The Impact of Service Improvisation Competence on Customer Satisfaction: Evidence from the Hospitality Industry

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Secchi, Enrico; Roth, Aleda; Verma, Rohit
• 署名单位: University College Dublin; Clemson University; Cornell University; Cornell University
• 刊物名称: PRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1059-1478
• DOI: 10.1111/poms.12969
• 发表日期: 2019
• 页码: 1329-1346
• 关键词: ORGANIZATIONAL IMPROVISATION; PHYSICAL SURROUNDINGS; management; experience; OPERATIONS; strategy; performance; ENCOUNTERS; creativity; variables

摘要

This study formally develops and empirically tests a new construct, termed service improvisation competence (Serv-IC), that constitutes a novel way to improve customer experience in high-contact service contexts. Serv-IC is operationalized as the systemic ability of a service firm's employees to deviate from established service delivery processes and routines to respond in a timely manner to unforeseen events using available resources. Serv-IC is a realized operational competence resulting from a deliberate set of service design choices consistent with a firm's service concept. The construct embodies a multidisciplinary perspective that explains, in part, how some firms can systemically use employee improvisation to align service processes and employee behaviors in the presence of customer-induced uncertainty. As a first, theory-building step we follow a rigorous, two-stage approach to develop a reliable and valid multi-item measurement scale for Serv-IC, emphasizing discriminant validity with related concepts. We then introduce a set of experientially based service design choices that constitute a Serv-IC deployment strategy. Finally, we investigate its effect on customer satisfaction. Our empirical results show that Serv-IC can play an important role in satisfying customers within certain boundaries. Counter to conventional wisdom, Serv-IC increases customer satisfaction in lower-tier hotels more than in upscale ones.