Madagascar is undoubtedly a country of great interest, yet it is often thought that there is very little literature on the subject. The fact is, however, that the amount is…
Abstract
Madagascar is undoubtedly a country of great interest, yet it is often thought that there is very little literature on the subject. The fact is, however, that the amount is considerable, as is shown by the number of the last item in the standard bibliography of Madagascar—14,978.
This chapter offers a specific point of view on the Town Centre retail, in order to develop a new way to enhance the customer retail experience in this place. The combination of…
Abstract
This chapter offers a specific point of view on the Town Centre retail, in order to develop a new way to enhance the customer retail experience in this place. The combination of shopping over the Internet and the interactive technologies represents for Town Centre retailers one of the possible solutions in the creation of a multisensory experience for people living in and visiting this urban area. By welcoming the challenge of creating multisensory experiences, “bricks and mortar” stores need to integrate digital solutions to create and handle experiences. Customers can interact with people and contents via digital technologies such as Quick Response, Electrochromic Glass, Touch Systems, Outdoor Totems, Holographic Technology, and Augmented Reality. From the analysis of the academic literature emerges an agreement that the use of the Internet and interactive technologies are not totally exploited as tools able to revitalize the Town Centre retail and create animated, lively streets that offer multisensory experiences. Based on the above considerations, this chapter provides a theoretical model in order to create an immersive retail experience within the physical store by combining the use of the Internet to conduct shopping and the interaction with several kinds of technologies.
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– The purpose of this paper is to explore the qualities of a small town centre and how such centres can enhance their attractiveness.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the qualities of a small town centre and how such centres can enhance their attractiveness.
Design/methodology/approach
A convenience sampling procedure was used to administer a web survey to visitors of a small Swedish town. Importance-performance analysis and statistical methods were used to analyse quality attributes and quality dimensions. Correlation analysis was run to measure the relationship between centre attractiveness and shopping loyalty.
Findings
The variety of retail outlets is what is most valued by visitors to a small town centre, followed by the provision of events and non-commercial activities and the design and maintenance of the physical environment in the centre. Surprisingly, the interpersonal behaviour has less impact on the perceived attractiveness than the aforementioned quality dimensions. Visitors’ shopping loyalty is significantly related to the perceived attractiveness.
Research limitations/implications
The study is a one-off study based upon a small Swedish town, but it is indicative of global shopping trends.
Practical implications
Implications for town centre management to enhance the attractiveness of the business district of a small town.
Social implications
Traditional town centres have been props for the surrounding societies, providing anscillary services beside retailing. When retail moves to out-of-town retail locations, this could lead to the erosion of interpersonal communications and central services for citizens.
Originality/value
Pioneering research on small Swedish town shopping.
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Zhening Liu, Alistair Brandon-Jones and Christos Vasilakis
The purpose of this paper is to examine patient engagement in remote consultation services, an increasingly important issue facing Healthcare Operations Management (HOM) given the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine patient engagement in remote consultation services, an increasingly important issue facing Healthcare Operations Management (HOM) given the significant expansion in this and other forms of telehealth worldwide over the last decade. We use our analysis of the literature to develop a comprehensive framework that incorporates the patient journey, multidimensionality, antecedents and consequences, interventions and improvement options, as well as the cyclic nature of patient engagement. We also propose measures suitable for empirical assessment of different aspects of our framework.
Design/methodology/approach
We undertook a comprehensive review of the extant literature using a systematic review approach. We identified and analysed 63 articles published in peer-reviewed scientific journals between 2003 and 2022.
Findings
We conceptualise patient engagement with remote consultation across three key aspects: dimensions, process, and the antecedents and consequences of engagement. We identify nine contextual categories that influence such engagement. We propose several possible metrics for measuring patient engagement during three stages (before service, at/during service and after service) of remote consultation, as well as interventions and possible options for improving patient engagement therein.
