customer has a permanent willingness to switch sellers if 'basic' performance like i.e. cleanliness of floor or product availability is not met (Lux, 2012,185).

There are also technological developments in retail.

In former times the only way to purchase something was to walk into a physical store, find the desired product and take it to the cashier to pay for it; or one could order the product via catalog to arrive by mail. Then the Internet and the possibility of e-commerce emerged and radically changed shopping. Suddenly anyone is able to explore products, compare prices and purchase items without even leaving their home. Through e-commerce one could shop in a global marketplace around the clock. New, online-only retailers emerged and took advantage of this low-cost channel, creating a high competition for local retailers. Although e-commerce is a great success story, today many retailers are still dealing with its management or even integration of systems, which allow them to have a consistent and working storefront between their online, physical, and catalog (verizon, 2011). But nevertheless there again is another important technology emerging and retail is about to fundamentally change again: the mobile device.

Retail has to be aware of these developments: the new demands and power of the customer, the new kinds of communication and customer interactions and the technological advancements, which imply some major challenges (Lux, 2012, 225).

Retailers react with the introduction of 'extended' performance features, which range from monetary to non-monetary elements like special discounts, customer service (perfect consulting before and after purchase), loyalty programs (customer promotions for regularly purchase), increasing customer experience (appealing presentation of products) and new selling approaches like multichannel retailing (retailer offers his products in store and on the Internet 24/7) or offering mobile services to offer more value and convenience to the customer and by this to differentiate from competition (Lux, 2012, 123). All of this extended performance does not automatically generate advantages over competition (Rudolph/Emrich, 2008, 266). When launching such services the retailer has to be sure, whether a specific mobile service the power to influence customer satisfaction positively and by this leads to a permanent customer relation.

2.2 Mobile device

The development of mobile devices began in the eighties. The devices were specialised PDAs (Personal Digital Assistant) with little features and no communication function. In the nineties PDAs and mobile phones evolved in parallel to one another, each with its special demands and target group. Today, the reduction in size of single components allows manufacturers to integrate PDAs and communication features in one handheld device: the smartphone (BSI, 2006). In general it describes a mobile phone, which has an operating system, that is able to add or remove additional applications (apps), send or receive data and to connect to the Internet, means in general more functionality and connectivity features than a conventional mobile phone.

The first smartphone released was the Nokia 9210 in the year 2000. In 2007 Apple launched its iPhone, which revolutionized the smartphones and was called 'multimedia-smartphone', because mobile data processing was easy to use and more interactive than ever before (Krum, 2012, 49). Beside a powerful camera and a touchscreen for input and control, smartphones have GPS (Global Positioning System) to calculate its geographical location (Meier/Stormer, 2002, 272).

Mobile Internet got reality by wireless data transmission technology GPRS (General Packet Radio Service), an extension to the standard communication technology GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications). GPRS is a general packet-orientated mobile delivering of data. GSM used only a single radio channel per person to transfer data and blocked it at the same time, so that if there were a lot of data request, there was little traffic of data possible. GPRS made it possible to share one radio channel for multiple users. Therefore packages of data are divided in small packages and delivered to the user, who now pays for every package of data (e.g. transferred kilobytes) and not for the time of delivery as with GSM. GPRS made it possible to be permanently 'online' and stay as long as no data is transmitted, which causes no costs for the user. GPRS made the 'always-on' Internet access possible, with services like WAP (wireless application protocol), SMS/MMS and instant messaging (IZMF, 2012).

UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System/3G) and especially LTE (Long Term Evolution/4G) improve the performance of mobile networks by high-speed data access (Krum, 2012, 43).

Tschersich (2010) classifies mobile devices by three main characteristics ubiquity (owner can use device everywhere), reachability (permanent availability of the device and owner) and localization (by e.g. GPS). Only mobile phones and smartphones fullfill these criteria and can be defined as mobile device (Heinemann, 2012,18).

illustration not visible in this excerpt

Figure 1: Classification of mobile devices (cf. Tschersich, 2010)

Smartphone have different communication features. The main ones are SMS (Short Message Service, text only), EMS (Enhanced Message Service, text and picture), MMS (Multimedia Message Service, text, picture and sound) and e-mail (electronic mail) (Wikipedia, 2012). While SMS is still a growing market, SMS are becoming increasingly challenged by alternative instant messaging services (e.g. iMessage, What's app, BlackBerry Messenger or Google Talk) either as application (see below) directly integrated into the operating system of the smartphone with data connections (Michel, 2011). They are able to send text message pictures and even voice message instantly to one ore more participants.

