G. Rejikumar, Asokan-Ajitha Aswathy, Ajay Jose and Mathew Sonia
Innovative restaurant service designs impart food wellbeing to diners. This research comprehends customer aspirations and concerns in a restaurant-dining experience to develop a…
Abstract
Purpose
Innovative restaurant service designs impart food wellbeing to diners. This research comprehends customer aspirations and concerns in a restaurant-dining experience to develop a service design that enhances the dining experience using the design thinking approach and evaluates its efficiency using the Taguchi method of robust design.
Design/methodology/approach
The sequential incidence technique defines diners' needs, which, followed by brainstorming sessions, helped create multiple service designs with important attributes. Prototype narration, as a scenario, acted as the stimulus for evaluators to respond to the WHO-5 wellbeing index scale. Scenario-based Taguchi experiment with nine foodservice attributes in two levels and the wellbeing score as the response variable helped identify levels of critical factors that develop better FWB.
Findings
The study identified the best combination of factors and their preferred levels to maximize FWB in a restaurant. Food serving hygiene, followed by information about cuisine specification, and food movement in the restaurant, were important to FWB. The experiment revealed that hygiene perceptions are critical to FWB, and service designs have a significant role in it. Consumers prefer detailed information about the ingredients and recipe of the food they eat; being confident that there will be no unacceptable ingredients added to the food inspires their FWB.
Research limitations/implications
Theoretically, this study contributes to the growing body of literature on design thinking and transformative service research, especially in the food industry.
Practical implications
This paper details a simple method to identify and evaluate important factors that optimize FWB in a restaurant. The proposed methodology will help service designers and technology experts devise settings that consider customer priorities and contribute to their experience.
Originality/value
This study helps to understand the application of design thinking and the Taguchi approach for creating robust service designs that optimize FWB.
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Sonia Mathew, Ajay Jose, Rejikumar G and Dony Peter Chacko
The study focuses on the core issue faced by bankers on how to retain existing customers who have encountered an e-service failure and who are skeptical about the justice received…
Abstract
Purpose
The study focuses on the core issue faced by bankers on how to retain existing customers who have encountered an e-service failure and who are skeptical about the justice received through the service recovery process. It further endeavors to create an internal bench-marking model for assessing e-service recovery satisfaction.
Design/methodology/approach
By the experimental study, the authors confirm a measurement model using structural equation modeling for examining the impact of perceived service recovery quality antecedents on e-service recovery satisfaction moderated by perceived justice. In total, responses from 399 e-banking customers, who had experienced a e-service failure, were recorded using a 5-point Likert scale with a structured questionnaire.
Findings
The perceived e-service recovery quality antecedents identified were perceived information quality, digital commitment, perceived employee performance and perceived service orientation of organization. The empirical results revealed that “perceived information quality” was the most significant predictor of e-service recovery satisfaction. Perceived justice moderates the relation between perceived service recovery quality and e-service recovery satisfaction.
Research limitations/implications
The research does not contemplate the e-service recovery satisfaction of customers who have undergone multiple service failures.
Practical implications
The conclusions of the investigation suggest that the four antecedents of perceived e-service recovery quality model are suitable instruments for creating benchmarks for e-service recovery satisfaction for banks, and that perceived justice moderates the relationship between e-service recovery quality and e-service recovery satisfaction. Therefore, policymakers in banks can use this model to assess the e-service recovery quality, and they ought to enhance the perceived justice feel of the customers who have experienced a service failure.
Originality/value
There remains scarcity of empirical research focusing on perceived information quality and digital commitment as antecedents of perceived e-service recovery quality and its effect on e-service recovery satisfaction in the banking context. Furthermore, similar studies within the banking sector have rarely considered perceived justice as a moderator variable. Hence, this paper attempts to accomplish the research gap by empirically testing the e-service recovery satisfaction level of a large sample of the population toward four antecedents of perceived e-service recovery quality rendered by banks and create a benchmark model to ascertain e-service recovery satisfaction.
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Ajay Jose, Sonia Mathew, Rejikumar G., Dony Peter Chacko and Ajith K. Thomas
The emergence of tech-driven initiatives in retail banking has created a vast spectrum of system-related service failures; hence, e-service recovery quality is of prime importance…
Abstract
Purpose
The emergence of tech-driven initiatives in retail banking has created a vast spectrum of system-related service failures; hence, e-service recovery quality is of prime importance to banks to ensure e-service recovery satisfaction. However, e-service satisfaction is dependent on the ease of moving from one service provider to the other; thus, switching costs assume great significance. This study aims to probe the moderating role of switching cost on e-service recovery satisfaction by exploring e-service recovery quality antecedents.
