New service development in high tech sectors: a decision making perspective

Many service companies active in high tech sectors have implemented largely decentralized decision architectures in their innovation processes. This is done to improve responsiveness under extremely dynamic and uncertain business conditions. As a consequence of the empowerment of decision-makers at the product management level, the success of the New Service Development (NSD) process will increasingly depend on individual product managers’ information processing and decision-making performance. The present study investigates antecedents of decision-making effectiveness in the high tech NSD process, and reports on a case study performed in the mobile telecommunication services industry. NSD project managers’ unique task conditions are articulated, and some antecedents and moderators of effective decision-making are identified in a study of four innovation projects. Findings are integrated in a theoretical framework. The study reveals the crucial role of decision-makers’ flexible use of various cognitive styles, their proactive attitude, and their capability to mentally represent innovation interfaces with the customer, the technology and the firm. Managerial implications and suggestions for further research are provided.management and organization theory ;

Online Travel Service Quality: The Importance of Pre-Transaction Services

The Internet revolution has led to significant changes in the way travel agencies interact with customers. Travel websites are used to different degrees, and for a variety of combinations of pre-transaction, transaction and post-transaction services. A better understanding of how customers interact with online services will help providers improve service quality to levels that satisfy or even delight customers, and thus create loyalty. This article provides a comprehensive review of the literature on online service quality, applies the theory to online travel offerings, and reports on an empirical study of quality perceptions of pre-transaction services provided on three travel websites. Effects on customer perceived quality were measured for process and outcome dimensions of online services. Implications for the design of online travel services and suggestions for further research are formulated.Economics ;

Antecedents of Effective Decision Making: A Cognitive Approach

Decision-making effectiveness has been associated with how well managers adapt their cognitive style to task requirements. In this paper, theories regarding decision-making under uncertainty and the use of judgment and intuition are reviewed and integrated. Cognitive Continuum Theory (CCT), positing a one-dimensional continuum of cognitive styles anchored by intuition and analysis, is extended: Four fundamental decision styles are identified and evaluated for their relative effectiveness under various task conditions. Propositions are developed with respect to the relationships between decision task characteristics and the likelihood of using two cognitive systems, and with respect to potential moderators of decision-making effectiveness. The propositions are integrated into a comprehensive theoretical model. Major contributions of the study are a conceptual clarification of the distinctions between intuition, heuristics and bounded rationality on the one hand, and the assessment of the scope of various cognitive styles as well as the identification of moderators of their effectiveness on the other. Research implications and some suggestions for managerial practice are provided.Economics ;

Transportation Policy and the Effects on Modal Choice in the EU

This study addresses the question of how trans-national regulations could stimulate environmentally friendly transportation. Effects of capacity limitations, costs and transit time requirements on the attractiveness of different containerized transportation modes are modeled for a representative freight corridor in the European Union. Multiple legislative scenarios are developed for 2010, taking into account various characteristics of road, rail and inland waterway transportation, including costs to society and environmental costs. Analysis of the scenarios reveals that under the current legislation environmentally friendly transportation modes are already very attractive, but lack sufficient capacity to deal with demand. Further legislative interventions, such as increased taxation, would only lead to increased transportation costs, and render containerized transportation less effective and more costly to society. For a more favorable modal split, it appears that important investments are to be made in dedicated cargo rail and inland waterways.Economics ;

Boost Customer Loyalty With Online Support: The Case Of Mobile Telecomms Providers

The paper explores the effect of customer satisfaction with online supporting services on loyalty to providers of an offline core service. Supporting services are provided to customers before, during or after the purchase of a tangible or intangible core product, and have the purpose of enhancing or facilitating the use of this product. The Internet has the potential to dominate all other marketing channels when it comes to the interactive and personalized communication that is considered quintessential for supporting services. Our study shows that the quality of online supporting services powerfully affects satisfaction with the provider and customer loyalty through its effect on online value and enjoyment. Managerial implications are provided.marketing ;