A main feature of smartphone as written before is the possibility to add or remove additional applications (apps). These are little programs, which can be downloaded to the operating system from the Internet to adjust and enhance the smartphone to personal needs of the owner (Krum, 2012, 157). They enable the user to do task like surfing websites, listen to music, to play games, to find the next retail store or to decode scanned barcodes for retrieving product information, because they are able to use all built-in technology of the smartphone like the GPS chip, camera etc.

3 The mobile environment

This chapter introduces the reader to basics of the mobile environment, explains and classifies the main terms. Mobile services are a part of the broader topic of mobile business, mobile commerce and mobile marketing.

3.1 Mobile context

The terms electronic business (e-business), electronic commerce (e-commerce) or mobile business (m-business), mobile commerce (m-commerce) and mobile marketing (m- marketing) are often used partly in exchange for one another or miss a clear distinction by many authors. In relation to the topic ofhis thesis their central aspects have to be defined.

3.1.1 E-business and e-commerce

The term electronic business as defined by Wirtz (2010) is '[...] the initiation and the partially or complete support, execution and maintenance of performance transactions between economic entities by the means of electronic networks' (Wirtz, 2010, 15). This means that the focus in e-business lies on the exchange of goods and services. E-commerce is defined as '[...] buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks', primarily done with a stationary desktop (Wikipedia, 2012). This shows an agreement on the adoption of a hierarchically relationship between the two concepts. Accordingly to that e-business is e-commerce parent. E­commerce can be identified as a subset of electronic business (Chaffey, 2009,14). Additionally to the exchange processes done with stationary desktop computers there is a new 'mobile' way to do these transactions with information and communication networks.

3.1.2 Mobility, m-business and m-commerce

The term mobility derives from the latin word 'mobilitas'. The meaning of this term is translated with terms like agility or flexibility (Reichwald, 2002, 7). Mobility refers to specific context of action or object relationships, the change between places or positions in physical, geographical, social- or virtual spaces (Wikipedia, 2013). In the context of mobile the object of mobility is information, which can be exchanged anywhere and anytime with the help of information- and communication technologies. The informational mobility replaces the physical mobility (the changing in time and place) of persons or objects (Reichwald, 2002, 7).

Wirtz (2010) defines mobile business with the same definition as e-business and adds as additional transmission tool the mobile device: mobile business is the initiation, support, execution and maintenance of performance transactions between economic entities by the means of electronic networks and mobile devices (Wirtz, 2010, 51).

Buse (2002) defines the concept of mobile business as ' [...] all communication processes and the exchange of information, goods and services via mobile devices and mobile commerce as [...]' subset of mobile business, which describes the execution of transactions with monetaryvalues (Buse, 2002, 94). The main difference between the two concepts is the exchange of goods and services with monetary exchange on a mobile electronic basis, which can be defined as the use of data- and multimedia services with mobile devices in mobile networks (Möhlenbruch/Schmieder, 77). Such services can reach from just information to content purchase or delivery and mobile banking up to mobile marketing and advertising.

illustration not visible in this excerpt

Figure 2: Conceptual classification of mobile commerce (cf. Nicolai/Petersmann, 2001, 4)

Nicolai and Petersmann (2001) sum it up as they state, that if there is an action in electronic business performed by a mobile device on a cellular network it is mobile business. If there are transactions of e-commerce performed by a mobile device on a cellular network it is m­commerce (Nicolai/Petersmann, 2001, 4). M-commerce has to be understood as an extension of e-commerce (KPMG, 2012, 22).

As learned in the classification of mobile devices, there are some main characteristics, which differentiate them from non-mobile devices. The following explains the topic mobile characteristics a bit further.

3.2 Characteristics of mobile economy

The ability to be mobile is described with some unique features and advantages compared to conventional forms of communicational and commercial transactions, including e­commerce. By the key issue of mobility, there is added value, which is much more than just a technological value (Wirtz, 2010, 51).

There is no agreement on the characteristics of mobile economy and with different focus areas in literature. These characteristics consist off Internet and specific mobile ones (Reichwald, 2002, 9). Table 1 shows an overview of specifics in literature. There is an agreement on ubiquity, reachability, context sensivity, personalization and proactive functionality and interactivity.

