Growing Existing Customers’ Revenue Streams through Customer Referral Programs
Open accessAbstract
Customer referral programs are an effective means of customer acquisition. By assessing a large-scale customer data set from a global cellular telecommunications provider, the authors show that participation in a referral program also increases existing customers’ loyalty. In a field experiment, recommenders’ defection rates fell from 19% to 7% within a year, and their average monthly revenue grew by 11.4% compared with a matched control group. A negative interaction between referral program participation and customer tenure reveals that the loyalty effect of voicing a recommendation is particularly pronounced for newer customer–firm relationships. A laboratory experiment further demonstrates that referral programs with larger rewards strengthen attitudinal and behavioral loyalty, whereas smaller rewards affect only the behavioral dimension. This article contributes to our theoretical understanding of the roles played by the commitment–consistency principle and positive reinforcement theory as mechanisms underlying the effectiveness of customer referral programs.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Existing research shows that CRPs increase existing customer loyalty to the referred firm.
“increase existing customer loyalty to the referred firm (Garnefeld et al. 2013)”
From Unintended reward costs: the effectiveness of customer referral reward programs for innovative products and services (2019) · cites this paper as Garnefeld et al. 2013
Cites
Evaluating Structural Equation Models with Unobservable Variables and Measurement Error
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981) · Journal of Marketing Research · doi:10.2307/3151312 · Cited by 109,314 · see citing works
Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981) · Journal of Marketing Research · doi:10.1177/002224378101800104 · Cited by 109,190 · see citing works
Regression Models and Life-Tables
Cox, D. R. (1972) · Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series B: Statistical Methodology · doi:10.1111/j.2517-6161.1972.tb00899.x · Cited by 39,793 · see citing works
The central role of the propensity score in observational studies for causal effects
ROSENBAUM, P. R., & RUBIN, D. B. (1983) · Biometrika · doi:10.1093/biomet/70.1.41 · Cited by 31,241 · see citing works
Regression Models and Life-Tables
Cox, D. R. (1992) · Springer Series in Statistics · doi:10.1007/978-1-4612-4380-9_37 · Cited by 26,297 · see citing works
Density Estimation for Statistics and Data Analysis
Silverman, B. W. (2018) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.1201/9781315140919 · Cited by 15,938 · see citing works
Exchange and Power in Social Life
Blau, P. M. (2017) · doi:10.4324/9780203792643 · Cited by 15,923 · see citing works
Duflo, E. (2019) · AEA Papers and Proceedings · doi:10.1257/pandp.109.612 · Cited by 11,235 · see citing works
Density Estimation for Statistics and Data Analysis
(1986) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4899-3324-9 · Cited by 8,478 · see citing works
Rosenbaum, P., & Rubin, D. (1985) · The American Statistician · doi:10.2307/2683903 · Cited by 6,854 · see citing works
Customer Loyalty: Toward an Integrated Conceptual Framework
Dick, A. S., & Basu, K. (1994) · Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science · doi:10.1177/0092070394222001 · Cited by 6,758 · see citing works
SOME PRACTICAL GUIDANCE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PROPENSITY SCORE MATCHING
Caliendo, M., & Kopeinig, S. (2008) · Journal of Economic Surveys · doi:10.1111/j.1467-6419.2007.00527.x · Cited by 6,238 · see citing works
Satisfaction: a behavioral perspective on the consumer
Oliver, R. L. (2010) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.47-6963 · Cited by 6,042 · see citing works
Bem, D. J. (1972) · Advances in Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/s0065-2601(08)60024-6 · Cited by 5,241 · see citing works
A study of normative and informational social influences upon individual judgment.
Deutsch, M., & Gerard, H. B. (1955) · The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/h0046408 · Cited by 4,819 · see citing works
Propensity Score-Matching Methods for Nonexperimental Causal Studies
Dehejia, R., & Wahba, S. (2002) · The Review of Economics and Statistics · doi:10.1162/003465302317331982 · Cited by 4,777 · see citing works
Rosenbaum, P. R., & Rubin, D. B. (1985) · The American Statistician · doi:10.1080/00031305.1985.10479383 · Cited by 4,415 · see citing works
The processes of causal attribution.
