A multi-criteria assessment of tourist farm service quality

Farm tourism is a significant means of supplementing farmers' incomes. This paper presents a methodology for ranking tourist farms by using a multi-criteria model based on the qualitative multi-criteria modeling methodology, DEX, to assess service quality. The software tool DEXi was used to achieve this end. The model was then applied to seven tourist farms with data derived from questionnaires completed by tourist farm operators and guests. The results are shown as service quality assessments for individual farms. The potential of the model for assessing the farms is demonstrated with the aim of providing a comprehensive explanation and justification of the assessment technique. It also indicates potential improvements that farms can make through “what-if” analysis and visualization. Despite limitations, such as use of qualitative data only, the approach is proposed as being both appropriate and advantageous when compared with other means of ranking enterprises.     

Procurement of logistics services and sustainable development in Europe: Fields of activity and empirical results

This paper strives to answer the general question; how far purchasers of logistics services take into account aspects of sustainable development. Modeled on the German Sustainable Development Strategy, which is based on the EU Sustainable Development plan, five fields of activity are defined: the reduction of transport intensity and emission, the reduction of land use, the choice of carrier under consideration of sustainable aspects, the permanent improvement of working conditions, and the enhancement of qualified employment. Then, propositions for purchasing companies of logistics services are developed, which contribute to safeguard ecological as well as social sustainability. In order to conduct an explorative study, a questionnaire was sent to 750 purchase and logistics managers. It was found that purchasing companies place high value on ecological and social aspects. But the perceived importance is not associated with purchasing companies' own contributions to logistics service providers' sustainable activities. Additionally, it was seen that purchasing companies exert only a minor influence on logistics service providers regarding ecologically and socially sustainable actions. A fundamental precondition for a sustainably oriented procurement of logistics services can be seen in the purchasing companies' awareness of the need for integrating sustainable aspects in economic decisions.     

Service Problems,Service Crises and Service Disasters

ABSTRACT

This paper discusses the need for tourism service organisations to implement effective ways of responding to their clients when a problem occurs in the delivery of a service. Failure to recognise or respond appropriately to a problem when it occurs can cause a crisis which requires more organisational resources and skills to overcome, and if this is not achieved the original problem may result in desertion of the company by its clients, or adverse publicity impacting severely on the company's success. The paper presents a short illustrative case study. The paper suggests that organisations may learn from analysing service problems how to adopt adaptive strategies to minimse the negative consequences of future service failures. It indicates the need for further studies to improve the responsive of organisations to service problems.     

Service Recovery Efforts in Fast Food Restaurants to Enhance Repeat Patronage

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to: (a) identify service failure incidents; (b) identify service recovery efforts; and (c) determine the effects of resolution levels repeat patronage. Employee service behavior and monetary rewards were found to have a significant effect on resolution levels. The manager should provide guiding principles to improve service quality. Furthermore, mentoring and empowerment may improve employee service performance. Complete resolution leads to repeat patronage. The study found significant relationships between demographic characteristics with service failures and service recovery efforts. Lastly, there were significant relationships between the critical service failures and service recovery efforts and types of fast food restaurants.     

An inventory reservation problem with nesting and fill rate-based performance measures

In many inventory settings companies wish to provide customer-differentiated service levels. These may, for example, be motivated by differences in the perceived customer lifetime value or by specific contractual agreements. One approach to provide differentiated service levels is to reserve some portion of the available inventory exclusively for specific customer classes. Existing approaches to inventory reservation are typically based on the assumption that a company can assign a customer specific revenue or penalty cost to any order or unit of demand filled or unfulfilled. In practice, however, it is usually extremely difficult to accurately estimate (especially long term) monetary implications of meeting or not meeting customer demand and corresponding service level requirements. The research presented in this paper addresses the problem of setting appropriate inventory reservations for different customer classes based on fill rate-based performance measures. We model a single period inventory reservation problem with two customer classes and nesting. We develop exact expressions for two conflicting performance measures: (1) the expected fill rate of high priority customers and (2) the expected loss in the system fill rate induced by inventory reservation. With these expressions a decision maker can analyze the tradeoff between the loss in overall system performance and the higher expected fill rates for prioritized customers. We provide analytical insights into the effects of nesting and the impact of relevant problem parameters on these two performance measures. The analytical insights are illustrated and highlighted through a set of numerical examples. Although we limit our analysis to a single period inventory reservation problem, we expect that our results can be utilized in a wide range of problem settings in which a decision maker has to ration a perishable resource among different classes of customers.     

