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This study aims to investigate hazards in theater venues on the performance day by combining operational risk theory with a service blueprint method.

Interviews and Delphi method are applied to find the hazards, then a survey and ANOVA are followed. The study explores a profile of hazards using data from theater venues in Taiwan and examines whether employee characteristics (i.e. professional tasks, experience and working location) affect risk perception.

The study suggests a new framework represented by a 5 (types of loss events) × 6 (service systems) matrix to check operational risks. The analyses indicate two types of hazards: risk perception about performance and operations by performers and crew (RPPOPC) and audience behaviors and safety (RPABS). RPPOPC is related to the core show, but not all employees possess high RPPOPC. Seniors have relatively low RPPOPC, and frontend house employees possess insufficient RPABS. Further, front house employees, seniors and those working in municipal cities show relatively high RPPOPC in high-loss situations.

Managers can use the analytic framework to effectively identify operational risks in the core show operations and audience service offerings. They can promote risk perception considering employee differences and loss severity. However, the framework does not discuss the cause-and-effect relationship. Incorporating a large amount of loss experience into a risk information system would help clarify this complex relationship.

This study contributes to hazard mitigation in the performing arts sector, both in the peripheral services for customers and in the core show services.

A theater/drama perspective is used to gain insights into the participatory nature of service creation and to assess the relative importance of service elements across service scenarios.

Drama production principles are applied to situations where customers co‐create the service offering. Using a theater arts model, elements in service settings can be delineated into director, lead actor, set designer, scriptwriter, supporting cast member, and/or traditional audience roles. To understand the relative importance of the service provider, the customer, and other service encounter elements, three variations of a service setting (educational services) in which the consumer's participatory role moves from passive to proactive are compared.

As the service context became more participatory‐based, service provider roles significantly decreased in importance rankings while customer roles significantly increased, supporting the paper's hypotheses. The ranking of other service setting elements followed a similar pattern with greater importance being placed on elements as they became more central to the participatory experience.

The model is tested in only one service setting and the procedure for assigning theater roles to a service setting needs further refinement.

By merging theories from theater and services literature, a means of assessing the relative importance of service components across service scenarios is illustrated. Principles in theater arts provide the tactical detail needed to fit service creation elements into analogous roles in a drama setting. The model provides insights on the importance of service creation elements when transitioning from a spectator‐based to a participatory‐based service environment.

This study proposes targeted modernization of the Department of Defense (DoD's) Joint Forces Ammunition Logistics information system by implementing the optimized innovative information technology open architecture design and integrating Radio Frequency Identification Device data technologies and real-time optimization and control mechanisms as the critical technology components of the solution. The innovative information technology, which pursues the focused logistics, will be deployed in 36 months at the estimated cost of $568 million in constant dollars. We estimate that the Systems, Applications, Products (SAP)-based enterprise integration solution that the Army currently pursues will cost another $1.5 billion through the year 2014; however, it is unlikely to deliver the intended technical capabilities.

This paper aims to demonstrate the applicability of a theatrical framework for improving the effectiveness of the knowledge transfer of service research findings to practitioners.

A case study approach is adopted. The operation of a practitioner-oriented seminar is examined through a theatrical lens to establish the extent to which direction, audience participation and creativity, emotions and visual aesthetics can contribute to bridging the academia-practitioner divide.

Planning a practitioner-oriented seminar performance is as important as planning the program content. Effective knowledge transfer requires active audience engagement, activation of favorable audience emotions and an enjoyable learning process. The lack of these requirements can render written dissemination by journal papers relatively ineffective in reaching and engaging practitioners.

Findings are based on one case study: a seminar delivered to practitioners on “service theater”.

In addition to face-to-face seminars, contemporary dissemination methods (webinars, podcasts) can apply the theatrical lessons introduced and evaluated. Practitioners do not respond positively to only written declarative information, through academic papers and/or PowerPoint slides, from academicians.

The article recognizes that dissemination of service research findings is, itself, a service, requiring depth of thought and understanding.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relations between the concepts of service quality, perceived value, satisfaction and intention to pay in the context of theatrical services in the city of Medellín, Colombia.

Quantitative research was carried out on a sample of 274 individuals who had attended the theatre at least once in the previous year. The information was gathered in October 2014 using an online survey. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the validity and reliability of the measurement scales, and a structural equations model was developed to test the hypotheses.