Originality/value
The primary contribution of our research is the development of a comprehensive framework for patient engagement in remote consultation that draws on insights from literature in several disciplines. In addition, we have linked the three dimensions of engagement with the clinical process to create a structure for future engagement assessment. Furthermore, we have identified impact factors and outcomes of engagement in remote consultation by understanding which can help to improve levels of adoption, application and satisfaction, and reduce healthcare inequality. Finally, we have adopted a “cyclic” perspective and identified potential interventions that can be combined to further improve patient engagement in remote consultation.
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Debbie Isobel Keeling, Angus Laing and Ko De Ruyter
The purpose of this paper is to focus on the changing nature of healthcare service encounters by studying the phenomenon of triadic engagement incorporating interactions between…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to focus on the changing nature of healthcare service encounters by studying the phenomenon of triadic engagement incorporating interactions between patients, local and virtual networks and healthcare professionals.
Design/methodology/approach
An 18-month longitudinal ethnographic study documents interactions in naturally occurring healthcare consultations. Professionals (n=13) and patients (n=24) within primary and secondary care units were recruited. Analysis of observations, field notes and interviews provides an integrated picture of triadic engagement.
Findings
Triadic engagement is conceptualised against a two-level framework. First, the structure of triadic consultations is identified in terms of the human voice, virtual voice and networked voice. These are related to: companions’ contributions to discussions and the virtual network impact. Second, evolving roles are mapped to three phases of transformation: enhancement; empowerment; emancipation. Triadic engagement varied across conditions.
Research limitations/implications
These changing roles and structures evidence an increasing emphasis on the responsible consumer and patients/companions to utilise information/support in making health-related decisions. The nature and role of third voices requires clear delineation.
Practical implications
Structures of consultations should be rethought around the diversity of patient/companion behaviours and expectations as patients undertake self-service activities. Implications for policy and practice are: the parallel set of local/virtual informational and service activities; a network orientation to healthcare; tailoring of support resources/guides for professionals and third parties to inform support practices.
Originality/value
Contributions are made to understanding triadic engagement and forwarding the agenda on patient-centred care. Longitudinal illumination of consultations is offered through an exceptional level of access to observe consultations.
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Dora Yeboah, Masud Ibrahim and Kingsley Agyapong
This study aims to investigate the drivers that motivate employees and guests' hotel service participation to understand how that can influence the implementation of Value…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the drivers that motivate employees and guests' hotel service participation to understand how that can influence the implementation of Value Co-Creation (VCC) in sub-Saharan African context.
Design/methodology/approach
Using an interpretive paradigm, the study draws on 32 in-depth interviews, 6 focus group discussions involving 32 participants and participant observation field notes. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.
Findings
The study unravels nine motives that drive employee–guest VCC participation: passion, relationship, belongingness, shared and enhanced experiences, satisfaction, reputation development, openness, communication and rewards.
Research limitations/implications
This exploratory, cross-sectional study was undertaken in hotels within sub-Saharan Africa. Thus, findings cannot be generalised. However, it provides an opportunity for future quantitative approaches within different contexts involving other stakeholders.
Practical implications
Considering the numerous challenges from COVID-19 pandemic on the service industry, hotel managers might want to use the findings to not only formulate policies that support employee–guest co-creation for service improvement and survival but also introduce enhanced innovative service practices that deliver on employee and guest service expectations for retention. The findings encourage hotel managers to identify employee and guest context-specific motivations to be able to match with value-driven service activities, aimed at attracting positive behaviours to better respond to the numerous COVID-19-related challenges.
Originality/value
This work adds to the VCC literature by investigating the collective and individual drivers at the employee and guest dyadic level within sub-Saharan African hotel context. The authors propose a comprehensive model to guide the successful implementation of employee–guest VCC.
