Raija Järvinen

Content and measurement of productivity in the service sector

The purpose of this article is to elucidate the concept and measurement of productivity in the service sector. The concept of service productivity is divided into quantity and quality dimensions, and further into output and input elements. Moreover, the issue of measurement is analysed to show the problems related to the elaborated concept of productivity. The content and measurement of the dimensions of service productivity are illustrated through a case study focusing on the second largest insurance group in Finland. The various elements of quantity and quality dimensions were distinguished in the target firm, but especially the quality elements seem to require more serious attention in the future. The article ends with a plea for more interdisciplinary research between scholars on service productivity.

Options of strategic decision making in services

Service‐marketing literature has traditionally built upon the combination of low technology and high interaction between service providers and customers in service delivery. However, many service organisations have started to utilise high‐tech in their operations. More specifically, they are considering how to make their services available to a wide range of customers with the aid of technology. So far, only few empirically oriented studies on this trend can be found in service literature. In this article the topic is approached on the basis of both services marketing literature and an in‐depth analysis of two case studies. The empirical evidence was gathered from two Finnish financial organisations, an insurance company and a bank, both having utilised technology in their service production and delivery. The consequences of these choices are evaluated and compared with each other. We conclude with a framework for strategic decision making, which ties together the dimensions of service type, technology and encounter. On the basis of our empirical cases, we suggest that there are numerous strategic options between the ends of each continuum of the framework, and in addition to advanced technology, service providers need to pay explicit attention to social aspects. The lesson we learned calls for more customer orientation when planning high‐tech solutions in service operations, and taking a new attitude to segmentation.

Consumer trust in banking relationships in Europe

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the content of consumer trust in the banking sector on the basis of the earlier literature and to compare consumer trust in banking and distinct banking services in 29 European countries in order to find out if there are deviations in consumer trust in banks at the organisational level, and at a service level, and between distinct services and between various countries. Design/methodology/approach – The study employs a survey gathered in 2012 in 29 European countries containing 41,308 consumer assessments concerning banking services. The data are analysed by using SPSS-statistical software. Findings – The study reveals deviations between various banking services and company-level results regarding consumers’ trust in their banking relationships. Consumer trust is the highest in banking accounts and the lowest in investments and pensions. The study also highlights deviations in consumer trust between European countries, and identifies countries with low, me...

Reputation attributes in retailing services: managerial perspective

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to study the construct of reputation in retail services, its dimensions and attributes from the store management perspective.Design/methodology/approach – The article adapts the conceptual model developed by Vidaver‐Cohen who suggests that reputation predictors are formed by eight quality dimensions. In the first stage of the study 18 interviews were carried out. In the second stage a survey containing 170 statements was conducted.Findings – The main contribution lies on the identification of the context specific attributes of the quality dimensions of reputation and their content in retailing.Research limitations/implications – The study focuses on identifying reputation dimensions and their attributes and contents in the retail context. The empirical data were gathered from stores located in shopping centres.Practical implications – The study suggests that reputation management in the service sector might be easier if managers were better able to recognise the in...

Cut-off Process in Reinsurance Relationships

The article reports empirical research into the cut-off processes in reinsurance. The framework is based on Mittiläs [2000] Relation Trine Model. In this model evaluation together with bargaining and negotiation play a central role. The empirical part consists of two cases. Special emphasis is given to collective bargaining processes in the dissolution of relationships. The results of the analyses suggest that the model, originally created for analysing industrial business-to-business relationships with elements of both services and goods, is also applicable to the service sector

Exploring the Characteristics of Electronic Insurance Service Concept - Consumers' Perspective

The insights of consumers into electronic service concepts of insurance companies are investigated in this study. Theoretically, the study combines elements from service design literature with usability literature. The empirical study is conducted through adapted expert evaluation method by instructing a group of insurance business students to evaluate the electronic service concept of three British insurance service providers. The results of the study theoretically suggest that the used Web site usability framework is feasible tool for evaluating electronic service concepts in the context of complex services, such as insurance. Empirically, the results indicate that three features can be identified to be essential to electronic service concept design in the context of complex services. These features are: content structure, appearance, and navigation

Service Characteristics in Transition: Influence of Transition from Traditional Health Services to e-Health Services in Service Characteristics

The main objective of this article is to study the influence of transition in service characteristics. The transition occurs from traditional health services to e-health services. The theoretical roots of the article rely on service characteristics and new service development NSD. Four empirical case examples serve as an exploratory examination of service characteristics in transition. In this examination, interpretative analysis and comparative methodology were used. The case examples show that the level of manifestation of service characteristics varies from service to service regardless of them being e-services or traditional services. In both traditional services and e-services process nature and non-ownership seem to be the most representative characteristics, but all the studied characteristics are important. Interaction and perishability seem to materialise much less in the connection of e-services than in the context of traditional services.

eInsurance Project: How to Develop Novel Electronic Services with Co-operation between Academics and Practitioners

This case study covers two R&D projects called eInsurance 1 and eInsurance 2, which are concerned with electronic insurance. This case emphasizes project organization, its activities and roles, together with the results of the projects. In addition, the structure and innovation level of the projects are analyzed and the challenges involved in launching the concepts into insurance markets are presented. The most important outcomes of the projects are novel service concepts, and valuable information of consumer expectations that corporate partners utilized in their R&D activities. For research partners, the projects brought ideas, how to organize future projects in new ways, and how to combine academic and business expertise successfully.