Satisfaction with overall service and with the central service (i.e. with the performance itself) was the major predictors of consumer intention to pay.

Future research could replicate the analysis presented here for other cultural services and different geographical contexts.

Theatres should focus their efforts on offering a basic service (a theatrical presentation) that meets the cultural and artistic expectations of the public, but should also bear in mind that audiences expect to be treated well when they go out and want to feel comfortable.

This paper contributes to understand the factors that influence theatre clients’ intention to pay by taking into account the factors that affect satisfaction and perceived value of the theatregoing experience. It also contributes to academic reflections on the cultural consumption in the field of the theatrical arts in the Latin American region, where this is a new field of research.

El propósito de este artículo es analizar las relaciones entre los conceptos de calidad del servicio, valor percibido, satisfacción del cliente e intención de pago, en el contexto de los servicios teatrales de la ciudad de Medellín, Colombia.

Se hizo una investigación cuantitativa en la que se contó con una muestra de 274 personas que hubieran asistido al menos una vez a teatro en el último año. La información fue recopilada a través de un cuestionario en línea en octubre del 2014. Para el análisis de validez y fiabilidad de las escalas de medida se desarrolló un análisis factorial confirmatorio y para la contrastación de las hipótesis se probó un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales.

Tanto la satisfacción con el servicio general como la satisfacción con el servicio central (relacionado con la obra), son los principales predictores de la intención de pago de los consumidores.

Estudios futuros pueden replicar el análisis de las relaciones planteadas en otros servicios culturales y para diferentes ámbitos geográficos.

Los esfuerzos de las salas de teatro deben concentrarse en ofrecer un servicio básico (obra de teatro) que cumpla con el objetivo cultural y artístico que esperan los espectadores, pero, a su vez, considerar que estos esperan tener un trato amable y un espacio agradable donde puedan sentirse cómodos.

Este artículo permite una mejor comprensión de los factores que inciden en la intención de pago de los asistentes a las salas de teatro, entendiendo los conceptos que afectan la satisfacción y el valor percibido con la experiencia. Además, contribuye a la reflexión académica alrededor del consumo cultural en el sector de las artes escénicas en la región, donde la investigación enes aún incipiente.

Addresses the feasibility of applying the theatre analogy in the service industries, where terms borrowed from the stage are used frequently to describe guest‐customer relations and interaction. Principles from the fragments of Aristotle′s Peri Poietikes supplied the framework for a critical look at the hospitality industry in Norway. The authors concluded that, where investments with a purpose of improving customer satisfaction are planned, they are most likely to achieve results when applied to the human resources sector. On the theatre stage as well as in the service theatre, customer satisfaction is dependent on the actors and their performance.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the value of improvisation training, as used in schools of acting, in preparing front‐stage service employees perform their roles when interacting with customers as cabin crew in Aer Arann, a regional Irish airline.

To discern the relevance and impact of improvisation training, a case study methodology was employed. The subjects of the investigation were seven recently hired cabin crew personnel for Aer Arann. Data for the case study were collected from the new hires at three different times.

The study shows that participants both enjoyed the improvisation training and found it to be very valuable as preparation for their roles in the airline. A key finding was that the new hires strongly recommended that improvisation training be incorporated into the airline's regular induction training programme. Specifically, participants felt the improvisation training improved their confidence, effectiveness, ability to adapt, spontaneity and comfort in successfully handling unique situations.

As with many case studies, the study presented here focuses on a single company for its data generation. Further, because of the realities of commercial life, the subject pool is quite small, i.e. due to the demands of their position, only seven new hires were available for the 12 hours needed to conduct the training, as well as the subsequent assessment activities. Nevertheless, the case study enabled the authors to gain meaningful insights into the utilisation of improvisation training in a real‐world setting.

The research makes several key contributions. First, it links theory and practice by demonstrating in a real world context the efficacy of framing service as theatre. Second, based on the service theatre literature, the paper details the utility of improvisation training as a means of preparing front‐stage service employees for the rigours of their jobs. Finally, the research presents new, empirically based insights regarding the value and contribution of improvisation training in the services sector.

