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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Keiningham, T. L., R. T. Rust, B. Lariviere, L. Aksoy and L. Williams (2018): A roadmap for driving customer word-of-mouth, Journal of Service Management, 29(1), pp.2-38
Purpose Managers seeking to manage customer word-of-mouth (WOM) behavior need to understand how different attitudinal drivers (e.g. satisfaction, positive and negative emotion, commitment, and self-brand connection) relate to a range of WOM behaviors. They also need to know how the effects of these drivers are moderated by customer characteristics (e.g. gender, age, income, country). The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approach To investigate these issues a built a large-scale multi-national database was created that includes attitudinal drivers, customer characteristics, and a full range of WOM behaviors, involving both the sending and receiving of both positive and negative WOM, with both strong and weak ties. The combination of sending-receiving, positive-negative and strong ties-weak ties results in a typology of eight distinct WOM behaviors. The investigation explores the drivers of those behaviors, and their moderators, using a hierarchical Bayes model in which all WOM behaviors are simultaneously modeled.Findings Among the many important findings uncovered are: the most effective way to drive all positive WOM behaviors is through maximizing affective commitment and positive emotions; minimizing negative emotions and ensuring that customers are satisfied lowers all negative WOM behaviors; all other attitudinal drivers have lower or even mixed effects on the different WOM behaviors; and customer characteristics can have a surprisingly large impact on how attitudes affect different WOM behaviors.Practical implications These findings have important managerial implications for promotion (which attitudes should be stimulated to produce the desired WOM behavior) and segmentation (how should marketing efforts change, based on segments defined by customer characteristics).Originality/value This research points to the myriad of factors that enhance positive and reduce negative word-of-mouth, and the importance of accounting for customer heterogeneity in assessing the likely impact of attitudinal drivers on word-of-mouth behaviors.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-03-2017-0077 [Google]
Victorino, L., J. M. Field, R. W. Buell, M. J. Dixon, S. Meyer Goldstein, L. J. Menor, M. E. Pullman, A. V. Roth, E. Secchi and J. J. Zhang (2018): Service operations: what have we learned?, Journal of Service Management, 29(1), pp.39-54
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify research themes in service operations that have great potential for exciting and innovative conceptual and empirical work. To frame these research themes, the paper provides a systematic literature review of operations articles published in the Journal of Service Management (JOSM). The thorough review of published work in JOSM and proposed research themes are presented in hopes that they will inspire impactful research on service operations. These themes are further developed in a companion paper, “Service operations: what’s next?” (Field et al., 2018).Design/methodology/approach The JOSM Service Operations Expert Research Panel conducted a Delphi study to generate research themes where leading-edge research on service operations is being done or has yet to be done. Nearly 700 articles published in JOSM from its inception through 2016 were reviewed and classified by discipline focus. The subset of service operations articles was then further categorized according to the eight identified research themes plus an additional category that primarily represented traditional manufacturing approaches applied in service settings.Findings From the Delphi study, the following key themes emerged: service supply networks, evaluating and measuring service operations performance, understanding customer and employee behavior in service operations, managing servitization, managing knowledge-based service contexts, managing participation roles and responsibilities in service operations, addressing society’s challenges through service operations, and the operational implications of the sharing economy. Based on the literature review, approximately 20 percent of the published work in JOSM is operations focused, with earlier articles predominantly applying traditional manufacturing approaches in service settings. However, the percentage of these traditional types of articles has been steadily decreasing, suggesting a trend toward dedicated research frameworks and themes that are unique to the design and management of services operations.Originality/value The paper presents key research themes for advancing conceptual and empirical research on service operations. Additionally, a review of the past and current landscape of operations articles published in JOSM offers an understanding of the scholarly conversation so far and sets a foundation from which to build future research.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-08-2017-0192 [Google]
Field, J. M., L. Victorino, R. W. Buell, M. J. Dixon, S. Meyer Goldstein, L. J. Menor, M. E. Pullman, A. V. Roth, E. Secchi and J. J. Zhang (2018): Service operations: what’s next?, Journal of Service Management, 29(1), pp.55-97
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present exciting and innovative research questions in service operations that are aligned with eight key themes and related topics determined by the Journal of Service Management (JOSM) Service Operations Expert Research Panel. By offering a good number of such research questions, this paper provides a broad range of ideas to spur conceptual and empirical research related to service operations and encourage the continued creation of deep knowledge within the field, as well as collaborative research across disciplines that develops and incorporates insights from service operations.Design/methodology/approach Based on a Delphi study, described in the companion article, “Service Operations: What Have We Learned?,” the panel identified eight key research themes in service operations where leading-edge research is being done or has yet to be done (Victorino et al., 2018). In this paper, three or four topics within each theme are selected and multiple questions for each topic are proposed to guide research efforts. The topics and questions, while wide-ranging, are only representative of the many ongoing research opportunities related to service operations.Findings The field of service operations has many interesting research topics and questions that are largely unexplored. Furthermore, these research areas are not only increasingly integrative across multiple themes within operations but often transcend functional disciplines. This creates opportunities for ever more impactful research with a greater reach throughout the service system and suggests that service researchers, regardless of functional affiliation, can contribute to the ongoing conversation on the role of service operations in value creation.Originality/value Leveraging the collective knowledge of the JOSM Service Operations Expert Research Panel to expand on the research themes generated from the Delphi study, novel questions for future study are put forward. Recognizing that the number of potential research questions is virtually unlimited, summary questions by theme and topic are also provided. These questions represent a synopsis of the individual questions and can serve as a quick reference guide for researchers interested in pursuing new directions in conceptual and empirical research in service operations. This summary also serves as a framework to facilitate the formulation of additional research topics and questions.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-08-2017-0191 [Google]
Wolter, J. S., V. M. Landers, S. Brach and J. J. Cronin (2018): Customer-company identification transfer across service alliances, Journal of Service Management, 29(1), pp.98-119
