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Managing organizational culture change and knowledge to enhance customer experiences: Analysis and framework
Journal of Strategic Marketing
Abstract
Customer experience is increasingly becoming a differentiating factor for companies and their brands. Companies have recently started to realize the importance of superior experiences on customer loyalty and making efforts toward managing these experiences. This article undertakes a review and analysis of the contents of a wide variety of academic and practitioner articles as well as a few trade books on management of customer experiences published over the last decade, with the goal of exploring the major aspects of superior customer experience and its management. It specifically investigates and analyzes the dual effect of knowledge management and organizational culture on customer experiences, what aspects of both affect customer experience and how superior customer experiences can be managed through managing change in knowledge and culture. It also discusses how absorptive capacity of an organization and power relationships existing within it may moderate the effect of knowledge and culture change. The discussion and analysis ends with an integrated framework of knowledge and culture enhanced customer experience management and implications of the research.
... Recently, technologically oriented firms have started to use AI and machine learning technologies to analyze vast amounts of qualitative data from multiple sources. Data can be gathered from customers and their communities, as well as from firms' own systems, employees, and partner networks (Chakravorti, 2011). ...
... Thus, responsibility for the customer experience should not be locked within one function, and it is not enough to spread ownership across the organization. To manage contingencies and support reactive customer experience improvements, ownership should extend vertically through multiple hierarchy levels within the organization, including both top management commitment and each employee's customer-centric behaviors (Chakravorti, 2011;Mosley, 2007). ...
... The processes and methods directed at building supportive structures and fostering a customer-centric culture represent the firm's capabilities to renew customer experiences continuously (Homburg et al., 2015). For example, designing customer-journey-oriented information systems has proven vital for breaking down organizational siloes and closing knowledge gaps, combined with reorganizing employees into cross-functional teams and "communities of practice" (Berry et al., 2006;Chakravorti, 2011;Kwortnik & Thompson, 2009). Taking a broader view of the consumer journey, a firm can consider integrating its systems and practices across its service network. ...
This chapter offers a state-of-the art overview on what customer experience is, how it emerges, and how it can be managed in service contexts. The chapter outlines the research background and alternative conceptualizations of customer experience, discussed from two perspectives: first, how experiences emerge from the customer’s perspective, along a range of journeys that they take with a network of providers in pursuit of lower- and higher-order goals, and second, how service firms can seek to design and manage these journeys to create intended experiences for customers. The chapter ends with suggestions for future research.
... In addition to designing each business model dimension individually, managers need to carefully coordinate across these dimensions to attain consistency in customer experience. Here, a number of important factors such as knowledge management and organizational culture change management are deemed important as antecedents for companies' ability to manage customer experience effectively (cf., Chakravorti, 2011). ...
... Together these are proposed as critical factors for enhancing customer experience management (Chakravorti, 2011). Along similar lines, Shah et al (2006) identify the challenges that typically deter a firm from becoming customer-centric, including organizational culture, structure, processes and financial metrics of the firm. ...
... To design simple and pleasurable interactions (see Figure 9.3), Kolko (2015) points to empathy, smart design, and experimentation as relevant qualities. In line with researchers discussed above (Chakravorti, 2011;Arussy, 2010;Skaw, 2005), Kolko (2015) argue that these qualities are important in product and service design function but that they also have to spread to the whole organization for the company to succeed. Some of the characteristics of a design-centric culture with these qualities are a particular focus on users' emotional experiences, model based examination of complex problems, use of prototyping to explore various solutions, acceptance of failure, and focus on restraints. ...
Delivering great customer experience is essential in gaining the trust of customers. In an attempt to deliver superior customer experience, companies often end up focusing on redesigning the front-end of the business model while neglecting to realign their organizational design, capabilities and skills with the different dimensions of their business model. By adopting a business model perspective, we derive important lessons on how companies can shift towards more ‘experience-centric’ business models. © Marika Lüders, Tor W. Andreassen, Simon Clatworthy and Tore Hillestad 2017. All rights reserved.
... If customer experience (CE) has been widely studied, the business strategy designed to manage such experiences still needs clarification. Surprisingly, the role of the brand in customer experience management is seldom evoked in the literature, and stays mostly absent of CEM frameworks (Chakravorti, 2011;Homburg, Jozi, & Kuehnl, 2015;Verhoef et al., 2009). The scarcity of scholarly research on CEM calls for an empirically and theoretically solid conceptualization of its antecedents. ...
... Various attempts to frame the customer experience management concept gave way to the creation of several conceptual models (Chakravorti, 2011;Palmer, 2010;Verhoef et al., 2009). If drivers and moderators have been outlined (Verhoef et al., 2009), antecedents, outcomes and the nature of the process have been seldom investigated. ...
... If drivers and moderators have been outlined (Verhoef et al., 2009), antecedents, outcomes and the nature of the process have been seldom investigated. To our knowledge, only two papers tackled this issue to date (Chakravorti, 2011;Homburg et al., 2015). They identified three kinds of CEM antecedents: firms' cultural mindsets or organizational culture, value constellation proposition, and organizational ambidexterity. ...
Elements of firm's differentiation from its competitors moved from goods, to services, to relationships and ultimately to experience, and a body of experts urge practitioners to create outstanding customer experiences (CE) to develop a competitive advantage. In research, however, the concept of customer experience management (CEM) is not well understood, and insufficient attention has been given to the study of its antecedents. By integrating field-based insights of 27 managers engaging in CEM with 41 graphical representations of customer's journeys and professional documents, this study provides and empirically and theoretically solid conceptualization of CEM antecedents. Specifically, we disclose an extended CEM framework integrating the brand as an antecedent. Drawing on these results, we position CEM within existing literature by discussing our findings in relation to Market Orientation (MO) and Brand Orientation (BO), hence defining CEM as an applied MO capability.
... Customer experience management is an indispensable element in the development and retention of customer satisfaction and loyalty. Companies should find ways to ensure that customers are pleased with the products and services they deliver through several touch points [12]. Presently, to create customer experience based on social interactions, companies provide a number of services utilizing various channels and media to deliver positive customer experience [13]. ...
... Managing customer experience becomes an important element to build and maintain customer satisfaction and loyalty. Companies need to look for ways to ensure that customers are pleased with the products and services they receive at each touch point from them [12]. Currently, creating superior customer experience constitutes a chief goal within the retailing environment [9]. ...
E-commerce market growth in Indonesia urges e-commerce players, especially online retailers, to implement strategies which can foster customer loyalty. Customer experience and engagement strategies can be implemented with the support of digital technologies. This research measures the digital technology, customer experience, customer engagement, firm reputation, and customer loyalty in online retailing in Indonesia. This research was conducted descriptively on e-commerce customers who had made transactions in e-commerce platforms with online retailers selling fashion and beauty products. Total respondent in this research is 505 and 400 questioner data are complete to process in statistic tools. The results of this research showed that the first and second most dominant factors of digital technologies in online retailing were interactivity and ease of use, respectively. Meanwhile, personalization still needs some improvement. The first and second most dominant customer experience dimensions were the pragmatic and sensory ones, while the relational dimension contrarily exhibited low performance. Cognitive engagement of customers was the most dominant factor, followed by emotional and behavioral engagement.
... The idea of service revel in has been described due to the fact the middle of the carrier providing and, as such, it is a key concept within the growing paradigm of S-D not unusual sense (Vargo & Lusch, 2004). in line with this attitude, fee is cocreated with the purchaser and is located out when a first-rate or company is used, making consumer critiques crucial to their perception of price-in-use, in preference to embedded in items or offerings (Klaus & Maklan, 2012;Prahalad & Ramaswamy, 2004). customer enjoy manipulate has for this reason end up a vital element for developing and maintaining consumer pleasure and loyalty (Chakravorti, 2011). consistent with Gupta and Vajic (1999), an experience takes place while a customer has a sensation or acquisition as a result of interplay with the one of a kind dimensions of a context created with the resource of a company company, at some stage in a couple of touchpoints (Meyer & Schwager, 2007). ...
... Clues are the touchpoints of provider research (Berry, Shankar, Parish, Cadwallader, & Dotzel, 2006). companies need to embed, execute, and manipulate those clues to create the favored mind and emotions in customers (Chakravorti, 2011). handling consumer reviews includes the cautious manage of many clues, and among them the bodily surroundings wherein the enjoy is created is frequently taken into consideration a key variable and one of the strongest drivers of provider fee. at some stage in time, several researchers have used various terms to signify 'surroundings,' reflecting the eclectic nature of the literature within the region (Harris & Ezeh, 2008). ...
... According to her the nature of the organizational culture such as collegial, organized anarchy, political, developmental, or managerial, has important effect on the degree of success in accepting changes. Cultural changes should embody the collaboration of values that centrally align with the expectation of those who are the major stakeholder of the organization (Chakravorti, 2011). Beside the organizational culture, personal experiences and perceptions, past experiences, as well as interpretation of the results affect each employee's view of the decisions that are made to change some aspects of the organization (Hruska, 2015). ...
... They call them "analysis-thin-change" and "see-feel-change", and argue that changing behavior, "is less a matter of giving people analysis to influence their thoughts than it is helping to see a truth that will influence their feelings" (p. 6). Other studies show that those change efforts which tap into the emotions of their employees happen to be more successful (Chakravorti, 2011). Similar results reached by another study show that the most successful changes come when change agents speak to employees' feelings (C. ...
... Increased competition requires retail stores to increasingly focus on improving their customers' experiences (Caru & Cova, 2007;Chakravorti, 2011). As a basis, the store atmosphere and the signals the interior send are decisive for producing the right customer experience (Van Rompay, Tanja-Dijkstra, Verhoeven, & Van Es, 2012). ...
... An important aspect of service design is customer experience, which has increasingly been discussed since the beginning of 2000 (Caru & Cova, 2007) and is often perceived as the single most important aspect for achieving success for companies across all industries (Chakravorti, 2011). According to Sundbo and Hagedorn-Rasmussen (2008), customer experience is the customer's direct and indirect experiences with the service process, the organization, and the facilities, as well as how the customer interacts with the service firm's representatives and other customers. ...
Increased competition requires retail stores to increasingly focus on improving their customers’ experiences. Along this line, this article explores how a co-design approach can help retail stores of outdoor products develop consumer communities as a part of their store concept. Such stores may be particularly interesting in relation to consumer communities, because of the consumers’ often passionate relationship to activities related to the products in focus. Two longitudinal case studies of outdoor product stores in Denmark are investigated. The two cases are investigated through interviews, store observations, network meetings, and co-design workshops. Several important findings are discovered: first, in relation to community forms, the article defined three archetypes: business–consumer (BC), consumer–consumer (CC), and a combination of the two (BCCC). Second, in relation to the premises for the creation of communities, the article defined three types: consumer motivation, consumer availability, and consumer homogeneity. Third, in relation to consumer community activities, the article argued that these could be understood as being defined by three elements: the business, the consumers, and the products. Finally, the article defined four overall types of community-initiated activities by distinguishing if they are consumer-initiated or business-initiated and if they have a recreational or goal-oriented purpose.
