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1 – 10 of over 5000S. Sreejesh, Juhi Gahlot Sarkar and Abhigyan Sarkar
The purpose of this study is to empirically examine the impact of technology-enabled service co-creation on patients' service patronage behaviour in healthcare retailing. The…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to empirically examine the impact of technology-enabled service co-creation on patients' service patronage behaviour in healthcare retailing. The first objective is to examine the mediating roles of spatial presence and co-presence in the relationship between technology enabled co-creation and service experience. The second objective is to investigate if healthcare service experience impacts patients' relationship value with hospitals and subsequent patronage intention.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from a sample of 516 customers of three leading hospitals in India during the social isolation period of COVID-19. The data were analysed using structural equation modelling.
Findings
The study results demonstrate that customers' favourably perceived technology-enabled co-creation generates feelings of spatial presence and co-presence in the technology-enabled platform. The feeling of presence enhances patients' health care service experiences which in turn predict their relationship value perceptions towards the healthcare service provider. Co-presence dominates as a mediator in terms of magnitude over spatial presence. The favourable value perception positively impacts patients' intention to come back to the same hospital.
Research limitations/implications
The study uses cross-sectional data, which does not incorporate any temporal variations in the investigated relationships. The study does not account for differences in government vs. private undertakings of healthcare system.
Practical implications
The findings envisage a digital healthcare retail system, where hospitals can enhance patients' perceptions of healthcare service experience, relational value and re-patronage intention, based on the digital mediated environment design elements, i.e. spatial presence and co-presence. As co-presence is a dominant factor, ensuring that human healthcare experts (rather than technology based e-service elements like chatbots) participate in healthcare service co-creation is of prime importance to provide enriching service experience to the patients.
Originality/value
The value of the research lies in extending the theories of presence, UTAUT and S-O-R to understand digital healthcare retailing, in order to identify the mechanism of how online co-creative platform can generate hospital patronage behaviour among patients through the serial mediation of presence, augmented service experience and relationship value.
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To assess how advances in technology are changing the market prospects for paratransit, particularly DRT services.
Abstract
Purpose
To assess how advances in technology are changing the market prospects for paratransit, particularly DRT services.
Design/methodology/approach
To review recent developments in technology-enabled paratransit service through their impact on the supply curve for local transportation.
Findings
Some technology-enabled paratransit services, notably one-way car sharing and shared ride services offered by transportation network companies (TNCs), have been successful in generating significant usage within the past 24 months in Europe as well as the United States. At the same time, the introduction of technological advances in a comprehensive technology platform used for general public DRT services in Denver has not resulted in a ridership response of a large magnitude. Similarly, technology-enabled micro-transit services have had difficulty attracting sustainable levels of ridership. This suggests only some packages of technological innovations are able to shift the transportation supply curve. The key appears to be the development of a comprehensive technology platform which makes the new service simple and convenient to engage, use, and pay for; it is also highly advantageous if the service is less costly to the end user than existing alternatives.
Research limitations/implications
Technology-enabled improvements of paratransit/DRT services are feasible and increasingly available, but the evidence shows that only when the use of technology significantly shifts the supply curve for local transportation that major impacts occur.
Originality/value
To provide concrete evidence as to the circumstances in which technology can make a significant impact on paratransit’s market prospects, but also identifies some of the limits to technology being able to create such impacts.
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Suzanne C. Makarem, Susan M. Mudambi and Jeffrey S. Podoshen
This paper aims to determine the importance of the human touch in customer service interactions.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to determine the importance of the human touch in customer service interactions.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on two original studies using tech‐savvy respondents, utilizing a survey and scenario‐based research.
Findings
The paper finds that, even for tech‐savvy customers, human touch is an important factor in both customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions.
Research limitations/implications
The study is limited to US respondents and telephone‐based service encounters.
Practical implications
This paper shows the importance of keeping some aspects of the human touch in customer encounters with the firm. Firms cannot rely on self‐service technology for all services.
Originality/value
This paper fulfills a gap in the existing services literature, with a specific focus on valuing human interaction in technology‐enabled service encounters.
