An Investigation of the Correlation among the Technology Mode, Service Evidence and Service Quality from a Customer Perspective

Chu Ching Wang¹, Ming Chao Chen², Tsai Chueh Hsien^2*

¹Department of Business Administration, Tamkang University, New Taipei City.
²Department of Management Sciences, Tamkang University, New Taipei City.

DOI: 10.4236/ojbm.2013.12007                

Abstract

Service is a complex process that too difficult to display in written mode due to its intangibility and abstract. The 3 Ps— People, Process, and Physical evidence—which are called the “service evidence”, this research will use these 3 Ps as the dimensions to measure the service evidence. Froehle and Roth [1] presented five different types of technology role used in the process of customer contact, this research also regard these different types as the different “types of technology role”. Whether it is opportunity or threat for the service organization after the technology used in the service process will be determined by customer’ perception; therefore, this study will measure the value based on the whole perception of customers to service quality (i.e., the five dimensions of service quality for PZB). In other words, the five types of technology role will be regarded as the situational variable, the customers’ value perception to service evidence as the independent variable, and the customers’ perception to whole service quality as the dependent variable in this study. This study is a qualitative exploratory research. The data were collected through the review of mass articles and the discussion of Focus Group members, and then analyzed and inferred the data by induction and deduction methods. Some important research results as followings: 1) A conceptual model of the relationships among “types of technology role”, “service evidence”, and “service quality” is constructed; 2) There are differences existing in different types of technology role which are perceived by customers; 3) Four propositions are submitted based on the implications of the model.

Keywords

Technology Role; Paradoxes of Technology; Service Evidence; Service Blueprint; Service Process; Service Quality

