The Critical Incident Technique in Service Research

Abstract

The Critical Incident Technique (CIT) has been used in a variety of service contexts in recent years to explore service research issues and has been instrumental in advancing our understanding of these issues. Despite the popularity of this methodology, no published research synthesis systematically examines this research. The primary purpose of this study is to review the use of the CIT method in service research to (a) help current and future researchers employing the CIT method to examine their methodological decisions closely and (b) suggest guidelines for the proper application and reporting of the procedures involved when using this method. The study provides an overview of the CIT method, reports the results of a research synthesis conducted of 141 CIT studies appearing in service marketing and management publications, discusses implications for service research, and suggests guidelines for researchers employing this method.

Understanding satisfying service encounters in retail banking - a dyadic perspective

“…Flanagan (1954, p. 327) defines CIT as "consisting of a set of procedures for collecting direct observations of human behaviour in such a way as to facilitate their potential usefulness in solving practical problems and developing broad psychological principles ". During CIT interviews, respondents are asked to tell a story about an experience which was either satisfying or dissatisfying (a critical incident) (Gremler, 2004). CIT has been used in previous studies in the area of service quality by assessing favourable and unfavourable incidents in service encounters from the customer and contact employee's point of view (Bitner et al, 1990(Bitner et al, , 1994Johnston, 1995).…”

Negative Perception of a Store Environment: Design and Validation of a Measurement Scale

“…The third data collection method that we have used is critical incidents. Besides its inductive nature (Edvardsson, Bo., 1992, in Gremler, DD, 2004), the critical incident method is recommended when the purpose of the research is to probe knowledge of less known subject (Gremler, DD, 2004). Thus, the critical incident technique is "a qualitative interview procedure which facilitates the investigation of occurrences (events, incidents, processes, issues) identified significant by the respondent and outcomes in terms of perceived effects" (Chell, E., 1998, in Chell, E. and Pittaway, L., 1998) More specifically, it is "a systematic process used to identify events or behaviors that lead to certain outcomes, such as success or failure in relation to specific tasks (Bitner and al., 1990), or satisfaction or dissatisfaction with a service" (Bitner and al., 1994), or as in our case "good or terrible shopping experiences" (Arnold and al., 2005).…”

Liderazgo escolar y conflictos socioeducativos. Un estudio exploratorio en liceos públicos chilenos

“…Finalmente, se verificó una segunda entrevista con el director, en la que se utilizó la técnica de incidentes críticos (Chell, 2004;Gremler, 2004). Esta técnica posibilita la investigación de hechos identificados por los propios sujetos como significativos (eventos, procesos y/o temas), la manera en que fueron manejados y sus consecuencias.…”

“…El objetivo es lograr el entendimiento del incidente desde la perspectiva de los propios individuos, tomando en consideración los elementos cognitivos, afectivos y de comportamiento allí contenidos (Chell, 2004). Debido a su naturaleza inductiva, la técnica de incidentes críticos ha sido especialmente útil como método exploratorio para el conocimiento de temas escasamente documentados (Gremler, 2004). En este caso, esta segunda entrevista buscó conocer en profundidad los principales conflictos socioeducativos al interior de cada establecimiento en los últimos años y la gestión directiva desarrollada por ellos mismos en estos procesos.…”