Considered Service-specific journals were Journal of Service Research, Journal of Service Management, Journal of Services Marketing, Journal of Service Theory and Practice, Service Industries Journal, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, and Service Science.
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Abney, A. K., A. White, K. J. Shanahan and W. B. Locander (2017): In their shoes: co-creating value from deaf/hearing perspectives, Journal of Services Marketing, 31(4), pp.313-325
Purpose This research investigates new innovative service models that provide opportunities for hearing and deaf individuals to switch roles within a co-created service encounter to allow for an enhanced perspective-taking experience. The purpose of this paper is to gain an in-depth understanding of deaf individuals’ experience working within such models using their preferred language, American sign language, to interact with a primarily hearing-majority customer base.Design/methodology/approach Data were collected for two studies through qualitative depth-interviews with both the deaf service employees and the hearing-majority customers from a North American restaurant founded on this innovative service model.Findings Results of these studies yield new insights into understanding the value generated for both the minority and majority populations within this co-creation platform. Notably, the deaf employees primarily recognize the transformative value derived from this service experience, whereas the hearing customers note the missing habitual value elements to which they are accustomed in traditional service encounters that inhibit repatronage intentions.Originality/value This is the first study to investigate the interpersonal service experience of deaf and hearing individuals within these emerging service models. Further, this research represents an initial attempt to explore a co-creative service experience between two different cultures, the deaf-minority and hearing-majority populations, with differing levels of ability.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-05-2016-0201 [Google]
Beudaert, A., H. Gorge and M. Herbert (2017): An exploration of servicescapes’ exclusion and coping strategies of consumers with “hidden” auditory disorders, Journal of Services Marketing, 31(4), pp.326-338
Purpose The purpose of this study is both to explore how people with “hidden” auditory disorders experience exclusion in servicescapes and to unfold the coping strategies they set up to deal with it.Design/methodology/approach Findings from 15 semi-structured interviews and participant observations with individuals suffering from auditory disorders are presented through the paper.Findings The findings indicate that individuals with auditory disorders deploy three types of coping strategies when exposed to sensory overload in servicescapes: choosing between physical servicescapes, opting for electronic devices and e-servicescapes and delegating shopping to relatives.Practical implications The study underlines how, through temporary or permanent modifications of servicescape cues, service providers give consumers opportunities to bypass situations involving sensory overload. Implications for e-servicescapes and public policy are also raised.Originality/value The findings reveal how the coping strategies used by individuals with auditory disorders contribute to their exclusion from the marketplace on the basis of both individual characteristics and types of servicescapes.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-06-2016-0247 [Google]
Cheung, L., J. R. McColl-Kennedy and L. V. Coote (2017): Consumer-citizens mobilizing social capital following a natural disaster: effects on well-being, Journal of Services Marketing, 31(4), pp.438-451
Purpose This paper aims to demonstrate how vulnerable consumer-citizens mobilize social capital following a natural disaster, showing how different forms of social capital contribute to well-being and resilience.Design/methodology/approach An embedded case study design comparing three different social networks is employed.Findings Understanding the active role consumer-citizens play in provisioning within social networks provides a deeper understanding of the important mechanisms that explain how different forms of social capital contribute to well-being. The three identified networks demonstrate different structural signatures composed of differing forms of social capital that arise following a natural disaster.Research limitations/implications Drawing on social capital theory, this study contributes to advancing transformative service research, providing implications for both theory and practice.Originality/value This study is one of the first to empirically compare networks in a natural disaster context, demonstrating the effects of bonding, bridging and linking social capital on well-being and community resilience. This study shows how social network analysis can be used to model network processes and mechanisms. Findings highlight the important role of social provisioning to vulnerable consumer-citizens as an alternate form of consumption.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-05-2016-0192 [Google]
Davis, K. S., M. Mohan and S. W. Rayburn (2017): Service quality and acculturation: advancing immigrant healthcare utilization, Journal of Services Marketing, 31(4), pp.362-372
Purpose This paper aims to develop an understanding of key variables for designing and marketing healthcare services for immigrant consumers – widely considered a vulnerable consumer group.Design/methodology/approach Data collected from 277 participants was analyzed using ANOVA models and mean score comparisons.Findings Differences based on immigrant status and acculturation level are identified. Differences between immigrant acculturation levels based on service quality dimensions are also revealed.Research implications This research indicates that acculturation-based studies are insightful and finds that immigrants’ service responses do not mirror those of native respondents in healthcare services.Practical and social implications This research highlights key nuances within immigrant populations that hold significant implications for service providers. Culturally appropriate service design and marketing can enhance service utilization by the target population.Originality/value This study focuses on the healthcare service experiences of immigrant populations and application of this information to service design.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-03-2016-0118 [Google]
