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21 – 30 of over 78000Carmen 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.
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Madeline Johnson, George M. Zinkhan and Gail S. Ayala
Proposes a model to explain consumers’ willingness to recommend a service provider. The model considers four predictors of this phenomenon: affect, outcome, competency and…
Abstract
Proposes a model to explain consumers’ willingness to recommend a service provider. The model considers four predictors of this phenomenon: affect, outcome, competency and courtesy. In a laboratory setting, subjects read and responded to a scenario describing a service encounter of a fictitious individual with a dry cleaner and/or an attorney. The subjects were later asked how likely they were to recommend this service provider to a friend experiencing a similar problem. Separate path analyses were performed to analyze each type of service encounter; and in both scenarios, outcome, competency, courtesy, joy and disgust were found to influence the likelihood that the consumer would recommend a particular service provider. The proposed model accounts for more than 72 percent of the variation in the subjects’ decision to recommend.
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Lennine Occhino, Linda Shore and Erika Gosker
The purpose of this paper is to describe interpretive and compliance issues arising under the Labor Department's interim final regulations under the statutory exemption for the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe interpretive and compliance issues arising under the Labor Department's interim final regulations under the statutory exemption for the provision of services provided by Section 408(b)(2) of ERISA, which will become effective on January 1, 2012.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper analyzes the published interim final regulations and considers significant comments filed in response to the proposed regulations.
Findings
Effective January 1, 2012, covered service providers who rely on the statutory exemption for the provision of services provided by Section 408(b)(2) must begin complying with the interim final amendments to the regulations under Section 408(b)(2) (the “Regulation”). Among other changes, the Regulation will require service providers to provide additional disclosures of direct and indirect compensation and to identify whether they expect that they will be providing services as a fiduciary or as a registered investment adviser. The primary purpose of the Regulation is to assist plan sponsors in evaluating service provider relationships, including total compensation that will be received by the service provider and conflicts of interests to which the service provider may be subject. The Regulation will apply to both new and existing service provider arrangements on January 1, 2012. Failure to comply with the Regulation may result in the assessment of excise taxes under Section 4975 of the Internal Revenue Code unless other exemptive relief is available. Service provider arrangements may be eligible for exemptive relief under certain other statutory and administrative exemptions.
Originality/value
The paper describes possible compliance issues that may arise under the Regulation and identifies and evaluates interpretive and compliance issues that have been noted since the proposed amendments were published.
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Rocío Rodríguez, Göran Svensson, Sergio Román and Greg Wood
The purpose of this study is to examine the actions and interactions that take place before and after purchase between a service provider (service seller) and its customers …
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the actions and interactions that take place before and after purchase between a service provider (service seller) and its customers (service buyers) in complex business relationships. Specifically, it is to examine customers’ expectations of the service provider’s service offer before purchase and the same customers’ perceptions of the service solution offered after purchase in a business-to-business (B2B) context.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopted a mixed methods design, which combined data generated through in-depth interviews (both with service buyers and key informants from the service company), an online customer survey, analysis of textual documents and structured observations of buyer–seller interactions and actions. Both objective and subjective points of view at different stages of the investigation were collected.
Findings
The authors’ results show that, contrary to previous evidence in B2C service research, the customers’ perceptions of the service performance were not significantly related to their previous expectations. In this context, characterized by dynamic and constantly evolving processes and many parties (both from the buyer and the seller company) involved in the implementation process, service complexity may cause a lack of well-formed expectations regarding how the service will perform and its relevant performance attributes.
Research limitations/implications
This study suggests that the service models traditionally used to describe and explain customer service expectations and perceptions in relatively simple service contexts with final consumers are difficult to apply in B2B complex business relationships. Rather, scholars need to take a holistic, continuously evolving and adapted perspective when examining the formation of customer service expectations and their perceptions in B2B complex services.
Practical implications
There should be a teleological balance between sales and purchase approaches in B2B contexts to optimize the outcome of complex business relationships between service providers and service receivers. The authors suggest several recommendations to service providers to ensure that their salespeople do not create unrealistic and unachievable expectations in the minds of the service receivers. Service providers are also encouraged to develop formal cross functional teams (e.g. consisting of salespeople, service technicians and service support) based on mutual understanding and information sharing.
Originality/value
This study provides an alternative time-oriented understanding of the way customer expectations before purchase and their perceptions after purchasing a complex software solution in industrial markets formed through the lens of teleological framework. As such, this is the first empirical inquiry with this specific framework in B2B contexts making a relevant contribution to literature.
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Zhongpeng Cao, Qian Xiao, Weiling Zhuang and Lina Wang
As self-service technologies (SSTs) become more prevalent, service providers are actively encouraging customers’ involvement with these technologies, sometimes even forcing their…
Abstract
Purpose
As self-service technologies (SSTs) become more prevalent, service providers are actively encouraging customers’ involvement with these technologies, sometimes even forcing their customers to use SSTs. This paper aims to examine the influence of the SST-only (vs full-service) mode on customers’ negative attitude toward SST providers through the mediating mechanism of powerlessness and explores how SST familiarity and SST anthropomorphism moderate the impacts of the SST-only mode on powerlessness.
