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Advancing research on loyalty programs: a future research agenda

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Abstract

Despite the growing literature on loyalty program (LP) research, many questions remain underexplored. Driven by advancements in information technology, marketing analytics, and consumer interface platforms (e.g., mobile devices), there have been many recent developments in LP practices around the world. They impose new challenges and create exciting opportunities for future LP research. The main objective of this paper is to identify missing links in the literature and to craft a future research agenda to advance LP research and practice. Our discussion focuses on three key areas: (1) LP designs, (2) Assessment of LP performance, and (3) Emerging trends and the impact of new technologies. We highlight several gaps in the literature and outline research opportunities in each area.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the 2013 Choice Symposium organizers Benedict Dellaert and Bas Donkers and two anonymous reviewers for their valuable input. Leonardo J. Basso acknowledges partial funding from grants Conicyt FB0816 and Milenio P-05-004-F.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Economics and Business, KU Leuven, Korte Nieuwstraat 33, 2000, Antwerp, Belgium

    Els Breugelmans

  2. Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Tammo H. A. Bijmolt & Alec Minnema

  3. Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA

    Jie Zhang

  4. Civil Engineering Department, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile

    Leonardo J. Basso

  5. BI Norwegian Business School, Oslo, Norway

    Matilda Dorotic

  6. Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA

    Praveen Kopalle

  7. Loyalty Lab B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Willem Jan Mijnlieff

  8. University of Paderborn, Paderborn, Germany

    Nancy V. Wünderlich

Authors
  1. Els Breugelmans
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  2. Tammo H. A. Bijmolt
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  3. Jie Zhang
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  4. Leonardo J. Basso
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  5. Matilda Dorotic
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  6. Praveen Kopalle
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  7. Alec Minnema
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  8. Willem Jan Mijnlieff
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  9. Nancy V. Wünderlich
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Els Breugelmans.

Additional information

This article is based on discussions in the workshop with the same title at the 9th Triennial Choice Symposium, co-chaired by Els Breugelmans, Tammo Bijmolt, and Jie Zhang.

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Breugelmans, E., Bijmolt, T.H.A., Zhang, J. et al. Advancing research on loyalty programs: a future research agenda. Mark Lett 26, 127–139 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11002-014-9311-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11002-014-9311-4

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