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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Basole, R. C. and S. S. Patel (2018): Transformation Through Unbundling: Visualizing the Global FinTech Ecosystem, Service Science, 10(4), pp.379-396
The infusion of digital technology into financial services, also known as FinTech, is creating a massive disruption of the entire financial sector. Services traditionally offered by incumbents are now rapidly unbundled by a growing set of startups, leading to new models of collaboration and a significant shift in power. This study provides insight into the structure of the FinTech ecosystem using data-driven visualizations of 6,493 global companies across 24 market segments. We focus on two types of ecosystem entities, namely, (1) firms that create, offer, and acquire FinTech services and (2) investors that fund and enable them. Our analyses reveal a highly skewed global footprint of FinTech activities, differential growth patterns across ecosystem segments, highly interdependent network structure, and a variegated nature of investments and acquisitions led by key incumbents and venture capital firms. We conclude with theoretical and managerial implications and discuss opportunities for future service ecosystem research.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/serv.2018.0210 [Google]
Kim, K.-H., K.-J. Kim, C. Lim and J.-Y. Heo (2018): Development of a Lifelogs-Based Daily Wellness Score to Advance a Smart Wellness Service, Service Science, 10(4), pp.408-422
Smart wellness services collect various types of lifelog data, such as the number of steps taken and sleep duration, via smart devices. However, most existing smart wellness services simply display each individual lifelog to users, limiting their ability to support overall user understanding. In this article, the authors develop a lifelogs-based daily wellness score (LDWS) to resolve such limitations by combining various lifelog data to calculate a score that represents overall daily health behaviors. LDWS was developed as part of a smart wellness service for college students in collaboration with an IT company. Lifelog data of 41 college students were collected through a four-week trial and were subsequently fitted to a random effects model. Based on the model estimates, LDWS was determined by linearly aggregating seven behavior variables. The utility of the developed LDWS was validated through a second trial of the service. The authors also discuss other potential uses of LDWS and the factors to be considered for developing a lifelogs-based wellness score for a smart wellness service.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/serv.2018.0216 [Google]
Ng Lane, J., B. Ankenman and S. Iravani (2018): Insight into Gender Differences in Higher Education: Evidence from Peer Reviews in an Introductory STEM Course, Service Science, 10(4), pp.442-456
As the service industry moves toward self-service, peer feedback serves a critical role in this shift for educational services. Peer feedback is a process by which students provide feedback to each other. One of its major benefits is that it enables students to become actively involved in the learning and assessment process and play an integral role in the delivery and quality of their education. However, a primary concern is that students do not consistently provide each other with quality feedback, especially in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines in which gender stereotypes may hinder the ability of women to provide critical peer feedback. A potential way to improve peer feedback is to create anonymous review settings. This study examines how anonymity alters the nature of peer feedback in a large introductory undergraduate statistics class for computer science and engineering majors. In this class, peers review a series of team video projects as either anonymous or nonanonymous reviewers. Our results show that female peer reviewers were more affected by the anonymity setting than the male peer reviewers. We discuss the implications of these findings for promoting greater participation and retention of women in underrepresented STEM disciplines and the design of effective peer-review processes for improved student achievement and satisfaction.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/serv.2018.0224 [Google]
Polese, F., S. Barile, F. Caputo, L. Carrubbo and L. Waletzky (2018): Determinants for Value Cocreation and Collaborative Paths in Complex Service Systems: A Focus on (Smart) Cities, Service Science, 10(4), pp.397-407
In the last few years, service science has opened a debate on the need to adopt new approaches to better understand emerging social and economic dynamics. Different research pathways are now considering the management of complex service systems (CSSs). In this paper, the authors focus attention on the phenomenon of “smart cities” as an example of CSSs with the aim of investigating which ways actor perceptions affect opportunities and willingness for value cocreation and collaborative action. Using a survey of a random sample of 374 providers and users of city service platform in the city of Brno, Czech Republic, actor perceptions were analyzed, and through structural equation modelling, the relationships between actor perceptions and willingness to build value cocreation and collaborative paths were tested.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/serv.2018.0218 [Google]
