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Evaluation of customer satisfaction for PSS design

Koji Kimita (Department of System Design, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan)
Yoshiki Shimomura (Department of System Design, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan)
Tamio Arai (Department of Precision Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan)

Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management

ISSN: 1741-038X

Article publication date: 5 June 2009

7652

Abstract

Purpose

Combined offerings of products and services, that is, a product‐service system (PSS), have been attracting much attention. Consequently, a good design methodology of services as well as that of manufacturing products is needed. The purpose of this paper, is to propose a method for estimating customer satisfaction that enables designers to compare design solutions in the conceptual stage.

Design/methodology/approach

In the proposed method, first, the models that represent PSS features with relation to a customer's state is adopted. Then, the authors propose the estimation procedure that utilises a non‐linear value function called the satisfaction‐attribute (S‐A) function to quantify customer satisfaction.

Findings

The proposed method centres on the estimation of customer satisfaction. It enables the designers to evaluate design candidates in the conceptual stage where little information is available, and therefore supports iterative improvements without the designer needing to hesitate under the weight of market analysis.

Research limitations/implications

In this paper, the estimation is limited to a single transaction with a customer, rather than cumulative satisfaction that represents a customer's imprints about the provider accumulated by repeating purchases. In future, therefore, the authors need to integrate the concept of effects over time such as loyalty and defection into the proposed framework.

Practical implications

In the application, the proposed method is statistically proven to effectively illustrate customer satisfaction.

Originality/value

This paper proposes the estimation method of customer satisfaction for PSS design. The proposed method allows designers to choose a design solution from the customer viewpoints.

Keywords

Citation

Kimita, K., Shimomura, Y. and Arai, T. (2009), "Evaluation of customer satisfaction for PSS design", Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, Vol. 20 No. 5, pp. 654-673. https://doi.org/10.1108/17410380910961046

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2009, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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