This investigation explores challenges in providing integrated and customised services across a heterogeneous cultural organisation. It contributes to contemporary research which increasingly looks at service experience in a number of contexts including public services (McColl-Kennedy, Janet R. Gustafsson et al., 2015), and emphasises the complexity of customer journeys (Lemon & Verhoef, 2016). This study also aligns with research that considers the heterogeneity of cultural consumption (Marschall, 2014; McCamley & Gilmore, 2017) and tourists’ experiences of intangible and tangible elements across a range of sites, some with connections of individual resonance (Poria & Ashworth, 2009; Poria, Butler, & Airey, 2004)

Alexander, Matthew

Bryce, Derek

Johnstone, Jane

University of Strathclyde Institutional Repository

Johnstone, Jane and Alexander, Matthew and Bryce, Derek (2018) Delivering integrated and customised service experiences within a heterogeneous cultural organisation. In: 10th SERVSIG Conference, 2018-06-14 - 2018-06-16, IESEG School of Management. , This version is available at https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/64539/Strathprints is  designed  to  allow  users  to  access  the  research  output  of  the  University  of Strathclyde. Unless otherwise explicitly stated on the manuscript, Copyright © and Moral Rights for the papers on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. Please check the manuscript for details of any other licences that may have been applied. You may  not  engage  in  further  distribution  of  the  material  for  any  profitmaking  activities  or  any commercial gain. 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It has been developed to disseminate open access research outputs, expose data about those outputs, and enable the management and persistent access to Strathclyde's intellectual output.PROCEEDINGS 2018  364  Delivering integrated and customised service experiences within a heterogeneous cultural organisation  Jane Johnstone, University of Strathclyde, United Kingdom Matthew Alexander, University of Strathclyde, United Kingdom Derek Bryce, University of Strathclyde, United Kingdom  Introduction This investigation explores challenges in providing integrated and customised services across a heterogeneous cultural organisation. It contributes to contemporary research which increasingly looks at service experience in a number of contexts including public services (McColl-Kennedy, Janet R. Gustafsson et al., 2015), and emphasises the complexity of customer journeys (Lemon & Verhoef, 2016).  This study also aligns with research that considers the heterogeneity of cultural consumption (Marschall, 2014; McCamley & Gilmore, 2017) DQG WRXULVWV¶ H[SHULHQFHVRI LQWDQJLEOH DQG WDQJLEOH HOHPHQWV DFURVV D UDQJHRI VLWHVsome with connections of individual resonance (Poria & Ashworth, 2009; Poria, Butler, & Airey, 2004). The national destination marketing organisation for Scotland, VisitScotland, has identified Ancestral Tourism as a growth market with the potential to benefit all regions of Scotland.  Thus far, ancestral tourism research in Scotland has mainly focused on the rural and Highland regions of the country with the legacy of urban, industrial heritage largely absent from established ancestral narratives and tourist provision. This research explores the provision of ancestral tourism within an urban context and investigates the delivery and service experience within a specific organisational context while contributing to heritage tourism from a supplier perspective.    