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	C. M. Froehle and A.V. Roth, “New Measurement Scales for Evaluating Cognizances of the Technology-Mediated Customer Service Experience,” Journal of Operations Management, Vol. 22, 2004, pp. 1-21. doi:10.1016/j.jom.2003.12.004
[2]	R. C. Judd, “The Case for Redefining Services,” Journal of Marketing, Vol. 28, No. 1, 1964, pp. 58-59. doi:10.2307/1249228
[3]	N. Melao, “E-Business Processes and E-Business Process Modeling: A State-of-the-Art Overview,” International Journal of Services Technology and Management, Vol. 11, No. 3, 2009, pp. 293-322. doi:10.1504/IJSTM.2009.024094
[4]	M. J. Bitner, M. L. Meuter, A. L. Ostrom and R. I. Roundtree, “Self-Service Technologies: Understanding Customer Satisfaction with Technology-Based Service Encounters,” Journal of Marketing, Vol. 64, No. 3, 2000, pp. 50-64. doi:10.1509/jmkg.64.3.50.18024
[5]	R. W. E. Van der Wal, A. Pampallis and C. Bond, “Service Qualuty in a Cellular Telecommunications Company: A South African Experience,” Managing Service Quality, Vol. 12, No. 5, 2002, pp. 323-335. doi:10.1108/09604520210442119
[6]	M. Trusov, R. E. Bucklin and K. Pauwels, “Effects of Word-of-Mouth versus Traditional Marketing: Findings from an Internet Social Networking Site,” Journal of Marketing, Vol. 73, No. 5, 2009, pp. 90-102. doi:10.1509/jmkg.73.5.90
[7]	M. J. Bitner, M. L. Meuter and R. I. Rounctree, “Self-Service Technologies: Understanding Customer Satisfaction with Technology-Based Service Encounter,” Journal of Marketing, Vol. 64, No. 3, 2000, pp. 50-64. doi:10.1509/jmkg.64.3.50.18024
[8]	The Economist, 18 September 2004, p. 20.
[9]	T. Alcock and N. Millard, “Self-Service—But Is It Good to Talk?” BT Technology Journal, Vol. 25, No. 3-4, 2007, pp. 313-320. doi:10.1007/s10550-007-0088-3
[10]	D. G. Mick and S. Fournier, “Paradoxes of Technology: Consumer Cognizance Emotions, and Coping Strategies,” Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 25, No. 2, 1998, pp. 123-143. doi:10.1086/209531
[11]	G. Hackbarth, V. Grover and M. Y. Yi, “Computer Playfulness and Anxiety: Positive and Negative Mediators of the System Experience Effect on Perceived Ease of Use,” Information & Management, Vol. 40, No. 3, 2003, pp. 221-232. doi:10.1016/S0378-7206(02)00006-X
[12]	V. A. Zeithaml, M. J. Bitner and D. D. Gremier, “Services Marketing: Integrating Customer Focus across the Firm,” 5th Edition, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., New York, 2009.
[13]	A. Ozyilmaz and D. Berg, “The Role of Information Technology in Service Innovation in the Two Different Quadrants of the Service-Process Matrix,” International Journal of Services Technology and Management, Vol. 11, No. 3, 2009, p. 247. doi:10.1504/IJSTM.2009.024092
[14]	W. R. George and C. Marshall, “Developing New Services,” American Marketing Association, Chicago, 1984.
[15]	S. Effendi and L. Prochazka, “Motivation to Participate in Online Innovation Activities: Dynamic Changes Based on the Community’s Purpose and Policy,” Proceedings of International Conference on Enterprise Marketing and Globalization (EMG), Singapore City, 2012, pp. 44-49,
[16]	S. Flieb and M. Kleinaltenkamp, “Blueprinting the Service Company: Managing Service Processes Efficiently,” Journal of Business Research, Vol. 57, No. 4, 2004, pp. 392-404. doi:10.1016/S0148-2963(02)00273-4
[17]	V. A. Zeithaml, L. L. Berry and A. Parasuraman, “The Behavior Consequences of Service Quality,” Journal of Marketing, Vol. 60, No. 2, 1996, pp. 31-46. doi:10.2307/1251929
[18]	A. S. Sohal, S. Moss and L. Ng, “Comparing IT Success in Manufacturing and Service Industries,” International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 21, No. 1-2, 2001, pp. 30-45. doi:10.1108/01443570110358440
[19]	J. Kingman-Brundage, “The ABCs of Service System Blueprinting: Designing a Winning Service Strategy,” In: M. Bitner and L. Crosby, Eds., AMA, Chicago, 1989, pp. 30-33.
[20]	C. Gronroos, “Service Management and Marketing: Managing the Moments of Truth in Service Competition,” Lexington Books, Lanham, 1990.
[21]	P. Kotler, “Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning, Implementation, and Control,” 8th Edition, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, 1994.
[22]	M. J. Bitner, “Building Service Relationships: It’s All about Promises,” Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 23, No. 4, 1995, pp. 246-251. doi:10.1177/009207039502300403
[23]	G. L. Shostack, “Understanding Services through Blueprinting,” In: T. A. Schwartz, D. E. Bowen and S. W. Brown, Eds., Advances in Services Marketing and Management, JAI Press, Greenwich, 1992, pp. 75-90.
[24]	G. L. Shostack, “Service Positioning through Structural Change,” Journal of Marketing, Vol. 51, No. 1, 1987, pp. 34-43. doi:10.2307/1251142
[25]	S. S. Tax and I. Stuart, “Designing and Implementing New Services: The Challenges of Integrating Service Systems,” Journal of Retailing, Vol. 73, No. 1, 1997, pp. 105-134. doi:10.1016/S0022-4359(97)90017-8
[26]	G. L. Shostack, “Designing Services That Deliver,” Harvard Business Review, Vol. 62, No. 1, 1984, pp. 133-139.
[27]	M. J. Bitner, “Service and Technology: Opportunities and Paradoxes,” Managing Service Quality, Vol. 11, No. 6, 2001, pp. 375-379. doi:10.1108/09604520110410584
[28]	E. Garbarino and M. S. Johnson, “The Different Roles of Satisfaction, Trust, and Commitment in Customer Relationships,” Journal of Marketing, Vol. 63, No. 2, 1999, pp. 70-87. doi:10.2307/1251946
[29]	J. B. MacDonald and K. Smith, “The Effects of Technology-Mediated Communication on Industrial Buyer Behavior,” Industrial Marketing Management, Vol. 33, No. 2, 2003, pp. 107-116. doi:10.1016/S0019-8501(03)00033-6
[30]	A. Parasuraman, V. A. Zeithaml and L. L. Berry, “SERVQUAL: A Multiple-Item Scale for Measuring Customer Cognizances of Service Quality,” Journal of Retailing, Vol. 64, No. 1, 1988, pp. 12-40.