Service Marketing Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

This chapter extends the emerging literature on luxury services (Holmqvist et al. 2020; Wirtz et al. 2020) by developing the key concepts of hedonic escapism as well as multifaceted exclusivity. We first developed the role of hedonic escapism in rendering luxury services enjoyable and extraordinary. This represents a key implication for managers of luxury services: customers engaging in a luxury service usually have high expectations and demands that the service needs to satisfy. Even though the service quality may be very high, this may not be enough in itself and would rather fall into the ‘good service’ category. While this may often be enough for most services, it is less likely to meet the demands of customers expecting an extraordinary experience. This challenge to deliver the extraordinary, even to customers who become used to the very best service quality, represents a crucial challenge for managers in luxury services.
In addition to hedonic escapism, we also contribute to research on luxury services by extending the role of exclusivity and detail four different manifestations of exclusivity in luxury service contexts. For practitioners in luxury services, we believe that appeal of exclusivity as well as the role of exclusivity in keeping luxury services attractive are best understood through the lens of customer value in social contexts (Edvardsson et al. 2011). Building on this value in social context, we find conspicuous consumption and exclusivity of particular importance for luxury service managers. First, managers should explore how they can manage exclusivity to increase the appeal of the service for conspicuous consumers. Given the risk of hedonic adaptation reducing the appeal of luxury over time (Wiesing 2015), we believe that service managers could employ all the four forms of exclusivity in order to keep the service feeling special for the customers. For example, conspicuous consumption can be enhanced by tangible cues, such as branded souvenirs and giveaways, and materialized through stories and photos. Special attention should be placed on social media which can help enhancing conspicuousness of services. Customers can ‘post‘ and ‘share‘ luxury experiences, for example, related to dining and the arts, and signal their affluence and sophistication. Service firms should encourage this, for example, by offering ‘instagrammable’ cues (Wirtz et al., 2020).
Not every luxury customers is interested in conspicuous consumption. As luxury services are consumed and experienced at the same time, luxury service providers have to proactively manage conspicuousness. For example, a celebrity dining out may want to sit at a quiet table in order not to be disturbed by fans. Many top-end travelers value privacy and Singapore Airlines therefore has private first class check-in lounges in Singapore that even comes with a private link directly to immigration, after which passengers can proceed to Singapore Airlines’ first class lounges. Even on board, privacy is provided in its suites with a sliding door that screens the outside world away (Wirtz et al. 2020)
Second, managers should explore using the gamut of the different types of exclusivity to enhance the luxury experience. Monetary exclusivity is obvious and simply means luxury service firms need to be extremely careful with price promotions. Social exclusivity combines with the constructed exclusivity of luxury goods to allow service providers to limit and to control access to the service in order to enhance its appeal. Upscale clubs screen at the entrance, exclusive social events can be made ‘by-invitation-only,’ and luxury servicescapes can even be designed to intimidate non-target consumers (Dion and Borraz, 2017). Hedonic exclusivity can be used to target a service only at the initiated whereby a certain degree of expertise serves as a barrier for the less initiated to fully appreciating a service.

- by and +1
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- Tourism Marketing, Services Marketing and Management, Hospitality Management, Hospitality

Nothing stands still. Technology evolves dramatically, customer needs keep changing, and new industries emerge. To forge ahead in this highly competitive landscape, businesses increasingly rely on service and service products to create and capture value. The Essentials of Services Marketing, Second Edition is written in response to this global transformation of our economies to services.

- by Amit Chakraborty
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- Business, Marketing, Business Administration, Business Ethics

This globally leading textbook extensively updated to feature the latest academic research, industry trends, and technology, social media and case examples. The test takes on a strong managerial approach presented through a coherent and progressive pedagogical framework rooted in solid academic research. It features cases and examples from all over the world and is suitable for students who want to gain a wider managerial view.