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Table 1: Characteristics of the mobile business (Reichwald, 2002, 11, author)

3.2.1 Ubiquity - the ‘anywhere’-feature

Ubiquity is the independence of location, which means that the user of a device is not bound to a certain place e.g. a room with a desktop computer (Heinemann, 2012,11).

The user is able to communicate, retrieve information or send data independent from his position, which is the ‘anywhere'-feature. For example a consumer on his way to a meeting is waiting for his flight. With his mobile device he is able to retrieve and edit business documents or can perform a price comparison for a new product he just saw on an advertising screen.

3.2.2 Reachability (‘always on’-feature) and immediacy (the ‘anytime’-feature)

The mobile phone becomes daily partner in consumers' life and research reported, that nearly 75% average and growing of people in US, France, Spain, Italy, UK, Germany, Japan, China, India and Brazil never leave their home without their smartphone (Accenture, 2010). Additionally the phone is permanently ‘online' and reachable, when there is a mobile network connection. Therefore one can speak of an ‘always on'-feature (Basole, 2003, 4).

3.2.3 Context sensitivity - Localization

The feature of ubiquity enables the use of a device in various environmental situations. Information about the situation, the position and the time constitute the context of the usage. Context sensitivity is the automatic detection and evaluation of environmental information to the position of the user (Reichwald/Meier/Fremuth, 2002, 12). The user himself, the mobile device (i.e. location), the mobile network or other available external sources (i.e. database information) contribute contextual information. In this context ambient intelligence technology becomes relevant. The main task is to recognize the context in which there are working. Smartphone can harness ambient data by different sensors such as temperature, location, user movements, schedule, user habits and engagement (Karr, 2013). The processing of all context information results in a user profile, that allows adaptation of a mobile offering, which results in a better solution for the user in that specific situation (Weil, 2007, 38).

According to Zobel (2001, 51) there are different types of context to which mobile offerings can refer:

Local context. The simplest kind of context detection is determination of user's location. The so-called "radio cell method" determines the position by query on which mobile radio mast the mobile device is logged at that current time. The inclusion of multiple masts and their geographical location can narrow down the determination of location to about hundred meters. Modern smartphones are web-enabled and beyond that are equipped with a GPS module. If these conditions are met, the location of the device can often be narrowed down up to several meters (Weil, 2007, 39).

Another accurate method of localization is via a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN or Wi­Fi), which works even inside buildings. WLANs grant mobile devices high speed Internet access (up to 150Mbit/s) with wireless broadcasting access points called ‘WLAN routers' or ‘hotspots' (Meier/Stormer, 2012, 272). WLANs range indoors depending on the walls up to 38 m, outdoors up to 250 m. The term 'Wi-Fi' does not equal the term WLAN, because it is a specific WLAN technology, which is certified by the ‘Wi-Fi Alliance' (Krum, 2012, 44). But it becomes more and more a synonym for WLAN. Localization is only possible if the user has switched on the localization functionality on his mobile phone.

By the possibility of getting the exact position of a mobile phone, Location based services (LBS) can be offered and adapted to the actual position (Hippel, 2005, 50). They are able to approach the customer with e.g. marketing messages, if he is in a very place at a certain time, where the message needs to be received. For example a customer walks past a shelf inside a store with a mobile phone, his position is recognized by the system, which sends a mobile coupon or product information to the mobile phone (Holland/Bammel, 2007).

Action-related context. By connection of user's actual position and detailed geodata information it is possible to guess certain activities the user is doing (Zobel, 2001, 51). For example with detecting a rapidly changing position of a mobile phone it can be guessed, that the user is on a motorway and in a car. He probably is interested in the latest traffic reports for this highway or the location of next petrol station. A slow moving position in a shopping mall could lead to a guess, that the person is shopping and is probably interested in special offers of the shops close to him (Weil, 2007, 39).

Time-specific context. With information about the time and the position it can be conclude that i.e. a customer is probably eating in a restaurant (Zobel, 2001, 51). A mobile text message could offer time specific information like actual events near user's location starting at in one hour.

Context of special interest. By using information about the position, direct or indirect information and preferences of the user a mobile offer is able to adapt an offer (Reichwald/Meier/Fremuth, 2002, 12). For example if customer's preference is cinema, the service could guess, that the user is in the cinema and offer him information where to take a drink afterwards at close quarters.

