Search

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to introduce a new conceptual model that incorporates internal service quality as a mediator between service climate and employee performance and two personal cultural orientations (independence and interdependence) as the moderators of these relationships. Design/methodology/approach An online survey of 353 employees representing 19 different nationalities, working in 18 branches and offices of a multinational business-to-business (B2B) civil engineering services firm, spread across 14 countries. Findings All the hypotheses are supported. Specifically, internal service quality mediates the influence of service climate on employee performance and these relationships are stronger for employees with interdependent (vs independent) cultural orientations. Research limitations/implications This paper uses data collected from the employees in a single B2B firm in one industry (Civil Engineering Services) and focuses on a few key variables, which may restrict the generalizability of its findings. Practical implications The findings of this paper highlight the importance of cultural factors in building a service climate in multinational service organizations to help their employees work more effectively and efficiently with their colleagues from diverse cultural backgrounds. Originality/value This paper clarifies the relationships among service climate, internal service quality and employee performance, by showing that internal service quality mediates the influence of service climate on employee performance.

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the effects of service innovation exploration – exploitation on financial performance through the delivery of quality services. Additional emphasis is also given to examining the extent to which employee empowerment and slack resources enhance or suppress the performance benefits of service firms engaging in service innovation exploration versus exploitation. Design/methodology/approach – Data were drawn from a multi-informant survey of service firms using a drop-and-collect approach. The survey gathered data from managers, customer service employees and customers to test the hypotheses. Findings – The results show that excelling at both exploitative and exploratory innovation helps enhance the quality of services, which, in turn, yield superior financial performance. Further, empowering employees enhances the relationship between exploratory and exploitative service innovation and service quality. We also show that the extent managers’ perceived their market to be competitive influences in the pursuit of high levels of both service innovation exploration and exploitation and that this relationship is impacted by the extent they believe they have available slack resources. Practical implications – The findings suggest that service firms need to pursue both exploitation and exploration at high levels simultaneously and empower their employees to stay ahead of competitors in delivering quality services, which ultimately contributes to the achievement of superior financial outcomes. Also, the findings highlight the importance of employee empowerment, market competitiveness and slack resources in the pursuit of high levels of both service innovation exploration and exploitation. Originality/value – These findings and our theory indicate that this study is the first to empirically examine organizational ambidexterity in the context of service innovation exploration – exploitation adopting the principles of combined and balanced innovation. The study provides insights into the critical role of customers’ perceptions of service quality in contributing to firms’ financial performance. Our insights are unique in that the study incorporates managers, employees and customers in an integrated service innovation model.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore companies' experiences in designing and implementing service guarantees.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology relied on 22 in‐depth personal interviews across a sample of ten Australian service firms.FindingsThe effectiveness of a service guarantee depends on how well a firm designs and implements it. It was found that service guarantees were generally not well conceived, implemented, or monitored after launch. Through a comparison of theory and practice, this study identifies a number of common mistakes, including inadequate or non‐existent pre‐launch market research; ambiguous definition of the role of the guarantee; inadequate market testing of alternative guarantee promises; a lack of consultation with key functional managers during development; a lack of CEO commitment; ambiguous assignment of responsibility for ongoing management of the guarantee; and an absence of performance evaluation.Research limitations/implicationsThe study employs qualitative research techniques and considers only Australian firms.Practical implicationsWhile the common mistakes offer cautions for managers when planning a service guarantee, some outstanding examples of successfully implemented service guarantees also emerged. A notable example is the customer charter, a more comprehensive conditional guarantee that avoids many of the pitfalls associated with traditional service guarantees.Originality/valuePrevious studies do not address the experiences of a broad sample of companies that have designed and implemented a service guarantee. The findings in this paper extend the understanding of how service guarantees could become more effective and identify directions for future research.