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine whether customer-company identification (CCI) can transfer from one organization to the next within the context of service alliances.Design/methodology/approach A between-subjects experiment using a fictitious alliance and a field study focused on a real alliance tests identification transfer at the time of a service alliance announcement and while the service alliance is in operation.Findings Identification transfer is enabled by an exclusive service alliance but not an inclusive one. For identification transfer to be maintained, customers must perceive the companies as a coherent group (i.e. high entitativity) and have close physical proximity to the alliance.Originality/value By drawing heavily on self-categorization theory for the proposed effects, the current research provides a new theoretical framework to the service and brand alliance literature that contrasts with the attitude-based theories commonly used. Furthermore, the current research explores how company-company relationships influence CCI whereas most research has focused on characteristics of the customer-company relationship. These two differences suggest service alliances provide more value to the companies and customers than currently realized.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-05-2017-0115 [Google]
Trischler, J., P. Kristensson and D. Scott (2018): Team diversity and its management in a co-design team, Journal of Service Management, 29(1), pp.120-145
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the conditions under which a co-design team comprised of in-house professionals and leading-edge service users can generate innovative service design concepts.Design/methodology/approach The investigation used a field-experimental design to conduct two studies. Observations and open-ended questionnaires were used to examine cross-comparison matrices with experts rating the generated outcomes and t-tests being used to compare the outcome ratings between teams of different compositions.Findings The outcomes produced by a co-design team seem to be linked to the team diversity – process facilitation relationship. Bringing a variety of knowledge and skills into the team can lead to original outcomes, while a high disparity between members’ backgrounds can require extensive efforts to facilitate a collaborative process. Separation between users’ objectives can result in a user-driven process and outcomes that are too specific for the broader marketplace. Co-design teams that characterize minimum separation, maximum variety, and moderate disparity are likely to produce the most promising results.Research limitations/implications The research was restricted to a narrowly defined study setting and samples. Future research should replicate the current study in other service contexts using different team compositions.Practical implications Co-design requires the careful selection of users based on their background and motivations, as well as the facilitation of a process that enables the team to collaboratively transform relevant knowledge into innovative outcomes.Originality/value The research contributes to a better understanding of the team composition – process facilitation relationship affecting innovation outcomes. Doing so provides a more fine-grained picture of the co-design team composition and the facilitation requirements for service design.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-10-2016-0283 [Google]
Di Pietro, L., B. Edvardsson, J. Reynoso, M. F. Renzi, M. Toni and R. Guglielmetti Mugion (2018): A scaling up framework for innovative service ecosystems: lessons from Eataly and KidZania, Journal of Service Management, 29(1), pp.146-175
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore why innovative service ecosystems scale up, using a service-dominant logic lens. The focus is on identifying the key drivers of the scaling-up process as the basis for a new conceptual framework on the scaling up of service innovations.Design/methodology/approach An inductive research design is used to zoom in on two innovative service ecosystems, Eataly and KidZania, to identify the key drivers that can explain why innovations scale up. For both companies, the triangulation of semi-structured interviews, archival sources and in-store observations is used as complementary data sets. Multiple investigators and multiple coders have been involved in the data collection, coding process and analysis.Findings An extended conceptualization of service innovation is obtained, grounded in a framework of four drivers of scaling up: effectuation as the basis for creating the value proposition; sensing and adapting to local contexts; the reconfiguration and alignment of resources and forms for collaboration between actors; and values’ resonance.Originality/value This study represents one of the first empirical investigations of the key drivers of the scaling up process of service innovations. The paper contributes with a conceptualization of service innovation and why scaling-up processes emerge, emphasizing the existence of multiple constellations of four drivers.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-02-2017-0054 [Google]
Patrício, L., A. Gustafsson and R. Fisk (2018): Upframing Service Design and Innovation for Research Impact, Journal of Service Research, 21(1), pp.3-16
Service design and innovation are receiving greater attention from the service research community because they play crucial roles in creating new forms of value cocreation with customers, organizations, and societal actors in general. Service innovation involves a new process or service offering that creates value for one or more actors in a service network. Service design brings new service ideas to life through a human-centered and holistic design thinking approach. However, service design and innovation build on dispersed multidisciplinary contributions that are still poorly understood. The special issue that follows offers important contributions through the examination of service design and innovation literature, the links between service design and innovation, the role of customers in service design and innovation, and service design and innovation for well-being. Building on these contributions, this article develops a future research agenda in three areas: (1) reinforcing and expanding the foundations of service design and innovation by integrating multiple perspectives and methods; (2) advancing service design and innovation by improving the connection between the two areas, deepening actor involvement, and leveraging the role of technology; and (3) upframing service design and innovation to strengthen research impact by innovating complex value networks and service ecosystems and by building a cornerstone for transformative service research.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1094670517746780 [Google]
Antons, D. and C. F. Breidbach (2018): Big Data, Big Insights? Advancing Service Innovation and Design With Machine Learning, Journal of Service Research, 21(1), pp.17-39
Service innovation is intertwined with service design, and knowledge from both fields should be integrated to advance theoretical and normative insights. However, studies bridging service innovation and service design are in their infancy. This is because the body of service innovation and service design research is large and heterogeneous, which makes it difficult, if not impossible, for any human to read and understand its entire content and to delineate appropriate guidelines on how to broaden the scope of either field. Our work addresses this challenge by presenting the first application of topic modeling, a type of machine learning, to review and analyze currently available service innovation and service design research (n = 641 articles with 10,543 pages of written text or 4,119,747 words). We provide an empirical contribution to service research by identifying and analyzing 69 distinct research topics in the published text corpus, a theoretical contribution by delineating an extensive research agenda consisting of four research directions and 12 operationalizable guidelines to facilitate cross-fertilization between the two fields, and a methodological contribution by introducing and demonstrating the applicability of topic modeling and machine learning as a novel type of big data analytics to our discipline.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1094670517738373 [Google]