Hepi, M., J. Foote, J. Finsterwalder, H. Moana o, S. Carswell and V. Baker (2017): An integrative transformative service framework to improve engagement in a social service ecosystem: the case of He Waka Tapu, Journal of Services Marketing, 31(4), pp.423-437
Purpose This study aims to attempt to understand the engagement between an indigenous social service provider and marginalised clients deemed “hard-to-reach” to gain an insight into how to improve the client’s engagement and well-being through transformative value co-creation.Design/methodology/approach The exploratory study’s findings draw on primary data employing a qualitative research approach through document analysis and in-depth interviews with clients, social workers and stakeholders of the focal social service provider in New Zealand.Findings The findings indicate that there are inhibitors and enablers of value or well-being co-creation. The lack of client resources and a mismatch between client and social worker are primary barriers. Other actors as well as cultural practices are identified as enablers of well-being improvement.Research limitations/implications This research reports on a single social service provider and its clients. These findings may not be readily transferrable to other contexts.Practical implications Findings indicate that social service providers require a heightened awareness of the inhibitors and enablers of social service co-creation.Social implications Both the integrative framework and the findings provide a sound critique of the prevailing policy discourse surrounding the stigmatisation of members of society deemed “hard-to-reach” and the usefulness of such an approach when aiming at resolving social issues.Originality/value This is the first exploratory study that reports on the engagement between a social service provider and its clients in a dedicated Maori (indigenous) context by employing an integrative research approach combining transformative service research, activity theory and engagement theory.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-06-2016-0222 [Google]
Loomba, A. P. S. (2017): Reconstructing lives: transformative services for human trafficking survivors, Journal of Services Marketing, 31(4), pp.373-384
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to introduce a transformative service-based model, which analyzes tripartite service interaction logics among trafficking survivors, anti-trafficking agencies and the community during a process of actively- and passively transformative exchanges. It aims to help researchers and practitioners better understand services that facilitate reintegration of trafficking survivors into society.Design/methodology/approach Using theory development from sociological and liminality schools of thought, this paper explores a variety of coping strategies that anti-trafficking agencies can offer human-trafficking survivors in post-trafficking service settings.Findings A novel transformative service-based framework extends current conceptualizations of social and service exchange in a tripartite interaction setting. Anti-trafficking agencies can create a supportive community environment to offer trafficking survivors passively transformative services and to cultivate and nurture their coping skills towards reintegration into society.Research limitations/implications Important implications for transformative service-based theory and practice of serving trafficking survivors are discussed. In addition, the study limitations are addressed.Practical implications The transformative service-based model analyzes tripartite service interaction logics during a process of exchanges between trafficking survivors, anti-trafficking agency and community ecosystem to achieve meaningful post-trafficking reintegration into society.Social implications Using the transformative service model, community ties need to be re-established for trafficking survivors to achieve successful reintegration into society, and for communities to heal and restore human dignity.Originality/value This research proposes a new framework for actively- and passively-transformative service logic for anti-trafficking agencies to offer assistance to trafficking survivors, based on sociological and liminality schools of thought.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-06-2016-0228 [Google]
Minton, E. A., F. Cabano, M. Gardner, D. Mathras, E. Elliot and N. Mandel (2017): LGBTQ and religious identity conflict in service settings, Journal of Services Marketing, 31(4), pp.351-361
Purpose The USA is witnessing a conflict between LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) consumers/supporters and Christian fundamentalist service providers/opponents regarding whether service can be denied based on religious values. The purpose of this paper is to make a timely investigation into this conflict between marketplace inclusion (for LGBTQ consumers) and freedom of religion (for religious service providers).Design/methodology/approach The intersection of marketplace inclusion for LGBTQ consumers and religious freedom for service providers is examined by identifying appropriate strategies that address this conflict and reviewing how differing religious perspectives influence perceptions of LGBTQ consumer rights, all building off the social identity threat literature.Findings LGBTQ and religious identities often conflict to influence consumer behavior and service provider interactions. Such conflict is heightened when there is a lack of substitutes (i.e. only one service provider in an area for a specific service). Common LGBTQ consumer responses include changing service providers, providing justification for the provision of services and pursing legal recourse. Suggested strategies to address this conflict include highlighting common social identities and using two-sided messages for service providers, using in-group interventions for social groups and using government interventions for public policy.Originality/value Research has yet to examine the conflict between marketplace inclusion and religious freedom, particularly for the inclusion of LGBTQ consumers. Thus, this paper provides a novel conceptual model detailing these relationships to stimulate discussion among consumers, service providers, social groups and public policy in addition to serving as a foundation for future research.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-05-2016-0196 [Google]
