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Adjusting customer journey mapping for application in industrial product-service systems
... Os desafios enfrentados nas áreas de vendas são amplamente discutidos nos artigos de Cherian et al. (2020), Rodríguez et al. (2020) e West et al. (2020). Cherian et al. (2020) exploram a implementação da digitalização do processo de vendas (e-procurement) nas indústrias de cimento na Índia. ...
... Por outro lado, West et al. (2020) A literatura apresentada demonstra que o mapeamento dos processos comerciais, em especial o processo de venda, é aplicável a diversos segmentos e beneficia tanto os processos internos quanto a experiência do cliente. Neste sentido, existem diferentes métodos e notações para modelar os fluxos da empresa, entre eles a Cadeia de valor, Macroprocessos, BPMN e a Metodologia DOMP (Documentação, Organização e Melhoria de Processos), que serão descritos nos itens subsequentes. ...
... "bpr", "business process reengineering", "sop", "sales and operations planning", "eprocurement" e "re-engineering"; (ii) busca pelo título, resumo ou palavras-chave contendo: "industry", "industrial", "sales", "commercial" e "client"; (iii) todos os campos devem conter as duas expressões: "sales process" e "case". Após análise dos resultados, foram selecionados sete artigos diretamente relacionados ao tema de pesquisa, servindo como embasamento teórico (Kamarulzaman e Eglese, 2013;Fu et al., 2019;Cherian et al., 2020;Rodríguez et al., 2020;West et al., 2020;Masudin et al., 2021;Seeling et al., 2021 Processos que envolvem as áreas jurídicas, contábil e financeira. ...
A competitividade no meio empresarial tem estimulado as empresas a melhorarem seus processos internos a fim de obter maior satisfação dos clientes e colaboradores, a exemplo dos processos comerciais de indústria de base. Neste contexto, este estudo tem como objetivo analisar a aplicação da modelagem de processos como ferramenta na busca por melhoria contínua e satisfação dos clientes. Deste modo, foi utilizada como estudo de caso uma multinacional produtora de aço que busca aprimorar seu processo de venda, implementando uma ferramenta chamada ‘Portal do Cliente’. Para isso, foram elaboradas modelagens dos processos usando a metodologia Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN), assim como entrevistas com os colaboradores, a fim de entender os impactos do ‘Portal do Cliente’ na rotina de trabalho da equipe. Com isso, foi demonstrado como a modelagem de processos é uma ferramenta importante na busca por melhoria contínua, auxiliando na visualização do processo de negócio, na identificação de oportunidades, nas relações entre as atividades e na definição dos responsáveis. Além disso, o caso estudado evidenciou desafios e oportunidades da gestão de mudança que podem auxiliar os gestores na melhoria de processos, em especial a resistência dos colaboradores que não participaram do processo de implementação da ferramenta.
... business associates (Müller Csernetzky et al., 2020;Walker, 2018). It has been observed that a restaurant providing only quality food might not be attractive to customers and might not be able to retain them in the long run (Parsa et al., 2005). ...
The restaurant business is very competitive, such that managers must identify appropriate components of their restaurant attributes to better satisfy the needs and wants of their customers. Studies have long investigated restaurant attributes but treated such attributes using a common factor analysis technique; these should be analyzed as components. This paper aims to demonstrate how researchers can conduct a mixed-methods study to investigate the effects of restaurant attributes on customer behaviors and how a component-based analysis method is used. A sequential unequal research design was undertaken, including three steps: (1) identifying a set of restaurant attributes from the restaurant literature (Step-1), (2) conducting a field study to propose a refined set of restaurant attributes that fit with the context of the study (Step-2), and (3) collecting survey data for further analysis with the Generalized Structured Component Analysis (GSCA) technique (Step-3). The results of Step-1 revealed 10 restaurant attributes entailing many components. The results of Step-2 revealed only seven attributes (food, price, services, atmosphere, facilities, cleanliness, and location), entailing different sets of components specific to each attribute. In Step-3, a conceptual model was developed, including three constructs treated as components: satisfaction (encapsulated all seven restaurant attributes), trust, and behavioral intentions. The results of Step-3 indicated that satisfaction was found to influence trust, while satisfaction and trust were found to influence behavioral intentions. In addition, the indirect effect of satisfaction on behavioral intentions through trust was indicated as only a partial mediator. Overall discussions suggest further studies that may adapt various methods to improve research quality. Thus, this paper offers a specific procedure for researchers who desire to conduct a mixed-methods research design through the context of the restaurant business and for those interested in using GSCA. Demonstrating the research processes employed is the primary contribution of this paper. This may be helpful for novices interested in replicating our steps in their specific study context.
