Showing papers in "Service Industries Journal in 2007"

A New Framework for Service Supply Chains

Abstract: Despite the extensive amount of academic work devoted to supply chain management, today the structure of service supply chains still remains unexplored. The aim of this paper is to verify and explain this gap with regard to the unique nature of the services industry and the applicability of existing supply chain management literature to service businesses. This paper develops a new model for service supply chains and applies it to the healthcare industry. The results of this study are relevant both to practitioners in the services industry and to researchers conducting further studies in the field.

From Service to Experience: Understanding and Defining the Hospitality Business

Abstract: Failure adequately to define or understand hospitality as a commercial phenomenon has created a fragmented academic environment and a schizophrenia in the industry that has the potential to limit its development as a global industry. This article suggests that, by redefining hospitality as behaviour and experience, a new perspective emerges that has exciting implications for the management of hospitality businesses. A framework to describe hospitality in the commercial domain is proposed. This framework suggests a focus on the host–guest relationship, generosity, theatre and performance, ‘lots of little surprises’, and the security of strangers – a focus that provides guests with experiences that are personal, memorable and add value to their lives.

Enjoyment of the shopping experience: impact on customers' repatronage intentions and gender influence

Abstract: In this paper the authors investigate enjoyment of the shopping experience, its influence on consumers’ intention to repatronise a regional shopping centre and the effect of gender differences on shopping enjoyment. Four dimensions of shopping enjoyment are proposed and a 16-item measure is developed to assess 536 consumer perceptions of the shopping experience across five counties in the United Kingdom. Findings indicate that shopping experience enjoyment has a significant positive influence upon customers’ repatronage intentions. Furthermore, men are found to have a stronger relationship of enjoyment with repatronage than women. The implications of these results are discussed, together with managerial implications, study limitations, and future research directions.

Towards a Successful CRM Implementation in Banks: An Integrated Model

Abstract: In recent years, customer relationship management (CRM) has been the favoured theme for numerous studies and reports. Yet, there is a lack of systematic empirical evidence regarding the critical success factors (CSFs) for the CRM implementation, the activities that are affected by the use of the CRM programmes, and their consequent performance outcomes. In this article, we document the role of the CRM programmes in the banking sector and identify marketing activities that are affected by CRM usage. Taking a sample of 159 banks that utilise a CRM system, we found a substantial positive effect of the CRM usage on relationships effectiveness and marketing objectives. The results of this study have major implications for marketing people, as they suggest the notion that the CRM critical success factors should be implemented holistically rather than piecemeal to achieve the full potential of the CRM. The findings also stress the central role of customer services in the successful implementation of CRM programm...

Self-Service Technology and the Service Encounter

Abstract: Self-service technology is affecting the service encounter. The potential reduction in personal contact through self-service technology may affect assessments of consumer satisfaction and commitment, making it necessary to investigate self-service technology usage, particularly the long-term impact on consumers' relationships with service organisations. Thus, this paper presents a framework for investigating the impact of self-service technology on consumer satisfaction and on a multi-dimensional measure of consumer commitment. Illustrative quotes from exploratory in-depth interviews support the framework and lead to a set of propositions. Future research directions for testing the framework are also discussed, and potential implications of this research are outlined.

Knowledge Intensive Business Services and Urban Industrial Development

Abstract: This paper analyses the role of knowledge intensive business services (KIBS) as innovation agents for other firms and industries with empirical evidence from the capital region of Oslo, Norway. It focuses in particular on the role of two sectors (software industry and organisational consultants) in stimulating innovation and growth, showing that firms in the two KIBS sectors mainly provide products and services tailored to individual clients and have frequent face-to-face meetings, relationships that may stimulate innovation. Moreover, data reveal that Oslo firms are more frequent users of consultancy services than firms located outside urban areas, suggesting a gap between ‘insiders’ and ‘outsiders’.