3.2.4 Personalization and identification

Personalization is the strategy of establishing an individualized approach to servicing customers through products and services. Mobile phones use an electronic chip called subscriber identity module (SIM). The SIM is registered with the network operator. By this the owner unambiguously identifiable and an individual one-to-one customer approach is possible (Tiwari/Buse/Herstatt, 2006, 41). With additional customer databases information like customer's shopping history, his provided preferences and customer relation management (CRM) information a mobile approach can be even more personalized (Holland/Bammel, 2007). The more personalized a service or a product is, the higher can be the added value for the customer. A company is able to build up a relation to the customer (Hippel, 2005, 57).

3.2.5 Pro-active functionality and interactivity

Location and context features get more powerful with the possibility to provide relevant information to a consumer at the right place, at the right time (Tiwari/Buse/Herstatt, 2006, 41). This is possible by the pro-active functionality of mobile technologies.

Since the introduction of GPRS and until today further developed new data communication technologies like 3G or LTE network technologies, it is possible for a sender of mobile messages to offer pro-active services (Heinemann, 2012, 190). Proactive means sending a message via push communication such as content or product offers (Tiwari/Buse/Herstatt, 2008, 41). Before GPRS only phone calls or short messages services (SMS) could be pushed to the receiver, data-packets or emails had to be pulled by the receiver (see also permission marketing 3.2.6.1). With mobile pro-active features dialog and interactive communication are possible between retailer and customer or customers with each other (Weil, 2007, 36). Figurine 6 visualizes the five key features from the viewpoint of the author. In reality, however, these characteristics are not fully redeemable, because of technical limitations, legal framework and acceptance problems. Opportunities and risks in mobile offers are close together (Dufft/Wichmann, 2003, 48). But with the evolution in technology, legal frameworks and the emergence of a broader acceptance, these features get retailers and customers closer together than ever before.

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Figure 3: Characteristics of mobile commerce/mobile services (author's illustration)

3.3 Mobile Marketing

Mobile Marketing or m-marketing is able all the above characteristics in its measures, which makes them more powerful than other marketing instruments before.

M-marketing is considered as a part of the broader term mobile commerce (Wikipedia, 2012). Mobile services are tools of m-marketing.

Meffert (2000) defines marketing in general as ‘the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services, to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives' (Meffert, 2000, 19). M- marketing is the planning, execution and control of marketing activities by the use of technologies for transmission onto mobile devices (Möhlenbruch/Schmieder, 2002, 77). This shows that the key points of m-marketing are communication and information processes and not transaction processes. The classic actions of marketing are carried out by the use of mobile devices, which allow m-marketing a direct and personal approach of individuals by above explained features of m-business (Wirtz, 2010, 53). They allow direct addressing of many persons (one-to-many marketing), of a few persons (one-to-few- marketing) and especially to directly address an individual person (one-to-one- or direct marketing) (Bauer, 2004, 130). Both the personalized addressing of a single consumer and the individualized customer approach is becoming possible to build up a deeper customer relationship (Holland/Bammel, 2006, 1). Mobile marketing allows by the use of mobile devices as communication channel a new kind of dialog detached from time and location (Holland/Bammel, 2006, 19). Mobile direct marketing is the initiation and maintenance of a direct and personalized interaction with the customer with mobile devices to strengthen customer retention (Wirtz, 2009, 199). Table 1 shows the differences between classical marketing, direct marketing and mobile marketing.

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Table 2: Comparison classical marketing, direct marketing and mobile marketing (cf. Holland/Bammel, 2006, 19, Üngör,Ö, 2012, 9)

3.3.1 Permission marketing

Because of privacy legal reasons in electronically communication it is not allowed to send unwanted information to directly approach a person without prior permission. Therefore companies use relationship-oriented permission marketing, which is a permission-based sending of marketing messages. By this, the consumer explicitly gives permission and thus agrees in receiving company's message. The permission is given by 'opt-in'. At this it is differentiated between 'single opt-in' (i.e. customer gives sends email address via SMS to a company for receiving a SMS news alert), 'confirmed-opt-in' (after SMS sending the customers receives an confirmation email by the sender without a confirmation link) and the most intense form 'double opt-in', by which the customer reconfirms the confirmation of the sender via a confirmation link. After that procedure the afterwards received information is assumed to be wanted and relevant to the customer and therefore is often seen as additional service of the sender to the customer. The risk of reactance behaviour is reduced; trust is build up and is able to deepen the relationship (Bruhn, 2010a, 413).

