Exploring customer engagement valences in the social services

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 890-912 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kay Naumann ◽  
Jana Lay-Hwa Bowden ◽  
Mark Gabbott
Keyword(s):  
Social Services ◽  
Social Service ◽  
Spillover Effect ◽  
Customer Engagement ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Object A ◽  
Service Community ◽  
Service Organisation ◽  
The One ◽  
Positive Engagement

Purpose Minimal attention is given to the negative valences of customer engagement and how they manifest in ways that detract from service value. The purpose of this paper is to uncover the meaning and conceptual dimensions of disengagement and negative engagement in conjunction with positive engagement. It explores how three valences of engagement manifest towards dual objects: the service community and the focal service organisation. This exploration is based within a new and novel social service context. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative approach using (four) focus groups is used. Findings A conceptual model of customer engagement is derived from the groups that include strongly held and positive customer engagement; passive, yet negatively orientated customer disengagement; and active and destructive negative customer engagement. Positive customer engagement is found to be directed at the service community object, whereas customer disengagement and negative engagement are directed at the focal service organisation object. A spillover effect is also revealed whereby negative engagement with the focal service organisation detracts from customers’ positive engagement within their service community. This suggests that engagement within a social service is multifaceted: several engagement valences may exist within one service relationship. It also suggests that these engagement valences are interrelated. Originality/value This is the first paper to apply three valences of engagement within the one focal relationship and examine how they manifest towards two objects, providing a unique perspective of how different interactions within the service ecosystem can influence engagement.

scholarly journals Expanding customer engagement: the role of negative engagement, dual valences and contexts

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (7) ◽  
pp. 1469-1499 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kay Naumann ◽  
Jana Bowden ◽  
Mark Gabbott
Keyword(s):  
Social Service ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Social Networking Site ◽  
Customer Engagement ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Community ◽  
Inverse Effect ◽  
The Social ◽  
Survey Responses

Purpose The purpose of this study is to operationalise and measure the effects of negative customer engagement (CE) in conjunction with positive CE. Both valences are explored through affective, cognitive and behaviour dimensions, and, in relation to the antecedent of involvement and outcome of word-of-mouth (WOM). It also explores the moderating influence of service context by examining engagement within a social service versus a social networking site (SNS). Engagement with the dual focal objects of a service brand and a service community are also examined. Design/methodology/approach Structural equation modelling is used to analyse 625 survey responses. Findings Involvement is a strong driver of positive CE, and positive CE has a strong effect on WOM. These findings are consistent across the “brand” and “community” object, suggesting positive CE is mutually reinforced by different objects in a relationship. Positive CE is also found to operate consistently across the service types. Involvement is a moderately negative driver of negative CE, and negative CE is a positive driver of WOM. These relationships operate differently across the objects and service types. Involvement has a stronger inverse effect on negative CE for the social service, diverging from assumptions that negative CE is reflective of highly involved customers. Interestingly, negative CE has a stronger effect on WOM in the social service, highlighting the active and vocal nature of customers within this service context. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to quantitatively measure positive and negative valences of engagement concurrently, and examine the moderating effect of dual objects across contrasting service types.

scholarly journals Transitioning from child to adult mental health services: what role for social services? Insights from a European survey

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 89-108
Author(s):  
Giulia Signorini ◽  
Nikolina Davidovic ◽  
Gwen Dieleman ◽  
Tomislav Franic ◽  
Jason Madan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Young People ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Social Service ◽  
Service Availability ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Adult Mental Health

