Browsing by Author "Schulte-Berndt, Markus"

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    Bundling as a strategy for a commodity service brand introduction. The impact of bundle partner image on quality and risk perception and the role of complementarity
    (Heriot-Watt University, 2023-03) Schulte-Berndt, Markus
    Increasing the quality perception and reducing the perceived risk of purchase improves the chances of success for new service introductions. This research investigated whether, for a new service brand introduction into the German residential electricity market, bundling with a stronger service brand enhances the perceived quality and reduces the perceived risk more than bundling with a weaker brand. In the goods category, it has been scientifically shown prior to this research that bundling with a stronger brand achieves this effect if the products are complementary. An academic knowledge gap in this area existed because this enhancement effect was yet to be evaluated empirically for services. This research applied price bundling to a new electricity service brand introduction via a survey experiment with potential customers rating electricity bundle offers. The research design was a 2*2 (brand image of bundle partner; complementarity) factorial design with analysis of variance (ANOVA) to test the research hypotheses. The results narrow the knowledge gap and contribute to professional practice by establishing that bundling with a stronger brand enhances the perceived quality and reduces the perceived risk also for services. The research furthermore demonstrated that complementarity is, independent of the bundle partner brand image, a factor to improve quality perception and to reduce the perceived risk of a new service brand.