3.3.2 Push communication

Push communication is a one-sided communication, which is a classical sender and receiver model. It is like broadcasting information: The sender sends or 'pushes' its message to the receiver's mobile device (i.e. by 'push' notification or SMS). Examples are messages with time critical content like stock price information, sales recommendations or simple mobile advertising messages. If using push-communication the consumer has to easily perceive the added value for him. Otherwise there can be a mental refusal against the information or service and customer can feel annoyed by the sender (Dufft/Wichmann, 2003, 3).

3.3.3 Pull communication

Pull communication is a two-sided one and fulfills amongst others interactive functions. In this case the sender provides information (i.e. mobile coupons) or interactive offerings (i.e. website, videos etc.). The customer has to actively ask for the information to be sent and is therefore able to decide whether to use or not to use such service (Bruhn, 2010, 92). An example is the download of the latest mobile coupons from retailers mobile website by the customer.

The mobile phone allows the receiver of a message to immediately react on a message. With that there is a bi-directional communication developed, which leads to a two-way communication (Holland/Bammel, 2007). By this a customer and a company exchange information, which are relevant for both.

The main difference of both communication modes lies in the timely influence of customer's assimilation of information. While pull communication allows the customer the 'pulling' of information at his desired point in time and by this having influence on the communication with the sender, with push communication there is no influence on information delivery (Wirtz, 2009, 207).

The goals of marketing measures in general are customer acquisition and selling of products, image and brand building, market research and advertising success control and important for this thesis: customer retention and customer service. Marketing activities are able to positively influence customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and therefore customer retention. A customer relationship can only arise or be deepened if mobile marketing activities give a noticeable value and are relevant to the customer. This can be reached by highly informative (i.e. breaking news) and entertaining content (i.e. by using multimedia elements or games); by offering direct or indirect incentives (i.e. discount or sweepstakes); by offering the possibility of directly and interactively communication (i.e. reservation service) (Dufft/Wichmann, 2003, 48). Mobile marketing measures can be used in all fields of the marketing mix to increase the demand for a product or service.

Figure 3 shows a variety of mobile marketing tools. Some of them are mobile services (Dufft/Wichmann, 2003, 30).

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Figure 4: Types of mobile marketing tools (cf. Holland/Bammel, 2007, 76)

3.4 Mobile services

As shown before, the introduction of new technologies and especially mobile devices are on the rise and becoming the most personal tool of the customer and changing customer shopping behavior and retail environment forever. Mobile services are a part of technological innovation processes in retail. Innovations are introduced to offer customer direct or indirect sustainable value (Lux, 2012, 160).

3.4.1 Customer Value

Creating customer value is increasingly seen as a key source of competitive advantage. In today's competitive arena, where a growing number of businesses strive for a greater share of the finite customer pool, it has become imperative to consider customer value (Payne, 2006,2).

Theodore Levitt from Harvard points out, that competition exists not about 'what' companies produce in their factories but 'what they add to their factory output in the form of packaging, services, advertising, customer advice, financing, delivery arrangements, warehousing, and other things that people value' (Payne, 2006, 104). Customers have a value proposition that consists on the benefits, they desire from a product or service (Kaplan/Norton, 2004, 109).

Customer perception of value consists of product quality, service quality (easy ordering, fast delivery, customer friendliness, product information), image (surrogate for unknown product or service quality) and price (pricing, special offers) as shown in figure 6. After a purchase decision a fifth component of value emerges, which is the relationship between retailer and customer (Naumann, 2010, 2).

The value a customer receives from the supplier organization is the total package of benefits derived from the 'core product' and the 'product surround', or the added value, that enhance the basic features such as service and support, which satisfies customer needs. It can be said: the better the customers' needs are met, the higher the customer value (Beyer, 1998, 97). Thereby the subjectively perceived value is relevant and can differ between consumers and relative to competition (Kahn/Kadir, 2011, 4096).

Studies show, that there is a relationship between perceived value and overall satisfaction: increased customer value leads to higher customer satisfaction up to a certain level (Kahn/Kadir, 2011, 4091). Beyond a certain amount, it only slightly increases or stagnates i.e. high quality and more reduced delivery times will not lead to a further increase in customer satisfaction. But in general as Beyer (1998) states, the higher the customer value, the higher can be the customer satisfaction (Beyer, 1998, 97).

Khan/Kadir (2011) identify in a study, that perceived value is not fixed and will changed over time due to the changing nature of customer learned perceptions, preference and evaluations (Kahn/Kadir, 2011, 4096).