Design/methodology/approach
Three experiments were performed, study 1 tested the main and mediating effect and studies 2 and 3 verified the moderating effects.
Findings
The results suggest that customer perceived powerlessness mediates the relationship between SST-only (vs full-service) mode and negative attitude toward SST providers. When the levels of SST familiarity and SST anthropomorphism are high, the impacts of SST-only on powerlessness are attenuated. Alternative mediating mechanism of powerlessness is examined and ruled out.
Research limitations/implications
Future research should investigate other moderators that may reduce the impacts of SST on customer powerlessness. These moderators could be service-operating procedures, SST interface design, types of service situations and customer characteristics. In addition, other consequences of powerlessness, other than the negative attitude toward SST providers and intention to switch investigated here, should be investigated as well.
Practical implications
This research provides guidelines helping service providers to improve their customers’ SST usage experience by showing both SST familiarity and SST anthropomorphism may alleviate the negative effects of SST-only mode on customer perceived powerlessness more effectively.
Originality/value
This research examines the role of customers’ psychological reactions toward the SST-only mode, particularly from the perspective of power and control.
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Mary C. Lacity and Leslie P. Willcocks
Nearly all legal firms and in‐house counsels will have to consider the opportunities and risks afforded by the rapidly changing legal process outsourcing (LPO) market, estimated…
Abstract
Purpose
Nearly all legal firms and in‐house counsels will have to consider the opportunities and risks afforded by the rapidly changing legal process outsourcing (LPO) market, estimated to be worth $2.4bn globally, and growing rapidly. The purpose of this Industry Insight is to assess the current LPO provider landscape by analyzing data on 27 LPO providers.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors analyzed LPO provider data collected in 2011 by Orbys, a leading sourcing and transformation advisory firm based in Europe. The 27 providers in the sample include specialist LPO providers, full service LPO providers, and global BPO providers that offer LPO services. The authors assessed LPO provider services, provider competencies, geographic location, pricing, team composition, and staff turnover rates.
Findings
The LPO providers in the sample provide a variety of services, including litigation, intellectual property, corporate, compliance, procurement, employment, property, and consulting services. LPO providers allocated most of their human resources to litigation (26 percent), intellectual property (14 percent) and corporate/compliance (12 percent) services. LPO providers balance team composition – the percentage of onshore resources located close to the client versus offshore resources in low‐cost locations – to reduce client costs while still delivering quality services. The average team composition average was 22 percent of resources onshore and 78 percent of resources offshore, mostly in India. The authors also analyzed LPO prices by skill level and location. For example, the average daily rate for a fully qualified lawyer based in India was $248. LPO provider turnover rates ranged from 3 percent to 34 percent, with an average turnover of 15 percent.
Practical implications
This research on the LPO provider landscape helps to inform potential clients about LPO services and the global LPO landscape. The authors also identify three practices to help clients achieve success with LPO engagements. First, consider overall value, not just price. Second, mediate the effects of high LPO provider turnover. Third, assess and develop client‐retained capabilities, because outsourcing legal services is not about abdicating responsibility, but about learning to manage legal services in a different way.
Originality/value
Legal process outsourcing is the next evolution in the provision of services. Because the LPO market is less mature than the information technology outsourcing (ITO) and business process outsourcing (BPO) markets, very little research has been done on LPO in general or on LPO provider capabilities specifically. This Industry Insight helps to bridge the knowledge gap.
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The purpose of this study is to establish a comprehensive service recovery mechanism by analyzing different behaviors of customers with different personality traits after service…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to establish a comprehensive service recovery mechanism by analyzing different behaviors of customers with different personality traits after service failures and by proposing different service recovery measures that service providers could adopt based on diverse customer personality traits.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper constructs a service recovery mechanism based on a signaling game theory by considering customers and service providers as two players in the game and analyzing possible outcomes under both separating and pooling equilibria to achieve an optimized strategy and set of actions that allow the highest payoffs for both service providers and customers.
Findings
This study successfully simulated the separating equilibrium and pooling equilibrium between service providers and customers in a signaling game with incomplete information. It also provides a reference for service providers to design service recovery strategies after service failures. By using this model, when facing problems related to service failures and service recovery, service providers will have a better chance of increasing the service recovery success rate, improving customer satisfaction and achieving optimal payoffs for both themselves and their customers.
Originality/value
Based on concepts of service science, this study designed a service recovery mechanism by applying the signaling game from game theory and introducing personality traits theory to the service recovery scenario so that service providers are able to execute service recovery after service failures more effectively. This study proposed a service recovery mechanism based on the perspectives of both service providers and customers, considering the mutual influence of key variables related to both of them, as well as the context of service failures, customers’ personality traits and service providers’ available resources. Many studies have applied personality traits to different fields; however, to the best of authors’ knowledge, few studies have applied this concept to service-related subjects, and only the influence of employees’ personality traits on service providers has been discussed.
