Search results

The aim of the paper is to contribute to a better understanding of the theory of attractive quality through an empirical investigation of an e‐service. Our focus is on the consistency of different levels of service attributes and their dynamics. Our empirical investigation aims to increase both the validity of the theory of attractive quality and the use of technology readiness as a means to understand the variation of customer perceptions of service attributes.

A survey of customers' technology readiness, usage and perceptions of an e‐service was conducted. Four propositions concerning the consistency and dynamics of Kano's theory of attractive quality are tested, mainly using general linear models.

Our results show that by investigating customers at different stages of the service adoption curve, a better understanding of certain dynamics of service attributes can be achieved. When the e‐service was introduced, it was perceived as indifferent; at present it is seen as an attractive service by the market. But the early adopters of e‐services already regard it as a one‐dimensional or a must‐be service.

The study provides a new framework and methodology for how to investigate the dynamics of service attributes, not only between individuals within different market segments, but also at different service attribute levels. From a managerial standpoint, our results suggest consequential insight about the life cycle of the services that an organization provides to its customers.

The purpose of this study is to shed further light on the dynamics of quality attributes, as suggested by the theory of attractive quality. The study aims to investigate the existence of the life cycle for successful quality attributes and to identify alternative life cycles of quality attributes.

The research is based on two surveys in which a total of 1,456 customers (708 in 2003 and 748 in 2009) participated in the classification of quality attributes. In particular, the study investigated how customers perceived 24 particular packaging attributes at two points in time, in 2003 and 2009.

The study identified three life cycles of quality attributes: successful quality attributes, flavor‐of‐the‐month quality attributes, and stable quality attributes. The research also extends the theory of attractive quality by identifying the reverse movement of certain quality attributes; that is, that a quality attribute can take a step backwards in the life cycle of successful quality attributes through, for instance, a change in design.

The paper provides empirical evidence for the existence of several alternative life cycles of quality attributes. The results of the empirical investigation increase the validity of the theory of attractive quality, which is important, given the limited amount of research that has attempted to validate the fundamentals of the theory of attractive quality.

The purpose of the paper is to contribute to the solution, and understanding, of the current lack of activity concerning the development of practices, such as engineering methods, for the creation of attractive quality. The current situation is clearly problematic given the important positive effects assigned to attractive quality in the literature.

First, different descriptions of attractive quality are examined in order to determine whether there is a common understanding of the concept. Second, the ability to manage attractive quality creation in accordance to a proactive ideal is approached by an examination of the current ability to predict the occurrence of attractive quality.

Two obstacles that currently hinder the development of practices for attractive quality creation are identified. The first obstacle is the diversity of meanings given to the concept of attractive quality, resulting in confusion about what to obtain. The second obstacle identified is the current lack of valid explanations to the occurrence of attractive quality, resulting in an inability to develop proactive practices.

The practical implications of bringing attention to, and overcoming, the two obstacles identified will potentially be substantial. A common attractive quality concept and valid explanations to the occurrence of attractive quality will constitute an essential base for the successful development of practices, such as engineering methods, for attractive quality creation.

The paper contributes via the identification of two critical areas in need of intensified attention and future research in order to facilitate the sought‐after development of practices for the creation of attractive quality.

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether and how new ideas generated by customers can be used in a process of attractive quality creation. In addition, it aims to discover whether ideas identified as attractive early in the innovation process have certain characteristics that separate them from other ideas.

The study involved 30 customers of a company that designs and produces microwave ovens. In a number of experiments, these customers generated over 100 new ideas on functions, attributes and services related to microwave ovens. Company specialists identified the 21 best ideas and these ideas were then evaluated by a large customer group using the theory of attractive quality.

The study shows how the theory of attractive quality can be used in the development of innovative products. It also provides empirical evidence that ideas identified as attractive are more original and of higher customer value than other ideas.

The study shows the extent to which and the circumstances in which the theory of attractive quality can be used to evaluate ideas in the early phases of product and service development.

Empirical research on attractive quality creation is sparse, and this study represents a rare example of a comprehensive study of attractive quality creation.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the different approaches to the classification of quality attributes deliver consistent results.

The investigation includes four approaches and enables comparisons to be made from a methodological perspective and from an output perspective. The different approaches are described, analyzed, and discussed in the context of an empirical study that investigates how 430 respondents perceive the performance of an e‐service. The theory of attractive quality rests on a solid theoretical foundation and a methodological approach to classify quality attributes. Recently, various authors have suggested alternative approaches to the traditional five‐level Kano questionnaire – including a three‐level Kano questionnaire, direct classification, and a dual‐importance grid.

The classification of quality attributes are found to be dependent on the approach that is utilized. The development of new ways to classify quality attributes should follow rigid procedures to provide reliable and consistent results.

This is the first attempt to compare alternative approaches to classify quality attributes. For managers, our results provide guidance on what approach to choose based on the strengths and weaknesses with the different approaches.

The aim of this paper is to discuss the use of the theory of attractive quality and the Kano methodology in an experience context in order to understand how different experienced attributes contribute to delight and satisfaction among customers.

The study applied theoretical and quantitative approaches in order to examine the theory of attractive quality and the Kano methodology. A total of 270 respondents responded to the survey instrument, which was based on qualitative interviews.

