Search results

This paper aims to investigate the role of service modularity in developing and deploying efficient services, while at the same time meeting diverse customer needs. The analysis distinguishes between different service types and sets forth key issues for service modularization, identifying supporting resources (both internal and customer) and associated modular strategies for the different types.

The study design used an exploratory case study approach, focusing on three Swedish manufacturing firms that are moving toward an increased service focus (service infusion). Data were collected through interviews and focus groups, and the collected data were analyzed independently, before being merged and synthesized in a cross-case analysis. Themes and patterns were extracted and linked to the theoretical framework following a systematic combining process.

This study contributes insights to the emerging field of service modularity by investigating process modularization and modular strategies. A framework is put forward outlining modular strategies for four different service types covering both a passive and an active role for a customer. From a theoretical point of view, the role of the customer is added to the discussion to advocate for the necessity of a co-creative perspective in service modularity.

This article contributes to the emerging research field of service modularity by providing empirical insights into how modularization and modular strategies can enable more efficient services. Depending on service type, different modular strategies are set forth. This study also highlights the need to recognize customer-specific activities, resources and competencies as pivotal parts of the modular service processes. Such insights are particularly relevant given the established view of service modules as functions of intra-firm activities.

Drawing from the compensation effects in social cognition theory, this study aims to investigate the interactive effects of employees’ warmth and competence and service failure types on customer’s service recovery cooperation intention after a service failure and before service recovery is completed.

This study used a scenario-based experiment with a 2 (high vs low) warmth × 2 (high vs low) competence × 2 (outcome failure vs process failure) service failure between-subjects design. Data were collected using an online panel.

This study finds that employees’ low warmth and high competence in outcome failure situations and high warmth and low competence in process failure situations are most effective at increasing customers’ service recovery cooperation intention. The findings further suggest that customers’ cooperation intention is prone to tradeoffs between customers’ perceptions of employees’ warmth and competence as suggested by compensation effects in social cognition theory, such that the effectiveness of employees’ warmth (competence) is curtailed by employees’ competence (warmth).

The findings of this study provide insights to hospitality managers for effective service recovery management. Hospitality companies can enhance customers’ behavioral intentions by training employees to demonstrate appropriate warmth and competence combination that meet customers’ expectations for a specific failure type.

This study argues that customer’s service recovery cooperation intention depends on the combination of warmth and competence displayed by employees after a service failure. The expected combination of warmth and competence varies depending on the service failure context.

The place branding process in cities and tourism destinations is usually steered by a central organization but in rural places, a focal actor often does not exist. The purpose of this paper is to identify which approaches to place branding processes are applied in different rural places. This is done by seeing the place branding process as a service ecosystem with focus on actor engagement.

A theoretical framework based on the concepts of service ecosystems and actor engagement is developed. This is then applied to analyse qualitative data collected through semi-structure interviews with participants from several Danish rural places.

The authors identify four different types of rural place branding processes along three dimensions: existence and type of a focal actor; type, extent and temporal properties of other actor groups’ engagement; and organization of the process, including its formalization, centralization and strategic focus. Type 1 is a highly formalized, centralized and strategically driven process under the leadership of a public authority. The other types are community-based approaches. Type 2 is formalized, centralized and strategically driven process. Type 3 is less formalized but also centralized and strategically focused. Type 4 is a non-formalized, decentralized process with ad hoc initiatives.

This paper applies a service marketing-based framework to analyse qualitative empirical data from different cases of rural places and identify different place branding processes.

The restructuring of service channels, driven by deregulation, intensifying global competition and emerging information technology, is forcing every company to re‐evaluate the adequacy of current customer services. Introduces a normative model, called service process analysis (SPA), that properly differentiates the concept of service from the specification of the delivery channel so as to facilitate the analysis of repositioning strategies. In SPA, efficient matching of services and channels is determined on the basis of the trade‐off between production costs and transaction costs involved. Compares the SPA model with some well‐known frameworks and measurement schemes and illustrates its implications for the repositioning of service strategies in selected industries.

The purpose of this paper is to develop and test an integrated conceptual framework using construal level theory (CLT) to explain the differences in the effects of process and outcome service attributes on overall service evaluation and customer satisfaction based on consumption context (social), evaluation context (temporal) and individual characteristics (expertise).

The authors use two lab experiments (hotel and restaurant settings) and a field study of online reviews posted by actual hotel customers to test all the hypotheses.

Process (outcome) attributes have a stronger influence on service evaluations under low-level (high-level) construal. Specifically, process attributes have a stronger influence when customers are accompanied by proximal (vs distal) social group, evaluate a service under near (vs distant) temporal frame or have high (vs low) level of customer expertise.

Service managers can use the findings about the differences in the influence of social, temporal and individual variables on customer evaluations under process and outcome attributes to improve customers’ service experiences and satisfaction.

This paper extends past research on the influence of construal levels on customer decision making by exploring the differences in the effects of process vs outcome service attributes on overall service evaluation and customer satisfaction, under the influence of low (vs high) construal levels triggered by social, temporal and individual variables.