De tout temps, les entreprises industrielles ont offert des services autour de leurs produits ; ce n’est cependant que depuis une vingtaine d’années, avec l’avènement d’une véritable économie des services, que ceux-ci ont pris une place centrale dans l’arsenal concurrentiel des entreprises industrielles. Si les services autour des produits sont bien connus des entreprises qui les offrent depuis longtemps et des clients qui les ont toujours achetés, ce n’est pas le cas de la littérature académique et scientifique qui peine à les insérer dans un cadre théorique existant ou à en développer un nouveau. L’objectif de ce chapitre est premièrement de définir le concept de services autour des produits et de l’insérer dans le cadre théorique du marketing relationnel. Deuxièmement, avec l’aide de ce cadre théorique, ce chapitre cherche à proposer une typologie de stratégies de services autour des produits qui soit théoriquement consistante mais aussi utile pour les managers. Ce chapitre est o...

- by Olivier Furrer
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- Marketing, Services, Services Marketing and Management, Marketing Strategy

Purpose-Retailers are continuously seeking to improve upon the in-store shopping experience for their customers. The present research aims to examine consumers' responses to one such initiative-the shopper solution-that, despite its growing marketplace prominence, remains largely unexamined in academic literature. Design/methodology/approach-Two studies employed a 2(shopper solution: present vs. absent) between-subjects design. MANOVA and regression analyses were used to test hypothesized relationships. Findings-Findings across two studies reveal that the presence (vs absence) of solutions positively influenced shoppers' perceptions of shopping convenience, as well as their purchase intentions. These favorable effects also extended to the provider in higher word-of-mouth and loyalty intentions. Shopping convenience was identified as the mechanism underlying the impact of solutions, while "smart shopper" self-perceptions were shown to moderate these mediating effects. Practical implications-Shopper solutions represent a low-cost, in-store marketing tactic that enhances shopping convenience. They are easy to implement, result in little to no overhead costs and can benefit both shoppers and retailers. Originality/value-To the best of the authors' knowledge, this research represents the first academic examination of the impact of shopper solutions. The authors identify key mediating and moderating influences of the effects of solutions.

The rapid growth of e-commerce has a great influence and impact on trading activities globally. To gain a competitive advantage in an increasingly fierce competition, companies in the e-commerce business are trying to increase customer repurchase intention. The purpose of this paper is to determine the effect of electronic service quality (ESQ) and system quality (SYQ) on online repurchase intention (ORI) mediated by online customer delight (OCD). This study uses the PLS-SEM method with SmartPLS version 3.29 and data from 240 respondents collected through a questionnaire using purposive sampling technique. The result of this study shows that online customer delight (OCD) was found to have a role as a perfect mediator in the relationship between electronic service quality (ESQ) and system quality (SYQ) on online repurchase intention (ORI). The findings concluded that both, online sellers could improve the quality of electronic services and marketplace platform providers could improve the quality of information system to create online customer delight which is an important factor in building customer repurchase intention.

- by Rintis Eko Widodo
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- Service Quality, Service Marketing, Customer Delight, E-Commerce

Telecom services in India began with the introduction of the telegraph. The Indian postal
and telecom sectors are one of the world’s oldest services. India’s Telecom network is the
second largest in the world by number of telephone users with 1109.67 million subscribers
as on 31 December 2017.In this paper, the researcher deals with progress of Telecom service
and Telecoms service providers in India.

Бойко-Гагарін А.С. Застосування соціальних мереж у музейному маркетингу / А.С. Бойко-Гагарін // Матеріали міжнародної науково-практичної конференції, присвяченої 75-річчю Ізмаїльського державного гуманітарного університету ["Дунайські наукові читання: європейський вимір і регіональний контекст"] (м. Ізмаїл, 15-17 жовтня 2015 р.). – Том. ІІ "Філологія. Мистецтвознавство". – Ізмаїл, 2015. – С. 183-185.