Sampson, S. E. (2018): Professional Service Jobs: Highly Paid but Subject to Disruption?, Service Science, 10(4), pp.457-475
Professional service jobs are attractive because they pay well and, because of advanced skill requirements, have been relatively resistant to disruption. This research considers the potential for highly skilled professional jobs to be taken over by less-skilled workers, perhaps with the assistance of advanced artificial intelligence technologies. We consider jobs in healthcare, higher education, legal services, and management and show some areas in which less-professional workers may be able to do the work of more professional counterparts. We specifically focus on two types of job characteristics that other research suggests inhibit automation and justify advanced professional training. The first is low task structure with less-structured tasks being more likely to require professional attention and less likely to be performed by less-trained workers or by automation. The second is high decision impact, supposing that high-impact jobs are more likely to justify the higher pay of professional workers. Our empirical results show that professional jobs, in some ways, are distinct and require the advanced training that leads to higher pay. In other ways, it appears that paraprofessionals who are paid less could do the professional jobs. Professional jobs may not be as disruption-resistant as was previously thought.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/serv.2018.0227 [Google]
Ye, H. (2018): Encouraging Innovations of Quality from User Innovators: An Empirical Study of Mobile Data Services, Service Science, 10(4), pp.423-441
Can mobile data service platforms support users to make quality mobile apps? If so, what should the platforms do to encourage quality mobile data services from users? Cognitive evaluation theory is useful in explaining human behaviors based on individuals? innate psychological needs. In this article, the authors use this theory to explain how platforms can design their features (i.e., software development tools and design rules and regulations) to fulfil user needs for competence and autonomy. As a result, users can make mobile data services of better quality. The authors propose that toolkits can support the need for competence in terms of ease of effort and idea exploration, whereas regulations in design autonomy can support the need for autonomy in terms of decision-making autonomy, scheduling autonomy, and work method autonomy; and they find that indeed toolkits supported idea exploration and ease of effort, decision-making autonomy, and work method autonomy, enhancing the quality of users? service innovations. The insights for managers are that platforms can mindfully design their regulations and tools to support users to develop quality innovations, and that platform regulations and tools should be developed complementarily rather than separately.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/serv.2018.0223 [Google]
Azab, C., T. Clark and C. B. Jarvis (2018): Positive psychological capacities: the mystery ingredient in successful service recoveries?, Journal of Services Marketing, 32(7), pp.897-912
Purpose This paper aims to explore the influence of frontline employees’ (FLEs’) positive psychological capacities (PPCs) (optimism, hope, resilience and self-efficacy) on service recovery.Design/methodology/approach A model of FLE PPCs is tested using two studies: a field study (Nretail = 205; Nrestaurant = 160) and between-subject experimental design (Neducation = 206) in three service settings.Findings Results show that positive emotions mediate the relationship between PPCs and problem-solving adaptability, and that authenticity of positive emotions moderates the relationship between positive emotions and interactional justice. Surprisingly, problem-solving adaptability positively influences perceptions of distributive justice and interactional justice. A small interaction effect between positive emotions and problem-solving adaptability also was found.Research limitations/implications The dependent variable (problem-solving adaptability) was measured using an open-ended question evaluated by objective, independent raters rather than a self-reported structured metric, to minimize social desirability bias.Practical implications Given that the customer complaints to the Better Business Bureau in 2016 were close to one million, most of them occurring in the service sector, service firms need continuous research into improving service recovery. This study argues that firms can improve FLEs’ problem-solving adaptability behavior by training existing FLEs to strengthen PPCs, hiring FLEs that have strong PPCs and fostering positive emotions.Originality/value This is the first study that examines the effect of PPCs on service recovery outcomes. By incorporating PPCs as antecedents of positive emotions, this paper explains how FLEs can offer a better recovery rather than dictating what they ought to display and say. An explanation of how FLE PPCs influence customer outcomes via the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions and emotion contagion theory is offered, highlighting a novel path/relationship between FLE positive emotions and problem-solving abilities, and extending emotion contagion to service recovery.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-11-2017-0407 [Google]
