Editorial

Citation

Baron, S. and Russell-Bennett, R. (2015), "Editorial", Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 29 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSM-05-2015-0173

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Journal of Services Marketing, Volume 29, Issue 5

Publishing in JSM part 2: implications for practice

In this journal, there has been a long tradition of engaging the services marketing practitioner audience with the findings of the published papers. As the previous editor pointed out, (Martin, 2012, p. 8), in his reflection on the history of the Journal of Services Marketing (JSM):

[…] the insistence on a substantial and meaningful implications section in each article has remained. Today, authors who expect to have their work published in JSM cannot avoid a discussion of implications – implications that may be relevant for business managers or practicing service marketers, and/or depending on the specific article, relevant for other audiences such as social marketers, public policy-makers, consumers, or society at large

The focus on “implications for practice”, often termed “managerial implications”, is still a key criterion for publication for us (see the “Aims and Scope” and “Editorial Criteria” for this journal), and so we have devoted this editorial to that feature.

Despite “implications for practice” being a key section in our publications, it is not always done well or, indeed treated seriously enough, by many authors. This is the case across the whole management discipline, not just services marketing. Managerial implications sections in their current form can often be regarded as of little use to practitioners (Kieser and Leiner, 2009; Bartunek and Rynes, 2010).

Why is this?

From our experience, and interpretations of “implications for practice” put forward in submissions to this journal, there appear to be three overlapping reasons:

1. “Implications for practice” are an after-thought, rather than a key element of the study. This can result in hastily concocted notions that do not really fit well with the findings of the study.

2. “Implications for practice” are so generic that they do not provide meaningful help. For example, advocating an improvement in service quality, or an increase in staff training, without providing more detailed insights, is of no practical value.

3. “Implications for practice” are made in ignorance of current practice. Advice can appear patronising to practitioners who are already well aware of, and often already practising, what is been suggested by the authors.

It is worth expanding on the first reason. Avoiding the after-thought may go some way towards addressing positively the other two reasons.

The research plan and implications for practice

There are solid grounds for considering the implications for practice in the very first stages of the development of a research plan. Think ahead. What is going to emerge from the research project that will give an original slant to service(s) marketing practice? Can this be articulated at the outset? How can the managerial implications link directly to the managerial problem outlined in the introduction?

Understandably, researchers are concerned about methodological rigor in their research plans, but implications for practice could/should have equal concern in many cases. It is even worth thinking of implications for practice in choosing the title of a paper. Quite often, titles of submitted papers refer more to the modelling process adopted – “the moderating effects of A, B, and C on the link between X and Y” – rather than conveying the bigger picture. They can convey a rather myopic perspective on the research. The rationale for the research, and the managerial/services marketing problem, including implications for practice, can be hidden when the balance between rigor and relevance is weighted too heavily in favour of the former.

When writing the abstract of the paper, always include the managerial problem that your research addresses as the first line of “purpose” – this helps the reader understand the importance of your study. Likewise, when writing the introduction section of your paper, expand on the managerial problem noted in the abstract and provide evidence that the problem exists and demonstrate why addressing this problem is important, e.g. What are the consequences of letting the problem continue? The statement at the end of the introduction section, of the theoretical gap being addressed, should align with the managerial problem. For example, if the managerial problem is “Services marketers need to understand how perceptions of waiting time affect key service outcomes to better manage waiting time and the flow-on effect on key performance indicators” then a related theoretical gap might be “the lack of evidence of the relationship between emotions and time in the services marketing literature”. This managerial problem and theoretical gap was addressed in Maguire and Geiger’s (2015) recent article in Volume 29 Issue 3 where they noted some important managerial implications of their findings. Finally, the opening paragraph of the discussion section of your article should ensure that there is a link back to the managerial problem and the associated theoretical contribution that is now being made.

Making use of the structured abstract

The structured abstract, required by Emerald journals such as JSM, consists of seven fields: Purpose; Design/Methodology/Approach; Findings; Research Limitations/Implications; Practical Implications; Social Implications; and Originality/Value. The structured abstract is required for submission to all Emerald journals. Hence, only the first three fields, and the last field, are specified as mandatory. For journals such as JSM, we would recommend that all the fields should be occupied, unless there is a very good reason not to. The structured abstract format can then be considered as a resource, not a constraint, for JSM authors: it outlines clearly the steps to consider with a research project. It is well worth anticipating what might go in all the fields before beginning the research. It has been surprising to us how many authors leave fields blank, given the aims and scope of the journal.