Kelley, H. H. (1973) · American Psychologist · doi:10.1037/h0034225 · Cited by 4,025 · see citing works
Interpersonal Relations: A Theory of Interdependence
Hansen, D. A., Kelley, H. H., & Thibaut, J. W. (1982) · Journal of Marriage and the Family · doi:10.2307/351281 · Cited by 2,782 · see citing works
Product/Consumption-Based Affective Responses and Postpurchase Processes
Westbrook, R. A. (1987) · Journal of Marketing Research · doi:10.1177/002224378702400302 · Cited by 2,462 · see citing works
Causal effects in nonexperimental studies: Reevaluating the evaluation of training programs
Dehejia, R. H., & Wahba, S. (1999) · Journal of the American Statistical Association · doi:10.1080/01621459.1999.10473858 · Cited by 2,395 · see citing works
Park, C. W., MacInnis, D. J., Priester, J. R., Eisingerich, A. B., & Iacobucci, D. (2010) · Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1509/jmkg.74.6.1 · Cited by 2,329 · see citing works
Return on Marketing: Using Customer Equity to Focus Marketing Strategy
Rust, R. T., Lemon, K. N., & Zeithaml, V. A. (2004) · Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1509/jmkg.68.1.109.24030 · Cited by 2,151 · see citing works
Bolton, R. N. (1998) · Marketing Science · doi:10.1287/mksc.17.1.45 · Cited by 1,948 · see citing works
Return on Quality (ROQ): Making Service Quality Financially Accountable
Rust, R. T., Zahorik, A. J., & Keiningham, T. L. (1995) · Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1177/002224299505900205 · Cited by 1,622 · see citing works
Gustafsson, A., Johnson, M. D., & Roos, I. (2005) · Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1509/jmkg.2005.69.4.210 · Cited by 1,576 · see citing works
Verhoef, P. C. (2003) · Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1509/jmkg.67.4.30.18685 · Cited by 1,530 · see citing works
Matching using estimated propensity scores: relating theory to practice.
Rubin, D., & Thomas, N. (1996) · Biometrics · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511810725.024 · Cited by 1,445 · see citing works
Ganesh, J., Arnold, M. J., & Reynolds, K. E. (2000) · Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1509/jmkg.64.3.65.18028 · Cited by 1,305 · see citing works
The Impact of Customer Relationship Characteristics on Profitable Lifetime Duration
Reinartz, W., & Kumar, V. (2003) · Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1509/jmkg.67.1.77.18589 · Cited by 1,170 · see citing works
Relationship Marketing Activities, Commitment, and Membership Behaviors in Professional Associations
Gruen, T. W., Summers, J. O., & Acito, F. (2000) · Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1509/jmkg.64.3.34.18030 · Cited by 1,091 · see citing works
The Role of Customer Gratitude in Relationship Marketing
Palmatier, R. W., Jarvis, C. B., Bechkoff, J. R., & Kardes, F. R. (2009) · Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1509/jmkg.73.5.1 · Cited by 912 · see citing works
When Does Commitment Lead to Loyalty?
Fullerton, G. (2003) · Journal of Service Research · doi:10.1177/1094670503005004005 · Cited by 871 · see citing works
Deriving Value from Social Commerce Networks
Stephen, A. T., & Toubia, O. (2010) · Journal of Marketing Research · doi:10.1509/jmkr.47.2.215 · Cited by 870 · see citing works
Hennig-Thurau, T., Groth, M., Paul, M., & Gremler, D. D. (2006) · Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1509/jmkg.70.3.58 · Cited by 819 · see citing works
Applied social psychology annual
Bickman, L. (1982) · Cited by 812 · see citing works
Combining Propensity Score Matching with Additional Adjustments for Prognostic Covariates
Rubin, D., & Thomas, N. (2000) · Journal of the American Statistical Association · doi:10.1080/01621459.2000.10474233 · Cited by 796 · see citing works
Socialnomics: how social media transforms the way we live and do business
(2010) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.48-1576 · Cited by 752 · see citing works
Effects of Loyalty Programs on Value Perception, Program Loyalty, and Brand Loyalty
Yi, Y., & Jeon, H. (2003) · Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science · doi:10.1177/0092070303031003002 · Cited by 741 · see citing works
Attitude strength: One construct or many related constructs?
Krosnick, J. A., Boninger, D. S., Chuang, Y. C., Berent, M. K., & Carnot, C. G. (1993) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.65.6.1132 · Cited by 702 · see citing works
Pervasive negative effects of rewards on intrinsic motivation: The myth continues
Cameron, J., Banko, K. M., & Pierce, W. D. (2001) · The Behavior Analyst · doi:10.1007/bf03392017 · Cited by 574 · see citing works
On the Use of Structural Equation Models in Experimental Designs
Bagozzi, R. P., & Yi, Y. (1989) · Journal of Marketing Research · doi:10.1177/002224378902600302 · Cited by 572 · see citing works
The psychology of commitment : experiments linking behavior to belief
Kiesler, C. A. (1971) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 533 · see citing works
Agostino, R. B. D. (1998) · Cited by 497 · see citing works
Two hearts in three-quarter time: How to waltz the social media/viral marketing dance
Kaplan, A., & Haenlein, M. (2011) · Business Horizons · doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2011.01.006 · Cited by 487 · see citing works
Word‐of‐mouth communication in the service marketplace
Mangold, W. G., Miller, F. L., & Brockway, G. R. (1999) · Journal of Services Marketing · doi:10.1108/08876049910256186 · Cited by 475 · see citing works
Methods of Research in Social Psychology.
