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The purpose of this study is to shed further light on the dynamics of quality attributes, as suggested by the theory of attractive quality. The study aims to investigate the existence of the life cycle for successful quality attributes and to identify alternative life cycles of quality attributes.

The research is based on two surveys in which a total of 1,456 customers (708 in 2003 and 748 in 2009) participated in the classification of quality attributes. In particular, the study investigated how customers perceived 24 particular packaging attributes at two points in time, in 2003 and 2009.

The study identified three life cycles of quality attributes: successful quality attributes, flavor‐of‐the‐month quality attributes, and stable quality attributes. The research also extends the theory of attractive quality by identifying the reverse movement of certain quality attributes; that is, that a quality attribute can take a step backwards in the life cycle of successful quality attributes through, for instance, a change in design.

The paper provides empirical evidence for the existence of several alternative life cycles of quality attributes. The results of the empirical investigation increase the validity of the theory of attractive quality, which is important, given the limited amount of research that has attempted to validate the fundamentals of the theory of attractive quality.

The aim of this paper is to discuss the use of the theory of attractive quality and the Kano methodology in an experience context in order to understand how different experienced attributes contribute to delight and satisfaction among customers.

The study applied theoretical and quantitative approaches in order to examine the theory of attractive quality and the Kano methodology. A total of 270 respondents responded to the survey instrument, which was based on qualitative interviews.

The research showed that existing questions and answering alternatives included in the Kano methodology must be adapted to the nature of experiences. The paper contributes in the form of a new evaluation table, having shown that existing tables were invalid in relation to the importance rating and the Must‐Be>One‐dimensional>Attractive>Indifferent evaluation rule. Finally, the paper also shows how hedonic attributes create delight and utilitarian attributes create satisfaction, which contributes to a holistic offering.

Managers should address the fact that simply including an attribute is not sufficient; they must also consider its nature and how it performs and attach to the offering when studying experiences to understand how it contributes to either delight or satisfaction.

To date, few studies have addressed or discussed the consequences of applying the theory of attractive quality and the Kano model – including its rules for classification – to experience‐based offerings. The present article does this and also offers a theoretical extension of the theory of attractive quality and service marketing in terms of how customers holistically consider value and how Kano survey results should be analysed.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the different approaches to the classification of quality attributes deliver consistent results.

The investigation includes four approaches and enables comparisons to be made from a methodological perspective and from an output perspective. The different approaches are described, analyzed, and discussed in the context of an empirical study that investigates how 430 respondents perceive the performance of an e‐service. The theory of attractive quality rests on a solid theoretical foundation and a methodological approach to classify quality attributes. Recently, various authors have suggested alternative approaches to the traditional five‐level Kano questionnaire – including a three‐level Kano questionnaire, direct classification, and a dual‐importance grid.

The classification of quality attributes are found to be dependent on the approach that is utilized. The development of new ways to classify quality attributes should follow rigid procedures to provide reliable and consistent results.

This is the first attempt to compare alternative approaches to classify quality attributes. For managers, our results provide guidance on what approach to choose based on the strengths and weaknesses with the different approaches.

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether and how new ideas generated by customers can be used in a process of attractive quality creation. In addition, it aims to discover whether ideas identified as attractive early in the innovation process have certain characteristics that separate them from other ideas.

The study involved 30 customers of a company that designs and produces microwave ovens. In a number of experiments, these customers generated over 100 new ideas on functions, attributes and services related to microwave ovens. Company specialists identified the 21 best ideas and these ideas were then evaluated by a large customer group using the theory of attractive quality.

The study shows how the theory of attractive quality can be used in the development of innovative products. It also provides empirical evidence that ideas identified as attractive are more original and of higher customer value than other ideas.

The study shows the extent to which and the circumstances in which the theory of attractive quality can be used to evaluate ideas in the early phases of product and service development.

Empirical research on attractive quality creation is sparse, and this study represents a rare example of a comprehensive study of attractive quality creation.

This paper seeks to use the Kano model to gain a deeper understanding of attributes of effective frontline employees dealing with customer complainants in personal interactions. Previous research revealed that excitement factors deteriorate to basic factors over time. This research aims to investigate whether the same phenomenon holds true for attributes of service employees.

Data were collected using Kano questionnaires from 272 respondents with complaining experience in the UK and Saudi Arabia, these being two countries at different stages of service sector development.

The analysis of the Kano questionnaires for the UK reveals that complaining customers take the contact employee's ability to listen carefully for granted. The Kano results for Saudi Arabia clearly indicate that complaining customers are (still) easier to delight than their UK counterparts.

Even though the study has a sample size similar to several existing Kano studies, future research studies could still use larger probability samples that represent the broader (complaining) consumer population in the selected countries.

If companies know what complaining customers expect, frontline employees may be trained to adapt their behaviour to their customers' underlying expectations. For this purpose, the paper gives several suggestions to managers to improve active complaint handling and management.

