Search

Objetivo: o objetivo geral desta pesquisa consistiu em avaliar a influência de falhas e ações de recuperação de falhas, na percepção da qualidade, satisfação e lealdade de clientes bancários.Metodologia: os dados foram obtidos por meio de uma pesquisa quantitativa, caracterizada como descritiva, de corte transversal e de método survey. O tratamento dos dados ocorreu por meio de análise descritiva, em seguida foram realizados os testes de confiabilidade Alpha de Cronbach, Confiabilidade Composta e Variância Média Extraída. Posteriormente foi realizada a Modelagem de Equações Estruturais por meio do software Smart PLS, com o objetivo de verificar a relação entre os construtos do modelo e testar as hipóteses.Principais resultados: os resultados da pesquisa evidenciam relações positivas entre os construtos apresentados, exceto nas relações entre Gravidade da Falha e Qualidade. Assim, os achados demonstram que não se pode pensar em qualidade sem se considerar a importância da recuperação de falhas para os serviços oferecidos.Contribuições metodológicas: este trabalho contribui para a observação da influência de falhas e ações de recuperação de falhas, na percepção da qualidade, satisfação e lealdade de clientes bancários.Relevância: dada a natureza do serviço bancário, os problemas na prestação de serviços são esperados e eventuais falhas são inevitáveis, e, com isso, os resultados podem gerar insatisfação. Para manter clientes satisfeitos e leais às instituições, fazem-se necessárias ações de recuperação de falhas. Objective: The objective is to assess the influence of failure recovery in the perception of quality, satisfaction and loyalty of banking customers.Methodology: Descriptive, quantitative, survey, with a SERVPERF scale for measuring quality, considering the severity of the failure and the recovery from failure (distributive, procedural and interactional justice), as well as consumer satisfaction and loyalty (attitudinal and behavioral). Reliability tests and statistical techniques based on Structural Equation Modeling, using the Smart PLS software, were adopted to verify the relationship between the model's constructs and the testing of the hypotheses.Results: The results show significant relationships between the model's constructs, except for the direct relationships between Failure Severity and Quality, demonstrating that the effect of the failures can be mitigated by recovery actions. Interactional justice is confirmed in the customer's contact with the organization, at the time of failure recovery.Theoretical / methodological contributions: The findings increase the understanding of the adequacy of the model with an integrated view regarding the failure severity and its influence on the requirements for recovery, quality, satisfaction and loyalty. The research contributes to the management of banking services in Brazil.Originality / Relevance: This article presents an integrated view, which is reflected in a theoretical model of how the failure severity and the actions of its recovery influence the assessment of quality, and show themselves as a form of justice, bringing satisfaction and loyalty to banking customers in Brazil.

Purpose This article aims to assess the perception of the influence of people management practices on the process of implementing a lean manufacturing culture. Design/methodology/approach The sample consisted of 303 respondents from five textile companies located in the southern region of Brazil, being collected by accessibility and convenience. Multiple regression analysis was used for data treatment and analysis. Findings As a result, the research showed that people management practices (recruitment and selection, retaining talent, people development, and work environment) influence the implementation of lean manufacturing in organizations. In contrast, the working contract practice did not show an influence on the implementation of lean manufacturing. Research limitations/implications The use of a certain market segment considering a cross-sectional view can be considered a limitation of the study, therefore, the data may not express the results that would be obtained if analyzed in different market segments. Practical implications Pragmatically, it can be considered that this research contributes so that the main organizational managers can choose the most appropriate people management practice during the process of implementing a lean manufacturing culture, that is, investing essentially in retention and employee training. Originality/value This study is relevant and contributes to the expansion of scientific studies about people management practices and the implementation of lean manufacturing. In addition, the study allows managers of textile organizations to understand the level of implementation of lean manufacturing, and which people management practices should be prioritized in the adoption of lean. RESUMO Objetivo Este artigo tem como objetivo avaliar a percepção da influência das práticas de gestão de pessoas no processo de implantação de uma cultura de manufatura enxuta. Design/metodologia/abordagem A amostra foi composta por 303 respondentes de cinco empresas têxteis localizadas na região sul do Brasil, sendo coletados por acessibilidade e conveniência. A análise de regressão múltipla foi utilizada para tratamento e análise dos dados. Resultados Como resultado, a pesquisa mostrou que as práticas de gestão de pessoas (recrutamento e seleção, retenção de talentos, desenvolvimento de pessoas e ambiente de trabalho) influenciam a implantação da manufatura enxuta nas organizações. Em contrapartida, a prática do contrato de trabalho não mostrou influência na implementação da manufatura enxuta. Limitações/implicações da pesquisa A utilização de determinado segmento de mercado considerando uma visão transversal pode ser considerada uma limitação do estudo, portanto, os dados podem não expressar os resultados que seriam obtidos se analisados em diferentes segmentos de mercado. Implicações práticas Pragmaticamente, pode-se considerar que esta pesquisa contribui para que os principais gestores organizacionais possam escolher a prática de gestão de pessoas mais adequada durante o processo de implantação de uma cultura de manufatura enxuta, ou seja, investindo essencialmente na retenção e treinamento dos funcionários. Originalidade/valor Este estudo é relevante e contribui para a ampliação dos estudos científicos sobre as práticas de gestão de pessoas e a implantação da manufatura enxuta. Além disso, o estudo permite aos gestores das organizações têxteis compreender o nível de implantação da manufatura enxuta, e quais práticas de gestão de pessoas devem ser priorizadas na adoção do lean.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose a model to measure maturity in value co-creation practices and to evaluate its relationship with the market performance of textile companies. Design/methodology/approach The data were obtained through quantitative research with 100 companies of the Brazilian textile sector. A structural equation modeling was performed to verify the relationship between the constructs of the proposed model. Findings The results confirm the proposed model and show that, in addition to a direct impact, the relationship between the maturity of value co-creation practices and market performance also occurs indirectly, by meeting customer expectations. Value co-creation processes can meet customer expectations, leading the company to better market performance. Originality/value A model for assessing the maturity of value co-creation practices enables companies to diagnose their current situation, thereby supporting them in managing these practices and leading to better market performance.