Singleton, R. A., Carlsmith, J. M., Ellsworth, P. C., & Aronson, E. (1977) · Contemporary Sociology A Journal of Reviews · doi:10.2307/2064798 · Cited by 437 · see citing works
The Foot-in-the-Door Compliance Procedure: A Multiple-Process Analysis and Review
Burger, J. M. (1999) · Personality and Social Psychology Review · doi:10.1207/s15327957pspr0304_2 · Cited by 415 · see citing works
“Saying is believing”: Effects of message modification on memory and liking for the person described
Higgins, E. T., & Rholes, W. S. (1978) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/0022-1031(78)90032-x · Cited by 395 · see citing works
The effects of incentives, deal proneness, satisfaction and tie strength on word‐of‐mouth behaviour
Wirtz, J., & Chew, P. (2002) · International Journal of Service Industry Management · doi:10.1108/09564230210425340 · Cited by 393 · see citing works
Methods of research in social psychology
Carlsmith, M. (1976) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 384 · see citing works
6. Matching with Multiple Controls to Estimate Treatment Effects in Observational Studies
Smith, H. L. (1997) · Sociological Methodology · doi:10.1111/1467-9531.271030 · Cited by 381 · see citing works
Word-of-mouth Communication by the Innovator
Engel, J. F., Kegerreis, R. J., & Blackwell, R. D. (1969) · Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1177/002224296903300303 · Cited by 351 · see citing works
The chain from customer satisfaction via word-of-mouth referrals to new customer acquisition
von Wangenheim, F., & Bayón, T. (2007) · Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science · doi:10.1007/s11747-007-0037-1 · Cited by 348 · see citing works
Satisfaction Strength and Customer Loyalty
Chandrashekaran, M., Rotte, K., Tax, S. S., & Grewal, R. (2007) · Journal of Marketing Research · doi:10.1509/jmkr.44.1.153 · Cited by 348 · see citing works
Self-citationThe relative incidence of positive and negative word of mouth: A multi-category study
East, R., Hammond, K., & Wright, M. (2007) · International Journal of Research in Marketing · doi:10.1016/j.ijresmar.2006.12.004 · Cited by 338 · see citing works
A test of a model for commitment.
Kiesler, C. A., & Sakumura, J. S. (1966) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/h0022943 · Cited by 328 · see citing works
Increasing voting behavior by asking people if they expect to vote.
Greenwald, A. G., Carnot, C. G., Beach, R., & Young, B. (1987) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-9010.72.2.315 · Cited by 318 · see citing works
Customer Referral Management: Optimal Reward Programs
Biyalogorsky, E., Gerstner, E., & Libai, B. (2001) · Marketing Science · doi:10.1287/mksc.20.1.82.10195 · Cited by 316 · see citing works
Social effects on customer retention
Nitzan, I., & Libai, B. (2011) · Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1509/jm.10.0209 · Cited by 302 · see citing works
Dissonance and self-perception: An integrative view of each theory's proper domain of application
Fázio, R. H., Zanna, M. P., & Cooper, J. (1977) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/0022-1031(77)90031-2 · Cited by 298 · see citing works
Homburg, C. (2004) · Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science · doi:10.1177/0092070304269953 · Cited by 296 · see citing works
Does Customer Demotion Jeopardize Loyalty?
Wagner, T., Hennig‐Thurau, T., & Rudolph, T. J. (2009) · Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1509/jmkg.73.3.69 · Cited by 288 · see citing works
Chaiken, S., & Baldwin, M. W. (1981) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.41.1.1 · Cited by 282 · see citing works
Some comments on maximum likelihood and partial least squares methods
Dijkstra, T. K. (1983) · Journal of Econometrics · doi:10.1016/0304-4076(83)90094-5 · Cited by 277 · see citing works
A Penny for Your Thoughts: Referral Reward Programs and Referral Likelihood
Ryu, G., & Feick, L. (2007) · Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1509/jmkg.71.1.084 · Cited by 257 · see citing works
Referral Programs and Customer Value
Schmitt, P., Skiera, B., & Van den Bulte, C. (2011) · Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1509/jm.75.1.46 · Cited by 249 · see citing works
Do Better Customers Utilize Electronic Distribution Channels? The Case of PC Banking
Hitt, L. M., & Frei, F. X. (2002) · Management Science · doi:10.1287/mnsc.48.6.732.188 · Cited by 238 · see citing works
Marks, L. J., & Kamins, M. A. (1988) · Journal of Marketing Research · doi:10.2307/3172529 · Cited by 236 · see citing works
The role of loyalty programs in behavioral and affective loyalty
Gómez, B. G., Arranz, A. M. G., & Cillán, J. G. (2006) · Journal of Consumer Marketing · doi:10.1108/07363760610712920 · Cited by 222 · see citing works
On the use of structural equation models in experimental designs: Two extensions
Bagozzi, R. P., Yi, Y., & Singh, S. (1991) · International Journal of Research in Marketing · doi:10.1016/0167-8116(91)90020-8 · Cited by 212 · see citing works
Crime, commitment, and the responsive bystander: Two field experiments.
