Customer experiences of resource integration : Reframing servicescapes using scripts and practices

It is widely acknowledged that value can be regarded as interactively formed by customers through the integration of a variety of resources. However, it is difficult to find service research that takes these concepts seriously in empirical studies. Consequently, the aim of this thesis is to present an empirically grounded understanding of how customer resource integration takes place in practice and how customers experience their resource integration. By collecting data of public transport customers through qualitative diaries, interviews, and video recordings of situated action in addition to a survey, the thesis draws on script and practice theory. The main contribution of the thesis is an empirically grounded model of customer experience of resource integration, which can be summarized in six propositions: (a) customers can acquire four different types of scripts: generic, incongruent, rigid, or transformative; (b) the script types are implicit parts of interactive value practices, which emerge as navigating and ticketing in the empirical context of public transport; (c) the interactive value practices are constellations of the resource integration activities of identifying, sense-making, and using, which customers focus on to varying extents, depending on their acquired script; (d) during or after interactive value formation customers potentially update their scripts; (e) customer processes, other customers, the physical environment, contact personnel, provider processes, and the wider environment all form the context of the service, but can also be resources that the customer integrates; and (f) the customer experience is a holistic evaluation of the interactive value formation and can be understood as consisting of three dimensions: a cognitive evaluation and two affective evaluations, positive activation and positive deactivation. As such, I reframe the notion of the servicescape in order for it to be more attuned to the perspective of interactive value formation and resource integration

Exploring internal mechanisms forming customer servicescape experiences

Purpose - The aim of this paper is to explore customer interactions with servicescapes and to explain in more depth the internal mechanisms that form the customer service experience. Design/methodology/approach - The paper draws on an empirical study of customers using Swedish public transport systems. Data collection is based on a micro-ethnographic approach, using think-aloud protocols and video documentation. Findings - The results from the empirical study contribute with a framework of three constellations of activities and interactions: namely, identifying, sense-making, and using, which, depending on the empirical context, form two main customer process practices – navigating and ticketing. These constructs are theoretical and have implications for service research in the sense that they explain how customer experiences are formed. Practical implications - Managers should focus on making the servicescape design intuitive, meaningful and easy to use for their customers and, depending on the empirical context, support the customer processes of finding one’s way and ticketing. Limitations/Future research - While the conceptual framework is arguably applicable also to other servicescape processes and thus has the capacity to explain how a wide range of customer experiences are formed, the study is based on one industry. Consequently, it would be worthwhile to verify our framework in different service settings. Originality/value - The study is novel by applying a micro-ethnological research approach in order to provide a systematic empirical analysis of how constellations of activities and interactions in servicescape processes create customer responses and thus form the customer’s service experience

Office types and workers' cognitive vs affective evaluations from a noise perspective

Purpose This study aims to examine the links between office types (cellular, shared-room, small and medium-sized open-plan) and employees' subjective well-being regarding cognitive and affective evaluations and the role perceived noise levels at work has on the aforementioned associations. Design/methodology/approach A survey with measures of office types, perceived noise levels at work and the investigated facets of subjective well-being (cognitive vs affective) was distributed to employees working as real estate agents in Sweden. In total, 271 useable surveys were returned and were analyzed using analyses of variance (ANOVAs) and a regression-based model mirroring a test of moderated mediation. Findings A significant difference was found between office types on the well-being dimension related to cognitive, but not affective, evaluations. Employees working in cellular and shared-room offices reported significantly higher ratings on this dimension than employees working in open-plan offices, and employees in medium-sized open-plan offices reported significantly lower cognitive evaluation scores than employees working in all other office types. This pattern of results was mediated by perceived noise levels at work, with employees in open-plan (vs cellular and shared-room) offices reporting less satisfactory noise perceptions and, in turn, lower well-being scores, especially regarding the cognitive (vs affective) dimension. Originality/value This is one of the first studies to compare the relative impact of office types on both cognitive and affective well-being dimensions while simultaneously testing and providing empirical support for the presumed process explaining the link between such aspects

