Service Spotlights

Impact of Service Value on Satisfaction and Repurchase Intentions in Business-to-Business Cloud Computing (p. 5)

Cloud computing services are used in many businesses, yet little is known about the measurement of service value in business-to-business (B2B) cloud computing services from a customer perspective. The research described in this article examines this service value in B2B cloud computing services, linking the perceptions of service value to repurchase intentions and customer satisfaction. The results will enable customers to better understand the components of service value, and will enable vendors to measure how well their services lead to value and satisfaction for their customers.

An Experience-based Collaborative Service System Model (p. 14)

How can we best describe service engagement among providers and consumers in the sphere of technology enabled services? In this article, the authors address this issue by studying the case of a large telecommunications provider located in a developing economy in Asia. Although there are some widely accepted models of service engagement, these tend to be quite abstract. The approach in this research is to amalgamate three widely accepted characterizations of the service engagement process and couple it with findings from the particular context of telecommunications. The result is a model of service engagement that is applicable to a context that is technology based and rapidly evolving. The model is based on consumer experiences and explicitly incorporates consumer participation in the service design process. One key finding is that active consumer participation in the design process leads to more effective outcomes for the design of technology-based services. One key implication is that organizations in this space need to rethink service design by deliberately “under designing” services initially to enable active consumer participation in refining the design for deployment.

The Dynamics of Consumer Engagement with Mobile Technologies (p. 36)

In the emerging digital era, individuals and firms are increasingly intertwined in sets of dynamic, interactive two-way exchanges. This study examines how customer engagement behaviors (CEBs) with mobile technology and purchase behaviors are interrelated over time as a dynamic iterative process. A unique database graciously provided by a popular coalition loyalty program is used for the analysis. Drawing on dynamic models deploying actual customer engagement, purchase, and consumption behaviors, we obtain evidence for the existence of a positive relationship between mobile-related CEBs and point accumulation and redemption. However, we also find that disengagement with mobile technologies exerts a negative effect on customers’ future purchases with the firm. Therefore, firms need to have a clear understanding of engaging and disengaging attributes of specific mobile media prior to launching it, as well as undertake careful monitoring regarding the performance of particular apps. The study highlights the importance of firms’ strategic adoption of integrated marketing communications (IMC) exhibiting synergy or consistency across organizational marketing communications, including those employed at point of purchase, as well as those related to the adoption of specific mobile media.

Brand Experience and Emotional Attachment in Services: The Moderating Role of Gender (p. 50)

What is the effect of emotional attachment and brand experience on brand loyalty in banking services? What is the role of gender as a moderator in the relations that emotional attachment and brand experience share with brand loyalty? Answering these questions is key to providing superior brand experience and developing emotional attachment between a brand and a customer. Using data collected from 356 bank customers through an online questionnaire survey, the authors used confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling for data analysis, finding that brand experience positively influenced emotional attachment and that both brand experience and emotional attachment have a significant positive influence on brand loyalty. The results also suggest that gender moderates relationships shared by emotional attachment and brand experience with brand loyalty. The implication of this work is that marketers should consider not only the rational aspect of consumers, but also their emotional aspects, striving to provide unique and memorable brand experiences for customers so that such experiences intensify emotional attachment between the customers and the brand, thereby leading to stronger brand loyalty.

Modeling and Measuring the Consumer Activities Associated with Value Cocreation: An Exploratory Test in the Context of Education (p. 63)

In the modern service era, immaterial aspects of consumption are gaining increasing prominence. The concept of value cocreation, in which value is considered to be neither a property of the provider’s activities or of the customer’s activities, but results from their interaction and specific contexts of use, is key to this new mindset. Yet despite its diffusion, value cocreation is not well understood, and there is no accepted framework for identifying and measuring value cocreation actions and behaviors performed by customers during service delivery. The goal of the study in this article is to develop a measurement model for customer value cocreation behavior to pinpoint dimensions of the construct and to better describe concrete behavioral and cognitive activities accomplished by customers. Specifically, the authors propose a framework composed of eight value cocreation dimensions, which is empirically validated through an exploratory factor analysis. Tools for measuring customer behavior can guide providers in improving relationships, allowing them to devise new methods of delivery and practical measures to stimulate involvement of others.

Determining Service Value: Exploring the Link Between Value Creation and Service Evaluation (p. 74)

What constitutes value in a service for the provider and the customer, or other actors involved in value creation? How and by whom is value experienced? How may this value be measured or evaluated? This paper introduces a new topic into the service logic complex, service evaluation, merging evaluation studies from the field of social sciences with concepts of service value and value creation from service science. Even though the concepts of value and evaluation are closely linked, current literature on service value creation does not explore this issue. Considering evaluation as a potential medium to interpret service complexity, the authors propose a framework aimed at understanding what can be evaluated in a service, when and from which perspective, in order to determine service value. The framework proposed is a first conceptual hypothesis to develop a pragmatic instrument to be used, for example, by service managers to monitor service processes and experiences, or by service developers to foster and facilitate service improvements. The authors find this of particular relevance in the contemporary context, where services and the service sector evolve very quickly, requiring organizations to continuously change their processes, competences, and offerings according to emerging needs of the market and the society.