Editors: Jacob Goldenberg, The Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya and Columbia University
Eitan Muller, The Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya and New York University
Announcement
2014 Winner of the Jan-Benedict E.M. Steenkamp Award for Long-Term Impact
The European Marketing Academy (EMAC) and the International Journal of Research in Marketing
(IJRM) are pleased to announce the winner of the 2014 Jan-Benedict E.M. Steenkamp Award for
Long-Term Impact:
Venkatesh Shankar, Amy K. Smith, and Arvind Rangaswamy, Customer satisfaction and
loyalty in online and offline environments, International Journal of Research in Marketing,
20 (2), 153-175
Abstract:
We address the following questions that are becoming increasingly important to managers in service
industries: Are the levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty for the same service different when customers
choose the service online versus offline? If yes, what factors might explain these differences? How is the
relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty in the online environment different from that in the
offline environment? We propose a conceptual framework and develop hypotheses about the effects of the
online medium on customer satisfaction and loyalty and on the relationships between satisfaction and loyalty.
We test the hypotheses through a simultaneous equation model using two data sets of online and offline
customers of the lodging industry. The results are somewhat counterintuitive in that they show that whereas
the levels of customer satisfaction for a service chosen online is the same as when it is chosen offline, loyalty
to the service provider is higher when the service is chosen online than offline. We also find that loyalty and
satisfaction have a reciprocal relationship such that each positively reinforces the other, and this relationship
between overall satisfaction and loyalty is further strengthened online.
This annual award is given to papers published in IJRM in recognition of their exceptional
contributions in academic marketing research by demonstrating long-term impact.
A 4-member Award Committee, formed by the IJRM editors and the EMAC VP of Publications,
managed the nomination and selection procedure. For this year, the committee is composed of Koen
Pauwels (Chairperson), Kristin Diehl, Martijn de Jong, and Baohong Sun.
The following criteria are used to determine the winning paper: (1) the paper’s ISI citations; (2) the
votes it receives from the IJRM Editorial Board (from two rounds of voting), and (3) the paper’s
quality, as assessed by the award committee’s in-depth reading the paper.
Papers eligible for this award are published in IJRM 10 to 15 years prior to the year the award is
being presented. For 2014, these are papers from 1999 to 2004. Past winners of this award, papers
authored or co-authored by Jan-Benedict Steenkamp, and by any of the current IJRM Editors are not
eligible. Nominations are first solicited from EMAC members and IJRM Board members. These
papers, with their latest ISI and Google Scholar citations, form the first-round ballot from which
Editors: Jacob Goldenberg, The Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya and Columbia University
Eitan Muller, The Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya and New York University
IJRM Board members vote for up to 5 papers. The ten (10) papers with the most votes then form the
shortlist for the second-round of voting from which IJRM Board members choose only one (1) paper.
The award committee then assesses these papers in terms of the three criteria named above. Given
these criteria, there is room to deviate from mere vote tallying, but the deviation needs to be clearly
argued, and rather exceptional. There can also be two winners in exceptional cases (not more than
once every 3 years on average).
Statement from the Jury:
This year’s award was reviewed by a committee of four Associate Editors representing the three key
domains of Consumer Behavior, Strategy, and Modeling. We thank everyone for voting and
commenting on the eligible papers. Initially, we received 46 nominations from EMAC and the IJRM
Editorial Board Members. As usual, two rounds of voting by the IJRM Board members were
followed by committee deliberation.
Based on the votes, the citations and the committee’s quality assessment, the winner is "Customer
satisfaction and loyalty in online and offline environments" by Venkatesh Shankar, Amy K.
Smith, and Arvind Rangaswamy, published in 2003 (Vol 20, #2).
This paper is among the first to question the notion that the online purchase environment represents
frictionless commerce. The authors provide a conceptual framework for the effects of the online
medium on customer satisfaction and loyalty and on the relationships between satisfaction and
loyalty. Their empirical analysis of two datasets of online and offline customer in the lodging
markets shows that loyalty to the service provider is higher when the service is chosen online than
offline. Moreover, the relation between satisfaction and loyalty is strong and reciprocal online.
Contrary to common wisdom at the time, this paper shows that companies can build a loyal customer
base online by providing well-designed online links to products and services. The long-term impact
of this work is evident in hundreds of citations and the clear first place in votes among IJRM board
members.
We congratulate the authors for receiving this award.
Jury members:
Prof. Koen H Pauwels, Ozyegin University, Turkey
Prof. Kristin Diehl, University of Southern California, USA
Prof. Martijn de Jong, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Prof. Baohong Sun, Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business, China
Editors: Jacob Goldenberg, The Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya and Columbia University
Eitan Muller, The Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya and New York University