Glasgow Life is a semi-autonomous organisation within Glasgow City Council responsible for disparate functions and facilities, including museums, culture, sport and learning.  It is charged with the delivery of social aims through its provision of facilities while using the same to encourage economic regeneration and growth through cultural tourism. As custodians of *ODVJRZ¶V FXOWXUDO DQG KHULWDJH DVVHWV LW SURPRWHV DQG HQFRXUDJHV SXEOLF DFFHVV ZKLOHmaintaining the integrity of curatorial and archivist roles as well as preservation of objects and documents.  Ancestral Tourism, largely consumed by the Scottish diaspora in the rest of the UK as well as overseas markets such as Canada, the USA, Australia and New Zealand, has been identified for development by Glasgow Life from both social and economic perspectives.   *ODVJRZ/LIHVHHNVWRPDWFKWKHFLW\¶VRIIHULQJRIXUEDQLQGXVWULDOKHULWDJHZLWKLWVDQFHVWUDOtourism potential but needs to develop a strategy to align provision across its diverse array of subsidiary institutions, including museums, galleries, and archives.      PROCEEDINGS 2018  365  Aims and Objectives The aim of this research is to investigate provision and promotion of ancestral tourism across the museums, galleries and archives operated by Glasgow Life.  Exploring staff experiences, this study investigates how these areas of the organisation deliver and connect their services in response to consumer demand.  This exploration also aims to provide insights into how the organisation can integrate provision and promotion to deliver a more coherent service.   Methodology The research was carried out just over a year from June 2016 to August 2017.  Using qualitative methods and approaching the research from a subjectivist stance, data collection took the form of interviews, observation, and informal conversations with staff at Glasgow Life.  Interviews were conducted with thirty-seven participants working across several levels and areas of the organisation, selected through a combination of snowballing and judgement.  The researcher also recorded field notes from observations and informal conversations during attendance at training events and meetings within the organisation.   Findings One of the challenges for organisations is understanding the multiple touch points that make up a service experience, some within their control, and some that are not (McColl-Kennedy, Janet R. Gustafsson et al., 2015).  The fieldwork reveals a ³SOHWKRUDRISRUWDOV«FXrrently XQFRQQHFWHGLQDQ\ZD\LQZKLFKFXVWRPHUVYLVLWRUVFDQDFFHVVRXUFROOHFWLRQV´0DQDJHUArchives)0LQLPDOFRQWURORYHUWKHVHSRUWDOVRUµWRXFKSRLQWV¶FDQDIIHFWWKHRYHUDOOVHUYLFHexperience and the meeting of customer expectations (Lemon & Verhoef, 2016).  Several participants highlight experiences with ancestral tourists with high or unrealistic expectations where ³WKHFKDOOHQJH LV WU\LQJ WR ILQGZD\V WRPHHW WKHVH H[SHFWDWLRQV´ 0DQDJHU)DPLO\History Archives).  Integration of service is exacerbated by the nature of many ancestral tourism encounters that often require individual attention and customisation (Murdy, Alexander, & Bryce, 2016).  The findings reveal that ancestral tourists expect more of a customised service than staff were able to provide suggesting issues with the initial stages of the customer journey.      &XUUHQWO\WKHPDUNHWLQJDSSURDFKWRDQFHVWUDOWRXULVPIURP*ODVJRZ¶V'HVWLQDWLRQ0DUNHWLQJOrganisation (DMO) is ³UHDFWLYH UDWKHU WKDQSURDFWLYH´ 0DUNHWLQJ0DQDJHU'02 and focuses on the promotion of various archives that provide resources for detailed family history investigations.  