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Figure 5: Components of Value (cf. Naumann, 2010, 2)

3.4.2 Value added service = mobile service

‘Value added services are secondary benefits, which sum up with the prime benefits (real product or service) to a whole bundle of services and grant for at least one target group an additional benefit in contrast to other service offers with the same prime benefit and therefore allows the service offering company a differentiation towards the competitor' (Laakmann, 1995, 22).

The prime goal is to generate advantages like differentiation to the competition. Especially in saturated markets this is important, because of the increasing similarity of products and services, prices and quality. Value added services are able to distinct and profile the companys' offers (Meyer/Blümelhuber, 2010, 276). Further goals are of economical nature like maximizing profit and revenue with value added service, which archieve cross-selling effects, implementation of higher prices, increase the continuity of demand and the building of market entry barriers. Non economical goals are the increase of customer satisfaction and retention (Homburg/Krohmer, 2006,160).

Mobile services can be seen as value added services, which generate additional value for the customer beyond products core function. They are not explicitly expected by the customer, but if offered, they satisfy customers needs even more comprehensively and are able to increase customer satisfaction.

They are able to differentiate from competitiors, because during buying process they play a more important role for the consumer than the core product features itself. They are able to support the product value with service features (Scharnbacher/Kiefer, 2003,14).

The many possibilities of these services, which are described in the next chapters, involve functions from mobile business (i.e. product information) as well as from mobile commerce (i.e. mobile payment) including mobile marketing (mobile couponing or mobile loyalty programs), because they prepare and execute transactions even monetary once. Figure 4 shows the conceptual classification of mobile services as worked on in this thesis.

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Figure 4: Conceptual classification of mobile services (author)

Mobile services are different from traditional interpersonal services or electronic services, because mobile services can be accessed on the move, wherever and whenever needed, which means they are able to provide offerings without spatial and temporal constraints (Heinonen/Pura, 2008, 2). Therefore in this thesis the term mobile services is defined as all services, that can be used independently of spatial and temporal restraints, and that are accessed or used through a mobile device in retail environment. They are involved in the carrying out transactions to achieve customer acquisition, customer satisfaction and customer retention.

The following three examples of mobile services, which can be used in the shopping process by retailers, show the emergence of a savvy smartphone shopper, who brings online shopping behaviors into the store including competitive price checking, check for product features, get recommendation by friends, access coupons and even pay with mobile phone (comscore, 2012). Retailers offering such services gain a competitive advantage and enhance their core product with value features.

Example 1. A man is about to buy a new stereo. In an electronic store he chooses two different models. He scan both barcodes with his smartphone and finds some reviews about the products written from one of their friends, who praises the excellent range of functions and superb imagery of one of the TVs. Additionally the price check shows, that there is a special offer next week. Based on the recommendation and price check both decide to buy the stereo next week.

Example 2. A girl asks her friend to pick up toothpaste at a drugstore. Confused the friend stands in front of a large shelf of toothpaste with many different brands and can neither remember the brand nor the flavor. Finally he sends a text message to the girl asking for the brand. The girl responds by taking a picture of her wanted product and sends to his phone. The boy leaves the store with the right brand and flavor.

Example 3. A girl uses her mobile phone to do a "check-in" at a store. For this, she gets a 30%-off coupon reward on make-up products by the retailer. A store-map application guides her to the cosmetic goods section and suggests items - based on her shopping history - she might be interested in purchasing. Additionally has a mobile shopping list, which she created during the last month, not to forget any desired item, when inside the cosmetics department. When she is ready with shopping, she moves to the cashier, pays with her mobile phone, which recognizes her loyalty card and redeems automatically the 30%-off coupon. On her mobile receipt she see that with her shopping she collected 50 loyalty points, which can be used instantly to buy a gift card for her sister at the exit.

All examples give instant value to the customer during his shopping process.

3.4.3 Classifying mobile services

There are two possibilites to classify value added service: categorizing them by expectations of customer or by the kind of performance (Schwenk, 2012, 80). With the performance type there are six possibities: Information and consultancy services, logistical services, technical services, customer individualized services (tailored to the needs of the customer), business management services, convenience services, which make life of customers easier (Homburg, 2008,285).