Moriarty, T. (1975) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/h0076288 · Cited by 173 · see citing works
Readings about the social animal
Aronson, J. M., & Aronson, E. (1973) · Cited by 170 · see citing works
Davidow, M. (2003) · The Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction & Complaining Behavior · Cited by 156 · see citing works
Behavioral Consequences of Overbooking Service Capacity
von Wangenheim, F., & Bayón, T. (2007) · Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1509/jmkg.71.4.36 · Cited by 147 · see citing works
Direct and Indirect Effects of Commitment to a Service Employee on the Intention to Stay
Hansen, H., Sandvik, K., & Selnes, F. (2003) · Journal of Service Research · doi:10.1177/1094670503005004007 · Cited by 146 · see citing works
The Comparative Effectiveness of Reward and Commitment Approaches in Motivating Community Recycling
Katzev, R. D., & Pardini, A. U. (1987) · Journal of Environmental Systems · doi:10.2190/xv00-dd4b-epeh-en5r · Cited by 135 · see citing works
Rässler, S. (2002) · Lecture notes in statistics · doi:10.1007/978-1-4613-0053-3 · Cited by 130 · see citing works
Nyer, P. U., & Gopinath, M. (2005) · Psychology and Marketing · doi:10.1002/mar.20092 · Cited by 126 · see citing works
Optimal Referral Bonuses with Asymmetric Information: Firm-Offered and Interpersonal Incentives
Kornish, L. J., & Li, Q. (2009) · Marketing Science · doi:10.1287/mksc.1080.0484 · Cited by 124 · see citing works
Dissonance, hypocrisy, and the self-concept.
Aronson, E. (2019) · Cognitive dissonance: Reexamining a pivotal theory in psychology (2nd ed.). · doi:10.1037/10318-005 · Cited by 117 · see citing works
The Pervasive Negative Effects of Rewards on Intrinsic Motivation: Response to
Deci, E. L., Ryan, R. M., & Koestner, R. (2001) · Review of Educational Research · doi:10.3102/00346543071001043 · Cited by 96 · see citing works
Garnefeld, I., Helm, S., & Eggert, A. (2010) · Journal of Service Research · doi:10.1177/1094670510384981 · Cited by 96 · see citing works
Self-citationThe effects of non-contingent free bus tickets and personal commitment on urban bus ridership
Bachman, W., & Katzev, R. D. (1982) · Transportation Research Part A General · doi:10.1016/0191-2607(82)90002-4 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
I Imagine, I Experience, I Like: The False Experience Effect
Rajagopal, P., & Montgomery, N. V. (2011) · Journal of Consumer Research · doi:10.1086/660165 · Cited by 70 · see citing works
Self-perception theory: A current perspective.
Fázio, R. H. (1987) · Cited by 65 · see citing works
Public commitment as a motivator for weight loss
Nyer, P. U., & Dellande, S. (2009) · Psychology and Marketing · doi:10.1002/mar.20316 · Cited by 64 · see citing works
The NPS and the ACSI: A Critique and An Alternative metric
East, R., Romaniuk, J., & Lomax, W. (2011) · International Journal of Market Research · doi:10.2501/ijmr-53-3-327-346 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Exploring the nature of value in the word-of-mouth referral equation for health care
Dobele, A. R., & Lindgreen, A. (2011) · Journal of Marketing Management · doi:10.1080/0267257x.2011.545677 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Vaidyanathan, R., & Aggarwal, P. (2005) · Journal of Marketing Communications · doi:10.1080/0144619052000345600 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Customer Tenure, Recommendation and Switching
East, R., Lomax, W., & Narain, R. (2001) · The Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction & Complaining Behavior · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Attitude accessibility following a self-perception process.
Fázio, R. H., Herr, P. M., & Olney, T. J. (1984) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.47.2.277 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
When Do Rewards Have Enhancement Effects? An Availability Valence Approach
Tîetje, B. C. (2002) · Journal of Consumer Psychology · doi:10.1016/s1057-7408(16)30087-0 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Attitude accessibility following a self-perception process.
Fázio, R. H., Herr, P. M., & Olney, T. J. (1984) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037//0022-3514.47.2.277 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Attitudinal advocacy in the verbal conditioner.
Cialdini, R. B. (1971) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/h0030590 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
The Open Brand: When Push Comes to Pull in a Web-Made World
Mooney, K., & Rollins, N. (2008) · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Reward magnitude, task attractiveness, and liking for instrumental activity.