The research showed that existing questions and answering alternatives included in the Kano methodology must be adapted to the nature of experiences. The paper contributes in the form of a new evaluation table, having shown that existing tables were invalid in relation to the importance rating and the Must‐Be>One‐dimensional>Attractive>Indifferent evaluation rule. Finally, the paper also shows how hedonic attributes create delight and utilitarian attributes create satisfaction, which contributes to a holistic offering.

Managers should address the fact that simply including an attribute is not sufficient; they must also consider its nature and how it performs and attach to the offering when studying experiences to understand how it contributes to either delight or satisfaction.

To date, few studies have addressed or discussed the consequences of applying the theory of attractive quality and the Kano model – including its rules for classification – to experience‐based offerings. The present article does this and also offers a theoretical extension of the theory of attractive quality and service marketing in terms of how customers holistically consider value and how Kano survey results should be analysed.

The aim of this paper is to understand the differences across various quality dimensions and how these contribute to experienced quality and satisfaction among users.

The study applies the Kano model of attractive quality to a destination (in this case a snowpark). The fact that the Kano model was used means that a quantitative approach was applied. In total 270 respondents responded to the survey instrument, which in turn was based on qualitative interviews.

The research shows the great importance of a destination that offers conditions that support specific goals or desired activities in order to achieve customer satisfaction. It also finds that the physical service environment has a major influence on customer satisfaction. Finally, the physical conditions seem to affect the destination's image to a greater degree than the interactions.

In order to create the most attractive offering, managers should focus primarily on the physical service environment.

The Kano model is widely discussed and well known. There are, however, very few applications for which the Kano model has been used, especially with regard to hedonistic services, the motivation for this study. The theoretical contribution of this paper is an extension of Brady and Cronin's model of what creates service quality. In this model, the location or place is added as an important construct for explaining the experience.

The purpose of this paper is exploring the effects of segment dynamic and temporal dynamic triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic on classifying service quality attributes, thereby formulating improvement strategies to satisfy customers and respond to threats.

Given the dynamics of the attractive quality theory, this paper designs a framework with four phases by embedding techniques of text mining and deep learning based on evidence from online reviews.

This paper figures out dynamics of service quality attributes for distinct segments and their dynamic proportion along with different stages of the pandemic. Another finding demonstrates segment dynamic and temporal dynamic effects of sentiments toward service quality attributes on customer satisfaction under the impacts of pandemic. Classification results and improvement strategies are derived for varying segments at different pandemic situations.

This paper reveals dynamic effects on classifying service quality attributes, which contributes to assisting hospitality practitioners from different segments in improving service quality when facing with the challenges of crisis and potential risks.

Given hospitality industry is time- and segment-sensitive, the authors achieve the quantification of dynamics of attractive quality theory and extend it into hospitality marketing and crisis management from the perspective of dynamics with evidence from online reviews.

Apparel product attributes on which consumers place importance may change as a country's economy progresses. Built on Kano's theory, this paper seeks to categorize important apparel attributes in USA (developed country) and India (developing country) and compares the results to predict the pattern of change.

The research involved questionnaire surveys from a sample of 670 college students in two countries: the USA (335) and India (335). Data was collected from a Midwestern university in the USA and from colleges affiliated with a university in southern India.

The attributes assigned to Kano's categories of must‐be, performance, and attractive were found to be different by respondents from the USA and India. For example, “fitting” is classified as a must‐be category for US consumers while it belongs to performance category for Indian consumers. “Brand” was an indifferent category in the USA while it was classified as an attractive category for Indian consumers.

The findings provide US apparel companies with more definitive information on effective marketing strategies for the Indian market and similar developing countries. For example, companies seeking to do business in India must understand that important attributes for Indian consumers will change as the country progresses.

Though previous studies on consumer evaluation of apparel product attributes exist, they failed to examine how important attributes for consumers’ purchase decision changes. This study makes a new contribution to the discipline by providing means to anticipate future important attributes.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a new decision‐aided tool for selecting customer needs during the new product development process.

The study started by examining the principles of attractive quality and its limits. The theory of attractive quality developed by Kano was used to conduct a requirement assessment and classification within four categories. The study also proposed a new method for needs analysis and, finally, an experiment with a case study was carried out for new self‐directed learning software.

This paper proposes a methodology involving the three following steps: identifying customers' needs, classifying and evaluating them, and comparing several concepts of new products. The paper proposes a matrix modeling that is based on the Kano model, which results in an analytical approach of the attractive quality theory. This enables the selection of innovative concepts and new ideas through the evaluation of their impact on needs satisfaction.

Future research is required in order to study the impact of the vocabulary used in the Kano questionnaire; misunderstanding these needs could lead to incorrect classification. Moreover, future work could consider other technical criteria for concept selection, including technical feasibility and cost constraints.

The formality of the model (clear steps and matrix modeling) and its graphical aspect (decision made based on graphical mappings) makes it a simple decision tool. It can be used by design teams during the Front‐End phases and in activities coming upstream from the more formal and well‐structured New Product Development Process (NPDP).

A major concern for companies during an innovation process is to discover users' needs. This paper presents an integrated method for customer environment analysis, needs identification, needs classification, and new concept selection. The most interesting concepts – those that yield satisfaction – will then continue through the innovation process.