The classification by customer's expectation or perspective is carried out by four main aspects, which differentiate them from electronic services with stationary computers. These aspects are: the type of consumption, the context of use, the social setting and the relation with the provider. They influence the value of mobile services. This customer-oriented view is achieved by classifying the value creating opportunities through mobile situations and motivations of the current and potential mobile service users. This results in classification scheme shown in figure 4, which points out service's characteristics, which can be used for planning and evaluation of mobile services. All levels of the figure are related to each other and contribute to value creation during use to the customer (Heinonen/Pura, 2006, 10).

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Figure 4: Classification of mobile services / Example of consumption type classification (cf. Heinonen/Pura, 2006, 5ff, author)

Type of consumption. Research suggests that services can be classified by the perceived degree or importance of utilitarian and hedonic value for the customer during shopping process (Mort/Drennan, 2007, 2). The utilitarian value of using a service during shopping is task-related and rational and in general represents qualities of usefulness. By this, shopping and using a service is functional. The consumer is able to complete his shopping task efficiently. In contrast to that the hedonic usage value is subjective and personal. It reflects the entertaining and emotional value derived from using the service as an enjoyable experience (Babin/Darden/Griffin, 1994, 94). Thus hedonic and utilitarian value in mobile services refers to entertainment needs and efficiency needs.

Services, which create a high utilitarian value, are information services like product information, mobile coupons or payment. They help the consumer to reach their goal effectively and conveniently, by i.e. finding information easily or saving him time or money. Highly hedonic services are entertainment orientated ones that created fun and experience like mobile tagging or loyalty programs with 'check-in' function (Heinonen/Pura, 2006, 7).

Temporal and spatial context. Another main aspect of mobile services is generated by the possibility of using services independently of location and time. Heinonen/Pura (2006) introduce a classification scheme based on temporal and spacial criticality. Temporal criticality refers to the urgency a consumer needs a service. Spacial criticality refers to the location and the usage of a mobile service. The usage of a service can be either location non- critical (service can be used anywhere) or critical (service can only be used in that situation with no alternatives) (Heinonen/Pura, 2006, 8). A customer has to pay his shopping goods with a mobile payment service in the store. This service is time and location critical, because the customer has to pay at a specific time and at a specific urgent situation at cashier.

Social setting. Another aspect besides time and location is the social setting, where the service is used. The social setting influences the usage of mobile services (Kleijnen /Ruyter/Wetzels, 2004, 3). Social environments like retail involve interpersonal influence with consumers, retailer or friends. In different situations services can be used alone or in a group to socialize with others. Additionally important is the desired amount for social interaction when using a mobile service. For example if a customer wants to do a mobile payment or a self checkout by mobile service, because of the private nature of financial information, he probably wants to have some privacy and wishes to be left alone. This means he wants a low social interaction. Ifhe is seeking for social interaction, mobile service usage can create such opportunities (Heinonen/Pura, 2006, 8). For example, if using a loyalty program service he can find and meet other customers with the same interests during his shopping trip.

Relationship between customer and service provider. This aspect deals with the relationship between customer and provider of a mobile service and its arousing kind of transactions. Heinonen/Pura (2006) distinguish between discrete and continuous transaction, which are either a finite package of usages or a continuous usage of a service by the consumer. Continuous transactions or relationships are mostly based on registration or a contract between customer and provider (Heinonen/Pura, 2006, 10). For example a mobile loyalty program member has to register at the provider to get his bonus points credited after his purchase. In contrast to that the occasionally usage of retailer's service of free mobile web access by a customer in a retail store is a discrete transaction, because there is no registration required.

The other dimension of the relationship is the mental setting of usage, which can be analytical or spontaneous arising in a specific situation (Heinonen/Pura, 2006, 10). Using a mobile coupon service at the cashier to see whether there are actual coupons available is a spontaneous usage. In contrast to that an analytical usage is the payment with mobile phone.

The mobile medium has some unique and powerful characteristics like ubiquity, personalization, context-sensivity and location and interactivity, which grant mobile marketing measures like mobile services the ability to provide added value to the customer. This happens by value creating opportunities through mobile situations and motivations of the current and potential mobile service users: The type of consumption, the context of use, the social setting and the relation with the provider.

One goal of marketing measures in general, as mentioned before, is to influence customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and therefore build up customer retention. The next chapter explains the construct of customer satisfaction and its emergence.

4 Customer satisfaction

Today customer satisfaction plays a central role in marketing (Homburg, 2012, 19). It is undisputed, that the increase in customer satisfaction is an important business issue (Töpfer, 2005, 8). It arouses from customer's perception of value.