The role and design of the service environment in creating favourable customer experiences

The important role of the environment in service experiences is well established and accounted for in the marketing literature. Several theoretical frameworks and concepts have been suggested such as the servicescape. So far, the empirical studies have mainly focused on the effects of single variables, like music, scent or signage. Consequently, further empirical and conceptual research is needed with a holistic view. This paper contributes to this knowledge gap by building on a recent conceptualization of the experience room model. The aim of the study is to further explore design dimensions of an experience room. We examine the role of the experience room dimensions in the processes that result in the cocreation of value-in-use, while investigating their relative importance.Part of thesis: Customer experiences of resource integration</p

A holistic view of value generation process in a SSBI environment : A service dominant logic perspective

Self-service business intelligence (SSBI) is an emerging trend in organisations allowing users to become more autonomous in data exploration. Organisations are keen to provide such services for their employees due to its potential benefits. However, there is little empirical knowledge about the process of building a SSBI service and the role of users in this process. From an exploratory single case study of a major Norwegian online marketplace and drawing on service-dominant logic as an analytical framework, we identify and explore two major phases of building a SSBI service: co-production and co-creation. Besides providing a rich description of these phases, this study also explores the way stakeholders are involved and embedded throughout the process of value generation

Problem-Based Learningin International Online Groups

Open Networked Learning (ONL) is a learning-by-doing online course foreducators in higher education who wish to develop their skills in designingand teaching collaborative online courses. It was developed in responseto a growing need for courses dealing with online teaching and learning.Furthermore, it is a result of educational developers looking outside theirown universities to collaborate within their network of colleagues nationallyand internationally. Instead of each institution running its own internalcourse, the partner institutions collaborate on a common course that offersboth internal professional development and practical experience of virtualmobility. Educators gain the opportunity to engage in learning and collaborating with colleagues from universities around the world in multidisciplinary groups with problem-based learning as a foundation

The relationship between office type and job satisfaction : Testing a multiple mediation model through ease of interaction and well-being

Objectives This cross-sectional study investigated the associations between office type (cellular, shared-room, small open-plan, and medium-sized open-plan) and employees' ease of interaction with coworkers, subjective well-being, and job satisfaction. Methods A brief survey including measures of office type, ease of interaction with coworkers, subjective wellbeing, and job satisfaction was sent electronically to 1500 Swedish real-estate agents, 271 of whom returned usable surveys. The data were analyzed using a regression-based serial multiple mediation model (PROCESS Model 6), which tested whether the relationship between office type and job satisfaction would be mediated by ease of interaction and, in turn, subjective well-being. Results A negative relationship was found between the number of coworkers sharing an office and employees' job satisfaction. This association was serially mediated by ease of interaction with coworkers and subjective well-being, with employees working in small and medium-sized open-plan offices reporting lower levels of both these aspects than employees who work in either cellular or shared-room offices. Conclusions Open-plan offices may have short-term financial benefits, but these benefits may be lower than the costs associated with decreased job satisfaction and well-being. Therefore, decision-makers should consider the impact of office type on employees rather than focusing solely on cost-effective office layout, flexibility, and productivity

Chapter 6 Problem-based Learning in International Online Groups

Open Networked Learning is an open online professional development course for educators in higher education who wish to investigate and discuss the design and teaching of collaborative online courses. The course is organised in a unique partnership between 14 institutions in six countries and is both an institutional professional development course and an arena for virtual exchange between educators from different cultures, institutions and disciplines. This chapter describes how the course successfully implements problem-based learning in facilitated groups in an online environment. The course employs a multi-layered approach to openness and allows learners to participate on three levels: as part of the course community, within the problem-based learning group and with individual reflection in a learning blog. This chapter examines the opportunities and challenges that have arisen and points to possible solutions