Yu, E. and D. Sangiorgi (2018): Service Design as an Approach to Implement the Value Cocreation Perspective in New Service Development, Journal of Service Research, 21(1), pp.40-58
Although new service development (NSD) studies have contributed to developing systematic approaches to service innovation, their product-oriented and provider-centric perspectives are limited in embracing a value cocreation concept. We investigate how Service Design, as a human-centered and creative approach to service innovation, can reframe NSD processes to implement value cocreation. Multiple case studies on Service Design projects indicate that design-centric approaches can contribute to the whole NSD process in a way that connects organizations’ managerial practices to value cocreation, in that (1) contextual and holistic understandings of user experiences can inform value propositions that better fit users’ value-in-use, (2) codesign with creative supporting tools can facilitate value cocreation by helping users better apply their own resources, (3) prototyping can optimize firms’ resource and process configuration to facilitate users’ engagement with the service, (4) aligning system actors to the user experience can organize and mobilize them to better support users’ value creation, and (5) user-centered approaches and methods can help organizational staff build long-term capability for supporting users’ value creation. Based on the link between Service Design, NSD, and value cocreation, we propose a conceptual NSD model, geared toward value cocreation.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1094670517709356 [Google]
Kurtmollaiev, S., A. Fjuk, P. E. Pedersen, S. Clatworthy and K. Kvale (2018): Organizational Transformation Through Service Design, Journal of Service Research, 21(1), pp.59-74
In this article, we provide in-depth insight into the process of adopting service design (SD) by a large service organization. We use an inductive interpretive approach and draw on rich longitudinal data collected in one of the world’s major telecommunication companies that undertook a series of SD initiatives to improve its innovation capability. We find that instead of merely bringing new services, SD has far-reaching consequences for organizations, prompting significant changes in the organizational mindset and routines. Building on the institutional logics perspective and acknowledging the role of individuals’ institutional work, we identify the macro-level and micro-level mechanisms of the organizational logic transformation that SD induces. Interestingly, the effects are bidirectional, as the organizational context has a considerable impact on SD as an innovation practice. As this study shows, managers and other practitioners can effectively overcome organizational hindrances to the adoption of SD by creating an SD-based corporate language, realigning key performance indicators, and facilitating learning and experimentation.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1094670517738371 [Google]
Trischler, J., S. J. Pervan, S. J. Kelly and D. R. Scott (2018): The Value of Codesign, Journal of Service Research, 21(1), pp.75-100
Codesign allows a design team to combine two sets of knowledge that are key to service design: Customer insights into latent user needs and in-house professionals’ conversion of promising new ideas into viable concepts. While some studies highlight the potential of codesign, others are more skeptical pointing to a lack of clarity over how the involvement of customers affects the design process and outcomes. This article addresses this knowledge gap by reporting on a real-world comparison of design concepts generated by codesign teams with those generated by an in-house professional team and a team solely made up of users in the course of a library service ideation contest. The comparison indicates that codesign teams generate concepts that score significantly higher in user benefit and novelty but lower in feasibility. However, these outcomes are only possible in cohesive teams that develop design concepts collaboratively. In contrast, in teams where individuals dominate, conflict, less collaboration, and diminished innovation outcomes are more likely. The findings add to a better understanding of the value of codesign and shed light on the complex relationship between design team composition, intrateam factors, and innovation outcomes. Service designers obtain recommendations for selecting customers, assembling teams, and managing intrateam dynamics to enhance codesign success.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1094670517714060 [Google]
Storey, C. and C. Larbig (2018): Absorbing Customer Knowledge, Journal of Service Research, 21(1), pp.101-118
Customers are a knowledge resource outside of the firm that can be utilized for new service success by involving them in the design process. However, existing research on the impact of customer involvement (CI) is inconclusive. Knowledge about customers’ needs and on how best to serve these needs (articulated in the service concept) is best obtained from customers themselves. However, codesign runs the risk of losing control of the service concept. This research argues that of the processes of external knowledge, acquisition (via CI), customer knowledge assimilation, and concept transformation form a capability that enables the firm to exploit customer knowledge in the form of a successful new service. Data from a survey of 126 new service projects show that the impact of CI on new service success is fully mediated by customer knowledge assimilation (the deep understanding of customers’ latent needs) and concept transformation (the modification of the service concept due to customer insights). However, its impact is more nuanced. CI exhibits an “‚à©”-shaped relationship with transformation, indicating there is a limit to the beneficial effect of CI. Its relationship with assimilation is “U” shaped, suggesting a problem with cognitive inertia where initial learnings are ignored. Customer knowledge assimilation directly impacts success, while concept transformation only helps success in the presence of resource slack. An evolving new service design is only beneficial if the firm has the flexibility to adapt to change.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1094670517712613 [Google]
Schaarschmidt, M., G. Walsh and H. Evanschitzky (2018): Customer Interaction and Innovation in Hybrid Offerings, Journal of Service Research, 21(1), pp.119-134
Hybrid offerings are bundles of goods and services offerings provided by the same firm. Bundling value offerings affects how firms innovate, interact with customers, and customize their goods and services. However, it remains unclear how customer interaction might drive the innovation performance of various bundled components. Therefore, this study investigates the effects of customer interactions and service customization on both goods and services innovations in a hybrid offering context, using a unique data set of 146 information technology and manufacturing firms. Customer interaction appears beneficial to both goods and services innovation in a hybrid offerings context, but service customization has different direct effects on goods versus services innovation. As a potential mediator, customer knowledge mobilization resources exert different effects on the goods and services elements of hybrid offerings. Furthermore, for high-interaction customers, medium levels of technical modularity lead to most favorable innovation outcomes for services innovation. The results thus suggest that providers of hybrid offerings should foster customer interactions, to drive the innovation performance of the good and service components, while still making sure to implement service customization strategies. These findings have notable implications for service innovation research.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1094670517711586 [Google]