Statistical process control (SPC) can be applied to service processes, but the framework and methods may deviate from applications in industry. This was investigated in several pilot projects covering a range of service processes. Three main issues emerged. First, in addition to the traditional distinction in back office and front office processes, the customer process is leading in achieving control and improvement of service quality. Second, process diagnosis of service processes from back office to customer may reveal quality problems. Finally, measurements in front office and customer processes are needed to control these processes. From current practice and literature, it is not evident which types of measurements are adequate to provide prompt feedback to front office personnel. Introduces a framework for measurements, which suggests the type of measurement depending on the type of service process, whether it is the front office or customer process, and the type of quality characteristic in Kano’s model (must be, the more the better or delighting). Uses practical examples from the pilot projects to illustrate the issues.

Recognizing the heterogeneity of services, this paper aims to clarify the characteristics of forward and the corresponding reverse supply chains of different services.

The paper develops a two-dimensional typology matrix, representing four main clusters of services according to the degree of input standardization and the degree of output tangibility. Based on this matrix, this paper develops a typology and parsimonious conceptual models illustrating the characteristics of forward and the corresponding reverse supply chains of each cluster of services.

The four main clusters of service supply chains have different characteristics. This provides the basis for the identification, presentation and explanation of the different characteristics of their corresponding reverse service supply chains.

The findings of this research can help future researchers to analyse, map and model forward and reverse service supply chains, and to identify potential research gaps in the area.

The findings of the research can help managers of service firms to gain better visibility of their forward and reverse supply chains, and refine their business models to help extend their reverse/closed-loop activities. Furthermore, the findings can help managers to better optimize their service operations to reduce service gaps and potentially secure new value-adding opportunities.

This paper is the first, to the authors ' knowledge, to conceptualize the basic structure of the forward and reverse service supply chains while dealing with the high level of heterogeneity of services.

The extant new service development (NSD) literature tends to assume that the key practices for NSD identified in one context apply for all services, and has failed to sufficiently consider differences in NSD between service types. The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of NSD across different service types.

An extensive, cross-sectoral survey was conducted in seven countries. Data from 1,333 NSD projects were analyzed to empirically derive a service typology and examine if and how different types of services vary in terms of NSD resources, practices, methods, and results.

Based on six service characteristics, the study identifies four service types: routine-intensive, technology-intensive, contact-intensive, and knowledge-intensive services. The study also identifies specific NSD resources, practices, methods, and results that are prevalent across the service typology. The evidence indicates that the use of advanced practices and methods differs dramatically between service types.

The paper enables practitioners to expand their current understanding on NSD by providing insights into the variability of NSD across service types. The results suggest that either service-type-specific models or a configurable model for NSD should be developed.

This study provides one of the first empirically derived service typologies for NSD. The study demonstrates that NSD resources, practices, methods, and results differ across service types, thereby challenging the “one size fits all” assumption evident in current NSD research.

This paper explores differences in the implementation of total quality management (TQM) in different types of service process, using a typology which distinguishes between services positioned along the continua of volume and variety. A case‐study‐based analysis of the implementation of six core TQM precepts was conducted to explore differences in implementation between professional (low volume, customised) services, mass (high volume, standardised) services and service shops (positioned midway on the continua). The study revealed some significant differences in the maturity of TQM implementation in the different types of service. The results suggest that mass services are conducive to the implementation of quality measurement, SPC and preventative approaches to quality improvement. However, professional services are more conducive to the cultural managerial changes associated with TQM. Interestingly, whilst it was hypothesised that TQM practices would be most readily transferable to mass services, the results suggested that the service shop was the most conducive environment for TQM implementation.

This study aims to identify the effects of innovation types on the service firm’s financial and nonfinancial performance as well as mediation and moderation effects of innovation and the firms’ performance linkages in the Indian service sector.

This study uses combined data from the World Bank innovation survey 2014 and World Bank enterprise survey (WBES) 2014 for India. It classified innovations into technological innovation (service and process) and nontechnological innovation (organizational and marketing) and used financial and nonfinancial performance measures. This study applies variance-based partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) using Smart PLS 3 software.

The study results suggest that service innovation has the highest significant effect on a firm’s financial and nonfinancial performance, followed by process innovation. Marketing and organizational innovation have a long route to contribute to a firm’s financial performance via innovative and nonfinancial performance. The study results do not find any synergy effects of innovation types. Multi-group analysis (MGA) results suggest several significant distinctions in the path relationships between small and medium-sizes and large firms.

This study provides several crucial policy suggestions for the managers and policymakers concerning the effects of service and process innovation on service firms’ performance in India and the mediating factors of these relationships. The study suggests that managers should pay the highest importance to service innovation to swiftly and markedly surge service firms’ financial and nonfinancial performances. In contrast, a service firm’s innovative performance mainly results from its organizational and marketing innovations.