Blodgett, J. G., A. Bakir, A. S. Mattila, A. Trujillo, C. Quintanilla and A. B. Elmadağ (2018): Cross-national differences in complaint behavior: cultural or situational?, Journal of Services Marketing, 32(7), pp.913-924
Purpose Previous research indicates that dissatisfied consumers in other countries react differently as compared to those in the USA, due to their cultural orientation. These studies, however, have not recognized that retail policies (regarding returns and exchanges) in the USA are much more liberal and “consumer friendly” than in other parts of the world, and thus it is possible that their conclusions are flawed. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to determine the extent to which cross-national differences in complaint behavior are due to cultural vs situational factors.Design/methodology/approach To examine this issue, a two-part study was conducted. Study 1 compared consumers living in China, India and Mexico to cohorts who immigrated to the USA. Study 2 compared individuals from those same countries to subjects who are native to the USA.Findings The findings indicate that situational factors (i.e. consumer-oriented vs restrictive refund/return/exchange policies) have a large impact on consumer complaint behavior (i.e. redress, negative-word-of-mouth and exit), and that the effects of culture are minor.Research limitations/implications To infer cause-effect, and establish scientific theory, one must rule out alternative hypotheses. Researchers who are investigating cross-cultural complaint behavior must take situational factors into account.Practical implications With the emergence of “global consumers” consumer expectations around the world are changing. Astute retailers should institute and promote more liberal return policies, thereby mitigating consumers’ perceived risk.Originality/value This study dispels the notion that culture is responsible for differences in cross-national consumer complaint behavior.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-12-2017-0413 [Google]
Durmusoglu, S. S., D. Z. Nayir, M. Chaudhuri, J. Chen, I. Joens and S. Scheuer (2018): Barriers to firm service innovativeness in emerging economies, Journal of Services Marketing, 32(7), pp.925-944
Purpose This paper investigates internal and external barriers influencing the different dimensions of firm service innovativeness and the moderating effect of transformational leadership on these relationships in an emerging economy, namely, Turkey.Design/methodology/approach The hypotheses were tested using cross-sectional survey data from 148 hotels. The authors use regressions to analyze the data set.Findings The results demonstrate that barriers to innovation need not necessarily impede firm service innovativeness at all times; some of these so-called “barriers” may even act as catalysts that improve firm’s likelihood of adopting innovations. More importantly, the findings suggest that a transformational leadership style alleviates the negative influence of internal barriers on internal service innovativeness dimensions of process, strategic and behavioral innovativeness.Originality/value The positive effect of transformational leadership lessening the detrimental impact of barriers to innovation is a topic in need of research. In addition to examining this phenomenon in a developing country, the authors choose a service retailing industry as a study context: hospitality/tourism. The main reason for choosing this industry is that there is little empirical evidence of service innovation activity in this industry despite the fact that it contributes to a large extent to employment and gross domestic product in most emerging economies, and it is, in fact, a fairly innovative industry. Furthermore, this study presents a unique perspective by investigating small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-11-2016-0411 [Google]
Fernandes, T., M. Morgado and M. A. Rodrigues (2018): The role of employee emotional competence in service recovery encounters, Journal of Services Marketing, 32(7), pp.835-849
Purpose Employees’ emotional competencies (EEC) are skills, based on emotional intelligence, used to perceive, understand and regulate customer emotions during a service encounter. In the context of service recovery, these skills are especially important and allow employees to influence consumers’ attitude and behaviours. The purpose of this study is to assess the direct and indirect impacts of EEC in post-recovery satisfaction, trust, word-of-mouth and repurchase intention, considering the moderating role of service (level of employee-customer contact) types.Design/methodology/approach A total of 355 customers who experienced a service failure and subsequent recovery were surveyed using a self-administered questionnaire. EEC was specified as a formative construct, determined by its perceiving, understanding and regulating dimensions. To measure EEC and its impact on selected outcomes, PLS-SEM was used. A multi-group analysis was performed to analyse the moderating role of service type.Findings Results confirm EEC as a formative construct, with a positive direct impact on post-recovery satisfaction, particularly in high-contact customized services. Findings also reveal the mediating role of satisfaction on selected outcomes, and the significant direct impact of EEC on trust, even when controlling for satisfaction.Originality/value EEC remains unexplored in the service recovery literature, and most research fails to understand how EEC role may vary given contextual differences. This study adopts a consumer perspective of EEC in the emotionally charged situation of service recovery, considering the moderating role of service type. The authors further contribute to both literature streams while examining the impact of EEC on post-recovery evaluations. Companies should consider these findings in the recruitment and training of front-line employees to develop better service recovery strategies.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-07-2017-0237 [Google]
