Mingrun Wang, Nazlina Shaari, Sazrinee Zainal Abidin and Yan He
This study aims to identify the superior service strategies for elderly people in the context of sustainable production and consumption, thereby providing the principles for…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to identify the superior service strategies for elderly people in the context of sustainable production and consumption, thereby providing the principles for optimizing the service system of elderly fall-protection clothing.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopted a new service design methodology that integrates a Kansei Engineering methodology and a customer life cycle. The Kansei Engineering methodology can use psychological methods to grasp customer feelings (or needs) and then transfer the collected data to the design domain by using multivariate statistical analyses. The customer life cycle can simulate all the service activities required by a new service system systematically and logically. In terms of the hypothetical scenarios provided by the customer life cycle, the Kansei Engineering methodology can collect service design elements more effectively and logically, thereby making the Kansei Engineering methodology more adaptable to the requirements of service design and sustainable design.
Findings
The research findings are the service strategies required for a new service system of elderly fall-protection clothing, as well as a new service design methodology that integrates a Kansei Engineering methodology and a customer life cycle.
Research limitations/implications
Designing a service system involves more than just figuring out what service strategies consumers desire; it includes examining how the business integrates resources to help those strategies be implemented. This study’s limitation is that it only looks at service strategy development; more research will probably conclude the study on how businesses integrate resources to support service strategy implementation.
Practical implications
Elderly fall-protection clothing companies can refer to the service strategies and new knowledge outlined in this study to optimize their service systems.
Originality/value
The research results of this study fulfilled the research gap in the service design of elderly fall-protection clothing. Furthermore, this study developed a new design framework for Kansei Engineering methodology, enriching a new Kansei Engineering methodology for service design.
Details
Keywords
Mingrun Wang, Nazlina Shaari, Sazrinee Zainal Abidin and Yan He
This study aims to integrate fall-protection function into the elderly clothing to meet both the daily life and fall-protection needs of the elderly people, thereby upgrading the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to integrate fall-protection function into the elderly clothing to meet both the daily life and fall-protection needs of the elderly people, thereby upgrading the performance of elderly clothing.
Design/methodology/approach
This study identified the design strategies of elderly clothing using an Extended Kansei Engineering methodology. Extended Kansei Engineering methodology is a new design framework developed from the traditional Kansei Engineering methodology to meet the design requirements of the product-service system. This study focuses on the product section of product-service system design. According to the product design process of the Extended Kansei Engineering methodology, this study first collected and organized the design elements and Kansei words of elderly clothing. Then a questionnaire was designed using Semantic Differential Scale. Finally, the questionnaire survey was conducted and the collected data was analysed to understand the consumption preferences of elderly people. A total of 399 elderly people aged 65 and older provided valuable design insights for this survey.
Findings
The research findings include the product design strategies for the development of elderly clothing, as well as a product prototype canvas and a product prototype elderly clothing developed based on the design strategies.
Practical implications
The research findings can provide competitive design strategies for the development of elderly clothing, thereby upgrading the performance of elderly clothing.
Social implications
This elderly clothing integrates fall-protection function to reduce the risk of injury for elderly people due to falls, thereby helping society alleviate the medical and healthcare pressure caused by falls for elderly people.
Originality/value
The research findings can provide competitive design strategies for the development of elderly clothing. Furthermore, the Extended Kansei Engineering methodology introduced in this study can provide product and service designers with design methods that are more in line with the development trend of modern product-service system business models.