Baron, S., A. Patterson, R. Maull and G. Warnaby (2018): Feed People First, Journal of Service Research, 21(1), pp.135-150
Service research highlights the utility of adopting a service ecosystem approach to studying service innovation. It suggests that service innovations can arise from challenging and developing the institutions (i.e., norms, rules, practices, meanings, and symbols) which underpin an ecosystem. Also, recent emphasis on consumer well-being posits that studies of service provision to poor consumers are needed. Reflecting these research priorities, the context of this case study on service innovation is the food waste ecosystem, whereby service innovations can contribute to the alleviation of food poverty for thousands of citizens. The central actor of the ecosystem is the leading UK charity organization fighting food waste. The paper’s contribution lies in using data from ecosystem actors to clarify the distinctions between institutions, thereby enhancing understanding of the application of institutional theory within the ecosystem and highlighting some theoretical implications for service innovation both within- and between-system levels. An actor institutions matrix is offered as a fruitful outcome of the analysis of the institutions, and suggested recommendations for operationalizing service ecosystem studies are outlined.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1094670517738372 [Google]
Tugrul, T. O. and E.-M. Lee (2018): Promoting charitable donation campaigns on social media, Service Industries Journal, 38(43163), pp.149-163
It is salient to investigate how to increase persuasiveness of donation campaign messages communicated on social media. The purpose of this paper is to propose that a construal fit between different message frames (loss/gain framing and desirability/feasibility framing) and donation temporal proximity enhances the persuasiveness of charity donation messages. A convenience sample of 120 adults in Izmir voluntarily participated in this study and participants were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions. This research shows that gain-framed donation-promoting messages paired with desirability-framed messages are more effective on distant-future donation intentions, whereas loss-framed messages paired with feasibility-framed messages are more effective on near-future donation intentions. The findings of this paper are to figure out ways to enable marketers to develop effective Corporate Social Responsibility strategies for telecommunication service companies to encourage consumers’ charitable donations in a social media context. (English)
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2017.1380190 [Google]
Liu, A., X. L. Wang, F. Liu, C. Yao and Z. Deng (2018): Soundscape and its influence on tourist satisfaction, Service Industries Journal, 38(43163), pp.164-181
The soundscape is a relatively neglected area of study in tourism and to a wider extent the service industries research. This paper examines the relationship between soundscape and tourist satisfaction from a tourist sensory experience perspective. Data were collected in a UNESCO world heritage site in China, which is well known for its unique soundscape. The structural equation model analysis shows that there is a significant correlation between soundscape satisfaction and tourist satisfaction. The analysis of the findings also suggests that sound preference has almost no influence on soundscape satisfaction and tourist satisfaction, while soundscape expectation has a strong influence on tourist satisfaction. This study extends tourism multisensory research by offering insights into the relationship between the soundscape perceptions and tourist satisfaction. The findings also make progressive contribution to destination management studies by validating the relationship between the soundscape and its effects on tourist satisfaction. (English)
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2017.1382479 [Google]
Anderson, S. T. and J. S. Smith (2018): Understanding hospital quality: the case of cumulative and balanced quality, Service Industries Journal, 38(43163), pp.182-200
A more precise way to conceptualize and operationalize hospital quality is needed to increase hospitals’ productivity. This paper investigates how hospitals’ conformance quality (CQ) and experiential quality (EQ), in terms of their combined magnitude (i.e. their interaction) and relative balance (i.e. the absolute difference between them) impact hospital productivity. First, we explore the impact of both the ‘.combined dimension of quality’ and ‘balance dimension of quality’ on hospital productivity. Second, we investigate quality dominance to analyze its impact on productivity when CQ is greater than EQ, and vice versa. Secondary data (January 2015 to December 2015) were collected from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and American Hospital Directory (AHD) for US acute care hospitals. The results provide strong empirical support for the benefit of minimizing the gap between the two types of quality. In addition, the results suggest that considering quality dominance (experiential vs. conformance) might be useful in shedding light on the inherent tension that exists when firms are forced to allocate resources to provide different types of quality simultaneously. (English)
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2017.1387247 [Google]
Shneikat, B. and C. Ryan (2018): Syrian Refugees and their re-entry to ‘normality’: the role of service industries, Service Industries Journal, 38(43163), pp.201-227
The paper analyzes data derived from an exploratory study based on interviews with 26 Syrian Refugees, indicating how they used past experiences and qualifications to obtain employment in the UK and Germany. The paper also describes in outline a chronology of escape, reaching Europe, traveling through Europe, and finally accessing a new ‘normality’ through obtaining employment in the service industries or continuing past study. Their stories are used to further theoretical components of resilience and associated concepts of adaptability and overcoming vulnerability. Reference is made to the structure of resilience and the role of social networks made more accessible via the use of smartphones and social media.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2017.1387539 [Google]
Chen, L.-F., S.-C. Chen and C.-T. Su (2018): An innovative service quality evaluation and improvement model, Service Industries Journal, 38(43163), pp.228-249
Importance-performance analysis (IPA) is a popular approach used by firms to focus resources on crucial attributes, reduce expenditure on non-critical ones and develop improvement and innovation strategies accordingly. However, IPA develops quality improvement plans based on inaccurate assumptions about the independence between importance and performance and lacks clear measurement standards, which may lead to inappropriate recommendations. IPA also does not account for desired versus adequate service. Therefore, this study proposes an innovative framework that integrates the advantages of IPA, the zone of tolerance concept, and Kano’s model. A case study conducted in a wealth management department in the banking industry demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed methodology. The results indicate that the proposed approach recommends optimal service strategies to managers and outperforms traditional IPA. (English)
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2017.1389907 [Google]
Simmonds, H., A. Gazley and K. Daellenbach (2018): Theorising change and stability in service ecosystems: a morphogenetic approach, Service Industries Journal, 38(43163), pp.250-263