Purpose-Scales play an important role in researching and understanding a field. This study aims to explore scales developed in hospitality and tourism to identify the trends and the gaps in the scale development studies with a view to make scale development recommendations for future studies. Design/methodology/approach-The study explores and analyses 253 scales developed from the perspectives of scope and methodology. The scales were first grouped into categories to identify trends and gaps in scale development to be able to make recommendations from the scope perspective. Then, for the methodology perspective, the scales were analysed according to various criteria such as sampling, reliability, validity and pilot testing reporting. Findings-The study shows that while there are opportunities in some areas to develop newer scales, some areas appear to be saturated. It is important to note that all scales appear to be self-report scales which may result in the measurement of self-perceptions of people alone regarding a phenomenon. The study also pointed out some of the methodological shortcomings in the scales developed. Research limitations/implications-The study has both theoretical and practical implications. From a theoretical implications perspective, the study identified the overlaps and the gaps in scale development and provided several new scale development ideas concerning their scopes/topics and methodologies. From a practical perspective, the study shed light on the extent which the scales are relevant and useable by the practitioners in the tourism and hospitality establishments. Originality/value-The study is original as there is no collective review of hospitality and tourism scales. The study identifies the trends, gaps, overlaps and some of the weaknesses of the scales developed and offers several valuable recommendations for the future.

- by ERDOGAN KOC
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- Tourism Studies, Tourism Marketing, Tourist Behavior, Hospitality Management

L'apparition récente de nombreux travaux sur les "services autour des produits" paraît témoigner de certaines transformations actuelles de l'économie et des modes de concurrence. L' "orientation-client" confère aujourd'hui aux services une fonction stratégique et non plus seulement annexe comme lorsqu'ils ne concernaient que l'après-vente. On peut ainsi, en s'appuyant sur une vaste revue de la littérature, mettre en évidence les objectifs désormais assignés par les entreprises aux services autour des produits.

Many services are difficult to understand and communicate, and as a result, difficult to position, differentiate, and sell. While important, understanding services as well-defined products has hardly received research attention although doing so offers a host of potential benefits. This conceptual article makes the following contributions. First, it synthesizes the literature to develop a better understanding of service productization as a process that transforms variable, ad-hoc services and service products into well-defined service products (i.e., 'productized services'). Second, it advances that well-defined service products are (1) specified (i.e., have a formalized value proposition and are configured, standardized, systemized, and often also modularized and bundled), (2) branded (i.e., have a name, symbol, or design), (3) and priced (i.e., have clearly stated prices). Third, this article advances managerial practice by exploring the concepts and tools available to productize services and outlining managerial benefits and potential drawbacks of highly productized services.

This study is the first to provide an integrated view on the body of knowledge on artificial intelligence (AI) published in the marketing, consumer research, and psychology literature. By leveraging a systematic literature review (SLR) using a data-driven approach and quantitative methodology (including bibliographic coupling), this study provides an overview of the emerging intellectual structure of AI research in the three bodies of literature examined. We identified eight topical clusters: (1) memory and computational logic; (2) decision making and cognitive processes; (3) neural networks; (4) machine learning and linguistic analysis; (5) social media and text mining; (6) social media content analytics; (7) technology acceptance and adoption; and (8) big data and robots. Furthermore, we identified a total of 412 theoretical lenses used in these studies with the most frequently used being: (1) the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology; (2) game theory; (3) theory of mind; (4) theory of planned behavior; (5) computational theories; (6) behavioral reasoning theory; (7) decision theories; and (8) evolutionary theory. Finally, we propose a research agenda to advance the scholarly debate on AI in the three literatures studied.

