고객만족 지속성이 기업의 미래 재무성과와 시장가치에 미치는 영향 = Effects of Customer Satisfaction Persistence on Firms` Future Financial Performances and Market Values

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

There is a great deal of empirical research in marketing studies to show that satisfying customers will eventually exalt firms` market shares through eliciting desirable purchase behaviors of consumers, such as increased loyalty, positive word-of-mouth advertising, and greater retention and receptivity to new products (e.g., Anderson 1996). However, a practical question of how firms can enhance their customers` satisfaction has been unanswered. The first objective of this paper is to investigate whether a firm`s activities, such as investing R&D, advertising & promoting sales, and training & extra benefits for employees, contribute to lifting the firm`s customer satisfaction (henceforth CS) levels. To move forward from the investigation above, we estimate, in each year, a degree of contribution of the firm`s various activities to its CS level, a so-called firm`s CS persistence index (henceforth PS), which is expected to play a role of predicting the future change in the firm`s CS level. The second objective of the paper is to examine whether the non-financial information items, CS level and PS estimate, show significant associations with a firm`s future financial performances and market value. Using data of Korean CS information provided by the Korea Productivity Center, Ltd., as well as the firms` accounting and financial numbers during ten years from 1999 to 2008, we find the following empirical results: First, A firm`s expenditures for R&D, advertising & promoting sales, and training & extra benefits for employees significantly contribute to raising its CS level even after controlling the firm`s characteristics such as diversification, industry competition, firm size, and industry classification. And further the estimated PS, based on the afore-mentioned relations, is significantly associated with the next year`s change in the firm`s CS level. The results suggest a strategic guidance for managers who are exploring ways to improve CS, and support the contention that current marketing activities cumulatively determine future as well as current marketing accomplishments (Slotergraaf, Moorman and Inman 2003). Second, for supporting the claim that CS and PS are value relevant, we in the first step examine a link between those components and a firm`s next year`s financial performances, such as profitability and sales growth. Our tests are in contrast with those of the previous studies to document that CS has a strong impact on concurrent accounting measures of returns(e.g., Gruca and Rego 2005, Dekimpe and Hanssens 1995). In this firm-level tests we confirm evidence that a firm with greater PS and CS has higher future profitability ratio measured by ROA (return on assets) while only PS has an incremental effect on a firm`s future sales growth. A smaller adjusted R2 of the sales growth model than that of the ROA model indicates that the future sales growth is harder to be predicted. Third, the positive association of the current CS information with the future financial performances, as documented above, may suggest that firms with more satisfied customers affirm higher market values. Although Ittner and Larcker(1996), and Anderson, Fornell and Mazvancheryl(2004) show that firms` values are positively associated with CS levels, their multiple regression analyses fail to control firms` current earnings effects, being subject to serious methodological mistakes. To remedy the shortcomings, we propose an alternative empirical framework in reliance with the theory-based Ohlson`s (1995) valuation concept, which brings roles of earnings and book values into the network that links the key constructs between CS information and firms` values. We also develop two different test metrics for firms` market values, shareholders` values and total firm values, and find significant positive relations of CS and PS with both metrics even after controlling firms` current earnings and book values. The findings of positive associations with firms` market values, let alone with future financial performances, entail that the CS information is helpful to investors. In spite of wide applications of the Ohlson`s(1995) valuation theory to accounting research, no systematic studies have been done to date for finding what can be ``other information`` in his theory. Our study to make up for such deficiencies suggests that the CS-related information which is important for firms` managers in all industries clearly deserves to be other information by proving that it is useful for predicting future earnings and hence firm values.

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