... Journey mapping can be used as a tool to identify value co-creation opportunities as it describes the journey of customers visually, clearly showing their touchpoints and actor interrelationships (Lemon & Verhoef, 2016). Journey mapping in combination with personas can provide a deeper understanding of value co-creation opportunities by identifying the actors involved along the lifecycle, along with the resource and knowledge that they may possess (West et al., 2020). This can then be used to support the value co-creation process by integrating contextual information to help build understanding and knowledge (Pirola et al., 2014). ...
This book chapter describes a conceptual framework that can support the identification of value co-creation within the context of digitally-enabled Product-Service Systems (PSS). The framework was developed based on the understanding of how and where value co-creation takes place along the first two phases of the product lifecycle. It does this by understanding how and where co-creation occurs, and it also considers the translation of data into information that can become knowledge within the context of the digitally-enabled PSS. The framework glues the different aspects together with an underlying orchestration and governance that focusses on supporting value co-creation based on the integration of information with data. The starting assumption is that the framework could be applied to existing PSS with their underlying value propositions and business models.
... Journey mapping can be used as a tool to identify value co-creation opportunities as it describes the journey Terzi et al., 2010;Wuest et al., 2016) of customers visually, clearly showing their touchpoints and actor interrelationships (Lemon & Verhoef, 2016). Journey mapping in combination with personas can provide a deeper understanding of value co-creation opportunities by identifying the actors involved along the lifecycle, along with the resource and knowledge that they may possess (West et al., 2020). This can then be used to support the value co-creation process by integrating contextual information to help build understanding and knowledge (Pirola et al., 2014). ...
Artificial intelligence is becoming a pervasive technology and companies are increasingly urged to adopt and implement it in order to thrive and innovate. While much has been researched on the role AI can play in B2C settings, a research gap exists when it comes to B2B which is characterised by higher complexity, increasing number of players, and larger volumes of data. In such a context, an emerging issue deals with the possibility to understand how companies can leverage AI to aptly manage the customer journey. This aspect touches on many organizational activities, so managers must be aware of existing solutions, process implications, and potential outcomes. This paper presents an empirical study of 61 Indian B2B companies and provides an input-process-output framework to help managers understand and profit from AI solutions while effectively managing the customer journey. We add value to literature on using AI to improve the customer journey in B2B settings. The developed IPO model can be used as a roadmap for introducing AI in managing customer journeys as well as a strategic instrument for organisational change and design.
Customer experience is defined as the customer's perceived overall quality of all interactions and relationships that the customer has with a company's products and services. Business leaders have increasingly begun to attach importance to the role of customer experience in helping companies gain competitive advantage. Also, the advantages and disadvantages of digitalization affect the customer experience process. In this respect, companies and brands that try to offer a unique experience for their customers need to prioritize the customer experience. So, in this chapter, the contributions of digitalization to customer experience are investigated. First, the theoretical infrastructure of customer experience and the creation of customer experience are examined. Afterward, customer journey and customer experience are discussed and customer experience, touchpoints, and mapping of the customer journey are discussed. After that, digitalization and customer experience, and the creation of the digital customer experience have been examined and the conclusion has been reached.
La transformación digital acelerada de las empresas, el comportamiento cambiante del consumidor local y los planes de mercadotecnia directa y digitales tuvieron que transformarse durante la pandemia. Esto obligó a las empresas a replantear su estrategia de mercadotecnia para continuar siendo efectivas y mantener o atraer a sus clientes. Sin importar el tamaño de la empresa, el producto o la industria a la que pertenecen, muchas de estas no se ocuparon de trazar el camino real que recorren sus clientes para llegar a su puerta. El objetivo de esta investigación es identificar si el mapeo del customer journey aplicado en organizaciones globales es conocido y reconocido en las empresas en México como herramienta clave de la estrategia de mercadotecnia. Se realiza una revisión de la teoría disponible y una investigación cuantitativa en la población activa en puestos de marketing de empresas en México. Los resultados mostraron que 46 % no conoce el customer journey de su cliente actual o lo conocen más o menos, y que 83 % de los encuestados está interesado en aprender a mapearlo para realizar estrategias y tácticas de mercadotecnia más precisas, innovadoras y centradas en el cliente.
In this chapter we tell you about the methods and tools that have helped many people overcome the barriers to servitization and achieve service excellence. Some of these methods and tools may be new to you, and some we hope you will be familiar with. There are many other aids that are available, and we are sure you have some tools that your firm uses. Our objective was not to tell you what to use but rather to provide you with a set of equipment that can help you achieve what is important for you. The tools are listed from A to Z and categorized into different groups to help you to identify when you might want to use a particular tool. We have not provided detailed instructions on how to use each tool, as there are more than enough other books that can help you here, but rather provided a list of what we think are most useful. You will find many similar templates at https://www.mural.co/ that are easy to use and share with colleagues.