Does delaying service-failure resolution ever make sense?

Conventional wisdom suggests that service providers should respond to their failures as quickly as possible. Some research, however, points out that delaying resolutions may produce highly desirable results. The study here investigates these competing views by examining under which conditions an immediate or a delaying resolution produces more positive consumer responses in term of re-patronage and negative word-of-mouth intentions. Based on the concept of service separation, this research identifies an interaction effect between service separation (separated service, non-separated service) and response timing (immediate response, delaying response) on consumers' post-consumption intention. This research also finds that the relationship between service separation-response timing interaction and consumer response is mediated by consumers' negative emotions. This study contributes to refining our understanding of consumer psychology in service recovery. Practically, the studies also enable service providers to better allocate their resources to recover different types of services' failure.     

Mobile marketing: A literature review on its value for consumers and retailers

The article describes the existing knowledge of how mobile marketing can increase the value for consumers and retailers. Mobile device shopping, and consumers' use of mobile devices while shopping is shown to be both an extension of consumers' shopping behaviours developed on Internet-connected desktop and laptop computers (PC), and potentially new behaviours based on a mobile devices' uniquely integrated features such as camera, scanners and GPS. The article focuses on how mobile marketing creates value for consumers and retailers, enabling more precise research and development of managerial concepts and tools while providing both managers and academics with increased understanding of mobile marketing and its value outcomes for retailers.     

A profit assessment model for equipment inspection and replacement under renewing free replacement warranty policy

For many types of equipment whose maintenance requires skilled labor or whose random failure may have serious consequences, such as aircraft engines, medical equipment and others, customers generally prefer to entrust maintenance activities to the manufacturer or any of its representatives. The latter must, in turn, provide the customer with a maintenance program that is economically viable for both parties. In this study, the customer and the manufacturer agree on what follows regarding a non-self-announcing failure equipment whose state is only known through inspection: during the warranty period, the manufacturer inspects the equipment according to a specified schedule which he establishes taking into account that the costs incurred for inspections and replacements are supported by him during the warranty period. After the expiration of the warranty, inspections and replacements are performed by the manufacturer and billed to the customer. Moreover, penalties related to inactivity periods between failures and their detection are always supported by the manufacturer. The warranty is applicable to any equipment replaced during the validity period of the service contract. This type of contract generates a profit for the manufacturer. In this paper, an analytical model taking into account the commitments of both parties has been developed. The model allows generating the instants (x₁, x₂,…, x_n) at which the inspections must be performed and the corresponding expected profit for the manufacturer while considering the warranty period offered on the market for similar equipment. An algorithm has also been developed to generate the inspection instants given the costs structure and the lifetime probability distribution of the equipment. In a context where business models argue for a greater implication of suppliers towards their customers, the proposed decision model may be relevant and very useful.     

Turning Good Citizens into Even Better Ones: The Impact of Program Characteristics and Motivations on Service Learning Outcomes

ABSTRACT

It has been suggested that motivations of an individual and the quality of a service-learning program can affect service-learning outcomes such as being a concerned citizen of the community. Previous studies have examined these issues using measures of actual behavior after the program and program characteristics. This article uses a longitudinal research design with measures of intended behavior and perceptions of the program to examine the relative effects of program characteristics and motivations to volunteer on participants' future intentions to be active citizens. The results indicate that motivations and program perceptions work in concert to influence the service-learning outcomes. Intrinsic motivation was found to be the strongest predictor of the outcomes.     

Service Recovery Readiness in Australian Hospitality and Leisure Operations

ABSTRACT

Hospitality and leisure operations across Australia have experienced phenomenal growth over the past few decades. This growth can be attributed to globalisation, deregulation, increased household disposable income, and technological advancements. As organisations continue to strive for a competitive edge, increased attention is given to consistency and reliability of service delivery. However, given the significant human element in the production and consumption of services, mistakes are inevitable (albeit not intentional). Service recovery is therefore a central ingredient in maintaining quality of service delivery. It facilitates customer satisfaction, increases loyalty and repeat patronage, and fosters positive word-of-mouth recommendation. The present paper develops an integrated model of the key concepts of service delivery-illustrating the importance of the relationships among service quality, empowerment, and service recovery. To obtain a better understanding of the importance that organisations place on service recovery, an exploratory study is presented. This consisted of interviews and questionnaires across selected hospitality and leisure operators in Australia. The findings show that service recovery is viewed as an important component of business practices. However, there are noticeable gaps-particularly in relation to organisational readirecovery.