Parkinson, J., L. Schuster, R. Mulcahy and H. M. Taiminen (2017): Online support for vulnerable consumers: a safe place?, Journal of Services Marketing, 31(4), pp.412-422
Purpose This paper aims to examine the service experience in an online support community of consumers to understand the nature of social support and how it is experienced and enacted by vulnerable consumers.Design/methodology/approach A netnographic study was conducted to examine vulnerable consumers’ participation in an online support group for weight management. The Linguistic Inquiry Word Count (LIWC) program was used, and additionally data were coded using open coding. A hybrid approach to data analysis was undertaken using inductive and deductive methods.Findings The findings suggest online social support groups can be used as an online “third place” to support vulnerable consumers, with vulnerable groups engaging with the online support group differently than those in the normal weight group. Social support was also found to be bi-directional in nature.Research limitations/implications This study only investigates one online support group. To gain deeper insights, other support groups should be examined over a longer period.Practical implications This paper demonstrates that transformative services have the hidden capacity to optimize their services to enable vulnerable consumers to co-create social support in a safe place, thus providing a non-judgmental environment with the end goal of improving their health and well-being.Social implications Findings reveal how services can enable marginalization and stigmatization to be overcome and inspire social action through the use of online support groups.Originality/value This research is unique in that it used a netnography approach to examine how vulnerable consumers interact in an online service setting, reducing self-report bias and allowing for a natural research setting, thus allowing a unique understanding of how vulnerable consumers experience and enact social support.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-05-2016-0197 [Google]
Rosenbaum, M. S., T. Seger-Guttmann and M. Giraldo (2017): Commentary: vulnerable consumers in service settings, Journal of Services Marketing, 31(4), pp.309-312
Purpose This commentary aims to introduce a collection of articles that highlights the experiences, needs and challenges of vulnerable consumers within a variety of service contexts. As a research collection, the investigations reveal that service researchers have overlooked how service design and processes affect vulnerable consumers.Design/methodology/approach The commentary is a conceptual perspective based on the investigations put forward in this special issue, extant literature and the editors’ perspectives.Findings Many consumers enter service contexts in some type of vulnerable condition. These conditions may include those relating to deafness, hearing impairments, older age, sexual orientation, immigration status and acculturation, participation in sexual exploitation, geographical remoteness, mental health challenges, obesity, natural disasters, language barriers and being the brunt of service provider discrimination.Research limitations/implications Service researchers are encouraged to consider how the service marketing’s foundational theories, frameworks, concepts and axioms generalize among vulnerable consumers.Practical implications Service practitioners need to realize customers often enter service contexts owing to some type of vulnerable condition that influences their expectations and perceptions of service quality.Originality/value This special issue expands the discipline’s understanding of vulnerable consumers and exposes an array of conditions that affect their experiences and journeys within service settings. Service organizations dedicated to enhancing consumer well-being must understand how they can help remedy, or lessen, the consequences associated with vulnerable conditions.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-05-2017-0156 [Google]
Sharma, S., J. Conduit and S. Rao Hill (2017): Hedonic and eudaimonic well-being outcomes from co-creation roles: a study of vulnerable customers, Journal of Services Marketing, 31(4), pp.397-411
Purpose This study aims to provide an understanding of how the participation of vulnerable customers in the co-creation of health-care provision influences their individual well-being outcomes. Using self-determination theory, it demonstrates that co-creation at the point of care and at an organisational or system level impacts individual hedonic and eudaimonic well-being.Design/methodology/approach A qualitative approach is adopted to identify the various customer well-being outcomes. Two case studies of health-care organisations, comprising ten in-depth interviews and eight focus groups, as well as documents and noted observations are used for thematic analysis.Findings The study demonstrates ways in which vulnerable customers integrate resources to co-create value outcomes. It shows how differing co-creative role of customers with mental illness lead to different customer well-being outcomes. These roles manifest not only the hedonic well-being characteristics of pleasure and happiness but also eudaimonic well-being, which provides a sense of achievement and purpose to customers. The study used self-determination theory to identify different forms of eudaimonic well-being derived from the co-creation roles of co-producer, strategic partner and community citizen.Originality/value The co-creation and transformative service literature is extended by demonstrating that a feeling of self-efficacy and self-determination because of value co-creation foster customer well-being. This study demonstrates that co-creation at the point of care and at an organisational or system level impacts individual hedonic and eudaimonic well-being.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-06-2016-0236 [Google]
Tomazelli, J., P. L. Broilo, L. B. Espartel and K. Basso (2017): The effects of store environment elements on customer-to-customer interactions involving older shoppers, Journal of Services Marketing, 31(4), pp.339-350
Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate older shopper behavior in a retail environment. The study focused on how the environment elements of supermarket stores influence older customers to interact with other customers when they shop for groceries.Design/methodology/approach Various qualitative research techniques were undertaken, including interviews with retail architecture experts, store employees, a psychologist and a gerontologist; in addition, five interviews followed by three focus groups were conducted with older shoppers in Brazil.Findings Customer-to-customer interactions that are related to the environment elements of supermarkets tend to influence the shopping experience of the older shoppers, which has an impact on satisfaction. Although some customers may value social contact, some interactions can involve discomfort and embarrassment.Research limitations/implications The study sheds light on the understanding of the influence of the environment elements of supermarket stores on customer-to-customer interactions, and it proposes such interactions to be a relevant strategy that is used by older customers to maximize their satisfaction, although such strategies can also lead to dissatisfaction.Practical implications The findings provide insights regarding the specific needs of older customers in a supermarket context, associated with the design and ambient elements of the store environment, which can be valuable for retailers and policy-makers.Originality/value Considering the limited understanding of older shoppers and their experiences, this study provides a thorough understanding of how the retail environment can influence customer-to-customer interactions that involve older shoppers. Moreover, the study captures how interactions, which are influenced by the retail environment, can result in dissatisfaction; however, such interactions can also be used by older customers to modify their satisfaction with the shopping experience.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-05-2016-0200 [Google]
van Dolen, W. and C. B. Weinberg (2017): Child helplines: how social support and controllability influence service quality and well-being, Journal of Services Marketing, 31(4), pp.385-396
Purpose The authors investigate how employee social support impacts children’s perceptions of service quality of a child helpline chat service and the chatters’ immediate well-being. Specifically, the purpose of this study is to examine how action-facilitating support, nurturant support and emotional reflections influence the children and to test whether this impact varies depending upon the controllability of the issues discussed.Design/methodology/approach The authors develop hypotheses about the influence of social support and controllability on children’s perceived service quality and well-being. Chat conversations are coded on the social support given by the employee and the controllability of the issue. Questionnaires are collected to measure children’s service quality and well-being. Using structural equation modeling, hypotheses are tested with a sample of 662 children and chat conversations of a child helpline.Findings The study reveals that for children chatting about controllable issues, nurturant support and negative emotional reflections negatively influence the immediate well-being of these children. Positive emotional reflections positively influence immediate well-being. For children chatting about uncontrollable issues, nurturant support and negative emotional responses positively influence the perceived service quality.Originality/value This study contributes to the services marketing literature by broadening the current understanding of the impact of social support on children’s service quality perceptions and well-being, and by showing how this impact is moderated by the level of controllability of the issue discussed.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-07-2016-0254 [Google]
Walsh, G. and E. K. Hammes (2017): Do service scripts exacerbate job demand-induced customer perceived discrimination?, Journal of Services Marketing, 31(4), pp.471-479
Purpose This research aims to investigate the contingent influence of service scripts on the links between service employees’ job demands and customers’ perceptions of discrimination.Design/methodology/approach Drawing on prior conceptual and empirical work, as well as conservation of resources theory, the authors propose a conceptual model comprising job demands (job stress and role ambiguity) and two dimensions of perceived discrimination.Findings A unique, dyadic data set reveals that the two focal job demands positively affect customers’ perceptions of discrimination. Service scripts enhance those negative relationships, such that they have resource-depleting and job demand-exacerbating effects.Originality/value This study offers the first research to link customer perceived discrimination with employee antecedents. These insights, in turn, have several key theoretical and managerial implications, and they offer directions for further work in this arena.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-06-2016-0209 [Google]
Zolfagharian, M., F. Hasan and P. Iyer (2017): Employee, branch, and brand switching: the role of linguistic choice, use and adaptation, Journal of Services Marketing, 31(4), pp.452-470
Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore how service employee choice and use of language to initiate and maintain conversation with second generation immigrant customers (SGIC) influence customer evaluation of the service encounter, and whether such employee acts may lead customers to employee switching, branch switching (i.e. switching from one to another location within the same brand) and/or brand switching (switching to another brand altogether).Design/methodology/approach A scenario-based between-subjects experiment of 4 (employee: match, adapt, bilingual, no adapt) × 2 (fast food, post office) × 2 (English, Spanish) was used to examine the SGIC response to service encounters in different contexts arising from employee choice and use of language. These scenarios were complemented with a series of measurement scales. The instruments, which were identical except in scenario sections, were administered on 788 second-generation Mexican American customers, resulting in 271 (fast food) and 265 (post office) effective responses.Findings In both service contexts, when employees initiated conversation that matched (English or Spanish) the customer expectations, the SGIC perceptions of interaction quality was higher as compared to other scenarios, leading to subsequent satisfaction and lower switching intentions (employee and branch). Similarly, interaction quality was higher for adapt scenarios as compared to bilingual or no adapt scenarios. Bilingual customers perceived higher interaction quality in bilingual/no-adapt scenarios when compared to monolingual customers. In both contexts, service