This open access book is an outcome of several years of research, practice, and teaching experience of the authors on the challenges that underpin the successful switch to services for manufacturing firms. Ideal for a student as well as a practitioner, the book describes the industrial services ecosystem, the barriers and challenges, and a roadmap for building service excellence. Curated cases are used to describe the current approaches in practice to overcome the barriers. The book also provides several tools, each with a short introduction, that the authors have used successfully in projects to help overcome the servitization barriers. Many of these tools are from management, design thinking, or service design. The service excellence roadmap is based on the development methodology and helps current and future business leaders to create their own individual roadmaps.
Individualization is considered a megatrend in postmodern societies. The markets react with the individualization of products. However, many approaches fail after considerable sums have already been invested. Therefore, this paper presents a benefit-oriented method to identify potentials for the personalization of products. It first accompanies the product through its life cycle (product journey) in order to identify various users and then these users on their user journey in order to observe the product experience. From these observations, a set of ideas for personalization is derived, which together with the associated benefits represent the personalization potential. The method has successfully been tested by individuals and teams in face-to-face workshops and online events using scenarios from the mobility, construction and service sectors. The learning effort is low. The personnel input per analysis amounts to approx. 150 h. The method is to be further evaluated using concrete use cases in industrial practice.
Design thinking has attracted considerable interest from practitioners and academics alike, as it offers a novel approach to innovation and problem solving. However, there appear to be substantial differences between promoters and critics about its essential attributes, applicability and outcomes. To shed light on current knowledge and conceptualizations of design thinking we undertook a multi‐phase study. First, a systematic review of the design thinking literature enabled us to identify 10 principal attributes and eight tools and methods. To validate and refine our findings, we then employed a card sorting exercise with professional designers. Finally, we undertook a cluster analysis to reveal structural patterns within the design thinking literature. Our research makes three principal contributions to design and innovation management theory and practice. First, in rigorously deriving 10 attributes and eight essential tools and methods that support them from a broad and multidisciplinary assortment of articles, we bring much needed clarity and validity to a construct plagued by polysemy and thus threatened by “construct collapse.” Second, aided by the identification of perspectives of scholars writing about design thinking, we provide detailed recommendations for relevant topics warranting further study in order to advance theoretical understanding of design thinking and test its applications. Third, we identify the enduring, yet essential, questions that remain unresolved across the extant design thinking literature and that may impede its practical implementation. We also provide suggestions for the theoretic frames, which may help address them, and thus advance the ability of scholars and managers alike to benefit from design thinking's apparent advantages.
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This paper examines the concept and implementation of a map as a knowledge base. A map as a knowledge base means that the visual map is not only the descriptive compilation of data and design principles, but also involves a compilation of semantic propositions and logical predicates that create a body of knowledge organized as a map. The digital product of a map as knowledge base can be interpreted by machines, as well as humans, and can provide access to the knowledge base through interfaces to select features and other information from the map. The design of maps as a knowledge base involves technical approaches and a system architecture to support a knowledge base. This paper clarifies how a map as a knowledge base differs from earlier map theory models by investigating the knowledge-based concepts of implementation through logical modelling, a knowledge repository, user interfaces for information access, and cartographic visualization. The paper ends with proof of concepts for two types of cartographic data query.
In today’s competitive global markets, simply making a great product is not enough. To achieve profitable growth and stand out among competitors, you must start to strategically compete through service and innovative solutions for business customers.
Professors Christian Kowalkowski and Wolfgang Ulaga show you how to shift your business from a goods-centric model to a service-savvy one—and grow your company in today’s extremely competitive environment. Their proprietary twelve-step roadmap to profitable service growth is based on rigorous research and long-standing experience. They have worked with hundreds of managers in industrial and professional services companies, conducted multiple research projects, led practitioner workshops, and published numerous articles in scientific and managerial journals, including Harvard Business Review, among others. Here, they share not only their own insights but the lessons learned from successful case studies and years of extensive research.
