Customers and Relations

This theme includes research on all kinds of customers' experiences of and responses to brands, product and service offerings, marketing communication, marketing activities as well as other conditions in the markets.

Responsible faculty member:

Prof. Kristina Heinonen

Researchers focusing on the area:

Prof. Peter Björk
Prof. Emeritus Christian Grönroos
Prof. Maria Holmlund-Rytkönen
Prof. Veronica Liljander
Prof. Bård Tronvoll
Prof. Magnus Söderlund

Prof. Tore Strandvik
Assoc. Prof. Pia Polsa
Assoc. Prof. Annika Ravald
Asst. Prof. Johanna Gummerus
Asst. Prof. Christian Kowalkowski
Post-doc. Karl-Jacob Mickelsson

Specific topics

Customer experiences in B2C and B2B
Customer value formation
Service/product quality, customer satisfaction
Customer involvement and engagement
Customer activities and practices
Customer network relationships
Relationship marketing, customer rel.man.
Value selling, solutions selling
Service interface, service encounters, servicescapes
Customers' social media use
Brand relationships and image

Focus industries studied in the area

Financial services and banking industry
Tourism and hospitality industry

Our latest publications on customers and relations

Sebastian Schauman, Kristina Heinonen, Maria Holmlund-Rytkönen 2020, 'Crafting Customer Insight: What We Can Learn from the Revival of the Vinyl Record', Business Horizons,

Maria Holmlund-Rytkönen, Robert Ciuchita, Annika Ravald, Yves Van Vaerenbergh, Panagiotis Sarantopoulos, Francisco Villarroel-Ordenes, Mohamed Zaki 2020, 'Customer experience management in the age of big data analytics', Journal of Business Research, vol. 116, pp. 356-365. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.01.022

Jaakko Aspara, Jan Klein, Yuchi Zhang, Tomas Falk, Xueming Luo 2020, 'Customer journey analyses in digital media: Exploring the impact of cross-media exposure on customers’ purchase decisions', Journal of Service Management,

Kristina Heinonen, Tore Strandvik 2020, 'Reframing service innovation: COVID-19 as a catalyst for imposed service innovation', Journal of Service Management, https://doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-05-2020-0161

Maria Holmlund-Rytkönen, Lars Witell, Anders Gustafsson 2020, 'Viewpoint: Getting Your Qualitative Service Research Published', Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 111-116. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSM-11-2019-0444

Johanna Gummerus, Michaela Lipkin, Apramey Dube, Kristina Heinonen 2019, 'Technology in use - characterizing customer self-service devices (SSDS)', Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 33, no. 1, pp. 44-56. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSM-10-2018-0292

Anne Rindell, Pinto Santos 2018, 'Analysing authenticity in corporate brand heritage with Peirce's semiotic theory', Marketing Theory,

Peter Björk, Hannele Kauppinen-Räisänen, Alexandra Lönnström, Marie-Nathalie Jauffret 2018, 'How consumers' need for uniqueness, self-monitoring, and social identity affect their choices when luxury brands visually shout versus whisper', Journal of Business Research, vol. 84, no. March , pp. 72-81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2017.11.012

Jaakko Aspara, Kristina Wittkowski 2018, 'Sharing-Dominant Logic? Quantifying the Association between Consumer Intelligence and Choice of Social Access Modes', Journal of Consumer Research, vol. 46, no. 2, pp. 201-222. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucy074

Maria Holmlund-Rytkönen, Kwesi Sakyi-Gyinae 2018, 'What Do Business Customers Value? An Empirical Study of Value Propositions in a Servitization Context', Technology Innovation Management Review, vol. 8, no. 5, pp. 36-43. https://doi.org/10.22215/timreview/1157

Bård Tronvoll, F. Polese, J. Pels, R. Bruni, L. Carrubbo 2017, 'A4A relationships', Journal of Service Theory and Practice2015, vol. 27, no. 5, pp. 1040-1056. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-05-2017-0085

Kristina Heinonen, Werner Kunz, Lerzan Aksoy, Yakov Bart, Sertan Kabadayi, Francisco Villaroel Ordenes, Marianna Sigala, David Diaz, Babis Theodoulidis 2017, 'Customer engagement in a Big Data world', Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 31, no. 2, pp. 161-171. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSM-10-2016-0352

Bård Tronvoll, Tore Mysen 2017, 'Emosjoner i kundedrevet samskaping av tjenester', Magma: Econas tidsskrift for økonomi og ledelse, vol. 4, pp. 50-58.