Purpose Young people transitioning from child to adult mental health services are frequently also known to social services, but the role of such services in this study and their interplay with mental healthcare system lacks evidence in the European panorama. This study aims to gather information on the characteristics and the involvement of social services supporting young people approaching transition. Design/methodology/approach A survey of 16 European Union countries was conducted. Country respondents, representing social services’ point of view, completed an ad hoc questionnaire. Information sought included details on social service availability and the characteristics of their interplay with mental health services. Findings Service availability ranges from a low of 3/100,000 social workers working with young people of transition age in Spain to a high 500/100,000 social workers in Poland, with heterogeneous involvement in youth health care. Community-based residential facilities and services for youth under custodial measures were the most commonly type of social service involved. In 80% of the surveyed countries, youth protection from abuse/neglect is overall regulated by national protocols or written agreements between mental health and social services, with the exception of Czech Republic and Greece, where poor or no protocols apply. Lack of connection between child and adult mental health services has been identified as the major obstacles to transition (93.8%), together with insufficient involvement of stakeholders throughout the process. Research limitations/implications Marked heterogeneity across countries may suggest weaknesses in youth mental health policy-making at the European level. Greater inclusion of relevant stakeholders is needed to inform the development and implementation of person-centered health-care models. Disconnection between child and adult mental health services is widely recognized in the social services arena as the major barrier faced by young service users in transition; this “outside” perspective provides further support for an urgent re-configuration of services and the need to address unaligned working practices and service cultures. Originality/value This is the first survey gathering information on social service provision at the time of mental health services transition at a European level; its findings may help to inform services to offer a better coordinated social health care for young people with mental health disorders.

Integrating social issues and customer engagement to drive loyalty in a service organisation

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (6/7) ◽  
pp. 547-559 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingrid M. O'Brien ◽  
Wade Jarvis ◽  
Geoffrey N. Soutar
Keyword(s):  
Social Issue ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Customer Engagement ◽  
Internet Service ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Organisation ◽  
Csr Strategy ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose – The paper aims to measure and identify customer preference for social issues and understand the importance of customer engagement when service organisations implement corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes. Design/methodology/approach – Developing a relevancy/scope typology framework, this paper then examines the relationships between social issues preference, engagement and loyalty. The models were estimated to assess the role engagement played in the relationship between CSR issue preference and loyalty. The sample was obtained from customers who used a large national Australian Internet service provider. Findings – Local and global CSR issues relevant to the organisation were most preferred, while engagement had the strongest, positive effect on loyalty and was a full mediator of the relationship between CSR issue preference and loyalty. Practical implications – Service organisations should direct their CSR efforts towards addressing social issues that are relevant to their business, and obtaining customer engagement is imperative if they wish to improve loyalty. Social implications – Providing greater clarity on how organisations can improve loyalty from CSR programmes will increase the likelihood of organisations investing their resources towards addressing social issues. Originality/value – Few empirical studies have identified which social issues are the most preferred by customers. The development of a social issue typology and the testing of the relationships between social issue preference, engagement and loyalty provides empirical evidence of how a CSR strategy can improve loyalty.

Child Protection

2021 ◽  
pp. 177-204
Author(s):  
Sanford N. Katz
Keyword(s):  
Social Services ◽  
Social Service ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
State Intervention ◽  
Parent Child Relationship ◽  
Social Service Agencies ◽  
Child Relationship ◽  
The One ◽  
Service Agencies ◽  
Parent Child

This chapter studies the parent–child relationship through the lens of child protection laws, with emphasis on the issues of state intervention into that relationship. Throughout the history of the laws governing the complex relationship of parent, child, and state, there has been a struggle between parental authority and family privacy, on the one hand, and the state's responsibility of guarding the best interests of the child, on the other. The rhetoric has been that parents have the basic right to raise their children as they see fit, subject to their not overstepping the bounds of reasonableness in all aspects of childrearing. However, parental rights are not unlimited. Historically, the state, the ultimate parent who looks after all the children in society under the parens patriae concept, has a right to subject parents to public scrutiny and legal examination. In the United States, in the main, child protection in the form of child welfare services in the latter part of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first is basically the responsibility of the states. State social service agencies under the executive branch deliver certain social services themselves but more commonly for reasons of economy contract for foster care and adoption services with private social service agencies, which they monitor. The chapter then looks at the federal government's impact on the child protection systems in the states.