Uncovering Dimensionality in the Servicescape: Towards Legibility

Abstract: The type and level of service offered in the service sector is relatively homogenous, and notoriously difficult to distinguish. Company servicescapes are important differentiators and indicators of quality vis-a-vis image and competence. The paper develops an exploratory and conceptual framework that delineates the dimensions of service environments, emphasising those factors that can be successfully manipulated by management. Fieldwork examined a dynamic service environment and analysis revealed that the legibility of the setting (e.g., clear signage and spatial appearance) influenced peoples' moods generally. Analysis suggested that general layouts and legible signage help to induce positive moods, and therefore positive images of the service providers.

Combining Service Blueprint and FMEA for Service Design

Abstract: This paper aims at combining the service blueprint and Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) to assist service designers in designing a failure-free service system. In the proposed approach, a blueprint of a service system should be, first, developed to identify the potential fail points and failure modes for both front office and back office service activities. Based on the blueprint, the FMEA tool is then applied to prioritise the critical potential failure modes of the service system and take the required actions to ensure service design performance. An example of a hypermarket service system was used to demonstrate the proposed approach. The example not only identifies the most likely failure modes but also provides the effects and possible causes for each of the most critical failure modes. This implies that the actions to prevent these failures from occurring should be the main focus in the service design stage of the example company. Some managerial implications are also provided.

Standardisation versus Adaptation: Geographical Pressures to Deviate from Franchise Formats

Abstract: There is a tension in business format franchising between, on the one hand, standardisation and uniformity and, on the other hand, geographical variations in market conditions and resource availability. Previous research has demonstrated in the case of independent small firms that local geographical conditions influence business strategy. This paper examines whether variations in the local geographical environment, notably in terms of demand and supply side conditions, affect format implementation and whether franchisors permit franchisees to make local adaptations of the format in response to local environmental conditions. The study is based on interviews with 40 UK-based franchisors, all of whom were at the later stages of roll-out or in the consolidation stage of network development. Local variations in the business environment do create a conflict with the need to maintain the uniformity of the franchise format. Adaptation was restricted to peripheral format components. No changes were made to the co...

Service Orientation: Its Impact on Business Performance in the Medical Service Industry

Abstract: From the viewpoint of internal marketing, employees who are content in their job may be motivated to satisfy their customers better than ones who are not content. Another relevant premise is that the content employees, because of their work motivation, would eventually help improve the performance of their firm. To verify these relationships, some previous studies looked into the effects of organisational service orientation on employee's satisfaction. But only few of them investigated the mediating effects of variables such as service value and customer orientation for their role in linking service orientation to business performance. This study examines how an organisation's service orientation had an effect on its performance at hospitals. For this purpose, verification of the mediating role of service value perceived by employees as well as the role of customer orientation on the firm's performance was attempted. For this study, a total of 292 usable questionnaires were collected from hospital staffs ...

Relationship Quality of an Establishment and Perceived Value of a Purchase

Abstract: Relationship quality is an emerging concept that attempts to measure the lifetime value of a customer. A review of the literature reveals that the indicators that determine the construct are satisfaction with the relationship, the customer's trust and the customer's level of commitment. The paper also considers how the perceived value of a purchase influences the quality of the relationship with an establishment, i.e. how a single transaction influences the valuation of a whole relationship. Gummeson [1987] considers that the quality of the relationship is the value accumulated during/throughout the relationship. This posits the existence of a causal link between perceived value and relationship quality. On the basis of an Expectancy–Value Model [Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975], and the model of Berkowitz [1993], we consider the relationships among the variables of the model. The results show that affect plays a fundamental role in long term valuation, while cognition is more influential in the short term. Anot...