Objetivo: analisar a moderação da aliança estratégica na relação entre a capacidade absortiva e a inovação. Originalidade: trata de questões não respondidas sobre a dinâmica entre a capacidade absortiva e a inovação com a moderação das alianças estratégicas, permitindo compreender a influência da capacidade absortiva sobre a inovação em tecnologia e de gestão nas companhias brasileiras de capital aberto. Método: pesquisa descritiva, por meio de levantamento, de abordagem quantitativa e com corte transversal. A coleta de dados considerou empresas brasileiras de capital aberto inscritas na Comissão de Valores Mobiliários em 2015, com amostra final de 107 companhias. A análise considerou as variáveis de capacidade absortiva: aquisição, assimilação, transformação e aplicação; inovação tecnológica: custos, Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento e processos; inovação em gestão: organizacional, estrutura e marketing e; capacidade de aliança estratégica: processos de gestão, informações e tomada de decisões. O método de análise de regressão linear múltipla, com efeito moderador nas variáveis independentes, mudando a força e/ou a direção de uma relação entre duas variáveis no modelo. Resultados: foram encontradas relações positivas entre a capacidade absortiva e inovação, quando moderadas pelas alianças estratégicas nacionais e internacionais. Conclui-se que as alianças estratégicas podem ser moderadoras e influenciar a relação entre a capacidade absortiva e a inovação nas companhias.

The strategic approach of corporate social responsibility (CSR) can be associated with sustainable practices, being considered as a source of value creation that generates competitive advantage and superior performance for companies. This perspective notes that the use of economic, social, and environmental resources and capacities can individually contribute to improving business performance (BP). The present study analyzes the strategic influence of the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of CSR on the performance of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). Using a sample of 103 companies based in Brazil, the results indicate that SMEs can strategically use their resources and related capacities mainly for social and environmental issues, followed by the economic dimension of CSR, as an opportunity to create value and generate advantage competitive with rivals. Additionally, these three dimensions of CSR, with emphasis on the social aspect, can also provide better levels of BP in SMEs compared to competitors.

Com o intuito de entender o consumidor do mercado de produtos digitais educacionais, este estudo tem como objetivo analisar as principais caracteristicas que influenciam na intencao de uso de videos educacionais e livros digitais educacionais na internet. Para essa analise, adaptou-se o modelo UTAUT2 (Teoria Unificada de Aceitacao e Uso de Tecnologia) aos produtos digitais educacionais. Os dados foram obtidos valendo-se de uma amostra de 460 respondentes por meio de uma pesquisa quantitativa, caracterizada como descritiva, de corte transversal e de metodo survey . Foram realizados testes de confiabilidade Alpha de Cronbach, Confiabilidade Composta e Variância Media Extraida e, por fim, foi realizada a Modelagem de Equacoes Estruturais por meio do software SmartPLS. As dimensoes analisadas foram: Seguranca, Influencia Social, Expectativa de Desempenho, Expectativa de Esforco, Condicoes Facilitadoras, Motivacao Hedonica, Preco, Habito e Intencao de Uso. Todas as dimensoes foram moderadas com base na Idade e no Sexo. Os resultados indicaram que os construtos Expectativa de Desempenho, Motivacao Hedonica, Habito e Sexo, moderando o construto Seguranca, exercem influencia na intencao de uso de videos e livros digitais educacionais.