Design/methodology/approach
A measurement model is suggested in the contextual settings of the Indian banking scenario and is estimated using structural equation modeling. Responses from 399 e-banking customers, who had experienced a service failure, were sought using a five-point Likert scale.
Findings
The result affirms that “recovery expectation” is the most significant predictor of e-service recovery satisfaction, and that switching cost moderates the relation between e-service recovery quality and e-service recovery satisfaction.
Practical implications
The study highlights the high relevance of switching costs in the e-banking context and emphasizes investment in marketing strategies and campaigns to do away with switching intentions. It also highlights the relevance of recovery expectations as an antecedent of e-service recovery quality and thus stresses the need to satisfactorily address the same in the e-service recovery process.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the e-service recovery satisfaction literature in the banking context by empirically validating the moderating role of switching cost. It also identifies the critical antecedents of banking e-service recovery quality.
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Rejikumar G., Ajay Jose, Sonia Mathew, Dony Peter Chacko and Aswathy Asokan-Ajitha
Social television (Social TV) viewing of live sports events is an emerging trend. The realm of transformative service research (TSR) envisions that every service consumption…
Abstract
Purpose
Social television (Social TV) viewing of live sports events is an emerging trend. The realm of transformative service research (TSR) envisions that every service consumption experience must lead to consumer well-being. Currently, a full appreciation of the well-being factors obtained through Social TV viewing is lacking. This study aims to gain a holistic understanding of the concept of digital sports well-being obtained through live Social TV viewing of sports events.
Design/methodology/approach
Focus group interviews were used to collect data from the 40 regular sports viewers, and the qualitative data obtained is analyzed thematically using NVivo 12. A post hoc verification of the identified themes is done to narrow down the most critical themes.
Findings
The exploration helped understand the concept of digital sports well-being (DSW) obtained through live Social TV sports spectating and identified five critical themes that constitute its formation. The themes that emerged were virtual connectedness, vividness, uncertainty reduction, online disinhibition and perceived autonomy. This study defines the concept and develops a conceptual model for DSW.
Research limitations/implications
This study adds to the body of knowledge in TSR, transformative sport service research, digital customer engagement, value co-creation in digital platforms, self-determination theory and flow theory. The qualitative study is exploratory, with participants’ views based on a single match in one particular sport, and as such, its findings are restrained by the small sample size and the specific sport. To extend this study’s implications, empirical research involving a larger and more diversified sample involving multiple sports Social TV viewing experiences would help better understand the DSW concept.
Practical implications
The research provides insights to Social TV live streamers of sporting events and digital media marketers about the DSW construct and identifies the valued DSW dimensions that could provide a competitive advantage.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the exploration is the first attempt to describe the concept of DSW and identify associated themes.
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Rejikumar G., Raja Sreedharan V. and Raiswa Saha
Consumer behavior, in the context of general insurance, is worth exploring to formulate growth strategies for insurance sector in India in light of the proposed structural…
Abstract
Purpose
Consumer behavior, in the context of general insurance, is worth exploring to formulate growth strategies for insurance sector in India in light of the proposed structural changes. Indian consumers attract global players due to untapped potential and favorable policy measures initiated for higher foreign direct investments. The purpose of this paper is to understand the prevailing level of service quality as perceived by insurance customers in India in the presence of certain contextual antecedents and moderators.
Design/methodology/approach
Perceptions about constructs like customer risk dispositions, awareness, past experiences, customer involvement, choice overload, service quality and satisfaction of 256 customers were collected using a questionnaire survey. A variance-based structural equation modeling helped to identify significant linkages among the constructs.
Findings
In order to assess service quality levels, a 15-item scale having the infrastructure, employees, agents and product dimensions was found valid and reliable. Choice overload and customer involvement were found to moderate the influence of antecedents and service quality, respectively. The influence of choice overload on quality perceptions is insignificant. The study concludes that the existing risk beliefs are insufficient, and experiences have less predictive contribution to quality perceptions.