Quality management systems in European social service organizations

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 354-372
Author(s):  
Nuno Filipe Melão ◽  
Marlene Amorim ◽  
Frederic Marimon ◽  
Inés Alegre
Keyword(s):  
Quality Management ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Social Service ◽  
Survey Methodology ◽  
Service Organizations ◽  
Final Decision ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Service Organizations ◽  
Optimistic Picture

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze from an adopters’ perspective the European Quality in Social Services (EQUASS) Assurance standard, a certification program to implement a quality management (QM) system specifically tailored to European social service organizations (SSO). Specifically, it analyzes the motives, internalization, impacts, satisfaction, and renew intentions of this standard. Design/methodology/approach The research uses a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based survey methodology with both closed and open-ended questions. Of the 381 organizations contacted, 196 responses from eight different European countries were considered valid (51.4 percent). Descriptive statistical techniques and content analysis were employed to analyze closed- and open-ended questions, respectively. Findings The results show that SSO typically implement the certification for internal reasons, internalize EQUASS Assurance principles and practices in daily usage, obtain mainly operational and customer benefits, and consider main pitfalls such as increased workload and bureaucracy. Around 85 percent of the respondents are very satisfied or satisfied with the standard, which suggests that it meets their needs. The intention to renew the certification is also encouraging, but the final decision may be contingent on several aspects. Overall, the results reveal a rather optimistic picture, though there are some reasons for concern. Originality/value Recent years have seen many social services implementing QM systems, but there have been few studies investigating this phenomenon. Social service managers, consultants, auditors, and the EQUASS certification body can find in this work valuable information to make their practice more effective. This is the first study to report the results of an EQUASS survey in a scholarly journal.

Looking for an emergency door

2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 102-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Rossi
Keyword(s):  
Social Services ◽  
Social Assistance ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Alternative View ◽  
Dynamic Factor ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Professional Discretion ◽  
The One ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
High Level

Purpose – The paper investigates the role of information asymmetries and sensegiving processes of citizens claiming for social services. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the relevance of applicants’ agency, since it has been generally neglected in the analysis of social services provision. On the contrary, the paper proposes an alternative view, considering applicants as actors who are able to develop dialectic strategies for claiming specific forms of social assistance. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a qualitative research, conducted following an inductive approach. The data have been collected in three different Italian municipalities, where the researcher has been the opportunity to perform a period of observation of the interviews between the social workers of the local social services department and the citizens applying for social assistance. Findings – The findings of the research point out that informational asymmetries play an ambivalent role in the definition of applicant’s strategies, since they represent an ambivalent and dynamic factor, rather than a mere source of disadvantage for the user. From this viewpoint, the citizens’ possibilities to access to social assistance are shaped by both institutional and dialectic factors: on the one hand, access to social assistance relies on specific criteria of eligibility (institutionally defined), but on the other hand the access is the outcome of situated sensegiving processes, performed by both the applicants and the gatekeepers of social services during their encounters. Research limitations/implications – The research is based on the analysis of a small number of cases, within a context that is characterized by a high level of organizational and professional discretion in the regulation of the provision of social assistance. Practical implications – The findings of the research urge policy maker to re-consider applicants as strategic actors and opens the space for the development of new options of regulation of the delivery of social services. Social implications – The paper suggests to consider the applicants for social services as people who, although in a condition of need, are capable to identify specific forms of assistance. From this point of view, informational asymmetries are not be considered as a stigmatic issue, but as a space which calls for further and less superficial investigation. Originality/value – The paper challenges some of the most taken-for-granted theoretical assumptions in the analysis of the regulation of the access to social assistance. First, it proposes a dynamic interpretation of the notion of informational asymmetries, considering them as a space for action, rather than a binding factor; second, it emphasizes the relevance of user’s agency in the access to welfare services, that is generally neglected since most analyses focus on professional discretion disregarding the hypothesis of the user as a strategic actor.

Service provider perspectives on a focused deterrence program

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 133-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Schnobrich-Davis ◽  
Desiree Gardner
Keyword(s):  
Social Services ◽  
Social Service ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Target Population ◽  
Essential Elements ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Service Providers ◽  
Focused Deterrence ◽  
Provider Perspectives

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to gain the perspectives from social service providers that are a key component in focused deterrence programs. All focused deterrence/pulling levers programs have at least two essential elements: first, the message to the target population that reoffending will be met with swift and certain punishment, and second that social service providers are available to assist in their transition to a law-abiding lifestyle. Design/methodology/approach A case study approach was used to gather qualitative data with open-ended interviews of social service providers that participated in Operation RASOR, a modified focused deterrence initiative that identified cross-jurisdictional, chronic offenders across three cities in New England. Findings The results showed that many providers were unable, and sometimes unwilling, to participate in the strategy due to their lack of awareness of what focused deterrence strategies encompass, participant eligibility restrictions, and lack of funding. These findings may impact the success of focused deterrence programs. Research limitations/implications Future research should include a larger sample from programs operating in different cities. The importance of the social services component of focused deterrence strategies and their capability of serving clients within those programs needs further examination for the integrity of these programs to adequately serve the participants. Originality/value The perceptions from social service providers on the program elements and ability to provide necessary services to the targeted offenders have never been examined. This study aids in expanding the literature on focused deterrence programs. It can also inform law enforcement agencies on the services that are most needed by the target population and the importance of coordinating their initiatives with service providers.