Guerrero, S., D. Chênevert, C. Vandenberghe, M. Tremblay and A. K. Ben Ayed (2018): Employees’ psychological empowerment and performance: how customer feedback substitutes for leadership, Journal of Services Marketing, 32(7), pp.868-879
Purpose Relying on the theories of substitutes for leadership and psychological empowerment, this study aims to explore how perceptions of customer positive feedback can substitute for managers’ transformational leadership in driving frontline employees’ psychological empowerment and, in turn, task performance.Design/methodology/approach The authors tested the research hypotheses with frontline employees working in 17 equipment rental stores. Employees completed a questionnaire about customer positive feedback, transformational leadership and psychological empowerment, and supervisors completed a separate questionnaire about employees’ task performance. A total of 178 employee-supervisor dyads formed the final sample of the study.Findings The results provided support for our hypotheses. Psychological empowerment fully mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and task performance. Moreover, customer positive feedback moderated the indirect relationship between transformational leadership and task performance such that it was significant and positive only when customer feedback was low.Originality/value This paper contributes to the service marketing literature by showing that customer positive feedback can substitute for managers’ leadership in helping frontline employees feeling more in control of their work and psychologically empowered. Another useful contribution for practitioners is that customers may have a positive impact on frontline employees’ motivation state, which past research has little explored.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-09-2017-0325 [Google]
Indounas, K. (2018): Market structure and pricing objectives in the services sector, Journal of Services Marketing, 32(7), pp.792-804
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the pricing objectives (e.g. customer-related objectives, sales-related objectives, profit-related objectives) that service companies pursue to set their prices and to examine the impact of market structure on these objectives.Design/methodology/approach To achieve the research objectives, data were collected from 184 companies operating in four different service industries, namely, logistics companies, financial services providers, information technology companies and airlines.Findings The findings indicate that the companies that were investigated in the current study seem to follow a hierarchy of pricing objectives, in which their main focus is on the maintenance of the existing customers and the attraction of new ones to ensure their long-term survival in their market without, however, disregarding financial issues and objectives. The study also revealed that the market structure, along with the sector of operation, has an impact on the pricing objectives pursued, as different market conditions were found to lead to different pricing objectives.Practical implications The above findings indicate that managers responsible for setting prices within their firms should be guided by the unique characteristics of their markets.Originality/value Given the lack of similar studies within the existing services sector literature, the originality/value of the paper lies in the fact that it presents one of the first attempts to empirically examine this issue from a marketing point of view.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-03-2018-0087 [Google]
Picolo, J. D. and G. Tontini (2018): Integrating methods for the prioritization of innovations and improvements in services, Journal of Services Marketing, 32(7), pp.820-834
Purpose This paper aims to present a methodology for the prioritization of innovations and improvements in services and products that integrates penalty–reward contrast analysis (PRCA) and improvement gap analysis (IGA).Design/methodology/approach The presented method is theoretically developed and simulated. It uses a case study with 290 clients of supermarkets, evaluating 16 attributes of this service, to demonstrate the advantages of integrating PRCA and IGA.Findings The integration of PRCA and IGA provides benefits that outweigh the use of each method individually. The joint use of these methods allows the identification of possible nonlinear impact of attributes on customers’ overall satisfaction, allowing managerial recommendations to be made with greater discriminatory power, in addition to qualifying the identification of innovative attributes.Originality/value Managers must be aware of the effect of the interaction of innovative attributes with attributes already used by the company. At the same time, it is appropriate to verify whether there is potential to improve the existing attributes. The literature shows that PRCA identifies the nonlinear influence of customers’ satisfaction with individual attributes on overall satisfaction, but it fails to identify the possible impact of innovative attributes. In turn, IGA identifies innovative attributes but does not identify how the attributes influence overall satisfaction. Thus, the benefits of integrating PRCA and IGA outweigh the individual limitations of each method, thereby increasing the quality of managerial recommendations. Moreover, a limitation of PRCA makes this method useful for identifying innovative attributes in relation to attractive attributes identified by the IGA method.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-12-2015-0383 [Google]
