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Article
Publication date: 28 December 2020

Emma Junhong Wang, Pierre R. Berthon and Nada Nasr Bechwati

This paper aims to explore the effect of employees’ state mindfulness, a short period of mindful presence, on the quality of the service they provide in a service encounter.

1006

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the effect of employees’ state mindfulness, a short period of mindful presence, on the quality of the service they provide in a service encounter.

Design/methodology/approach

Three studies are conducted. A pilot study explores the relationship between state mindfulness and service encounter quality. Experiment 1 examines whether a 15-min mindfulness exercise results in an increase in service employees’ state mindfulness. Experiment 2 tests whether induced state mindfulness produces higher service quality and whether a reminding technique can prolong state mindfulness between service encounters.

Findings

The results demonstrate the following. First, that more mindful employees provide better service quality. Second, that a short, easily implemented, mindfulness exercise can reliably increase employees’ state mindfulness. Third, induced mindfulness has an impact on subsequent service quality in terms of reliability, assurance, empathy and responsiveness. These effects persist regardless of the service encounter structure (high vs low structure) or the degree of emotional labor involved (high vs low emotionally charged). Finally, the reminding technique developed as part of this research suggests that state mindfulness can be maintained between service encounters.

Research limitations/implications

As simulated (programmed) customers are used, independent evaluators to assess service quality are used. Service providers in this study are college students; future field studies should consider a wider range of service providers. The research focuses on state mindfulness; exploration of trait mindfulness offers future research opportunities.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first to empirically examine the link between mindfulness and service quality. It shows that mindfulness can be induced, and through a reminding technique be maintained, and improve service quality across service interactions. This is a powerful finding for marketing managers, for it offers a new method to enhance service provision. Moreover, this research implies that the increase in service quality is likely to be accompanied by reduced job burnout: a double win for employees, employers and customers.

Details

Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 35 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0887-6045

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 August 2010

Joanna Phillips Melancon, David A. Griffith, Stephanie M. Noble and Qimei Chen

Building on the service‐centered dominant logic, this paper aims to investigate the effects of firm knowledge (knowledge of customers, industry, and practices) and synergistic…

1558

Abstract

Purpose

Building on the service‐centered dominant logic, this paper aims to investigate the effects of firm knowledge (knowledge of customers, industry, and practices) and synergistic combinations of different types of employee knowledge as a foundation for competitive advantage in retail and service organizations. Specifically, it seeks to theorize that the firm's operant knowledge resources combine to develop the service‐based value proposition of enhanced ability to meet customer needs that results in greater performance.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey methodology was used to test the hypotheses using a sample of 293 retail and service providers.

Findings

Employees' knowledge of its customers and competitors allow the firm to enhance its ability to meet customer needs, whereas knowledge of firm practices, in isolation, does not enhance a firm's ability to meet customer needs. When looking at the synergistic combination of employees' knowledge (i.e. the two‐way interactions and the three‐way interaction of knowledge of customers; knowledge of firm practices; knowledge of industry) several interesting insights emerge to help to understand how to enhance a firm's ability to meet customer needs.

Research limitations/implications

Since researchers have yet to fully explore the effects of knowledge as operant resources and their conversion into capabilities, this study uses a dynamic capabilities approach and demonstrates that providing front‐line employees with the knowledge necessary to understand the firm's consumer base allows the firm to develop the ability to meet customer needs (i.e. a capability), which in turn allows the organization to reap the economic benefits of a satisfied and returning customer base.

Practical implications

The two‐way and three way interactions provide new insights into the synergistic employment of operant knowledge resources.

Originality/value

The results suggest that operant knowledge resources may not be equally created as different combinations of operant resources result in superior capabilities than other combinations.

