STUDI TENTANG WORDS OF MOUTH (WOM) POSITIF PADA BISNIS RITEL PASAR MODERN (Kasus Empiris Pada Minimarket Alfamart dan Indomaret di Kota Semarang)

Abstract

ABSTRACT This research problem originated from the differences in the results of research (research gaps) which states that service quality significantly influences the communication Words of Mouth (WOM), while other studies claim is not significant. This problem is combined with the problem of the phenomenon of modern markets, particularly retailing minimarket in which in the future will face major challenges in the form of negative issues in the community about the development and the work system of modern minimarket, therefore the formulated problem will be solved through this research is “how to manage the service quality in a modern market retail business minimarket so as to encourage the creation of positive WOM in customers and society at large. “ The problem Solving begins by formulating and developing a research model based on theoretical studies of the previous research results. This model has six variables (Relationship Effort, Quality of Service Attributes Core, Retail Reputation, Customer Delight, Customer Confidence and Positive Words of Mouth) and six hypotheses that will be estimated to solve the problem of the research. The respondents of this study are 120 people who had ever shopped at least three times in Alfamart or Indomaret minimarket in Semarang. Based on the experiments with the technique of Structural Equation Model (SEM) using AMOS software 16, it gained modificated full model in accordance with the empirical data that can be used as a basis for problem solving research, became it fulfill most of the criteria for goodness of fit such as follows Chi-square 173.895 on 148 df; probabiIity = 0.072; RMSEA = 0.038; GFI = 0.876; AGFI = 0.824; Cmin / DF = 1.175, TLI = .971 and CFI = .977. Thus it can be said that the model is fit for use. The conclusion of this study indicates that the process to bring forth the positive words of mouth in a mini retail business in the modern market is by improving service quality of the core attributes that can lead to happy / excited feeling to customers (increasing Customer Delight). Quality of additional services in this study is limited on Relationship Effort which has positive effect on Customer Delight but not enough to encourage to create Customer Delight, so that otherwise is not significant to the creation of positive words of mouth. Keywords: Relationship Effort, Quality of Service Attributes Core, Retail Reputation, Customer Delight, Customer Confidence and Positive Words of Mouth. ABSTRAKSI Masalah penelitian ini berawal dari adanya perbedaan hasil penelitian (research gap) yang menyatakan kualitas layanan berpengaruh secara signifikan terhadap komunikasi Words of Mouth (WOM), sementara penelitian lain menyatakan tidak signifikan. Permasalahan ini setelah dipadukan dengan masalah dalam fenomena bisnis ritel pasar modern khususnya minimarket yang dimasa datang akan menghadapi tantangan besar berupa isu-isu negatif di masyarakat tentang perkembangan dan sistem kerja minimarket modern tersebut maka dirumuskan permasalahan yang akan dipecahkan melalui penelitian ini yaitu “bagaimana mengelola kualitas layanan pada minimarket bisnis ritel pasar modern sehingga mampu mendorong terciptanya WOM positif di pelanggan dan masyarakat secara luas”. Pemecahan masalah diawali dengan perumusan dan pengembangan model penelitian yang didasarkan pada kajian-kajian teoritis hasil penelitian terdahulu. Dari model tersebut diketahui terdapat enam variabel (Relationship Effort, Kualitas Layanan Atribut Inti, Reputasi Ritel, Customer Delight, Kepercayaan Pelanggan dan Words of Mouth Positif) dan enam hipotesis yang akan diestimasi untuk menyelesaikan permasalahan penelitian. Responden penelitian ini sebanyak 120 orang yang pernah berbelanja minimal tiga kali pada minimarket Alfamart atau Indomaret di kota Semarang. Berdasarkan pengujian dengan teknik Structural Equation Model (SEM) menggunakan software AMOS 16, maka diperoleh Full model dengan modifikasi yang dinyatakan sesuai dengan data empiris dan dapat digunakan sebagai pijakan penyelesaian masalah penelitian karena telah memenuhi sebagian besar kriteria goodness of fit sebagai berikut Chi-square 173,895 pada df 148; probabiIity = 0,072; RMSEA = 0,038; GFI = 0,876; AGFI =0,824; CMIN/DF = 1,175; TLI = 0,971 dan CFI = 0,977. Dengan demikian dapat dikatakan bahwa model tersebut layak digunakan. Kesimpulan dari penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa proses untuk mendorong terciptanya words of mouth positif dalam minimarket bisnis ritel pasar modern adalah melalui peningkatan Kualitas Layanan Atribut inti yang mampu menimbulkan rasa senang / gembira pada pelanggan (meningkatkan Customer Delight). Kualitas layanan tambahan yang dalam penelitian ini dibatasi pada Relationship Effort dinyatakan berpengaruh positif terhadap Customer Delight tetapi tidaklah cukup untuk mendorong terciptanya Customer Delight tersebut, sehingga dinyatakan tidak signifikan terhadap penciptaan words of mouth positif. Kata Kunci : Relationship Effort, Kualitas layanan atribut inti, Reputasi Ritel, Customer Delight dan Words of Mouth (WOM).