quality and satisfaction were associated with employee switching and branch switching, but not with brand switching.Research limitations/implications By utilizing interaction adaptation theory to conceptualize the effects of employee choice and use of language, the study grounds the model and the hypotheses in theoretical bases and provides empirical corroboration of the theory. The study also contributes toward understanding the service encounters from the perspective of an overlooked group of vulnerable customers: second-generation immigrants.Practical implications Service research cautions service providers that a key factor in attracting and retaining customers is having detailed communication guidelines and empowering employees to follow those guidelines. The findings go a step further and underscore the critical role of communication from a managerial standpoint. It is in the interest of service organizations to develop guidelines that will govern employee choice and use of language during service encounters. So doing is commercially justified because unguided employee choice and use of language can result in customer switching and attrition.Social implications The juxtaposition between assigned versus asserted identities is an important one not only in social sciences but also within service research. As service encounters grow increasingly multicultural, the need to educate employees on multiculturally appropriate communication etiquette rises in importance. The findings should encourage service firms and local governments to develop formal communication guidelines that begin with multiculturalism as a central tenet permeating all aspects of employee–employee, employee–customer and customer–customer communications. Service providers ought to take precautionary measures to ensure customers will be empowered to assert their identities in their own terms, if they wish so.Originality/value The study demonstrates how employee choice and use of language during service encounters may thwart SGIC, who might view such employee behaviors as acts of identity assignment and, consequently, feel stigmatized, marginalized and offended; and links such customer experiences to switching behavior through mediatory mechanisms.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-05-2016-0203 [Google]
Ariza-Montes, A., P. Tirado-Valencia, V. Fernández-Rodríguez and A. Leal-Rodríguez (2017): Volunteering by elders: a question of values?, Service Industries Journal, 37(43051), pp.685-702
Adopting the Theory of Basic Human Values by Schwartz [1992. Universals in the content and structure of values: Theoretical advances and empirical tests in 20 countries.Advances in Experimental Social Psychology,25(1), 1–65] as an analytical framework, this article examines whether certain personal values held by seniors activate the volunteering ‘gene’ while others counteract it. We thus conduct an empirical study involving the use of a logistic regression model that shows, in probabilistic terms, traits that characterize senior and retired volunteers as opposed to those of the same group who do not dedicate time to this activity. Our multivariate analysis shows that retired volunteers experience a stronger sense of self-transcendence and predisposition towards change while exhibiting a stronger aversion towards conservation. The article concludes with a discussion and a description of primary practical implications derived from the study.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2017.1298095 [Google]
Fan, Y., M. L. French, R. Duray and G. L. Stading (2017): Service strategy to improve operational capabilities in the public sector, Service Industries Journal, 37(43051), pp.703-725
Public institutions, such as emergency services, face unique operational challenges because they do not have a clear profit motive, operate in a political system as opposed to a market system, and have a fragmented authority structure. This study applies traditional operations and service strategy theory to the not-for-profit, public sector context. Synthesizing research from these theoretical domains, a contingency framework is developed to determine the effect of environmental uncertainty and strategic choices on operational capabilities in emergency services under different governance structures. Operations strategy research traditionally uses survey-based measures, while emergency services research focuses on mathematical modeling techniques. In contrast, this study analyzes archival data with 9800 emergency incidents using hierarchical regression. The results support that in the public not-for-profit context, strategic choices mediate the impact of environmental uncertainty on operational capability. Furthermore, governance structure moderates the impact of environmental uncertainty and strategic choices.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2017.1304928 [Google]
Finsterwalder, J., J. Foote, G. Nicholas, A. Taylor, M. Hepi, V. Baker and N. Dayal (2017): Conceptual underpinnings for transformative research in a service ecosystems context to resolve social issues – framework foundations and extensions, Service Industries Journal, 37(43051), pp.766-782
A number of services within society are designed to improve the well-being of its members and transform lives. Some services focus on the protection and support of vulnerable members of society, for example, those suffering the effects of drug use, mental health conditions, violence or poverty. Clients of such social services may also come from minority or marginalised cultural backgrounds. Typically, social services aim to reduce disparities and enhance individual and population well-being. A major challenge for social policy-makers and social service providers is to establish and maintain constructive engagement between the social services and those they are intended to serve. Some of these vulnerable clients are deemed ‘hard-to-reach’ (HTR) by policy-makers and service providers. Yet, the transformation of lives requires the involvement of the focal actor (client) and their service or activity system, as well as the engagement of other actors, such as the social worker embedded in their service or activity system. This paper aims to further unpack a novel approach, called integrative transformative service framework. This contribution extends its conceptualisation which fuses mainly three different approaches, namely Transformative Service Research (TSR), (Cultural-Historical) Activity Theory (CHAT) and (Regulatory) Engagement Theory (RET).