On August 13, 2020, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi explained that Uber is backing Proposition 22 that would exempt it from Assembly Bill 5 (AB5), a California law that would require Uber to treat its drivers as employees with benefits effectively on January 1, 2020. To win over California voters, Uber and Lyft were considering to shut down their services “temporarily” in California as a means to appeal to voters who vote on Proposition 22 in the November ballot.
Given Uber lost over US$8 billion in 2019, and was expected to lose US$6 billion by October 2020, the AB5 law was expected to increase Uber’s operating cost dramatically. Also, it would be a major blow to Uber and other gig economy (e.g., Uber Eats, Grubhub, Deliveroo) if other states in the United States and other countries were to propose labor laws similar to AB5. In that case, Khosrowshahi’s premonition that Uber may never be profitable when it filed for IPO in 2019 would come true. Was this law to become the beginning of the end for Uber?

La Vaca Púrpura va de diseñar productos que se propaguen como un virus. Seth Godin defiende que los productos o servicios ahora no se han de diseñar sólo como algo atractivo, interesante, hermoso o divertido una vez terminado, sino que... more

- by GUILLERMO SPELUCÍN
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- Marketing, Marketing Research, Marketing Strategy, Marketing Management

ABSTRACT Purpose ‐ This paper aims to address the emerging post-millennium trends in co-creational marketing, in the context of how these trends apply to the recorded and live sectors of the music industry. Consideration of marketing as a broadened concept to include societal processes has implications not only for the marketing concept itself, but also for the roles of the parties implicitly involved in the marketing process. Therefore, the standard and polarising marketing clichés of "firm and customer", "buyer and seller", and "producer and consumer" may be replaced with a more contemporary marketing approach in which value can be created and shared by either party. Design/methodology/approach ‐ Initially the paper provides a review of contemporary literature on co-creational aspects of marketing and a subsequent identification of typologies of co-creation practices. Conceptual frameworks pertaining to the relationships of these typologies are then proposed. An extensive review and analysis of journal articles, industry reports and news sources on music industry marketing was conducted. From this review and analysis, 30 examples of co-creational marketing were identified. The music industry was chosen as it constitutes a relevant and contemporary marketing context due to the existence of interactive technology and changing consumer preferences regarding their interaction with music intermediaries and against a context of digital piracy. Findings ‐ Five typologies of co-creational marketing were found to be relevant to the music industry. Key examples of co-creational marketing within the music industry are discussed and analysed in relation to the identified typologies and conceptual frameworks. Research limitations/implications ‐ The relevancy of co-creational marketing practices to the music industry is investigated, followed by consideration of managerial implications and future research directions. Originality/value ‐ The theoretical prospect of value co-creation through active consumer contributions to the marketing process is not revolutionary or new, but the implications of such a potential shift in power or influence have developed into a contemporary challenge for marketers.

- by Jordan R Gamble
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- Marketing, International Marketing, Creative Industries, Marketing Research

This research focused on the impact of customer service quality on business performance in the hospitality industry in Qatar. The study centered on determining the impact of customer service quality (reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy and tangibles) on the business performance of hotels in the Qatari hospitality industry. Primary data were collected from 243 tourists of ten 5-star hotels in Qatar using structured questionnaire. Multiple regression and analysis of variance were the statistical tools employed for data analysis and interpretation. The findings of the study revealed that reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy and tangibles had a significant impact on business performance of hotels in the Qatari hospitality industry. Therefore, the study reached the conclusion that service quality had a significant impact on the business performance of hotels in the Qatari hospitality industry. The paper is of specific relevance to the Qatari hospitality industry as it is witnessing steady growth and there is an emphasis on the improvement in service quality for sustainable business performance.