Ruiz-Molina, M.-E., M. Gallarza and I. Gil-Saura (2018): A review of value drivers in service settings, Journal of Services Marketing, 32(7), pp.850-867
Purpose Perceived value and customer loyalty have been studied jointly in most of services literature but mainly through SEM models. This paper aims to draw on the literature on the multidimensional richness of perceived value, to adopt a segmentation approach and explore segments of loyal consumers towards the service provider based on their value perceptions.Design/methodology/approach A survey was conducted among 460 Spanish consumers interviewed at the store exit of seven retail chains in two sectors (grocery and home furnishing). A CHAID analysis was performed on loyalty responses, through nine value dimensions (efficiency, service quality, product quality, emotional value, value for money, social value, aesthetic value, escapism and ethics).Findings Results show the existence of different groups of loyal customers based on the nine value types. Efficiency is prioritised by the most loyal customers in grocery but not for home furnishing. Emotional value and aesthetics, along with product quality determine the most loyal segments.Practical implications Retailers should focus on enhancing those value dimensions that better explain customer loyalty towards retail stores in their area of specialisation, combining not only tangible and intangible elements but also functional and emotional elements.Originality/value The paper adds to the prolific research on perceived value in services with a diachronic graphical review of value dimensions in retailing; furthermore, the range of value dimensions studied here is wider than most of previous works using dimensions of value in services.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-11-2017-0399 [Google]
Torres, P., M. Augusto and E. Wallace (2018): Improving consumers’ willingness to pay using social media activities, Journal of Services Marketing, 32(7), pp.880-896
Purpose This study examines the impact of social media activities on consumers’ willingness to pay a premium price (WTPp) in the banking industry, and investigates the role of consumer-brand identification (CBI) on this relationship. For the first time, the effect of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) is considered separately from other social media marketing efforts (SMME).Design/methodology/approach Data from a sample of 145 banking customers that follow bank social networks was analysed using structural equation modelling and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to test a proposed structural model.Findings Findings indicate that the effect of eWOM and SMME on WTPp is fully mediated by CBI. The results uncover a viable path to achieve WTPp in the banking industry, which includes the joint presence of SMME, eWOM and CBI.Research/limitations implications The study was conducted on the banking sector of Portugal. It is advocated that further research would investigate the results in other service sectors, across different countries.Practical implications Findings highlight the importance of social media marketing in banking. Results reveal opportunities for managers in the banking sector to enhance CBI and ultimately WTPp, through SMME and eWOM.Originality/value The study is the first to consider the influence of SMME and eWOM as separate antecedents of WTPp. The findings indicate that the effect of eWOM and SMME on WTPp is fully mediated by CBI. In particular, the results of the fsQCA indicate that the combined presence of SMME, eWOM and CBI, is sufficient to obtain WTPp.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-07-2017-0257 [Google]
Trischler, J., A. Zehrer and J. Westman (2018): A designerly way of analyzing the customer experience, Journal of Services Marketing, 32(7), pp.805-819
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the usability of different design methods in understanding the customer experience from a contextual and systemic standpoint.Design/methodology/approach Three design methods (i.e. personas, observations and collaborative service mapping) were applied to analyze customer experiences in two service settings. These methods’ usability was compared across the two settings.Findings Personas, as informed by phenomenological interviews, provide insights into the customer’s broader lifeworld context. These insights assist in connecting with and understanding the customer experience from a dyadic customer-firm perspective. The involvement of the customer in service mapping activities supports the validation of findings and gives access to experience dimensions beyond the immediate service setting.Research limitations/implications The analysis is limited to three design methods and is based on small samples. Future research should systematically review design methods to provide a basis for a more comprehensive evaluation.Practical implications To successfully capture the contextual and systemic nature of the customer experience, managers should apply interpretive approaches and actively involve selected customers as “experts of their experiences”. The study provides guidelines on how design methods can be combined and applied to a more holistic customer experience analysis.Originality/value The paper shows that design methods, when applied in a combined form, can support an analysis that captures both in-depth insights into the customer’s lifeworld and the complexity of value constellations.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-04-2017-0138 [Google]
