Josip Mikulić

A critical review of techniques for classifying quality attributes in the Kano model

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is: to review the most commonly used approaches to the classification of quality attributes according to the Kano model; to identify the theoretical/practical strengths and weaknesses of these techniques; and to provide guidance for future research and managerial practice in this area.Design/methodology/approach – Based on an extensive review of the literature on the Kano model and the relevant marketing/management literature, five approaches (Kanos method; “penalty‐reward contrast analysis”; “importance grid”; qualitative data methods; and “direct classification”) are evaluated in terms of their validity and reliability for categorising attributes in the Kano model. Several illustrative examples provide empirical evidence for the theoretical arguments advanced in the study.Findings – The Kano questionnaire and the direct‐classification method are the only approaches that are capable of classifying Kano attributes in the design stage of a product/service. Penalty‐rewar...

Prioritizing improvement of service attributes using impact range‐performance analysis and impact‐asymmetry analysis

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to describe and apply a new three‐step approach to prioritizing service attributes in formulating quality‐improvement strategies. In particular, the paper seels to demonstrate the value of impact range‐performance analysis (IRPA) and impact‐asymmetry analysis (IAA) in prioritizing quality attributes for improvement.Design/methodology/approach – The proposed new analytical framework is developed and presented. Data from a survey on satisfaction with airport passenger services are then used to demonstrate the proposed approach. Improvement priorities are derived using a three‐step analytical framework.Findings – This paper raises several conceptual issues concerning importance‐performance analysis (IPA). In particular, the study contends that direct and indirect measures of the “importance” of an attribute are not measuring the same construct.Practical implications – Managers who use IPA to prioritize the improvement of service attributes might obtain misleading recommenda...

Accounting for dynamics in attribute-importance and for competitor performance to enhance reliability of BPNN-based importance-performance analysis

Importance-performance analysis (IPA) is a decision-support tool used in prioritizing quality improvements of products/services. Recently, back-propagation neural network (BPNN)-based approaches have been proposed to deal with the problem of asymmetric effects in customer satisfaction formation. Though reliability of IPA is increased by the integration of BPNN, shortcomings of the analytical framework remain that (a) it does not provide insight into forms and degrees of these asymmetric effects, (b) it does not account for differences between the relevance and determinance of quality attributes, and (c) it neglects the competitor dimension in attribute-prioritization. Since all these issues have important managerial implications, the authors of this study propose an extended BPNN-based IPA that uses a multidimensional operationalization of attribute-importance, and that considers competitive performance levels. Using data from an airline satisfaction survey, an empirical test reveals that the proposed approach significantly outperforms conventional BPNN-based IPA. In particular, conventional BPNN-IPA would mislead managerial action with regard to 3 out of 8 quality components (37.5%).

Rethinking the importance grid as a research tool for quality managers

The importance grid (IG) is a research tool developed for the purpose of categorising product/service attributes according to the Kano model, thus making it a tempting technique for quality managers. However, this paper argues that the IG lacks a clear theoretical foundation, which is why it is not recommended for its intended purpose. Nevertheless, it is shown that a reinterpretation of the IG can provide valuable information for the purpose of prioritising product/service attributes for improvement. It is further suggested to regard the IG and the penalty-reward contrast analysis (PRCA) not as competing techniques, as it is usually assumed in the literature, but rather as complementary approaches. The managerial value of the rethought IG in combination with a modified PRCA (determinance-asymmetry analysis) is demonstrated in a case study on airline passenger satisfaction with airport services.

An extended neural network-based importance-performance analysis for enhancing wine fair experience.

ABSTRACT This article presents the results of a study conducted at the Dalmacija Wine Expo, a regional wine fair that was held for the first time in 2010 in Makarska, Croatia. To identify critical attributes impacting the experience of fair participants, two separate surveys were conducted among visitors and exhibitors. In analyzing the data, this study used an extended neural network-based importance-performance analysis (IPA) that combines measures of both the relevance (i.e., stated importance/general importance) and determinance (i.e., derived importance/actual influence) of fair attributes. Compared to traditional IPA approaches with uni-dimensional operationalization of attribute-importance, such an approach provided significantly more detailed (and reliable) managerial implications.