- by Dr. Theodore J Bagwell
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- Service Marketing
- by Sukriti Agarwal
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- Service Marketing, Crown Casino

ABSTRACT
Patient Satisfaction is an important and commonly used indicator for measuring the quality of Healthcare. Patient Satisfaction is about the clinical outcome, Patient retention and Medical malpractice claims. It affects the timely, efficient and patient centred delivering quality healthcare. Patient Satisfaction is thus a very effective indicator for measuring the success of the Doctor and the Hospital. This paper aims to address the level of patient satisfaction by means of appointment system, facilities offered by the hospital, staff’s behaviour towards patients and service offered by the hospital. On the other hand, the nature of satisfaction by way of ratings made by the respondents towards the various stakeholders of the hospital employees. The researcher used frequency analysis, percentage, chi-square test and correlation for the analysis. Based on the findings, the researcher made suggestion and conclusion.
Key words: Patient, Satisfaction, Customer, Service, Quality.

- by ARPUTHAM AROCKIA MARY
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- Service Marketing

Creating and marketing value in today’s increasingly service and knowledge-intensive economy requires an understanding of the powerful design and packaging of ‘intangible’ benefits and products, high-quality service operations and customer information management processes, motivated and competent front-line employees, a loyal and profitable customer base, and the development and implementation of a coherent service strategy to transform these assets into improved business performance. The main objectives of this book are to:

Provide an appreciation and understanding of the unique challenges inherent in the marketing, management and delivery of service excellence at a profit. Readers are introduced to and have the opportunity to work with tools and strategies that address these challenges.
Develop an understanding of the ‘state of the art’ of services marketing and management thinking.
Promote a customer service-oriented mind-set.
As the field of services marketing has evolved, so too has this book, with each successive edition representing a significant revision over its predecessor. The new 8th edition is no exception. You can be confident that it captures the reality of today’s world, incorporates recent academic and managerial thinking, and illustrates cutting-edge service concepts.

The piece of work investigates the impact of customer retention in the banking industry
within the Sunyani municipality. The main objective of this study is (1) to examine the
loyalty and the customer profitably drivers in the banking industry, (2) to increase our
understanding by investigating the relationship between the banking industry and the
customers and (3) whether customers are willing to continue business with Stanbic
Bank. As Reichheld and Kenny (1990) asserted, the cost of acquiring customers is
incurred only in the beginning stage of the beginning stages of the commercial
relationship, therefore it is more economical to keep customers than to acquire new
once. It is important for companies in the financial institutions to view relationships
from their customer’s perspectives. The customers must be seen as the most valuable
asset of the service company. Our empirical analysis is based on a sample size of 40
respondents within Stanbic Bank in the Sunyani municipality through the use of
questionnaire, and descriptive statistical tool have been used in analysing the data
collected. After the analysis, it was deduced that the majority of the respondents are
satisfied with the various services of Stanbic bank and are willing to continue to
transact with the bank. Finally, it was identified that, customer satisfaction was a
determinant to the impact of customer retention in the banking industry which in turn
increase company’s profitability.

- by STEPHEN OPPONG
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- Service Quality, Banking, Customer Satisfaction, Customer Loyalty

Neuhofer, B., Buhalis, D., Ladkin, A., 2014, A typology of technology enhanced experiences, International Journal of Tourism Research, 16: 340–350. Experiences constitute the essence of the tourism industry. While the literature has... more

A B S T R A C T We study whether marketing can have a new role, one that is better aligned with the sales force, by adapting content marketing (CM) in B2B professional services organizations. CM activities can be in-person events such as conferences, which involve personal contacts with clients, or digital, such as webinars (i.e., digital events) or posting firm-generated content on branded websites (i.e., digital content). Fitting random-effects negative bi-nomial regression models with four years of panel data from a large, international, consulting service provider, we show that the number of sales leads and won opportunities from its key accounts are positively affected by the frequency of an account's employees attending digital events and consuming digital content, but not in-person events. Moreover, we find that CM affects sales leads for both low-and high-level account employees. These findings suggest that CM can be effective in bringing sales leads and won opportunities to B2B professional service providers and can play a complementary role to the existing sales force.