Mixed Findings on the Service Recovery Paradox

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to test the service recovery paradox and double deviation on customers' overall satisfaction considering definitional and methodological issues. This study employed a scenario experimentation manipulated three dimensions of justice at two levels each (2 × 2 × 2 factorial design). A convenience sample of 286 casual restaurant customers was used in the study. Paired sample t-tests were employed to test recovery paradox and double deviation effects after selecting four groups of customers based on recovery satisfaction to take into account the if-condition in the definition of the service recovery paradox. Customers' post-recovery overall satisfaction could be higher than their initial overall satisfaction provided customers were highly satisfied with service recovery (recovery paradox). When customers are somewhat satisfied with recovery efforts, their initial overall satisfaction could be carried over after two transactional evaluations. Double deviation effects were obvious a...

The Importance of Hotel Employee Service Attitude and the Satisfaction of International Tourists

Abstract: Although there have been numerous studies dealing with service attitude and customer satisfaction, they have not specifically addressed international hotel customers. Moreover, most of them have discussed the subject from the viewpoint of the employee. This study takes a customer perception approach and emphasises critical factors (elements) of service attitude affecting the satisfaction of international tourists. It has been found that the importance of employee attitudes to service and the level of satisfaction with the service vary significantly among customers of different nationalities. For example, American travellers emphasise elements such as employees being able to solve their problems, and so are dissatisfied with the service when employees lack an adequate command of English. Taiwanese customers stress the importance of employees treating customers politely regardless of their attire. They feel that they are treated unfairly because of employee expectations of tips from well-dressed customers. ...

The Balanced Scorecard and Strategic Control: A Hotel Case Study Analysis

Abstract: Over the past decade, the literature has seen a proliferation in articles relating to the balanced scorecard, which has been motivated by managers' needs to develop a more balanced view of performance measurement. Despite global adoption by organisations in the private and public sector, the question of how the balanced scorecard could be used as a strategic control tool has rarely been directly discussed. Academic research has tended to have a strong predilection for studies assessing the balanced scorecard as a control tool utilising metrics to report various achievements of targets. A longitudinal case study approach is used over a three year period, which seeks to deepen understanding about the theoretical and practical aspects of the balanced scorecard as a strategic control tool. It is anticipated that this would illuminate the way in which the balanced scorecard has intertwined in the fabric of organisational life and how it positions itself in the wider social context in which it was embedded. The...

Effects of Destination Image on Meeting Participation Intentions: Empirical Findings from a Professional Association and its Annual Convention

Abstract: Understanding association members' evaluations of site attributes helps prospective meeting destinations to target associations and thus improve their chances of acceptance. Further, associations may need their members' insights into which attributes are more or less important, so they can select a meeting destination based on preferred attributes. With the purpose of helping both associations and meeting destinations achieve their common goal, which is to maximise meeting attendance, this study investigated the role of destination image in association meeting participation, using the intention-based structural model. In addition, destination attributes were comprehensively analysed and their relative influences on image formation were explored. The results of structural model evaluation revealed that destination image is closely linked to expected performance based on destination attributes, and the destination image positively affects association members' intentions to attend the meeting.

The Impact of Buying Environment Characteristics of Retail Websites

Abstract: This article identifies the extent to which buying environment characteristics, which are not directly related to price or product information, are currently available on online apparel websites and whether e-tail stores which use high levels of buying environment characteristics on their websites have a beneficial association with financial performance. A content analysis of 96 online apparel websites was employed. The overall extent to which current online websites provide buying environment characteristics appears to be low and providing more information in relation to the five characteristics was positively related to company profitability.

Strategic Performance Measurement and Value Drivers: Evidence from International Tourist Hotels in an Emerging Economy

Abstract: In recent years, since the hospitality industry and the number of international tourist hotels have grown rapidly in China, the issue of how to assess the service quality and performance of hotels became more important than ever. This study developed an integrated theoretical model to investigate the influence of the balanced scorecard (BSC) on the hospitality industry in China, and to examine the relationships among the performance perspectives. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to empirically examine the model. In the first stage, the LISREL model was employed to investigate the causality and associations among the performance measures of the balanced scorecard. In the second stage, a number of tourist development strategies and the strategy map of BSC were introduced. Current balanced scorecard literature suggests that there should be a linkage between non-financial performance perspectives and financial performance measures. This paper examined the descriptive validity of the balanced score...

