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This chapter outlines a unique collaboration between industry, academia and education to embed sustainability across the hairdressing sector. The chapter is in two parts with the first part written by Dr Denise Baden from the academic perspective. Dr Baden begins by outlining why the hairdressing sector is especially important to engage with respect to sustainability. Three projects run by the Southampton Business School, University of Southampton, and funded by the Economics and Social Research Council (ESRC) are then described. Lynda Whitehorn then expands upon the context of hairdressing practice, training and education from the perspective of Vocational Training Charitable Trust (VTCT) – a specialist awarding organisation which offers vocational and technical qualifications in a variety of service sectors, including hairdressing and barbering. In the process, we show how the collaboration between academia, industry and education enabled sustainable practice to become embedded across the sector.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the contribution of conversation as an element of interaction that occurs in a hairdressing service encounter with the aim of seeking to understand variations in conversation between “short” and “long‐term” clients; how conversation contributes to the development of “commercial friendships”; and how relationships develop through conversation.

Quota sampling is used to select eight hairdressing service encounters in one Australian salon for recording and subsequent interviews with clients. Quotas address gender and duration of continued patronage. Conversations and interviews were analysed thematically and using conversation analysis.

The progress and evolution of conversations varied between short and long‐term customers; topics also varied by this classification as well as gender. Conversation played an important function with respect to building friendship with the service provider; conversation also assisted in the development of long‐term relationships.

Apart from the small sample, the study was highly contextualised because it investigated encounters in a single hairdressing salon and explored perceptions of the service conversation from the perspective of only one party to the conversation, the client.

The findings point out the important role non‐task conversation can play in retaining customers in people‐processing services. Service providers perhaps can achieve more to improve the service experience and satisfaction of customers by placing less emphasis on the need for physical resources or promotion, instead focussing on the intangible of improving the conversation skills of their providers. More non‐task conversation and less task‐related talk may also facilitate a closer relationship between hairdresser and client. Further research on the nature and role of conversation during service encounters should offer guidance for improving the conversation skills of service providers and in improving customer retention.

This study specifically focuses on the role and nature of non‐task conversation as a specific aspect contributing to a customer's service encounter experience in a people processing service.

The purpose of this paper is to ascertain the factors affecting tacit knowledge transfer from a master to an apprentice in the informal sector among hairdressers in Ghana.

A case study was used as the research design. Convenient sampling technique was used to select 47 master hairdressers. Semi-structured interview guide was used for data collection. Data were analysed using the thematic technique.

The study found that apprenticeship fee, fear of competition, delegation reasons, joy and pride of mentorship, apprentices’ attitude and time, to be significant factors influencing tacit knowledge transfer from a master to an apprentice. It was also evident that time spent with master as he/she performs or works is crucial to learning as most of the learning is through socializing with the master.

The main limitation of the study is the use of the convenient sampling technique in choosing the participants. The results of this study, if it has to be generalised to all hairdressers in Ghana, it may have to be done with caution since the participants were not drawn from a pool of all master hairdressers in Ghana.

The paper provides what apprentices must do to acquire the tacit knowledge of master hairdressers.

This paper focuses on the holder of tacit knowledge (master hairdressers) and reveals their motivations to transfer or hoard their tacit knowledge.

This study aims to propose a theoretical framework and provide empirical evidence on the most successful marketing strategies for obtaining behavioural loyalty in small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The data are based on 475 telephone surveys conducted among Spanish hairdressers. The authors have used ordinary least squares to estimate the empirical model.

Pricing, services and communication (Web page and in-store communication) are the main drivers of customer loyalty. SMEs have to be cautious with the use of social networks to avoid damaging loyalty. In addition, those positioned at high-price segments should pay more attention to communication on the Web, and all companies should find a balance between in-store communication and the sale of products for use at home.

Further research should try to replicate the findings with data from consumers and firms.

Service managers need to understand the optimal strategy to succeed in the market. The key insights of this study could also apply to other sectors, such as health, personal care and wellness services.

Previous research focussed mainly on large companies, while the role of loyalty in the success of SMEs has been poorly studied, with focus only on the antecedents and the measurement of loyalty. This study contributes to the previous research by analysing the effect of the strategy (price, range of services, communication, size and location) in the achievement of loyalty in SMEs.

Este trabajo propone un marco teórico y aporta evidencia empírica sobre las estrategias de marketing más exitosas en la consecución de lealtad comportamental en PYMEs.

Se ha realizado una encuesta telefónica a 475 peluqueros españoles. El modelo utilizado para la estimación es el de mínimos cuadros ordinarios.

Precio, servicios, y comunicación (página web y comunicación en la tienda) son los principales generadores de lealtad. Las PYMEs tienen que ser cautelosas con el uso de las redes sociales para evitar dañar la lealtad. Además, aquellas posicionados en altos precios deben prestar más atención a la comunicación en la web y todas deben encontrar un equilibrio entre la comunicación en el tienda y la venta de productos para su uso en casa.