PurposeAs the household budget tightens in uncertain economic times, many grocery shoppers are constantly looking for the best deal in town. To attract and retain these savvy shoppers, a supermarket should understand what they value most and how they comparison‐shop. With this in mind, this paper aims to develop a set of benchmarks that helps supermarkets monitor their service delivery process, identify relative weaknesses, and take corrective actions for continuous service improvements.Design/methodology/approachThis paper proposes analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and competitive gap analyses to measure the service performances of supermarket franchises in the Southeastern USA. It also uses exploratory factor analyses to identify salient factors influencing the service performances of supermarkets.FindingsThis study found that a service attribute considered most important to the supermarket customers' impression of service quality was product quality. It was followed by cleanliness of the store, competitive price, product variety and fast checkouts. This study discovered a direct correlation between the relative service performance of the supermarket and its “word‐of‐mouth” reputation. Supermarket customers tended to favor large‐scale, national supermarket franchises such as Meijer, Kroger, and Wal‐Mart than small‐scale, regional counterparts such as Pic‐Pac, Aldi, and Save‐A‐Lot in terms of overall service quality.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample of the current study was primarily represented by customers in the Southeastern USA. Thus, the sample used in this study may not reflect the opinions of the general public in the USA.Practical implicationsThis paper provides practical guidelines as to how supermarkets can cope with increasing competition and changing customer needs by measuring their service performances relative to their leading competitors and improving their service performances continuously.Originality/valueThis paper identifies service attributes that shape the customer perception of supermarket service quality and uncovers the areas of weaknesses in the supermarket franchises' service offerings. In addition, it helps supermarkets formulate the future survival and growth strategies by providing the detailed picture of where they stand in terms of competitiveness. This paper is the first attempt to utilize AHP to develop performance benchmarks for supermarkets in the increasingly competitive grocery industry. The proposed AHP can be easily modified or extended to similar service settings in other regions of the USA and other countries in Europe and Asia.

PurposeThe success of service innovation programs rests on whether consumers discern the novelties built into service offerings. Hence, service firms must base the evaluation of innovation programs on customer attitude in addition to internal measures. The study examines whether consumers are capable of discerning the novelties built into service elements, and explores the underlying dimensions therein.Design/methodology/approachResearch contexts include fitness centers and auto repair shops in the USA. A list of tangible and intangible service elements was developed based on a literature review. This list was improved through interviews with service managers and a focus group using frequent customers of each service. A total of 34 items emerged, comprising seven dimensions. These items were administered to 120 students who used each service frequently. Factor analysis supported the seven‐dimension model. Finally, a confirmatory study using 527 professional adults supported these findings.FindingsRespondents were capable of discerning the novelties built into the elements of service offerings. The 32‐item scale included seven dimensions: administration, interior facilities, exterior facilities, employees, service core, technology, and responsiveness.Research limitations/implicationsThe representativeness of the samples and the two service contexts, and a sole focus on customers' (versus the firm's) subjective perception are the primary limitations.Practical implicationsOne reason behind new product failures is the mismatch between the service provider's and the consumers' views of innovativeness. The scale provided here can help tap consumer perspective throughout the new product development process.Originality/valueThis study can help bridge the gap between service development processes.

Purpose – Business services have an important role in the development of global knowledge‐base economy. This is particularly clear in the field of ICT services where business customers are requiring an increasing amount of complex services in order to support their utilization of advanced ERP, SCM and CRM solutions for boosting their business processes and competitive advantage. The complexity of these services and customers' requests for special adaptations form a critical challenge for service providers. This paper seeks to develop solutions for managing this complexity.Design/methodology/approach – Three service design and development methods – service industrialization, tangibilization, and service blueprinting – are introduced and then analyzed as to how they can be utilized as an integrated system to reduce the complexity of ICT services. This is carried out through an action research‐based case study of an ICT service provider.Findings – The results include a service architecture framework, which c...