Peter Björk, Erose Sthapit, Dafnis Coudounaris 2017, 'Emotions elicited by local food consumption, memories, place attachment and behavioural intentions', Anatolia : An International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research, vol. 28, no. 3, pp. 363-380. https://doi.org/10.1080/13032917.2017.1322111

Christian Kowalkowski, Helen Perks, Lars Witell, Anders Gustafsson 2017, 'Network orchestration for value platform development', Industrial Marketing Management, vol. 67, no. November, pp. 106-121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2017.08.002

Christian Kowalkowski, Federico Androdegari, Nicola Saccani, Jyrki Vilo 2017, 'PSS business model conceptualization and application', Production Planning & Control, vol. 28, no. 15, pp. 1251-1263. https://doi.org/10.1080/09537287.2017.1363924

Jaakko Aspara, Maria Jose del Rio Olivares, Kristina Wittkowski, Tomas Falk, Pekka Mattila 2017, 'Relational price discounts: Consumers' metacognitions and nonlinear effects of initial discounts on customer retention', Journal of Marketing, vol. 82, no. 1, pp. 115-131. https://doi.org/10.1509/jm.16.0267

Christian Grönroos 2017, 'Relationship marketing and service: an update', Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science : Bridging Asia and the World, vol. 27, no. 3, pp. 201-208 . https://doi.org/10.1080/21639159.2017.1318666

Christian Grönroos 2017, 'Relationship marketing readiness: theoretical background and measurement directions', Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 31, no. 3, pp. 218-225. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSM-02-2017-0056

Peter Björk, Erose Sthapit 2017, 'Relative contribution of souvenirs on memorability of a trip experience and revisit intentions: a study of visitors to Rovaniemi, Finland', Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1080/15022250.2017.1354717

Christian Kowalkowski, Heiko Gebauer, Bart Kamp, Glenn Parry 2017, 'Servitization and deservitization', Industrial Marketing Management, vol. 60, no. January, pp. 4-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2016.12.007 ,

Bård Tronvoll 2017, 'The Actor: The Key Determinator in Service Ecosystems', Systems, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 1-14. https://doi.org/10.3390/systems5020038

Karl-Jacob Mickelsson 2016, '"Running Is My Boyfriend": Consumers’ Relationships with Activities', Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 24-33. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSM-03-2016-0108

Magnus Söderlund 2016, 'Mere employee presence and its impact on customer satisfaction', Psychology and Marketing, vol. 33, no. 6, pp. 449-464. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.20890

Maria Holmlund-Rytkönen, Christian Kowalkowski, Sergio Biggemann 2016, 'Organizational Behavior in Innovation, Marketing, and Purchasing in Business Service Contexts', Journal of Business Research, vol. 69, no. 7, pp. 2457-2462. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.02.014

Christian Kowalkowski, Heiko Gebauer, Rogelio Oliva 2016, 'Service growth in product firms', Industrial Marketing Management, vol. 60, no. January, pp. 82-88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2016.10.015

Kristina Heinonen, Tore Strandvik 2015, 'Customer-dominant logic: foundations and implications', Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 29, no. 6/7, pp. 472-484. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSM-02-2015-0096

Johanna Gummerus, Veronica Liljander, Reija Sihlman 2015, 'Do Ethical Social Media Communities Pay Off? An Exploratory Study of the Ability of Facebook Ethical Communities to Strengthen Consumers' Ethical Consumption Behavior', Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 144, no. 3, pp. 449-465. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2830-y

Paul Viio, Christian Grönroos 2015, 'How buyer-seller relationship orientation affects adaptation of sales processes to the buying process', Industrial Marketing Management, vol. 52, pp. 37-46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2015.07.013

Annika Ravald, Fredrik Nordin 2015, 'Managing relationship gaps: A practitioner perspective', Journal of Business Research, vol. 69, no. 7, pp. 2490-2497. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.02.018

Christian Grönroos, Katri Ojasalo 2015, 'Service productivity as mutual learning', International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences, vol. 7, no. 2-3, pp. 296-311. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJQSS-03-2015-0035

