Search results for "Strategy"
showing 10 items of 2256 documents
Service characteristics as moderators of the entry mode choice: empirical evidence in the hotel industry
2012
Although a considerable amount of research has explored the entry mode choice, results regarding the direct influence of some variables on the entry mode choice evince a lack of a clear consistency. By introducing the moderator effect of the nature of the services being provided by the firm, we explain some of these inconclusive results. We use a comprehensive database on the Spanish hotel industry which covers nearly all the operations carried out by the majority of Spanish hotel chains up to 2011. We found that both intangibility and complexity of the services offered by the hotel moderate the relationship between environmental uncertainties and entry mode choice by increasing the propens…
Service policies of German manufacturers: Critical factors in international competition
1992
Abstract German companies perform well in export markets, based on product quality and technology. But the competitive advantages and value-added of service are expected to grow sharply in the coming decade — especially product-focused service. Hermann Simon has identified ‘Hidden Champions’ in Germany — companies like Heidelberg Printing Machines, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, which integrate market and technology as equal driving forces and provide quick and reliable customer service. But there is much room for improvement in service provided by German manufacturing companies. They could upgrade their design and marketing of service, and apply better quality control such as setting quantitative …
Investigating Customer Satisfaction in a Health Club Context by an Application of the Tetraclasse Model
2006
International audience; Although customer satisfaction is recognised as a key driver for positive organisational outcomes, the nature and the role of the service attributes contributing to satisfaction are still misunderstood, and are most often evaluated by service quality dimensions. This study attempts to explore these attributes and their contribution to satisfaction in a sport service context using Llosa's Tetraclasse model which hypothesises that some service attribute weights are performance related whereas others are not. This application on a sample composed of 184 customers from five French health clubs indicated four satisfaction contribution types. The results suggest that the q…
Value, supplier dependence and long‐term orientation
2011
PurposeIn organizational markets, many companies tend to reduce the number of providers to focus on establishing relationships with few of them. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of relationship value and dependence of supplier on long‐term orientation and customer loyalty in the setting of relationships between travel agencies and their main providers.Design/methodology/approachA partial least square regression is performed to test a proposed model that links several relational variables with outcomes in terms of customer loyalty.FindingsResults provide support for the positive indirect influence of relationship value on long‐term orientation, while customer dependence …
A decision support system to assure high-performance maintenance service
2020
PurposeThis study aims to propose a decision support system (DSS) for maintenance management of a service system, namely, a street cleaning service vehicle. Referring to the information flow management, the blockchain technology is integrated in the proposed DSS to assure data transparency and security.Design/methodology/approachThe DSS is designed to efficiently handle the data acquired by the network of sensors installed on selected system components and to support the maintenance management. The DSS supports the decision makers to select a subset of indicators (KPIs) by means of the DEcision-MAaking Trial and Evaluation Laboratory method and to monitor the efficiency of performed prevent…
Special Issue: Research perspectives in the management of complex service systems
2012
Relationships among customer orientation, service orientation and job satisfaction in financial services
2005
PurposeThe present study attempts to contribute to the knowledge of how customer orientation (CO), service orientation (SO) and job satisfaction (JS) are defined and relate to each other. It explores the relationships between CO and JS by analysing a company providing intermediation services to the banking sector, in its external finance division.Design/methodology/approachAfter the literature review, the method of empirical analysis consisting in quantitative intervention with an ad hoc survey using a structured questionnaire was developed. Regression analysis with mediation is used to contrast the hypotheses on the links between the constructs analysed.FindingsBoth reliability and factori…
Changing the strategy formation process in a service cooperative
2010
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to concern the strategic changes a firm needs to incorporate in order to deliver a complex service such as providing assistance to the socially disadvantaged. The paper seeks to analyze the development of such a process considering the ability of managers to exploit resources and foster new opportunities for the firm.Design/methodology/approachThe qualitative methodology applied is that of a case study. The organization analyzed was a service cooperative. A semi‐structured questionnaire was used to gather the information along with documents and additional information thereafter, thus facilitating the triangulation process.FindingsNon‐profit service organ…
Incremental innovation in services through continuous improvement
2011
Employees contribute to the process of innovation through engaging in continuous improvement (CI) programmes such as individual suggestion systems or working teams. This article reviews the main features of CI, and examines the results derived from its implementation, what are the most common procedures and what problems arise during operation of these programmes. The empirical analysis shows how a high-tech service of a large public centenarian university faces the challenges of innovation through CI and how its organizational design variables generate a barrier to successful implementation.
Navigating efficiency and effectiveness relationships across local government services: Another step toward strategic resource management
2013
A major part of maintaining a well-managed performance measurement system in local government is providing the infrastructure for performance management. The problem is that local officials often struggle with moving from adopting performance measures to actually using them for improving services and for making resource allocation decisions. This article responds to this struggle by presenting information on the relationships between efficiency and effectiveness measures across six local government service areas, with the goal of providing guidance on using performance measures to support strategic resource management. Our research suggests that stronger correlations exist between efficienc…