International E-Business – Building Online Customer Loyalty with Relationship Management

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• Introduction
  • Problem Statement
  • Objective
  • Relevance of the Topic
    • Theoretical Relevance
    • Practical Relevance
• Literature Review and Theoretical Framework
  • State of Research: Descriptive instead of Conception
  • Methodology
    • Definition and Limitation of Research Topic
    • Research Structure
• Loyalty and Customer Relationship Management
  • Definition of Loyalty and Relationship Management
    • Benefits of Relationship Management & Customer Loyalty
    • Transactional View versus Relationship View
    • The Evolution of Relationship Management
  • General Approaches to Relationship Management
    • IMP Interaction Approach
    • Five-phase Profit Chain by Bruhn
    • Dynamic Framework by Dwyer, Schurr & Oh
  • Evaluation Criteria for a Concept of Relationship Management
  • Chosen Concept
• International E-Business
  • Definition of E-Business
  • Value Adding Characteristics/Opportunities of E-Business
    • Interactivity, Dialogue, Individuality
    • Customer-Integration and Innovation
    • Changing Structure of the Value-adding Process
    • Market-pull and Customized-push instead of Market-push
    • Global, 24-hour Access
• Customer Loyalty and International E-Business
  • New Model for Customer Loyalty & Relationship Management in E-Business
  • Individuality and Interactivity during the Relationship Process
  • E-Business Relationship Process
    • Stage 1: First Contact - Online Surfer
    • Stage 2: Customer Satisfaction - Online Buyer
    • Stage 3: Customer Loyalty
    • Stage 4: Customer Retention - Repeat Business Contacts
    • Stage 5: Economic success & Long-term Profitability
    • Influencing factors: External and Internal
  • Instruments for Customer Loyalty in the World of E-Business
    • Knowing your Customers - Customer Profiles & Database
    • Online Communities
    • Complaint Management System
    • Membership Clubs
    • Datamining
    • Customer-Integrated Product Innovation

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

This thesis aims to explore the concept of customer loyalty and its application within the context of international e-business. The main objective is to develop a new model for managing customer relationships in the online environment, considering the unique characteristics and challenges of the digital marketplace.

• The evolution of customer relationship management and its adaptation to the e-business context
• The role of interactivity, individuality, and customer integration in building online customer loyalty
• The development of a multi-stage relationship process for e-business, encompassing stages like first contact, satisfaction, loyalty, retention, and long-term profitability
• The identification and analysis of key instruments and strategies for fostering customer loyalty in the e-business environment
• The exploration of the impact of external and internal factors on customer loyalty and relationship management in e-business.

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

The thesis begins with an introduction to the research topic, outlining the problem statement, research objective, and its theoretical and practical relevance. Chapter two delves into the literature review and theoretical framework, examining the existing state of research on customer loyalty and its application in e-business. Chapter three provides a comprehensive exploration of loyalty and customer relationship management, defining key concepts, outlining benefits, and discussing various approaches to relationship management. Chapter four focuses on international e-business, defining its key characteristics and examining how its unique opportunities influence customer loyalty. Chapter five presents the core contribution of the thesis by developing a new model for customer loyalty and relationship management in e-business. It outlines the relationship process, analyzes influencing factors, and explores key instruments for fostering customer loyalty in the digital environment.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

The main focus topics of this thesis are customer loyalty, relationship management, international e-business, online customer experience, interactivity, individuality, and customer-integrated innovation. The work examines the application of these concepts in building and sustaining long-term customer relationships within the digital marketplace.