PurposeThere are a number of assumptions inherent in relationship marketing, including claims that a relationship should be developed with all customers in all situations. This paper seeks to show that marketers should not automatically use relationship marketing techniques for all products and for all customers.Design/methodology/approachThis paper reports the results of an empirical survey of 287 consumers for five service products in which consumers were asked to assess the strength of the relationship between themselves and their supplier.FindingsRelationship strength was found to vary significantly between service products and individual customers, and the impact of duration of the relationship and the frequency of purchase on relationship strength depends greatly on the nature of the service product. It was also demonstrated that some customers want a closer relationship with service providers than other customers, and this aspect significantly affects the strength of relationship perceived by the customer.Practical implicationsThis paper clearly shows that the use of relationship marketing techniques for service products needs to be much more thoroughly researched to provide guidance for practitioners and marketing theorists. The complexity of the “relationship” construct in marketing is clearly shown and there is as yet no known set of “rules” that indicate when relationship marketing techniques should, or should not, be used.Originality/valueThe contribution of this paper is to empirically demonstrate that not all customers want to develop relationships with all service suppliers.

PurposeThis paper is concerned with an exploration of crises within the service sector. The paper proposes setting out a thesis that places “management”, as both a function and a process, at the centre of crisis generation and response rather than simply in terms of “continuity management” or service recovery. The paper argues that the nature of interactions within a service sector context generates significant problems of emergence that, in turn, create vulnerability within organisations. The paper aims to conclude by offering suggestions regarding the various points of intervention that are available to organisations.Design/methodology/approachThe paper explores the nature of crisis with particular reference to the service industries. The paper is conceptual in its scope, although it draws on a number of research‐ and consultancy‐based investigations.FindingsThis paper has sought to identify three of the key elements of the crisis management literature: namely vulnerability, emergence and the barriers to learning. Each of these offers quite fundamental challenges to the practice of service recovery by highlighting the need to address both the prevention and response dynamics of the crisis process. The paper outlines the theoretical aspects of failure and outlines the process of vulnerable pathways within organisations.Research limitations/implicationsThe conceptual framework needs to be applied to specific cases of crisis in order to validate the framework.Practical implicationsThe interdisciplinary approach seeks to outline key issues facing practitioners around the development of contingency plans and the limitations that such plans have embedded within them.Originality/valueThe paper seeks to develop understanding of the nature of vulnerability within organisations and outlines a conceptual framework for the analysis of escalation within organisations.

PurposeTo propose a decision support model that can be used to design, implement and communicate effective and efficient service guarantees.Design/methodology/approachBased on in‐depth interviews by the author and on a recent literature review, the author has looked at different issues regarding service guarantees developed by services companies over the last five years.FindingsThe decision support model looks first at 12 key issues to examine before designing a service guarantee. If the preliminary analysis is conclusive, discussion about design and implementation is presented.Originality/valueThe main and original contribution of this model is to present to services marketing managers a step‐by‐step process, including preliminary analysis, marketing communication and performance analysis.

This paper considers the impact of the Internet on professional services, which are characterised by high levels of interpersonal interaction and where a significant component of the service product is information and expertise. For such services the Internet is primarily an accessible information resource, which has potential to fundamentally change the way in which consumers interact with service providers. The context for the research is healthcare, a professional service that has traditionally been characterised by an information asymmetry that has rested power in the hands of the professional. Based on interviews with healthcare professionals, Web site hosts and consumers, this paper considers the way in which consumers use the Internet to educate themselves about their condition and the consequent effect on the service encounter and the doctor/patient relationship. The findings indicate that patients are increasingly engaging in virtual, parallel service encounters that change the nature of the primary encounter and present challenges to professionals both in terms of relationships and their professional judgement.

Services are inherently intangible, and high on experience as well as credence quality. To promote services effectively, a service provider must go beyond mere creation of awareness. There is a need to induce trial so that consumers are able to assess the experience and credence qualities. In addition, the notion of timing in the consumption process also plays a key role, i.e. pertinent information about the service at the appropriate time. These issues are empirically investigated in a higher educational setting, with a focus on learning augmentation services. The results indicate that although consumer interest increases with awareness, the increase in interest is even higher when awareness is coupled with trial. This study also indicates that interest in a service is a function of timing in the overall service consumption cycle. Finally, interest in service items offered is positively associated with the overall interest in the service provider. Promotion planners and brand managers need to take these into account for an efficient and effective promotional plan.

