When good news is bad news: the negative impact of positive customer feedback on front-line employee well-being

Purpose – Front-line employee (FLE) well-being is an under-researched field. Contrasting the prevailing view that Positive Customer Feedback (PCF) can only have ‘positive’ impacts, this study aims to answer the counterintuitive question: Could the apparently positive construct ‘Positive Custo mer Feedback’ 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 – 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 – 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 – 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 – 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

Exploring the impact of customer feedback on the well-being of service entities - a TSR perspective

Purpose – Adopting the transformative service research (TSR) perspective, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of positive customer feedback on the well-being of front-line employees, companies, and society. Using a multidisciplinary approach, the overlooked area of “positive feedback” is explored resulting in the development of the “Positive Feedback Model” (PFM). The study also compares managers’ and employees’ perceptions of positive customer feedback. Design/methodology/approach – Two exploratory qualitative studies were conducted: Study 1 consisted of 22 semi-structured interviews with managers working in the service industry and Study 2 consisted of seven focus groups with front-line service employees. The extensive literature review and the results of these two studies contributed to the development of the PFM. Findings – Positive customer feedback is an overlooked area of service research which offers potential for improving the well-being of the service entities. Front-line employees are the main recipients and topics of positive customer feedback. The developed PFM describes various forms, channels, and times of administration of positive customer feedback and its multitude of impacts on the well-being of service entities. Research limitations/implications – This study contributes to the literature on TSR and customer feedback management. The developed model presents possible positive feedback categories, their various outcomes and the outcomes for the concerned parties involved. By developing PFM and encouraging a multidisciplinary approach combined with advanced research methodologies, the researchers propose an agenda for further research insights within the TSR and customer feedback areas. The comparison of the managers’ and employees’ perceptions of positive customer feedback presents novel managerial implications and directions for future research. Originality/value – This study is the first to explore customer feedback from a TSR perspective. It examines the overlooked area of positive customer feedback. The well-being of service entities is prioritized as services have been extensively criticized for ignoring human well-being

Special section: Advancing customer experience and big data impact via academic- practitioner collaboration

Purpose This paper outlines the purpose, planning, development and delivery of the “1st AcademicPractitioner Research with Impact workshop: Customer Experience Management (CEM) and Big Data”, held at Alliance Manchester Business School on 18th and 19th January 2016, at which four subsequent papers were initially developed. Design/methodology/approach The paper sets out a summary of the importance and significance of the four papers developed at the workshop, and how the co-creative dialogue between managerial practitioners presenting key problems and issues that they face and carefully selected teams of academics was facilitated. Findings In order to develop richer and more impactful understanding of current problems challenging customer focused managers, there is a need for more dialogue and engagement between academics and practitioners. Practical implications The paper serves as a guideline for developing future workshops that aim at strengthening the links between academia and the business world. Originality/value This paper highlights the value of academic-practitioner workshops for focusing academic research on areas of importance for practitioners in order to generate impact. The innovative format of the workshop and the resulting impactful papers should serve as a call and motivation for future academic-practitioner workshop development

Motivations for servitization: the impact of product complexity

Purpose To identify the commonalities and differences in manufacturers’ motivations to servitize. Design/methodology/approach UK study based on interviews with 40 managers in 25 companies in 12 sectors. Using the concept of product complexity, sectors were grouped using the Complex Products and Systems (CoPS) typology: non-complex products, complex products, and systems. Findings Motivations to servitize were categorised as competitive, demand-based (i.e., derived from the customer) or economic. Motivations to servitize vary according to product complexity, although cost savings and improved service quality appear important demand-based motivations for all manufacturers. Non-complex product manufacturers also focus on services to help product differentiation. For CoPS manufacturers, both risk reduction and developing a new revenue stream were important motivations. For uniquely complex product manufacturers, stabilising revenue and increased profitability were strong motivations. For uniquely systems manufacturers, customers sought business transformation, whilst new service business models were also identified. Research limitations/implications Using the CoPS typology, this study delineates motivations to servitize by sector. The findings show varying motivations to servitize as product complexity increases, although some motivational commonality existed across all groups. Manufacturers may have products of differing complexity within their portfolio. To overcome this limitation the unit of analysis was the SBU. Practical implications Managers can reflect on and benchmark their motivation for, and opportunities from, servitization, by considering product complexity. Originality/value The first study to categorise servitization motivations by product complexity. Identifying that some customers of systems manufacturers seek business transformation through outsourcing

Fostering collaborative research for customer experience –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 role of relationships and networks in radical innovation [guest editorial]

The role of relationships and networks in radical innovation [guest editorial

Manufacturers' service innovation efforts: from customer projects to business models and beyond

