Product and Service Innovation: Ideas for Future Cross-Disciplinary Research

[Excerpt] The second annual Product and Service Innovation Conference was held in February 2005 in Park City, Utah. The conference brought together over 40 distinguished and upcoming scholars from 30 flagship universities all over the United States. The purpose of the conference is to unite leading scholars in the fields of operations management and marketing and to promote an open dialog among different academic fields on the subject of product and service innovation. The conference provides a venue where participants have ample opportunities to learn about advances in innovation research, to leverage each other’s work, and to discuss future research directions. The conference is designed to support cross-disciplinary research and to bridge the divide between marketing and operations approaches to studying innovation. Marketing and operations ‘‘are two components of one of the first economic paradigms that a management student encounters—the point of tangency between the production–possibility frontier and consumer preference curves. Unfortunately, the relationship between these two functions has often been uncomfortable if not adversarial’’ (Karmarkar, 1996, p. 125), thus creating an interdisciplinary divide and limiting the research opportunities in this area. The underlying reasons for the existence of this divide between operations and marketing were explored during a panel discussion that wrapped up this year’s conference. The main culprits identified for the lack of cross disciplinary research include the lack of acceptance of paradigm breaking or shifting research, the shortage of publication outlets, and the negative stigma associated with cross-disciplinary research by the research community. Although cross-disciplinary research is vital to studying innovation, many challenges prevent the advancement of this type of research. The purpose of this article is to summarize the challenges faced today by cross-disciplinary scholars and also to address the future research priorities in this area. The present article is organized as follows. First, the current issues in cross-disciplinary research are discussed, as well as ways to overcome some of the obstacles that deter the field’s development. Next, cross-disciplinary research priorities are presented as identified by previous literature and conference panel discussions, as well as the ranking of these priorities resulting from the present survey study. Finally, the implications of the findings on the future of cross-disciplinary research are discussed

Can Customers Detect Script Usage in Service Encounters? An Experimental Video Analysis

Service scripts are predetermined guides for employees to follow when delivering service to customers. Some services require employees to strictly follow a script, whereas others use scripts more flexibly, if at all. Extant research regarding service scripts in the domain of service operations has mainly addressed the topic from more of a process view as a control mechanism for the encounter but minimal research has examined customer perceptions of scripted service. The authors examine a pivotal first question, which is if customers can detect different approaches to script use. To answer the question, the authors conducted a video experiment of face‐to‐face service encounters in the hospitality industry. The results indicate that customers can detect degrees of script use across both standardized and customized encounter types. This work serves as initial empirical evidence that customers are indeed capable of detecting subtleties in scripting approaches in different service situations and supports that script level is an important service design construct for research. Furthermore, the authors highlight the use of a video experiment as an innovative methodology for assessing customer perceptions of intangible aspects to services in a realistic setting. One implication of this study is that managers need to assess the impact that different script levels have on customer perceptions of various service performance measures. Managers should also consider the effect script detection has on customer perceptions of the service experience and service brand to assure their script approach aligns with the organization’s service strategy

Key Elements in Service Innovation:Insights for the Hospitality Industry

For the hospitality industry, innovation is the oxygen that keeps concepts fresh and which attracts new customers, as well as encourages repeat customers. Although innovation requires creative thinking, coming up with a new idea is only the first step in ensuring successful service innovations. To detail the elements of service innovation and to determine ways to support successful innovations, the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research invited service industry leaders and Cornell faculty members to examine the issues surrounding service innovation. The resulting Service Innovation Roundtable brought in not only hospitality industry leaders, but also representatives from other service industries that have incorporated service innovations into their business models

Surprise, Anticipation, and Sequence Effects in the Design of Experiential Services

Production and Operations ManagementThe article of record as published may be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/poms.12675The most salient or peak aspect of a service experience often defines customer perceptions of the service. Across two studies, using the same novel form of a scenario-based experiment, we investigate the design of peak events in a service sequence by testing how anticipated and surprised peaks influence customer perceptions. Study 1 captures the immediate reactions of participants and Study 2 surveys participants a week later. In both studies, we find a main effect for the temporal peak placement, confirming the positive influence of a strong peak ending. When assessing the peak design strategies of surprise and anticipation, we find in Study 1 that surprise and anticipation moderate the temporal peak placement (e.g., early peak vs. late peak) on overall customer perceptions, with the surprise peak at the end of an experience yielding the strongest effect. In Study 2 we see that the remembered experience of a surprise peak positively affects customer perceptions compared to an anticipated peak regardless of the temporal placement of the peak. We also find that the infusion of a surprise peak ending has a lasting effect that amplifies the peak-end effect of remembered experiences. Drawing on these findings, we discuss the role of surprise, anticipation, and sequence effects in experience design strategy.Funded by Naval Postgraduate SchoolNaval Postgraduate Schoo

Exploring the Use of the Abbreviated Technology Readiness Index for Hotel Customer Segmentation