Leventhal, G. S. (1964) · Journal of Abnormal & Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/h0039841 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
D’Agostino (1998) · doi:10.1002/(sici)1097-0258(19981015)17:19
Flagged first, then by citations
4 of the 102 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science
Morgeson, F. V., III, Mithas, S., Keiningham, T. L., Aksoy, L., Morgeson, F. V., III, Mithas, S., & Keiningham, T. L. (2013) · Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science · doi:10.1007/11747.1552-7824 · Cited by 527 · see citing works
Building, measuring, and profiting from customer loyalty
Watson, G. F., Beck, J. T., Henderson, C. M., & Palmatier, R. W. (2015) · Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science · doi:10.1007/s11747-015-0439-4 · Cited by 375 · see citing works
Endogeneity bias in marketing research: Problem, causes and remedies
Zaefarian, G., Kadile, V., Henneberg, S. C. M., & Leischnig, A. (2017) · Industrial Marketing Management · doi:10.1016/j.indmarman.2017.05.006 · Cited by 320 · see citing works
Understanding loyalty program effectiveness: managing target and bystander effects
Steinhoff, L., & Palmatier, R. W. (2014) · Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science · doi:10.1007/s11747-014-0405-6 · Cited by 242 · see citing works
Schamari, J., & Schaefers, T. (2015) · Journal of Interactive Marketing · doi:10.1016/j.intmar.2014.12.001 · Cited by 167 · see citing works
The sustainability‐age dilemma: A theory of (un)planned behaviour via influencers
Johnstone, L., & Lindh, C. (2017) · Journal of Consumer Behaviour · doi:10.1002/cb.1693 · Cited by 176 · see citing works
Transformational Relationship Events
Harmeling, C. M., Palmatier, R. W., Houston, M. B., Arnold, M. J., & Samaha, S. A. (2015) · Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1509/jm.15.0105 · Cited by 149 · see citing works
Customer Advocacy: A Distinctive Form of Word of Mouth
Sweeney, J., Payne, A., Frow, P., & Liu, D. (2020) · Journal of Service Research · doi:10.1177/1094670519900541 · Cited by 155 · see citing works
Experiences that matter? The motivational experiences and business outcomes of gamified services
Wolf, T., Weiger, W. H., & Hammerschmidt, M. (2019) · Journal of Business Research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.12.058 · Cited by 139 · see citing works
Ascarza, E., Iyengar, R., & Schleicher, M. G. (2015) · Journal of Marketing Research · doi:10.1509/jmr.13.0483 · Cited by 119 · see citing works
Community engagement and online word of mouth: An empirical investigation
Wu, J., Fan, S., & Zhao, J. L. (2017) · Information & Management · doi:10.1016/j.im.2017.07.002 · Cited by 112 · see citing works
Boenigk, S., Kreimer, A. A., Becker, A., Alkire, L., Fisk, R. P., & Kabadayi, S. (2021) · Journal of Service Research · doi:10.1177/10946705211013386 · Cited by 113 · see citing works
An, J., Do, D. K. X., Ngo, L. V., & Quan, T. H. M. (2018) · Journal of Brand Management · doi:10.1057/s41262-018-0118-0 · Cited by 99 · see citing works
Can Marketing Campaigns Induce Multichannel Buying and More Profitable Customers? A Field Experiment
Montaguti, E., Neslin, S. A., & Valentini, S. (2015) · Marketing Science · doi:10.1287/mksc.2015.0923 · Cited by 89 · see citing works
The effect of social media interactions on customer relationship management
Maecker, O., Barrot, C., & Becker, J. U. (2016) · BuR - Business Research · doi:10.1007/s40685-016-0027-6 · Cited by 83 · see citing works
Friends with benefits: social coupons as a strategy to enhance customers’ social empowerment
Hanson, S., & Yuan, H. (2017) · Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science · doi:10.1007/s11747-017-0534-9 · Cited by 77 · see citing works
Referral marketing: Harnessing the power of your customers
Berman, B. (2016) · Business Horizons · doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2015.08.001 · Cited by 73 · see citing works
Yoshida, M., Gordon, B. S., & James, J. D. (2021) · Journal of Brand Management · doi:10.1057/s41262-021-00240-y · Cited by 68 · see citing works
Identifying influencers in a social network: The value of real referral data
Roelens, I., Baecke, P., & Benoit, D. F. (2016) · Decision Support Systems · doi:10.1016/j.dss.2016.07.005 · Cited by 68 · see citing works
Value co-creation on social media
Lin, S., Yang, S., Ma, M., & Huang, J. (2018) · International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management · doi:10.1108/ijchm-08-2016-0484 · Cited by 69 · see citing works
A model of online shopping cart abandonment: evidence from e-tail clickstream data
Kukar‐Kinney, M., Scheinbaum, A. C., Orimoloye, L. O., Carlson, J. R., & He, H. (2022) · Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science · doi:10.1007/s11747-022-00857-8 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
Dose, D. B., Walsh, G., Beatty, S. E., & Elsner, R. (2019) · Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science · doi:10.1007/s11747-019-00635-z · Cited by 60 · see citing works
Understanding the role of influencers on live streaming platforms: when tipping makes the difference
Zhou, L., Jin, F., Wu, B., Wang, X., Wang, V. L., & Chen, Z. (2022) · European Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1108/ejm-10-2021-0815 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
Chawdhary, R., & Riley, F. D. (2015) · Journal of Marketing Management · doi:10.1080/0267257x.2015.1033443 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
The Impact of Word of Mouth on Intention to Purchase Currently Used and other Brands
East, R., Romaniuk, J., Chawdhary, R., & Uncles, M. (2017) · International Journal of Market Research · doi:10.2501/ijmr-2017-026 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Referral Reward Size and New Customer Profitability
