Jeffery S. Smith, Jayanth Jayaram, Frederic Ponsignon and Jeremy S. Wolter
The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of different antecedent factors (contingencies) on the design of a service recovery system (SRS).
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of different antecedent factors (contingencies) on the design of a service recovery system (SRS).
Design/methodology/approach
A conceptual model was framed and a series of hypotheses generated and tested using data from 158 practicing managers using a multivariate general linear modeling technique.
Findings
The analyses indicated that firms, by and large, mainly considered environmental factors in the SRS design. Additional evidence suggests that managers do consider other contingencies but may do so in a fragmented manner. The results presented herein indicate that firms design back-office aspects of SRS in response to external factors (i.e. the environmental contingency). In contrast, the front-office components appear to have more diverse antecedents but are strongly influenced by the firm’s recovery orientation. The specific recovery practices appear to be implemented per industry standards. In sum, evidence indicates that there are diverse driving factors to total SRS design.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations are based primarily on the methodology as data were obtained from a single person who represented the entire SRS. Care was taken in the study design in order not to compromise the validity of the findings.
Practical implications
The results indicated that managers responsible for system design need to be holistic in SRS design to more tightly link decisions across multiple contingencies so as to more fully integrate total service system design. This is potentially accomplished through the inclusion of aspects of all relevant contingencies when designing recovery systems.
Originality/value
This paper’s main contribution is that it employs established theory to develop and test a model to show that firms consider multiple contingencies while designing SRS. It contributes to the emerging body of work on SRS design by providing insights that can be considered as driving forces behind the design of SRS.
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Frédéric Ponsignon, Jeffery S. Smith and Andi Smart
This study aims to develop and empirically validate the concept of experience capability, which represents an organisation's ability to be adept at managing the customer…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to develop and empirically validate the concept of experience capability, which represents an organisation's ability to be adept at managing the customer experience. Organisations that build an experience capability develop an expertise in deploying a set of resources and routines to understand, evaluate and improve how they interact with customers across all the points of contact.
Design/methodology/approach
A rigorous process was employed to identify, operationally define, evaluate and validate six dimensions reflecting experience capability. The dimensions were developed and validated using relevant literature, expert interviews, item-sorting techniques, a pilot survey and two surveys, providing a degree of certainty that the intellectual insights are generalisable.
Findings
The experience capability concept is identified as comprising six dimensions that are informed by 27 measurement items. The six dimensions are employee training, employee empowerment, employee evaluation, experience performance management, cross-functional work and channel integration. The findings provide evidence suggesting that the multi-item measurement scale exhibits appropriate psychometric properties.
Practical implications
The empirically validated 27-item measurement scale provides practitioners with an approach to evaluate and improve their organisation's experience capability. It permits both longitudinal comparisons of individual organisations and competitive benchmarking both within and across industry sectors. The approach alerts managers to the critical operational areas that should be measured and provides a structured method to pursue competitive advantage through customer experience capability.
Originality/value
Developing valid and reliable measurement scales is an essential first step in effective theory-building. The paper proposes a theoretical foundation for the experience capability construct and validates a corresponding measurement scale. The scale was developed carefully to achieve the specificity required to undertake meaningful practitioner-centric assessment while maintaining relevance across sectorial contexts. The results complement existing customer-centric experience research by providing distinct intellectual insights from a practitioner perspective. The developed scale permits future intellectual investigation through capability comparisons both within and between companies in different industries/sectors.
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Jeffery S. Smith, Paul F. Nagy, Kirk R. Karwan and Edward Ramirez
The purpose of this paper is to examine to what extent the factors of the operating environment influence the structural dimensions and subsequent performance of a firm's recovery…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine to what extent the factors of the operating environment influence the structural dimensions and subsequent performance of a firm's recovery system.
Design/methodology/approach
Using contingency theory and a sample of 158 service firms, this research tests for structural differences in service recovery systems based on Schmenner's widely‐cited taxonomy, the service process matrix. To conduct the analysis, both multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA) and analysis of variance (ANOVA) models were tested to assess overall system differences and to detect individual dimensional differences.
Findings
The results indicate that differences in the structure of service recovery systems do exist across divergent operating environments. Additionally, differences in performance measures were found only in capability improvements, while customer‐oriented performance did not vary across operating environments.
Originality/value
The paper is believed to be the first to empirically investigate how differences in operating environments increase the likelihood that firms will employ divergent recovery system configurations. This work yields valuable insights into how organizations can design their systems to more appropriately respond to the demands of the environments in which they operate. The results also lend credence to the concept of equifinality, which suggests similar ends are attainable through multiple means.
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Sidney T. Anderson and Jeffery S. Smith
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the customer’s perception of customer-firm, customer-employee, and employee-firm fit and to assess how these fits impact the service…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the customer’s perception of customer-firm, customer-employee, and employee-firm fit and to assess how these fits impact the service experience.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper looks at the impact of fit on the service experience and focusses on three specific types of dyadic fit: customer-employee; customer-firm; and employee-firm. A conceptual model is presented, accompanied by a detailed development of the hypotheses. A sample of 447 consumers is used to empirically test the proposed model.
Findings
The analysis reveals the importance of fit and suggest a triadic relationship perspective is essential when designing for the service experience. Specifically, employee-firm fit is key to enhancing fit within the other dyads and providing a superior service experience.
Research limitations/implications
The main implication is that this paper expands the investigation of fit by examining the interplay of multiple fits while also exploring how they affect the customer experience. The limitations are based primarily on methodology where the use of a survey to collect data rules out potential generalizations of true cause and effect while also potentially being subject to a common method effect.
Practical implications
Managers should consider adopting a triadic relationship perspective when designing for the service experience. A number of managerial implications are proposed and discussed.