www.ServiceStrategyInAction.com
The motivation for this work stems from the recommendations of West & Pascual (2015) in their paper " The use of equipment life-cycle analysis to identify new service opportunities " where they state it is important to test the model for the quantitative use of captured data in a marketing sense. This model (Figure 1), based on a total cost of ownership approach for a product service system, was considered a potential basis for a strategic marketing tool when combined with the installed base of equipment and its operational regime. In this paper, the model is combined with the installed base data of the equipment. The findings from the model usage support the manufacturer's strategic market understanding. Figure 1: Idealised cradle-to-grave lifecycle showing costs, operational hours and individual value propositions The aim of the work was to discover if it was possible with limited additional data: • to model aftersales market value sizes; • to measure customer loyalty or faithfulness; • to understand the possibility of CRM integration to support sales budgeting; • to identify trigger points for the sale team. The expectation was to provide quantitative data allowing firms to better understand their service markets and to become more proactive in their approach to providing aftersales services to owners and operators of equipment. Understanding how their customers use the equipment over the whole lifecycle should provide competitive advantage. The understanding gained with the cradle-to-grave lifecycle model could allow OEMs to use their CRM system more efficiently by knowing when which data is required. The OEM can then start to use the information, which results in true market potential intelligence. CONTRIBUTION TO THEORY AND PRACTICE Often when new equipment is bought the buyer expects the supplier to provide an estimate of the operation and maintenance costs for the operational life of the equipment. Many manufacturers are unable to provide this basic information; the same information is required when a firm wishes to provide a long-term service agreement on the equipment. The methodology applied focused on the development, application and testing of the model in different industrial markets: medical technology and process industries. A generic total cost of ownership model was often difficult to create, due to Service Innovation | Dr Shaun West Lessons learnt Integration of the cradle-to-grave equipment life-cycle with the customer value proposition Other extensions to the methodology:-Estimated total market value-Share of spend (faithfulness)-Forecast sales with timing of owner's spend-Identify trigger points for conversion, modifications and upgrades-Combine with customer journey mapping-Business model mapping …can a visual methodology be developed to understand how owners use their equipment and how owners/operators can best be supported?
The topic of servitization has generated a considerable body of research and many conferences, as well as industry engagement. Yet, despite the extensive literature associated with this now-mature discipline, there is no broad-based consensus on the core concepts and definitions deployed by servitization scholars, and both terminology and usage often seem ambiguous. This paper examines challenges related to service growth strategies, as well as strategies involving deservitization or a retreat from service offers. Showing that these strategies have been pursued for more than fifty years, clarification is sought here by framing the corresponding processes and proposing definitions for four core terms: servitization, service infusion, deservitization and service dilution. It becomes clear that in focusing on the organizational change entailed by these processes, future research must elucidate “softer” issues such as leadership and business logic.
Research Methods for Operations Management, second edition is a toolkit of research approaches primarily for advanced students and beginner researchers but also a reference book for any researcher in OM. Many students begin their career in research limited by the one or few approaches taken by their department. The concise, accessible overviews found here equip them with an understanding of a variety of methods and how to use them, enabling them to tailor their research project to their own strengths and goals. The more seasoned researcher will find comprehensive descriptions and analyses on a wide variety of research approaches. This updated and enhanced edition responds to the latest developments in OM, including the growing prominence of services and production of intangible products, and the increasing use of secondary data and of mixed approaches. Alternative research approaches are included and explored to help with the early planning of research. This edition also includes expanded literature review and analysis to guide students towards the next steps in their reading, and more detailed step-by-step advice to tie theory with the researcher's own practice. Including contributions from an impressive range of the field's leading thinkers in OM research, this is a guide that no-one embarking on an OM research project should be without.
Although many articles discuss customer journey mapping (CJM), both academics and practitioners still question the best ways to model the consumer decision journey. We contend that most customer journey maps are critically flawed. They assume all customers of a particular organization experience the same organizational touchpoints and view these touchpoints as equally important. Furthermore, management lacks an understanding of how to use CJM as a cross-functional, strategic tool that promotes service innovation. This article proposes a solution to the unwieldy complexity of CJM by linking customer research to the CJM process and by showing managers how to develop a customer journey map that improves a customer's experience at each touchpoint. Using the case of an actual retail mall, we show that common CJM assumptions about the equal importance of all touchpoints are fundamentally wrong, and how easy it is for retail managers and strategic planners to make incorrect judgements about customer experience. This article demonstrates through a case study how customer research helped a mall's strategic management team understand which touchpoints were more or less critical to customer experience. It also shows key strategic initiatives at each touchpoint, resulting in cross-functional input aimed to advance service innovation at the mall.
The authors conduct a meta-analysis to examine dependence and interdependence in marketing relationships. Analyses reveal that dependence affects performance primarily through relationship quality and cooperation, while interdependence has substantial direct effects as well as effects mediated through relationship-specific investments and cooperation. Regarding relationship context, effects of dependence are stronger in channel relationships than end-user relationships and for services than goods; interdependence does not display the same pattern. Regarding methodological context, dependence measures that emphasize relationship value versus switching costs have different moderating effects; greater general dependence content is associated with weaker effect sizes for dependence but conversely greater effect sizes for interdependence. These results suggest that new insights can be gained by distinguishing relationship value and switching cost components of dependence and by investigating the possibility that the conceptual domain of interdependence differs from that of dependence. Future research that strives for greater precision in the measurement of dependence and interdependence constructs and that simultaneously examines dependence and interdependence is recommended.