Service scholars are recognising the complex, adapting, and dynamic nature of value creating service systems. There remains an opportunity to explore the dynamic properties of these multilevel systems and build explanations of how these complex systems change and stabilise providing the context for value creation. This paper builds on the continuing work and use of sociological theory in these efforts and argues for an alternative meta-theoretical approach and accompanying framework. Together this contribution provides a basis for building midrange theory to address the stabilising (morphostatic) and change inducing (morphogenetic) mechanisms in service ecosystems. (English)
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2017.1389908 [Google]
Hollebeek, L. D. and T. W. Andreassen (2018): The S-D logic-informed “hamburger” model of service innovation and its implications for engagement and value, Journal of Services Marketing, 32(1), pp.1-7
Purpose While research on customer engagement and service innovation is rapidly emerging, limited insight exists into the interface of these topic areas. However, given the shared notion of (e.g. customer/firm) interactivity across these concepts, the purpose of this paper is to explore their theoretical interface that remains nebulous to date.Design/methodology/approach Building on a literature synthesis, the authors develop an S-D logic-informed “hamburger” model of service innovation that depicts the service innovation process, and its ensuing outcomes for particular actor groups, including the firm, its customers, etc. They conclude by proposing frontiers for future research that arise from the model.Findings The authors explore the theoretical foundations of customer engagement and service innovation, and integrate these in their S-D logic-informed “hamburger” model of service innovation. In the model, they acknowledge the key role of organizational resources in enabling service innovation, which will interact with specific service innovation actors (e.g. customers, employees) to create successful service innovations. The model next proposes service innovation development and implementation, from which focal service innovation actors will seek, and derive, particular types of value (e.g. profit for the actor of the firm), as shown at the top of the model. They conclude by offering a set of future research directions that arise from the model.Research limitations/implications The S-D logic-informed “hamburger” model of service innovation can be used to guide future research into service innovation, including studies investigating service innovation’s role in driving customer engagement and value.Practical implications The attained insight will be useful to managers seeking to enhance their service innovation-based returns (e.g. by suggesting ways in which service innovation can enhance customer engagement).Originality/value The authors propose a novel, S-D logic-informed “hamburger” model of service innovation and its key antecedents (e.g. firm-based resources) and consequences (e.g. customer engagement and value).
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-11-2017-0389 [Google]
Sembada, A. (2018): The two sides of empowering consumers to co-design innovations, Journal of Services Marketing, 32(1), pp.8-18
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how empowering consumers by means of co-designing activities influences both positive and negative consumer engagement with new service innovations.Design/methodology/approach Two experimental studies tested the proposed hypotheses. Participants were asked to imagine co-designing a hypothetical innovation, and then respond to scales that measured intervening variables. The first study measured participants’ valuation of the innovation as well as the intention to recommend it. The second study partially replicated the first one but measured participants’ perceived severity after a scenario where the innovation failed to deliver its promised performance.Findings Empowerment triggered a higher sense of engagement through the mediating effects of sense of power and psychological ownership. Subsequently, this effect not only drove more positive evaluations of the innovation but also exacerbated negative evaluations if the service innovation was not delivered successfully.Originality/value The current study highlights the importance of adopting a psychological perspective toward engagement and shows a balanced view of empowerment in the context of new service innovations.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-02-2017-0062 [Google]
Piyathasanan, B., C. Mathies, P. G. Patterson and K. de Ruyter (2018): Continued value creation in crowdsourcing from creative process engagement, Journal of Services Marketing, 32(1), pp.19-33
Purpose Crowdsourcing delivers creative ideas for the issuing firm, but participants’ engagement in the creative process also creates additional benefits to firms and participating customers. The purpose of this study is to investigate if these spill-over values endure over time. With data from two time point, i.e. at submission and after announcement of the contest winners, we examine the relationship between the degree of a participant’s creative process engagement (CPE) and value creation from a crowdsourcing contest, and how these perceptions of value change over time.Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 154 participants in a crowdsourcing contest at two time points with an online survey: at submission, and after receiving feedback (in term of rankings, rewards, and comments) from the community. Partial Least Square path modelling was used to estimate both main and moderating effects.Findings CPE increases the perceived value of customers (social and epistemic value) and firms alike (knowledge-sharing intention and customer loyalty), though all but epistemic values decrease over time. Disconfirmation of expectations and need for recognition moderate these effects.Originality/value This paper is the first longitudinal study that helps understanding the effect of CPE on value creation from crowdsourcing across time. It also uses the theoretical lens of the honeymoon hangover effect to explain how perceived value changes. The resulting insights into the role of customer engagement in crowdsourcing contests and subsequent value creation will be beneficial to the growing research stream on consumer value co-creation and user innovation.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-02-2017-0044 [Google]
Tuzovic, S., J. Wirtz and L. Heracleous (2018): How do innovators stay innovative? A longitudinal case analysis, Journal of Services Marketing, 32(1), pp.34-45
Purpose How can some companies be the innovation leader in their industry over prolonged periods of time, whereas others cannot? The purpose of this study is to understand a firm’s capability to be a successful serial innovator and to generate a constant stream of industry-leading innovations.Design/methodology/approach The paper uses a longitudinal case study approach to gain an understanding of what and how Singapore Airlines sustained service innovation for over 30 years. The study uses triangulation, whereby the core data from in-depth interviews with senior and middle management and frontline employees were complemented with academic research, case studies, annual reports, observations and archival documents. In total, 240 single-spaced pages of interview transcripts with over 130,000 words were analyzed and coded using MAXQDA for identifying repeated patterns of meaning.Findings The authors identified three key institutional foundations for service innovation: innovation climate (i.e. leadership and service culture), human capital (i.e. recruitment, training and development and engagement and incentives) and resource configurations (i.e. systems, structure and processes). These foundations enabled the organization to build the following four service innovation-related dynamic capabilities: embrace ambidexterity, institutionalize learning and knowledge integration, orchestrate collaboration and reinvent customer value. Interestingly, these institutional foundations and capabilities remained largely stable across 30 years; what changed were the contexts and specifics, not the foundations and capabilities.Research limitations/implications Data were collected only from one company. Because of the method of thematic analysis, the generalizability of the findings needs further investigation.Originality/value This study is the first to investigate the drivers of industry-leading sustained service innovation over a prolonged period of time. The proposed framework provides a fuller and more integrated picture of sustained service innovation than past cross-sectional studies.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-02-2017-0052 [Google]