The study adds to the understanding of effective complaint handling. The findings are the first to show that employee factors that are performance factors in a highly developed service economy can still delight customers in a less developed service economy.

Almost everything consumers buy in a store has a package. At point of purchase, the first moment of truth, the package functions as a silent salesman. Once the purchase is made, the product is consumed in the second moment of truth. The purpose of this paper is to create a better understanding of how customers evaluate different aspects of the package in the first and second moments of truth.

An empirical investigation is conducted on how customers experience three different packages for everyday commodities in the first and second moments of truth. Causal modeling is used to analyze the impact of different benefits of a package onto customer satisfaction and loyalty.

It was found that both benefits and attributes can have different roles in affecting customer satisfaction and loyalty in different parts of the consumption cycle. Furthermore, the results show that there are significant differences for the impacts of customer satisfaction on loyalty in the first moment of truth compared to the second moment of truth.

By applying a consumption system approach, it is possible for managers to design a package that can attract customers in the first moment of truth and at the same time create customer satisfaction in the second moment of truth.

The research shows that the role of certain benefits and attributes can be different in the purchase and use situation. Previously, this has been modeled separately but by operationalizing the first and second moment of truth in the same model the true effects of various benefits and attributes can be identified.

Kano's model is extensively applied in industry and by researchers. However, the model has a shortcoming in that enterprises cannot use it to evaluate the influences of quality attributes on product precisely; the lack of consideration of the different attribute strengths among 25 possible outcomes affects judgment of the categories in Kano's evaluation sheet. The aim of this study is to measure the quality attribute strength of 25 possible outcomes in the evaluation sheet to develop a new Kano's evaluation sheet to improve the accuracy of the classification of the quality attributes.

This study develops a new Kano's evaluation sheet, and defines the canonical and non‐canonical judgment of the evaluation sheet based on a novel “similarity” calculation which calculates the response frequency and the distance between canonical judgment and non‐canonical judgment.

Quality attribute strength is probed and compared with the traditional Kano's evaluation sheet. The new Kano's evaluation sheet is more practical because it supports a precise judgment of the category of quality attributes. Empirical results also demonstrate that the new Kano's evaluation sheet is practical.

The new evaluation sheet presents not only a different logic of classification and statistical method for analyzing quality attributes, but also reviewed judgments of the category of quality attributes from Kano's traditional evaluation sheet.

This paper aims to provide a quantitative decision approach to the service quality management, developed on the basis of Kano's theory of attractive quality. The proposed approach aims at exploiting contacts with service made by “mystery guests” rather than traditional surveys on customer opinions.

A specific probabilistic model of the process of serving quality is the adopted basic tool. Multiple comparison tests aimed at controlling the service quality are the core of the proposed decision approach. In order to collect the needed sampling data, a few mystery guests who experience many customer‐service contacts are employed.

A quantitative decision methodology which both allows one to evaluate the actual service quality level and provides, via comparison tests, a tool to highlight the weak and strong points of the service delivery process.

The proposed quality map is an original graphical tool, which enables one to pin‐point strengths and failings in service quality, prioritize corrective actions and recognize improvements, if any. The operative value of the whole methodology is tested through a real application to the hotel service industry.

The purpose of the present research is to identify how business model innovation can be used to make the transition from service for free to service for fee. In particular, the focus is on identifying, describing and analysing alternative transition strategies, degree and type of innovation, and how building blocks in the business model change.

A multiple case study of six manufacturing firms was performed. Data were collected through interviews with CEOs, service managers and sales managers. In addition, two workshops were performed with the participating firms.

The present research identified eight strategies for transitioning from service for free to service for fee. These strategies represent change in the business model, incremental business model innovation and radical business model innovation. It is suggested to change the content and structure to perform incremental business model innovation and change the governance to perform radical business model innovation.

In most models for service infusion, the change of business model is seen as a necessary step and focus is placed on that a change of business model is needed. The present study elaborates on what approaches manufacturing firms use to make the change from one business model to another.

The aim of this paper is to develop a model to help service organizations to set the specification limits according to the customer expectations.

A review of relevant literature has been used to develop a new integrated model with ideas from the Kano model, SERVQUAL, Taguchi loss function, Importance Performance Analysis (IPA) and a new model, “the Trade‐Off Importance”. A survey was carried out with 18 external customers and internal stakeholders of the Service Division of Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery AB in Finspong, Sweden.

The model has demonstrated its robustness and credibility to set the specification limits. Additionally, it is a very powerful tool for service quality measurement and to set strategic directions.

First, articles published on this subject are few and there is no similar model in the literature to confirm or compare results. The proposed model must be further validated in future research. Second, this study is applied in a single service division, with a relatively small sample. Ideally, research should be conducted using multiple industries in order to ensure that the model is generalizable.

To the best of one's knowledge, this paper is the first attempt to create a road‐map to set the specification limits in services. Researchers should find that the proposed model fills the research gap. From a managerial standpoint the practical benefits in Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery AB suggest a new way of communicating to customers. The model will also improve the target setting in the Six Sigma projects.