- by Edward Malthouse and +1
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- Service Marketing, Engagement, B2B Marketing, Content Marketing

With the advent of the service economy (Gadrey, 2005), product services (i.e., services offered as complements to tangible products) have taken on critical roles in the competitive arsenal of many manufacturing firms (Furrer, 1997, 1998; Gebauer, Fleich and Friedli, 2005; Malleret, 2006). For example, IBM has become a service provider more than a manufacturer of tangible products (BusinessWeek, 2005). Following Anderson and Narus (1995), this chapter considers product services to include much more than after-sale service, such as technical problem solving, equipment installation, training, or maintenance. Rather, product services also include programs that help customers design their products or reduce their costs, as well as rebates or bonuses that influence how customers conduct business with a supplier.

- by Olivier Furrer
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- Marketing, Services, Services Marketing and Management, Services' Marketing

The relationship between productivity and customer satisfaction is more complex. Service Quality and Productivity Management describes that the quality and productivity are twin paths in creating value for both customers and organizations. The relationships between service quality, productivity and profitability will also be examined in detail in this book. This book is the 12th book in the Winning in Service Markets series by services marketing expert Jochen Wirtz to cover the key aspects of services marketing and management based on sound academic evidence and knowledge.

Uber allowed people to book and share rides in private cars via their smartphones. With its headquarters in the US, it operates in 60 countries and has a strong presence in the Asia–Pacific region. This case study explores Uber’s development and growth, first in the US, then its global expansion and subsequent foray into China. Despite enjoying international success with deep penetration in major cities, Uber flopped in the Chinese market. What were the reasons for its failure in China, given its spectacular performance in many other countries?

Chapter 12 focuses on achieving profitability through creating relationships with customers from the right segments, and then finding ways to build and reinforce their loyalty using the Wheel of Loyalty as an organizing framework. This... more

The reason of this report is to analyze the different services offered by NRB Commercial Bank and their current position and expectation of the customers. The analysis done on this report is based on a constructive research conducted by the members of the group and the information collected was directly from the account holder of the bank. In this report, we have tried to evaluate the services of NRB Commercial Bank and relate it with our academic knowledge to examine service Gaps. Through the research, we have tried to understand the behavior of our target customer to determine their expectation & perception about services of NRB Commercial Bank. As well as, how NRB Commercial Bank tends to build customer relationships through service recovery when compromised and other efforts has also been studied in this report. Moreover, evaluating the development and design of a new service and examining the efficiency of integrated service marketing communication has got preference in our study. Last but not the least; we have tried to include some recommendations from our understanding level about how NRB Commercial Bank can improve their performance level to enhance their customer’s satisfaction in the future.

- by Amirul Islam Lisan and +1
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- Marketing, Perception, Service Design, Services Marketing and Management

As successful tourism firms invest heavily in marketing to defend or improve their competitive position, they increasingly need to measure their marketing performance. Previous studies related to tourism have largely focused on financial and operational performance, but the marketing perspective has been largely overlooked. Drawing on an in-depth investigation involving 12 hotel chains, 8 travel agencies and 8 tour operators, this study provides an overview of the state-of-the-art marketing performance measurements among some of the leading tourism firms in Italy. Several issues and unanswered questions are also identified.

- by Fabio Cassia and +1
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- Business, Information Systems, Management, Marketing

Chapter 5 examines the time and place elements. Manufacturers usually require physical distribution channels to move their products. However, some service businesses are able to use electronic channels to deliver all (or at least some) of their service elements. For the services delivered in real time with customers physically present, speed and convenience of place and time have become important determinants of effective service delivery. This chapter also discusses the role of intermediaries, franchising, and international distribution and market entry.

Chapter 1 highlights the importance of services in our economies. We also define the nature of services and how they create value for customers without transfer of ownership. The chapter highlights some distinctive challenges involved in marketing services and introduces the 7 Ps of services marketing. The framework shown in Figure I on the facing page will accompany us throughout as it forms the basis for each of the five parts in this book. It systematically describes what is involved in developing marketing strategies for different types of services. The framework is introduced and explained in Chapter 1.