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The purpose of this paper is to address the structure of the category on client-provider outsourcing relationship in relation to facilities management (FM). The paper aims to rank…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to address the structure of the category on client-provider outsourcing relationship in relation to facilities management (FM). The paper aims to rank different outsourcing relationship types according to importance with respect to the four critical FM drivers including co-ordination, quality, competence and adequacy.
Design/methodology/approach
The survey design and measures operationalising the constructs allow the use of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), a technique that tests FM outsourcing in a contingent approach such as a decision processing model. In the questionnaire surveys, a series of structured questions is designed. FM experts used the AHP methodology to analyse the FM outsourcing relationship types.
Findings
The model of the FM outsourcing strategies presented in the paper shows four main FM drivers at FM practice through the priority ratios of outsourcing relationship dimensions for different FM outsourcing contracts as derived by the AHP discussed by clients’ and service providers’ points of views. The result of a survey from the Hong Kong’s higher education industry reveals that the FM service providers can understand the needs of the clients in FM outsourcing contracts, including building maintenance, cleaning and catering. Hence, the service providers’ expected outsourcing performance will be good in these contracts. However, FM service providers do not understand the needs of FM clients in the FM outsourcing security contracts. Thus, the service providers’ expected outsourcing performance in such contracts will be poor. To improve the outsourcing relationships between the FM stakeholders, service providers must understand their clients’ needs to develop appropriate outsourcing strategies.
Originality/value
Understanding on the demand and supply of FM outsourcing services is now crucial for effective FM on outsourcing relationships between clients and service providers in higher education sector. The examination of current and prediction of future outsourcing relationships between the stakeholders to match the FM services significantly influence FM outsourcing success. This paper provides an intriguing insight into how the demand and supply of FM services can be successfully and strategically implemented into the FM outsourcing relationship in Hong Kong’s universities and tertiary institutions.
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Yu Tian, Alexander E. Ellinger and Haozhe Chen
Based on customer value theory, this paper aims to propose and test a conceptual model of the relationship between third‐party logistics (3PL) provider customer orientation and…
Abstract
Purpose
Based on customer value theory, this paper aims to propose and test a conceptual model of the relationship between third‐party logistics (3PL) provider customer orientation and customer firm logistics improvement.
Design/methodology/approach
The 3PL provider customer orientation is conceptualized as a higher, second‐order construct made up of four key logistics‐driven first‐order indicators: service variety, information availability, timeliness, and continuous improvement. A survey‐based approach is utilized to collect data from managers at 124 manufacturing customer firms in the People's Republic of China; structural equation modeling is performed to assess measures and test the hypothesized relationships.
Findings
Chinese 3PL provider customer orientation significantly influences customer firm logistics improvement.
Research limitations/implications
Findings are based on single source perceptual data from customer firm key respondents. Tests indicate that common method bias is not a problem.
Practical implications
At a time when market pressure is compelling Mainland Chinese 3PL providers to upgrade and expand service offerings, 3PLs with a strong customer orientation create significant value for customers through superior execution on key elements of logistics service.
Originality/value
The paper responds to calls for additional theoretically driven assessment of market orientation in logistics service provider firms by identifying explicit behavioral manifestations of 3PL customer orientation that enhance customer firm logistics performance.
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Roma Mitra Debnath and Ravi Shankar
Technological modernization is increasingly viewed as a premeditated necessity in today's era of growth and prosperity for any country. Telecommunications has entered a new age of…
Abstract
Purpose
Technological modernization is increasingly viewed as a premeditated necessity in today's era of growth and prosperity for any country. Telecommunications has entered a new age of development with advanced technology and increased competition with established players. The technological advances in the telecommunication sector are associated with an uninterrupted growth of the mobile sector. The prime focus of the service providers is to create a loyal customer base by benchmarking their performances and retaining existing customers in order to benefit from their loyalty. The paper aims to address these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper employs the method of data envelopment analysis (DEA) to compare the relative efficiency of mobile service providers in India. The identification of the strongest and the weakest service providers could be very useful in improving their efficiency and performance. Mathematically, DEA determines the best weights for each input and output for a particular unit under study so as to maximize its relative efficiency.
Findings
The results are insightful to the telecom policy planner as benchmark them in terms of their efficiency. It also identifies the inefficient service providers who can improve their efficiency by making the efficient providers as their role model. The paper also identifies some generic insights.
Practical implications
This research paper contributes to the literature in two ways: firstly, this research identifies the different parameters for the mobile service providers in India for the benchmarking of the service providers. It also categorises them into various input and output parameters contributing towards the number of subscribers for different service providers. In the next stage, this research takes a further step and examines whether there are differences between the number of subscribers and the performance of the service providers. Benchmarking of the service providers would depend on the efficiency and quality of service. There is still great diversity in the relative performance of various service providers, which is a matter of concern to the telecom planner in this country.
Originality/value
This paper is one of the few published studies that benchmark the performance of Telecom Services in India.
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