... According to this perspective, value is cocreated with the customer and is realized when a good or service is used, making customer experiences crucial to their perception of value-in-use, rather than embedded in goods or services (Klaus & Maklan, 2012;Prahalad & Ramaswamy, 2004;Sandström et al., 2008). Customer experience management has thus become a crucial element for developing and sustaining customer satisfaction and loyalty (Chakravorti, 2011). ...
... Clues are the touchpoints of service experiences (Berry, Shankar, Parish, Cadwallader, & Dotzel, 2006). Companies need to embed, execute, and manage these clues to create the desired thoughts and feelings in consumers (Chakravorti, 2011). Managing customer experiences entails the careful management of many clues, and among them the physical environment in which the experience is created is often considered a key variable and one of the strongest drivers of service value (Martin-Ruíz, Barroso-Castro, & Rosa-Diáz, 2012;Walter et al., 2010). ...
Service experience is the core of service offering. However, research on the role of the service environment when creating experiences is still underdeveloped, and even less empirical evidence is available that relates servicescape with customers' perceptions of value. Our purpose is to focus on the role of servicescape as a driver of customer experience by analyzing its impact on customer value creation and behavior. We have chosen an experience-centric service organization, a football club, to develop our analysis. A regression analysis was performed to determine the main drivers of value among ‘sportscape’ components and how it influenced customers' attitude and behavior. A total of 349 questionnaires were collected during a match of the Portuguese Football League at Dragon Stadium. Our analysis showed that servicescape influences consumer perceived value, attitudes, and behavior when creating service experiences: value-in-context generates customers' satisfaction, which in turn has a positive effect on their desire to repeat the experience.
... The attitude of the workers demonstrates how important organisational culture is as well as the significance it plays in the cultural disparities that exist between different countries. This demonstrates that multinational firms operating in other countries needs to pay attention to the importance of their organisational culture because it plays a vital part in achieving overall organisational performance [43][44][45]. ...
Employees' cultural values and characteristics have a significant impact on work values and outcomes. Due to the strong economic ties between China and Ghana, several Chinese companies establish their branches in Ghana and employ Ghanaians to work with them. However, the role of cultural values in Chinese-Ghanaian work relationships have not been investigated. Through a qualitative lens, we investigated the cultural influence on the working relationship between Ghanaians and Chinese at a Chinese company in Ghana. The study was conducted at Asogli Thermal Plant using a case study. This is one of the biggest Chinese companies in Ghana and has a large proportion of both Chinese and Ghanaian workers. A total of 18 participants were interviewed, and data were analysed thematically. We found that Ghanaians and Chinese staff at the Thermal Plant are sometimes unable to have a collective discourse on their needs due to language barriers. Also, cultural interpretation of politeness denied them many avenues to form a strong workers’ cooperation to seek their mutual needs. These differences affect their collaboration and bonding as co-workers. To foster collaborations and good cooperation between Chinese and Ghanaian co-workers, management of such companies are advised to implement an intentional mechanism that reduces the impact of cultural differences on work relations. Such organisations need to train all staff intermittently on diversity, inclusion, and cultural values of Ghana and China in order to help staff cultivate versatility, awareness, and acceptance of alternative values.
... Several researchers have defined the customer's experience as a co-construction (Frow et al., 2015;Lusch & Nambisan, 2015). From this perspective, according to Chakravorti (2011), the customer's experience results from a combination of resources provided by the customer (cognitive, emotional, physical, financial, temporal, behavioral, and relational resources) and resources provided by the company (contact personnel, warehouses and sales outlets, technological platforms, such as websites and mobile applications, reputational resources, such as brands, informational resources, such as customer data, and organizational culture). Drawing on the resource-based view of the firm as a theoretical framework, Homburg et al. (2017), consider customer experience management as a higher-order resource covering the following three categories: (1) a cultural mindset according to which customer experience management constitutes a competitive advantage, (2) a set of strategic directions chosen by a company to design the customer experience, and (3) a dynamic capability itself composed of four more specific capabilities. ...
This research addresses the issue of phygital customer journey management by proposing a conceptual framework. The framework allows for the development of an artifact in the form of a six-step method accompanied by an experiential blueprint. To do so, a methodology taken from design science is applied. The research highlights new customer journey management capabilities and contributes to the theory of marketing capabilities, viewing the alignment of company and customer resources as a central issue in experience management. As one of the first to use the design science research methodology (DRSM) in the field of marketing, this research also contributes to the renewal of the methodologies used by both practitioners and researchers.
... The process of knowledge management focuses on many crucial components (Lei et al., 2021b;Sahibzada et al., 2020c), but there is a consensus that organizational culture plays a pivotal role within organizations in the KMP (Alavi et al., 2005;Chakravorti, 2011;Rai, 2011). As Saifi (2015, p. 170) pointed out, the mechanism by which new knowledge is produced and shared in organizations is influenced by organizational culture. ...
Purpose
The primary objective of this study is to assess the role of a collaborative culture in the organization’s knowledge management process (KMP) and how it is associated with radical and incremental innovation under the moderating role of ownership formapjm in Pakistani firms.
Design/methodology/approach
This research used the quantitative method and structural equation modeling approach to examine hypotheses with data obtained by the survey from 280 participants in 85 Pakistani firms.
Findings
The findings of this study indicate that the KMP significantly mediates between collaborative culture and two specific types of innovation, namely radical innovation and incremental innovation. In addition, the ownership form can serve as a moderator in the relationship between KMP and innovation capability.
Research limitations/implications
Future research should explore the moderating impact of other strategic or behavioral factors, such as self-efficacy, job experience, education level, optimism and organizational support, to better clarify the association between these latent constructs.
Practical implications
This research provides leaders with a better view of the mechanism of knowledge management and the impact of ownership form and possible influences in their organizations to foster innovation capabilities.
Originality/value
This paper has prompted theoretical and practical attempts on innovation management theory that allow firms to recognize the necessary factors and processes to improve the firm’s innovation capability.
... Neste sentido, a memória codifica e armazena apenas o que é sensorialmente percecionado como emocionalmente aprazível e alvo de concentração e atenção do turista (Todd et al., 2013;Colombo & Gold, 2004;Gold, 2004;Mizumori et al., 2004;Shu et al., 2003). Assim, os elementos experienciais memoráveis constituem-se como as recordações e a vivacidade das memórias dos turistas (Kim & Youn, 2017 (Chen & Rahman, 2018;Chen et al., 2017;Park & Santos, 2017;Manthiou et al., 2016;Chakravorti, 2011;Gelter, 2010;Tynan & McKechnie, 2009;Volo, 2009;Gentile et al., 2007;Larsen, 2007;Lambot et al., 2004) e segundo, conter informação significativa suficiente para que o turista disponibilize níveis elevados de concentração e atenção que permitam a codificação, armazenamento e consequente transformação em memória (Chen et al., 2017;Tung et al., 2017;Barnes et al., 2016;Tsai, 2016;Ali et al., 2014;Quadri-Felitti & Fiore, 2013;Kahneman, 2012;Ballantyne et al., 2011;Volo, 2009;Larsen, 2007;Oh et al., 2007). ...
Today, memorable experiences are the leading economic value proposition that the tourism industry holds. This article aims to theoretically investigate the relationship between the senses, emotions and memories in the tourist experience and present a conceptual model about the senses, emotions and memories in the tourism experience establishment. Based on the literature review, we concluded that the construction of the tourism experience is the result of multi-sensory stimuli and perception, positive emotions, high emotional states, surprising events, extraordinary moments and pleasant and positive memories. It was also found that the senses, emotions and memories have a sequential relationship in the tourism experience establishment. We also concluded that the senses paly a important role in the experiential stimuli perception, the emotional states are vital to the stimuli interpretation and meaning achievement and memories are essential to coding, storage and anticipation the experiential information.
... They allow the firm to react to a threat from the dynamism of a changing market and environment and adjust itself to survive (Eisenhardt and Martin, 2000;Mariano and Al-Arrayed, 2017). Processes and routines are treated as intellectual capital (Bontis, 2000;Carlile and Rebentisch, 2003;Chakravorti, 2011;Lane et al., 2006;Mariano and Walter, 2015;Nahapiet and Ghoshal, 1998;Roberts et al., 2012;Wiig, 1997) which is made up of two distinctive parts: ostensive and performative (Bennet and Bennet, 2004;Parmigiani and Howard-Grenville, 2011;Salvato and Rerup, 2011). The ostensive part is the codification of explicit knowledge that resides in the organization's artifacts. ...
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate absorptive capacity and dynamic capabilities dilemma in high dynamic market IT small medium enterprises (SMEs). Absorptive capacity and dynamic capabilities have a conflict in theoretical stance. Those in favor of dynamic capabilities regard absorptive capacity as a part of dynamic capabilities, and there are many arguments regarding treating absorptive capacity as a part of dynamic capabilities. One major deficit of dynamic capabilities is that it requires adjusting the firm’s dynamic resources when responding to change, requiring some investment and time. Thus, dynamic capabilities then have a problem in instantaneously responding to a highly dynamic market. With the requirement to adjust organizational resources, absorptive capacity, as a part of dynamic capabilities, cannot have direct impact on a firm’s performance.
Design/methodology/approach
To show that absorptive capacity, by itself, can have a direct impact on a firm’s performance in a highly dynamic market, quantifiable variables are identified to measure the level of effort in developing absorptive capacity. The relationships between the absorptive capacity development effort and the firm’s financial performance is then explored and evaluated.
Findings
It is confirmed that absorptive capacity in a high dynamic market such as IT SMEs have direct and positive impact to the firm’s financial performance, without having to configure its resource to interact with changes.
Originality/value
The study discusses the paradoxical dilemma of the role of absorptive capacity under the light of dynamic capability. The finding indicates that in high dynamic market when the spontaneous respond to market change is crucial to firm's survival, absorptive capacity can direly deliver the result to leverage the firm's performance without having to reconfigure its resources as indicated in the theoretical stance of dynamic capability.