Anne Rindell, Fernando Pinto Santos, Ana Pinto de Lima 2015, 'Two sides of a coin: Connecting corporate brand heritage to consumers’ corporate image heritage', Journal of Brand Management, vol. 22, no. June/July, pp. 467-484. https://doi.org/10.1057/bm.2015.20

Veronica Liljander, Johanna Gummerus, Magnus Söderlund 2015, 'Young consumers’ responses to suspected covert and overt blog marketing', Internet Research, vol. 25, no. 4, pp. 610-632. https://doi.org/10.1108/IntR-02-2014-0041

Hannele Kauppinen-Räisänen, Johanna Gummerus, Catharina Koskull von, Åke Finne, Anu Helkkula, Christian Kowalkowski, Anne Rindell 2014, 'Am I worth it? Gifting myself with luxury', Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 112-132. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFMM-04-2013-0062

Peter Björk, Hannele Kauppinen-Räisänen 2014, 'Contemporary insights to the dynamic pre-trip information sourcing behaviour', Tourism and Hospitality Research, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 39-53. https://doi.org/10.1177/1467358414553871

Hannele Kauppinen-Räisänen, Anne Rindell, Charlotta Åberg 2014, 'Conveying conscientiousness: Exploring environmental images across servicescapes', Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 520-528. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2014.04.001

Bård Tronvoll, Maria Åkesson, Bo Edvardsson 2014, 'Customer experience from a self-service system perspective', Journal of Service Management, vol. 25, no. 5, pp. 677-698. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-01-2013-0016

Gustav Medberg, Kristina Heinonen 2014, 'Invisible value formation: a netnography in retail banking', International Journal of Bank Marketing, vol. 32, no. 6, pp. 590-607. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJBM-03-2014-0041

Christian Kowalkowski, Tore Strandvik, Päivi Voima, Bo Edvardsson 2014, 'Negative critical waves in business relationships', Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 29, no. 4, pp. 284-294. https://doi.org/10.1108/JBIM-08-2013-0159

Magnus Söderlund, Veronica Liljander, Johanna Gummerus, Pia Maria Hellman, Michaela Lipkin, Marianne Dube, Eeva-Liisa Oikarinen, Karina Töndevold 2014, 'Preferential treatment in the service encounter', Journal of Service Management, vol. 25, no. 4, pp. 512-530. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-02-2014-0048

Christian Grönroos, Päivi Voima 2013, 'Critical service logic: making sense of value creation and co-creation', Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 133-150. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-012-0308-3

Pia Polsa 2013, 'Crystallization and research in Asia', Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 76-93. https://doi.org/10.1108/13522751311289776

Pia Polsa, Wei Fuxiang, Maria Caroliina Sääksjärvi, Pei Shuyuan 2013, 'Cultural values and health care service quality in China', International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 55-73. https://doi.org/10.1108/09526861311288640

Karl-Jacob Mickelsson 2013, 'Customer Activity in Service', Journal of Service Management, vol. 24, no. 5, pp. 534-552. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-04-2013-0095

Christian Kowalkowski, Sergio Biggemann, Jane Maley, Staffan Brege 2013, 'Development and implementation of customer solutions', Industrial Marketing Management, vol. 42, no. 7, pp. 1083-1092. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2013.07.026

Tore Strandvik, Kristina Heinonen 2013, 'Diagnosing Service Brand Strength: Customer-Dominant Brand Relationship Mapping', Journal of Service Management, vol. 24, no. 5, pp. 502-519. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-04-2013-0094

Maria Holmlund-Rytkönen, Fredrik Nordin, Danilo Brozovic 2013, 'Disintermediation in Business-to-Business Service Channels: Mechanisms and Challenges', Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing, vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 179-192. https://doi.org/10.1080/1051712X.2013.813717

Jaakko Aspara, Joel Hietanen, Pekka Mattila, Antti Sihvonen, Henrikki Tikkanen 2013, 'Generative mechanisms in project marketing – an agenda for inquiry', Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science : Bridging Asia and the World, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 196-212. https://doi.org/10.1080/21639159.2013.769330

Jaakko Aspara, Petri Parvinen, Joel Hietanen, Sami Kajalo 2013, 'Sales activity systematization and performance', Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 28, no. 6, pp. 494-505. https://doi.org/10.1108/JBIM-04-2013-0101

