Gabriela Beirão

Understanding value co-creation in complex services with many actors

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of value co-creation in complex value networks with many actors. Electronic health records (EHRs) are innovations that warrant deep study to properly introduce such a complex system. Design/methodology/approach – The paper describes a qualitative study based on Grounded Theory to understand value co-creation from multiple actors’ perspectives in a National EHR Service Project: the Portuguese Health Data Platform. Findings – Study results enabled further development of the value co-creation concept in complex environments with multiple actors. More specifically they allowed: operationalizing the value co-creation concept by identifying its factors and outcomes, understanding how value co-creation factors and outcomes are interconnected, and understanding of how value co-creation for each actor depends on his/her own actions and the actions of other actors, in a complex set of interactions and interdependencies. Practical implications – The findi...

Market Segmentation Analysis Using Attitudes Toward Transportation: Exploring the Differences Between Men and Women

Traveler attitudes and preferences as well as demographic variables are important components of travel behavior. By using travel attitudes, factor and cluster analyses were conducted to segment the sample. Six distinct groups were extracted: transit enthusiasts, anxious status seekers, carless riders, green cruisers, frugal travelers, and obstinate drivers. The segments showed unique combinations of attitudes with distinct travel behaviors and various degrees of intention to use public transportation. Gender differences were then investigated, and the results suggest that women and men exhibit differences in attitudes, preferences, and behaviors. The design of strategies to promote alternatives to car use should target the market segments that are most motivated to change, focusing on the attitudes that can induce a change, such as pro transit or sensibility to the environment.

Value cocreation in service ecosystems: Investigating health care at the micro, meso, and macro levels

The purpose of this paper is to understand value cocreation in service ecosystems from a multilevel perspective, uncovering value cocreation factors and outcomes at the micro, meso, and macro levels.,A Grounded Theory approach based on semi-structured interviews is adopted. The sample design was defined to enable the ecosystem analysis at its different levels. At the macro level was the Portuguese Health Information ecosystem. Embedded meso level units of analysis comprised eight health care organizations. A total of 48 interviews with citizens and health care practitioners were conducted at the micro level.,Study results enable a detailed understanding of the nature and dynamics of value cocreation in service ecosystems from a multilevel perspective. First, value cocreation factors are identified (resource access, resource sharing, resource recombination, resource monitoring, and governance/institutions generation). These factors enable actors to integrate resources in multiple dynamic interactions to cocreate value outcomes, which involve both population well-being and ecosystem viability. Study results show that these value cocreation factors and outcomes differ across levels, but they are also embedded and interdependent.,The findings have important implications for organizations that are ecosystem actors (like the Portuguese Ministry of Health) for understanding synergies among value cocreation factors and outcomes at the different levels. This provides orientations to better integrate different actor roles, technology, and information while facilitating ecosystem coordination and co-evolution.,This study responds to the need for a multilevel understanding of value cocreation in service ecosystems. It also illuminates how keystone players in the ecosystem should manage their value propositions to promote resource integration for each actor, fostering resource density and ecosystem viability. It also bridges the high-level conceptual perspective of Service-Dominant logic with specific empirical findings in the very important context of health care.

The reaction of the Portuguese stock market to ISO 9000 certification

In recent years, the ISO 9000 standard has experienced an extraordinary success. The number of certifications is still increasing worldwide and it is expected that this trend will last. In fact, ISO 9000 certification has become an important factor for doing business in the global market. However, there are many contradictory opinions regarding the real benefits of ISO registration. This paper contributes to this debate by empirically investigating the impact on the Portuguese stock market of achieving ISO 9000 certification. The analysis is based on the event study methodology. The findings suggest that the market positively anticipates the event. A favourable effect is also detected in achieving an early registration within the relevant sector or industry. A financial performance analysis covering a 5-year period centred on the year of the ISO 9000 certification was also carried out. The results suggest that the ISO 9000 certification have a powerful cost effect, decreasing the operating performance and the profitability in the year following the certification. Apparently, companies need one more year to recover those costs.

Enhancing service quality in public transport systems

This paper describes how public transport systems face the challenge of attracting users in order to fight the loss in market share, mostly because of the increasing use of private cars. Therefore, the concepts of ‘quality’ and ‘customer’ must change and the focus must be on meeting people’s needs. At the same time, transport systems should be flexible enough to respond to changes in people’s requirements and needs. Thus, the aim for public transport must be enhancing quality of the service. This requires a clear understanding of travel behavior and consumer needs and expectations. Accordingly, there is an increasing awareness of the importance of including service quality indicators and quality specifications in contracts between operators and public transport authorities. The development of quality measures in the designing of contracts for public transport raises important aspects that must be considered. This paper examines issues concerning the definition of service quality measures for public transport. This will give a better understanding of pertinent questions and of improvement strategies open to public transport management. Next, it outlines some critical aspects that must be considered when including such measures in contracts between operators and public transport authorities.

Exploring Customers’ Internal Response to the Service Experience: An Empirical Study in Healthcare

Service organizations increasingly understand the importance of managing the customer experience to enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty. This study aims to develop a better understanding of the customer experience by investigating how the customer’s internal mechanisms influence it. That is, how it is perceived and processed at three different levels (visceral, behavioral and reflective), which determines a person’s cognitive and emotional state. To this purpose an exploratory multi-method ethnographic study was undertaken in a healthcare service. The results showed the emotions provoked by the service experience at each level. These levels are interconnected and impact each other working together to influence a person’s cognitive and emotional state, and thus playing a critical role in the overall evaluation of a service. Results show that elements such as servicescape aesthetics, face-to-face and non-human interactions influence emotions and service evaluations. The service should be designed in a way that induces positive emotions, and a feeling of being in control. Especially in healthcare services there is a need to balance the conflicting responses of the emotional stages that may be triggered at the visceral and behavioral levels, while providing reassurance and calm at the reflective level that the health problem is going to be taken care. Using service design approaches this understanding of the customers’ brain can be translated into improving the customer experience.