Information technology (IT) and, in particular, the Internet is dramatically impacting on the services sector. This paper specifically investigates the relative impact of several forms of Internet use on perceived performance for two groups of service organisations – retail service firms and professional health service firms. Using a mailed‐out self‐administered questionnaire, 625 completed questionnaires were obtained, and 43 per cent of respondents reported that they used the Internet. Thus the final usable sample in the study comprised 262 respondents. Results showed that the Internet does significantly influence perceived performance in both types of service firms. However, there are differences in the forms of Internet use between the two service groups and their relative effect on performance. For retail firms, use of transactional function, such as ordering, selling and payment, was found to be positively related to increases in perceived performance. In contrast, for professional health service firms, the ability to search for information on products and/or services was found to be positively associated with perceived performance. Finally, theoretical and managerial implications of the findings of this study are discussed.

Relationship marketing is beneficial to firms because it can foster customer loyalty and re‐patronage behavior. Consumers engaged in relational exchanges are more satisfied than those in discrete transactions because of the ease and psychological comfort of purchasing from a familiar company. This research investigates the power of relationship marketing to mitigate in two situations. One exposes consumers to poor product performance and examines their levels of trust, commitment and satisfaction. The second presents a product failure that is followed by a lapse in service recovery and measures satisfaction and exit behavior. The findings of both studies suggest that relationships make up for increasingly strong negative encounters, providing a level of insulation for the marketer. Implications for service firms are discussed.

In this study, we examined the degree to which integrated marketing communication (IMC) might be manifested in services advertising. Using one of Lovelock’s typologies of services as a framework for classifying different services with respect to their tangibility, we examined ads in each of four service product categories to assess advertisers’ efforts to address the tangibility of service offerings via IMC. We found few differences with regard to incorporation of IMC across four service types, with the exception that services advertisements that reflected tangible acts (lawn care, hairstyling) were more highly integrated than services ads for intangible acts (education, retailing, banking). Results are discussed in terms of the implications for developing better services advertising.

Argues that the unidirectional measurement and evaluation of service quality in any specific service encounter is not enough in itself to understand the existing service quality between two actors in a dyadic service encounter. Therefore, a method is introduced for the express purpose of analysing the perceptual bi‐directionality of service quality in order to measure and evaluate the dynamics of service quality in dyadic service encounters.

After investing in service quality improvement programs, firms may realize that they still face a daunting challenge: How should they persuade consumers that service has actually improved? One way of attempting to persuade consumers is to offer a service guarantee. But are guarantees credible? Are they really effective? Can they overcome consumers’ prior negative experience? Surprisingly, the topic has received very little attention. This paper provides a conceptual and an empirical examination of the persuasive power of service guarantees. Specifically, the effects of service process evidence, compensation and prior beliefs about the service provider, are examined. The experimental data indicate that the inclusion of service process evidence significantly increases consumers’ willingness to try the provider. The findings also suggest that compensation is more persuasive when service process evidence is specified in the guarantee. The synergy of presenting service process evidence and high compensation, is able to overcome consumers’ prior (negative) exposure. Overall, the study supports the conclusion that consumers are primarily interested in service reliability and only secondarily in compensation for service failures. Managerial implications of the findings are discussed.

Outlines the essential elements of a role theoretical perspective and explores its potential importance to service performance in people‐based service encounters. Drawing on Biddle, and on Solomon et al.’s interpretations, how role theory enhances our marketing exchange understanding by focusing on the interactive features within successful service encounters is demonstrated. Outlines how role management offers a framework to evaluate the degree of interactivity sought in relationship approaches. Role theory, it is argued, can enable organizations to identify role development needs for service personnel within interactive service formats and permits organizations to monitor processual elements of service performance. A managerial framework, which identifies specific role management tasks in client encounters, is developed. This, it is proposed, may operate in two domains, internally within the service process and externally within the service encounter with clients. The contribution of role to the service...