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2017.1351550 [Google]
Roza, L., I. Shachar, L. Meijs and L. Hustinx (2017): The nonprofit case for corporate volunteering: a multi-level perspective, Service Industries Journal, 37(43051), pp.746-765
This article argues that the nonprofit case for corporate volunteering is complex, requiring a multi-level perspective on the outcomes for nonprofit organizations (NPOs). To develop this perspective, we adopted an inductive research approach, conducting 39 exploratory semi-structured interviews with NPO staff. We argue that NPO scholars and practitioners should disentangle individual and organizational-level outcomes resulting from interactions between corporate volunteers and NPO staff, as such micro-dynamics ultimately affect NPO services. Moreover, these outcomes are subject to conditions at the organizational level (e.g. involvement of intermediaries), as well as at the individual level (e.g. type of assignment). Our study highlights the complexity that should be considered when addressing the fundamental question of whether corporate volunteering contributes to the ability of NPOs to provide their services, and under what conditions. We therefore propose that corporate volunteer management within NPOs is inherently, albeit contingently, intertwined with the services that these organizations provide.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2017.1347158 [Google]
Willems, J. and S. Dury (2017): Reasons for not volunteering: overcoming boundaries to attract volunteers, Service Industries Journal, 37(43051), pp.726-745
Research on volunteering has mainly focused on the explanatory demographics and functional motives to volunteer, but little is known about the reasons that people might have not to volunteer. However, these reasons need more academic attention, as they form the barriers that organizations have to overcome when attracting new volunteers. We examine a sample of 1248 respondents on whether they volunteer, are interested in volunteering, or have no interest to volunteer. We verify whether demographic differences exist between these groups. By means of an exploratory factor analysis, we analyze the reasons not to volunteer for those who have no interest to volunteer. This complements earlier research by focusing on the barriers that people might have, instead of the benefits of volunteering that have extensively been documented.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2017.1318381 [Google]
Adam, M., J. Strähle and M. Freise (2017): The Interaction of Product-Service Systems (PSS) and Corporate Environmental Management (CEM): Can PSS Drive Today’s Fashion Industry Toward More Environmental Sustainability?, Service Science, 9(3), pp.235-249
The fashion industry is well documented for causing significant environmental impact. Product-service systems (PSS) present a promising way to solve this challenge. PSS shift the focus toward complementary service offers, which decouples customer satisfaction from material consumption and entails dematerialization. However, PSS are not ecoefficient by nature but need to be accompanied by corporate environmental management (CEM) practices. The objective of this article is to examine the potential of PSS to contribute to the environmental sustainability of today?s fashion industry by investigating if fashion firms with a positive attitude toward PSS implementation also pursue goals related to the ecological environment. For this purpose, analysis of variance (ANOVA) is conducted to analyze data of 102 fashion firms. Results reveal that the diffusion of PSS in today?s fashion industry is low and few firms consider implementing PSS. Results, furthermore, demonstrate that PSS implementation is positively related to CEM. This indicates that existing structures of CEM favor PSS implementation and unlock the ecoefficient potential of implemented PSS in the fashion industry.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/serv.2017.0182 [Google]
Chang, J., M. Yu, S. Shen and M. Xu (2017): Location Design and Relocation of a Mixed Car-Sharing Fleet with a CO2 Emission Constraint, Service Science, 9(3), pp.205-218
Car-sharing companies have shown increasing support in the adoption of fuel-efficient cars to reduce CO2 emissions and to meet heterogeneous demand. In this paper, we consider location design and relocation problems for sharing a mixed fleet of cars and propose integer linear programs that incorporate both one-way and round-trip demand and operations. To model car movements, we use a minimum-cost flow model on a spatial?temporal network given time-based demand. We maximize the total profit of renting cars minus the cost of relocation and maintenance, subject to limited budget for purchasing cars and given a CO2 emission limit. In addition, we enforce the first-come, first-served principle to eliminate denied trips. We conduct computational studies based on 2014 Zipcar data in Boston to provide insights for fleet location, car-type designs, and their environmental impacts. Our results show high utilization of cars and low demand losses and denied trips. Although the CO2 emission limit may lower car-sharing profit, high demand on new energy-efficient cars can compensate the loss and is worth being satisfied.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/serv.2017.0178 [Google]
Corona, M., Y. Geum and S. Lee (2017): Patterns of Protecting Both Technological and Nontechnological Innovation for Service Offerings: Case of the Video-Game Industry, Service Science, 9(3), pp.192-204
Service innovation involves both technological and nontechnological aspects, which need to be protected as intellectual property. Thus, it is worth analyzing patents and trademarks at the same time to examine innovation-protection mechanisms considering that not only patents but also trademarks can play a significant role in protecting different aspects of innovation. In response, this paper focuses on the usage of trademarks and suggests hybrid intellectual property strategies to integrate patents and trademarks to understand the characteristics of innovation strategy?the patterns of innovation protection. We employed the United States Patent and Trademark Office database and conducted a sector-level and firm-level analysis. As a case study, we focused on the game industry, in which both patents and trademarks are considered the key drivers for innovation.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/serv.2017.0174 [Google]
Frost, R. and K. Lyons (2017): Service Systems Analysis Methods and Components: A Systematic Literature Review, Service Science, 9(3), pp.219-234
