321 research outputs found
Academic sell-out: how an obsession with metrics and rankings is damaging academia
Increasingly, academics have to demonstrate that their research has academic impact. Universities normally use journal rankings and journal impact factors to assess the research impact of individual academics. More recently, citation counts for individual articles and the h-index have also been used to measure the academic impact of academics. There are, however, several serious problems with relying on journal rankings, journal impact factors and citation counts. For example, articles without any impact may be published in highly ranked journals or journals with high impact factor, whereas articles with high impact could be published in lower ranked journals or journals with low impact factor. Citation counts can also be easily gamed and manipulated, and the h-index disadvantages early career academics. This paper discusses these and several other problems and suggests alternatives such as post-publication peer review and open-access journals
I want to believe they really care: how complaining customers want to be treated by frontline employees
Purpose â Using a realist perspective, this paper investigates how complaining customers want
to be treated by frontline employees in personal complaint handling encounters. For this purpose,
an exploratory research study using the qualitative laddering interviewing technique was regarded
as appropriate as it allows researchers to gain a deeper insight into an underdeveloped research
subject. Following realist thinking and terminology, the exploratory study aims to develop a
deeper understanding of the so-called micro structures of complaining customers.
Design/Methodology/Approach â A semi-standardized qualitative technique called laddering
was used to reveal the cognitive structures of complaining customers. In total, laddering
interviews with 40 respondents with complaining experience were conducted.
Findings â The research shows that the most important attributes for complaining customers are
the contact employeesâ authenticity, competence, and active listening skills. These concepts are
linked with several consequences and values such as âJusticeâ, âWell-Beingâ, and âSecurityâ.
Research limitations/implications â Due to the exploratory nature of the study in general and
the scope and size of its sample in particular, the findings are tentative in nature. As the study
involved students from one university, the results cannot be generalized beyond this group even
though in this case the student sample is likely to represent the general buying public.
Practical implications â If companies know what complaining customers expect, frontline
employees may be trained to adapt their behaviour to their customersâ underlying expectations,
which should have a positive impact on customer satisfaction. For this purpose, the paper gives
several suggestions to managers to improve active complaint handling and management.
Originality/value â Our findings enrich the existing limited stock of knowledge on complaint
satisfaction by developing a deeper understanding of the attributes that complaining customers
expect from frontline employees, as well as the underlying logic for these expectations.
Revealing the important role of employee authenticity adds to our knowledge on complaint
satisfaction. Another strong contribution of this paper lies in the finding that all the identified
concepts must not been seen in strict isolation, as in previous research, but have to be understood
as a network of interrelated concepts: The attributes of frontline employees have several
important consequences for customers (e.g. the feeling of being taken seriously), which are then
linked to consumersâ personal values and basic motivations (e.g. perceptions of justice)
Fostering Collaborative Research for Customer Experience â Connecting Academic and Practitioner Worlds
© 2020 This editorial calls for greater use of academic-practitioner workshops to co-create value for academics, practitioners and wider network actors through promotion of research relevance and sharing of problems, ideas and data. It describes how one such workshop, the 2nd Academic-Practitioner Research with Impact Workshop focusing on the design and decision making for customer experience, co-hosted in Manchester on 18th and 19th of June 2018 by Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester and Loughborough University's Centre for Service Management (CSM), was delivered. The key processes for success and issues to consider for future such events are discussed. The workshop resulted in 8 papers (six theoretical and two empirical). This Special Issue advances current understanding of CE through the research considering the role of technology (AI and big data) in CE research, atypical CE (vulnerability, deviance behaviours and service failure and recovery) and focusing on important organizational and B2B issues (business model innovation, and CEM in business markets)
The desired teaching qualities of lecturers in higher education: a means end analysis
Purpose â The study aims to develop a deeper understanding of the teaching qualities of
effective lecturers that students desire and to uncover the constructs that underlie these desire
expectations and reveal the underlying benefits that students look for.
Design/Methodology/Approach - A semi-standardized qualitative technique called laddering
was applied that allows researchers to reach deeper levels of reality and to reveal the reasons
behind the reasons. The study was conducted amongst teacher education students at a large
German University of Education and laddering questionnaires were handed out to 53 students
enrolled in a business management course.
Findings â The exploratory study gave a valuable first insight into the desired qualities of
lecturers. In particular, the study results indicate that students want lecturers to be
knowledgeable, enthusiastic, approachable, and friendly. Students predominately want to
encounter valuable teaching experiences to be able to pass tests and to be prepared for their
profession. This study also showed that students are mainly concerned about vocational
aspects of their studies and are less interested in their subject.