Sustainable Innovation is strategically associated with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), integrating the economic, social and environmental dimensions in a joint and integrated manner. As a way of verifying this association and its implications for business performance (BP), the models of Maturity in Sustainable Innovation (MSI) and Maturity of Corporate Social Responsibility (MCSR) allow us to identify how companies are evolving in a certain area and, from there, create business value and gain competitive advantage. Based on Resource-Based Theory, the present study examines the influence of MSI on MCSR and the mediator effect of MCSR on the relationship between MSI and BP. The analysis is based on Structural Equations Modeling, considering a sample of 58 companies based in the Amazon region, Brazil. The results indicate a strong relationship between MSI and MCSR; that MCSR positively influences BP; and that MCSR exerts a positive mediator effect on the relationship between MSI and BP. These results allow us to advance our strategy studies, providing mechanisms for managing sustainability-related practices as possible sources for analyzing value generation and promoting competitive advantages for companies.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to demonstrate how to use customer spontaneous comments to identify which aspects influence the overall customer satisfaction with restaurant services from a nonlinear perspective.Design/methodology/approachThe authors collected data from 399 spontaneous comments about a chain of fast-food restaurants in Brazil. The comments are freely available on the TripAdvisor portal and were extracted and classified according to seven dimensions related to the quality of services: tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, quality of the food and price. Next, the authors combine the critical incident technique (CIT) and the penalty-reward contrast analysis (PRCA) to investigate the nonlinear relationship between service quality assessment and overall customer satisfaction.FindingsThe method of integrating CIT with PRCA explains 64.7% of the variation in the customer's assessment of the services provided (RAdj2 = 0.647). This shows that spontaneous comments from customers are related to their overall satisfaction with the service provided. Besides, the findings suggest that consumers tend to comment more about positive than negative experiences regarding aspects related to food, attendants' empathy and service assurance, and more negative comments about aspects related to responsiveness and price. However, it was found that negative comments have a stronger influence on overall satisfaction than positive comments.Originality/valueUsing comments available for free on the Internet and evaluating how positive and negative comments can jointly influence customer satisfaction, the proposed methodology demonstrates how restaurants can use their customers' spontaneous comments to identify critical aspects to be managed and improved. To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first study presenting how restaurants can use customer spontaneous comments, freely available on the internet, to identify the relevance of different aspects of the services provided from a nonlinear perspective. In addition, the present study shows that although customers spontaneously tend to share more positive than negative comments about restaurant services, events related to negative experiences have a stronger influence on overall satisfaction.

This article shows the integration of the Critical Incident Analysis Technique (CIT) with the Penalty-reward Contrast Analysis (PRCA) to identify the nonlinear relationship of spontaneous customer ...

Previous researches show that hospital organizations have initiated improvement programs and invested considerably in the orientation and management of processes, using maturity models to improve structures and learning. In this context, the objective of the present paper is to analyze previous researches related to hospital management maturity models, using the Morton (1994) organizational dimensions' analysis model, adapted for hospital organizations. The Web of Science, Scopus, Spell, Scielo and BDTD platforms were used for this study. We screened 305 identified papers, published from January 2005 till December 2019, using search descriptors: “Maturity Model” and “Hospital management". We identified Forty-one articles as eligible for information extraction and analysis. The surveys are classified into five organizational dimensions: Strategy, Structure, Decision Making, Technology, and People. We found a predominance of the technology management dimension in 25 studies, based on the organizational dimensions. The research is essentially related to information systems, supply management and quality management. Although there are different models of hospital management maturity, it was found that the models developed for hospital organizations are mostly related to their technical / operational areas, but in a fragmented way. The present study contributes to a comprehensive literature review of hospital maturity and management models.

Using the instrument proposed by Bento and Tontini 2018. Developing an instrument to measure lean manufacturing maturity and its relationship with operational performance. Total Quality Management ...