... Customer experience 37 Carbone, 1998;Novak et al., 2000;Berry et al., 2002;Cole-Colander, 2003;Haeckel et al., 2003;Frow & Payne, 2007;Gentile et al., 2007;Ryder, 2007;Patterson et al., 2008;Jain & Bagdare, 2009;Tynan & McKechnie, 2009;Verhoef et al., 2009;Chang & Horng, 2010;Palmer, 2010;Chakravorti, 2011;Ismail, 2011 "The Customer Experience originates from a set of interactions between a customer and a product, a company, or part of its organization, which provoke a reaction. This experience is strictly personal and implies the customer's involvement at different levels (rational, emotional, sensorial, physical, and spiritual). ...
This study makes an effort to unify and consolidate the concept of experience in marketing research by analyzing all the academic articles since its inception in a systematic way. The review of existing literature reveals gaps in the conceptualization, definition, relations and measurement of Consumer-Brand Experience (CBEx) from theoretical and practical perspectives. Therefore, this study significantly contributes by exploring and discussing the concept of CBEx, proposing a definition, describing its state of the art dimensions, relationships and measurement. A new and broader conceptual model is provided too. This work also highlights important challenges for future research and practice. Academics and managers are called to consider CBEx as a key determinant of consumer behavior and as an important strategic objective for brands. In particular, CBEx is the key to creating uniqueness and long-lasting brands so managers should take into account this concept in defining their marketing strategies.
... Satisfying their unique needs require that management understand what makes each category of customer distinct, establishing and sustaining relationship with them and maintaining a knowledge system that aids problem-solving. Within the Marketing literature, the influence of organizational knowledge over customer experience and by extension their loyalty 6 1528-2686-24-1-124 has been predicted (Chakravorti, 2011). There are also indications from Moses (2013) that a sound knowledge based culture would enhance organizational ability to compete in its product based market. ...
This research is focused on testing empirical relationship between individual-tacit knowledge and customer satisfaction in the telecommunication industry. Data was gathered using a mixed method research approach. This involved the use of structured and semi-structured questionnaire from 186 managers and other administrative & technical employees and 519 customers of the four major firms in the Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) sub-market of Nigeria's telecommunications industry. Descriptive statistics, Correlation, Regression, T-Test and thematic analysis was carried to test the hypothesis for this research study. The findings showed a significant relationship between individual-tacit knowledge and customer satisfaction. Customers' level of satisfaction was also found to be significant but with the respondents' views not in total agreement with one another. The study recommended that managers in the telecommunication industry can enhance the organisation's customer satisfaction objective by encouraging employees to regularly document their experiences about their most prominent challenges encountered on the job.
... Satisfying their unique needs require that management understand what makes each category of customer distinct, establishing and sustaining relationship with them and maintaining a knowledge system that aids problem-solving. Within the Marketing literature, the influence of organizational knowledge over customer experience and by extension their loyalty has been predicted (Chakravorti, 2011). There are also indications from Moses (2013) that a sound knowledge based culture would enhance organizational ability to compete in its product based market. ...
This research is focused on testing empirical relationship between individual-tacit
knowledge and customer satisfaction in the telecommunication industry. Data was gathered
using a mixed method research approach. This involved the use of structured and semistructured
questionnaire from 186 managers and other administrative & technical employees
and 519 customers of the four major firms in the Global System for Mobile Communication
(GSM) sub-market of Nigeria’s telecommunications industry. Descriptive statistics, Correlation,
Regression, T-Test and thematic analysis was carried to test the hypothesis for this research
study. The findings showed a significant relationship between individual-tacit knowledge and
customer satisfaction. Customers’ level of satisfaction was also found to be significant but with
the respondents’ views not in total agreement with one another. The study recommended that
managers in the telecommunication industry can enhance the organisation’s customer
satisfaction objective by encouraging employees to regularly document their experiences about
their most prominent challenges encountered on the job.
Keywords: Individual-Tacit Knowledge, Organisational
... Samo osam procenata kupaca opisuju doživljaj koji dobijaju kao superioran, dok 80 procenata kompanija opisuje doživljaj koji isporučuju kao superioran. Diferenciranje samo na osnovu tradicionalnih elemenata nije više održivo i sve više autora smatra doživljaj kupaca kao novi element diferencijacije (Pine & Gilmore, 1998;Pine & Gilmore, 1999;Shaw & Ivens, 2005;Rahman, 2006;Chakravorti, 2011;Chauhan & Manhas, 2014). U svetlu uspostavljanja dugoročnih odnosa sa kupcima, broj tačaka kontakta sa kupcima se uvećava, pa se javlja neophodnost upravljanja doživljajem koji se javlja u tim tačkama (Gentile, Spiller & Noci, 2007). ...
Companies are nowadays faced with challenges regarding interaction with customers through various touchpoints in multichannel environment. Key priority in that situation is to manage all those touchpoints in such a way to optimize customer experience. In a context like this customer experience management is becoming a priority for a large number of companies. The aim of this paper is to clarify the concept of customer experience, bring it closer to the academic and practitioner community, and create interest for this relatively novel concept. Paper provides historical review of the literature in the domain of consumer experience, detailed analysis of customer experience concept, and present models of customer experience management.
... The atmosphere created during this process appears to have a significant role, to a great extent, in possible affecting the organizational culture. Most of the studies underline that organizational culture is considered as an important factor, which appear to have a role on the success of knowledge sharing (Chakravorti, 2011;De Long & Fahey, 2000;Gold et al., 2001;Gürdal & Kumkale, 2014). Nevertheless, many scholars fail to close the gap in comprehending the role of diffusion of knowledge on organizational culture. ...
This study sought to investigate which of the four predictor variables (Applying Knowledge, Storing Knowledge, Acquiring Knowledge, & Diffusing Knowledge) are most significant in association with Organizational Culture. The instrument used in this study includes five parts that were used to measure the knowledge management processes (knowledge acquisition, storage, diffusion, & application) and organizational culture. The instrument was administered to 77 employees from two of the largest Georgian cities: Tbilisi and Kutaisi. Collected data were analyzed through multiple regression analysis. The analysis was conducted to determine which of the independent variables (Acquiring Knowledge, Storing Knowledge, Diffusing Knowledge, & Applying Knowledge) is significant in predicting the dependent variable (Organizational Culture). Diffusing Knowledge was found to be the only significant variable associated with the Organizational Culture. The analyses were followed by results, discussion, and implication for future research.
... Value initiators are actors who perform experience sharing. Chakravorti, 2011 Literature review ...
Purpose
In the contemporary hospitality industry, superior customer experiences are essential to gaining customer loyalty and achieving a competitive advantage. However, limited research addresses this subject. The aim of this study is to advance scholarly research on customer experience management (CEM) in the hospitality field by providing a comprehensive overview of the key elements of CEM, a framework for managing customer experience, and a rich agenda for research.
Design/methodology/approach
An extensive literature review produces a comprehensive overview of existing knowledge of CEM. A synthesis of prior literature reveals a need for additional, contemporary information sources. The study is therefore supplemented by invited commentaries on CEM from senior scholars and hospitality managers.
Findings
The proposed model takes a holistic perspective on managing a positive customer experience, through collaboration among marketing, operations, design, human resources, and strategy, in association with technology and social media.
Research limitations/implications
The literature review and commentaries from leading experts reveal six areas for further research on CEM in the hospitality industry.
Originality/value
This study provides a comprehensive, systematic review of CEM literature and detailed understanding of the mechanisms for managing customer experiences in the hospitality industry. It integrates state-of-the-art CEM knowledge in the generic business context, along with principles of hospitality management, and advances CEM research by emphasizing the need for collaboration among marketing, operations, and human resources.
... Samo osam procenata kupaca opisuju doživljaj koji dobijaju kao superioran, dok 80 procenata kompanija opisuje doživljaj koji isporučuju kao superioran. Diferenciranje samo na osnovu tradicionalnih elemenata nije više održivo i sve više autora smatra doživljaj kupaca kao novi element diferencijacije (Pine & Gilmore, 1998;Pine & Gilmore, 1999;Shaw & Ivens, 2005;Rahman, 2006;Chakravorti, 2011;Chauhan & Manhas, 2014). U svetlu uspostavljanja dugoročnih odnosa sa kupcima, broj tačaka kontakta sa kupcima se uvećava, pa se javlja neophodnost upravljanja doživljajem koji se javlja u tim tačkama (Gentile, Spiller & Noci, 2007). ...
Companies are nowadays faced with challenges regarding interaction with customers through various touchpoints in multichannel environment. Key priority in that situation is to manage all those touchpoints in such a way to optimize customer experience. In a context like this customer experience management is becoming a priority for a large number of companies. The aim of this paper is to clarify the concept of customer experience, bring it closer to the academic and practitioner community, and create interest for this relatively novel concept. Paper provides historical review of the literature in the domain of consumer experience, detailed analysis of customer experience concept, and present models of customer experience management.
... Während Produkte und Services von Konkurrenten leicht zu imitieren und dadurch für den Kunden ersetzbar sind, können positive Interaktionserfahrungen die Beziehung zwischen Unternehmen und Kunde nachhaltig festigen (Christopher et al. 1991;Palmer 2010). Vor allem der Gestaltung von begeisternden Kundenerlebnissen wird heute eine tragende Rolle hinsichtlich der Stärkung von Kundenbindung und dadurch den Erhalt und Ausbau des Erfolgs von Unternehmen zugeschrieben (Chakravorti 2011). ...
Im Zuge der Digitalisierung sehen sich Unternehmen mit einer zunehmenden
Notwendigkeit zur Differenzierung konfrontiert. Um Kunden stärker an das eigene
Unternehmen zu binden, konzentrieren sich viele Initiativen auf die Gestaltung
besonderer Kundenerfahrungen. Der vorliegende Beitrag stellt auf Basis eines
Innovationsprojektes der SAP einen ganzheitlichen Managementansatz für die
Entwicklung organisationaler Fähigkeiten zur Kundenbegeisterung vor.
... The practice of allocating departments specialising in the customer experience, rather than the stand-alone voice of customer feedback (Galbraith, 2011). The use of systems containing functions that work on the monitoring and analysing of customer experiences has shifted to an ongoing basis, rather than the work of a field survey or interim study research (Spiess et al., 2014;Chakravorti, 2011). In addition, using customer experience information is not only limited to business or functional leaders who are interested in knowing the experiences of customers to benefit the organisation or enhance the products, but goes beyond to include psychologists, linguistics, economists and sociologists. ...
An organisation that has a robust customer interaction approach can develop a more holistic understanding of its customers. This insight is crucial for reducing related uncertainty in management decision-making. Understanding of the customer is a basic tenet for supporting decision makers in taking the right decisions. The objective of this literature review is to learn about the evolution of the customer interaction approach. The customer interaction approach is stressed as a relationship channel between the customer and organisation. The emergence of the customer interaction approach is discussed in terms of four existing approaches to customer related quality improvement:Total Quality Management (TQM); Service Quality Frameworks (SERVQUAL), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and Customer Experience Management (CEM). This analysis indicates a number of key observations about CRM and CEM as the most recent customer interaction approaches. In the existing literature, CRM and CEM are well-defined. Distinctly, the relationship between CRM and CEM is complementary in nature. This means CRM promotes the management of customer data in a systematic way within a firm, while CEM reaches beyond the boundary of the organisation to support a holistic customer interaction approach underpinned by CRM data.
