Journal of Service Management

Lack of preferential treatment: effects on dissatisfaction after a service failure : Table of Contents

Concepción Varela-Neira, Rodolfo Vázquez-Casielles, Víctor Iglesias — Mon Mar 01 02:05:39 GMT 2010

Abstract:
Purpose – Preferential treatment of selected customers is one of the strategies employed by companies seeking to implement relationship marketing. However, it remains unclear whether or not this policy negatively affects relationships with customers not receiving the above-mentioned preferential treatment, as existing literature focuses, for the most part, on the beneficiaries. The purpose of this paper is to study whether or not the perception of lack of preferential treatment has a positive impact on dissatisfaction following a service failure, after accounting for the effects of attribution. Design/methodology/approach – The sample used in this paper consists of 344 subjects who, over the last six months, have experienced service failures. The data are collected via personal interviews using a structured survey. Structural equation modelling is employed in order to test the relationship between lack of preferential treatment and dissatisfaction. Findings – The results of this investigation indicate that lack of preferential treatment has an additional explanatory power with regard to customer dissatisfaction, after considering the effects of attributions, and that negative emotions have a mediation effect on the relationship between these cognitive antecedents and the aforementioned dissatisfaction. Research limitations/implications – This paper examines only one service context; as a consequence, caution is needed when generalizing the results. Practical implications – Given the findings of this paper, managers are advised to consider the “merits” of preferential treatment to help strengthen customer relationships. Originality/value – This paper provides an initial step towards understanding the impact of systematic and deliberate use of preferential treatment as a relationship marketing strategy from a non-beneficiaries perspective.

Protection for profiting from collaborative service innovation : Table of Contents

Pia Hurmelinna-Laukkanen, Paavo Ritala — Mon Mar 01 02:05:39 GMT 2010

Abstract:
Purpose – Profiting from service innovations can be challenging. It is not only a question of pricing and marketing the services appropriately, but also of keeping competitors from imitating them. The purpose of this paper is to discuss how service innovation differs from technology/product innovation in terms of protection, and how this shows in collaborative innovation activities. Design/methodology/approach – The paper offers a literature review combining discussion related to service research and strategic management. Empirical evidence is provided in the form of a multifaceted case study illustrating some of the aspects of collaborative service innovation. Findings – The results indicate that characteristics separating service innovations from product or process innovations influence the efficacy of protection. This, in turn, may make or break the subsequent value appropriation. Furthermore, as service innovation typically includes collaborative activities, there is another twist to protection: companies must protect knowledge that brings them competitive advantage, but on the other hand they need to foster knowledge sharing, which may be in conflict with protective measures. As a result, service innovators cannot rely solely on intellectual property right strategies, as their counterparts working with products might do, but the service element requires taking a wider look around, and utilizing means such as human resource management, lead time, and contracting. Originality/value – The novelty of this paper lies in its analysis of two very recent trends: collaboration (and coopetition) in innovation, and the tendency to introduce business models that bring service innovations to the core of the offering. Augmenting prior knowledge, the paper brings forth issues that need to be acknowledged when service innovations are created, protected, and appropriated.

A comparative study of mobile messaging services acceptance to participate in television programmes : Table of Contents

Carla Ruiz Mafé, Silvia Sanz Blas, Juan Fernando Tavera-Mesías — Mon Mar 01 02:05:39 GMT 2010