LUX* was a successful hospitality group operating in the Indian Ocean as well as other locations. In its previous incarnation, the company suffered from poor financial performance, poor service quality and a weak brand. A change in the leadership of the company led the group through a transformation, which showed positive results within 12 months. This case study describes a service revolution that lead to rapid improvements in service culture and guest experience, which in turn lead to sustained financial improvements on a quarter-on-quarter basis.

- by Nabil Iqbal
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- Marketing, Service Marketing, Marketing Mix, 7p

A professional ﬁrm specializing in pension fund audits seeks to extend the ﬁrm’s relationships with existing clients in the Philippines by offering consulting services. But the ﬁrst attempt at cross-selling is a ﬂop. What has gone wrong... more

- by Suzanne Lowe and +1
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- Services Marketing and Management, Professional Services Firms, Consulting, Service Marketing

Chapter 6 provides an understanding of pricing from both the firm and customer’s points of view. For firms, the pricing strategy determines income generation. Service firms need to implement revenue management to maximize the revenue generated from available capacity at any given time. From the customer’s perspective, price is a key part of the costs they must incur to obtain the desired benefits. However, the cost to the customer often includes significant nonmonetary costs too. This chapter also discusses ethics and fairness in service pricing and how to develop an effective pricing strategy.

The Royal Dining membership program is highly popular with diners and generates significant revenues. However, it might be displacing regular, full-price paying customers and could have a negative effect on the painstakingly built and maintained high-end luxury image of the Hong Kong Grand Hotel. In addition, quite a few managers and servers expressed unhappiness with the program, the conflicts it creates with diners and the type of customers it attracts.

Chapter 10 focuses on the physical environment also known as the servicescape. It needs to be engineered to create the desired service experience and facilitate the effective delivery of service processes. The servicescape needs to be managed carefully as it can have a profound impact on customers’ impressions, guide their behavior throughout the service process, and provide tangible clues of a firm’s service quality and positioning.

This study aims to find out to what extent the Master of business administration students of private universities in Myanmar feels satisfaction regarding service quality. Also, we want to find out if the impact of positive feelings about... more

- by Ei Ei KHIN
- •
- Higher Education Studies, Service Marketing

Chapter 9 relates to process management with a focus on widely fluctuating demand and how to balance the level and timing of customer demand against available productive capacity. Well-managed demand and capacity lead to smooth processes with less waiting time for customers. Marketing strategies for managing demand involve smoothing demand fluctuations and inventorying demand through reservation systems and formalized queuing. Understanding customer motivations in different segments is also important for successful demand management.

Chapter 11 introduces people as a defining element of many services. Many services require direct interaction between customers and service employees. The nature of these interactions strongly influences how customers perceive service quality. Hence, service firms devote a significant amount of effort to recruiting, training, and motivating their employees. Satisfied and engaged employees who perform well are often a source of competitive advantage.

- by nirmala rajanala
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- Service Marketing

Customer perception is considered to have an integral influence upon
restaurant selection as it is highly important to analyze the preferences of the customers. On the other hand, the Korean food is being accepted in different nations across the world because the younger generations tend to follow the pop culture of Korea which is a powerhouse of Korean media. The Korean restaurants are found to be gaining highly competitive advantage in Malaysia over the other ethnic restaurants. This is due to the customer positive perception regarding the Korean food and its culture. In this research, the focus is upon the identification of the influence of customer perception of selecting a Korean Restaurant in Malaysia. The research is conducted under the view of other scholars and their research as well as published studies. The theory of planned behavior is analyzed in this research along with assessing the customer
perception and its influence.

Chapter 4 discusses what exactly is a service product, its benefits, components, and the Flower of Service model. A service concept includes both the core and supplementary elements. The supplementary elements both facilitate and enhance the core service offering. This chapter also covers branding, tiered service products, and explains how service firms can build brand equity.