Service quality has been widely examined in the area of consumer research. The SERVQUAL scale, in particular, has been used to examine consumer perceptions of service quality as well as the communication of service quality cues in advertising. The literature suggests that service quality is an important purchasing criterion among business customers; however, no studies have examined how service quality is communicated through advertisements targeting business customers, as opposed to general consumers. SERVQUAL consists of five dimensions of service quality ‐ assurance, empathy, reliability, responsiveness, and tangibles. Using these dimensions as a basis for the study, a content analysis revealed that advertisements targeting business customers communicate service quality differently than ads targeting general consumers.

Posits that companies offering services that directly compete with products are particularly interested in whether the form of the offering ‐ service or product ‐ affects the behavior of consumers. Compares in two tightly designed and rigorously implemented experiments, consumers’ information search behavior for services that compete with products. Finds that: the critical difference between services and products is not that personal sources are used more for services but that impersonal sources are used less; there are similarities between products and services in search patterns; and with greater knowledge about the service, product and service search does not look very different. Finally discusses implications of these findings for managerial action.

One of the most important developments in banking is the increased emphasis on marketing a wide array of financial services. This emphasis has led to the adoption of the product management system in one form or another by many large, full‐service commercial banks. The transition to a product management system has required banks to change how they organize and manage their operations. Examines several of the major challenges and issues faced by product managers in the banking environment, namely, the identification of the product managers’ task responsibilities; the role of organizational support in facilitating product management; the influence of organizational culture; and the impact of power and conflict on product managers and the product management system. Also examines how product managers assess their job performance, work satisfaction, and the performance of the overall product management system in their bank. Develops directions for future research as well as several managerial recommendations to improve product management performance in banking.

While numerous classifications have been proposed to differentiate goods from services, equivalent research on classification systems that could be used both for goods and services has not been explored. Today, in many instances, consumers can select either a physical good or a service to fulfill their needs. Consequently, marketers of services may gain strategic insights by investigating the similarities between goods and services as well as differences. Presents a unified taxonomy that classifies services into convenience, preference, shopping and specialty categories according to customer perceptions of perceived risk, purchase effort and involvement. For this study, 168 subjects evaluated eight services that represented the four categories. Results indicate that this classification system may be as useful in categorizing services as it has been for categorizing goods. Findings suggest that examining services from a consumer point of view offers alternative strategies for the service provider. The level of risk, purchase effort and involvement varies among types of services, not just between services and goods. Therefore, service managers are advised to examine their service from a consumer perspective to identify potential competitors and design effective marketing strategy.

Service quality continues to be a significant issue in the banking industry. Because money and other financial services are generally undifferentiated products, banks are continually striving for increased service quality in order to achieve and maintain a competitive edge. Critical to the improvement of service quality is the determination of those service quality characteristics considered important by consumers. Moreover, it is necessary to understand which of those elements of service quality are more important to different groups of customers. Reports a study that identifies distinct elements of bank service quality and ascertains which of those elements are most important to different demographic groups.

As quality and profitability have become inseparable concepts, a growing number of service firms have considered quality their top priority in maintaining competitiveness. Commitment to service quality, however, is nothing more than lip service, unless management develops reliable service quality standards. Perhaps one of the best ways of developing such standards is to compare the firm’s service performance with that of the service leader and reassess its service performance continuously through competitive benchmarking. In an effort to establish practical guidelines for competitive benchmarking, proposes the use of an analytic hierarchy process and a competitive gap analysis. These methods can help the service manager to formulate viable service improvement strategies in the increasingly competitive service industry. Illustrates the usefulness of the proposed benchmarking methodology using the case of Korean luxury hotels.