Vidyarthi, H. (2019): Dynamics of intellectual capitals and bank efficiency in India, Service Industries Journal, 39(1), pp.1-24
This article attempts to examine the impact of intellectual capitals and its sub-components on the bank’s efficiency parameters for 38 listed Indian banks within multivariate panel data framework during the period from 2004-2005 to 2015-2016. The study uses the non-parametric Data Envelopment Analysis approach to estimate technical, pure technical and scale efficiency in the first stage, followed by computing Value Added Intellectual Capital and Modified Value Added Intellectual Capital as an indicator for intellectual capital performance. Finally, Tobit regression results suggest that intellectual capitals have statistically significant and positive but very low impact on all the three efficiency scores. At the sub-component level, only human capital efficiency has a significant impact with low value on the all three efficiency measures. Bank size and leverage are also found to be significant drivers of bank efficiency as well. Thus, the study’s findings support higher investment in intellectual capitals in order to further improve the banking efficiency and value creation in India by adopting appropriate policy by management for proper input allocations, particularly human capital and capital employed in coming years.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2018.1435641 [Google]
Buzova, D., S. Sanz-Blas and A. Cervera-Taulet (2019): Does culture affect sentiments expressed in cruise tours’ eWOM?, Service Industries Journal, 39(2), pp.154-173
The study aims to examine the sentiment differences in the content of cruise tour online reviews across North Americans and Europeans, as representing the two largest cruise markets. Dictionary-based sentiment analysis has been carried out on 1127 reviews on guided tours retrieved from TripAdvisor. The results indicate significant differences in the sentiment score of the reviews, with North Americans’ texts being more emotionally charged than the European ones. In addition, North Americans’ reviews conveyed a more positive affect and had a more subjective and intimate tone, while those written by Europeans contained a smaller amount of sentiment-bearing words and their tone was more objective. The study’s contribution lies in (i) providing evidence for the influence of culture on electronic word-of-mouth communication in terms of varying sentiment expression, (ii) demonstrating the effectiveness of sentiment analysis for recognizing cultural differences and (iii) enhancing the current understanding of cruisers’ tour experience.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2018.1476497 [Google]
Femenia-Serra, F., B. Neuhofer and J. A. Ivars-Baidal (2019): Towards a conceptualisation of smart tourists and their role within the smart destination scenario, Service Industries Journal, 39(2), pp.109-133
‘Smart tourism’ and ‘smart destinations’ have been gaining attention as new frameworks within which to understand the impact the latest information and communication technologies (ICTs) have on the relationship between businesses, destinations and tourists. However, there is a crucial element of the smart tourism ecosystem that has been rather neglected in research hitherto: the tourists themselves. By acknowledging a shift in tourists’ behaviour due to the advent of disruptive factors, this paper conceptualises the recently emerged notion of ‘the smart tourist’. This new type of tourist is profiled through a description of their attitudes and behaviours, and their role within the smart destination scenario is depicted. By taking a consumer-centric perspective and framing the conceptualisation within the relevant theories, this paper contributes to the current body of knowledge on tourism in a highly technological context and facilitates bridging smart tourism theoretical foundations with empirical research. The observed transformation in tourists’ behaviour and its encapsulation in the smart tourist conceptualisation reveal critical managerial implications for both destination management organisations and businesses in the rapidly changing smart tourism ecosystem.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2018.1508458 [Google]
González-Blanco, J., J. L. Coca-Pérez and M. Guisado-González (2019): Relations between technological and non-technological innovations in the service sector, Service Industries Journal, 39(2), pp.134-153