4.1 Definition of customer satisfaction

The term satisfaction has positive aspects of ‘feeling good' or ‘being happy'. This concludes clearly, that satisfaction is an emotional reaction. In terms of economic processes, satisfaction or dissatisfaction is the emotional reaction of a customer on an entrepreneurial offering. The term customer satisfaction is generally seen as positive and therefore as desirable (Scharnbacher, 2003, 5). In literature there are many definition of the term:

Bruhn/Stauss (1999) identify, that customer satisfaction is the accordance between subjective expectations and the actually experienced satisfaction of products and services (Bruhn/Stauss, 1999, 5).

Kotler/Keller/Bliemel (2007) highlight, that satisfaction develops from customer's feelings of comparing the perceived value gain (as result of a purchase) and the expected value gain (before purchase) (Kotler/Keller/Bliemel, 2007, 46)

Homburg (2012) states customer satisfaction can be seen as result of a complex, psychic comparative process, in which a customer compares his experience while using a product or service (actual performance) with a comparison standard (expected performance) (Homburg/Stock-Homburg, 2012, 126).

Although there is no official definition, the statements describe customer satisfaction as a complex comparison between the expectations of the customer before purchase or usage and the actual feelings or experience after the purchase or usage, which shows a tendency towards the explanation approach of the Confirmation/Disconfirmation-Theory (C/D­theory or paradigm) (Hölzing, 2008, 28).

4.2 Confirmation/disconformation theory

The C/D-theory is the basis of the approach to explain customer satisfaction and an integrative framework for more special theories and concepts (see 4.4) to explain the emergence of customer satisfaction (Homburg/Stock-Homburg, 2012, 23).

The theory explains, that customer satisfaction emerges, if a customer compares his current experience during the use of a product or service (actual performance) with his expectation (expected performance). If the actual performance corresponds to the target performance, the expectation is confirmed. This state is called confirmation level of satisfaction, which does not mean the customer is really satisfied. If the actual performance surpasses the expected performance, it comes to positive disconfirmation and especially high satisfaction, which could lead to buying of further products. On the other hand dissatisfaction emerges, if the actual performance does not meet the expected performance, which is called a negative disconfirmation (Nerdinger, Neumann, 2007, 129). In this case the customer will buy another product or brand in the future.

The expected performance is a complex size. Especially the kind and the number of reference standards are controversially discussed in literature. The most used standards are expectations, experience and ideals. The most accepted is the experience. They are based on experiences with the same product and on experiences with similar products or other products of the same category. This means the experience is influenced by the expected performance and additionally by the knowledge of what is possible on basis of previous performances. Using ideals as reference standard, which also consist of former experiences and customers guessed best possible performance, it is difficult to overachieve the ideal performance (Homburg/Stock-Homburg, 2008, 20). It is not known, which standard customers use in which situation, but it is presumed that consumers use more than one reference standard simultaneously or sequentially in relation to the buying situation they are in to measure their level of satisfaction (Hölzing, 2008, 26).

The actual performance is the actual perceived performance by the customer. This performance can be objective, which is equal for all customers, and subjective ones influenced by different expectations like personal needs, previous experiences, personal recommendations or indirect information like press information (Nerdinger/Neumann, 2007, 130; Scharnbacher/Kiefer 1996, 8). By this, for the same product there are different performance levels, which are demanded by the customer (Homburg 2012, 22).

Customer satisfaction is an attitude towards an object, which has a cognitive component, the forming of an opinion about a product or a service; and an emotional one, which is the emotional state, while evaluating a product or service. Studies show that the influences of both can be changing over time: while the cognitive one increases influence over time, the emotional one decreases (Nerdinger/Neumann, 2007, 130). Therefore customer satisfaction is widely seen as results of a dynamic process. The overall satisfaction is based on episodically evaluated individual assessments not on static, timely independent and simultaneously recorded ones. There are three phases to be differentiated: the episodic contact points before (ante-phase), during (medial phase) and after (post-phase) the performance phase. The satisfaction grade of each phase influences the satisfaction level of the others (Kaiser, 2005, 74).

The basis structure of the C/D-theory is widely accepted, but it is in respect to the effects of the particular elements (i.e. mutual influencing of elements) extended with more special theories, which can be integrated into the framework of the C/D-theory (Hölzing, 2008, 28). Table 4 gives an overview of the different theories.

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