Service uniforms have often been studied from the customers’ perspective, as they contribute to service expectations and evaluations. Proposes that the influence of uniform should also be considered from the service provider’s perspective. Discusses the first stage in the development of a 17‐item scale to assess service providers’ perceptions of their uniform. Identifies four dimensions of these perceptions: service approach, the look, customer influence and company identification. The emergence of the dimensions entitled service attitude and the look draws attention to issues concerned with how uniform wearers feel about themselves, and highlights the importance of the aesthetic uniform needs of the wearer. Suggests that management should give due consideration to uniform requirements as perceived by the service provider, as this is likely to impact positively on service employees and thus service orientation.

Considerable attention has been focussed on the measurement of service quality. In fact, the 1990s has been referred to as the era of customer service. However, little empirical research has been done to demonstrate the impact of service quality on usage decisions. Product (brand or service) name familiarity is another variable that has been recognized as having a major influence on the choice of products (services). Reports the findings of an experimental study investigating the impact of service quality and name familiarity on the respondents’ attitudes and intention to use these services.

Initially, development of theory and processes for the evaluation of service quality lagged behind that for evaluating product quality. Even now, service quality measurement is beset by several problems. Describes some of the difficulties in evaluating service quality and presents a framework for evaluating it which uses a general systems theory approach. Suggests that, to understand consumers′ views of the quality level in the firm, service managers should consider perceptions of service inputs and the service process as well as perceptions of service outcomes. Presents the results of two studies involving six types of service in support of the framework. Discusses recommendations for the implementation of a systems outlook and its implications for services marketers.

Examines the effects of service offered on the success of new customer financial services in the United Kingdom. Shows that previous research has concentrated on the new product process ignoring what are termed direct factors (characteristics that affect the interaction between the service offered and the consumer). Finds that a number of characteristics describing the service core and the augmented service offering are highly correlated with success.

Employs content analysis of advertisements for both products and services in 13 major newspapers. Seeks to understand how advertising information on service providers is integrated into service advertising strategy. Suggests that service advertising is far more likely than product advertising to contain information about contact people. Offers ways of improving the advertising strategy of service marketers.

Examines a new addition to thinking on adoption and diffusion of service innovations – the Cultural Anchoring Diffusion/Assimilation Model. Suggests that certain service innovations may encourage a type of psychological dependence that leads an individual′s self‐concept to become linked to his or her usage of a new service. Recommends, as a result of this model, several strategies for service marketing managers.

Notes how service encounters have tended to be viewed as an interaction between service providers and service customers. Examines situations where the main encounter is the interaction between the facility and the customer. Considers different perspectives for planning service facilities – operational, locational, atmospheric/image, consumer use, contact personnel. Argues that congruent facilities are those that can succeed in integrating these competing perspectives.

Considers how recent concerns with service quality have led to increased awareness of the importance of the role of the front‐line employee, the service provider. Describes how internal marketing has been instrumental in raising service providers′ performance. Develops a method, drawing on organizational literature, for identifying segments of the service organization which can be targeted by internal marketing. Argues that the service marketer should view employees as “customers” who can be analysed using marketing techniques, thereby enabling the enhancement of service quality. Includes detailed recommendations and an appendix.

Comments that few service firms are sufficiently prepared to meet the challenge of service innovation. Reviews existing models of new service development. Proposes a systematic model based not on the small amount of new service development literature but on theories of new product management, which reflects the conditions unique to service industries. Concludes with ten propositions for service management.

Examines the development of new services in service organizations, which has often been incomplete and has resulted in the needs of the marketplace remaining unsatisfied. Considers the findings of a study comparing the process of new service development in different service industries. Reports on how development may be improved and offers a model allowing greater input from the service recipients.

Explains that efficient service delivery can often present a problem for marketers due to the nature of the services. Summarizes the two general methods already suggested for improving the efficiency of service delivery – technological and humanistic. Discusses managerial guidelines for the implementation of these approaches to service delivery in several service industries, based on two service classification schemes.