Research limitations/implications
Theoretically, this study examined the process of satisfaction development from service quality perceptions. This study offers insights for developing theories to portray future consumer behavior where more dependence of self-service technologies is expected to dominate service delivery mechanisms in insurance. The study informs that general insurance customers in India prefer more diversified products, more customer-centric employees/agents and better technical quality.
Practical implications
The findings of this study contribute to the understanding of the prevailing insurance consumer behavior in the general insurance sector of India and help insurance service providers in streamlining their strategies for better insurance penetration and reduced lapse rate.
Originality/value
This study helps in understanding the emerging trends in general insurance buying behavior in India.
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Rejikumar G. and Aswathy Asokan-Ajitha
Online cart abandonment is a severe issue posing challenges to e-commerce growth. Emerging economies such as India fascinates global marketing practitioners because of favorable…
Abstract
Purpose
Online cart abandonment is a severe issue posing challenges to e-commerce growth. Emerging economies such as India fascinates global marketing practitioners because of favorable demographics and high levels of internet penetration. This study aims to consider the role of certain exogenous factors in developing shopping motivations that sequentially mediate to online purchase completion through impulsiveness under risk perceptions. The primary motivation behind this study is to understand the mental mechanism among online customers that develop purchase completion intentions, which prevent cart abandonment significantly.
Design/methodology/approach
Impact of e-commerce exogenous factors related to e-commerce such as website attributes, product features, promotional excellence and decision-making easiness on shopping motivations, impulsiveness and purchase completions intentions under the moderating effect of risk was estimated from the perceptions of Indian online customers (n = 243) using variance-based structural equation modeling and SPSS process macro v.3.0.
Findings
The most important exogenous variable that can influence purchase completion directly, sequentially through shopping motivations is decision easiness and promotions. Even though utility motivations are dominant in purchase completion intentions, hedonistic aspects are more critical in developing impulsiveness. The translation of impulsiveness to purchase completion is happening, but risk perception significantly moderates impulsiveness formation.
Research limitations/implications
Theoretically, this study examined online purchase completions being the most sought response by a customer to various stimuli in e-commerce. The study adopted a moderated mediation analysis in which shopping motivations and impulsiveness were mediators and risk as moderator. The interaction effect of risk on purchase completions was significant even when the mediating effects were prominent.
Practical implications
Contributes to the current knowledge-related online buying behavior in virtual retail formats and helps marketers in streamlining their focus in using impulsiveness as a strategic tool in reducing cart abandonment.
Originality/value
This study helps in understanding emerging trends in online buying behavior in India.
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Sanju Kaladharan, M. Dhanya and G. Rejikumar
Eat Right India (ERI) is a flagship initiative by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India to transform the food system to ensure sustainable, safe and healthy food for…
Abstract
Purpose
Eat Right India (ERI) is a flagship initiative by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India to transform the food system to ensure sustainable, safe and healthy food for all. The study summarizes the strategies, policies and programs using the NOURISHING framework.
Design/methodology/approach
This study identifies and reviews documents related to ERI through a comprehensive search of research literature, policy documents and information available from the institutional websites. The NOURISHING framework, which proposes a methodology to categorize, report and monitor actions to promote healthy eating, is used as a guiding framework.
Findings
Upon analyzing various strategies put forward by the ERI initiative, it was found that there are many inter-sectoral collaborations, successful institutionalizations and behavioral interventions implemented through the initiative. However, there are a few areas that require attention, which include health taxation, children's exposure to unhealthy food marketing, regulations in food advertisements and the incentivization of retailers and consumers for healthy food delivery and consumption. There is a need for a holistic approach with a congruence of health and food systems in the backdrop of a strong and efficient policy and regulatory framework to tackle the threat of Non-communicable diseases (NCD).
Originality/value
This article contributes to a significant discussion about transforming food systems to tackle (NCDs). It summarizes the existing initiatives in India for establishing healthy food environments and also suggests a few strategies for taking it forward. The study calls the policymakers to action for restructuring the food and health system into resilient, contextually relevant and interoperable mechanisms to address the threat of NCDs.
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Rejikumar G., Aswathy Asokan Ajitha, Malavika S. Nair and Raja Sreedharan V.
The purpose of this paper is to identify major healthcare service quality (HSQ) dimensions, their most preferred service levels, and their effect on HSQ perceptions of patients…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify major healthcare service quality (HSQ) dimensions, their most preferred service levels, and their effect on HSQ perceptions of patients using a Taguchi experiment.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopted a sequential incidence technique to identify factors relevant in HSQ and examined the relative importance of different factor levels in the service journey using Taguchi experiment.