The service system has been proposed as the basic abstraction of service science and, as a result, there has been much interest in the study and analysis of service systems in recent years. This paper presents the results of a systematic literature review of recent literature on service systems through which we characterize recent changes in direction and focus in service system research and identify new emphases and areas of focus. We discuss three approaches to service system analysis: descriptive, prescriptive, and evaluative. We also discuss new research focused on studying the components of service systems. Based on research gaps observed in our review, we identify eight specific opportunities and three broad directions for future research: (1) refocusing attention on a greater diversity of research designs and analytical approaches, (2) leveraging new perspectives to perform more ontological work on system components, and (3) fostering a better understanding of the role of innovation. We present a framework of our key findings, depicting the overarching logic linking research questions, opportunities, and directions.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/serv.2017.0180 [Google]
Guo, X., B. Li, Y. Liu and L. Liang (2017): Eliminating the Inconvenience of Carrying: Optimal Pricing of Delivery Service for Retailers, Service Science, 9(3), pp.181-191
Delivery service becomes one of the most important issues that significantly influence customer purchase behavior, especially for retailers in tourist attractions. This paper builds a model to investigate the strategy optimization of delivery service for such retailers. Meanwhile, the retailer optimizes the retail price to maximize the expected profit in different types of delivery service scenarios. Our results indicate that, given the perceived value of a delivery service, the optimal strategy is to provide free delivery service when its cost is relatively low, but to not provide delivery service when the cost is relatively high.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/serv.2017.0173 [Google]
Watanabe, K. and M. Mochimaru (2017): Expanding Impacts of Technology-Assisted Service Systems Through Generalization: Case Study of the Japanese Service Engineering Research Project, Service Science, 9(3), pp.250-262
The importance of technologies for services has been remarkably emphasized recently with the terms ?digitalization? and ?smart service systems.? Technologies, especially information and communications technologies, have been regarded as an important driver of innovating services, and various researchers of services and service systems have investigated the development of technology-assisted service systems and their methods. However, few studies report how to generalize and disseminate developed service systems and technologies for other service systems. This type of study is essential to expand the impact of the study on technology-assisted service systems on the industrial and societal levels. As our research question, we examined the necessary processes and deliverables to develop and disseminate technology-assisted service systems. We analyzed five cases of a service engineering research project in Japan that aimed at improving service industry productivity through disseminating developed technologies. We conducted semistructured interviews with the researchers responsible in each case. As a result, we clarified the generalization process through continuous codevelopment with stakeholders in the same or different service systems. We also specified a set of research outputs: technology, activity guideline, and application process, designated as a technological support model for a service system. The features of these outputs can be emphasized by categorizing them into three types: knowledge-worker support model, organization management support model, and association management support model. These processes and outputs provide a practical guideline for developing and disseminating technology-assisted service systems effectively.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/serv.2017.0183 [Google]
Anderson, C. K. and M. Cheng (2017): Multi-Click Attribution in Sponsored Search Advertising: An Empirical Study in Hospitality Industry, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 58(3), pp.253-262
Sponsored search advertising has become a dominant form of advertising for many firms in the hospitality vertical, with Priceline and Expedia each spending in excess of US$2 billion in online advertising in 2015. Given the competition in online advertising, it has become essential for advertisers to know how effectively to allocate financial resources to keywords. Central to budget allocation for keywords is an attribution of revenue (from converted ads) to the keywords generating consumer interest. Conventional wisdom suggests several ways to attribute revenues in the sponsored search advertising domain (e.g., last-click, first & last-click, or evenly distributed approach). We develop a multi-click attribution methodology using a unique multi-advertiser data set, which includes full advertiser and consumer-level click and purchase information. We add to the literature by developing a two-stage multi-click attribution methodology with a specific focus on sponsored search advertising in the hospitality industry with which we develop a parametric approach to calculate the value function from each stage of the estimation process. Given our multi-advertiser data set, we are able to illustrate the inefficiency of single-click attribution approaches, which undervalue assist clicks while overvaluing converted clicks.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1938965516686112 [Google]
Chan, E. K., M. Sturman, S. Park and C. Vanderpool (2017): Not Merely a Matter of Drawing Arrows: The Empirical Consequences of Measurement Model Specification and Recommendations for Practice, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 58(3), pp.272-292
Understanding measurement model specification is especially important for hospitality research due to its cross-disciplinary nature and the prevalence of measures used in the field which are often central to the formative versus reflective debate (e.g., SERVQUAL, socioeconomic status). The current study contributes to this topic by providing empirically based prescriptive advice to drive better measurement model specification. Specifically, the decision-making procedures developed by this study can complement theoretical reasons for a model choice as well as help determine a correct model choice when theories are equivocal or non-existent. This study combines actual and simulated data to show that model fit statistics alone cannot determine which model specification is correct, but also that a correct measurement model will generate more accurate predictions within a model which in turn will offer more accurate managerial recommendations.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1938965516686115 [Google]
Davis, C., L. Jiang, P. Williams, A. Drolet and B. J. Gibbs (2017): Predisposing Customers to Be More Satisfied by Inducing Empathy in Them, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 58(3), pp.229-239