Objective:
Since the mid-1950s, many subjects related to customer experience, including measuring the customer experience, its effect on loyalty and brand, etc. have been studied because building a strong customer experience is currently one of the most important management goals. The explosion of potential touch points and diminishing control over the customer experience requires companies to integrate multiple business functions such as IT, service operations, logistics, marketing, human resources, external partners, and supply chains to create and deliver a positive customer experience. The purpose of this study is to systematically review organizational factors and components effective on customer experience management using the meta-synthesis method.
Methodology:
Organizational factors and components affecting customer experience management maturity have been identified using the meta-synthesis method. The seven-step model of Sandlowski and Barroso (2006) was used to explain the meta-synthesis methodology. The study dataset includes 106 papers and articles published in reputable scientific journals and credible websites from 2000 to 2021. Ultimately, 24 articles were thoroughly examined, and codes and concepts were extracted.
Findings:
After analyzing the papers which are used, the codes were extracted and labeled based on similarity and frequency of replication in 10 main themes, 26 concepts and 116 open codes (with replication). Finally, the results of the analysis are presented in the form of a table of factors and components. These 10 themes, which are considered as the main organizational factors, include: 1. System, technology and channels based on customer experience, 2. A framework for aligning processes with customer experience, 3. Customer experience change management, 4. Customer experience vision, strategy and goals, 5. Customer experience governance, 6. Customer-centric culture, 7. Customer experience insight and knowledge management, 8. Customer experience design and implementation process, 9. Customer experience-based human resource management, 10. Customer experience-focused leadership.
Conclusion:
By combining and integrating the researches, a comprehensive model has been presented in relation to the factors affecting the customer experience management maturity in the organization. The results show that for the successful implementation and maturity of customer experience management and improving the customer experience as its final result, all elements of the organization are involved and it is a fundamental and pervasive change in the organization. It means that the change starts from the goals, vision and strategies of the organization and it impacts on not only the infrastructures, technology, processes and data, but also the human resources, the culture and style of leadership. And as a powerful approach, it needs its own governance and processes to guarantee success and institutionalize it across the organization. Meanwhile, attention to the alignment frameworks between current business processes, vision and strategies with customer experience is so important as well.
Objective - Building a strong customer experience is currently one of the most important management goals. The explosion of potential touch points and diminishing control over the customer experience requires companies to integrate multiple business functions such as IT, operations of the service, logistics, marketing, human resources, and even external partners and supply chains to create and deliver a positive customer experience. The purpose of this study is to provide a model of the key components that affect the successful implementation of customer experience management in the organization.
Methodology- To achieve the objectives of the research, a qualitative approach was adopted, employing the method of qualitative content analysis. Accordingly, the opinions of interviewees were collected, recorded, and scrutinized. The codes and concepts were extracted by MaxQDA software. This process involved conducting in-depth semi-structured interviews with 14 experts with an appropriate history of working on customer experience and key informants related to customer relationship management and loyalty. Finally, the key components affecting the successful implementation of customer experience management in the organization were identified and presented as a conceptual model.
Findings- After analyzing the interviews, the codes were extracted and labeled based on similarity and frequency of replication in 10 main themes, 32 categories, and 83 concepts. Finally, the results of the analysis were presented in the form of a table of key components, categories, and the conceptual model of the components. These 10 themes, which were considered as the key components, include customer experience-driven employee; customer experience design and implementation process; customer-centric culture; customer experience governance; management of organization and business processes; customer-focused leadership; customer experience-driven infrastructure, mechanization, and technology management; customer-centric strategic planning; customer experience insights management; and customer interaction management and organizing.
Conclusion- Analyzing the conducted interviews, a comprehensive model was presented concerning the components affecting the successful implementation of customer experience management in the organization. Considering the internal relationships of the key components, the results showed that the components can be organized into four layers. The most external of them is the layer of Leadership and Culture, which plays the driving role in implementation. The second layer is the Organizing and Governance layer which acts as the operational lever of implementation in the organization. The third layer is the Customer Experience process and infrastructure, where the customer experience is designed, implemented, and measured based on the required infrastructure and technology. Finally, the last and innermost layer of the model is the layer of Data and Touchpoints, where the customer interaction with the organization is formed. And the data and the experience are created afterward.
Understanding and managing the customer experience (CX) is paramount for organizations aiming to enhance their business performance. However, despite significant investments in improving CX, the high failure rate of CX management programs shows that effectively executing CX-led business transformations can be a true snafu. While academic literature on CX is abundant, research on how executives and managers can implement CX within their organizations remains limited. Meehan’s interview (2024 – this issue) with Piyush Gupta offers valuable insights into this aspect, serving as a foundation for further exploration. This paper offers an initial conceptualization of a CX-led business transformation and identifies areas ripe for new research streams on CX management.
The use of the traditional system is declined greatly and with a modernization of the accounting and finance process there have been a great deal of change, and these improvements are beneficial to the accounting and finance industry. Adopting Artificial Intelligence applications such as Expert systems for audit and tax, Intelligent Agents for customer service, Machine Learning for decision making, etc. can lead a great benefit by reducing errors and increasing the efficiency of the accounting and finance processes. To keep ensuring a transparent and replicable process, we have conducted a meta-analysis. The database search was between the years 1989-2020 and reviewed 150 research papers. As meta-analysis results show, the majority of researches illustrate a positive effect of the impact of AI systems in the accounting and finance process.
Purpose
Customer experience management (CXM), which aims to achieve and maintain customers' long-term loyalty, has attracted the attention of many organizations. Improving customer experience management in organizations requires that, first, their relevant capabilities be evaluated. The present study aimed to offer a set of key performance indicators for evaluating customer experience management in commercial banks.
Design/methodology/approach
The study, first, attempted to identify the components of evaluating customer experience management by reviewing the related literature and conducting interviews with experts. Then, the extracted components were transformed into assessable metrics using the goal question metric method, and the key performance indicators relevant to customer experience management in commercial banks were selected according to the experts' opinions and the Fuzzy Delphi method.
Findings
According to the findings of the study, 21 key performance indicators were identified for customer experience management in commercial banks, and customer satisfaction, the mean number of calls to resolve an issue in customer journey touchpoints, the NPS, and the ratio of the budget allocated to the CXM department to the budget of the marketing department were found as the most significant performance indicator according to banking experts.
Originality/value
The present study was among the first research projects intended to evaluate CXM and offer key performance indicators that could help the managers of commercial banks assess the maturity levels of their CXM.
Technology is primarily changing the way that consumers interact with organizations and making purchases. Growing number of organizations with eclectic array of choices has made today's industry more combative and competitive than ever before. Competition has encouraged the organizations to become more customer-centric. Building and maintaining strong base of loyal customers is often considered as the key driver for organizational growth and success. The customers having extraordinary experience with the organization and its offerings are more likely to exhibit customer loyalty. Customer experience has emerged to be the most powerful marketing tool to raise and rear customer loyalty. Now a days, organizations across the industry are concentrating on creating a encouraging customer experience for their development and growth by building customer loyalty. The study is undertaken to explore the determinants of customer experience and its impact on customer loyalty in Indian telecom Industry.
Purpose
Drawing on the knowledge-based view (KBV), the purpose of the study is to examine the impact of collaborative culture (CC) on frugal innovation (FI). It also advances insight into the pathways for stimulating distinct aspects of innovation capacity by assessing the mediating effects of knowledge management (KM) processes and the moderating role of perceived organizational support (POS).
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the data gathered from 430 participants from 80 Pakistani manufacturing and service firms, this study used structural equation modeling to evaluate hypotheses in the established research model.
Findings
The findings reveal that CC positively fosters the KM processes and different aspects of FI. The results indicated the positive direct impact of KM processes on frugal functionality (FF) and frugal cost (FC) while insignificant on the frugal ecosystem (FE). This study found partial mediation of KM processes on the relationship among CC, FF and FC, but the KM process does not mediate the relationship between CC and FE. The results also demonstrated that POS moderation enhances the impacts of CC on KM processes and FF while notably weakening the impacts of CC on FC and FE.
Research limitations/implications
To understand the crucial role of knowledge capital in companies’ innovation capability, future research should examine the mediating function of KM capability (knowledge process capability and knowledge infrastructure capability) and moderating role of environmental turbulence in the relationship between CC and different aspects of innovation capability.
Practical implications
This study significantly advances a better understanding of the relationship between CC and specific facets of innovation capacity by emphasizing the importance of driving the KM process and improving POS.
Originality/value
This study has contributed to the theoretical and practical efforts on KBV, emphasizing the critical importance of CC in fostering a conducive environment for KM processes and innovation.
The use of the traditional system is declined greatly and with a modernization of the accounting and finance process there have been a great deal of change, and these improvements are beneficial to the accounting and finance industry. Adopting Artificial Intelligence applications such as Expert systems for audit and tax, Intelligent Agents for customer service, Machine Learning for decision making, etc. can lead a great benefit by reducing errors and increasing the efficiency of the accounting and finance processes. To keep ensuring a transparent and replicable process, we have conducted a meta-analysis. The database search was between the years 1989-2020 and reviewed 150 research papers. As meta-analysis results show, the majority of researches illustrate a positive effect of the impact of AI systems in the accounting and finance process. Key points: Meta-Analysis has been applied for emphasizing positive results of the impact of Artificial Intelligence systems in the Accounting and Finance process. Implementing Artificial Intelligence systems in Accounting and Finance process can increase the efficiency of the process. Artificial Intelligence technology has been influential in all the areas of accounting, which are especially concerned with knowledge
İnovasyonun işletmelerin rekabet avantajı elde etmesini sağladığı hususunda büyük ölçüde fikir birliği vardır. İnovasyon öncülük ve yenilikçilik etkileri ile rekabet avantajı ve kalıcı değer oluşturan iki şeyden (pazarlama ve inovasyon) birisidir.
İnovasyon yaşamsal önemine karşın aynı zamanda paradoksaldır. Bu paradoksu yönetmenin anahtarı olarak örgüt kültürü vurgulanmaktadır.
Örgütlerin vizyon ve misyonlarına kültürleri rehberlik yapan ve inovasyon süreçlerini belirleyen temel unsur olan örgüt kültürü inovasyon yeteneklerinin birincil kökenidir. Örgüt kültürünün inovasyon yönelimini birçok faktör etkilemektedir. Bu çalışmanın amacı örgüt kültürünün inovasyona olan etkilerini analiz etmektir.