Bednall, D. H. B., H. Oppewal, K. Laochumnanvanit and C. Nguyen (2018): A trial engagement? Innovative free and other service trials, Journal of Services Marketing, 32(1), pp.46-56
Purpose This paper aims to discover how consumers process an innovative set of systematically varied service trial offers and how this affects their learning and interaction as precursors to customer engagement.Design/methodology/approach The research uses experiments that manipulate pricing, type of service and delivery method. A repeated-measures design was used with a sample of 396 participants.Findings Free (as opposed to cost or full price) service trials were more likely to be accepted, with perceived truthfulness of the trial offer and perceived obligation mediating the relationship. Credence service trials generate higher levels of perceived obligation than experience service trial offers, while personal services are more likely to lead to trial adoption.Research limitations/implications The research can be extended to well-recognized brands and further mixed service contexts.Practical implications Trial offers of new services are best targeted at buyers who are in the likely buyer group. The trial offer may accelerate time to purchase and relieve perceived risks. The trials of credence services need further signals of quality in the trial itself for consumers to adopt the full service. With personal service trials, skeptical consumers need assurance as to what will happen after the trial experience. Free trials may actually devalue a service, threatening engagement.Originality/value Uniquely, service trial offers are systematically manipulated using experience versus credence and personal versus impersonal trials to determine their effect on acceptance of the trial offer and the full service. Additionally, the study compares free, cost price and full price trial offers.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-12-2016-0420 [Google]
Zhang, T., C. Lu, E. Torres and P.-J. Chen (2018): Engaging customers in value co-creation or co-destruction online, Journal of Services Marketing, 32(1), pp.57-69
Purpose This paper aims to develop a theoretical model to understand co-creation/co-destruction of value through customer engagement in online channels. It also investigates the contributing factors.Design/methodology/approach The qualitative approach uses the critical incidents technique to answer the research questions. The authors identify 350 critical incidents in which customers expressed online customer engagement-induced value co-creation or co-destruction experiences. The factors and resulting propositions are identified through data analysis. Data coding and analysis are facilitated by using MAXQDA 12.Findings Co-creation through positively valenced engagement behaviors may occur when customers are delighted, feel valued, experience reciprocity, receive organizational incentives, are solicited for feedback, can count on service recovery efforts and interact with helpful, empathetic, polite and responsive employees. Co-destruction through negatively valenced engagement behaviors emerges from rude employee behaviors, indifference, confrontation with company representatives, technological failure, the lack of complaint outlets and customers’ desire for revenge.Practical implications Selecting and training employees to be helpful, polite, responsive and empathetic toward online visitors can trigger co-creation. Communication between firms and customers should boost customer approval and delight. Organizations can offer incentives, reliable service delivery and a recovery design to stimulate visitor participation. Soliciting feedback requires sound technological support and direct communication links with visitors.Originality/value This study presents the conditions and framework contributing to the duality of customer engagement-induced co-creation and co-destruction values in online channels from the customer, organizational, employee, service design and technological perspectives. It also addresses how value is co-created or co-destructed through examples.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-01-2017-0027 [Google]
Leckie, C., M. W. Nyadzayo and L. W. Johnson (2018): Promoting brand engagement behaviors and loyalty through perceived service value and innovativeness, Journal of Services Marketing, 32(1), pp.70-82
Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of perceived value and innovativeness (service concept newness and relative advantage) in promoting customer brand engagement behaviors (CBEBs) and brand loyalty.Design/methodology/approach The conceptual model was empirically tested using nationwide survey data from 430 customers of Uber in Australia. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.Findings The results of this study show that collecting brand information is positively influenced by perceived value, service concept newness and relative advantage. Participating in brand marketing activities is positively influenced by service concept newness and relative advantage. Interacting with others is positively influenced by perceived value and service concept newness. Subsequently, brand loyalty is positively influenced by participating in brand marketing activities and interacting with others. The direct impacts of perceived value and relative advantage on brand loyalty are also established.Research limitations/implications This study only collected data from Uber customers. Another limitation of this study is the use of cross-sectional data.Practical implications To promote brand loyalty, service innovation needs to have both the right characteristics (i.e. perceived value, service concept newness and relative advantage) and practices that foster customer brand engagement behaviors.Originality/value Although service-dominant logic (SDL) is a theoretical lens used by research in the areas of service innovation and customer engagement, empirical studies that integrate the two areas remain limited. The findings of this study suggest a new mechanism in which service innovation can increase loyalty through increased CBEBs.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-01-2017-0035 [Google]
Carlson, J., M. Rahman, R. Voola and N. De Vries (2018): Customer engagement behaviours in social media: capturing innovation opportunities, Journal of Services Marketing, 32(1), pp.83-94
Purpose Social media brand pages have become instrumental in enabling customers to voluntarily participate in providing feedback/ideas for improvement and collaboration with others that contribute to the innovation effort of brands. However, research on mechanisms which harness these specific customer engagement behaviours (CEB) in branded social media platforms is limited. Based on the stimulus-organism-response paradigm, this study investigates how specific online-service design characteristics in social media brand pages induce customer-perceived value perceptions, which in turn, stimulate feedback and collaboration intentions with customers.Design/methodology/approach Data collected from 654 US consumers of brand pages on Facebook were used to empirically test the proposed framework via structural equation modelling.Findings The theoretical framework found support for most hypothesized relationships showing how online-service design characteristics induce an identified set of customer value perceptions that influence customer feedback and collaboration intentions.Research limitations/implications The sample is restricted to customer evaluations of brand pages on Facebook in the USA. Practitioners are advised to maximize online-service design characteristics of content quality, brand page interactivity, sociability and customer contact quality as stimulants that induce brand learning value, entitativity value and hedonic value. This then translates to customer feedback and collaboration intentions towards the brand page.Originality/value The findings have important implications for the design and optimization of online services in the customer engagement-innovation interface to harness CEBs for innovation performance.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-02-2017-0059 [Google]
