Materializing Design Fictions for Metaverse Services

As the state-of-the-art stands, our knowledge of designing Metaverse platforms is limited. In this paper we propose that design fictions are the first form of prototyping and explore how ‘materializing’ a design fiction can help cement or refute assumptions that drive the development of a software-based system toward a first Minimum Viable Product. Our context is a platform for trading music memorabilia in the Metaverse, integrating content sitting across archives, record labels, publishers, and private collections in an immersive and accessible manner. The design fiction provided both a means of exploring the business assumptions of our industry partner and co-creating an experience of value to its intended audience. As key outcomes, the approach was of value in shaping business assumptions, developing an enhanced understanding of the audience and allowing them to co-create, shaping technology needs and identifying partners necessary for the development

Analysing the preferred characteristics of frontline employees dealing with customer complaints: A cross‐national 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 Kano’s 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

Which classroom service encounters make students happy or unhappy?: insights from an online CIT study

Purpose – This paper explores satisfactory and dissatisfactory student-professor encounters in higher education from a student’s perspective. The critical incident technique (CIT) is used to categorise positive and negative student-professor interactions and to reveal quality dimensions of professors. Design/methodology/approach – An exploratory study using an online application of the well established CIT method was conducted. The study took place at a large European university. 96 students took part in the study on a voluntary basis and reported 164 incidents. Respondents were aged between 19 and 24 years (X=23.2) and slightly more female students (52%) filled in the online CIT questionnaire than male students (48%). On average, every student provided 1.7 incidents. Findings – The results of the critical incident sorting process support previous classification systems that used three major groups to thoroughly represent the domain of (un)satisfactory student-professor encounters. The results of the CIT study also revealed 10 quality dimensions of professors, corroborating previous research in this area. Research limitations/implications – Due to the exploratory nature of the study and the scope and size of its student sample, the results outlined are tentative in nature. The research study also only investigates the experiences of one stakeholder group. Practical implications – Gaining knowledge of students’ classroom experiences should be beneficial for professors to design their teaching programmes. Based on the results, universities might consider the introduction of student contracts or student satisfaction guarantees to manage student expectations effectively. Originality/value – The study was the first to successfully apply an online version of the CIT techniques to the issue of higher education services. This study shows that the CIT method is a useful tool for exploring student-professor encounters in higher education. The paper has hopefully opened up an area of research and methodology that could reap considerable further benefits for researchers interested in this area

Service recovery in higher education: does national culture play a role?

It is now well recognised that an effective service-recovery system plays a crucial role in service organisations. However, the importance of such systems has not yet been acknowledged by the higher-education industry. Given the need for more research on service-recovery expectations of students, this exploratory study attempts to shed light on what students believe to be the desirable attributes of professors during recovery encounters. To investigate how national culture influences student expectations during such encounters, 40 students from the UK and Bangladesh were interviewed and 210 questionnaires were completed by students. Using the semi-standardised laddering interviewing technique in combination with Kano questionnaires, the study provides an in-depth insight into the qualities and behaviours that students expect professors to portray during service-recovery encounters. The research reveals that the key attributes desired by both groups of students include being approachable, listening actively, showing empathy and providing an explanation. Among a wide range of benefits, students link these attributes to enhanced teacher–student relationship, better academic performance and at a more abstract level, to desired end-states such as harmony and well-being

Designing and conducting online interviews to investigate interesting consumer phenomena