The ability of existing research to guide managerial decision making along a broad range of strategic orientations with which knowledge must be acquired, created, and utilised to improve organisational performance still remains an unfilled gap in the literature. Consequently, by adopting a wide range of organisational orientations that inherent knowledge‐based resources in the organisation can be applied, this paper examined the moderating effect of organisational orientation on the relationship between organisational knowledge and performance of telecommunication firms. Data were gathered using quantitative research approach. This involved the use of structured questionnaire from 230 managers and other administrative and technical employees of firms in the Global System for Mobile Communication submarket of Nigeria's telecommunications industry. The statistical analysis was subject to hierarchical multiple regression.
The lack of congruence between theory and practice in business remains a widely discussed topic. This lack of synergy is quietly and elusively becoming the Achilles' heel of contemporary scholarly business research and, by extension, of business in general. Focusing on the deviation of means and ends between business theory and practice, this book comprises thirteen chapters, which present an array of theoretical and geographical contexts, and aim to bring scholarly thinking and scientific analysis together with managerial rationale and practical applications. Presenting valuable insights and demonstrating an equalised perception of the theorisation of practice, and reversely, the practicality of theory, this innovative book signifies a new philosophy of scientific work and provides thought-provoking reading for scholars in a range of business sub-disciplines.
The UN Global Compact (UNGC) is a global voluntary initiative that aims at supporting sustainable development by creating a system of companies and stakeholders for knowledge and experience transfer. The purpose of this chapter is to analyse the corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports of Lithuanian and Italian academic institutions, which participate in the UNGC context. In the study, the authors carried out content analysis, statistical analysis and qualitative research methods to investigate 14 social responsibility reports of academic institutions submitted in the UNGC (7 institutions from Lithuania and 7 from Italia). The findings highlight Lithuanian and Italian academic institutions which have implemented the serious CSR process, albeit with some differences. Implementation of the social responsibility protocol can bridge theory and practice, and can provide valuable insights into partnerships thanks to synergies among public and private sectors as well as the community.
Sustainability and Customer Experience have been extensively developed independently in many countries by many researchers. Today, a new link is emerging between the two, yet it lacks a theoretical foundation. This chapter aims to highlight connections and gaps on which to build the new definition and framework of Sustainable Customer Experience (SCE). On the managerial side, this research is discovering that there are many initiatives applied by sustainable enterprises with the scope of stimulating a SCE. However, practitioners could understand that there are many other touch points where to improve their sustainable actions. To develop this chapter, we adopt a three-step research design: the first one is a structured literature review; the second is an analysis of twenty case studies; the third involves a customer-focused experiment.
Brand-led transformation is about leveraging the power of a corporate brand to drive fundamental change within organisations. Focused on complex service businesses, the brand serves as the starting point for a systematic process of transformation that drives change down to the level of business operations. This ensures that the principles of the promise are experienced in every interaction that the company has with its customers. Organizations typically struggle with translating brand-led customercentric strategies into tangible and specific change outcomes at the front line. This chapter melds a practitioner’s view with current theory and offers pragmatic and proven approaches to translating these strategies into a framework and a methodology that drives direct customer and company benefits with successful enterprise-wide outcomes that impact the full business. In addition, this structured approach is complemented with insight into a deeper review of the role of agents of change and their impact on implementation across the organization.
Purpose
This study aims to empirically examine knowledge management practices in China with the purpose to provide a holistic view regarding the current status of knowledge management at both national and organizational levels.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a survey method, this study collected primary data from organizations across several regions in China. The data were analyzed to detect possible relationships among institutional force, organizational culture and knowledge management process in Chinese organizations. More specifically, to what extent are these relationships moderated by national culture?
Findings
While knowledge management practices in China were partly influenced by institutional forces, most of the predicted connections between organizational culture and knowledge management were supported. In addition, the dynamic nature of national culture is predominant, that pervasively influencing knowledge management processes and thus contextualization determines how knowledge is being managed in China. Indeed, the ideologies of relationships and trust are key vehicles for knowledge management in the Chinese organizations.
Practical implications
This study comprehensively reviews existing literature to form an integrative framework, which is under explored in a Chinese context. Such initiative helps scholars and practitioners to gain a full understanding of knowledge management, in general, in the Chinese business environment in particular.
Originality/value
This paper provides a detailed and empirical insight into the knowledge management practices in Chinese organizations and suggests that knowledge management in a distinctive and yet diverse cultural context should be considered with caution.
This paper presents guidelines for developing cases and teaching notes for marketing classes in higher
education. Cases are often used in problem-based learning, where students are placed in a problem or decision-making situation and are encouraged to take the role of problem solvers. The recommendations for case writing are based on analysis of high-level examples of marketing cases, published in the most prominent global publishing databases, along with more than 15 years of experience of the authors. This paper explains the process of writing cases depending on the source of data and tackles all necessary issues that should be addressed. Writing teaching notes is focused on providing the supportive material for a case that helps a lecturer understand the reason for writing the case, the questions that might arise from it and the professional or theoretical points that should be raised in discussion.This paper should contribute to interactive learning and provide lecturers with detailed recommendations for writing cases in the marketing field.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to detail a holistic practice based guiding framework for improving customer retention, which helps companies instil a customer service culture through encouraging them to concentrate on the three key areas of culture, continuous improvement (CI) and customer service.
Design/methodology/approach
The Delphi technique, using three rounds of hour long in-depth semi-structured interviews at director level across a range of industries. This was done with nine directors, totalling over 30 hours of data requiring in excess of 200 hours to transcribe.
Findings
In order to achieve customer retention, a holistic company approach underpinned by senior management buy-in is critical, with open communication, employee empowerment, and employing “the right” personnel. The framework is viable with specific organisation input and supplementation with ongoing customer research.
Research limitations/implications
The framework has only been tested with the companies in the study, and requires testing in practice. As such, it has not covered the ability of companies to change, but has simply developed a framework to assist in identifying the areas that need to be reviewed when considering changing to focus on the customer.
Practical implications
To use this approach to customer retention requires companies to amalgamate culture, customer service and CI equally alongside customer focussed leadership, as an underpinning for the ethos of the business.
Originality/value
The Delphi technique in an in-depth systemised approach with directors revealed unanticipated and significant insights regarding the benefits of amalgamating and devoting equal weight to the three areas of culture, customer service and CI to improve quality in all these areas
The objective of this chapter is to give a deeper insight into customer knowledge management, the related processes and required soft skills. For this purpose, reference will be made to several practical research studies. This chapter will also point out why knowledge from, for and about the customer is of such high importance. When explaining the different approaches to CKM, the authors will always establish a relation between the respective approach and the degree of customer focus.
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the relationship between face-to-face social networks and knowledge sharing.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative data gathered through 25 semi-structured interviews in five manufacturing firms were collected and analysed. A grounded theory approach was used to analyse the data, which was supported through NVivo qualitative data analysis software.
Findings
The results reveal that face-to-face social networks facilitate knowledge sharing in diverse ways. These include the use of multiple communication styles, brainstorming and problem-solving, learning and teaching, training, consultations and employee rotation.
Practical implications
The findings of this research are expected to help practitioners to comprehend the big picture and scope of the steps they take to facilitate knowledge sharing in organisations. Viewing knowledge sharing from a holistic perspective can help practitioners comprehend how face-to-face knowledge sharing fits with and complements other knowledge-sharing channels, such as electronic social media and document repositories. In addition, through face-to-face social networks, practitioners can leverage work groups to increase knowledge sharing, meaning that potential cost savings and improved work practices can be achieved.
Originality/value
For researchers, three new models are developed which provide new insights into the nature of the relationship between face-to-face social networks and knowledge sharing. The first model relates to brainstorming and problem-solving, the second to knowledge levels and the direction of learning and teaching and the third to factors influencing social networks and knowledge sharing.
Brand-led transformation is about leveraging the power of a corporate brand to drive fundamental change within organisations. Focused on complex service businesses, the brand serves as the starting point for a systematic process of transformation that drives change down to the level of business operations. This ensures that the principles of the promise are experienced in every interaction that the company has with its customers. Organizations typically struggle with translating brand-led customercentric strategies into tangible and specific change outcomes at the front line. This chapter melds a practitioner's view with current theory and offers pragmatic and proven approaches to translating these strategies into a framework and a methodology that drives direct customer and company benefits with successful enterprise-wide outcomes that impact the full business. In addition, this structured approach is complemented with insight into a deeper review of the role of agents of change and their impact on implementation across the organization.
The intrinsic utility of experience witnessed real changes from the inside out, with the value of marketing communication extended by co-creating and sharing compared with personal satisfaction or loyalty. It's not simply linear correlation among experience innovation, customer satisfaction and spreading. Meanwhile experience quality functions as a coordinated intermediary. With reference to a UGC spreading mechanism analysis, this thesis proposes the different determinants that affect the marketing communications, including experience quality, perceptive value, perceptive object, behavioral habits and perceptive service. In addition, a prediction model of spreading capacity of UGC, generated from experience by fuzzy neural network, is built up. The result shows that the involvement degree, cognitive and expressive competence jointly influence marketing communications. It's not hard to figure out the medium adjusting efficacy of experience quality. Nevertheless, perceptive object and perceptive value have stronger effects. Therefore, besides designing experience innovation, enterprises should attach great importance to promoting the coverage of network among Internet users, media and enterprises themselves so as to discover the advantaged experience customers and encourage them to improve marketing communications.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) has been a much-discussed issue for many years now. If customers and customer relations are effectively managed, it can finally enhance the company’s profitability. “However, CRM for corporate clients is not just related to ‘hard’ factors”. CRM is a very complex topic. Apart from ‘hard factors’ like databases, managing customer relationships also requires ‘soft factors’ like relationship development. A successful relationship development can establish loyalty among customers, especially with a high customer lifetime value. The customer value for the company can be measured, among others, in terms of customer satisfaction and competitive edge. Creating customer satisfaction requires a shift from market to customer orientation, which means increasing the focus on the customer.
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual model for understanding the impact of organisational culture on knowledge management processes and their link with organisational performance. It is suggested that organisational culture should be assessed as a multi-level construct comprising artefacts, espoused beliefs and values and underlying assumptions. A holistic view of organisational culture and knowledge management processes, and their link with organisational performance, is presented.
Design/methodology/approach
– A comprehensive review of previous literature was undertaken in the development of the conceptual model. Taken together, the literature and the proposed model reveal possible relationships between organisational culture, knowledge management processes and organisational performance.
Findings
– Potential implications of organisational culture levels for the creation, sharing and application of knowledge are elaborated. In addition, the paper offers possible new insight into the impact of organisational culture on various knowledge management processes and their link with organisational performance.
