Service journey quality: conceptualization, measurement and customer outcomes

Abstract

PurposeThe quality of the customer journey has become a critical determinant of successful service delivery in contemporary business. Extant journey research focuses on the customer path to purchase, but pays less attention to the touchpoints related to service delivery and consumption that are key for understanding customer experiences in service-intensive contexts. The purpose of this study is to conceptualize service journey quality (SJQ), develop measures for the construct and study its key outcomes.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses a discovery-oriented research approach to conceptualize SJQ by synthesizing theory and field-based insights from customer focus group discussions. Next, using consumer survey data (N = 278) from the financial services context, the authors develop measures for the SJQ. Finally, based on an additional survey dataset (N = 239), the authors test the nomological validity and predictive relevance of the SJQ.FindingsSJQ comprises of three dimensions: (1) journey seamlessness, (2) journey personalization and (3) journey coherence. This study demonstrates that SJQ is a critical driver of service quality and customer loyalty in contemporary business. This study finds that the loyalty link is partially mediated through service quality, indicating that SJQ explains loyalty above and beyond service quality.Research limitations/implicationsSince service quality only partially mediates the link between service journey quality and customer loyalty, future studies should examine alternative mediators, such as customer experience, for a more comprehensive understanding of the performance effects.Practical implicationsThe study offers concrete tools for service managers who wish to understand and develop the quality of service journeys.Originality/valueThis study advances the service journey concept, demonstrates that the quality of the service journey is a critical driver of customer performance and provides rigorous journey constructs for future service research.

Making the customer experience journey more hedonic in a traditionally utilitarian service context: a case study

“…In light of the scarce empirical evidence available, they call for empirical studies to enrich our understanding of how firms can use insights from the hedonic model to design the customer experience in a utilitarian context. In addition, scholars have recently advocated about taking a dynamic perspective to understand the evolution of customer experience and guide managers in experience design and implementation (Jaakkola and Terho, 2021;Kuehnl et al, 2019). This perspective adopts the notion that customer experiences should be conceptualised as a journey composed of multiple phases or stages (Kranzb€ uehler et al, 2018;Lemon and Verhoef, 2016).…”

“…This suggests that the question of how utilitarian services can make the customer experience more hedonic is timely, fuelling the need for academic research on this phenomenon (Beltagui et al, 2016). In addition, scholars have argued for the need to explore the customer experience from a dynamic perspective (Kranzb€ uhler et al, 2018), providing impetus to develop knowledge on experience journey design (Jaakkola and Terho, 2021;Lemon and Verhoef, 2016). Thus, this article explores the question of how utilitarian services can design a more hedonic customer experience journey.…”

Glocal trends and employer ratings as a critical branding approach in the social economy

“…The quality of the customer journey has become a decisive factor in the modern business world. The idea of inspiring customers through service excellence is one of the basics in service research and practice (Jaakkola & Terho, 2021;Sahhar et al, 2021). In general, the existing marketing literature defines the "customer journey" as a series of touchpoints that customers meet and interact with during their buying process (Boßow-Thies et al, 2020).…”

Proceedings of the 17th International Research Symposium on Service Excellence in Management - QUIS17

“…From a dynamic perspective, the customer experience has been closely tied to the customer's service journey (Jaakkola and Terho, 2021;Voorhees et al, 2017). That is, customer experience unfolds over time across different touchpoints (Bolton, 2019;Lipkin, 2016).…”