The nature of services in society and the economy is wide-ranging and complex. The management of services and their innovation provokes a number of challenges for practitioners, professionals, and academics. This book provides a range of perspectives on understanding, managing, and reconceptualizing service by bringing together contributions from leading figures in service research, so as to make a timely and significant multidisciplinary contribution to the theory and practice of service management. The book presents a collection of contemporary perspectives on service management challenges as it: • extends understanding of service through exploration and critique of service organizational and managerial strategies from selected theoretical and empirical perspectives; • reviews the distinctive role and importance of service to academics, professionals, and practitioners, and identifies appropriate bridging strategies; • evaluates selected aspects of the practice of service management; • investigates the challenges inherent in managing services; • reviews the nature, direction, and applicability of selected theoretical dimensions that inform the understanding of service management; • considers contemporary innovations in services and service management; • assesses the opportunities for theory building, to further support understanding of the complexities of service management and its impact on organizations and wider society. The book is written by a group of leading social science and service management specialists, who were awarded the prestigious ESRC/EPSRC Service Fellow awards as part of the Advanced Institute of Management Research initiative. It will be of interest to graduate students, academics, and practitioners in service management.
This study draws on depth interviews with 49 managers in customer firms and 55 managers in supplier firms and on discussions with 21 managers in two focus groups to propose a new way of thinking about customer solutions. Extant literature and suppliers interviewed for this study view a solution as a customized and integrated combination of goods and services for meeting a customer's business needs. In contrast, customers view a solution as a set of customerâ€supplier relational processes comprising (1) customer requirements definition, (2) customization and integration of goods and/or services and (3) their deployment, and (4) postdeployment customer support, all of which are aimed at meeting customers' business needs. The relational process view can help suppliers deliver more effective solutions at profitable prices. In addition, field research suggests that the effectiveness of a solution depends not only on supplier variables but also on several customer variables. Supplier variables include contingent hierarchy, documentation emphasis, incentive externality, customer interactor stability, and process articulation. Customer variables include adaptiveness to supplier offerings and political and operational counseling that a customer provides to a supplier. Several of these variables underscore the importance of suppliers developing social capital with customers. The authors discuss implications for solution suppliers and identify areas for further research.
How does the manipulation of visual representations play a role in the practices of generating, evolving and exchanging knowledge? The role of visual representation in mediating knowledge work is explored in a study of design work of an architectural practice, Edward Cullinan Architects. The intensity of interactions with visual representations in the everyday activities on design projects is immediately striking. Through a discussion of observed design episodes, two ways are articulated in which visual representations act as ‘artefacts of knowing’. As communication media they are symbolic representations, rich in meaning, through which ideas are articulated, developed and exchanged. Furthermore, as tangible artefacts they constitute material entities with which to interact and thereby develop knowledge. The communicative and interactive properties of visual representations constitute them as central elements of knowledge work. The paper explores emblematic knowledge practices supported by visual representation and concludes by pinpointing avenues for further research.
Purpose
Customer experience has become increasingly important for service organizations that see it as a source of sustainable competitive advantage, and for service designers, who consider it fundamental to any service design project.
Design/methodology/approach
Integrating contributions from different fields, CEM was conceptually developed to represent the different aspects of customer experience in a holistic diagrammatic representation. CEM was further developed with an application to a multimedia service. To further develop and build CEM's models, 17 customers of a multimedia service provider were interviewed and the data were analyzed using Grounded Theory methodology.
Findings
Combining multidisciplinary contributions to represent customer experience elements enables the systematization of its complex information. The application to a multimedia service highlights how CEM can facilitate the work of multidisciplinary design teams by providing more insightful inputs to service design.
Originality/value
CEM supports the holistic nature of customer experience, providing a systematic portrayal of its context and shifting the focus from single experience elements to their orchestration.
Qualitative case study methodology provides tools for researchers to study complex phenomena within their contexts. When the approach is applied correctly, it becomes a valuable method for health science research to develop theory, evaluate programs, and develop interventions. The purpose of this paper is to guide the novice researcher in identifying the key elements for designing and implementing qualitative case study research projects. An overview of the types of case study designs is provided along with general recommendations for writing the research questions, developing propositions, determining the "case" under study, binding the case and a discussion of data sources and triangulation. To facilitate application of these principles, clear examples of research questions, study propositions and the different types of case study designs are provided.