The present research demonstrates that increasing a consumer’s empathy with a service provider can increase that consumer’s satisfaction with the service. In Study 1, customers at a café who were induced to empathize with the clerk felt more satisfied with the service, and in Study 2, such empathizing customers were better tippers. Study 3 corroborated this finding of an empathy–satisfaction relation using dispositional empathy, showing that naturally occurring levels of empathy were positively related to consumers’ feelings of satisfaction in a long-term service relationship (personal fitness training). Study 4 found that the positive effect of empathy on consumer satisfaction held true for a negative service situation (for female but not for male consumers), indicating that the effect was not the result of consumers becoming more sensitive to the valence of the service situation. In addition, the overall results suggest that the effect was not mediated by more favorable attitudes toward the service provider or by more favorable attributions of responsibility to the service provider. Instead, we suggest that empathy may make consumers more cooperative and that being satisfied is one way consumers “cooperate” with a service provider. These findings exemplify how responses to a marketing situation can be managed by manipulating the mental state of consumers rather than by altering the attributes of the goods or services being offered.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1938965517704373 [Google]
Hodari, D., P. J. Balla and R. R. Aroul (2017): The Matter of Encumbrance: How Management Structure Affects Hotel Value, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 58(3), pp.293-311
Hotel owners have two fundamental concerns: the financial operating performance of their asset and its selling price. While they often contract a hotel management company to operate the hotel through a lease or management agreement, common industry perception holds that such encumbrance decreases the sales price of hotel real estate assets. This implies that owners who outsource the hotel’s management may be sacrificing a greater selling price in exchange for improved operating results. While this is a critical issue for investors given that a their returns are largely dependent on an asset’s appreciation, the impact of different management structures on the sales price of hotels has not previously been studied. A hedonic valuation model was constructed based on 442 past hotel transactions in the United Kingdom between 2000 and 2015. Hotels sold encumbered by hotel management agreements and lease agreements were found to sell at a premium compared with unencumbered properties. The impact across different geographic areas and different economic periods was also examined. Hotels under management agreement achieved the highest premiums during times of economic expansion while lease contracts did so in regional markets. The findings suggest that owners need not necessarily refrain from signing management agreements or leases out of concern for their detrimental effect on their hotel’s sales price. It also provides a strong additional selling point for management companies and should reassure lenders who prefer to underwrite loans for encumbered assets.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1938965516686116 [Google]
Kim, K. and M. A. Baker (2017): The Impacts of Service Provider Name, Ethnicity, and Menu Information on Perceived Authenticity and Behaviors, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 58(3), pp.312-318
Tangible cues are critical indicators of customer perceptions of authenticity and behavioral intentions. Few studies examine multiple dimensions of authenticity, the influence of language in service settings, and the effects of the service provider appearance. This research addresses these gaps by presenting two between-subjects experimental design studies, the first examines the tangible cues of menu presentation (menu item name and item description), and the second examines the tangible cues of the employee (ethnicity and name). Both measure customer perceptions of food, culture, and employee authenticity, customer revisit intentions, and willingness to pay more in an ethnic restaurant. Results find that using an ethnic menu name and possessing employees of referent ethnic origin have the largest impacts on customer perceptions of authenticity. Additionally, food authenticity has the largest impact on revisit intention and culture and employee authenticity have the largest impact on willingness to pay more.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1938965516686107 [Google]
Lucas, A. F. and K. Spilde (2017): Estimating the Effect of Casino Loyalty Program Offers on Slot Machine Play, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 58(3), pp.263-271
Annual investment in casino free-play campaigns is usually great, yet little is known about its ability to generate increased gaming expenditures/behavioral loyalty. A method and model are advanced to estimate the impact of these costly and notoriously difficult-to-measure programs, providing critical business intelligence for use in the management of these ongoing campaigns. Actual slot machine performance data from two tribal casinos were examined, allowing for an empirical test of a critical link within an existing theoretical model of customer responses to loyalty programs. Using data from two 365-day samples, our model successfully explains the variation in slot wagering at both donor casinos. One resort’s free-play campaign shows signs of success while the other’s indicates a need to retool its $15 million annual campaign. Although the theoretical linkage of customer responses to loyalty programs (LPs) is well established in the broader context, yet its applicability to casino LPs remains questionable given the mixed support from this study and the results of extant free-play research.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1938965516686113 [Google]
Lynn, M. (2017). More Multi-Study Articles Wanted. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly. 58: 228-228.Xie, K., L. Kwok and W. Wang (2017): Monetizing Managerial Responses on TripAdvisor: Performance Implications Across Hotel Classes, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 58(3), pp.240-252
This study assesses the moderating effect of hotel class on managerial responses’ influence on hotel performance through the lens of data analytics. A panel data model was applied to analyze 7,979 managerial responses and 51,801 online reviews on TripAdvisor, which were matched with the financial performance data (revenue per available room [RevPAR]) for 2,652 hotels in 427 cities in Texas over 26 consecutive quarters from 2005 to 2011. The results suggest that even though all hotels will be able to observe an increase of RevPAR as they post more managerial responses to online reviews, above-average and luxury hotels in particular benefit from managerial responses in longer length and provided by frontline managers, whereas full-service, mid-market economy, and budget traveler hotels benefit from executives’ responses. In addition, the speed of responses is important for full-service and above-average hotels, and conciseness of responses is critical to budget traveler hotels. This study provided important yet specific implications on how hotels can benefit from different types of managerial response strategies according to their product characteristics (hotel class). It also adds to hospitality and online review literature with new theoretical perspectives on the varying effect of managerial responses on business performance specific to the lodging industry context.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1938965516686109 [Google]