Estudos recentes demonstram a importância da criacao e sustentacao de uma cultura organizacional apropriada para uma implementacao bem-sucedida do Lean Manufacturing. O proposito deste artigo e investigar a producao cientifica relacionada a cultura Lean nos ultimos dez anos para identificar “se” e “como” a cultura organizacional afeta a implementacao do Lean Manufacturing, por meio de tecnicas como a bibliometria e a sociometria. Os resultados demonstram que a adocao do Lean Manufacturing deveria passar por um processo de mudanca cultural, onde o respeito as pessoas, a enfase no processo de melhoria continua, o desenvolvimento da lideranca, o trabalho em equipe e a orientacao ao aprendizado sejam prioridades. A principal contribuicao gerencial dessa pesquisa encontra-se no fato de que muitos gestores entendem o lean como um conjunto de ferramentas para trazer resultados imediatos. Porem, a literatura demonstra que os resultados sustentaveis do lean ocorrem quando o mesmo e adotado como uma filosofia gerencial, aliando a aplicacao das ferramentas a uma cultura onde as pessoas participam e se sentem motivadas a melhorar continuamente seus processos. Palavras-chave: Cultura Organizacional. Lean Manufacturing. Bibliometria. Sociometria.

Models of maturity in corporate social responsibility (CSRM) and in sustainable innovation (SIM) allow us to evaluate how a company is evolved in a given area, so that it can trace a strategic path of improvements in the economic, social, and environmental dimensions. This study developed maturity models seeking to verify the influence of CSRM on the SIM and of these dimensions in the business performance (BP). The analysis, grounded on resource‐based theory, used structural equation modeling with a sample of 154 Brazilian companies. It was found that CSRM exerts influence on the SIM and that both positively influence the BP. The use of these models can assist companies in creating value, generating competitive advantage, and promoting superior performance.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the nonlinear impact of users’ memories on their general evaluation of outpatient healthcare services by the integration of two methodologies: critical incidents technique (CIT) and penalty-reward contrast analysis (PRCA). Design/methodology/approach The authors carried out a survey with 356 respondents, users of seven outpatient clinics located in the city of Blumenau/SC, Brazil, during 2016. The participants were asked about their perceptions of positive and negative aspects of the service; and, using CIT, the answers were categorized according to the following dimensions: empathy, communication, facilities, access, promptness, medicines availability, complementary services, safety/confidentiality and service performance. Then, the authors evaluated the nonlinear impact of critical incidents on users’ general evaluation of the service using the identified incidents as input variables in a PRCA. Findings The findings show that users of healthcare services tend to remember emotion and health aspects positively, while technical and formal aspects tend to be more negatively than positively remembered. On the other hand, PRCA identifies that incidents of three dimensions positively influence the overall perception of the service (empathy, complementary services and privacy) and five negatively (empathy, facilities, speed, drugs/pharmacy and health performance), explaining 26.3 percent of the variation in clients’ general satisfaction. Originality/value The present paper explores the integration of two methodologies, showing how we can use open listening to healthcare service users to identify the nonlinear impact of different incidents on their general evaluation of the service. The results show that what customers remember does not necessarily influence overall customer satisfaction. The present approach allows companies to improve the process of listening to customers. There are no other papers exploring this approach, particularly in relation to healthcare services.

Purpose This paper aims to present a methodology for the prioritization of innovations and improvements in services and products that integrates penalty–reward contrast analysis (PRCA) and improvement gap analysis (IGA). Design/methodology/approach The presented method is theoretically developed and simulated. It uses a case study with 290 clients of supermarkets, evaluating 16 attributes of this service, to demonstrate the advantages of integrating PRCA and IGA. Findings The integration of PRCA and IGA provides benefits that outweigh the use of each method individually. The joint use of these methods allows the identification of possible nonlinear impact of attributes on customers’ overall satisfaction, allowing managerial recommendations to be made with greater discriminatory power, in addition to qualifying the identification of innovative attributes. Originality/value Managers must be aware of the effect of the interaction of innovative attributes with attributes already used by the company. At the same time, it is appropriate to verify whether there is potential to improve the existing attributes. The literature shows that PRCA identifies the nonlinear influence of customers’ satisfaction with individual attributes on overall satisfaction, but it fails to identify the possible impact of innovative attributes. In turn, IGA identifies innovative attributes but does not identify how the attributes influence overall satisfaction. Thus, the benefits of integrating PRCA and IGA outweigh the individual limitations of each method, thereby increasing the quality of managerial recommendations. Moreover, a limitation of PRCA makes this method useful for identifying innovative attributes in relation to attractive attributes identified by the IGA method.