Details

Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 24 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0887-6045

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 March 2008

Alan Pilkington and Kah‐Hin Chai

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the core themes of service research by analysing citations in the International Journal of Service Industry Management (IJSIM). It also…

3774

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the core themes of service research by analysing citations in the International Journal of Service Industry Management (IJSIM). It also aims to discuss changes in the discipline's sub‐fields and identifies emerging topics.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is an empirical analysis of citations and co‐citations from the IJSIM. Network and factor analysis are used to analyse and group the data. The study is unique in performing the analysis at the individual publication level, rather than following the normal aggregated author co‐citation analysis method.

Research limitations/implications

The study examines only IJISM. Future study on other top journal such as Journal of Service Research would provide a more complete picture on service research.

Findings

The study identifies that the core ideas of service research centred on service quality and customer satisfaction. Also identified are periphery areas which may become more significant.

Originality/value

The main contribution of this article is the use of the novel network analysis technique to analyze the 15,003 citations in the 435 articles published in IJSIM between 1990‐2005. This is a quantitative analysis unlike previous review articles which rely largely on the observations and reflections of pioneering researchers.

Details

International Journal of Service Industry Management, vol. 19 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0956-4233

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 October 2007

Sandy Ng, Rebekah Russell‐Bennett and Tracey Dagger

The purpose of this paper is to provide services marketers with a deeper understanding of the elements that characterize mass services. The paper shows that many studies have been…

6532

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide services marketers with a deeper understanding of the elements that characterize mass services. The paper shows that many studies have been conducted within the context of professional and retail services, knowledge of mass service contexts is limited despite the growth of services within this context.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper provides a conceptual overview of mass services and develops a typology for mass services based on an extensive review of the services literature. Specifically, the typology developed classifies mass services on the basis of service delivery and purpose. The typology forwarded, therefore, classifies mass services using a two‐by‐two framework with individual and collective mass services classified as either utilitarian or hedonic in nature.

Findings

The typology found in this paper provides a practical insight into the characteristics of services falling into the classification of mass services. The value of the classification is that managers can better understand the unique aspects of mass services, thus, allowing for a better utilization of limited resources. Moreover, the paper provides insights into a service classification that has received limited research emphasis, yet, is attracting increasing industry attention.

Originality/value

This paper provides academics and practitioners with a framework that has both tactical and strategic implications. These implications include enhancing the customer experience and thus customer retention, resource management, employee training and service management. Given that such a framework has not been forwarded in the literature, the typology presented in the current paper makes an original contribution to the literature.

Details

Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 21 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0887-6045

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 May 2019

Winnie O’Grady

This paper aims to consider the enabling and coercive features of formal control in non-hierarchical settings and the factors influencing perceptions of controls.

1656

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to consider the enabling and coercive features of formal control in non-hierarchical settings and the factors influencing perceptions of controls.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is a qualitative case study of a single organization. Data are collected via semi-structured interviews, a range of published materials and a management presentation. Analysis considered the features of coercive and enabling control at the level of individual controls.

Findings

In this highly decentralized organization, internal and global transparency predominate and help managers respond to contingencies in flexible ways. Managers cannot repair certain elements of controls to ensure there is stability in an otherwise flexible system. The existence (absence) of enabling features combined with the type of controls (e.g. action or results controls) lacking enabling features influence managers’ perceptions of control.

Research limitations/implications

Few studies have considered formal controls in non-hierarchical organizations. The findings reveal the importance of minimally coercive control features in creating a stable structure for controlling performance. The findings may not be relevant to other hierarchical organizations.

Originality/value

The study is conducted in a highly decentralized context where managers have extensive autonomy (flexibility). The context allows the role of minimally coercive control features to be explored in an essentially enabling organizational setting.

Details

Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, vol. 16 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1176-6093

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 April 2020

Charles H. Patti, Maria M. van Dessel and Steven W. Hartley

How can customer service be so bad in an era when companies collect endless data on customer interactions? The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the important challenge of…

4195

Abstract

Purpose

How can customer service be so bad in an era when companies collect endless data on customer interactions? The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the important challenge of elevating customer service delivery by providing guidelines for when and how to select optimal measures of customer service measurement using a new decision framework.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses a comprehensive, multi-dimensional review of extant literature related to customer service, journey mapping and performance measurement and applied a qualitative, taxonomic approach for model development.