Findings
For HSQ, the optimum factor levels are online appointment booking facility with provision to review and modify appointments; a separate reception for booked patients; provision to meet the doctor of choice; prior detailing of procedures; doctor on call facility to the room of stay; electronic sharing of discharge summary, an online payment facility. Consultation phase followed by the stay and then procedures have maximum effect on S/N and mean responses of patients. The appointment stage has a maximum effect on standard deviations.
Research limitations/implications
Theoretically, this study attempted to address the dearth of research on service settings using robust methodologies like Taguchi experiment, which is popular in the manufacturing sector. The study implies the need for patient-centric initiatives for better HSQ through periodic experiments that inform about the changing priorities of patients.
Practical implications
The trade-off between standardization and customization create challenges in healthcare. Practically, a classification of processes based on standardization vs customization potential is useful to revamp processes for HSQ.
Originality/value
This study applied the Taguchi approach to get insights in re-designing a patient-centric healthcare servicescapes.
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Rejikumar G. and Aswathy Asokan-Ajitha
Business-to-business (B2B) relations will become more prevalent in many areas such as delivery services, based on current trends supporting e-commerce proliferation. In addition…
Abstract
Purpose
Business-to-business (B2B) relations will become more prevalent in many areas such as delivery services, based on current trends supporting e-commerce proliferation. In addition, hyperlocal e-commerce, which focuses on customers in a small geographic region, relies heavily on another business to handle the supply chain. Emerging trends in business to business to customer (B2B2C) experiences provide retailers with opportunities to develop strategies for better customer service. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop a scale for measuring business customer experience in the B2B2C aggregator business model.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the psychometric scale development procedure, the researchers devised a 29-item, six-dimensional scale measuring business customer experience with the help of two cross-sectional studies. Restaurant managers who rely on delivery partners to serve their customers were surveyed twice. The authors validated a scale for assessing business customer experience using exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling.
Findings
Based on fit criteria, a higher-order formative structure was best suited to the scale. The dimensions identified were shared vision, interaction experience, end-customer focus, relationship experience, service experience and outcome focus. According to the study, business customer experience is more objective and utilitarian than existing paradigms on customer experience.
Research limitations/implications
Theoretically, this research helps to understand the underpinnings behind the formation of business customer experience and attempt to bring transformative service research focus in the B2B2C trilogy as better experiences predict the well-being of members of the business centre in the B2B.
Practical implications
Practically, this research helps businesses to revisit their strategies for a better relationship with business partners for jointly offering an improved experience to the end customers.
Originality/value
This study explains a pioneer attempt to develop a scale for business customer experience in the context of B2B2C aggregator business models.
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Rejikumar G., Raja Sreedharan V., Arunprasad P., Jinil Persis and Sreeraj K.M.
In recent years, a new transformation known as Industry 4.0 has drawn much attention throughout the world, and numerous investigations have fundamentally looked into the uprising…
Abstract
Purpose
In recent years, a new transformation known as Industry 4.0 has drawn much attention throughout the world, and numerous investigations have fundamentally looked into the uprising concept. However, few have concentrated on the literature review. Taking this as motivation, the authors endeavored to assess the different attributes of Industry 4.0. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This review concentrated on linking the articles from different database and distinguishing the attributes of Industry 4.0. The authors assessed 85 articles from scholarly database and peer-reviewed journals on Industry 4.0 through the selection of the Mayring (2004) procedure. The examination included a four-advance process, in particular, material gathering, engaging investigation, classification of the choice and material assessment.
Findings
The study backs experts and readers to comprehend the spread of Industry 4.0 in various ventures. For academicians, this gives an extensive rundown of Industry 4.0 attributes. Besides, the writing review gives a chance to comprehend the idea of Industry 4.0 in detail. Further, the outcome aggregates the success factor, failure factor, business model, potential and difficulties in the context of Industry 4.0.
Research limitations/implications
Many areas such as supply chain, circular economy and healthcare have started exploring Industry 4.0. However, few specific cases have reported about it, and no generic model is found for real-time application.
Practical implications
The study serves as reference material for researchers and practitioners to understand the spread of Industry 4.0 and utilize the concept of Industry 4.0 for real-life application.
Originality/value
The study focuses on reporting the potential, challenges, business model and pre-requites of Industry 4.0.