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Luisa Gonçalves, Lia Patrício, Jorge Grenha Teixeira and Nancy V. Wünderlich
This article provides an in-depth understanding of customer experience with smart services, examines customer perceptual responses to smart and connected service environments and…
Abstract
Purpose
This article provides an in-depth understanding of customer experience with smart services, examines customer perceptual responses to smart and connected service environments and enriches this understanding by outlining how contextual factors (in terms of goals, activities, actors and artifacts) influence the customer experience.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopts a qualitative approach in order to understand customer experience in the smart energy service setting. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were conducted with 31 participants forming three groups of energy service customers: advanced smart energy (ASE) customers, electric mobility (EM) customers and high-consumption (HC) customers.
Findings
The findings show that customer experience with smart services involves a multidimensional set of perceptual responses, comprising specific smart service dimensions (e.g. controllability, visibility, autonomy); relationship dimensions (relationships with the service provider and with the community); and traditional technology-enabled service dimensions (e.g. ease of use, accessibility). The analysis of contextual factors such as goals, activities, actors and artifacts shows that smart services enable a more autonomous experience, wherein customers can integrate a myriad of actors and artifacts and expect the main service provider to support them in taking the lead.
Originality/value
Smart technologies have profoundly changed the service environment, but research on customer experience with smart services is scarce. This study characterizes smart services, provides an in-depth understanding of customer experience in this new context, and discusses relevant implications for management and service research.
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Shirshendu Ganguli and Sanjit Kumar Roy
This paper aims to identify the dimensions of service quality in the case of hybrid services.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to identify the dimensions of service quality in the case of hybrid services.
Design/methodology/approach
The service quality dimensions are identified using an exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Next the reliability and validity of the factors are established through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using AMOS.
Findings
The paper identifies nine service quality dimensions in the hybrid services – customer service, staff competence, reputation, price, tangibles, ease of subscription, technology security and information quality, technology convenience, and technology usage easiness and reliability.
Practical implications
The various dimensions of service quality should be viewed as the levers of improving perceived service quality in the minds of its current customers. Identifying the service quality dimensions in hybrid contexts can offer service providers valuable insights regarding on which aspects of the service to focus in order to improve customer satisfaction, loyalty, and commitment to the firm.
Originality/value
This paper introduces the concept of hybrid services, wherein a mix of technology and human interaction is used to produce and deliver services. Furthermore, since hybrid services have received little attention in the literature, the study addresses this gap by identifying a set of dimensions that are relevant for measuring service quality in hybrid contexts.
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Rhett H. Walker and Lester W. Johnson
The purpose of this paper is to report on and discuss findings of a research study undertaken to investigate and establish empirically reasons why people use, or choose not to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report on and discuss findings of a research study undertaken to investigate and establish empirically reasons why people use, or choose not to use, three types of technology‐enabled service: internet banking, telephone bill‐paying, and internet shopping services.
Design/methodology/approach
A behavioural model is developed and tested, and the results support what is modelled and hypothesised.
Findings
In sum, the findings show that willingness to use the internet and telephone for financial and shopping services is influenced by the individual sense of personal capacity or capability to engage with these service systems, the perceived risks and relative advantages associated with their use, and the extent to which contact with service personnel is preferred or deemed necessary. The paper also contains attitudinal and behavioural insights, and concludes by discussing managerial implications and opportunities for further research.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations of the study are acknowledged, and opportunities for further research are highlighted.
Originality/value
The value of the paper lies in the light shed on usage behaviour and attitudes, and in the practical implications of these findings for service providers.
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Shirshendu Ganguli and Sanjit Kumar Roy
This paper aims to identify the generic service quality dimensions of technology‐based banking and to examine the effect of these dimensions on customer satisfaction and customer…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to identify the generic service quality dimensions of technology‐based banking and to examine the effect of these dimensions on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.
Design/methodology/approach
The generic service quality dimensions are identified using an exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Next the reliability and validity of the factors and customer satisfaction and customer loyalty are established through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using AMOS 16.0 s/w. The related hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling using AMOS 16.0.
Findings
The paper identifies four generic service quality dimensions in the technology‐based banking services – customer service, technology security and information quality, technology convenience, and technology usage easiness and reliability. It was found that customer service and technology usage easiness and reliability have positive and significant impact on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. It was also found that technology convenience and customer satisfaction have significant and positive impact on customer loyalty.