Wolters, H. M., Schulze, C., & Gedenk, K. (2020) · Marketing Science · doi:10.1287/mksc.2020.1242 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Liao, G., Tseng, F., Cheng, T. C. E., & Teng, C. (2020) · Telematics and Informatics · doi:10.1016/j.tele.2020.101367 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Improving consumers’ willingness to pay using social media activities
Torres, P., Augusto, M., & Wallace, E. (2018) · Journal of Services Marketing · doi:10.1108/jsm-07-2017-0257 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Exploring the impact of rewarded social media engagement in loyalty programs
Rehnen, L.-M., Bartsch, S., Kull, M., & Meyer, A. (2017) · Journal of service management · doi:10.1108/josm-10-2015-0338 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
Gao, L. X., de Haan, E., Melero‐Polo, I., & Sesé, F. J. (2022) · Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science · doi:10.1007/s11747-022-00898-z · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Warren, N. L., & Sorescu, A. B. (2016) · Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1509/jm.15.0275 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Social Promotion: A Creative Promotional Framework on Consumers’ Social Network Value
Gao, H., Zhao, H., Tan, Y., Lin, Y. L., & Wei, L. (2020) · Production and Operations Management · doi:10.1111/poms.13247 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
The effects of word-of-mouth incentivization on consumer brand attitude
Pongjit, C., & Beise, M. (2015) · Journal of Product & Brand Management · doi:10.1108/jpbm-11-2014-0752 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Debnath, R., Datta, B., & Mukhopadhyay, S. (2016) · Journal of Relationship Marketing · doi:10.1080/15332667.2016.1209053 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Stuck on Intergroup Attitudes: The Need to Shift Gears to Change Intergroup Behaviors
Bräuer, M. (2023) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/17456916231185775 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Customer Referral Reward–Brand–Fit: A Schema Congruity Perspective
Stumpf, C., & Baum, M. (2016) · Psychology & Marketing · doi:10.1002/mar.20896 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Chiu, Y.-L., Chen, L., Du, J., & Hsu, Y. (2018) · Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing · doi:10.1108/jbim-03-2017-0083 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Engaging customers through online and offline referral reward programs
Wirtz, J., Orsingher, C., & Cho, H. (2019) · European Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1108/ejm-10-2017-0756 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Successful referral behavior in referral reward programs
Wirtz, J., Tang, C. J., & Georgi, D. (2018) · Journal of service management · doi:10.1108/josm-04-2018-0111 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Gift Purchases as Catalysts for Strengthening Customer–Brand Relationships
Eggert, A., Steinhoff, L., & Witte, C. (2019) · Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1177/0022242919860802 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Self-citationCao, Z., Chu, J., Hui, K.-L., & Hong, X. (2021) · Journal of Management Information Systems · doi:10.1080/07421222.2021.1962597 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
The enhanced loyalty drivers of customers acquired through referral reward programs
Ramaseshan, B., Wirtz, J., & Georgi, D. (2017) · Journal of service management · doi:10.1108/josm-07-2016-0190 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Vroegrijk, M., Gijsbrechts, E., & Campo, K. (2016) · Journal of Retailing · doi:10.1016/j.jretai.2016.05.003 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Building customers’ resilience to negative information in the airline industry
Augusto, M., Godinho, P. M. C., & Torres, P. (2019) · Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services · doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2019.05.015 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
I Will Get a Reward, Too: When Disclosing the Referrer Reward Increases Referring
Xu, M., Yu, Z., & Tu, Y. (2022) · Journal of Marketing Research · doi:10.1177/00222437221117113 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Kuester, M., & Benkenstein, M. (2014) · Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services · doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2014.07.005 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Garrido-Morgado, Á., González‐Benito, Ó., & Martos‐Partal, M. (2016) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00336 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Grühn, B., Strese, S., Flatten, T. C., Jaeger, N. A., & Brettel, M. (2016) · Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice · doi:10.1111/etap.12239 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Garnefeld, I., Helm, S., & Grötschel, A.-K. (2020) · Electronic Markets · doi:10.1007/s12525-020-00425-4 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Self-citationWang, X., & Ding, Y. (2022) · Journal of Business Research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.03.052 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
“We Earned the Coupon Together”: The Missing Link of Experience Cocreation in Shared Coupons
Fang, E., Dong, B., Zhuang, M., & Cai, F. (2022) · Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1177/00222429221126990 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Customer Engagement in International Markets
Steinhoff, L., Liu, J., Li, X., & Palmatier, R. W. (2022) · Journal of International Marketing · doi:10.1177/1069031x221099211 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Social Referral Programs for Freemium Platforms
Belo, R., & Li, T. (2022) · Management Science · doi:10.1287/mnsc.2022.4301 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Unlocking behaviors of long-term service consumers: the role of action inertia
