Don O'Sullivan

What is the value of a brand to a firm?

Don O'Sullivan — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 16:53:41 PST

Marketing Accountability and marketing’s Stature: An Examination of Senior Executive Perspectives

Don O'Sullivan et al. — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 18:28:23 PDT

Customer Satisfaction, Earnings and Firm Value

Don O'Sullivan et al. — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 18:14:56 PDT

The Impact of Customer Satisfaction on CEO Bonuses

Don O'Sullivan et al. — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 18:12:26 PDT

Proving Marketing Success Pays Off: Marketing Performance Measurement and its Effects on Marketing’s Stature and Firm Success

Don O'Sullivan — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 15:27:00 PST

Does Customer Satisfaction Influence the Relationship Between Earnings and Firm Value?

Don O'Sullivan et al. — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:28:45 PDT

The aim of this study is to examine the influence of customer satisfaction on the stock market’s response to current earnings. The study extends prior research on the value relevance of customer satisfaction to include the direct and indirect effect of customer satisfaction on firm value. Utilizing an earnings based valuation model and data from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) and COMPUSTAT, the study shows that both satisfaction and the interaction between earnings and satisfaction have a significant influence on firm value. Stock market participants are sensitive to changes in customer satisfaction and this is reflected in the market’s responsiveness to earnings performance.

Measuring Alpha: The Consequences of Ignoring the Four-Factor Model

Don O'Sullivan et al. — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 17:25:40 PST

Service Quality, Trust, Commitment and Service Differentiation in Business Relationships

Don O'Sullivan et al. — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 15:01:05 PST

Purpose of this paper: While service quality, trust and commitment are frequently cited as critical to achieving important firm outcomes, the role of service differentiation in this framework is largely unknown. Yet, differentiation is important because a firm’s distinctiveness is linked to client-perceived value, competitive advantage, and a target market focus. Thus, the purpose of our study is to examine the role of service differentiation in business-to-business relationships. Design and methodology: Hypotheses were tested using a sample of business clients from a large European financial services firm. The senior primary contact in each client firm was contacted by phone/email to arrange for completion of the survey. Using the survey instrument, respondents provided information on their relationship with the provider organization. Findings: Results indicated that service quality had an impact on trust, differentiation and relationship outcomes. Trust was found to drive service differentiation. Differentiation, in turn, drove commitment which ultimately had an impact on both satisfaction and word-of-mouth. Importantly, it was found that service differentiation is a full mediator of the impact that service quality and trust have on client commitment towards the firm. Practical implications: Our findings clearly show the importance of service differentiation in achieving high levels of relationship commitment and ultimately satisfaction and positive word-of-mouth. As the role of differentiation in business-to-business relationships has received limited research focus, this finding offers managers new insights into relationship development. Importantly, differentiation is a managerially controlled variable that firms can use to influence relationship outcomes.

Empirical Evidence of the Stock Market's (Mis)Pricing of Customer Satisfaction

Don O'Sullivan et al. — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:02:25 PDT

Recent portfolio studies provide conflicting evidence on whether the stock market (mis)prices the value of customer satisfaction, as measured by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), and whether ACSI-based trading strategies provide market beating returns. The current research aims to shed new light on these issues. We reexamine two ACSI-based trading strategies considered in prior research. Applying a methodology which deals with three interlinking issues: risk adjustment, abnormal returns estimation and portfolio aggregation, we find that the trading strategies do not provide compelling evidence that the market mis-prices the value of customer satisfaction. Our study contributes to the current debate on the (mis pricing of customer satisfaction by demonstrating the application of a framework within which the robustness of observed anomalies can be more fully assessed.

Advertising and the Organizational Production of Humour

Don O'Sullivan et al. — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 22:51:01 PDT

The focus of this chapter is on a particular aspect of the relationship between humour and organization, namely the deliberate production of humour by organizations through advertising. Our aim is to study humour in advertising and through doing so to investigate what it tells us about humour, organizations and the social context of advertising/consumption. Specifi cally, we are interested in explaining the nature and increasing use of humour during the period that has come to be known as late capitalism.