Research limitations/implications â Due to the exploratory nature of the study and the scope
and size of its sample, the results outlined are tentative in nature. As the study involved only a
single group of university students from one university, the results cannot be generalized to
the student population as a whole.
Originality/value â The study was the first to successfully apply the means-end approach and
the laddering technique to the issue of service quality in higher education. The study has,
hopefully opened up an area of research and methodology that could provide considerable
further benefits for researchers interested in this topic
Uncovering the desired qualities and behaviours of general practitioners (GPs) during medical (service recovery) encounters
Purpose â The purpose of the study is to uncover the desired qualities and behaviours that
patients believe GPs should have in medical (service recovery) encounters. In particular, we
try to reveal the qualities and behaviours of GPs that patients value, to understand the
underlying benefits that they look for during personal (service recovery) encounters, and to
graphically illustrate the findings in a so-called hierarchical value map. This will prove to be
important in order to understand patientsâ needs and desires correctly.
Design/Methodology/Approach â An exploratory research study using the qualitative
laddering interviewing technique was regarded as appropriate as it allows researchers to gain
a deeper insight into an underdeveloped research subject. In total, in-depth laddering
interviews with 38 respondents were conducted.
Findings â In case of a service recovery encounter, patients believe that GPs need to show
competence, friendliness and empathy in order to restore trust in them. GPs should also listen
actively and do the appropriate checks in order to find the root cause of the problem. âHealthâ
was the main value sought by patients. This value is considered by patients to be the gateway
to moving on with their everyday lives and search the attainment of other values such as wellbeing,
belongingness, accomplishment and self-realization. Moreover, respondents would like
to gain knowledge about their disease in order to prevent them in the future and to have some
sense of control over the decision of the treatment. Patients also want a more active role in the
medical (service recovery) encounter, which calls for a more shared approach by GPs in the
interaction with their patients.
Research limitations/implications â Due to the exploratory nature of the study in general
and the scope and size of its sample in particular, the findings are tentative in nature. As the
study involved patients from one large metropolitan area in the UK, the results cannot be
generalized beyond this group.
Practical implications â If GPs know what dissatisfied patients expect, they can adapt their
behaviours to their patientsâ underlying expectations, which should have a positive impact on
the evaluation of the doctor-patient relationship. For this purpose, the paper gives
recommendations that can help GPs recover patientsâ trust while at the same time improving
their performance in medical (service recovery) encounters.
Originality/value â This paper gives a valuable first insight into the desired qualities and
behaviours of GPs during medical (service recovery) encounters. The study results especially
indicate that complaining patients are people first and patients second, where the primary
importance is the satisfaction of basic social needs. The fact that this study has revealed the
highest number of values in published laddering studies so far shows how crucial these
medical (service recovery) encounters in general and GP qualities and behaviours in particular
are for patients. Another strong contribution of this paper is the finding that all the identified
concepts from the laddering interviews that are shown in the hierarchical value maps must not
been seen in strict isolation, as in previous research, but have to be understood as a network of
interrelated concepts
Understanding satisfying service encounters in retail banking â a dyadic perspective
The aim of this study is to expand understanding of satisfying service encounters. In particular, this research study will investigate both parties of the service encounter (customers and frontline employees). A dyadic approach will help to identify whether customer expectations differ from what contact employees believe customers desire from the service encounter. Insights will then lead to a greater understanding of the service encounter as revealed discrepancies in perceptions will not only increase employees' and management awareness, but also provide implications for training and recruitment of employees. An exploratory research study using the well-established laddering interviewing technique was regarded as appropriate as it allows researchers to gain a deeper insight into the research subject. In total, in-depth laddering interviews with 40 respondents (20 customers and 20 frontline employees) were conducted. The findings of this study suggest that customers and employees identified several similar concepts as being important for a successful service encounter such as friendliness, competence, responsiveness, honesty, and communication skills
Analysing the preferred characteristics of frontline employees dealing with customer complaints: A crossânational Kano study
Recent research in customer satisfaction suggests that attributes of products and services can be classified into three categories, must-be factors, one-dimensional factors and excitement factors, which all affect customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction. These originate from Kanoâs model (1984) that allows researchers to gain a deeper understanding of customer preferences by analysing how they evaluate and perceive product or service attributes. This paper uses the Kano model to gain a deeper understanding of attributes of effective frontline employees dealing with customer complainants in personal interactions. For products such as the TV remote control, Kano (2001; 2006) showed that excitement factors deteriorate to must-be factors over time. This research investigates whether the same phenomenon holds true for attributes of service employees. Data were collected from 197 respondents with complaining experience in the UK and Saudi Arabia, these being two countries at different stages of service sector development and the analysis of the Kano maps reveal significant differences between the two countries
Expanding understanding of service exchange and value co-creation: a social construction approach
According to service-dominant logic (S-D logic),
all providers are service providers, and service is the
fundamental basis of exchange. Value is co-created with
customers and assessed on the basis of value-in-context.
