David A. Collier

An Empirical Investigation of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Causal Model

The objective of this research is to test the theory and causal performance linkages implied by the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA). The survey instrument used a comprehensive set of 101 questions that were directly tied to specific criteria in the 1995 MBNQA Criteria. Results reported here represent the first published article that tests the MBNQA performance relationships and causal model using comprehensive measurement and structural models. In general, our research concludes that (1) The underlying theory of the MBNQA is supported that “leadership drives the system that causes results”; (2) Leadership is the most important driver of system performance; (3) Leadership has no direct effect on Financial Results but must influence overall performance “through the system”; (4) Information and Analysis is statistically the second most important Baldrige category; (5) the Baldrige category, Process Management, is twice as important when predicting customer satisfaction as when predicting financial results; and (6) a modified “within system” set of five Baldrige causal relationships is a good predictor of organizational performance.

A service positioning matrix

The service positioning matrix shows how the desired nature of the customer’s service encounter activity sequence translates into a recommended service system design. The matrix helps managers think about marketing and operations linkages, roles of the customer and service‐provider in creating and delivering services, facility design and process choice, and the different types of management challenges at each position in the matrix. Concepts such as the service encounter activity sequence and the degree of repeatability in the activity sequence are defined and used in the matrix. Examples are given to illustrate the positioning of service entities within the matrix. An empirical evaluation provides statistical support for the logic of the service positioning matrix. The criteria used in the matrix are meaningful to survey participants. Future research directions and issues are discussed.

The role of technology and quality on hospital financial performance

The stimulus for this research is that as US hospitals and health care organizations become more competitive, wise investments in technology and quality improvement are keys to financial success and survival. A structural equation model is hypothesized using the following five constructs: clinical technology; information technology; clinical quality; process quality; and hospital financial performance. No research to date has examined the relationships between the type of technology, the type of quality, and hospital financial performance. The general research hypothesis tested is that hospital technology directly drives (affects) quality and hospital financial performance. The results indicate that the type of hospital technology (clinical or information) drives different types of quality‐related performance (clinical or process), and directly and indirectly affects hospital financial performance. The simple recursive model documented here is an important first step to defining more complete models that accurately predict hospital financial performance as a function of technology and quality investments and initiatives. The article concludes by summarizing results, discussing their implications, and proposing future research ideas.

Modelling the relationships between process quality errors and overall service process performance

Describes research which continues the quest to model performance using structural equation models. The objective is to provide meaningful and substantively interpretable predictions of process performance using structural equation modelling. Develops structural equation models which clearly define the performance relationships for a backroom bank card remittance process using criteria such as process quality errors, employee turnover rates, labour productivity, on‐time delivery, and unit cost. Also defines the idea of a process quality equilibrium point (error rate) using structural equation modelling, and investigates how to use these structural equation models to help set internal and external standards of performance.

An empirical comparison of service matrices

This research is the first study to evaluate and compare alternative service positioning matrices using rigorous statistical analysis and a common data set based on a variety of service processes. The matrices are evaluated based on five guidelines: clarity of construct definitions, conceptual independence of the two axes of each matrix, clarity in specifying the direction of causation from one axis to the other, axis unidimensionality, and correlation between the two axes of each matrix. These five guidelines provide a more rigorous approach to evaluating current and future positioning matrices, and contribute to the literature by defining more specifically than past research what constitutes a good positioning matrix. The difference between a classification scheme and a positioning matrix are also explained. The results indicate that while there is a statistically significant level of association (correlation) between the axes (Guideline 5) of each of the service matrices studied, meeting the requirements of the other four guidelines is a challenge for some service matrices.

The Customer Service and Quality Challenge

The management of customer service and quality levels (CS&QLs) in an organisation that provides services is one of the most difficult jobs the manager will ever face. Managing CS&QLs is a challenge for many reasons. For example, how does one define and measure CS&QLs? Also, how does a manager go about designing, implementing and managing a CS&QL programme within a service-providing organisation? This article examines the meaning of CS&QLs for service delivery systems and presents a unique ten-step plan for developing and implementing an effective CS&QL system which represents a long-term commitment to the customer.

Process Moments of Trust: Analysis and Strategy

Service delivery systems create and deliver a service to customers by performing many front and backroom activities. In many cases, the process is the service. Three types of process activities are frontroom, backroom, and instantaneous process moments of trust. These terms are defined, quantified, and used to develop strategic premises about service process positioning strategies. Examples are used to demonstrate a new way of thinking about designing and managing the service delivery process and formulating service firm strategy.

Sales force behaviour and best practice pricing drive a product's return on investment

A causal model is proposed that defines the relationships between safes force behaviour and effectiveness, current pricing compared to a new way of setting pricing benchmarks, and a products return on investment (ROI). The purpose of this paper is to investigate what drives consistent pricing decisions and financial performance, and introduce a new benchmarking metric. Sales agents and pricing executives for business-to-business (B2B) manufacturers in the durable goods industry were surveyed. A price adherence fraction (PAF) is defined that measures current pricing decisions against the best (i.e., highest logit probability out of ten pricing situations) pricing decision for that particular product-firm-market pricing situation. The structural equation model that tested if the actual survey data fit the hypothesised causal model was reasonably acceptable while a more parsimonious multiple regression model was statistically valid in all respects at predicting a products return of investment.

A new pricing strategy evaluation model

Academics and practitioners agree that better pricing strategies are important drivers of return on investment (ROI), yet this premise has not been fully tested. We develop a new pricing adherence fraction (PAF) and then investigate whether it is related to changes in return on investment for a firms products. We test this PAF-ROI performance relationship using ten pricing strategies defined and quantified by Noble and Gruca (1999) using logit modelling and regression analyses. Survey results of 385 durable capital goods manufacturers in business-to-business (B2B) markets provide the data for this research. A statistically significant PAF-ROI relationship is found between using the best pricing strategy for a given pricing situation and an increased return on an investment. Confidence interval analysis reveals that pricing mistakes can cost firms up to a 10% decrease in ROI. The PAF methods and procedures for a particular pricing situation allow a current pricing strategy to be compared systematically to the best pricing strategy among ten possible pricing strategies.

CRM, SRM, and Integrated NPD: Having the Right Product Versus Having the Product Right

Scholars have repeatedly pointed out that supply chain integration, both outside and within the firm is a key ingredient to optimize business performance. One area of supply chain integration that has received considerable attention is the New Product Development (NPD) process and the impact of involving customers and suppliers. While the literature certainly has recognized the importance of the integrative NPD process, very few articles have examined the impact of collaborating with both customers and suppliers in the same model. This study develops a model comprised of three core business processes (CRM, SRM, and INPD), and examines their impact on product quality. Integrated new product development has been used by leading companies and innovators to boost time-to-market, differentiate product offerings, or achieve superior product quality. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) are important building blocks in achieving integrated NPD. But are CRM and SRM always equally relevant, especially in light of varying business priorities? Focusing on product quality, the current study suggests that CRM, SRM, and integrative NPD have differential effects when it comes to ‘getting the right product’ (quality of design) versus ‘getting the product right’ (quality of conformance). Hypotheses are developed and tested on a sample of 225 firms in the automotive industry. Implications for theory and future research are discussed.