Marriages Made in Heaven: The Power of Network Latency

James Fairhead et al. — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:49:35 PDT

Heritage Marketing On The Internet

Don O'Sullivan — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:45:12 PDT

Service Quality in the Irish Health Service

Don O'Sullivan et al. — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:34:50 PDT

While service quality has received considerable attention over the past decade, there is a relative dearth of research into service initiatives in the public sector. Similarly, relatively little attention has been given to the service quality of professional services. This paper looks at a service initiative in the public health sector. Particular attention is paid to the service quality of medical professionals. We argue that the historical and environmental contexts within which quality initiatives operate differ fundamentally between commercial and public sector organizations. We illustrate this by looking at a quality initiative in the Irish health sector. A series of in-depth interviews provide the basis for a discussion of the antecedents of service quality initiatives in the health sector in the 1990s. We also chart the emergence of a managerial quality model which we present in the context of power relations between medical professionals and hospital managers.

The Measurement of Marketing Performance In Irish Firms

Don O'Sullivan — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:16:39 PDT

This paper provides an insight into the metrics that Irish firms us to measure marketing performance The paper also examines the relationship between these measurement practices and firm performance. Findings, based on a survey of 209 marketers, indicate that marketing performance measurement in Irish firms is dominated by financial metrics and that measurement practices appear to be less well developed than practices previously reported in the UK and Spain. The study provides some support for the theorised relationship between marketing performance measurement and firm performance. Based on these findings it is argued that the development of performance measurement practices should be included in any comprehensive program to improve marketing performance within this market.

Marketing Performance Measurement Ability and Firm Performance

Don O'Sullivan et al. — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:12:16 PDT

Marketing practitioners are under increasing pressure to demonstrate their contribution to firm performance. It has been widely argued that an inability to account for marketing’s contribution has undermined its standing within the firm.To respond to this pressure, marketers are investing in the development of performance measurement abilities, but to date, there have been no empirical studies of whether the ability to measure marketing performance has any actual effect on either firm performance or marketing’s stature. In this study of senior marketing managers in hightechnology firms, the authors examine the effect of ability to measure marketing performance on firm performance, using both primary data collected from senior marketers and secondary data on firm profitability and stock returns. They also explore the effect of ability to measure marketing on marketing’s stature within the firm, which is operationalized as chief executive officer satisfaction with marketing. The empirical results indicate that the ability to measure marketing performance has a significant impact on firm performance, profitability, stock returns, and marketing’s stature within the firm.

Marketing Performance Measurement and Firm Performance: Evidence from the European High-Technology Sector

Don O'Sullivan et al. — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:06:44 PDT

The research aims to test whether the ability to measure marketing performance affects the actual performance of firms, in the context of the European high-tech sector. We also test whether performance reporting frequency and size of marketing budget mediate the relationship between measurement ability and performance. Survey responses collected from 157 marketers were supplemented with firm performance data. Results show marketing performance measurement ability positively impacts firm performance and that reporting frequency mediates this relationship. Research limitations/implications - More attention should be given to the activities that are measured rather than the metrics in use - which receives much attention in the literature. Current interest in marketing dashboards may be overstated. Practical implications – Enhanced ability to account for marketing leads not only to improved firm performance, but also to greater regard for marketing at the senior management level. Originality / value of paper - This is the first study to demonstrate a link between marketing performance measurement ability or frequency and firm performance in the European market. It also provides an insight into the chain of effects linking marketing performance measurement ability to firm performance.

Market Orientation and Enterprise Policy

Don O'Sullivan et al. — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:03:05 PDT

Enterprise policy in European economies is commonly focused on enhancing market orientation as a driver of firm performance. Irish enterprise policy, which is frequently cited as a model of best practice, focuses on developing market orientation within the States’ high-value-added sectors. However, based on a study of firms operating within these sectors of the Irish economy, the authors find that market orientation is not directly associated with either subjectively- or objectively-measured performance. The implications for enterprise policy in European economies and for the evolving understanding of market orientation are considered. The moderating effects of several environmental factors are also addressed.