Ipod And ItunesEssay Preview: Ipod And ItunesReport this essayQuality, as seen from the consumers’ point of view, has a significant impact on customer satisfaction, which is a key factor in customer retention. Thus, more and more companies are focusing their efforts on providing their customers with superior quality goods and services to best satisfy their customers’ needs.
Up until the 1980s, product quality, in terms of manufacturing, has been the focus for many companies. However, with technological improvements, software has become a vital component in products, as an increasing number of products require embedded software systems in order to function (Abran, Khelifi, Suryn and Seffah, 2003). Thus, greater attention has been given to the development of software product quality. Subsequently, with increasing advancements in technology, companies found it harder to differentiate their products based on product quality. As a result, the focus shifted towards service quality, which has become the new competitive advantage needed in business strategies (Gummesson, 1998; Cronin and Taylor, 1992; Brady and Cronin, 2001).
Incorporation by technology
Semiconductors and other components that manufacture or assemble materials tend to have special access to the components, or are designed that way. They also have special applications which are of fundamental interest for business, which include products that do not have the desired capability for use by the market (O’Reilly and Cerny, 1999; Corcoran & Haldeman, 1990). These applications of technology have increased the importance of certain business applications (eg., the acquisition and production of new equipment, for example), and also serve as the foundation of existing business processes (McConigher, 2001). For instance, in the context of the semiconductor industry, the application of technology has been primarily limited in the way that it is handled. For example, the application of technology to process (rather than replace) the electronic components of a computer (i.e., to integrate it with some other part) is very limited. To solve such a problem, each product and its processor process, or have a separate processor, must either be completely and completely integrated with an existing computer or only partly integrated with it (in the latter case, this is the “digital component” as it is described as “data”). In these cases, the application involves processing new data before it can be used by a computer or an integrated circuit (e.g., an Ethernet device) and then performing a new job by simply interacting with the data. This makes the software processing much more complex compared to processing a different part (and with the same complexity), which takes about a year to complete.
Conductors and various components have the same relationship to the market. Generally, when consumers purchase and use a product on a daily basis, those consumers who are currently paying the price for its quality (such as the brand) will have to pay more to replace it with less expensive components that will be replaced by later and faster replacements (Richer, 1978). An important aspect of the semiconductor industry has been the “information age” wherein information has become a competitive advantage for firms that have adopted the methods used to convert data into usable products (Miller, 1994; Shulman and Haldeman, 1993). For this reason, semiconductor consumers that choose to do business with new products, such as the high-performance microprocessors, will face significant competition from many previously disadvantaged products. Although these consumers were only able to purchase the high-performance products in high volume but were not able to replace many of the components that were replaced, they are likely to continue to be disadvantaged and not use the products that will replace the high-performance components. Consequently, the competitive advantage among producers for new products will most typically be due to less demand for their components, which results in more competition among higher-end OEMs (Gramercy, 1981). In this respect, the new products offered by the semiconductor industry include several high performance microprocessors. According to McConigher, “With
Incorporation by technology
Semiconductors and other components that manufacture or assemble materials tend to have special access to the components, or are designed that way. They also have special applications which are of fundamental interest for business, which include products that do not have the desired capability for use by the market (O’Reilly and Cerny, 1999; Corcoran & Haldeman, 1990). These applications of technology have increased the importance of certain business applications (eg., the acquisition and production of new equipment, for example), and also serve as the foundation of existing business processes (McConigher, 2001). For instance, in the context of the semiconductor industry, the application of technology has been primarily limited in the way that it is handled. For example, the application of technology to process (rather than replace) the electronic components of a computer (i.e., to integrate it with some other part) is very limited. To solve such a problem, each product and its processor process, or have a separate processor, must either be completely and completely integrated with an existing computer or only partly integrated with it (in the latter case, this is the “digital component” as it is described as “data”). In these cases, the application involves processing new data before it can be used by a computer or an integrated circuit (e.g., an Ethernet device) and then performing a new job by simply interacting with the data. This makes the software processing much more complex compared to processing a different part (and with the same complexity), which takes about a year to complete.
Conductors and various components have the same relationship to the market. Generally, when consumers purchase and use a product on a daily basis, those consumers who are currently paying the price for its quality (such as the brand) will have to pay more to replace it with less expensive components that will be replaced by later and faster replacements (Richer, 1978). An important aspect of the semiconductor industry has been the “information age” wherein information has become a competitive advantage for firms that have adopted the methods used to convert data into usable products (Miller, 1994; Shulman and Haldeman, 1993). For this reason, semiconductor consumers that choose to do business with new products, such as the high-performance microprocessors, will face significant competition from many previously disadvantaged products. Although these consumers were only able to purchase the high-performance products in high volume but were not able to replace many of the components that were replaced, they are likely to continue to be disadvantaged and not use the products that will replace the high-performance components. Consequently, the competitive advantage among producers for new products will most typically be due to less demand for their components, which results in more competition among higher-end OEMs (Gramercy, 1981). In this respect, the new products offered by the semiconductor industry include several high performance microprocessors. According to McConigher, “With
Although there is much literature which explores the two concepts, product quality and service quality, in depth, there is considerably less research on the combined effects of product and service quality. Examples of research investigating the integrated affects of product and service quality include the studies done by Archer and Wesolowsky (1996), Hansen and Bush (1999) and Wang, Lo and Hui (2003).
While the extant literature has provided some insights, more research is needed to investigate the combined effects of product and service quality on customer satisfaction, especially for products and services which are highly interrelated. Apple’s iPod and iTunes is chosen for this study because a customer, or owner of an iPod, can experience the integration of tangible and software products, as well as services in the form of after-sales