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Franziska Trede, Peter Goodyear, Susie Macfarlane, Lina Markauskaite, Celina McEwen and Freny Tayebjee
In this chapter, we present the Mobile Technology Capacity Building (MTCB) Framework, designed to enhance students’ appropriate use of personal mobile devices (PMDs) in workplace…
Abstract
In this chapter, we present the Mobile Technology Capacity Building (MTCB) Framework, designed to enhance students’ appropriate use of personal mobile devices (PMDs) in workplace learning (WPL). WPL is a concept that denotes students’ learning that occurs in workplaces as part of their university curriculum. The workplace provides an environment for university students where learning and working and theory and practice are entwined. As such, WPL is an in-between or hybrid space where traditional roles, identities, and cultures are fluid and in transition. In the 21st century, where PMDs are more and more intricately interwoven into everyday personal, educational, and professional practices, learning with mobile technology offers new opportunities and possibilities to enhance WPL. The MTCB Framework for WPL focuses on cultivating agency and thoughtful consideration for practice contexts. Its development is underpinned by three sets of theoretical ideas: agentic learning, activity-centered learning design, and the entanglement of technology, learning, and work. Its design also draws on empirical data derived from surveys and interviews from 214 participants, including students, academics, and workplace educators that highlight the importance of considering workplace cultures. We conclude that the MTCB Framework addresses an urgent need for all stakeholders in WPL to build their capacity to use mobile technology effectively to contribute to enhancing WPL. Without a shared understanding of the role of mobile technology in WPL, it will remain difficult for students to make the most of the learning opportunities afforded by the use of PMDs in WPL.
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Agnieszka Kacprzak and Katarzyna Dziewanowska
Poland’s political and economic transition of 1989 resulted in a cultural trauma experienced by consumers, which has influenced their perception of the retail experience. However…
Abstract
Purpose
Poland’s political and economic transition of 1989 resulted in a cultural trauma experienced by consumers, which has influenced their perception of the retail experience. However, younger Polish consumers can remember neither communism nor the transition period. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the differences in perception of customer experiences in retail between Poland’s pre- and post-transitional generations.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative survey is first conducted with a sample of 1,045 Polish consumers measuring their perception of utilitarian and hedonic customer experiences in retail environments. Then, five qualitative focus group interviews with 29 participants provide an in-depth understanding of the survey results.
Findings
The quantitative study suggests that the pre-transitional generation is focused on utilitarian experiences, whereas the post-transitional generation is attracted to hedonic experiences in retail environments. The qualitative study provides an understanding of how the utilitarian and hedonic aspects of customer retail experiences are perceived and how the cultural trauma manifests in consumers’ values.
Originality/value
The study provides a new perspective on the customer experience in retail contexts from a society that has undergone a cultural trauma. The findings focus on generational differences in consumer attitudes toward hedonic and utilitarian experiences in a post-transition society and expand the theory of cultural trauma into the field of customer retail experience.
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Jacob Mickelsson, Ulla Särkikangas, Tore Strandvik and Kristina Heinonen
People with complex health conditions must often navigate landscapes of uncoordinated public, private and voluntary health-care providers to obtain the care they need. Complex…
Abstract
Purpose
People with complex health conditions must often navigate landscapes of uncoordinated public, private and voluntary health-care providers to obtain the care they need. Complex health conditions frequently transcend the scope of typical health-care service systems. The purpose of this paper is to explore and characterize such unique assemblages of actors and services as “user-defined ecosystems”.
Design/methodology/approach
Building on literature on customer ecosystems, this paper introduces the concept of the user-defined ecosystem (UDE). Using an abductive approach, the authors apply the concept in an interpretive, qualitative study of ten families with special needs children.
Findings
This study uncovers complex UDEs, where families actively combine a broad range of services. These ecosystems are unique for each family and extend beyond the scope of designed service ecosystems. Thus, the families are forced to assume an active, coordinating role.
Research limitations/implications
This paper shows how to identify ecosystems from the user’s point of view, based on the selected user unit (such as a family) and the focal value-creating function of the ecosystem for the user.
Social implications
This paper highlights how service providers can support and adapt to UDEs and, thus, contribute to user value and well-being. This can be used to understand users’ perspectives on service and systems in health and social care.
Originality/value
This study develops the concept of the UDE, which represents a customer-focused perspective on actor ecosystems and contrasts it with a provider-focused and a distributed perspective on ecosystems. This study demonstrates the practical usefulness of the conceptualization and provides a foundation for further research on the user’s perspective on ecosystems.