Emerald | Journal of Service Management

EXQ: A Multiple-Item Scale for Assessing Service Experience

Philipp Klaus, Stan Maklan — 2012-01-05 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose - This research conceptualizes, constructs, refines and empirically validates a multiple-item scale for measuring the service experience (EXQ).Design/methodology/approach - The authors present exploratory research developing a conceptualization of service experience based on a two-stage approach: initial item generation through qualitative research, initial purification of these findings through exploratory factor analysis, and validation through the use of confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling.Findings - The paper conceptualizes and validates the concept of service experience. The research identifies 19 items in four dimensions of the EXQ scale: product experience, outcome focus, moments-of-truth and peace-of-mind (POMP). These dimensions reflect service experience perceptions. The scale demonstrates good psychometric properties based on the variety of reliability and validity tests utilized and builds upon extant research. Practical implications - The research provides managers with the dimensions of service experience that influence purchase behavior. It provides researchers with a sought-after conceptualization of service experience.Originality/value - We believe that this is the first empirically founded conceptualization of service experience.

Refinement of the Technology Readiness Index Scale: A Replication and Cross-Validation in the Self-service Technology Context

Jiun-Sheng Chris Lin, Pei-Ling Hsieh — 2012-01-05 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose - This study replicates and refines Parasuraman’s (2000) 36-item Technology Readiness Index (TRI) across contexts and cultures to enhance its applicability and generalizability for both researchers and practitioners.Design/methodology/approach - Based on psychometric procedures of scale development, four separate research phases, each one building on the previous, are performed using several samples. Measurement invariance analyses are performed across demographics, industries, and cultures to ascertain the stability of the refined versus the original scale.Findings - A refined 16-item TRI scale demonstrates sound psychometric properties based on findings from various reliability and validity tests as well as scale replications employing several samples. The four dimensions remain stable across techniques and samples, while the utility of the refined scale increases due to ease of application. Measurement invariance analyses across demographic groups, industries, and cultures provide further support for the superior stability of the refined TRI.Research limitations/implications - Assessment of TRI across different contexts and cultures enhances validity, utility, and generalizability by reducing the number of items, building a nomological network, and verifying stability.Practical implications - Service firms should pay more attention to measurement of customers’ technology readiness. For both researchers and practitioners, the refined 16-item scale benefits from reduced complexity and enhanced utility of TRI across contexts and cultures. Service managers will find the refined TRI less complicated and easier to apply in customer surveys, which greatly benefits service firms attempting to understand better customers’ TR when implementing self-service technologies.Originality/value - Replication and cross-validation of new concepts play a valuable role in determining the scope and limit of empirical research findings; they allow researchers to demonstrate how broadly and in what circumstances such concepts can be used. While Parasuraman (2000) calls for studies to assess the generalizability of the TRI scale, the current lack of support for TRI’s generalizability is an important gap that needs to be addressed. The current study fills that gap, increasing the applicability and generalizability of the TRI scale through refinement, replication and validation across several samples, contexts, and cultures.

Customer Choice of Self-Service Technology: The Roles of Situational Influences and Past Experience

Cheng Wang, Jennifer Harris, Paul G Patterson — 2012-01-05 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose - The aim of this paper is to explore situational influences on customers’ actual choice between self-service and personal service and to examine the impact of past experiences on self-service technology (SST) attitudes and behavior.Design/methodology/approach - A supermarket self-checkout machine is the SST under investigation. A mixed qualitative research design is used. A total of 209 observations and 47 interviews are obtained from customers in five supermarket stores in Australia.Findings - Perceived waiting time, perceived task complexity, and companion influence are the three situational factors that impact on a customer’s actual choice between self-service and personal service. Past experiences influence SST attitudes and behavior in a more complex manner than SST characteristics and other individual difference variables.Research limitations/implications - The findings may not be generalizable to Internet- or telephone-based SST contexts.Practical implications - By understanding what factors affect a customer’s choice, better strategies can be developed to manage and coordinate multiple service delivery options. The findings also highlight the importance of preventing frequent failure and providing speedy recovery in the SST context.Originality/value - This paper goes beyond SST attitudes/intentions and focuses on the moderating effect of situational factors on a customer’s actual SST behavior. It also examines the impact of focal product and product-norm experiences on SST attitudes and behavior.