In the economic literature, there is a debate on whether technological and non-technological innovations share the same determinants. As a result of this debate, two opposing views have emerged: the distinctive view argues that the determinants of both technologies are different; on the contrary, the integrative view considers that both types of technologies share determinants. The main objective that we pursue in this study is to test which of the two views is prevalent in the service sector of the Spanish economy. Analyses were performed using data from Spanish Technological Innovation Panel for the period 2008-2012. To perform hypothesis tests, the approach of complementarity was used. Our findings indicate that neither of the two approaches has been fully accredited, although the distinctive view is more prevalent. However, this radiography of relations tells us that companies can achieve further increases in productivity if technological innovation and non-technological innovation are implemented simultaneously.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2018.1474876 [Google]
Karatepe, O. M., A. Ozturk and T. T. Kim (2019): Servant leadership, organisational trust, and bank employee outcomes, Service Industries Journal, 39(2), pp.86-108
Using servant leadership and social exchange theories as the theoretical frameworks, our study proposes and tests a research model that investigates trust in organisation (TIO) as a mediator of the impact of servant leadership on three critical outcomes. These outcomes are intention to be late for work (ILW), creative performance, and service recovery performance. Data obtained from frontline bank employees in three waves at one-week apart and their managers in Saint Petersburg in Russia were used to test the aforementioned relationships. The results demonstrate that TIO is an immediate outcome of servant leadership. TIO gives rise to lower ILW and higher creative and service recovery performances. The aforesaid findings reveal that servant leadership mitigates ILW and boosts both creative and service recovery performances only through TIO. Implications for theory and practice are discussed in our paper.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2018.1464559 [Google]
Corsi, C., A. Prencipe, M. J. Rodríguez-Gulías, D. Rodeiro-Pazos and S. Fernández-López (2019): Growth of KIBS and non-KIBS firms: evidences from university spin-offs, Service Industries Journal, 39(1), pp.43-64
Knowledge Intensive Business Services (KIBS) firms are emerging into a knowledge-processing and knowledge-producing industry. Universities contribute to the creation of KIBS firms through university spin-offs (USOs), which represent an opportunity to boost knowledge spillovers from university to industry thanks to their cutting-edge research knowledge, consolidated research experience and well-developed interactive learning processes. The study of the growth of the KIBS USOs is needed to better understand whether these entrepreneurial ventures represent strategic elements of regional innovation systems and economic growth, distinguishing them from the other USOs in terms of growth. The paper explores whether KIBS firms grow more than non-KIBS firms. Using a sample of 1394 Italian and Spanish USOs over the period 2005-2013, the results show that being a KIBS firm has a positive effect on the growth of Spanish USOs, whereas the same does not hold for Italian USOs. Some relevant policies and practical implications are provided.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2018.1436703 [Google]
Tian, Q.-t., Y. Song, H. K. Kwan and X. Li (2019): Workplace gossip and frontline employees’ proactive service performance, Service Industries Journal, 39(1), pp.25-42
Managers are interested in promoting frontline employees’ proactive behavior because proactivity is crucial for organizational success. This study examined the link between perceived workplace gossip and employees’ (targets’) proactive service performance by focusing on the mediating role of employees’ harmonious passion and the moderating role of perceived job social support. Using time-lagged survey data from 218 supervisor-subordinate dyads in a commercial bank in China, we found that perceived workplace gossip negatively influences employees’ proactive service performance, and that this relationship is mediated by reduced harmonious passion. In addition, perceived job social support attenuates the negative relationship between perceived workplace gossip and harmonious passion, with harmonious passion having a mediating effect on the relationship between perceived workplace gossip and proactive service performance. These results provide new directions for understanding workplace gossip, harmonious passion, proactive service performance, and job social support. The theoretical and practical implications of our findings are discussed.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2018.1435642 [Google]
Kamran, S. and O. Uusitalo (2019): Banks’ unfairness and the vulnerability of low-income unbanked consumers, Service Industries Journal, 39(1), pp.65-85
This paper’s objective was to explore low-income unbanked consumers’ perceptions of bank fairness and the way these perceptions were linked to consumer experiences of vulnerability. Qualitative data were used to analyse low-income consumers’ perceptions about banks’ services and communications. The study finds that although consumers’ financial inclusion is partially hindered by their personal circumstances, the perceived unfair treatment by banks has an even more negative impact on their financial inclusion. Low-income unbanked individuals report banks avoiding them, discriminating against them and impeding their financial inclusion. Banks’ perceived unfairness towards low-income consumers leads those consumers to experience vulnerability in numerous ways. Finally, we provide public policy implications for low-income consumers’ well-being and financial inclusion and to assist them in mitigating their vulnerability.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2018.1436704 [Google]