Cultural festivals help to promote, improve and preserve tourist and cultural heritages, generating business with great economic value for the destination. It is important that festivals organisers...

This paper proposes an instrument to evaluate the maturity of lean manufacturing, and to examine the relationship between lean manufacturing maturity and operational performance. The research instr...

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study the nonlinear impact of quality dimensions of third-party logistics (3PL) services on customer satisfaction and loyalty.Design/methodology/approachBy interviewing 167 small-size companies, and using penalty and reward contrast analysis, the paper explores the nonlinear impact of seven dimensions of 3PL services (safety, fault’s recovery, reliability, speed, flexibility, communication, and friendliness) on customer satisfaction and loyalty.FindingsThe results confirm the existence of the dimensions’ nonlinear impact on customer satisfaction. It also shows that some quality dimensions have a direct and nonlinear impact on loyalty. The dimension “friendliness” has a direct impact on loyalty if the company has a below market average performance, which may lead customers to switch service providers. “Flexibility on collection and delivery” has a direct impact if the company has a higher performance, contributing to customers’ intention to continue using the service. Another finding is that, if the company delivers good service recovery after the customer found faults in the service, and if customers trust the company service, they say they intend to continue to work with the company.Research limitations/implicationsThe present research focused only on small companies in one country (Brazil). Further studies should be carried out to explore different countries, with different realities, and different size of companies.Practical implications3PL companies should not only deal with customers’ satisfaction, but also with other quality aspects that directly affect customer intention to continue doing business with the 3PL service provider. These are friendliness, flexibility regarding time and frequency of collection and delivery and faults’ recovery.Originality/valueThe present research confirms that the personal relationship is a crucial aspect to be managed in order to keep customers in the long term. In addition, as opposed to most research looking for the antecedents of satisfaction and loyalty of 3PL customers, the present research shows that there is a direct nonlinear impact of the dimensions’ performance on customers’ loyalty, what should be taken in consideration by 3PL managers. It also shows how penalty-reward contrast analysis may reveal nonlinear antecedents that could be used for better understandings companies’ success in the long term.

The literature has recognized the existence of a nonlinear impact of service performance on customer satisfaction. Thus, this study investigates use of the critical incident technique as an input to penalty–reward contrast analysis, showing the nonlinear impact of service quality on customers’ evaluation of three-star hotels in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. To do so, it conducts a content analysis of 400 complaints or compliments in online reviews provided by hotel guests, available at www.tripadvisor.com.br. The identified incidents explain 61% (R2adj = 0.61) of the variance in customers’ service evaluation. We find that some factors that receive frequent comments on TripAdvisor have low or no impact on customer satisfaction, while others, not frequently reported by customers, have a great impact, which may be either positive or negative. Thus, alongside customers’ comments, hotels should explore the nonlinear impact of these comments on customers’ general perceptions of service quality.

O presente estudo tem como objetivo demostrar como avaliar a qualidade de serviços em saúde pública, e decidir o que melhorar. Para tanto, adotou-se uma metodologia quantitativa quanto à abordagem de pesquisa, levantamento quanto aos procedimentos, e exploratória quanto aos objetivos. A população do estudo foi composta por usuários dos serviços público de saúde, especificamente Ambulatórios Gerais, na cidade de Blumenau/SC. A amostra foi de 355 respondentes. Investigou-se o impacto de oito dimensões na avaliação geral dos usuários sobre os serviços prestados. Utilizando a análise da lacuna de importância - desempenho para identificação de prioridades de melhoria, concluiu-se a seguinte ordem de prioridade de esforços para melhoria dos serviços: 1 - Tempo para atendimento; 2 – Farmácia; 3 - Serviços Disponíveis; 4 – Atendimento; 5 – Comunicação; 6 – Confiança; 7 - Instalações; 8 – Acesso aos ambulatórios. Conclui-se que, embora os usuários do serviço de saúde pública se encontrem satisfeitos, ações podem ser realizadas para que sejam melhorados. Ademais, o presente artigo mostra como a análise de importância x desempenho pode colaborar à decisão de ações de gestão de hospitais.

In this study we gathered data from 220 professional users of information via asurvey. Twitter is perceived as a service for useful information but not for the reason one mayexpect, not because the content of the tweets give valuable information, but because of what canbe derived and extracted from the information that is being tweeted and not tweeted.Professional users are aware that tweets are being manipulated by communication departmentsso they adjust for this in their understanding of the content that is being delivered. For thesame reason “fake news” is not seen as a problem either by professionals. Twitter is seen asvaluable alongside other social media software (additional software solutions) and used directlytogether with other software (integrated software solutions). As a stand-alone service it is foundto be of less value to experienced users and there are no signs that Twitter is a valuable tool forlearning.