Determinants of the Use of the Internet as a Tourist Information Source

Abstract: The modelling of usage behaviour of New Information Technologies is of great utility to managers who need to evaluate the probability of success in the introduction of these technologies. The present study empirically contrasts the capacity of Davis's Technology Acceptance Model 1989 to help understand the determinants of the intention to use the Internet to search for holiday information. The findings show that the above theory does explain the intention to use the Internet on the part of the tourist, but it should be expanded to take account of the tourist's satisfaction with previous experiences of searching for holiday information.

Life Insurance in Nigeria: An Application of the Theory of Reasoned Action to Consumers' Attitudes and Purchase Intention

Abstract: This paper is concerned with consumers' attitudes towards purchase of life insurance in Nigeria. There is considerable unexploited potential for the life insurance market in Nigeria. However, due to lack of confidence based on continuous negative experiences, consumers tend not to buy. Data was gathered from 240 non-users of life insurance at Abuja, the federal capital city, using structured questionnaires based on the Theory of Reasoned Action; and questions were related to issues of non-consumption of life insurance. The findings show that increased level of consumer consciousness and lack of welfare benefits are encouraging growth factors for the life insurance market in Nigeria. Since the purchase intention towards life insurance is determined by normative factors, the recommendation is that the initial point of contact for marketing communications regarding the purchase of life insurance should be family and friends.

Innovation and Employment Effects in Services: A Review of the Literature and an Agenda for Research

Abstract: This article addresses the difficult question of the relationship between innovation and employment. Its main objective is to re-examine the literature on innovation in services in the light of the employment issue. In particular, it attempts to assess to what extent and in what way this question is implicitly or explicitly addressed in the literature or deserves to be introduced into it. In pursuit of these objectives, the national and international literature is reviewed and a research agenda proposed. The following three topics are explored in succession: 1) technologist approaches and the employment question; 2) the question of employment in service-based approaches; 3) innovation by services and employment.

Strengthening the Quality–Loyalty Linkage: The Role of Customer Orientation and Interpersonal Relationship

Abstract: Customer loyalty has been suggested as the most important indicator of a firm's advantageous position relative to competitors. The effect of service quality on customer loyalty has been empirically...

The Status of the Small Hotel Firm

Abstract: This paper builds on research that was carried out in the early 1990s in order to assess the contemporary status of the small firm within the hotel industry sector. It raises debates concerned with definition and associated statistical constraints and limitations. While a fluid, grounded definitional approach is recommended as a means of more effectively accessing the ‘real world’ of small firms, challenges are recognised relative to its contribution to consistent and comparable research findings. The paper concludes that the status of the small hotel firm continues to weaken, operating at the periphery as broadly conceived. Furthermore, the final assessment is that too much remains unknown about this phenomenon.

Effects of Personality on Service Quality in Business Transactions

Abstract: This study describes the relationships among a salesperson's personality, similarity in terms of personality between salesperson and purchase representative (rep), and service quality perceived by purchase reps. The following findings were obtained: (1) agreeableness of a salesperson was negatively related to the responsiveness perceived by purchase reps; (2) salesperson neuroticism was negatively related to purchase rep perceptions of assurance, empathy, and overall service quality; and (3) the similarity in extraversion between salesperson and purchase reps was negatively correlated with purchase rep perceptions of reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and overall service quality.

Services Branding: Revealing the Rhetoric within Retail Banking

Abstract: This paper presents key branding findings from a qualitative study of consumers and financial services practitioners and explores the current role, importance and challenges associated with branding within Irish retail financial services. Managerial and consumer research highlighted the limited role of branding and the growing gap between brand-based expectations and service brand execution. Key conclusions and implications are proposed in terms of developing an effective multidimensional brand strategy which is both profitable to suppliers and desirable to consumers. The paper recommends that financial services branding be focused upon the promotion of meaningful functional values, delivered through a customer-centred, process-driven approach.