Originality/value
Prior research has not explored the impact of fit among the customer-employee, customer-firm, and employee-firm dyads in one model on an important outcome such as the service experience. In addition, to show that customer-employee, customer-firm, and employee-firm dyadic fits are predictors of the service experience is novel.
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Jeffery S. Smith, Gavin L. Fox, Sung‐Hee “Sunny” Park and Lorraine Lee
The purpose of this paper is to examine the institutional factors that affect the productivity of individuals in the field of operations.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the institutional factors that affect the productivity of individuals in the field of operations.
Design/methodology/approach
This study identifies a sample of graduates from PhD programs in operations and utilizes a partial least squares analysis to examine the effect of academic origin, academic affiliation, and advisor productivity on each individual's research productivity.
Findings
The results of the analysis indicate that the productivity of an individual is directly influenced by the aggregate prestige of the institutions where the individual was employed during article publication and indirectly influenced by the prestige of the institution where the individual received the terminal degree. Additionally, differences were found between groups when the sample was divided by focus (operations management (OM) versus operations research (OR). The OM model held the same relationships as the combined model, while the OR model included significant direct effects of academic origin and indirect effects of the advisor's productivity on the individual's productivity.
Originality/value
This research is the first to fully evaluate the institutional antecedents to research productivity of individuals in operations. In doing so, valuable insights are gained as to how to facilitate the success of researchers in operations. Additionally, factors are highlighted that should be considered by institutions looking at hiring freshly minted PhDs. Finally, these results can benefit practitioners when considering working with academics as a source of emerging information or consulting.
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Gavin L. Fox, Jeffery S. Smith, J. Joseph Cronin and Michael Brusco
This research aims to utilize a social network analysis approach to examine the effect of organizational position within a network of strategic partnerships on innovation as…
Abstract
Purpose
This research aims to utilize a social network analysis approach to examine the effect of organizational position within a network of strategic partnerships on innovation as measured by perceptions of industry analysts. Specifically, the purpose of the paper is to examine how network characteristics such as degree centrality (being centrally located in a network), between centrality (being positioned as an intermediary), and closeness centrality (having a short average distance to all other firms in the network) affect the innovation ranking of the focal firm.
Design/methodology/approach
Data for 563 firms are generated from three distinct data sources (SDC Platinum: Alliances and Joint Ventures, COMPUSTAT, and Fortune's America's Most Admired Companies) and analyzed via social network analysis and linear regression.
Findings
The network characteristics of degree centrality and between centrality positively relate to industry perceptions or innovativeness whereas closeness centrality had no significant effect. Additionally, there were no discernable differences in innovativeness when comparing manufacturing firms to service organizations.
Research limitations/implications
Insignificant findings related to closeness centrality and the good/service differential may be attributable to the data sources, in that, the information is limited to firms within the respective sources. This data limitation may limit the potential of examining the effect of all network characteristics. Additionally, some included companies participate in multiple industries (i.e., have multiple SIC codes), which may serve as the blurring of any differences between good and service firms.
Practical implications
The results highlight the importance of considering strategic partnerships that establish configurations of partnership webs when pursuing innovation activities. Specifically, the findings suggest that firms should seek numerous strategic partnerships (high degree centrality) and attempt to broker information or control the extent to which partners collaborate (high between centrality). These results provide insights for firms seeking to establish new supply‐chain relationships in order to enhance their level of innovation.
Originality/value
This research provides a unique empirical examination of the impact of network positional characteristics on the innovativeness of a focal firm.
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Bengi Ertuna, Maria D. Alvarez and Burcin Kalabay Hatipoglu
This chapter examines the role of higher education institutions (HEIs) as partners in multi-stakeholder initiatives to implement sustainable development goals (SDGs) in tourism…
Abstract
This chapter examines the role of higher education institutions (HEIs) as partners in multi-stakeholder initiatives to implement sustainable development goals (SDGs) in tourism. Accordingly, the study describes the actions and leadership of the HEIs, explaining how they engage with diverse stakeholders to enable transformative change at various levels. A conceptual model is proposed and used to evaluate the 12 case studies identified by a systematic literature search. The results generate insights into the actions of the HEIs in terms of modes of partnership and their commitment. The cases document the diversity of roles assumed by HEIs for creating impact at different levels when integrating SDGs in tourism and paving the way for transformative change and sustainable development through tourism. The findings suggest a critical leadership role for HEIs through sense-making, interpretation of societal challenges, and alignment of stakeholders’ values and goals by facilitating multi-stakeholder consultations.
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Jeffery S. Smith, Lorraine Lee and Mark Gleim
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of radio frequency identification (RFID) implementation on service performance.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of radio frequency identification (RFID) implementation on service performance.
Design/methodology/approach
This study utilizes a case study methodology to explain the impact of RFID on performance. The service profit chain is used as the overarching framework to facilitate the discussion. Qualitative methods in the form of in‐depth interviews, observation, and participation are employed for the collection of data.
Findings
The results in the paper indicate that RFID implementation has a significant impact on the consumer components (quality, value, satisfaction, and financials) of the service profit chain. The implementation also has an effect on the technical aspects of internal operations (internal quality and productivity) but is limited in how it affects the employee components (satisfaction, capability, and loyalty).
Research limitations/implications
The paper denotes the potential impact on performance of RFID implementation through the utilization of a qualitative research approach, which limits the scope of the findings. Also, the focal organizations are non‐profits, which can also hinder generalizability.
Originality/value
This research is one of the first to empirically examine the way in which RFID implementation can affect operational and financial performance. In doing so, valuable insights are gained as to how RFID can be used to improve existing performance. Additionally, areas are identified that can be investigated to further benefit from the implementation.