Investigaciones futuras podrían replicar este estudio usando datos de consumidores y de empresa.

Los gerentes necesitan entender la estrategia óptima para tener éxito en el mercado. Las ideas claves de este trabajo podrían aplicarse a otros servicios personalizados de salud y bienestar.

La investigación previa se centra principalmente en grandes empresas mientras que el papel de la lealtad en el éxito de las pymes ha sido escasamente investigado y se ha centrado en los antecedentes y la medición de la lealtad. Este estudio realiza una contribución al analizar el efecto de la estrategia (precio, surtido de servicios, comunicación, tamaño y localización) en la consecución de la lealtad en las pymes.

Lealtad; pequeñas y medianas empresas; Pymes; peluqueros; estrategia de marketing; salon

Artículo de investigación

A secure future and better professional standards for hairdressers in the 1980s are the aims set out by the Hairdressing Industry's Joint Training Council in a policy statement on training. It outlines a training structure for hairdressers which the JTC hopes will be adopted throughout the craft from apprentice level to salon owner and in its role of ensuring that full and proper training opportunities are available to hairdressers at all levels, is advocating that principles and safeguards similar to those of the British Hairdressing Apprenticeship Council's (BHAC) Indenture should be incorporated in the terms of employment of all apprentices entering the craft. Training policy has been developed to encourage and motivate employers to provide structured training for their staff throughout the apprenticeship period, and to convince qualified hairdressers of the value of advanced level training as a means of increasing their status and professional standing. The statement calls for the adoption of job specifications at each career level, outlines the progression from apprentice to salon manager, and recommends that progression should be by examination. It claims that a combination of education and training is essential for the proper development of a hairdresser, and recommends a pattern of awards leading to Licenciateship of City & Guilds of London Institute, with Master Craftsman Award being the designation for the achievement of this standard since it corresponds in status to European Awards with similar titles. The JTC hopes that basic and advanced training schemes provided in‐house or by commercial schools and establishments — which reflect the aims and objectives of the policy and meet its recommended end standard — can be incorporated to provide overall integrated training and development facilities for those engaged in hairdressing at all levels.

This study focuses on the potential difficulties in implementing a relationship marketing strategy within a retail context. We suggest that a number of attributes characterise the nature of the service and market structure are influential in an organisation’s ability to implement relationship marketing. Specifically, these are balance of power; level of involvement with the purchase; professionalism of the service provider; and level of personal contact. Seven dimensions central to relationship marketing in a retail context are derived from the literature. Via survey research, these are evaluated in four service contexts, namely: hairdresser/barber; optician; recreation centre; and supermarket. Findings indicate that because of the influence of the four factors identified above, hairdressers, opticians, and recreation centres are more likely to operate in conditions that give greater support to the development of relationship marketing.

Employing a feminist relational lens, the purpose of this paper is to explore the work-life balance experiences of black migrant women entrepreneurs, examining the relationship between macro, meso and micro levels of business activity. The paper examines the obstacles raised and opportunities enabled by the confrontation and negotiation between the private and public space.

Qualitative methods are used and the paper draws on semi-structured in-depth interviews with 29 black women business owners in the legal and black hairdressing sectors in London. The analysis of the paper is informed by a relational approach that recognises the embedded nature of business activity in differing levels of social action.

The analysis reveals that ability of the women in the study to manage their work-life balance was shaped by power relations and social interactions between and within cultural, structural and agentic dimensions of small business ownership.

This paper contributes to the literature on business and entrepreneurial behaviour of women by embedding work-life balance experiences of black migrant women in context of relations between and within macro, meso and micro levels. It conceptualises the behaviour of the women in the study in terms of confrontations, negotiations and dialogue between notions of motherhood, femininity, family and entrepreneurship at the societal, institutional and individual levels. In so doing the paper expands the literature on minority entrepreneurship and underscores the interconnected nature of these three levels to produce unique experiences for individual migrant women.

There 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.

This 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.

Relationship 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.

This 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.

The contribution of this paper is to empirically demonstrate that not all customers want to develop relationships with all service suppliers.

To become a successful hairdresser you must primarily like people, and get on well with them. In addition, you must have a quick adaptable mind, a reasonable level of education, some artistic sense and creative flair — and be a refined, well‐groomed, neatly‐dressed sort of person keen on working with your hands, which ideally should have long fingers and easy manipulation. On top of all this, you must be prepared for very hard work, and a good deal of grinding training and learning. These are exacting requirements, it is true; but the profession can be a most rewarding and satisfying one, both financially and creatively, if you are prepared to stay the course and work your way upwards, either into exclusive top styling, or as a salon proprietor.