Findings

A process model and customer journey mapping framework can facilitate the selection and application of appropriate and relevant customer service experience metrics to enhance customer service experience strategies, creation and delivery.

Research limitations/implications

The taxonomy of customer service metrics is limited to current publicly and commercially available metrics. The dynamic nature of the customer service environment necessitates continuous updates of the model and framework.

Practical implications

Selection of customer service performance measures should match relevant stages of the customer journey; use perception-based, operational and outcome-based metrics that track employee and customer behaviours; improve omni-channel measurement; and integrate data-sharing and benchmark measurement initiatives through collaboration with customer service communities.

Originality/value

A reimagined perspective is offered to the complex challenge of measuring and improving customer service, providing a new decision-making framework for customer service experience measurement and guidance for future research.

Article
Publication date: 4 March 2014

Stephen Strombeck and Shih-Tung Shu

– The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the critical role that context plays in measuring service quality.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the critical role that context plays in measuring service quality.

Design/methodology/approach

This study replicated an experiment methodology to show that customers perceive an airline service drama as a sequence of scenes. A series of focus groups were then conducted to identify the context-specific set of service quality expectations that customers hold for each of these scenes. Finally, Formal Concept Analysis (FCA), a mathematical modeling technique, was applied to these findings to graphically illustrate how customer expectations for airline service quality vary by service scene.

Findings

Results from this study indicate that static measures of service quality are apparently inadequate in explaining customer expectations during more enduring service encounters. The FCA hierarchical model developed in this study revealed profound differences in customer service expectations across the six airline service scenes. These results suggest that more advanced methods for measuring service quality are necessary for service encounters that are longer in duration.

Research limitations/implications

This research brings into question a broad spectrum of research which fails to recognize that customers use different reference points in time to evaluate service quality.

Practical implications

Researchers and practitioners need accurate and reliable measures of service quality but the findings suggests that measurement specificity and diagnostic capability should not be sacrificed in the pursuit of more robust instruments.

Originality/value

This is the first study to empirically demonstrate that customers perceive the airline service encounter as a sequence of scenes. It is also the first study to mathematically model service quality dimensions using FCA.

Details

Managing Service Quality, vol. 24 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0960-4529

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 February 2015

Carmen Padin, Göran Svensson, Carmen Otero-Neira and Nils Høgevold

The objective of this paper is to describe the teleological actions needed to assess and manage critical incidents that cause negative emotions in service encounters. Teleological…

Abstract

Purpose

The objective of this paper is to describe the teleological actions needed to assess and manage critical incidents that cause negative emotions in service encounters. Teleological actions are movements into the future that are believed to be move either towards a predictable/known or unpredictable/unknown state or condition. The authors distinguish between, define and apply three categories: transformative – ad hoc and present-based actions; formative – pre-determined and past-based actions; and rationalist – goal-directed and future-based actions.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative study, based upon a two-phase approach applying convenience and judgemental sampling, was used. Focussing on one teleological theory, a process of abductive matching was applied throughout the study. Abductive matching refers to recurring themes, patterns and categories that are uncovered through the iterative processes of analysis. The teleological framework structured and guided the data collection and empirical observations.

Findings

Seen through the perspective of teleological actions, the study enhances our understanding of the manner in which critical incidents generate negative emotions in service encounters. Through the same perspective, the investigation also reveals that the outcome of a negative service encounter depends upon the interactive interface between service provider and service receiver.

Research limitations/implications

The teleological actions between service providers and service receivers in negative service encounters appear to be mediators between cause-and-effect on the one hand (critical incident and negative emotions) and a perceptual gap on the other (outcome of negative service encounter). The teleological perspective also provides numerous opportunities for further research in this area.