Hollebeek, L. D., T. W. Andreassen, D. L. G. Smith, D. Grönquist, A. Karahasanovic and Á. Márquez (2018): Epilogue Рservice innovation actor engagement: an integrative model, Journal of Services Marketing, 32(1), pp.95-100
Purpose While (customer) engagement has been proposed as a volitional concept, our structuration theory/S-D logic-informed analyses of actors’ (e.g. employees’) engagement in service innovation reveal engagement as a boundedly volitional theoretical entity, which arises from actors’ structural and agency-based characteristics and constraints. In line with this observation, the purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual model of actor (i.e. customer, firm, employee) engagement with service innovation.Design/methodology/approach Based on the observed gap, the authors propose an integrative S-D logic/structuration theoretical model that outlines three particular service innovation actors’ (i.e. customers’, the firm’s and employees’) engagement, which comprises institution-driven (i.e. fixed) and agency-driven (i.e. variable) engagement facets. In addition, the authors integrate the key expected characteristics of positively (vs negatively) valenced service innovation engagement for each of these actor groups in the analyses.Findings The authors develop a 12-cell matrix (conceptual model) that outlines particular service innovation actors’ institution-driven and agency-driven engagement facets and outline their expected impact on actors’ ensuing positively and negatively valenced engagement.Research limitations/implications The authors discuss key theoretical implications arising from the analyses.Originality/value Outlining service innovation actors’ structure- and agency-driven engagement facets, the authors’ model can be used to explain or predict customers’, the firm’s or employees’ service innovation engagement-based activities.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-11-2017-0390 [Google]
Choi, C., A. S. Mattila and A. Upneja (2018): The Effect of Assortment Pricing on Choice and Satisfaction: The Moderating Role of Consumer Characteristics, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 59(1), pp.6-14
Although consumer research has extensively examined the effect of product assortment on consumption choices, relatively little has been done on assortment pricing. To bridge that gap, we demonstrate that consumers react differently to assortments using parity versus differentiation pricing. Study 1, a field experiment, shows that the impact of assortment pricing on choice satisfaction is contingent on the level of uncertainty preference. For individuals with a low level of preference uncertainty, their choice satisfaction was significantly higher when all the menu items were priced at parity. Conversely, choice satisfaction was higher with varied pricing among people with high levels of preference uncertainty. In Study 2, we examine the moderating role of health consciousness on consumer reactions to parity versus differentiation pricing. The findings of Study 2 indicate that health consciousness influences consumer satisfaction with assortment pricing in a context of restaurant menus. Furthermore, findings from a moderated mediation analysis show that choice confidence is the psychological mechanism that underlies these effects. Taken together, these findings add to the relatively scant literature on assortment pricing.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1938965517730315 [Google]
Serra-Cantallops, A., D. D. Peña-Miranda, J. Ramón-Cardona and O. Martorell-Cunill (2018): Progress in Research on CSR and the Hotel Industry (2006-2015)*, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 59(1), pp.15-38
This study reviews and synthesizes the contemporary literature focusing on the role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the hotel industry over the period 2006-2015. The revision process has covered articles meeting two conditions: first, articles focusing exclusively on the hotel industry (not on the tourism sector as a whole) and, second, the issue of CSR is addressed from a broader perspective (economic-social-environmental) and not only environmental. A total of 48 papers have been identified and grouped in three streams of research: CSR-Practices, CSR-Reporting, and CSR-Impacts; the last one been divided into two sublines of research: one from the consumer perspective (Marketing) and the second from the company’s perspective (Firm Business-Performance). For every line, the variables and topics studied are also established. The research lines “Practices” and “Impacts” have received a similar amount of research interest although there is a growing research interest in the impacts of CSR during recent years, either internal or external. Despite this fact, consumer reactions to CSR and the link between CSR and corporate financial performance (CFP) are still important gaps regarding research on CSR in the hotel industry. It is also worth to highlight that a key CSR stakeholder for hotels, like the local community, is particularly underresearched. Additional gaps of research are identified and suggestions for future lines of research are provided.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1938965517719267 [Google]
Duverger, P. and X. Wang (2018): Capturing Relative Importance of Customer Satisfaction Drivers Using Bayesian Dominance Hierarchy, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 59(1), pp.39-48
Customer satisfaction (CS) research traditionally focuses on large data sets collected over long periods of time across several business units. Business unit managers or property managers have a different focus in that they need to address dissatisfaction issues on a monthly basis and on a property basis. In search for zero defects, they are often confined to small samples lacking power where they cannot draw the relative importance of each variable responsible for the making of the overall perceived quality in their customer base. We propose to use a Bayesian approach to estimate the relative importance of predictors in the presence of small samples. Based on 12 consecutive months of CS survey data collected in a hotel, we show how the hotel manager can easily prioritize his or her quality management action plan on a monthly basis. The results of our study complement the current CS research methods while managing limited resources.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1938965517719268 [Google]
Madera, J. M. (2018): When Targets Blame Their Organization for Sexual Harassment: A Multilevel Investigation of Within-Person Appraisals, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 59(1), pp.49-60
Very little is known about the targets’ appraisal process related to when targets blame the organization for sexual harassment. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to examine targets’ appraisal process of blaming the organization for sexual harassment incidents across multiple experiences of sexual harassment. Specifically, the current study used an experience sampling method (ESM) that captures a within-person approach to determine how the intensity of sexual harassment incidents affects the appraisal of fear of retaliation and perceived distress, which then influence organizational blame for sexual harassment across multiple experiences of sexual harassment. The study used a sample of 76 college students working in frontline service jobs who completed ratings of the variables three times, one month apart for a total of 228 ESM observations nested within participants. Random coefficient modeling was used to analyze multilevel models. The results showed that the intensity of sexual harassment incidents does lead to organizational blame. The results also showed that fear of retaliation and perceived distress mediated the relationship between the intensity of sexual harassment incidents and organizational blame. The most important implication for theory is the current article’s focus on the within-person appraisals over multiple incidents, showing that across multiple incidents of sexual harassment, the same employee has varying degrees of fear of retaliation, perceived distress, and organizational blame. Thus, the results of the current study underscore that each sexual harassment incident and employee appraisal differs on an event-by-event basis.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1938965517730317 [Google]