Antecedents of industrial brand equity: An empirical study

Industrial branding has emerged as an important issue, allowing firms to gain substantial competitive advantage, especially in markets where product commoditization and electronic procurement are on the increase. This article proposes, and empirically validates, a theoretically structured approach to measure brand equity, its antecedents and its consequences for industrial products. The model distinguishes between product and corporate brand equity, uses buyer perceived performance on the dimensions of the marketing mix as antecedents of brand equity, and relates them to re-purchase and loyalty intentions.Economics ;

Effects of perceived employee emotional competence on customer satisfaction and loyalty: The mediating role of rapport

peer reviewedPurpose – During service encounters, emotionally competent employees are likely to succeed in building rapport with their customers, which in turn leads to customer satisfaction and loyalty. However, the relationship between emotional competence and rapport has not been empirically examined. In the present study, we investigate effects of customer perceived employee emotional competence (EEC) on satisfaction and loyalty. We also examine how and to what extent rapport mediates these effects. Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on the theory of affect-as-information, suggesting that emotions inform human behavior, we develop a structural model and test it on a sample of 247 customers in a personal service setting. Findings – Customer perceptions of EEC positively influence customer satisfaction and loyalty. Rapport partially mediates both effects. Practical implications – The extent to which customers perceive employees as emotionally competent is strongly correlated with the development of rapport, customer satisfaction, and loyalty. Managers of high-contact services should therefore pay attention to emotional competence when hiring new employees, and/or encourage and train existing employees to develop this type of competence. Originality/value – Previous studies have used employee self-reports or supervisor reports of EEC, essentially capturing an employee’s potential to behave in an emotionally competent way. We extend emotional competence theories with a customer perspective: the present study is the first to capture customer perceptions of employees’ emotional competence

A Framework For Sustainable Service System Configuration: Exploring Value Paradoxes With Examples From the Hospitality Industry

© 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: While innovative service systems may create substantial value for certain stakeholders, they often destroy value for others. This value paradox frequently leads to unsustainable service systems. The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of multiple theories to pinpoint and explain these value paradoxes, build a framework allowing potentially more sustainable value configuration of service systems and develop an agenda for future research. The framework is illustrated with examples from the hospitality industry. Design/methodology/approach: The paper draws on prevalent theories and approaches, including service-dominant logic, business modeling, transaction cost economics, stakeholder theory, configuration theory and set theory, to develop a value configuration framework. Findings: In a service system, the configuration of resources and relationships between these resources (i.e. the set of value propositions for various stakeholders of the system) determines which stakeholders will gain and which will lose and to what extent. For that reason, insight into the range of possible service configurations – or business models – will help decision makers consider the effects on various stakeholders, and, where possible, set their priorities right and make their businesses more sustainable. The research produces a rich research agenda. Research limitations/implications: Examples from hospitality allow an in-depth examination of a range of dynamic configurational and technological innovations, but some idiosyncratic characteristics of the context may impede the wider applicability of the conceptual framework. Future research could complement this work by studying other service sectors. Practical implications: The paper aims to provide decision makers in the service industry with a conceptual tool to explore, diagnose and, if needed, adjust the value configuration of their service operations. In practice, this tool may help explicate the service system configuration, thus helping managers determine their organizations’ desired positioning in terms of value creation and destruction, and to choose strategic directions by adapting configurations. Social implications: Legislation and regulations are being adapted to various new service configurations. This paper attempts to – at least conceptually – distinguish different service configurations, allowing policy makers to identify the value trade-offs between stakeholders, including society at large. Originality/value: Previous research focused primarily on value creation by innovative services and business models. Value creation for one stakeholder, however, could lead to value destruction for another. Taking this paradox into consideration may result in more open service ecosystems that explicitly consider sustainability and value implications in multiple dimensions and for a broader group of stakeholders