Advanced demand and a critical analysis of revenue management

Abstract: This paper presents a theoretical framework of advance demand through six propositions. The framework introduces the concept of acquisition and valuation risks and suggests that advance demand distribution is rooted in the trade-off between them. Furthermore, since advance buyers may not consume, firms may be able to re-sell relinquished capacity. The study then proposes how refunds could provide additional revenue to firms. The study further suggests theoretical reasons why and when service firms are able to practise revenue management, suggesting that RM tools such as overbooking and demand forecasting may not be the only tools for higher revenue.

Network Dynamics and the Internationalisation Process of Small Advertising Agencies

Abstract: Process-based international strategy studies are few in the service sector, and even fewer in the case of professional services. This paper presents a qualitative study which examines international network dynamics, practices and processes of small advertising agencies (SMAs). Using case studies of four SMAs, a conceptual framework pertaining to their international evolution is examined, exploring how they moved from their initial triggers to internationalise, their early internationalisation phase and further internationalisation. In the main, the paper contributes towards unravelling how SMAs exploit their network relationships for international advantage. The findings show that while network structure and ties represent a valuable intangible resource for SMAs, they are also unique for each firm and change continuously with their evolving strategic priorities. In so doing, such ties have varying influence on the pace, pattern and direction of internationalisation. Relevant literatures on the manufacturing and service experiences of small firm internationalisation are drawn from and extended where appropriate.

Student Satisfaction Index in Portuguese Public Higher Education

Abstract: This study intends to measure student's satisfaction with Portuguese higher education, through the estimation of an explicative model of the student's opinion formation process. In terms of conclusions, it was verified that the student satisfaction index of Portuguese public higher education is only of 54 on a scale from 1 to 100. This value constitutes a reference mark that universities in Portugal can use to compare with their own performance.

Explaining Market Heterogeneity in Terms of Value Perceptions

Abstract: In the past decade, companies and academics have become aware of the great benefits of creating value for customers. However, little empirical research has yet been conducted in the area of services with respect to how customers may differ in their perceptions of value and what variables can explain such differences. This article provides an insight into how three relationship-based contingencies are likely to explain market heterogeneity in customers' perceptions of value. In particular, we explore how special treatment of the customer by the service provider, the level of customer involvement with the service, and the customer's accumulated experience with a particular company may act as predictors of market heterogeneity in the customer's perceptions of value within a service setting. Results offer evidence for the important role of relationships and experience in a service context mainly characterised by standard encounters, and provide interesting managerial insights to tailor strategies that effecti...

A Systems Approach to Service Development in a Concurrent Engineering Environment

Abstract: If a service organisation is to ensure continuous growth, long-term profitability, and ongoing competitiveness, it needs to develop new services to attract and satisfy customers. Service development is thus a key challenge for any service organisation. Such service development requires a continuous process that begins with an innovative idea and continues until the new service is introduced to the market. The process involves the planning of systems and processes, the allocation of resources, a process of quality design, the creation of prerequisites, and the ultimate realisation of the original idea. Quality is the most important prerequisite for satisfying customers and ensuring the competitiveness of a service organisation. To guarantee service quality, all phases of the service-development process must be optimised. The present paper develops a framework for a systems approach to service development in a concurrent engineering environment. The framework consists of several key design stages: (i) proce...

An Empirical Approach to Service Classification for Productivity Management Studies

Abstract: This paper presents key results of a research project on the application of service dimensions and classifications, to study differences between productivity management challenges across 12 important service sectors in the UK. The research methodology was mainly empirical in nature: unlike other research in this area, appropriate service dimensions and consequent classification models were introduced only after analysing the relationship between a number of candidate dimensions and aspects of productivity management. Among the dimensions studied, Front/Back Value Added, Personnel Judgement and Product/Process Focus turned out to be suitable indicators for a range of aspects relating to productivity management in services.