This article provides a framework for the development of a dramatic script for a service (retail) organisation. It is argued that such a script can lead to an agreed experiential goal that the organisation can use to achieve positive holistic service experiences for customers. It draws on techniques from practical theatre and is being tried, evaluated and refined in conjunction with employees of a UK multiple retail organisation. The process of dramatic script development with employees is demonstrated through the identification of the drama, the creation of the playtext and the exploration of subtext. It can be employed by any organisation where the nature of the business requires that face‐to‐face interactions take place between employees and customers.

The aim of the study is to explore the chain of relationships between service attributes, consumers' perceived benefits, fulfilment of personal goals, satisfaction judgements and future intentions.

This research proposes and implements a model of consumer satisfaction in the performing arts. The model is based on means-end chain theory and incorporates consumer involvement as a moderator. The paper is a quantitative study using a questionnaire administered in Romanian theatres, the country chosen because of its post-communist profile.

A partial least squares structural equation modelling analysis revealed that both core and peripheral attributes' evaluations were positively related to perceived benefits, which in turn were positively related to goal fulfilment. Acting as a mediator, goal fulfilment predicts satisfaction, which positively influences a series of intentions regarding supportive behaviours such as recommendation, donation, subscribing and repurchasing. Consumer involvement partially moderates the relationships within the proposed model.

The limitations of this research offer opportunities for future studies. First, as this study was conducted in Romania, the obtained results are not easily generalisable to other geographical or cultural contexts. Second, future studies could extend the proposed model to include other constructs that may be connected to satisfaction in performing arts. They could also apply the model (or an extended alternative) to adjacent fields such as opera, or live jazz, in order to explore whether the patterns of results which emerged here hold in other situations.

From a practical perspective, the research has implications for performing arts managers by offering actions to improve cultural consumption. First, the results support the idea that satisfaction is a key construct to investigate, even in the field of performing arts, as it can predict future positive intentions. Thus, arts managers should strive to maximise consumer satisfaction. From a marketing perspective, consumer satisfaction could be increased by improving core and peripheral service attributes, but especially the latter. The research provides means for audience segmentation in terms of consumer goals, benefits, and involvement. Arts managers should devote special attention to increasing consumer involvement in services provided.

The research provides a different view on the performing arts evaluation considering the theatregoers' perceptions. This type of evaluation is useful to understand the specificities of the audiences and to respond to their needs accordingly, contributing from a social point of view to audience development and making arts accessible to a wide range of people in a variety of ways: physically, geographically, socially and psychologically.

This research explores a new model of customer satisfaction in performing arts in a post-communist country, such as Romania, and the findings have implications at both theoretical and practical level. From a theoretical perspective, it contributes to a better understanding of the cognitive and emotional processes underlying the formation of satisfaction judgements in performing arts. The obtained findings are particularly useful for expanding current knowledge of how consumers think and behave with respect to performing arts. From a practical perspective, the findings have implications for arts managers deciding how to develop marketing strategies aimed at increasing satisfaction, and the consequential supportive behaviours towards performing arts.

This paper aims to contribute to understandings of the dynamics of marketplace exclusion and explore the benefits of a performative approach to knowledge production.

Interactive documentary theatre is used to explore the pressing issue of marketplace exclusion in a deprived UK city. The authors present a series of three vignettes taken from the performance to explore the embodied and dialogical nature of performative knowledge production.

The performative mode of knowledge production has a series of advantages over the more traditional research approaches used in marketing. It is arguably more authentic, embodied and collaborative. However, this mode of research also has its challenges particularly in the interpretation and presentation of the data.

The paper highlights the implications of performative knowledge production for critical consumer learning. It also explores how the hitherto neglected concept of marketplace exclusion might bring together insights into the mechanics and outcomes of exclusion.

While theatrical and performative metaphors have been widely used to theorise interactions in the marketplace, as yet the possibility of using theatre as a form of inquiry within marketing has been largely neglected. Documentary theatre is revealing of the ways in which marketplace cultures can perpetuate social inequality. Involving local communities in the co-production of knowledge in this way gives them a voice in the policy arena not hitherto fully addressed in the marketing field. Similarly, marketplace exclusion as a concept has been sidelined in favour of marketplace discrimination and consumer vulnerability – the authors think it has the potential to bring these fields together in exploring the range of dynamics involved.