Genennig, S.M., A. Roth, J.M. Jonas, K.M. Möslein (2018):
Value Propositions in Service Systems Enabled by Digital Technology:
A Field Based Design Science Approach,Journal of Service Management Research, 2(4), pp. 6-21
In the context of the digitization of business environments, organizations and processes are currently undergoing major changes. Digital transformation offers a high potential to develop new value propositions by using digital technology, but at the same time demands for the implementation of disruptive innovation in complex service systems. Thereby, it is crucial to find out how to make use of technology-enabled potentials and how to find a structured way to develop and design new value propositions, embedded in service systems. To support the development and design of value propositions, this paper designs the VdiP-developer as a framework for the systematic development of digitization-enabled value propositions in service systems. It considers the advancement of existing likewise the development of new value propositions. In particular, the VdiP-developer highlights the roles of digital technology in service systems and establishes a framework to consider both, digital technology and service systems, in the development of value propositions. Using a field-based design-science approach to research, this paper shows how the framework for value proposition building is iteratively developed, applied and evaluated as a joint initiative by researchers and practitioners. The designed artefact, the VdiP-developer, enables organizations to systematically improve and develop value propositions by bringing management perspectives and service design elements together in one compact framework.
Baer, F., M. Leyer, K. Sandkuhl (2018): Reducing the IT personnel’s workload in IT self-services, Journal of Service Management Research, 2(4), pp. 22-35
IT operations aims to reduce the IT personnel’s workload in IT self-services, which is not self-evident. This study explores how the IT personnel’s workload can be reduced in IT self-services. A multiple-case study with five IT self-services was conducted. Data was collected from two German IT service providers and a European software company. The problem causing a non-reduction of the IT personnel’s workload in IT self-services is a lack of service production control and it is rooted in knowledge and skill gaps and a free IT self-service outcome. The two solutions to that problem comprise the adoption of five behavioral patterns: chargeback and limitation, standardization of the IT self-service, authorization of employee orders, showback, and training and support. This study is first revealing the mechanisms how IT self-services can be operated successfully from a service operations perspective.
Brabänder, C. (2018): Distribution Districting – the case of in-night express services, Journal of Service Management Research, 2(4), pp. 36-52
Distribution districting is the problem of partitioning a logistics service area into districts. A good districting plan is characterized by its properties of contiguity, compactness, and balance. Herein, a mixed integer program of the distribution districting problem is proposed. Compactness serves as the objective, since compact districts have greater operational routing flexibility. Balance of the estimated travel time per district is incorporated in the constraints of the model. Contiguity is modelled using a net flow formulation. The applicability is demonstrated at the case of in-night express at Kiessling Spedition. In express services, districting is of major importance since the feasibility and productivity of tours, bundling of shipments, daily routing efficiency, and satisfaction of customers and drivers are depending on a good districting plan. This paper contributes to the body of districting literature through a practical application of a quantitative model and thus bridges the gap between academic literature and practice.
Graf, Y., R. Helm(2018): Do Different Service Types Require Changes in NSD Processes at Industrial Manufacturers – An Empirical Examination of Personal and Digital Services, Journal of Service Management Research, 2(4), pp. 53-67
New service development (NSD) at industrial manufacturers and the corresponding process are topics of growing interest in research. However, it has not been clarified yet if the latter should be customised according to different service types. The scarce attention paid to classifying services in this context is surprising considering the increasing importance of personal next to digital services in the course of the emergence of the latter. We take a step towards closing this gap by empirically examining a potential moderating effect of these two service types on a capability-based NSD process. Since it has been established conceptually so far, its investigation in an abbreviated version constitutes a further element of our study. Based on an analysis of 197 NSD projects, we can support the sequence of that process, however, we cannot, contrary to our assumptions, find a moderating effect of the service types. This result implies that managers should focus on possessing the basic capabilities to successfully pass through the NSD process independent of the services developed.