However, the extensive literature on S-D logic could
benefit from paying explicit attention to the fact that both
service exchange and value co-creation are influenced by
social forces. The aim of this study is to expand
understanding of service exchange and value co-creation
by complementing these central aspects of S-D logic with
key concepts from social construction theories (social
structures, social systems, roles, positions, interactions,
and reproduction of social structures). The study develops
and describes a new framework for understanding how the
concepts of service exchange and value co-creation are
affected by recognizing that they are embedded in social
systems. The study contends that value should be understood
as value-in-social-context and that value is a social
construction. Value co-creation is shaped by social forces,
is reproduced in social structures, and can be asymmetric
for the actors involved. Service exchanges are dynamic, and actors learn and change their roles within dynamic service
systems
Developing a deeper understanding of the attributes of effective customer contact employees in personal complaint-handling encounters
Purpose â The paper explores the nature of complaint satisfaction. It examines how contact
employees should behave and which qualities they should possess. The study also aims to explore
the comparability of results obtained from two laddering methods as the alternative techniques
may lead to different sets of attributes.
Design/methodology/approach â An exploratory study using the means-end approach and two
laddering techniques (personal interviews and questionnaires) was conducted.
Findings âWhile the personal interviews produced more depth in understanding, the results of
the two laddering methods are broadly similar. The research indicates that being taken seriously
in the complaint encounter and the employeeâs listening skills and competence are particularly
important.
Research limitations/implications â Due to the exploratory nature of the study and the scope
and size of its student sample, the results outlined are tentative in nature.
Practical implications â If companies know what customers expect, contact employees may be
trained to adapt their behavior to their customersâ underlying expectations, which should have a
positive impact on customer satisfaction. For this purpose, the paper gives suggestions to
managers to improve active complaint management.
Originality/value â The study was the first to successfully apply the means-end approach and
two laddering techniques to the issue of complaint satisfaction. The paper has hopefully opened
up an area of research and methodology that could reap considerable further benefits for
researchers interested in the area of customer complaint satisfaction
When good news is bad news: the negative impact of positive customer feedback on front-line employee well-being
Purpose
â Front-line employee (FLE) well-being is an under-researched field. Contrasting the prevailing view that Positive Customer Feedback (PCF) can only have âpositiveâ impacts, this study aims to answer the counterintuitive question: Could the apparently positive construct âPositive Custo
mer Feedbackâ have a negative impact on the well-being of front-line employees? Consequently, working within the Transformative Service Research (TSR) framework, we investigate whether PCF can negatively affect the eudaimonic and hedonic well-being dimensions of FLEs, thus decreasing their overall psychological well-being level.
Design/methodology/approach
â A multidisciplinary literature review was conducted, particularly in the social psychology, human resources and organizational behavior fields, to examine the potential negative impacts of PCF. Subsequently, an exploratory qualitative study consisting of seven focus groups with 45 FLEs and 22 in-depth interviews with managers working across various service industries were performed. All the transcripts were analyzed via an iterative hermeneutical process.
Findings
â A model describing ten negative impacts and six key contingencies of PCF was developed. The identified impacts can negatively affect the eudaimonic and hedonic well-being dimensions of FLEs. PCF can have a negative impact on the eudaimonic dimensions such as harmony, respect and support. Moreover, PCF appears to increase the negative affect by creating tension, fear, strain and stress, thus, negatively affecting the happiness level of FLEs (hedonic well-being). The identified contingencies play a crucial role in determining the direction and intensity of the negative impact of PCF. Therefore, the overall psychological well-being level of FLEs can suffer as a result of PCF. This study also discusses managerial challenges associated with PCF management.
Research limitations/implications
â The article discusses important managerial implications in the field of FLE well-being and PCF management and suggests directions for future research aiming to expand the boundaries of the current TSR agenda and service human resources.
Originality/value
â This study is the first to explore the negative side of PCF from a TSR perspective. It extends the understanding of the overlooked area of PCF and FLE well-being
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