Research limitations/implications
– A number of possible relationships between organisational culture factors, knowledge management processes and their link with organisational performance were used to examine such relationships.
Practical implications
– The research model highlights the multi-level components of organisational culture. These are: the artefacts, the espoused beliefs and values and the underlying assumptions. Through a conceptualisation of the relationships between organisational culture, knowledge management processes and organisational performance, the study provides practical guidance for practitioners during the implementation of knowledge management processes.
Originality/value
– The focus of previous research on knowledge management has been on understanding organisational culture from the limited perspective of promoting knowledge creation and sharing. This paper proposes a more comprehensive approach to understanding organisational culture in that it draws on artefacts, espoused beliefs and values and underlying assumptions, and reveals their impact on the creation, sharing and application of knowledge which can affect the overall organisational performance.
The purpose of this article is to study the influence of customer co-creation participation on customers' brand experience, brand satisfaction and brand loyalty. We apply a service logic approach in which co-creation participation refers to co-creation of customer value together with the brand, co-creation of new value with the brand and co-creation of value together with other customers within the context of the brand. The reasoning applied is that customers' co-creation with a brand - stimulating their engagement with the brand - influences brand experience, and through that, brand satisfaction and loyalty. A study among bank customers shows that co-creation participation positively influences sensory, affective, cognitive, behavioural and relational dimensions of a brand experience. However, influences of brand experience dimensions on satisfaction and loyalty are revealed to be complex as some of the dimensions influence satisfaction positively, while others have a negative influence. Furthermore, we show that the satisfaction and loyalty effects of co-creation participation are partially mediated by brand experience. Thus, there are both indirect and direct effects on satisfaction and loyalty from customers' co-creation participation. Implications point to the importance of carefully managing co-creation participation in order to gain competitive advantages. Companies should be careful about how brand experience is stimulated through co-creation because of the potential risk of negative effects on satisfaction and loyalty.
Customer relationship marketing (CRM) and total quality management (TQM) share a common principle that has become particularly important for financial institutions following the 2008 financial crisis: creating customer value to generate customer loyalty. The present study analyzes the relative influence and development levels of the component elements of TQM models on CRM strategies to improve financial institution customer’s loyalty; an issue that has special relevance in a situation of economic crisis. Data gathered by means of a survey sent out to 53 Spanish banks and savings banks shows that, while all TQM components are considered necessary in generating customer loyalty, “customer and market orientation of all business agents and activities” is seen as especially important. The results also showed that there is insufficient development in establishing “human resource management policies,” “process management geared toward continuous improvement,” and on “establishing a system to evaluate results using wide-ranging indicators.”
Customers always have an experience when they interact with a firm. The question for managers is whether the firm is prepared to systematically manage the customers' experience or simply hope for the best. The customers' overall experience - influenced by sensory and emotional clues - evokes a value perception that determines brand preference. Through experience management principles, a firm can design a composite of clues that resonate with customers and earn their loyalty.
In this article we reexamine the relationship between time and processes of institutionalization. We argue that pace and stability, two temporal dimensions of institutionalization, depend on the mechanism used by agents to support the institutionalization process. Drawing from the power literature, we develop four types of mechanisms-influence, force, discipline, and domination-and argue that (1) each type will produce a distinctive pattern of pace and stability, and (2) more complex patterns of pace and stability will result from the combined use of multiple mechanisms.
Since the introductory article for what has become known as the “service-dominant (S-D) logic of marketing,” “Evolving to
a New Dominant Logic for Marketing,” was published in the Journal of Marketing (Vargo, S. L., & Lusch, R. F. (2004a)), there
has been considerable discussion and elaboration of its specifics. This article highlights and clarifies the salient issues
associated with S-D logic and updates the original foundational premises (FPs) and adds an FP. Directions for future work
are also discussed.
KeywordsService-dominant logic-New-dominant logic-Service
Offering products or services alone isn't enough these days: Organizations must provide their customers with satisfactory experience. Competing on that dimension means orchestrating all the "clues" that people pick up in the buying process. In recent years, managers have become increasingly aware of the need to create value for their customers in the form of experiences. Unfortunately, they have often proceeded as if managing experiences simply meant providing entertainment or being engagingly creative. The issue is far more complex than that. 1 Restaurants that put photographs of movie stars on their walls and retailers that hang motorcycles from their ceilings --to give just two examples --will ultimately be disappointed in customers' responses if they fail to make such objects part of a well-conceived, comprehensive strategy of managing the customer's experience. To carry out such a strategy, companies must gain an understanding of the customer's journey --from the expectations they have before the experience occurs to the assessments they are likely to make when it's over. Using that knowledge, companies can orchestrate an integrated series of "clues" that collectively meet or exceed people's emotional needs and expectations. The internalized meaning and value the clues take on can create a deep-seated preference for a particular experience --and thus for one company's product or service over another's. An organization's first step toward managing the total customer experience is recognizing the clues it is sending to customers. Companies that sense trouble --in the form of falling customer-satisfaction scores or new competitive threats --would do well to consider undertaking the focused, comprehensive management of all the clues that give off signals to people. Fortunately, specific tools are available to help organizations with this process. And, as we'll show, some companies are using the tools of customer-experience management to create a competitive advantage that is difficult to match. Recognizing the Clues When we talk about clues, we don't mean the snippets of information or bits of physical evidence that only crime-novel detectives can find. In fact, the clues that make up a customer experience are everywhere, and they're easily discerned. Anything that can be perceived or sensed --or recognized by its absence --is an experience clue. Thus the product or service for sale gives off one set of clues, the physical setting offers more clues, and the employees --through their gestures, comments, dress and tones of voice --still more clues. Each clue carries a message, suggesting something to the customer. The composite of all the clues makes up the customer's total experience.
This paper critically addresses the coherence, reception, and dissemination of "situated learning theory" (Lave and Wenger 1991). Situated learning theory commends a conceptualization of the process of learning that, in offering an alternative to cognitive theories, departs radically from the received body of knowledge on learning in organizations. The paper shows how elements of situated learning theory have been selectively adopted to fertilize or extend the established terrain of organi-zational learning. In this process, we argue, Lave and Wenger's embryonic appreciation of power relations as media of learn-ing is displaced by a managerial preoccupation with harness-ing (reified) "communities of practice" to the fulfillment of (reified) corporate objectives. We illustrate our argument by reference to Orr's (1990, 1996) study of photocopier techni-cians, which is very widely cited as an example of the "new," situated conceptualization of learning in communities of prac-tice. We commend a revitalization of situated learning theory in which learning practices are understood to be enabled and constrained by their embeddedness in relations of power; and, more specifically, by the unstable institutionalization of power relations within capitalist work organizations.
This exploratory paper empirically studies the construct of absorptive capacity in a meaningful and substantive manner, contributing to a very important theme of dynamic capability. It also fills in a gap in the existing literature by examining the internal drivers within the firm that impact absorptive capacity, arguing that two of the dimensions of organizational culture, task-orientation and risk-orientation, are negatively related to absorptive capacity and that three other dimensions—open communication, collective rewards, and cooperative culture—positively affect absorptive capacity. Partial least squares technique is used to analyze the data, which are collected by administering a survey to 375 business unit heads/managers. The results significantly support all the hypotheses of the inner path model; however, the structural model shows small to moderate effect sizes. Several theoretical and managerial implications are identified.
We argue that power and politics provide the social energy that transforms the insights of individuals and groups into the institutions of an organization. Moreover, we propose that different forms of power in organizations are connected to specific learning processes - intuition is linked with discipline, interpretation with influence, integration with force, and institutionalization with domination - and that an examination of these different forms of power provides a basis for understanding why some insights become institutionalized while others do not.
Previous studies of communities of practice had often emphasized the ease with which members are able to participate in the collective learning process through joint practices within a particular community. However, nothing much has been done to reveal the difficulties and problems of learning between different communities due to different and sometimes conflicting identities and power inequalities. This article reports a failed experience of a tertiary institution to outsource its information technology (IT) department. By highlighting the social conflicts experienced by the in-house IT technicians in coordinating with the outsourcing staff, we argue that the received unitary, managerialist viewpoints of communities of practice somehow neglect the broader social context and micro-political factors of learning. This neglect underestimates the critical challenges of resolving the social tensions caused by multiple identities and embedded power differentials across different communities of practice.
Existing studies concerning the effects of marketing on firm performance have been conducted primarily in the areas of market‐orientation and marketing strategy studies. Recently, efforts have been made in investigating the integrated effects of these two factors on firm performance. As part of these efforts, this study employed market‐oriented culture and the marketing strategy‐making process of a firm as constituents of its marketing competence, and, based on reviews of related literature, developed the relationship between market‐oriented culture and the marketing strategy‐making process, and finally verified the suggested relationship by surveying managerial personnel from a range of firms. It was found that market‐oriented culture does not only affect firm performance directly, but does so indirectly by affecting the marketing strategy making process.
Little is known about why some supply chains perform well while others do not. Drawing on the knowledge-based view of the firm and theory from the information processing and organizational learning literatures, we devised a model linking knowledge development to cycle time in strategic supply chains-chains whose members are strategically, operationally, and technologically integrated. Using data from 58 chains in a Fortune 500 firm, we found that the knowledge development process explained substantial variance in cycle time.
Although interest in organizational learning has grown dramatically in recent years, a general theory of organizational learning has remained elusive. We identify re- newal of the overall enterprise as the underlying phenomenon of interest and organ- izational learning as a principal means to this end. With this perspective we develop a framework for the process of organizational learning, presenting organizational learning as four processes-intuiting, interpreting, integrating, and institutionaliz- ing-linking the individual, group, and organizational levels.
As a consequence of implementing revenue management systems, many service firms (e.g., airlines, hotels, car rentals) systematically overbook capacity, thus striving to maximize the revenue at one particular point in time (i.e., one flight, one night, and one day). The academic literature has not addressed how customers behaviorally respond to overbooking experiences, such as downgrading, denied service, or upgrading. In this article, the authors use the econometric technique of conditional difference-in-differences analysis to study the effect of such incidences on customer usage patterns in an airline context. They find that customers who experience negative consequences of revenue management significantly reduce the amount of their transactions with the airline, whereas upgraded customers exhibit only weak positive responses. The effects of the negative events are stronger for high-value customer groups, whereas significant effects of positive events can be found only for a low-value customer group. The results suggest the need for a stronger focus on customer reactions to revenue management practices. On a more general level, the study contributes to a more interdisciplinary view of service management by demonstrating the need for a closer interaction between management functions (e.g., marketing and operations) in developing and managing concepts of companywide importance.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of information sharing capability on buyer‐supplier relationships and firm performance. It is proposed that information sharing capability, the integration of a firm's information/decision systems and business processes with those of supply chain partners, is an antecedent of collaborative buyer‐supplier relationships, defined in terms of supply chain and relationship architecture. Further, it is proposed that these relationships positively impact a firm's market and financial performance.