Work characteristics and work performance of knowledge workers

The aim of the paper was to investigate the interplay among a wide range of work characteristics and knowledge workers’ performance outcomes. Specifically, we examined the nature of relationships between various task-, knowledge- and social characteristics of work design and both task and contextual performance. Using an adapted Work Design Questionnaire and applying PLS-SEM modelling technique, we analysed cross-sectional and cross-occupational sample of 512 Croatian knowledge workers from 48 organizations. Our findings confirmed the existence and importance of interaction between work characteristics and work outcomes. However, the results suggest that only knowledge characteristics of work design exhibit a significant effect on both distinct dimensions of work behaviour, while task and social characteristics showed different effects on task and contextual performance, respectively.

Critical Factors of the Maritime Yachting Tourism Experience: An Impact-Asymmetry Analysis of Principal Components

ABSTRACT As the first study to explore key drivers of the maritime yachting tourism experience, this study applies principal component analysis (PCA) and impact-asymmetry analysis (IAA) to the context of Croatian nautical tourism. The data used in this article were collected as part of the TOMAS Nautica Yachting study, an institutional study on attitudes and expenditures of yachtsmen in Croatia. Overall, the study encompassed 2171 tourists who were interviewed during the 2012 tourism season. The analysis revealed a five-dimensional structure of the yachting tourism experience, with three dimensions having an asymmetrical impact on tourists’ global judgment of their yachting experience. It is noteworthy that the onshore destination experience emerged as the factor to have the largest potential to impact tourists’ overall experience. This is despite the fact that the attributes underlying this dimension are not directly related to the yachtsman’s primary travel motive – namely sailing.

Research Note: Measuring Tourism Sustainability: An Empirical Comparison of Different Weighting Procedures Used in Modelling Composite Indicators

This paper compares three different procedures for weighting sustainability indicators in the construction of composite indicators of tourism sustainability (TS). The case of Croatian coastal destinations is used. The particular weighting procedures are: (a) factor analysis (FA); (b) expert panel survey; and (c) the equal weights technique. As the results of this study reveal, the weights attached to different sustainability indicators can differ significantly depending on the weighting procedure used. Accordingly, inappropriate choice of weighting procedure could distort the relative importance of different sustainability indicators and thus could result in imperfect decisions by policymakers. The authors argue that the suitability of factor analysis as a weighting procedure in the construction of composite indicators of TS is rather questionable.

Exploring drivers of student satisfaction and dissatisfaction: an assessment of impact-asymmetry and impact-range

The purpose of this study is to explore the key drivers of student satisfaction in a Croatian higher education (HE) setting. In particular, this study seeks to identify lecturer and course characteristics with either diminishing or increasing returns in student satisfaction. This study uses data collected during the official student satisfaction assessment at the Faculty of Economics and Business, Zagreb in the academic year 2011/2012. Overall, 23,804 fully completed questionnaires collected at the end of the winter and the summer term form the data of this study. Impact-asymmetry analysis (IAA) was used to detect and quantify nonlinear effects in the formation of student satisfaction. IAA helps to approximate the potentials of individual teaching and lecturer attributes to further enhance overall student satisfaction. Impact range and average performance of teaching and lecturer characteristics were further calculated and mapped into a matrix to detect key areas that need to be improved in future quality initiatives. This study provides detailed and interesting insight into the formation of overall student satisfaction relevant for all those concerned with quality issues in HE. The results reveal the most influential teaching and lecturer characteristics and several characteristics with diminishing and increasing returns in overall student satisfaction.

Exploring relationships between customer-based brand equity and its drivers and consequences in the hotel context. An impact-asymmetry assessment

The development of customer-based brand equity plays a critical role in tourism. This paper attempts to study which variables contribute to brand equity creation and to examine whether brand loyalty can be considered as a consequence of brand equity in the hotel context. In addition, it seeks to provide more detailed insights into possible asymmetric effects among customer-based brand equity and its drivers and consequences. Four constructs are found to influence significantly brand equity: two perceptual (image and perceived quality) and two relational variables (trust and affective commitment). Additionally, both behavioural and attitudinal components of loyalty are confirmed as brand equity outcomes. The impact-asymmetry analysis reveals that perceived quality does not play a significant role in explaining brand equity, while awareness and trust emerge to have a significant negatively asymmetric impact. The paper is novel as the proposed model includes two new variables that are deemed critical to hospitality research, that is, trust and affective commitment. The relationship structure of the model is new to the literature as loyalty is conceptualized as a consequence of brand equity, thus confirming theoretical assumptions with limited empirical evidence. Finally, it is the first study that examines asymmetric impacts of customer-based brand equity drivers.