This chapter addresses gaps in the literature about service innovation for servitization by developing a framework of service innovation activities across three dimensions. This research framework provides a basis for theory development since it enables the relationships between key concepts in the field to be articulated and classified. The framework proposed offers a mechanism for both classifying innovation efforts and developing an understanding of the interlinkages between the dimensions explored. It highlights that servitization efforts involve a balance of developing the right incremental and radical services; which match with the firm-level service strategy (from product-centric, through hybrid to service-centric); and that decisions should be seen in the context of the multiple levels that servitization operates at (micro—individual projects; meso—service offering portfolios and business models; and macro—industry-wide ecosystem elements and beyond). In articulating potential interactions between three key service innovation dimensions, the framework offers a systematic research agenda for servitization researchers, that provides a foundation for exploring how these factors and their interactions affect the service innovation–performance relationship

Digital service innovation challenges faced during servitization: a multi-level perspective

Purpose: Digital Service innovation (DSI) plays a fundamental role in the successful transition from product manufacturer or traditional service provider to a provider of digitally-enabled service solutions. Multiple impediments make managing this transformation using digital technologies difficult for firms, their customers and wider ecosystems. Extant knowledge of these digital technology impediments requires synthesizing and mapping. Design/methodology/approach: A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted. DSI tools and terminology are synthesized via thematic analysis. Subsequently, impediments to DSI for servitization (covering barriers, challenges and tensions) faced by actors across three key innovation phases: strategic planning, design planning and implementation, and four interaction levels (Micro, Meso, Macro-environment, Macro-ecosystem) are mapped via template analysis. Findings: Six impediment categories (external environmental factors, internal firm factors, capabilities, business models and processes, value creation and interaction) encompassing 28 unique impediment types to DSI during servitization are identified. A framework enabling impediment comparison across innovation phases and ecosystem/network interaction levels, revealing that the majority of barriers can be framed as “challenges” was developed. Originality/value: Whilst literature is emerging relating to digital servitization, there is a lack of research on the role DSI plays in facilitating digital servitization and no comprehensive study of DSI impediments exists. Additionally, consensus around the cross-disciplinary terminologies used is lacking. This study is a structured attempt to map the domain, summarizing the terms, identifying and clarifying impediment categories and providing recommendations for researchers and managers in tackling the latter.</p

Tensions in value spaces: The organizational buying center and advanced services

Advanced services necessitate redistribution of activities and new value co-creation processes and configurations, which are negotiated through interactions between organizations' buying centers (BCs) and selling centers (SCs). Transition to advanced services is rarely smooth because ecosystem actors often move into value spaces or territories (in which value is created/co-created) occupied and/or coveted by other actors. An exploratory qualitative approach was used to explore the value-space tensions (22 semi-structured interviews with senior executives from a range of industrial sectors and ecosystem positions). Our findings identify four advanced services lifecycle phases and demonstrate how managing these tensions across phases and BCs and SCs within the ecosystem is a necessary negotiated process impacting value creation/co-creation. We adopt a new theoretical lens (combining territorial servitization and territoriality from economic geography) to explore value spaces within-and-between BCs and SCs in advanced services ecosystems, and contribute to extant literature by: (1) delineating servitization value-space tensions as either cognitive/relational or Cartesian/physical; (2) illustrating how value-space tensions within-and-between BCs and SCs hamper advanced service implementation; (3) revealing how value-space tensions within-and-between BCs and SCs impact value co-creation; and, (4) demonstrating how different tensions manifest between BCs and SCs across the advanced services lifecycle.</p

Capabilities supporting digital servitization: A multi-actor perspective

Digital transformation in business solutions is offering opportunities for servitization to become more digitalized. In this context, digital servitization requires the actors involved to perform new roles and develop new capabilities. Although servitization actor capabilities in the digital transformation context have been addressed in prior studies, the literature lacks a detailed understanding of how they operate according to different service types and different actor roles. Through a systematic literature review, our study aims to expound the capabilities required for digital servitization, for Base, Intermediate, and Advanced services, and analyze who of the main actors of the service triad (manufacturer, intermediaries, and customer) should own such capabilities. This analysis resulted in a final sample of 47 main articles addressing capabilities. We show how the structure of the service triad shifts the digital service provision based on the capabilities required by each actor. For instance, Base Services demand less capabilities, thus, intermediary actors play a less important role since they just execute services usually on behalf of a manufacturer in a more discrete capacity. For Intermediate Services, the intermediary actor becomes more important, with capabilities needed to deliver the digital solution. In Advanced Services, customers' relationships with manufacturers become stronger, as this actor reassumes a central role in the solution offer, and intermediaries move to a supporting role again. Our analysis offers propositions for future research on digital servitization and practical implications on the capabilities required