Practical implications
These dimensions of service quality should be viewed as the levers of improving perceived service quality with respect to technology‐based banking in the minds of its current customers. Examining the service quality dimensions' impact on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty for technology‐based banking can offer banks valuable insights regarding which aspects of the service to focus on in order to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty towards the firms.
Originality/value
This paper introduces the concept of generic service quality and its significance for customer satisfaction and loyalty in case of technology‐based banking wherein technology is used to deliver services.
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Jung-Kuei Hsieh, Hung-Chang Chiu, Chih-Ping Wei, HsiuJu Rebecca Yen and Yu-Chun Cheng
– This paper aims to link academic classifications of service innovation with practical activities by firms to detail the essence of service innovation.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to link academic classifications of service innovation with practical activities by firms to detail the essence of service innovation.
Design/methodology/approach
This research employs both qualitative and quantitative analyses. The qualitative study features interviews with senior managers from 590 companies, covering nine industries in Taiwan, to gather practitioners ' perspectives on service innovation. A content analysis details specific forms of service innovation. The quantitative study provides a homogeneity test and two-sample proportions test to examine differences in service innovation perspectives/activities across organizational characteristics.
Findings
The interview data link three types of service innovations to 11 associated elements and 25 labels, derived from 659 potential service innovation incidents (550 new service concepts, 82 new service processes, and 27 new service business models). This study also shows that elements of service innovations vary by company size, service innovation experience, and industry life cycle.
Practical implications
The three types of service innovations enable businesses to benchmark and modify their current service innovation activities. Service managers can use the results of this study to develop their own service innovation strategies and concrete action plans.
Originality/value
This pioneering study links the viewpoints of academics with practical service innovation activities and empirically shows that service innovation is dissimilar, depending on various organization characteristics.
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Jorge H.O. Silva, Glauco H.S. Mendes, Paulo A. Cauchick Miguel, Marlene Amorim and Jorge Grenha Teixeira
This article aims to synthesize and integrate current research on customer experience (CX), identifying the intellectual structure of the field, systematizing a conceptual…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to synthesize and integrate current research on customer experience (CX), identifying the intellectual structure of the field, systematizing a conceptual framework and identifying future research opportunities.
Design/methodology/approach
To analyze 629 articles published in peer-reviewed journals in almost four decades, this study employs both bibliometric co-keyword and thematic literature analysis in a complementary way.
Findings
This article maps the CX literature by describing its intellectual structure in terms of three research domains (customer, organizational and technological), their corresponding most relevant research themes and topics. Moreover, this study develops a conceptual framework and research propositions to summarize and integrate the CX literature. This work recognizes technology as an important driver for the development of CX research. Lastly, this article provides future research opportunities for moving the field forward, considering an integrative view among domains.
Originality/value
This paper complements other reviews on CX by using a novel methodological approach (co-keyword and thematic analysis) that enables the identification and visualization of the CX intellectual structure. In addition, the study explores the increasing connection between technology and CX research, by raising evidence that technology, by continuously modifying services and consequently CX, has become a transversal component in the research field. These outcomes may be useful for academics and practitioners.
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Heiko Gebauer and Javier Reynoso
The article aims to combine research priorities in the service domain with the emerging topic of service management for the base of the pyramid (BoP). This combination allows us…
Abstract
Purpose
The article aims to combine research priorities in the service domain with the emerging topic of service management for the base of the pyramid (BoP). This combination allows us to construct an agenda for service research at the BoP.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses bibliographic methods for structuring the BoP contributions, and a literature review for the current research priorities in the service domain.
Findings
First, the paper highlights the main topics in the emerging BoP debate. Second, the paper constructs a research agenda for service management at the BoP. This agenda can guide service researchers in the selection of feasible empirical fields, support them in finding appropriate research designs, and finally, help them to develop suitable theoretical perspectives.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations arise from the literature review and bibliographic methods themselves.
Practical implications
Service research on the BoP provides new ideas for practitioners interested in learning about BoP markets, strategies, and entrepreneurial initiatives.
Social implications
Understanding the need to explore BoP activities is fundamental to working with a huge segment of society, not only as passive consumers, but also as genuine entrepreneurs capable of creating and managing “inclusive” innovations.
Originality/value
The research agenda for future service management offers a relevant source of ideas and guidance for interested researchers to rethink their empirical fields, research approaches, and theoretical perspectives.
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