Leppäniemi, M., Jayawardhena, C., Karjaluoto, H., & Harness, D. (2017) · Journal of Service Theory and Practice · doi:10.1108/jstp-06-2015-0127 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Effects of customer loyalty on customer entitlement and voiced complaints
Li, X., Ma, B., & Zhou, C. (2017) · Service Industries Journal · doi:10.1080/02642069.2017.1360290 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Loyalty programs as travel companions: Complementary service features across customer journey stages
Steinhoff, L., & Zondag, M. M. (2021) · Journal of Business Research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.02.016 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Grühn, B., Strese, S., Flatten, T. C., Jaeger, N. A., & Brettel, M. (2017) · Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice · doi:10.1111/etp.12239 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Banks CSR‐fit, customers' quality of life, and cross‐buying: A joint moderation model
Ogunmokun, O. A., Timur, S., Bayighomog, S. W., & Ikhide, J. E. (2021) · Psychology and Marketing · doi:10.1002/mar.21522 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Evolution of Referrals over Customers’ Life Cycle: Evidence from a Ride-Sharing Platform
Fernández-Loría, C., Cohen, M. C., & Ghose, A. (2022) · Information Systems Research · doi:10.1287/isre.2022.1138 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Kuang, D., Ma, B., & Wang, H. (2021) · Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services · doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2021.102849 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Restuccia, M., & Legoux, R. (2018) · Industrial Marketing Management · doi:10.1016/j.indmarman.2018.08.012 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Reward-scrounging in customer referral programs
Meyners, J., Barrot, C., Becker, J. U., & Bodapati, A. V. (2016) · International Journal of Research in Marketing · doi:10.1016/j.ijresmar.2016.11.005 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
On-demand features: Consumer reactions to tangibility and pricing structure
Schaefers, T., Leban, M., & VOGT, F. M. (2021) · Journal of Business Research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.09.054 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Beyond the box office: A conceptual framework for the drivers of audience engagement
Dan, R.-B., Mohr, I., & Kumar, V. (2022) · Journal of business research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.07.021 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Charitable maximizers: The impact of the maximizing mindset on donations to human recipients
Ma, J., Lin, Y., & Ein‐Gar, D. (2022) · International Journal of Research in Marketing · doi:10.1016/j.ijresmar.2022.12.003 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Peng, X., Xing, Y., Tian, Y., Fei, M., & Wang, Q. (2023) · Decision Support Systems · doi:10.1016/j.dss.2023.113999 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
The Online Bingo Boom in the UK: A Qualitative Examination of Its Appeal
Stead, M., Dobbie, F., Angus, K., Purves, R., Reith, G., & MacDonald, L. (2016) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0154763 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Free no more - investigating customer reactions to unexpected free-to-fee switches
Cziehso, G. P., Schaefers, T., & Kukar‐Kinney, M. (2019) · Journal of Business Research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.03.050 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Interaction between satisfaction and incentives on online reviews
Dai, Q., & Zhang, J. (2019) · Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics · doi:10.1108/apjml-04-2019-0238 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Referral reward programs with scarcity messages on bank credit card adoption
Song, C., Wang, T., & Hu, M. Y. (2019) · International Journal of Bank Marketing · doi:10.1108/ijbm-12-2017-0260 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
How scarcity and thinking styles boost referral effectiveness
Ang, D., Gerrath, M. H. E. E., & Liu, Y. (2021) · Psychology and Marketing · doi:10.1002/mar.21557 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Unlocking the power of gamification: Alleviating reward-sensitivity in promotional interactions
Lee, W., Lu, L., & Li, X. R. (2024) · International Journal of Hospitality Management · doi:10.1016/j.ijhm.2024.103717 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
The influence of loyalty programs on South African Youth’s repeat purchase behaviour
Dlamini, S., & Chinje, N. B. (2019) · Journal of Business & Retail Management Research · doi:10.24052/jbrmr/v13is03/art-21 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
The impact of online referral services on cooperation modes between brander and platform
Chu, M., Zhou, C., & Yu, J. (2022) · Journal of Industrial and Management Optimization · doi:10.3934/jimo.2022174 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
A cross-country study of marketing effectiveness in high-credence services
Angulo‐Ruiz, F., Pergelova, A., Chebeň, J., & Angulo-Altamirano, E. (2016) · Journal of Business Research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.03.024 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Garnefeld, I., Böhm, E., Klimke, L., & Oestreich, A. (2018) · Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science · doi:10.1007/s11747-018-0600-y · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Self-citationFactors affecting website continuance intention: a study of Indian travel websites
Khare, A., Dixit, S., & Sarkar, S. (2019) · Information Technology & Tourism · doi:10.1007/s40558-019-00162-1 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Referral Contagion: Downstream Benefits of Customer Referrals
