Shane J. Schvaneveldt

Consumer evaluation perspectives of service quality: evaluation factors and two-way model of quality

A two-part investigation of service quality is made to explore perspectives by which consumers evaluate the quality of services. First, attributes constituting quality are determined for several representative mass-market services, and a survey is made of consumer expectations for quality improvement. Using factor analysis, consumer evaluation factors for services are derived and examined across service categories. Next, an investigation is made of the applicability of a two-way model of quality for the same service quality attributes. Using the results of a second survey, the attributes are categorized according to their level of fulfillment and the resultant consumer satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Implications for quality planning and assurance activities are also discussed.

Environmental performance of products

Increasingly, manufacturers and service providers face the challenge of improving the environmental performance of their products. A number of studies have shown the importance of environmental goals and measures for successful environmental design efforts in firms. This paper provides a framework of environmental goals or benchmarks and examines Sony Corporation as a case study of improving the environmental performance of products. Specific examples of Sonys targets for improvement are provided along with examples of initiatives for their achievement. In particular, Sonys product assessment check sheet is introduced as a simple yet effective tool for identifying areas for environmental improvement, as well as for measuring and promoting improvement efforts in alignment with the organizations longer‐term environmental goals.

An empirical study on antecedents of aggregate customer satisfaction: Cross-country findings

In recent years, customer satisfaction has come to be used not only as a performance indicator for individual firms but also an aggregate measure for economic analysis. In particular, it has been reported that changes in customer satisfaction are a leading, positive indicator of other financial and economic indicators such as GDP growth and consumer spending. While the extant literature analyses the consequences of aggregate-level customer satisfaction, there has been relatively little study of its antecedents at the aggregate level. In our research, we have examined antecedents of aggregate customer satisfaction by analysing the relationships between various economic indicators and national customer satisfaction data from the US, Sweden and Japan. The results indicate the existence of two significant factors that affect customer satisfaction, both positively and negatively. One of these factors, an ‘economic growth factor’, has a positive impact on aggregate customer satisfaction, while the other, an ‘economic condition factor’, has a negative impact on it. The effects of these two antecedents are observed in all countries studied, regardless of differences in measurement methods or country-related institutional factors. Our findings provide useful information for predicting customer satisfaction index values and analysing subsequent financial performance of industries and firms.

Self‐Preservation vs. Collective Resilience as Consumer Responses to National Disasters: A Study on Radioactive Product Contamination

This article extends the literature on consumer reactions to national disasters. Because of the 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, Japanese consumers face the long‐term risk of radioactive product contamination as products come from contaminated regions. When facing this risk in purchase situations, Japanese consumers have the choice of reducing their purchases to protect personal health from perceived risk or increasing their purchases to economically support suffering Japanese regions. Based on analysis of variance and regression analysis of data on mobile phones and fast food restaurants from 99 consumers in Japan and 677 consumers in the United States, this study confirms that consumers respond to the risk of radioactive product contamination by reduced or increased purchase intent. Moreover, it finds that purchase intent reductions (vs. increases) vary by consumer age and are more pronounced for fast food restaurants than mobile phones, for non‐Japanese consumers in Japan and the United States than for Japanese consumers in Japan, and for more health‐conscious consumers. While purchase intent reductions only weakly depend on cultural values, they tend to be positively influenced by uncertainty avoidance and negatively influenced by individualism, masculinity values and long‐term orientation. This article thus informs policy makers and marketing managers on how to more effectively address psychological needs of different consumer segments to support the economic reconstruction of disaster‐stricken regions.

Using Statistical Process Control Charts to Identify the Steroids Era in Major League Baseball: An Educational Exercise

This article presents an educational exercise in which statistical process control charts are constructed and used to identify the Steroids Era in American professional baseball. During this period (roughly 1993 until the present), numerous baseball players were alleged or proven to have used banned, performance-enhancing drugs. Also observed during this period was an increase in offensive performance. In this exercise, students are given the opportunity to construct trial control limits from historical data, consider the presence of random and assignable cause variation, and analyze offensive performance for the 1993 to 2008 baseball seasons. From this analysis, students can consider the potential impact of performance-enhancing drugs on offensive performance in Major League Baseball.