Design/methodology/approach
This research uses multiple linear regression to analyze a set of survey data from the USA, Europe and New Zealand.
Findings
Results demonstrate positive relationships between information sharing capability and buyer‐supplier relationships, and between relationships and performance.
Research limitations/implications
Information sharing capability and buyer‐supplier relationships are complex, multi dimensional constructs. While this research highlights their role in driving performance, further study is required to more fully capture their impact and to understand the implications for situational factors such as industry sector and transaction type.
Practical implications
Results from the study provide academics and policymakers with insights into key information sharing constructs related to the development of buyer‐supplier relationships. These provide guidance in developing the infrastructure to support such relationships.
Originality/value
This study adds to the extant literature by examining the dimensions of information sharing related to buyer‐supplier relationships and performance.
In this paper we present a study of the structure of three lead firm‐network relationships at two points in time. Using data on companies in the packaging machine industry, we study the process of vertical disintegration and focus on the ability to coordinate competencies and combine knowledge across corporate boundaries. We argue that the capability to interact with other companies—which we call relational capability—accelerates the lead firm’s knowledge access and transfer with relevant effects on company growth and innovativeness. This study provides evidence that interfirm networks can be shaped and deliberately designed: over time managers develop a specialized supplier network and build a narrower and more competitive set of core competencies. The ability to integrate knowledge residing both inside and outside the firm’s boundaries emerges as a distinctive organizational capability. Our main goal is to contribute to the current discussion of cooperative ties and dynamic aspects of interfirm networks, adding new dimensions to resource‐based and knowledge‐based interpretations of company performance. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
How Honeywell Process Solutions was able to achieve unprecedented growth and regain leadership In the market. The foundation of this success was widespread and orches-trated cultural change that cultivated a dozen common behaviors that were rooted In five corporate initiatives.
Although customer satisfaction practices have garnered attention for decades, they are losing effectiveness for companies and their customers. Pointing to the case of Volvo Cars, the author argues that companies expend too much effort fixing what has "gone wrong" and too little developing what will "go right," too much time measuring quality and too little focusing on the customer's actual experience.
Customer satisfaction and loyalty has received much attention over the past 10-15 years, and because of our current economic forces, that's not likely to change anytime soon. Despite a wide variety of tools and approaches, from Customer Satisfaction Measurement (CSM) to Customer Relationship Management (CRM), many companies have come up short when it comes to really satisfying and retaining customers over time. This is a case study about one company's experience as it faced that same challenge. After spending a great deal of time and effort to better understand the satisfiers and behaviors of their customers, they found they still weren't getting the results they wanted. That changed considerably when they launched a customer-supplier workout process that went far beyond the metrics and data and helped them get to die heart of building customer loyalty. Specifically, that workout process was a closely facilitated meeting where the customer and supplier teams jointly identified, examined and committed to specific improvements around common interests, concerns and opportunities. This paper gives an overview of the steps leading up to that workout process, what made it unique, the learnings and results that ensued, and how the company created buy-in, both internally and with the external customers.
This article shares a very adaptable model for achieving a high-performance culture. Using specific examples, the author demonstrates how to build a high-performance culture based on four components: a collaborative environment, accountability, focus, and robust processes. Success and bottom-line results can be achieved by aligning an organization along these four factors.
Zahra and George (2002) suggested a reconceptualization of the absorptive capacity construct in order to reduce ambiguity in empirical studies. A rereading of the seminal Cohen and Levinthal (1990) article in light of current research on learning and innovation directs our attention to serious ambiguities and omissions in Zahra and George's reconceptualization. We suggest a reintroduction of "recognizing the value," an alternative understanding of "transformation," a clarification of "potential absorptive capacity," an elaboration of the impact of socialization mechanisms, an investigation of the role of "power relationships," and an inclusion of feedback loops in a dynamic model of absorptive capacity.
Cultural variations across nations and organizational culture-based differences between organizations that are involved in the transfer of various kinds of technologies are considered two major factors that influence the success of transfer. Relevant contributions from cross-cultural studies on management and organizations are integrated into the literature on organizational culture and diffusion of innovations, and a conceptual model is developed. Implications for research in international and comparative management are discussed.
We extended past research on the display of positive emotions within customer service settings by focusing on customer traits. Adopting an emotional contagion perspective, we found that customer traits relate to the display of positive emotions by the service provider. This display of positive emotions was also found to relate to customer satisfaction. Implications for emotion management and service personnel training are discussed.
Although it has frequently been argued that the job satisfaction of a company’s employees is an important driver of customer satisfaction, systematic research exploring this link is scarce. The present study investigates this relationship for salespeople in a business-to-business context. The theoretical justification for a positive impact of salespeople’s job satisfaction on customer satisfaction is based on the concept of emotional contagion. The analysis is based on a dyadic data set that involves judgments provided by salespeople and their customers collected across multiple manufacturing and services industries. Results indicate the presence of a positive relationship between salespeople’s job satisfaction and customer satisfaction. Furthermore, the relationship between salespeople’s job satisfaction and customer satisfaction is found to be particularly strong in the case of high frequency of customer interaction, high intensity of customer integration into the value-creating process, and high product/service innovativeness.
Prior research has largely focused on the positive side of customer experience, such as satisfaction. In contrast, this study investigates the negative side of customer experience and tests the harmful impact of consumer negative voice on firms’ stock returns. Based on a longitudinal real-world data set that matches consumer negative voice (complaint records) in the airline industry with firm stock prices, this article finds that higher levels of current consumer negative voice harm firms’ future idiosyncratic stock returns. In addition, this harmful impact is robust (albeit different across airline companies) after latent heterogeneity and traditional finance fundamentals are considered. These findings enable marketers and corporate financers to be more confident with customer equity theory and customer relationship management. In addition, armed with “hard” data (record-based, longitudinal), this research helps relieve criticisms against prior studies that are based on “soft” data (survey-based, cross-sectional). To financial analysts, this research suggests that, all else being equal, they should rate downward the stocks of firms that are shadowed by harmful consumer negative voice. In today’s high-tech environment with blogs and online forums, the damage caused by negative voice may be nontrivial and should not be ignored. Overall, this research demonstrates to managers that investments in reducing consumer negative voice could indeed make financial sense in terms of promoting firm-idiosyncratic stock returns.
In commenting on the art-versus-commerce theme, Bradshaw, McDonagh, and Marshall refer to its treatment in jazz-related films as “hackneyed” and “pedestrian.” In its place, they recommend various alternative perspectives—especially those devoted to empirical studies of everyday working musicians. But, in this, they obscure the tragic aspects of a great artist’s fall to lowly stature and remain insensitive to the blow that such a calamity strikes at the foundations of macromarketing. Here, in relation to the art-versus-commerce theme, it appears that insights from macromarketing can illuminate our understanding of a cinemusical text via the close reading of seemingly trivial but nonetheless significant textual details, as illustrated by the interpretive analysis of a single note from Duke Ellington’s score for Paris Blues (1961).
It has been little more than a decade since this journal published the first recorded paper on the employer brand concept, first originated by Simon Barrow and first researched in partnership with Tim Ambler of the London Business School. In light of the subsequent evolution in employer brand management practice, the aim of this paper is to present a re-appraisal of the concept in terms of its potential contribution to brand-led culture change and customer experience management. The ultimate aim of brand management has always been to deliver a consistent and distinctive customer experience, but this task has been particularly difficult for service brands due to the greater complexity involved in managing service brand experience. Despite the evidence that personal interactions are generally more important in driving customer service satisfaction, there has been a tendency for service companies to focus more of their attention on the functional/operational factors involved in service delivery. Successful service companies stress the role of organisational culture in promoting on-brand customer service behaviours, but the mechanisms for shaping an on-brand culture (such as internal marketing and internal branding) have typically relied too heavily on communications-led approaches to sustain a lasting effect. The discipline of employer brand management takes a more holistic approach to shaping the culture of the organisation, by seeking to ensure that every people management touch-point is aligned with the brand ethos of the organisation. In providing a robust mechanism for aligning employees' brand experience with the desired customer brand experience, and a common platform for marketing and HR, employer brand management represents a significant evolution in the quest for corporate brand integrity.
This paper considers the importance of employees in the process of building customer experience. The paper states that internal investment is rewarded with consistent, quality customer exchanges. Emphasis is first placed on the positioning of brand management within an organisation, and its linkage to strategy. Secondly, the tools of identity and guiding principles are introduced. These tools are used to activate staff by inviting their engagement and by asking them to review the brand from a personal perspective. Identity encourages employees to interpret corporate identity and apply it to their unique situation and skill set. Guiding principles serve as a platform to nurture desired behaviours in the organisation. Together, these two tools better prepare staff to respond to customers. Brand values are presented as the currency to measure the worth of exchanges between organisations and their customers. The paper concludes by presenting a case study of the mobile operator, Orange, during the period 1994–2003.
Survival in today's economic climate and competitive retail environment requires more than just low prices and innovative products. To compete effectively, businesses must focus on the customer's shopping experience. To manage a customer's experience, retailers should understand what “customer experience” actually means. Customer experience includes every point of contact at which the customer interacts with the business, product, or service. Customer experience management represents a business strategy designed to manage the customer experience. It represents a strategy that results in a win–win value exchange between the retailer and its customers. This paper focuses on the role of macro factors in the retail environment and how they can shape customer experiences and behaviors. Several ways (e.g., promotion, price, merchandise, supply chain and location) to deliver a superior customer experience are identified which should result in higher customer satisfaction, more frequent shopping visits, larger wallet shares, and higher profits.
Effective supply chain practice and information sharing enhances the current supply chain management environment. The purpose of this study is to investigate the integration of information sharing and supply chain practice in supply chain management. Data from 125 North American manufacturing firms were collected. The results show that (1) effective information sharing significantly enhances effective supply chain practice; (2) supply chain dynamism has significant positive influence on effective information sharing as well as effective supply chain practice. Supply chain dynamism has more influence on information sharing than supply chain practice; (3) and effective supply chain practice becomes more important when the level of information sharing increases. The findings show that both effective information sharing and effective supply chain practice are critical in achieving good supply chain performance.