This paper compares how two different versions of Importance-performance analysis (IPA) and Improvement-gaps analysis (IGA), which is a fusion of the Kano model with IPA, assess the possible impact of incremental innovations on customer satisfaction. A total of 303 users of a health diagnosis service answered questions regarding 21 service attributes, of which three were incremental innovations at the time of research. The results confirm that diagonal IPA overcomes the limitations of the original IPA due to the high correlation of the stated importance with customer satisfaction. However, it also shows that diagonal IPA and traditional IPA are unable to identify which incremental innovations should/could be offered. The present research shows that IGA overcomes not only the problems of original IPA, but also those of both IPA methods regarding the identification of the possible impact of incremental innovations on customer satisfaction. It is a simple method to be used by managers and practitioners. Furt...

A matriz de importância e desempenho para a análise dos atributos é uma técnica analítica utilizada que produz prescrições para o gerenciamento da satisfação dos clientes. O objetivo do estudo foi investigar as percepções dos atributos de qualidade e a satisfação dos pais com os serviços disponibilizados pela Rede Municipal de Ensino do município de Rio do Sul (SC). Com a aplicação de um survey, a qualidade do serviço e a satisfação foram avaliadas por seis dimensões e 43 atributos. Os resultados demonstram empiricamente que as implicações gerenciais requerem ações urgentes em 11 atributos que apresentaram alta importância e baixo desempenho.

Purpose – This paper aims to present and compare a new method, improvement gap analysis (IGA), with two different versions of importance-performance analysis (IPA) – original IPA and diagonal IPA – focusing on how each method evaluates the possible impact of incremental innovations on customer satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach – Two studies were carried out, one with users of mobile phones and another with users of a fitness centre. Mobile phone users answered questions about 24 attributes, of which six were incremental innovations at the time of the research. Users of the fitness centre answered questions about 16 attributes, of which three were incremental innovations. Findings – Both case studies show that diagonal IPA overcomes two limitations of original IPA, in terms of IPA's failure to address: the high correlation between stated importance and customer satisfaction and the non-linear relationship between attribute performance and customers’ satisfaction. However, diagonal IPA is unable to identify the possible impact of incremental innovations on customer satisfaction. Thus, IGA is formulated to overcome both the problems with original IPA and the limitation of diagonal IPA. Research limitations/implications – The new method, IGA, uses expected customer dissatisfaction as a measure of attribute relevance. Its relationship with other methods used to evaluate attribute importance should be studied in the future. Originality/value – The paper presents a new method (IGA) that is able to overcome problems of original and diagonal IPA methods and is also able to identify the possible impact of incremental innovations on customer satisfaction.

This paper analyses how the interactions of services' attributes, classified by the Kano model, affect customer satisfaction. The present research argues that foundations of the attributes interactions' impact on customers' satisfaction are similar to interactions between intrinsic and extrinsic psychological motivators. To carry out this research, data were collected by interviewing a sample of 119 customers of pizzerias and 152 customers of video rental stores. The results show that the impact of a superior level of ‘attractive’ and ‘one-dimensional’ attributes on customer satisfaction, decreases from 30% to 70% if ‘must-be’ or ‘one-dimensional’ attributes are unfulfilled. These findings support the assumption that it is important to achieve adequate performance of ‘must-be’ and ‘one-dimensional’ attributes before offering ‘attractive’ attributes or hoping to achieve superior performance of ‘one-dimensional’ attributes. It is important for a company to be able to identify the Kano model category for eac...

This paper shows in theory how a knowledge management system can be built as a human resource management (HRM) function. The solution builds on the notion of innovation benchmarking. A case study from the company ST Ericsson illustrates the discrepancy between what the company needs to do and what the HRM function is able to support when it comes to innovation. The study shows the ability of employees in the company to innovate within key success factors. More worryingly, it also shows key areas where the company is not able to compete and where it is not getting any support from the HRM function. At the end, we identify a number of directions for future research in the field of innovation benchmarking as it relates to HRM policies.