Traditional tools used for segmenting hotel clientele rely on demographic and hotel-use characteristics (such as desired room type). However, with the emergence of self-service technologies and with technology-based components added to the list of hotels’ service offerings, the authors propose using the abbreviated Technology Readiness Index (TRI) to improve the effectiveness of customer profiling, not only for technology use but also more generally for market segmentation. The abbreviated TRI was found to be a useful segmentation tool as it allows managers to form cohesive customer segments, each with a particular attitude toward technology and each with its own demographic characteristics and usage patterns. This study will help managers tailor their technology offerings to the needs and preferences of different segments based on their comfort with technology

Service Scripting and Authenticity: Insights for the Hospitality Industry

Customers in hotels and restaurants can quickly discern when an employee is following a service script. The customer’s reaction to that script depends in part on the nature of the service transaction, but also on how authentically the employee behaves within the script. A study of 2,407 U.S. hospitality customers found that many customers (almost half of the sample) focus on the treatment aspect of scripts—that is, how they are treated by the employee—and have a generally negative view of scripted services. However, about one-third of the sample considered the task-completion aspect of scripts. These respondents agreed that scripts are valuable for ensuring that all aspects of a task are completed correctly. Certain encounters are well suited to strict scripting (such as reservations and check-in), because their task-related aspects are critical to quality. Other encounters, such as concierge service and fine-dining interactions, might benefit from more flexible scripts, since customers are more focused on how they are treated during such service interactions. The respondents were uniformly negative when they detect what is known as “surface acting,” which occurs when employees are clearly just going through the motions of a script. In contrast, positive results occurred with “deep acting,” in which employees are (or seem to be) sincere in their service interaction. However, only a substantial minority of respondents reported perceiving sincere script delivery by employees. Given the importance of scripts in ensuring that service tasks are completed correctly, the study’s implications for hospitality managers include strategies of assessing the balance between task and treatment, determining which tasks are appropriate for flexible scripts, training employees in “deep acting,” and gaining employees’ buy-in by having them assist with script design.Victorino_202012_20Service_20scripting.pdf: 2578 downloads, before Aug. 1, 2020

Script Usage in Standardized and Customized Service Encounters: Implications for Perceived Service Quality

This study examines the effect that verbal scripts have on customer perceived service quality for two distinct service process types. We designed a video experiment that varied the level of verbal scripting for standardized and customized service encounters. We found that in standardized service encounters, an increase in the level of verbal scripting had no effect on perceived service quality. However, for customized encounters, perceived service quality was impacted. More specifically, a predominantly scripted encounter for customized service processes, on average, resulted in the lowest perception of service quality by respondents. Since verbal scripting was shown to impact customer perceptions of service quality, we suggest that a service provider’s decision regarding the degree of verbal scripting is an important service design consideration

The Role of Coordinated Marketing-Operations Strategy in Services: Implications for Managerial Decisions and Execution

The article of record as published may be located at http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2323839In this article, we discuss the importance of a coordinated marketing and operations strategy in goods and service producing business organizations. Customer engagement and co-production are imperative service delivery considerations, and therefore an aligned marketing and operations strategy is essential for the formulation, development, and effectiveness of managerial decisions especially for service sector firms

Service Scripting: A Customer’s Perspective of Quality and Performance

Many hospitality services are scripted, under the theory that scripts are an efficient method of ensuring a consistent level of service quality. However, few empirical studies have examined how the use of scripts affects the customer’s view of service quality. Using videotape scenarios in an experimental setting, this study tests the effects that scripts have on perceptions of service quality in two types of hotel service interactions—namely, a standardized encounter (in this case, check-in) and a customized encounter (i.e., concierge service). As a starting point, this study found that customers are able to detect when scripts are in use in both kinds of interactions. Moreover, the study points out the value of taking customers’ views into account when designing services. For the standardized interaction, respondents to this study reported no difference in their perceptions of service quality regardless of whether the scenario was highly scripted, moderately scripted, or relaxed (essentially, improvised). In contrast, for the concierge service, respondents perceived that a heavy use of scripting diminished service quality. At the same time, a moderate or relaxed approach to scripting for the customized concierge scenarios had no effect on respondents’ perception of service quality. This study suggests that hotel managers should be circumspect in scripting customized encounters, but may apply scripts to standardized services without diminishing perceptions of service quality

Service Innovation and Customer Choices in the Hospitality Industry

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to understand the impact service innovation has on customers’ choices within the hotel and leisure industry. The paper also discusses the influence of the creation of new services on both service development and operational strategy.Design/methodology/approach: The analysis is based on a national survey of approximately 1,000 travelers in the United States, using a web-based data acquisition approach. The travelers are segmented by reason of travel (business or leisure), and discrete choice analysis is applied to model customer preferences for various hotel service innovations.Findings: Overall, the study finds that service innovation does matter when guests are selecting a hotel, with type of lodging having the largest impact on a customer’s hotel choice. In addition, service innovation is found to have a larger influence on choices when guests are staying at economy hotels rather than mid-range to up-scale hotels. Also, leisure travelers were found to be more influenced by innovative amenities such as childcare programs and in-room kitchenettes than business travelers.Practical implications: The understanding of customers’ choices allows managers to better design their service offerings and formulate corresponding operational strategies around customer needs.Originality/value: This paper examines the addition of innovation to the hotel service concept and is an excellent tool for managers deciding on which innovations to implement.Verma45_Service_Innovation_and_Customer_Choices.pdf: 16897 downloads, before Aug. 1, 2020