Commentators suggest that to survive in developed economies manufacturing firms have to move up the value chain, innovating
and creating ever more sophisticated products and services, so they do not have to compete on the basis of cost. While this
strategy is proving increasingly popular with policy makers and academics there is limited empirical evidence to explore the
extent to which it is being adopted in practice. And if so, what the impact of this servitization of manufacturing might be.
This paper seeks to fill a gap in the literature by presenting empirical evidence on the range and extent of servitization.
Data are drawn from the OSIRIS database on 10,028 firms incorporated in 25 different countries. The paper presents an analysis
of these data which suggests that: [i] manufacturing firms in developed economies are adopting a range of servitization strategies—12
separate approaches to servitization are identified; [ii] these 12 categories can be used to extend the traditional three
options for servitization—product oriented Product–Service Systems, use oriented Product–Service Systems and result oriented
Product–Service Systems, by adding two new categories “integration oriented Product–Service Systems” and “service oriented
Product–Service Systems”; [iii] while the manufacturing firms that have servitized are larger than traditional manufacturing
firms in terms of sales revenues, at the aggregate level they also generate lower profits as a % of sales; [iv] these findings
are moderated by firm size (measured in terms of numbers of employees). In smaller firms servitization appears to pay off
while in larger firms it proves more problematic; and [v] there are some hidden risks associated with servitization—the sample
contains a greater proportion of bankrupt servitized firms than would be expected.
Lifecycle thinking is a concept that is used to express a holistic perspective on conventional and extended products, such as Product-Service Systems and Cyber-Physical Systems. Many authors of academic literature make use of this concept by defining or reusing product lifecycle models. Those models express how products are designed, produced, delivered, used, maintained and finally recycled or disposed of. The goal of this paper is to describe differences between lifecycle models, in order to clarify how heterogeneous the models are. A selection of 71 visual models was extracted from literature and analysed. The analysis addresses the preferences in modelling based on paper context, geometric topology of models, and the number of lifecycles contained in a single representation of the product lifecycle. The outlook of this paper suggests topics for future research, such as covering multiple lifecycles at once and discussing whether lifecycle models should be expressed with a common language.
Objets fronti_re = s'adaptent pour prendre en compte plusieurs points de vue et maintenir une identité entre eux Cet espace de travail se construit grâce à des objets-frontières tels que des systèmes de classification, qui relient entre eux les concepts communs et les rôles sociaux divergents de chaque groupe professionnel. Les objet-frontière contribuent à la stabilité du système de référence en offrant un contexte partagé pour la communication et la coopération. Les objets peuvent être considérés comme frontière (Star et Griesemer, 1989) en tant qu’ils contribuent à la stabilité du système de référence en offrant un contexte partagé pour la communication et la coopération.
Understanding customer experience and the customer journey over time is critical for firms. Customers now interact with firms through myriad touch points in multiple channels and media, and customer experiences are more social in nature. These changes require firms to integrate multiple business functions, and even external partners, in creating and delivering positive customer experiences. In this article, the authors aim to develop a stronger understanding of customer experience and the customer journey in this era of increasingly complex customer behavior. To achieve this goal, they examine existing definitions and conceptualizations of customer experience as a construct and provide a historical perspective of the roots of customer experience within marketing. Next, they attempt to bring together what is currently known about customer experience, customer journeys, and customer experience management. Finally, they identify critical areas for future research on this important topic.
Roughly equal in terms of the economic value of transactions, B2B (Business-to-Business) marketing sees a small fraction of the academic research attention that B2C (Business-to-Consumer) marketing sees. In this article, I cite some of the reasons for that imbalance. I then highlight three specific areas—B2B Innovation, B2B Buying and B2B Analytics—that have great potential for yielding academically significant research contributions that meet the needs of practitioners. In each area, I sketch the state of knowledge and then identify a few research questions. I then highlight a number of other areas of B2B that offer high potential. Next, I comment on the importance of crafting B2B academic research that is both rigorous and relevant and what we as a profession might do to encourage more such work. I then offer a few thoughts about how to increase the participation of practitioners in the B2B knowledge creation process.
Adaptation in sales is common in business relationships. The purpose of this study is to understand how the buyer–seller relationship affects sellers' sales process adaptation to customers' buying processes. The results reveal how the buyer–seller relationship orientation affects sales process adaptation and its effects. The main sources of information in this qualitative inquiry are in-depth, semi-structured interviews with key informants representing a buyer–seller relationship. This study helps to shed light on how the buyer–seller relationship orientation affects sales process adaptation. The findings reveal that both the buyer and the seller have an impact on sales process adaptation. Extant research has recognized adaptation as a central aspect in relationships, while largely neglecting sales process adaptation. Thus, this study focuses on the effects of buyer–seller relationship orientation on sales process adaptation.