Role of website design quality in satisfaction and word of mouth generation

Young Ha, Hyunjoo Im — 2012-01-05 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to examine a comprehensive model explaining how website design influences consumer’s emotional and cognitive responses and contributes to satisfaction and WOM communication in an online shopping context.Design/methodology/approach - A total of 804 female college students completed an online survey after browsing one of two mock websites developed to manipulate website design quality. Findings - Website design quality showed positive direct effects on pleasure, arousal, and perceived information quality and indirect effects on satisfaction and WOM intention. Pleasant shopping experience increased positive perceptions and satisfaction. The results also showed that satisfaction mediated the relationship between emotional and cognitive responses and positive WOM intention.Research limitations/implications - Although an online survey was used to increase the reality of an online shopping experience, uncontrolled conditions may have influenced the results of the study. Further Research needs to be conducted in a lab setting to control these factors.Originality/value - This study theoretically extends the applicability of the Stimulus-Organism-Response paradigm to satisfaction and electronic WOM intention research and fills the gap in the current online shopping literature. This study also offers valuable information to online retailers to maximize consumer satisfaction and generate positive WOM using website design.

SPECIFYING BUSINESS SERVICES: LEARNING FROM SOFTWARE ENGINEERING

Joaquin Peña, María del Mar González-Zamora, Jose A. D. Machuca — 2012-01-05 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose - The specification of Business Services (BS) is one of the key factors for success in service provision. Researchers and practitioners have identified a set of problems in BS specification, namely: communication problems between providers and buyers, inaccurate specifications and changes in requirements. These problems were identified in the Software Engineering field many years ago, resulting in the development of many techniques and tools to address them. Given the similarities between the two fields, this paper seeks to identify the main lessons learned in Software Engineering (SE) and to propose how they can be adapted to the BS field.Design/methodology/approach - Literature study/conceptual solution.Findings - To address communications problems and inaccuracies in BS specification, a formal requirements specification stage is required. Requirements should be set out in a well-structured written, definition, document which can be used for a subsequent stage for the design of the service (the definition of the solution). A requirements document for BS is proposed based on BS literature and SE methods. This document is based on the approaches used in the SE field for improving communication and reducing inaccuracies and covers the information needed in the BS field for specifying a business service. Second, a life cycle approach is proposed based on SE practice. It is shown that different lifecycle sequences can be used depending on the degree of fluidity in the communication between buyer and provider, the complexity of the BS and the stability of their requirements, with a repetitive process where specification and design are revisited iteratively and/or incrementally often being the most appropriate. This approach helps to stabilise requirements and to avoid inaccuracies being made in the specification. Research limitations/implications - This paper is literature based. Although still untested empirically in the BS field, the recommended approach has been intensively proved in the SE field.Practical implications - Requirements specification is a necessary (monetary, time and resource) cost for successful BS provision. The BS industry must realise that requirements have to be set down in writing and agreed upon with customers before initiating the design of the service.Originality/value - Software Engineering is a mature field where most of the problems faced in Business Services has been covered. This is the first paper that relates both fields showing how Business Services can benefit from lessons learned in the Software Industry.

Service-Driven Manufacturing: Provision, Evolution and Financial Impact of Services in Industrial Firms

Heiko Gebauer, Guang-Jie Ren, Aku Valtakoski, Javier Reynoso — 2012-01-19 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose - This article aims to provide a review of key research contributions on the topic of service strategies in manufacturing by focusing on descriptions of the phenomenon and theoretical explanations of its evolution and financial consequences.Design/methodology/approach - A summary analysis of the extant literature is provided. Valuable contributions and fundamental methodological issues are identified and discussed. Challenges, limitations and directions for future research avenues are also highlighted.Findings - As a result of the analysis and discussion presented, the concept of service-driven manufacturing is integrated through the provision, evolution and impact of services in industrial settings.Practical implications - This article contains guidelines for manufacturing managers interested in the evolution from products to services in different industries.Originality/value - This article is expected to be used as a relevant source of ideas and guidance for all those interested in doing research in services strategies in manufacturing.