Dissatisfied customers may express their dissatisfaction behaviorally. These behavioral responses may impact the firms' profitability. How do we model the impact of emotions on satisfaction and subsequent customer behaviors? There are essentially two approaches: the valence-based approach and the specific emotions approach. The authors indicate theoretically and show empirically that it matters to distinguish these approaches in services research. Dissatisfaction and the specific emotions disappointment and regret were assessed and their influence on customers' behavioral responses (complaining, switching, word-of-mouth, and customer inertia) was examined, using a sample of over 900 customers. It was found that emotions have a direct impact on behavior, over and above the effects of dissatisfaction. Hence, the authors argue against incorporating emotions such as regret and disappointment into a general (dis)satisfaction measure (i.e., the valence-based approach), and in favor of a specific emotions approach to customer dissatisfaction. Implications for services marketing practice and theory are discussed.
In this paper we present a study of the structure of three lead firm-network relationships at two points in time. Using data on companies in the packaging machine industry, we study the process of vertical disintegration and focus on the ability to coordinate competencies and combine knowledge across corporate boundaries. We argue that the capability to interact with other companies—which we call relational capability—accelerates the lead firm's knowledge access and transfer with relevant effects on company growth and innovativeness. This study provides evidence that interfirm networks can be shaped and deliberately designed: over time managers develop a specialized supplier network and build a narrower and more competitive set of core competencies. The ability to integrate knowledge residing both inside and outside the firm's boundaries emerges as a distinctive organizational capability. Our main goal is to contribute to the current discussion of cooperative ties and dynamic aspects of interfirm networks, adding new dimensions to resource-based and knowledge-based interpretations of company performance. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The dynamic capabilities framework analyzes the sources and methods of wealth creation and capture by private enterprise firms operating in environments of rapid technological change. The competitive advantage of firms is seen as resting on distinctive processes (ways of coordinating and combining), shaped by the firm's (specific) asset positions (such as the firm's portfolio of difftcult-to- trade knowledge assets and complementary assets), and the evolution path(s) it has aflopted or inherited. The importance of path dependencies is amplified where conditions of increasing retums exist. Whether and how a firm's competitive advantage is eroded depends on the stability of market demand, and the ease of replicability (expanding intemally) and imitatability (replication by competitors). If correct, the framework suggests that private wealth creation in regimes of rapid technological change depends in large measure on honing intemal technological, organizational, and managerial processes inside the firm. In short, identifying new opportunities and organizing effectively and efficiently to embrace them are generally more fundamental to private wealth creation than is strategizing, if by strategizing one means engaging in business conduct that keeps competitors off balance, raises rival's costs, and excludes new entrants. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
To a growing number of companies, knowledge management is more than just a buzzword or a sales pitch, it is an approach to adding or creating value by more actively leveraging the know-how, experience, and judgement resident within and, in many cases, outside of an organization. Based primarily upon the results of a study of 431 U.S. and European organizations, this article describes what firms are actually doing to manage knowledge, what else they think they could be or should be doing, and what they feel are the greatest barriers they face in their efforts.
Examines the importance of the marketing culture of a service firm
by pinpointing the strength of its association with marketing
effectiveness. First, collects data to validate and purify a measure of
marketing effectiveness. Second, undertakes a procedure to discover the
nature of the relationship between the kind of marketing culture a firm
has and its marketing effectiveness. The findings reveal a strong
relationship between these two constructs even when the possible effects
of firm size and geographical scope are removed.
Purpose
This paper aims to critically assess the conceptual validity of customer experience as a construct and propose a model which integrates inter‐personal relationships, service quality and brands.
Design/methodology/approach
A critical review of literature is structured around the key components of brands, relationships, quality, emotions and perceptions, viewed from a consumer's perspective.
Findings
Paradoxes in use of the term customer experience are noted. As a verb, experience describes a process of learning, leading to learned response, but as a noun emphasises novelty and the lack of predictable, learned response. By incorporating emotions and perceptual distortion over time, customer experience overcomes many problems associated with static, partial measures of service quality.
Research limitations/implications
Academic coverage of the subject of customer experience remains fragmented. Approaches to its measurement are suggested and their limitations noted. The multi‐dimensional, situation‐specific nature of customer experience favours qualitative rather than quantitative measurement approaches.
Practical implications
The unique nature of customer experience, which is specific to a customer, at a specific time and location, in the context of a specific event, limits its managerial usefulness for planning and control purposes. Many companies have seen customer experience management (CEM) as a successor to customer relationship management (CRM). However, issues of inter‐functional integration become an even greater challenge.
Originality/value
This paper has provided a critical review of an emerging topic and suggested that despite academic interest in the concept, practical application of customer experience management may be difficult to achieve.
This paper examines the role of technological capability in product innovation. Building on the absorptive capacity perspective and organizational inertia theory, the authors propose that technological capability has curvilinear and differential effects on exploitative and explorative innovations. The findings support the proposition that though technological capability fosters exploitation at an accelerating rate, it has an inverted U-shaped relationship with exploration. That is, a high level of technological capability impedes explorative innovation. Strategic flexibility strengthens the positive effects of technological capability on exploration, such that when strategic flexibility is high, greater technological capability is associated with more
explorative innovation.
Considerable similarities can be found between some of the problems that arise in the practice of marketing and those encountered in the study of history. The author describes the four stages of the historical investigation process and explains the techniques historians use in working with various types of evidence. He gives examples of how these techniques can be applied in marketing practice, arguing that they can be a valuable supplement to the application of scientific method.
Purpose
– This paper aims to impart how Acquisition Solutions, Inc. is moving knowledge management “from concept to theory to practice” through an ability to connect, collect, and collaborate at all levels “as part of the way we do business”. It demonstrates how the void that exists between the theories about “knowledge management” and the delivery of clear and specific knowledge management practices that “deliver on the promise of KM” is filled.
Design/methodology/approach
– The authors provide brief company context and the knowledge challenges faced in considering future evolution and growth, such as improving the ability to leverage the hidden value of corporate knowledge in business development and new solution creation, strengthening the ability to learn from past challenges and successes in strategic decision making and client solution delivery, and creating value from knowledge, experience, and insight held by both employees and clients. The authors discuss a Knowledge Convergence© strategy, implementing framework and model and how to integrate these into consulting operations – employing an Applied Innovation Model© to continually improve solution delivery by integrating communities of practice, attention to business practice methodologies, and the development of competencies in the workforce.
Findings
– The paper presents ten learnings, including the fundamental understandings that “it is not about knowledge management, it's about knowledge leadership” as well as “capture and reuse must be part of business operations and not something extra”.
Originality/value
– This paper is written for practitioners who are focused on performing and learning to improve the performance of individuals, teams, and organizations.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review the organisational change processes in an academic library in the context of change management theory.
Design/methodology/approach
The process of achieving organisational change in La Trobe University Library, a medium‐sized Australian academic library is examined. The focus is the library's experience of effecting wide reaching changes in interconnected areas of organisational structure, client services delivery and the physical service environment and facilities. The drivers for undertaking change in service delivery are outlined and the changes that have been implemented are discussed. The practical experience of achieving change is examined using the framework of key change management theory and expert advice.
Findings
La Trobe University Library has been a leader in innovative service delivery and an early adopter of technologies to improve services; however it had not previously experienced significant organisational change. The library initiated a number of strategies to address resistance to the changes, achieving some success. Workshops for staff to better understand and cope with change were introduced. Extensive consultation and communication with staff was undertaken; finding the balance between perceived inadequate communication with staff and communication overload was a challenge. People are the key factor to success in any organisational change and the library's experiences confirmed the need to attend to the people element in any change process. Planning and leadership were core elements to achieving successful change.
Originality/value
The paper provides a useful comparison between management theory and expert advice on organisational change and the practical experience of a library.
Purpose – This case aims to demonstrate how leading firms are learning how to sustain competitive advantage by co-creating experiences of value with customers. Design/methodology/approach – The shoe company Nike provides a glimpse of the next “best practices” of value co-creation with customers. By engaging with informed, connected, and networked customers around the globe, Nike has found their shared experiences to be a new source of value. Findings – The paper finds that customers are now informed, connected, networked, and empowered on a scale as never before, thanks to search engines, engagement platforms, the growth of internet-based interest groups, and widespread high-bandwidth communication and social interaction technologies. Customers have learned how to use these new tools to make their opinions and ideas heard. Practical implications – A few leading companies like Nike are involving customers in the value creation process by offering Internet sites where they can share their interactions and experiences. These range from customers' ideas about how to improve or customize products to their feelings when they use products.). For Nike, the learning from these interactions creates new strategic capital. The company can now learn directly from customers' direct input on their preferences. Nike can build relationships and trust with the Nike+ community and experiment with new offerings, all the while enhancing its brand. Originality/value – The strategic opportunity for Nike is to build and promote the use of Internet engagement platforms through which the firm can build customer relationships on a scale and scope as never before. Effectively managing these new initiatives initially posed a new challenge for Nike, a traditionally product-centric organization. Now their viewpoint is reversed. “In the past the product was the end point of the consumer experience. Now it is the starting point.”
Purpose
A successful supply chain should ensure that all participating members benefit from the marketplace. To achieve this goal, the supply chain members need to improve their competences all the time, which requires a continuous learning process. Thus, mutual learning, through knowledge sharing between the different members, is a necessary approach to increase the competence of supply chain partners. To realise efficient and effective knowledge sharing in a supply chain, this paper aims to explore and formulate a model that supports an enterprise with its management of the supply chain members' knowledge resource sharing (herein referred to as “advanced practice” and includes two levels of knowledge – strategic and operational). The model is based on the theories of supply chain management (SCM) and case‐based reasoning (CBR).
Design/methodology/approach
This research follows a conductive and inductive cycle. Firstly, based on the learning expounded through an extensive literature survey regarding SCM and CBR, as well as available empirical applications, the conceptual model is designed. Then the primary stage evaluation will be discussed regarding the feasibility and refinement of the model towards its maturity.
Findings
To share knowledge along the supply chain is theoretically sound, but a difficult task to realise in practice, due to the complexity of knowledge sharing between the different organizations.
Research limitations/implications
This research explores one of the important topics in SCM – knowledge sharing within a supply chain, and the model also extends and explores a new tool for this knowledge‐sharing process by applying CBR methodology.
Practical implications
The designed model in this research will provide a practice‐oriented vehicle allowing the supply chain members to share and apply their knowledge.
Originality/value
This research applies CBR in the domain of SCM, it both enriches the available approaches to supply chain performance enhancement and enlarges the application domains of CBR methodology.
One hundred and seventy-nine heads of sales or direct marketing departments in large UK companies across five industry sectors completed mail questionnaires concerning the knowledge management (KM) practices employed by their firms. The extents of the KM systems operating within sample enterprises were analysed with respect to each company’s use of teamwork, level of bureaucracy and centralisation of decision making, innovativeness, and ability to cope with change. Respondents’ views on the contributions of KM to marketing management were also examined.