Abstract:
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse key drivers of consumer acceptance of short messaging services (SMS) to participate in TV programmes. Design/methodology/approach – The technology acceptance model (TAM) and the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) have been integrated for the determinants of the acceptance of mobile data services incorporating variables regarding consumer-media interaction (perceived value and affinity). The model has been tested using structural equation modelling. Findings – Perceived value, attitude and affinity towards television (TV) programmes determine SMS acceptance to participate in TV programmes in Spain. In contrast, subjective norm, perceived value and attitude are the key drivers of SMS acceptance in Colombia. Practical implications – This paper enables mobile companies and TV channels to know what aspects to improve in order to promote SMS-based TV programmes. Marketers should highlight in their communication strategies user friendliness, usefulness and perceived value of mobile data services. In Colombia, programme stars and presenters should encourage the use of mobile services to interact with TV. Spanish companies should offer reliable and entertaining programme contents to improve consumers' affinity. Originality/value – Although TAM and TPB have successfully explained behavioural intentions, previous research posits that they should be extended to properly explain mobile services acceptance. This paper combines the influence of perceived value, affinity and the TAM and TPB models to develop an improved model for SMS acceptance. The study also integrates variables for two communication media (TV and mobile) and compares SMS acceptance to participate in TV programmes in two markets with different culture and mobile services penetration rates.

Exploring the interrelationship among patterns of service strategy changes and organizational design elements : Table of Contents

Heiko Gebauer, Thomas Fischer, Elgar Fleisch — Mon Mar 01 02:05:39 GMT 2010

Abstract:
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the patterns of service strategy changes in manufacturing firms and indicates how each pattern is interrelated with modifications in organizational design elements. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on a longitudinal study using a survey of 97 manufacturers of capital goods. In addition, 15 case studies have been conducted. Survey and qualitative data are obtained in 1997, 2001, and 2004. Findings – The findings highlight four patterns of service strategy changes: from customer service strategy to after-sales service provider, from after-sales service provider to customer-support service provider, from customer-support service provider to development partner, and from customer-support service provider to the outsourcing partner. Evidence of specific alignment between service strategy and organizational design elements is provided. Research limitations/implications – The main limitation of this paper is the purposive sample. Practical implications – Managers should follow the patterns of service strategy changes by extending the service offerings and modifying the organizational design elements. Originality/value – Previous studies investigate service strategies and organizational design elements only at a specific time, which leads to a static perspective. This paper offers insights into interrelations among service strategy changes and organizational design elements.

Customer sociability and the total service experience: Antecedents of positive word-of-mouth intentions : Table of Contents

Ronald J. Ferguson, Michèle Paulin, Jasmin Bergeron — Mon Mar 01 02:05:39 GMT 2010

Abstract:
Purpose – The service-dominant logic describes customer-actualized value as being idiosyncratic, experiential, contextual, and meaning laden. Since positive word-of-mouth (WOM) is an expression of customer-actualized value, the paper postulate that WOM is not only related to a holistic set of assessments of the service experience but also to the idiosyncratic nature of the individual customer. In particular, do socially oriented individuals have a greater propensity to engage in positive WOM? The purpose of this paper is to test hypotheses that socially oriented personality traits, and personal values as well as a set of dimensions of the total service experience, are antecedents of positive WOM. The context studied is a surgical operation involving considerable personal meaning and implication in the whole service process. Design/methodology/approach – A cohort of 500 surgical patients are studied prior to, three-days after and one-month post-surgery. Independent variables include the socially oriented personality traits of agreeableness and extraversion, social- vs self-oriented personal values, as well as dimensions of the total service experience assessed by information adequacy, pain and discomfort, patient-to-patient interaction, patient-to-personnel interaction, and recovery outcomes. The dependent variable is the strength of positive WOM intentions. Findings – The sociability of surgery patients as measured by both their personality traits and socially oriented values is significantly related to the strength of positive WOM intentions. Self-oriented values are not associated with positive WOM intentions. Also, to varying degrees, all dimensions of the total service experience are associated with positive WOM intentions. Originality/value – The paper is the first to illustrate that, in a given service context, the antecedents of customer loyalty may be complex, not only dependent on customer assessments of their interactions and experiences throughout the service process, but also relative to their dispositional characteristics such as sociability. The consistency of the results for positive WOM assessed at three-days and one-month post-surgery adds to the robustness of the findings. This paper makes a significant contribution to the service-dominant logic and the concept of value co-creation.