Implications for practice: good practice

We do believe that, in the majority of papers, there can be useful and meaningful implications for managers, whatever the type of paper. The seminal paper by Ramirez (1999) on value co-production is a great example of a conceptual piece that acknowledges implications for practice across the board; in the title, in the abstract and throughout the narrative. It is worth also looking at the paper by Berry (1987), in the very first volume of JSM, to appreciate the presentation of implications for practice in a succinct and powerful way. The early empirical papers on perceived service quality, and the technology acceptance model had numerous citations because they had clear implications for practice at the time of their publication. In follow-up studies in research areas like these, it is clearly more difficult to provide truly original implications, but it can be possible to point specifically to what has been found from the particular study and why this is considered important for practice (bearing in mind Point 3 above).

Conclusion

We do receive, and have received fine papers with strong implications for practice. There are some very good examples published recently in JSM (see, for example, Jones et al., 2015; Rosenbaum and Wong, 2014; Melton and Hartline, 2014). While they vary in their style of presentation of the managerial implications, it is clear that each of the authors has spent time thinking through meaningful implications for practice, have made direct use of their empirical findings and have prepared a narrative that is friendly to both academicians and practitioners.

In tandem, we are aware of papers that we have had to reject because amongst other things, the implications for practice have suffered from one or more of the three reasons given above. Quite often, it is because the research findings and the corresponding management action are very loosely linked. In some cases, the implications for practice simply do not follow at all from the research findings. With few exceptions, we think it is of benefit to authors, reviewers and editors for implications for practice to occupy a more central role in the development of papers for this journal. There is probably virtue in making managerial implications a key part of a final checklist before submitting for publication. It should go some way towards ensuring that the paper has originality and significance, as well as rigor. It should provide answers to the “so what?” question – will the research findings change practice in the chosen area?

Finally, we are aware that, in the field of service(s) marketing, implications for practice can go hand-in-hand with theoretical developments. Our previous Editorial (Volume 29, Issue 3) addressed the issue of what is a theoretical contribution in the services marketing field. We also alert you to a forthcoming paper by Gustafsson et al. (2015) which is devoted to pursuing research that is higher in both practical relevance and methodological rigor.

Steve Baron and Rebekah Russell-Bennett

References

Bartunek, J.M. and Rynes, S.L. (2010), “The construction and contributions of ‘implications for practice’: what’s in them and what might they offer?”, Academy of Management Learning and Education, Vol. 8 No. 1, pp. 100-117.

Berry, L.L. (1987), “Big ideas in services marketing”, Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 1 No. 1, pp. 5-9.

Gustafsson, A., Aksoy, L., Brady, M., McColl-Kennedy, J., Sirianni, N., Witell, L. and Wuenderlich, N. (2015), “Conducting service research that matters”, Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 29 No. 6.

Jones, M.A., Reynolds, K.E., Arnold, M.J., Gabler, C.B., Gillison, S.T. and Landers, V.M. (2015), “Exploring consumers’ attitude towards relationship marketing”, Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 29 No. 3, pp. 188-199.

Kieser, A. and Leiner, L. (2009), “Why the rigor-relevance gap in management research is unbridgeable”, Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 46 No. 3, pp. 516-533.

Maguire, L. and Geiger, S. (2015), “Emotional timescapes: the temporal perspective and consumption emotions in services”, Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 29 No. 3, pp. 211-223.

Martin, C.L. (2012), “A quarter of a century: reflections on the first 25 years of the Journal of Services Marketing”, Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 26 No. 1, pp. 3-8.

Melton, H. and Hartline, M.D. (2014), “Customer and employee co-creation of radical service innovations”, Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 29 No. 2, pp. 112-123.

Ramirez, R. (1999), “Value co-production: intellectual origins and implications for practice and research”, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 20, pp. 49-65.

Rosenbaum, M.S. and Wong, I.A. (2014), “Green marketing programs as strategic initiatives in hospitality”, Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 29 No. 2, pp. 81-92.