O presente trabalho tem por objetivo identificar se a percepção sobre os atributos necessários para a satisfação do cliente em projetos residenciais (construção ou reformas) são os mesmos entre clientes e arquitetos. Trata-se de uma pesquisa quantitativa exploratória, que emprega questionários estruturados não disfarçados como instrumento de coleta de dados. Os 15 atributos pesquisados foram definidos por meio da literatura. A coleta de dados foi realizada com 100 clientes pessoas físicas e 30 profissionais. Os resultados da pesquisa indicam que os clientes esperam que o arquiteto resolva o seu problema e consiga entender as suas necessidades, sem necessidade de alterações ou muitas interações com o cliente. Na visão dos clientes, o serviço a ser prestado pelos arquitetos é um serviço técnico. Já os arquitetos percebem que o serviço deve ser construído em conjunto com o cliente e que seu serviço está mais concentrado na criação, no design. Como conclusão, levando em conta a visão dos clientes, o escritório de arquitetura que quiser ter um diferencial competitivo deve entender que seu serviço engloba desde a criação até a entrega da obra, com garantia dos serviços prestados. Deve entender também que o cliente pressupõe que o arquiteto deve saber de suas necessidades e que o atendimento ao cronograma e orçamento iniciais são atributos atrativos.The purpose of the present work was to identify the perception of clients and architects on critical attributes of customers' satisfaction in services of home architecture. It is an exploratory and quantitative research which uses questionnaires to collect data. The 15 researched attributes were identified based on literature review. One hundred clients and thirty architects were interviewed. Results indicate that clients expect architects solve their problems from the design to the construction phases, and that they should understand customers needs without further changes and customers' interaction during the service process. In the clients' view, the service provided by the architects is technical. The architects believe their service should be carried out in close connection with clients and that the service is centered in the creation and design phases. As a conclusion, considering the clients view, the architects who want to have a competitive differential in the market should understand that their service has a wider scope, going from the creation until the handing in of construction, with guarantee of the services. Architects also must understand that clients suppose their needs are understood and that meeting the initial schedule and budget are attractive attributes.

This paper has as objective to study the perceived quality antecedents of a Business Management Course under a non linear perspective. The research was carried out by interviewing 622 business students of a Higher Education Institution (HEI), using a structured questionnaire with quality dimensions based on the literature review. For processing the data it was used the SPSS 14.0 software. It was performed the factorial analysis that resulted in fifteen factors. The non linear influence of the dimensions in the course perceived quality was identified by the Kano Model using the Penalty and Reward Analysis method. The dimensions “course content applicability”, “perceived learning” and “Teachers attitude” can be classified as performance factors. The dimensions “teaching methods”, “course coordinator attitude”, “curricular grid”, “student integration in the academic life” and “campus infrastructure” can be classified as excitement factors. The dimensions “HEI social image”; “trust in the employees”; “extracurricular activities”; “course workload” and “access to infrastructure” can be classified as basic factors. The dimensions that have highest impact on perceived quality when they have above average performance are: “course content applicability”, “teaching methods” and “course coordinator attitude”. It is observed that the dimensions that have highest impact on the perceived quality when they have bellow average performance are “HEI social image”, “course content applicability”, “trust in the IES”. We can see that the dimensions with highest positive impact are related to the course and those with highest negative impacts are related to the general aspects of the HEI (except for the content applicability).Key words: Perceived quality background. Administration graduation students. Nonlinear approach. Kano model. Penalty and Reward Contrast Analysis.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi averiguar quais as principais dimensões da qualidade de serviços logísticos e mostrar como uma empresa pode utilizar a avaliação da satisfação de seus clientes com os diversos atributos do serviço, para direcionar esforços de melhoria e aumentar a lealdade de seus clientes, utilizando uma combinação da análise de importância e desempenho e do modelo Kano de qualidade. O estudo proposto caracteriza-se como uma pesquisa descritiva quantitativa. Foram pesquisados 177 clientes usuários dos serviços de uma empresa logística por meio de um questionário com 22 atributos. Os resultados demonstram que, para evitar erros de avaliação, os esforços de melhoria devem levar em consideração a relação não linear entre o desempenho dos atributos do serviço e a satisfação dos clientes. O estudo mostra que a qualidade do serviço logístico é avaliada pelos clientes em cinco dimensões (confiabilidade, responsividade, flexibilidade, segurança e empatia) e que a lealdade é mais afetada pelos atributos classificados como "chave" pelo modelo Kano de Qualidade que pelos atributos classificados como "básicos" para o serviço. The objectives of this work were to study the dimensions of the perceived service quality of logistics services and to show how a company can use customers' satisfaction surveys to improve its quality and clients' loyalty. One hundred and seventy seven clients of a Logistic Company were interviewed using a 22- attribute questionnaire. The results show that in order to avoid decision errors it is important to take into consideration the non- linear effect of attributes' performance on customer satisfaction. This study also shows that logistic service quality has 5 dimensions (reliability, responsiveness, tangibles, assurance, and empathy) and that customer loyalty is more affected by the attributes classified as "key" attributes, according to the Kano Model, than those that are known as "basic" attributes.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present the improvement gap analysis (IGA), a simple method to direct improvement opportunities in services that overcomes limitations of the traditional IPA regarding excitement and basic attributes.Design/methodology/approachThe proposed method is theoretically developed and simulated. The theoretical simulation explains why IGA overcomes limitations of the traditional importance performance analysis (IPA) and how it could identify the impact of excitement innovative attributes. A case study with 287 customers of supermarkets was used to empirically test IGA and compare it to IPA.FindingsThe case study confirmed that the traditional IPA may lead to wrong improvement decisions for basic and excitement attributes. It happens because IPA is based on current attributes' performance and considers the relationship between attribute performance and customer satisfaction as a linear one. Also, it cannot identify the impact of excitement innovative attributes on customer satisfaction. Using only information about the company's customers, IGA could differentiate neutral from excitement attributes in the case study and, differently from IPA, it correctly identified improvement decisions for basic and excitement attributes.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough IGA can theoretically distinguish between excitement innovative and neutral attributes, the case study presented in the paper did not test any innovative attribute. All attributes were already experimented or known by the subjects. Future research should empirically test IGA's real capability to identify excitement innovative attributes.Practical implicationsManagers should be aware that IPA may lead to wrong improvement decisions. It may leave excitement attributes unnoticed or direct the company to the improvement of basic attributes that already have adequate performance. IGA can be a good substitute for IPA with the additional advantage that it does not need information about competitors in the analysis. Also, since service quality evaluation depends heavily on customer perception, IGA is particularly suitable to this industry, but it could also be used for product improvement.Originality/valueThe literature presents several papers discussing IPA's problems. Some papers present the possible decision errors of IPA when dealing with excitement and basic attributes. Fewer have tried to propose methods to overcome these problems. This paper confirms the problems of IPA and presents a simple method that overcomes these limitations, distinguishing between excitement and neutral attributes. Also, because it does not use information about competitors, it can be easily used by companies that have difficulties in gathering such information.

