出版社：Associação Nacional de Pós-Graduação e Pesquisa em Administração
摘要：The scope of this paper is to assess the transaction profitability associated with frequent and sporadic buyers in the Brazilian home appliance electronic retail market. The conceptual framework of the paper juxtaposes rival theories, by contrasting those expressed in Relationship Marketing literature with recent publications that question the benefits of customer retention and contend that sporadic buyers may be more important than frequent customers. In the two firms investigated, quantitative data show that sporadic customers are associated with greater transaction profitability than frequent purchasers. However, investigation of managerial practicesreveals that e-retailers fail to interact and establish a rapport with their customers. Data triangulation of qualitative and quantitative evidence indicates that the decline in customer value is linked to practices that are not in compliance with prevailing marketing theory for digital environments. The study would appear to suggest that the value of customers is closely linked to the way in which e-retailers relate to them. Lastly, academic and managerial implications are presented, with a view to enhancing the inherent benefits of commercial relationships between consumers and companies on the Web.