Pia Polsa 2013, 'The Crossover-Dialogue Approach :', Journal of Business Research, vol. 66, no. 3, pp. 288-297. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2011.08.008

Veronica Liljander, Johanna Gummerus, Anna Lundqvist, Allard van Riel 2013, 'The impact of storytelling on the consumer brand experience: the case of a firm-originated story', Journal of Brand Management, vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 283-297. https://doi.org/10.1057/bm.2012.15

Johanna Gummerus 2013, 'Value Creation Processes and Value Outcomes in Marketing Theory - Strangers or Siblings?', Marketing Theory, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 19–46. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470593112467267

Christian Grönroos 2012, 'Conceptualising value co-creation: A journey to the 1970s and back to the future', Journal of Marketing Management, vol. 28, no. 13-14, pp. 1520-1534. https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2012.737357

Johanna Gummerus, Veronica Liljander, Minna Hannele Pura, Emil Weman 2012, 'Customer Engagement in a Facebook Brand Community', Management Research Review2010, vol. 35, no. 9, pp. 857 - 877. https://doi.org/10.1108/01409171211256578

Tore Strandvik, Maria Holmlund-Rytkönen, Bo Edvardsson 2012, 'Customer Needing: A Challenge for the Seller Offering', Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 132-141. https://doi.org/10.1108/08858621211196994

Karolina Wägar, Annika Ravald, Inger Roos, Bo Edvardsson 2012, 'My Customers Are in My Blind Spot', Journal of Service Research, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 150-165. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094670511435540

Christian Grönroos, Pekka Päiviö Helle 2012, 'Return on relationships:', Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 27, no. 5, pp. 344-359.

Pia Polsa, Karen Spens, Imoh Antai, Alabi Soneye 2011, 'Comparing the perceived quality of private and public health services in Nigeria', Journal of Management Policy and Practice, vol. 12, no. 7, pp. 18-26.

Maria Holmlund-Rytkönen, Sören Kock, Vladimir Vanyushyn 2009, 'Cooperation with Competitors and Internationalization', Journal of Euromarketing, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 89-100. https://doi.org/10.1080/10496480903022238

Maria Holmlund-Rytkönen, Päivi Hobbs 2009, 'Seller-initiated relationship ending An empirical study of professional business-to-business services', Managing Service Quality, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 266-285. https://doi.org/10.1108/09604520910955302

Maria Holmlund-Rytkönen 2008, 'A definition, model, and empirical analysis of business-to-business relationship quality', Journal of Service Management, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 32-62. https://doi.org/10.1108/09564230810855707

Tore Strandvik, Maria Holmlund-Rytkönen 2008, 'How to Diagnose Business-to-Business Relationships by Mapping Negative Incidents', Journal of Marketing Management, vol. 24, no. 3-4, pp. 361-381. https://doi.org/10.1362/026725708X306149

Maria Holmlund-Rytkönen, Tore Strandvik, Bo Edvardsson 2008, 'Initiation of business relationships in service-dominant settings', Industrial Marketing Management, vol. 37, no. 3, pp. 339-350. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2007.07.009

Maria Holmlund-Rytkönen, Tore Strandvik 2005, 'Exploring and Managing Negative Incidents in Business Relationships', Journal of Customer Behavior, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 227-250.

Maria Holmlund-Rytkönen, Tore Strandvik 2005, 'Stress in Business Relationships', Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 12-22. https://doi.org/10.1108/08858620510576757

Maria Holmlund-Rytkönen 2004, 'Analyzing Business Relationships and Distinguishing Different Interaction Levels', Industrial Marketing Management, vol. 33, no. 4, pp. 279-287. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0019-8501(03)00057-9

Maria Holmlund-Rytkönen 2001, 'The D&D Model', The Service Industries Journal, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 13-36.

Maria Holmlund-Rytkönen, Tore Strandvik 1999, 'Perception Configurations in Business Relationships', Management Decision, vol. 37, no. 9, pp. 686-696. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251749910299020

Maria Holmlund-Rytkönen, Jan-Åke Törnroos 1997, 'What are Relationships in Business Networks?', Management Decision, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 304-309. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251749710169693