This research expands understanding of ancestral tourism with examples of ancestral tourists who do not or not only carry out detailed research but visit multiples sites wLWKKHULWDJHFROOHFWLRQVWKDWSURYLGHFRQWH[WWRWKHLUDQFHVWRUV¶OLYHV7KLVUHVHDUFKGLVFRYHUVDQFHVWUDOWRXULVWVZKRDUHLQWHUHVWHGLQWKHXUEDQLQGXVWULDOQDUUDWLYHVRIWKHLUDQFHVWRUV¶OLYHVand who want to ³YLVXDOLVH´ and ³KDYHDEURDGHUSLFWXUHRI ZKDWWKHLUDQFHVWRUV¶OLYHVPD\KDYHEHHQOLNH´ (Manager, Archives).  The findings show that museums and archives provide this offering for ancestral tourists, but staff have limited familiarity with ancestral tourism external to their own areas of the organisation. This inhibits the potential for integrated ancestral tourism experiences.  PROCEEDINGS 2018  366  $QRWKHUFKDOOHQJHLVWKHµP\ULDGRIWRXFKSRLQWVDQGUHVXOWLQJLQIRUPDWLRQRYHUORDG¶(Lemon & Verhoef, 2016:76)WKH³information and signage is usually just overwhelming and too much WRWDNHLQ´$UFKLYH$VVLVWDQWThe complexity of information available not only compromises the likelihood of visiting places that could offer an ancestral tourism experience but could also DIIHFWWKHRYHUDOOVHUYLFHH[SHULHQFH7KHUHFHQWPHUJLQJRI*ODVJRZ¶V'02ZLWK*ODVJRZLife has the potential for more control over the multiple touch points in the customer journey, DQGWRSURPRWHDQFHVWUDOWRXULVPWRWKRVHZKR³have nRLQWHUHVWLQDUHVHDUFKSURMHFW´$UFKLYHAssistant) and are put off by the complexity of information at various touchpoints.   This not only allows for improvements in the service experience with less individual customisation required, but creates the opportunity to deliver a more holistic and satisfying ancestral tourism experience.  Discussion and Conclusion Exploring ancestral tourism provision and promotion within this heterogeneous cultural organisation, the findings reveal challenges relating to the complexity of the customer journey and its effect on the ancestral tourism service experience.   7KHILQGLQJVDFFHQWXDWHWKHLPSRUWDQFHRIWKHµLQIRUPDWLRQJDWKHULQJ¶VWDJHRIWKHFXVWRPHUjourney in ancestral tourism that can cause issues in terms of customer expectations.  This research supports existing research that discusses difficulties in providing customised services for customers with high expectations (Murdy et al., 2016).  McColl-Kennedy et al., (2015:431) HPSKDVLVHWKDWPDQDJLQJKRZFXVWRPHUVEHJLQDVHUYLFHMRXUQH\LVµRQHRIWKHPDLQFKDOOHQJHWKDW RUJDQL]DWLRQV IDFH«JLYHQ WKDW FXVWRPHUV GLIIHU LQ WKHLU UROH Sreferences, abilities and UHVRXUFHV¶7KHRUJDQLVDWLRQQHHGVWRGHYHORSXQGHUVWDQGLQJRIKRZWKHLQLWLDOSRLQWVRUµSUH-FRUH VWDJHV¶ LQIOXHQFH H[SHFWDWLRQV VR WKDW WKH\ VKRXOG µVWUDWHJLFDOO\ PDQDJH WKRVH LQLWLDOWRXFKSRLQWVWRHQKDQFHFRQVXPHUV¶GHVLUHV IRUDQRIIHULQJZLWKRXWLQIODWLQJWKHLUH[SHFWDWLRQV¶(Voorhees et al., 2017:273).  The XVHRIµQXGJHV¶RUVWUDWHJLHVWRLQIOXHQFHDQGGLUHFWFXVWRPHUVat these initial stages, has been highlighted as an effective tool that impacts the whole service experience (Voorhees et al., 2017). $µSOHWKRUD¶RIWRXFKSRLQWVDOVRFUHDWHVDFKDOOHQJHIRUWKHRUJDQLVDWLRQ¶VFRQWURORIWKHVHUYLFHexperience.  The iterative and dynamic process of the customer journey has been discussed by Lemon and Verhoef (2016:69), where they emphasis the task of controlling the experience as FXVWRPHUVLQWHUDFWµWKURXJKP\ULDGWRXFKSRLQWVLQPXOWLSOHFKDQQHOVDQGPHGLD¶Lemon and Verhoef (2016:78) also refer to types of touch points; some that are brand-owned (by the organisation), some partner-RZQHGDQGRWKHU WKDW WKH\KDYH µQRRUPLQLPDO LQIOXHQFHRYHU(customer-owned, sociaOH[WHUQDO¶,QWKLVVSHFLILFRUJDQLVDWLRQDOFRQWH[WWKHUHDUHPXOWLSOHareas that provide and promote ancestral tourism, some that are not brand-owned.  Research on ancestral tourism provision in Scotland in general has highlighted the disjointed and inconsistent network across the country (Alexander, Bryce, & Murdy, 2017; Durie, 2013). 7KHUHIRUHWDNLQJDµQHWZRUNSHUVSHFWLYH¶(Lemon & Verhoef, 2016) of the customer journey, considering the broader service delivery, is critical in order to strengthen the service experience.  