Friend or foe? Chat as a double-edged sword to assist customers

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 438-461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marion Sangle-Ferriere ◽  
Benjamin G. Voyer
Keyword(s):  
Customer Service ◽  
Spillover Effect ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Environment ◽  
Live Chat ◽  
Self Service ◽  
The One ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The development of self-service technologies, while intended to better serve customers by offering them autonomy, has created situations in which individuals may require additional help. The purpose of this paper is to explore perceptions of chat as an assistance channel, to identify its perceived role in a customer service environment. Design/methodology/approach In all, 23 semi-structured interviews held with both chat and non-chat users assessed perceptions of chat in an assistance encounter. A thematic analysis was used. Findings The findings highlight a paradoxical perception of chat in a customer assistance context. On the one hand, customers perceive live chat as mainly beneficial in a customer service context, alleviating embarrassment, perceived threats and potential dissatisfaction linked to assistance requests. On the other hand, the elusive nature of a chat conversation interlocutor (human or artificial) adversely affects how customers interpret assistance from companies. Research limitations/implications This research underscores the perceived threats of assistance encounters and shows the ambivalent role of chat in such a context. It also highlights chat’s specific features that make it a relevant medium for assistance requests. Practical implications This study helps companies better understand customers’ perceptions of assistance requests and chat in that context. Companies can use the findings to develop better ways to address assistance needs and offer transparent and fully personalized human chat to provide an inclusive service. Originality/value This paper highlights the ambivalent role of chat as an assistance channel, easing assistance requests but also entailing a potential negative spillover effect, when negative chat perceptions of an artificial interlocutor have consequences.

Barriers to access

2005 ◽  
Vol 48 (5) ◽  
pp. 621-631 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Morrison Puckett
Keyword(s):  
Social Services ◽  
Social Service ◽  
Descriptive Study ◽  
Service Community ◽  
Barriers To Access ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Status ◽  
Services Sociaux

Despite the small size of the Polish Romani population, the status and treatment of this group deserve special attention. This descriptive study identifies potential disconnects between the Roma and social services in the community and suggests practices to strengthen the connections between the marginalized Roma and the social service community. French Nonobstant la faible population Roma en Pologne, le statut et le traitement accordé à ce groupe mérite l'attention. Cette étude descriptive identifie des coupures potentielles entre les Roma et les services sociaux dans la communauté et suggère des pratiques visant à renforcer les liens entre les Roma marginalisés et les services sociaux. Spanish A pesar de la pequeña población de los Roma en Polonia, el estatus y tratamiento de este grupo merece especial atención. Este estudio descriptivo identifica la potencial desconexión entre los Roma y los servicios sociales en la comunidad; y sugiere prácticas para fortalecer las conexiones entre los Roma marginalizada y los servicios sociales comunitarios.

Dissemination and Implementation in Social Service Settings

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Curtis McMillen ◽  
Danielle R. Adams
Keyword(s):  
Health Disparities ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Social Service ◽  
Careful Consideration ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Health Interventions ◽  
Dissemination And Implementation ◽  
The Social ◽  
Implementation Models ◽  
Complex Settings

Social service settings offer numerous complexities in their staffing, consumers, and payer mix that require careful consideration in designing dissemination and implementation efforts. However, social services’ unique access to vulnerable populations with health problems may prove vital in efforts to improve the health status of many of our citizens and reduce health disparities. While a number of well-developed, blended dissemination and implementation models are being used in social service settings, they all require additional documentation, research, and field experience. Nonetheless, the lessons learned in the social services may help organizations in other sectors better implement health interventions with complex consumers in complex settings.

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