Papers by Anders Gustafsson
International Journal of Service Industry Management 14 232 244 Presenterad Vid, 2003
European Journal of Marketing, 2014
Journal of Service Research, 2015
for submissions for a special multidisciplinary issue on Service Design and Innovation, identifie... more for submissions for a special multidisciplinary issue on Service Design and Innovation, identified as service research priorities by Ostrom et al. (2010) in the Journal of Service Research. Service design is a multidisciplinary area that helps innovate services by bringing new ideas to life through a design thinking approach. Service design is human-centered and holistic, which requires the integration of service science, management, engineering, the social sciences, and the arts through the creation and use of design-based methods and tools. Service innovation involves the creation of new and/or improved service offerings, service processes, and service business models (Johnson, Menor, Roth, and Chase, 2000). From a service logic perspective, innovative services are not defined in terms of their new features, but in terms of how they change customer thinking, participation, and capabilities to cocreate value (Michel et al. 2008). Service design and innovation have gained increased attention from the service research community, as they play crucial roles in generating new forms of value cocreation with customers, differentiating firms' offerings and fostering societal well-being. In general, service design and innovation emphasize the experiential and process elements of the offering, as opposed to the outcome. We would also like to encourage contributions that entail social innovations.
Journal of Business Research, 2015
Although brands are acknowledged as significant assets in a firm's value creation and differentia... more Although brands are acknowledged as significant assets in a firm's value creation and differentiation process, branding literature often describes opposing perspectives and contradictory demands. This article develops a framework of three strategic brand management archetypes that provide new insights into the complexity and often paradoxical ambiguity of branding. By combining an empirical qualitative study with extant brand management and relational exchange theory, the authors suggests that firms create, reinforce, switch, or allow certain brand management archetypes to coexist to optimize specific effects and manage paradoxes. From a managerial perspective, the article suggests that understanding strategic brand management and related paradoxes is fundamental for organizations to achieve desired effects with their value creation.
International Journal of Service Industry Management, 2001
Journal of Service Management, 2014
Purpose -The purpose of this research is to contribute to the literature on customer orientation ... more Purpose -The purpose of this research is to contribute to the literature on customer orientation by developing and empirically testing a model that attempts to explain the elements that constitute customer orientation and that, in turn, influence customer satisfaction. In particular, this study focuses on how service firms design, collect, analyse and use customer satisfaction data to improve service performance. This study has the following three research objectives: (a) to understand the process and as a consequence the phases that constitute customer orientation, (b) to investigate the relationships between the different phases of customer orientation and customer satisfaction and (c) to examine the activities in the different phases of customer orientation that result in higher customer satisfaction. Design/methodology -This study combining quantitative and qualitative research is based on a cross-sectional survey of 320 service firms and a multiple case study of 20 organisational units at a large service firm in the telecom industry in Europe. Findings -The results show that customer orientation consists of a process that includes three phases: strategy, measurement and analysis, and implementation. Contrary to previous research, implementation has the strongest influence on customer satisfaction. In turn, customer satisfaction influences financial results. Indepth interviews with managers provided insights into the specific activities that are keys to turning customer satisfaction measurements into action. Originality/value -This research contributes to the literature on customer orientation by developing and empirically testing a model that attempts to explain what constitutes customer orientation and, in turn, influences customer satisfaction and financial results. Given the large amount of research on customer satisfaction, studies on how service firms collect and use customer satisfaction data in practice are scarce.
Conjoint Measurement, 2007
Conjoint Measurement, 2001
Journal of Business Research, 2015
ABSTRACT When we visit a retail outlet, we go there to complete some type of shopping goal. These... more ABSTRACT When we visit a retail outlet, we go there to complete some type of shopping goal. These goals may be very specific and precisely planned prior to entering the store, or more abstract, and something we think of on the spur of the moment. The stores may display tens of thousands of different products, making it difficult to achieve the shopping goal in a rational manner. As a result, we use different types of heuristics to meet our shopping goals. In this study, we investigate how a customer’s visual attention is influenced by their shopping goal, based on the results of three field experiments in three different contexts—a gas station, a sports store, and a grocery store. Firstly we establish that differences do exist in viewing behavior based on whether shopping goals are planned or unplanned. A more complex and unplanned shopping goal leads to increased observations of in-store stimulus. We then study whether or not the complexity of the first shopping goal also influences the viewing behavior of the next shopping goal, independently of the characteristics of the second goal. The findings confirm that complex decision heuristics deplete cognitive recourse. This finding results in diminished visual attention during subsequent choices. In turn, this has implications for a customer’s shopping behavior.
Packaging Technology and Science, 2014
ABSTRACT There are several reasons why people find it troublesome to use and handle consumer pack... more ABSTRACT There are several reasons why people find it troublesome to use and handle consumer packages. The European Committee for Standardization recently suggested a technical specification (TS) regarding packaging and ease of opening. The present study has expanded the procedure by including consumer satisfaction measurements in two steps and engaging panels comprising two separate age groups. The expanded method, which used six different packages as test objects, engaged 75 panellists, 40 in the older group (65–80 years) and 35 in the younger group (25–40 years). The expanded method not only included the same operations as described in the TS but also included panellists who graded each handling element separately on a ‘smiley’ scale, along with feedback for their grades and an overall judgement of the package handling. The grading feedback differed between the two groups. The younger panellists mainly noted issues that were not connected to openability, while older panellists noted openability as the most influential factor. Further analysis revealed that openability was also a key issue for the younger panellists, despite their claims to the contrary. Satisfaction was the most critical TS element for describing a package as being easy to open. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Journal of Service Research, 2013
Journal of Service Management, 2014
Purpose -Service organizations and marketers have focussed too much of their energy on their core... more Purpose -Service organizations and marketers have focussed too much of their energy on their core service's performance and too little emphasis on designing a customer journey that enhances the entire customer experience. There is nothing wrong with firms seeking continuous improvement in service quality and customer satisfaction. These efforts are needed for firms to be competitive in the marketplace. The problem occurs when performance levels and service offerings become too similar within an industry, so that price is the only competitive weapon that remains. The purpose of this paper is to argue that in order to break this deadlock, companies need to focus on the small details that make big differences to customers. Design/methodology/approach -The paper builds on interviews with executives in successful service organizations. It provides an analysis of differentiation strategies in diverse service organizations across consumption contexts, nations and cultures around the world. Findings -The paper develops three research propositions and argues for radical approaches to help service organizations truly understand customers and provide service experiences that engage and delight them. The paper argues that the new challenge for marketing is to help companies find and implement these small details to make a large impact on the overall customer experience. Originality/value -In order to truly understand the customer experience, we need a holistic view of all interactions customers have with a company. We need to understand the customer-firm interactions at all touch points, that is, during search, purchase, consumption and post-consumption. Customer experience involves the customers' cognitive, affective, emotional, social and sensory responses to the firm. The originality of this research lies in the focus on the small details that make a difference to customers during the service process rather than in the final outcome of the service performance.
International Journal of Services Technology and Management, 2009
Many companies in the process industries are seeing the advantages of services but are struggling... more Many companies in the process industries are seeing the advantages of services but are struggling with the changes these require as regards the offering and the organisation. This paper presents an empirical investigation within the pulp and paper industry based on a survey of Swedish manufacturing firms and a multiple case study of three case companies and their customers. To investigate whether the manufacturers active in this industry are product-oriented or are becoming more service-oriented, five themes important to the ...
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Papers by Anders Gustafsson