Contemporary research on service experience also accentuates the importance of µD KROLVWLF VHUYLFH H[SHULHQFH¶ WKDW µFRPSURPLVHV WKH SUH-core, core and post-core service PROCEEDINGS 2018  367  HQFRXQWHUSHULRGV¶9RRUKHHVHWDO017:269).  Lemon and Verhoef (2016:83) agree that to FUHDWHEHWWHULQWHJUDWLRQLQIOXHQFHDQGDµVHDPOHVVVHUYLFHH[SHULHQFH¶RUJDQLVDWLRQVVKRXOGdesign and manage this entire process.  7KLV UHVHDUFK H[SDQGV XQGHUVWDQGLQJ RI DQFHVWUDO WRXULVP ZLWK SRWHQWLDO IRU µOLJKW-touch DQFHVWU\¶(Wright, 2009), to promote and package ancestral tourism that could generate income for the organisation, integrate service, and goes beyond the promotion of archives, also accentuating intangible elePHQWVRI*ODVJRZ¶VFXOWXUDODQGKHULWDJHRIIHULQJ7KHILQGLQJVWLHinto discussion on heritage tourism as individually experienced with the consumption of tangible and intangible elements across a range of sites that tourists perceive as being part of their own heritage (Alexander et al., 2017; McDonald, 2011; Poria & Ashworth, 2009).  Incorporating this knowledge into the customer journey, the organisation has the potential to improve the service experience by considering this broader service delivery (Lemon & Verhoef, 2016) and providing a more coherent and integrated ancestral tourism service.    References $OH[DQGHU0%U\FH'	0XUG\6'HOLYHULQJWKH3DVWࣟ3URYLGLQJ3HUVRQDOL]HGAncestral Tourism Experiences. Journal of Travel Research, 56(4), 543±555. Durie, B. (2013). Ancestral Audit Scoping Survey Report. VisitScotland. Retrieved from http://www.visitscotland.org/pdf/Ancestral audit report.pdf. Accessed October 2015 Lemon, K. N., & Verhoef, P. C. (2016). Understanding Customer Experience Throughout the Customer Journey. Journal of Marketing, 80, 69±96. 0DUVFKDOO6³7UDYHOOLQJ'RZQ0HPRU\/DQH´3HUVRQDO0HPRU\DVD*HQHUDWRURITourism. Tourism Geographies, 17(1), 36±53.  McCamley, C., & Gilmore, A. (2017). Aggravated Fragmentation: A Case Study of SME Behaviour in Two Emerging Heritage Tourism Regions. Tourism Management, 60, 81±91. McColl-Kennedy, Janet R. Gustafsson, A., Jaakkola, E., Klaus, P., Radnor, Z. J., Perks, H., & Friman, M. (2015). Fresh Perspectives on Customer Experience. Journal of Services Marketing, 29(6/7), 430±435. McDonald, H. (2011). Understanding the Antecedents to Public Interest and Engagement with Heritage. European Journal of Marketing, 45(5), 780±804.  Murdy, S., Alexander, M., & Bryce, D. (2016). Role Conflict and Changing Heritage Practice: Ancestral Tourism in Scotland. Journal of Marketing Management.  Poria, Y., & Ashworth, G. (2009). Heritage Tourism²Current Resource for Conflict. Annals of Tourism Research, 36(3), 522±525.  Poria, Y., Butler, R., & Airey, D. (2004). Links between Tourists , Heritage , and Reasons for Visiting Heritage Sites. Journal of Travel Research, 43(1), 19±28. Voorhees, C. M., Fombelle, P. W., Gregoire, Y., Bone, S., Gustafsson, A., Sousa, R., & PROCEEDINGS 2018  368  Walkowiak, T. (2017). Service Encounters, Experiences and the Customer Journey: Defining the Field and a Call to Expand our Lens. Journal of Business Research, 79, 269±280. Wright, A. S. (2009). Destination Ireland: An Ancestral and Emotional Connection for the American Tourist. Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change, 7(1), 22±33.  

Delivering integrated and customised service experiences within a heterogeneous cultural organisation

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Delivering integrated and customised service experiences within a heterogeneous cultural organisation

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