Purpose – This paper thoroughly explains how qualitative researchers can design and conduct online interviews to investigate interesting consumer phenomena. Design/Methodology/Approach – A semi-standardized qualitative technique called laddering was applied successfully to an online environment. Laddering allows researchers to reach deeper levels of reality and to reveal the reasons behind the reasons. A web survey that included an opinion leadership scale, filled in by 2,472 people, served as a springboard for identifying possible participants for the online laddering interviews. 22 online interviews were conducted with opinion leaders in the specific product field of digital music players such as Apple’s iPod. Findings – By conducting online interviews we were able to gather information from an interesting group of respondents that would have been difficult to contact otherwise. The whole online interviewing process was convenient for respondents who did not have to leave their homes and offices for the interviews. In general respondents enjoyed the online laddering interviewing experience and in particular the relaxed and friendly atmosphere. The most valued attributes of Apple’s iPod are “control elements” and “design”, which are linked to values such as hedonism and individuality. Originality/value – The paper is the first to systematicallydescribe how qualitative researchers can conduct laddering interviews online. By explaining the online interviewing process in detail, we dispel criticism that qualitative research reports are often unclear, ambiguous and unstructured. Based on the detailed description of the online laddering process, other researchers can use the technique to get deeper insights into interesting consumer phenomena

Individual values and motivational complexities in ethical clothing consumption: a means-end approach

With the expansion of ethical consumption, there is an increased need to understand the variety of consumer motives for consumer engagement in such behaviour. For the rapidly growing area of ethical clothing, this study explores consumers' desired consumption outcomes and personal values that drive ethical product preferences. Analysis of data obtained through a semi-qualitative laddering approach (n = 98 ethical clothing consumers) reveals five dominant perceptual patterns relating not only to environmental and altruist ethical concerns, but also more individual motives of value for money, personal image, and well-being. Further analysis shows that consumers have to compromise and balance between their conflicting end-goals. The study augments previous findings in ethical clothing research, as researchers can better understand how specific attributes of products relate to the emotional and symbolic aspects and link back to consumer values. Though limited in scope by its exploratory character, the study contributes towards a deeper understanding of ethical consumer behaviour. Implications for theory practice and further research are discussed

Complaint management expectations: an online laddering analysis of small versus large firms

This study explores complaint management expectations in business relationships, particularly the qualities and behaviours that affect buying companies as part of the complaint handling encounter with a supplier. An exploratory empirical study uses a hard laddering approach which also allows us to compare the expectations of large and small companies to understand size-effects. The research indicates that complaining companies perceive disruptions of their supplier relationships in the context of the business network within which they are embedded, especially vis-à-vis the benefits associated with long-term supplier ties. However, these network concerns are more pronounced for large companies. Issues of effective complaint management in business-to-business settings therefore need to be addressed not just as isolated managerial activities with limited benefits for the parties involved, but should be seen as being part of a wider activity set of strategic networking activities with an impact on whole business systems. Thus, the findings enrich the existing limited stock of knowledge on the context of complaint management in business relationships and networks

Complaint resolution management expectations in an asymmetric business-to-business context

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to gain a deeper understanding of the attributes of effective complaint management in business-to-business relationships, and to reveal the underlying benefits that buying organizations are looking for when complaining. Design/methodology/approach – A semi-standardized qualitative technique called laddering was applied successfully to an online environment with 22 representatives of companies in the manufacturing industry participating. Findings – The resulting hierarchical value map displays 13 attributes which exemplify the complaint resolution management expectations. A total of 14 constructs represent consequences of such resolution activities, while four constructs can be interpreted as values. Take “Quick action” is the most important of the expected attributes and behaviours of complaint resolution management. Four consequences seem to dominate the assessment: Financial benefits, Prevention of future problems, Solution, and Effective resolution handling. “Maintain supplier relationships” appears as a dominant value in the perceptions of respondents, with half of them mentioning this as an end. Research limitations/implications – Owing 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. The study involved a group of representatives of large UK manufacturing companies with complaint handling responsibilities and so the results cannot be generalised. Originality/value – The findings enrich the existing limited stock of knowledge on complaint management in business relationships by developing a deeper understanding of the attributes that complaining customer companies desire from suppliers, as well as the underlying business logic (i.e. values) for these expectations. The quality of the results also suggests that the laddering questionnaire technique can be transferred effectively to an online environment