McLeod, B., S. W. Litvin, K. C. Heriot, A. Jauregui and E. Dempsey (2018): Goodbye Columbus: Accommodation Taxes and OTAs, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 59(1), pp.61-66
In 2006, the community of Columbus, Georgia, filed a lawsuit over uncollected accommodation taxes aimed at online travel agencies [OTAs]. Defendants included companies such as Expedia and Orbitz. In retaliation for the lawsuit, the OTAs delisted the city’s hotels from their sites. Several years later, the lawsuits were settled and normalcy returned. The delisting period provided an interesting set of circumstances that allowed exploration of the power balance between OTAs and municipalities. It also provided, using nonexperimental “real-life” data, some insight into an issue that has received significant trade and academic attention-the influence of OTAs upon hotel occupancies and rates. The results provided should be of interest to communities and their tourism officials in disputes similar to that experienced by Columbus. Hoteliers, the third party caught in the crossfire of these disputes, will also find the research results of value.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1938965517704369 [Google]
Anderson, C. K. and S. Han (2018): Living Without OTAs-Goodbye Columbus: Putting the Jenie Back in the Bottle, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 59(1), pp.67-69
A recent Cornell Hospitality Quarterly article highlighted a unique natural experiment where an entire city had all its hotel delisted from all online travel agents for more than 4 years. The article provides great background to the delisting and highlights the impacts on hotel revenue and accommodation taxes for the county. The article estimates that even though the hotels relisted at all online travel agents (OTAs), there was a substantial gain to both hotels and accommodation tax collectors during the OTA delisting period. The impact estimates are based solely on the loss of demand realized in neighboring Phenix City, AL, once Columbus is relisted at OTAs. In the following, we highlight some concerns with these estimates and indicate that the losses may in fact be quite substantive and perhaps more indicative of why Columbus hotels relisted at the OTAs.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1938965517735907 [Google]
Yu, H., J. Neal, M. Dawson and J. M. Madera (2018): Implementation of Behavior-Based Training Can Improve Food Service Employees’ Handwashing Frequencies, Duration, and Effectiveness, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 59(1), pp.70-77
Personal hygiene is a significant risk factor that contributes to foodborne illness. Appropriate handwashing behaviors can significantly reduce this risk; however, knowledge-based training alone may be insufficient to prompt preventive food safety practices. An improved, more effective food safety training approach that can directly influence employees’ behavior is strongly recommended. The main objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of behavior-based food safety training on improving food handlers’ handwashing practices and frequency. Four of the nine critical behaviors that help effectively prevent the spread of pathogens and control food safety hazards were identified as target behaviors, and handwashing frequencies and durations were also included as measures of handwashing performance. A four-phase within-group experimental study with a behavioral motivation intervention was conducted. Employees’ handwashing behaviors were videotaped and coded by researchers. Results indicated that knowledge-based training alone failed to improve employees’ handwashing performance, especially when employees had multiple work tasks simultaneously during the busy meal service time. In comparison, the behavior-based training approach was effective in improving employees’ handwashing performance and frequency. More specifically, proper rates of all the critical behaviors measured were significantly increased during the motivational phase.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1938965517704370 [Google]
Fong, D. K. C., L. H. N. Fong, R. Chark and P. M. W. Chui (2018): The Bias of Size in Gambling Decisions: Evidence From a Casino Game, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 59(1), pp.78-84
Casino operators strive to motivate gamblers to wager to maximize their gaming revenue. This motivation may be achieved by increasing gamblers’ perceived likelihood of winning, which stems from cognitive bias. Therefore, it is important for casino operators to understand the components that promote cognitive bias in gambling. This study introduces and demonstrates the existence of a bias of size in gambling decisions using a casino game referred to as Cussec. Specifically, participants are expected to bias their choice toward the option of Big (vs. Small) in the game; however, these two options are of equal chance. In the present research, a field observational study and two experimental studies were conducted. In the observational study, the bias was identified using 4,565 Cussec bets that were recorded in a casino in Macao. The bias was further demonstrated in experimental studies that involved Chinese participants (389 participants in the laboratory and 1,000 participants through an online survey platform). The bias is robust against the order of appearance (i.e., Big is displayed before or after Small). The online experiment contributes knowledge to the literature by indicating that gamblers’ bias toward Big distorts their perceived likelihood of winning. It is recommended that casino operators provide more games that feature size cues, and gaming designers incorporate these cues in the design of casino games.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1938965517730313 [Google]
Johnson, M. (2018): An End User Perspective: The Impact of FSMA on Restaurants, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 59(1), pp.85-92
On January 4, 2011, President Obama signed into law the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA or P.L. 111-353). This act may be the most far-reaching food safety legislation since the Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act (FDCA) of 1938. FSMA aims to ensure that the U.S. food supply is safe by shifting the focus of regulation from contamination response to prevention. This legislation imposes administrative costs on the food supply chain in the United States by requiring additional record keeping and safety procedures. Previous research has shown that the value of food processing, wholesale and grocery firms was reduced by the passage of this legislation. We hypothesize that the negative value effects caused by the legislation may be partially passed on to end users of food products, specifically, restaurants. Consistent with this hypothesis, we find that passage of FSMA reduced the market value of publicly traded restaurants by approximately 5%. This result is roughly one half of the impact borne by other firms in the food supply chain. That is, we find evidence that a portion of the supply chain costs of FSMA are passed on to restaurant firms and possibly other end users such as consumers. We conclude that federal legislation that is not specifically directed at the hospitality industry may still have significant effects for hospitality firms.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1938965517730316 [Google]