Services of different types have become increasingly important for product firms. While these firms mainly focus on products, managers and researchers lack a comprehensive framework to understand when to make significant investments in particular kinds of services. We identify three categories of product-related services from a product firm – smoothing and adapting services, which complement products, and substitution services, which enable customers to pay for the use of a product without buying the product itself. We develop propositions about the relative level of these different kinds of services vis-a-vis industry evolution, as well as suggest how these services affect industry structure. We draw upon various literatures, though we conclude that the relationship between products and services is more complex and richer than any one literature suggests.
Purpose
– The servitization of manufacturing is a diverse and complex field of research interest. The purpose of this paper is to provide an integrative and organising lens for viewing the various contributions to knowledge production from those research communities addressing servitization. To achieve this, the paper aims to set out to address two principal questions, namely where are the knowledge stocks and flows amongst the research communities? And what are generic research concerns being addressed by these communities?
Design/methodology/approach
– Using an evidenced-based approach, the authors have performed a systematic review of the research literature associated with the servitization of manufacturing. This investigation incorporates a descriptive and thematic analysis of 148 academic and scholarly papers from 103 different lead authors in 68 international peer-reviewed journals.
Findings
– The work proposes support for the existence of distinct researcher communities, namely services marketing, service management, operations management, product-service systems and service science management and engineering, which are contributing to knowledge production in the servitization of manufacturing. Knowledge stocks within all communities associated with research in the servitization of manufacturing have dramatically increased since the mid-1990s. The trends clearly reveal that the operations community is in receipt of the majority of citations relating to the servitization of manufacturing. In terms of knowledge flows, it is apparent that the more mature communities are drawing on more locally produced knowledge stocks, whereas the emergent communities are drawing on a knowledge base more evenly distributed across all the communities. The results are indicative of varying degrees of interdependency amongst the communities. The generic research concerns being addressed within the communities are associated with the concepts of product-service differentiation, competitive strategy, customer value, customer relationships and product-service configuration.
Originality/value
– This research has further developed and articulated the identities of distinct researcher communities actively contributing to knowledge production in the servitization of manufacturing, and to what extent they are pursuing common research agendas. This study provides an improved descriptive and thematic awareness of the resulting body of knowledge, allowing the field of servitization to progress in a more informed and multidisciplinary fashion.
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.
I. INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW. 1. Business Market Management: Guiding Principles. II. UNDERSTANDING VALUE. 2. Market Sensing: Generating and Using Knowledge about the Marketplace. 3. Understanding Firms as Customers. 4. Crafting Market Strategy. III. CREATING VALUE. 5. Managing Market Offerings. 6. New Offering Realization. 7. Business Channel Management. IV. DELIVERING VALUE. 8. Gaining Customers. 9. Sustaining Reseller Partnerships. 10. Sustaining Customer Relationships. Index.
Purpose
Today, almost all manufacturers provide after sales support services. But these services are usually the same across all of a company's product segments, and warranty terms and product support services are typically the same across the industry. Executives believe that if they invest in upgrading services, competitors would follow and eventually customers would no longer see differentiation or value, while the firm is left with higher costs. As such, service operation is not considered strategic to company.
Design/methodology/approach
The article defines what is meant by service enabled customer experience. Each of the six stages of customer buying processes – demand generation, browse and research, configure and quote, shop and transact, fulfill and support, and optimize experience are examined to assess services role – and their effects on loyalty and advocacy are examined. A case study and lessons learned form implementing Service Enabled Customer Experience (SECE) are provided.
Findings
Manufacturers have an opportunity to break free of the cycle of low customer loyalty and low margins by pursuing a Service Enabled Customer Experience strategy. This approach has been shown to increase customer loyalty and advocacy, ultimately increasing market share. Implementing Service Enabled Customer Experience strategy requires a shift in how services are viewed by the organization. But for those willing to make the commitment, the rewards are significant.
Originality/value
A well designed service program, targeted to the right segments and tightly integrated with the firms' operations can differentiate a brand, increase loyalty and provide a lasting competitive advantage.
Purpose
– Leading business thinkers agree that knowing how to collaborate is the key to effective knowledge creation and sharing, and to future business success. But collaboration is voluntary, and difficult to manage for hierarchical organizations accustomed to top‐down control. This is reflected in the difficulties organizations typically encounter when trying to persuade people to use technology tools designed to support collaboration. Social software, such as wikis and blogs, appears to be different. Wikis and blogs have become established outside the business world in phenomena such as Wikipedia and are now moving into mainstream business practice. The purpose of this article is to explore the role of wikis and blogs in supporting collaboration.
