Author(s): 

Viola Deutscher

Cooperation Partners: 

Esther Winther, University of Duisburg-Essen; Vocational schools/companies with VET programmes

Description:

The DFG funded research project analyzes the competence development in vocational education training (VET) as well as relevant success factors for competence development for commercial apprentices (n = 877). With this objective, the project refers to the modeling of VET enculturation processes at both group and individual level, including the description of company learning conditions.

A validated competence assessment is used simultaneously with an instrument for recording the enculturation conditions of vocational learning at the beginning, at the middle and at the end of initial vocational training (longitudinal design). Via this design, practical findings about the genesis of professional competences can be generated that help companies to improve their educational programmes.

Author(s): 

Gokhan Gecer, Florian Kraus

Cooperation Partners: 

Chair of Sales & Services Marketing

Description:

Customer engagement with mobile devices has changed customers' habits in online purchasing, in particular the usage of mobile apps for shopping increases the customer lifetime value (CLV). Hence, we suggest the idea that online retailers should steer their customers to the mobile channel by offering a permanent discount over the mobile app. Although this strategy decreases the short-term income, it may increase the CLV. Based on this suggestion, we develop a probability-based CLV model to show to what type of customers an online retailer should offer a discount over the mobile app as well as the optimal value of that discount.

Following an analytical modeling approach, we are able to show that the online retailer should offer such a discount to a customer who is either very likely or unlikely to increase her purchasing probability. Also, the firm could offer such a discount to encourage the customer to switch to the mobile app. Online retailers should not offer the discount to those who already have a high purchasing probability because their CLV is already huge. Last but not least, an online retailer should not follow this strategy to gain new customers (customer acquisition) but rather apply it to increase customer retention.