Gershon, R., & Jiang, Z. (2025) · Journal of Marketing Research · doi:10.1177/00222437241257886 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Sciandra, M. R. (2019) · The Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice · doi:10.1080/10696679.2018.1534213 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Köster, A., Matt, C., & Hess, T. (2020) · Business & Information Systems Engineering · doi:10.1007/s12599-020-00660-1 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Kuang, D., Ma, B., & Li, X. (2024) · Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services · doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2024.103982 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Effect of e-referral incentive programs on referrer loyalty on social platforms
Fu, X., & Pang, J. (2018) · Service Industries Journal · doi:10.1080/02642069.2018.1505872 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Reward the inductor or inductee? The effect of the inductee's altruism on a shopping guide platform
Zhang, X., & Zhang, Y. (2021) · Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics · doi:10.1108/apjml-06-2021-0421 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Competitor referral by platforms
Zhang, J., Cao, Q., & He, X. (2021) · Annals of Operations Research · doi:10.1007/s10479-021-04020-4 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Information Design in Affiliate Marketing
Suryanarayana, S. A., Sarne, D., & Kraus, S. (2021) · Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems · doi:10.1007/s10458-021-09509-7 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
How to Effectively Design Referral Rewards to Increase the Referral Likelihood for Green Products
Kuang, D., Li, X.-F., & Bi, W.-W. (2021) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su13137177 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Information disclosure and partner management in affiliate marketing
Suryanarayana, S. A., Sarne, D., & Kraus, S. (2019) · doi:10.1145/3356464.3357703 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Zhou, Y., Lu, C., & Yu, Y. (2023) · Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics · doi:10.1108/apjml-03-2022-0231 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Yu, Z., Zeng, H., & Hao, L. (2021) · Service Industries Journal · doi:10.1080/02642069.2021.1921153 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
The Prosocial Ambassador Effect: Adopting an Ambassador Role Increases Sustainable Behavior
Hassler, C. M. K., Mende, M., Scott, M. L., & Bolton, L. E. (2024) · Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1177/00222429241265000 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Boger, C. A., Kwon, J., Charmchian, M., Ritter, M. K., & Taylor, S. (2021) · Journal of Foodservice Business Research · doi:10.1080/15378020.2021.1970500 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Viral marketing strategies with dual incentives
Shao, J.-H., & Jing, R.-Z. (2022) · Electronic Commerce Research and Applications · doi:10.1016/j.elerap.2022.101180 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Fan, C.-L., Su, Y.-L., Chang, S.-T., & Liu, D.-Y. (2014) · International Journal of Business and Management · doi:10.5539/ijbm.v9n11p21 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Impact of Customer’s Social Value on Optimizing Referral Reward Programs
Jiang, F., Mei, S., & Zhong, W. (2020) · Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce · doi:10.1080/10919392.2020.1761750 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Beer style subcategories: persuading consumers to become loyal
Boger, C. A., Kwon, J., & Ritter, M. (2019) · International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management · doi:10.1108/ijchm-04-2018-0276 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Local–Global Cobrand Positioning and Consumer Evaluations in Emerging Markets
Osmanoglu, O., Özsomer, A., & Biliciler, G. (2024) · Journal of International Marketing · doi:10.1177/1069031x241268613 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Chawdhary, R., & Weber, L. (2021) · FIIB Business Review · doi:10.1177/23197145211059268 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Park, D. Y. (2025) · Journal of Services Marketing · doi:10.1108/jsm-01-2025-0066 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Deguchi, J., Tsuji, Y., & Yoshida, M. (2018) · Japanese Journal of Sport Management · doi:10.5225/jjsm.2018-003 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Efficient combinations of dual incentives on social networks to achieve viral spread
Shao, J.-H., Zhang, E., Xiang, Y., & Jing, R.-Z. (2023) · Electronic Commerce Research · doi:10.1007/s10660-022-09668-z · Cited by 5 · see citing works
- Authors
- Garnefeld, I., Eggert, A., Helm, S. V., & Tax, S. S.
- Affiliations
- University of Wuppertal (DE)
- Paderborn University (DE)
- University of Arizona (US)
- University of Victoria (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Garnefeld, Ina
- Eggert, Andreas
- Helm, Sabrina V.
- Tax, Stephen S.
- Venue
- Journal of Marketing
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2013-07
- Volume
- 77
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 17-32
- ISSN
- 0022-2429 (ISSN-L)
- 1547-7185
- OpenAlex
- W2066286850
- Cited by
- 171
- References
- 102
- Citations by year
- 2026: 12 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 18 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 2
- FWCI
- 22.57
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Marketing (publishedVersion)
- Newcastle University ePrints (Newcastle Univesity)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Customer Service Quality and Loyalty
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Customer churn and segmentation
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Digital Marketing and Social Media
- Keywords
- customer referral programs, customer loyalty, customer acquisition, customer tenure, referral rewards, customer churn, cellular telecommunications, income sources
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