Design/methodology/approach
– The article explores the use of social software in organizations through three case studies produced as part of a Henley Knowledge Management Forum research project.
Findings
– The findings suggest that social software has the potential to help organizations develop collaboration capability, but the bottom‐up features that make it attractive to users can also make it unattractive to groups of people with a stake in preserving existing organizational structures.
Originality/value
– The paper suggests that the impact of social software in an organization depends on the nature of the existing hierarchy and bureaucracy, and that social software can help organizations break down traditional hierarchies that impede collaboration and knowledge sharing. Preliminary work to develop a framework for understanding and managing these interactions is also presented.
Presents an overview of the history, current state, and future of advertising effectiveness theory, focusing on 4 areas: traditional advertising theories prevalent in the 1950s (economic, responsive, psychological, and social), consumer behavior models developed during the 1960s, more recent developments in high–low consumer involvement continuum models and right–left brain hemisphere theories of message perception, and a proposed model that organizes advertising effectiveness theory for strategy planning purposes. The model is based on a matrix of consumer thinking–feeling and high–low involvement behaviors and suggests that there are purchase decisions where thinking is most important and others where feeling dominates in situations requiring more or less involvement. Management, creative, media, and research implications are outlined. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Function-oriented business models or product–service systems (PSSs) are often seen as an excellent means for achieving ‘factor 4’. SusProNet, an EU network on PSSs, showed a more complicated reality. At least eight different types of PSS exist, with quite diverging economic and environmental characteristics. The economic potential of each type was evaluated in terms of (i) tangible and intangible value for the user, (ii) tangible costs and risk premium for the provider, (iii) capital/investment needs and (iv) issues such as the providers' position in the value chain and client relations. The environmental potential was evaluated by checking the relevance of certain impact reduction mechanisms (e.g. more intensive use of capital goods, inherent incentives for sustainable user and provider behaviour etc.). Most PSS types will result in marginal environmental improvements at best. The exception is the PSS type known as functional results, but here liability and risk premium issues, amongst others, need a solution. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.
Companies realize the importance of providing spare parts and after-sales services, but most could make far more money in the aftermarket than they do. Here's how.
With the global focus on service-led growth has come increased need for practical techniques for service innovation. Services are fluid, dynamic, experiential, and frequently -produced in real time by customers, employees, and technology, often with few static physical properties. However, most product innovation approaches focus on the design of relatively static products with physical properties. Thus, many of the invention and prototype design techniques used for physical goods and technologies do not work well for human and interactive services. This article describes one technique—service blueprinting—that has proven useful for service innovation. Service blueprinting is securely grounded in the customer's experience and it allows the clear visualization of dynamic service processes. The technique is described in detail including real case examples that illustrate the value and breadth of its applications.
Examples of consumer value propositions that resonate with customers are exceptionally difficult to find. When properly constructed, value propositions force suppliers to focus on what their offerings are really worth. Once companies become disciplined about understanding their customers, they can make smarter choices about where to allocate scarce resources. The authors illuminate the pitfalls of current approaches, then present a systematic method for developing value propositions that are meaningful to target customers and that focus suppliers' efforts on creating superior value. When managers construct a customer value proposition, they often simply list all the benefits their offering might deliver. But the relative simplicity of this all-benefits approach may have a major drawback: benefit assertion. In other words, managers may claim advantages for features their customers don't care about in the least. Other suppliers try to answer the question, Why should our firm purchase your offering instead of your competitor's? But without a detailed understanding of the customer's requirements and preferences, suppliers can end up stressing points of difference that deliver relatively little value to the target customer. The pitfall with this approach is value presumption: assuming that any favorable points of difference must be valuable for the customer. Drawing on the best practices of a handful of suppliers in business markets, the authors advocate a resonating focus approach. Suppliers can provide simple, yet powerfully captivating, consumer value propositions by making their offerings superior on the few elements that matter most to target customers, demonstrating and documenting the value of this superior performance, and communicating it in a way that conveys a sophisticated understanding of the customer's business priorities.
State-of-the-art in product-service systems
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Your digital journey is being mapped by your customers
- S Clarke
Clarke, S. (2014) 'Your digital journey is being mapped by your customers', MIT Sloan
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Why empathy and customer closeness is crucial for design thinking', Design Management Review
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Mapping Experiences: A Guide to Creating Value Through Journeys, Blueprints, and Diagrams
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A structural model for unity of experience: connecting user experience, customer experience, and brand experience
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Designing business process variants
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Service Design: From Insight to Implementation
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Touchpoints bring the customer experience to life
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Business Review, pp.35-45.
This is Service Design Thinking: Basics, Tools, Cases
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Servitization of business: adding value by adding services
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