Practical implications

Managers should strive to understand the teleological actions potentially undertaken by service receivers, so that they can deal with the teleological actions of their front-line staff accordingly. The interactive interface between a service provider and a service receiver is crucial in assessing and managing critical incidents.

Originality/value

Based on teleological actions, the investigation provides both a valuable and complementary contribution on assessing and managing critical incidents and the negative emotions that are often triggered in the service-encounter interface between a service provider and a service receiver. Providers also need to educate their staff on what can occur and on how to react appropriately.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 27 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 September 2015

Melissa Archpru Akaka and Stephen L. Vargo

The purpose of this paper is to extend conceptually the context of service beyond service encounters and servicescapes by applying a service-ecosystem approach to context and…

5956

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to extend conceptually the context of service beyond service encounters and servicescapes by applying a service-ecosystem approach to context and experiential view on value.

Design/methodology/approach

We develop a conceptual framework of an extended service context that is based on an S-D logic, service-ecosystems view.

Findings

The service ecosystem approach proposed here contributes to the advancement of “services” marketing research by extending the context of service in two ways: its emphasis on service as the basis of all exchange allows the consideration of all instances of value-in-use, in-context, to be considered as a service experience; its conceptualization of context broadens the time/place dimensions that conventionally restrain research in service encounters and servicescapes beyond physical, social, symbolic and relational dimensions to consider the multiplicity of institutions across a wider socio-historic space.

Research limitations/implications

This paper offers a broad conceptual framework for considering an extended view of service context. Future research is needed, both conceptual and empirical, to identify more specific components of service context and how they influence evaluations of experience.

Practical implications

Extending the scope of service context draws attention to the participation of customers and other actors in the co-creation of the service context, as well as the experience. This points toward the need to consider the competences and skills of customers as well as their socio-historic perspective in the design and development of a servicescape or more specific service encounter.

Originality/value

We offer a dynamic perspective of service context to help further the reach of services marketing research by extending the context of service across a variety of exchange encounters and pointing toward institutions as a central influence on phenomenological views of experience.

Details

Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 29 no. 6/7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0887-6045

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 November 2017

Debbie Isobel Keeling, Angus Laing and Ko De Ruyter

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the changing nature of healthcare service encounters by studying the phenomenon of triadic engagement incorporating interactions between…

1362

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the changing nature of healthcare service encounters by studying the phenomenon of triadic engagement incorporating interactions between patients, local and virtual networks and healthcare professionals.

Design/methodology/approach

An 18-month longitudinal ethnographic study documents interactions in naturally occurring healthcare consultations. Professionals (n=13) and patients (n=24) within primary and secondary care units were recruited. Analysis of observations, field notes and interviews provides an integrated picture of triadic engagement.

Findings

Triadic engagement is conceptualised against a two-level framework. First, the structure of triadic consultations is identified in terms of the human voice, virtual voice and networked voice. These are related to: companions’ contributions to discussions and the virtual network impact. Second, evolving roles are mapped to three phases of transformation: enhancement; empowerment; emancipation. Triadic engagement varied across conditions.

Research limitations/implications

These changing roles and structures evidence an increasing emphasis on the responsible consumer and patients/companions to utilise information/support in making health-related decisions. The nature and role of third voices requires clear delineation.

Practical implications

Structures of consultations should be rethought around the diversity of patient/companion behaviours and expectations as patients undertake self-service activities. Implications for policy and practice are: the parallel set of local/virtual informational and service activities; a network orientation to healthcare; tailoring of support resources/guides for professionals and third parties to inform support practices.

Originality/value

Contributions are made to understanding triadic engagement and forwarding the agenda on patient-centred care. Longitudinal illumination of consultations is offered through an exceptional level of access to observe consultations.

Details

Journal of Service Management, vol. 29 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-5818

Keywords

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