Maintaining Consistent Customer Experience in Service System Networks

Stephen K. Kwan () and Peter Hottum ()
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Stephen K. Kwan: Lucas College and Graduate School of Business, San José State University, San Jose, California 95192
Peter Hottum: Karlsruhe Service Research Institute, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, D-76131 Karlsruhe, Germany

Service Science, 2014, vol. 6, issue 2, 136-147

Abstract: Traditional business-to-business and business-to-consumer value propositions for service offerings are premised on the service provider convincing the business or consumer customers that they will receive superior value at certain cost in a competitive environment. As the business environment becomes more global and complex, the service provider often has to construct a network of partners/contractors to fulfill the service obligations as promised by its value propositions. The success of such service system networks depends on the alignment of value propositions between the service provider and its partners so that the entitled services are delivered to the customers as promised. Often times this linkage is broken, and the customers are dissatisfied with the level and quality of service provided within these trilateral constellations. In this research, we look at various scenarios in service system networks and propose value proposition formulations for multiple-level engagements denoted as B2X2Y . We also consider “lossless” derivations of value propositions as a way of aligning value systems and expectations among the participants so as to maintain a consistent experience for the customer at different levels and forms of engagement in the service system network. We propose an integration quality gap to account for the difference between customer service quality expectation and perceived service quality in a service system network.

Keywords: service modeling; service quality and testing; service systems and dynamics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:orserv:v:6:y:2014:i:2:p:136-147

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