Service Quality is becoming an important survival strategy for Higher Education Institutions (HEI) facing a competitive market. The objective of this paper is to show an application of the Shanahan & Gerber Model to the Business Administration Undergraduate Course of a HEI, located in Joinville/SC, Brazil. The study tried to identify the HEI stakeholders’ understanding about what is service quality and the dimensions of the educational service quality. The replication of this study in Brazil is justifiable due to the growing importance of the educational quality for the HEI, mainly after the introduction of the Higher Education National Evaluation System (SINAES) in 2004. By interviewing 33 stakeholders and using the fenomenographic methodology, we concluded that both, the Shanahan and Gerber (2004) and the SINAES quality dimensions were found, confirming the research realized by the Australian authors.

O Modelo Kano de Qualidade faz distinção entre três tipos de atributos que influenciam a satisfação do cliente: obrigatórios, atrativos e unidimensionais. Este trabalho teve como objetivo estudar a interação entre atributos atrativos e obrigatórios. Para tanto, utilizou-se um delineamento experimental do tipo fatorial completo com quatro atributos de video-locadoras (dois obrigatórios e dois atrativos), cada um a dois níveis, entrevistando-se 152 clientes. Verificou-se que os atributos atrativos apresentaram um maior impacto na satisfação dos clientes se os atributos obrigatórios estiverem presentes. A implicação gerencial desse resultado é que os atributos obrigatórios devem ser identificados e mantidos em um nível adequado, pois somente assim os atributos atrativos terão pleno efeito no aumento da satisfação dos clientes. Kano Model distinguishes service attributes in three types: basic, excitement and performance attributes. This work has as objective to verify how these attributes interact to proportionate satisfaction to customers. A full factorial experiment, using a sample of 152 customers of video rental stores, was used to study the interaction among four attributes (two basic and two excitements). The results show that the excitement attributes had less impact on customer satisfaction if the basic attributes were not fulfilled. The managerial implication of these results is that service companies should identify and fulfill the basic attributes in order to the excitement attributes having full impact on customer satisfaction.