Variability and quality loss in services: concepts and countermeasures

In this paper, we consider a target-oriented approach to service quality with a focus on variability and quality loss. Points of discussion include Taguchis definition of quality loss due to side effects and functional variability, and the application of quality loss functions to service quality characteristics. In addition, we present two approaches for reducing quality loss (i.e. facilitating and compensatory) which are derived from the quality loss model. The effect of the approaches in reducing quality loss is illustrated through a conjoint analysis of survey data on waiting time.

How Should Foreign Retailers Deal With Chinese Consumers? A Cross-National Comparison of the Formation of Customer Satisfaction

China is becoming one of the worlds most attractive retail markets. Though the literature lacks a comprehensive theory on country differences in the formation of customer satisfaction, such knowledge would enable foreign retailers to better adapt their marketing strategies to Chinese consumers. This study creates such a theory and tests it with data from seven countries. Hierarchical linear modeling shows that country differences in economic development and culture influence both (a) the level of customer satisfaction and (b) how customer satisfaction is influenced by its antecedents. Additional analyses specifically inform foreign retailers about how to adapt to Chinese consumer needs.

Sustainable innovation: A consumer perspective

In order for innovation to become sustainable, consumers need to actually purchase innovative products and services, even when these happen to be expensive. For these cases, this study addresses a gap in the literature by developing the concept of sustainable consumer innovativeness and by seeking to understand its determinants across countries. Based on data collected from more than 3,000 consumers across five countries, this study finds that sustainable consumer innovativeness tends to be influenced negatively by female sex and savings orientation, whereas it appears to be influenced positively by income satisfaction, financial expectations, curiosity, uncertainty avoidance, and status importance. It does not seem to depend on age. While most of these effects are generally valid, their magnitude tends to differ by country. These results may enable managers of innovative firms to identify lead users and thus to improve marketing strategy during the launch phase of innovative products and services.

Quality attributes of robotic vehicles and their market potential

The development of robotic, self-driving vehicles is set to revolutionize the automotive industry. While automotive manufacturers, automotive suppliers, and IT firms are pushing the technical development of this new technology, there is a gap of knowledge in the literature on the customer perceptions of quality attributes of this new technology and on how these quality attributes influence purchase intentions positively or negatively. Therefore, this study aims to analyze what customers perceive as functional, economic, hedonic, and symbolic benefits and drawbacks of robotic vehicles and how these benefits and drawbacks influence customer intentions to purchase and recommend robotic vehicles. Based on cross-national customer data, this study identifies what drives customer intentions to purchase and recommend both fully autonomous and partially autonomous robotic vehicles for different legal scenarios. The results are relevant for managers, policy makers, and researchers interested in improving customer orientation in the development of autonomous driving technology.

The impact of serviceability-oriented dimensions on after-sales service cost and customer satisfaction

This research investigates the customers perspective on product serviceability, including its impact on after-sales service cost (AC) and satisfaction/loyalty when experiencing service or repair. Using a split-sample technique, exploratory factor analysisand confirmatory factor analysis are carried out on survey data from 1464 users of automobiles and air conditioners in Japan in order to identify dimensions related to serviceability as well as to examine the relationship between each construct. From this, the research identified four serviceability-oriented dimensions: tangibles dimension of serviceability, assurance dimension of serviceability, responsiveness dimension of serviceability and AC. Through structural equation modelling, a conceptual model was analysed. Hypotheses about the relationships between the four dimensions of serviceability, and their positive effects on customer satisfaction/loyalty (CS) were tested for both products and were found to be supported. As other contributions to the product serviceability literature, AC was found to act as a mediating variable, and CS for the product and for after-sales service experiences formed into a single dimension by which customers viewed the product. These research results provide insight to scholars and practitioners for strategising after-sales service requirements during new product development and for offering customer-friendly practices in after-sales service.