Discourse on service modularity: investigating service delivery process

*E-mail: [email protected] Abstract. Purpose – the purpose of this research is to determine aspects of the service delivery process what must be considered for modularisation. The aim is reached through (1) investigating the process construct; (2) describing and schematizing service delivery process through integration of customer and provider perspectives; (3) ascertaining the as-pects of the service delivery process modularisation. Research methodology – the article is built on an overview of the scientific literature dealing with the topic, using meth-ods of comparative analysis, systemic analysis, abstraction, synthesis, abductive reasoning. Findings – for achieving service modularisation, the service provider may apply standardisation and automation methods on three dimensions of service delivery process: (1) service offering; (2) parts of the service process that are managed by the provider; (3) organisational structure of the provider. Research limitations – the study examines the aspects of modularity only on the conceptual level. A natural extension of this research is an empirical investigation of the introduced approaches. Practical implications – the proposed approaches help practitioners in the decision-making process for a service delivery process modularisation. Originality/Value – the study approaches the modularisation of the service delivery process considering the customer and service provider perspectives and fills the gap in the literature on service modularisation management. Keywords: services; service modularity; service delivery process; service management.

The impact of Influencer marketing on consumer buying behavior in social networks

Purpose – the purpose of the article is to analyze the impact effect of Influencers marketing on consumer buying behavior by determining which partnership opportunities are most relevant. Research methodology – the theoretical analysis of scientific literature and quantitative statistical analysis of empirical research results. Findings – the research in Lithuania has shown that before making a decision to purchase a product or a service, most respondents are actively seeking information in social networks by reading other costumers feedback. Moreover, the survey reveals that recommendations, comments, shared information about certain brands by Influencers are the most important factors in changing buying behavior. Research limitations – the main limitations of research may be the geographical research area – Lithuania and social networks (Facebook). Practical implications – understanding of Influencers impact on consumer buying behavior. Originality/Value – this scientific topic is rather new. Scientists, like Matsumura, Yamamoto, & Tomozawa (2008), investigated Influencers and Consumer Insights impact in the Blogosphere; Thakur, Srivastava (2015) presented a Conceptual research model of Influencers impact of Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty and etc. However, there is a lack of research investigating the impact of Influencer marketing on consumer buying behavior. This research aims to fill this gap in the Lithuanian case

Relation of selected factors of further education in organizations development and profitability of organizations

Purpose – further education and training play an important role in organizations development. The paper aims to analyze its relation to the financial performance of organizations, particularly to find which factors of further education are significantly related to the organization profitability indicators. Research methodology – it is an empirical study based on 142 profit-oriented organizations operating in the Czech Republic. Multiple median regression was used to investigate the correlation among organization profitability and talent management, long-term strategy, education evaluation, investments into education, industry sector, organization size and its owner. Findings – the results provide evidence that talent management, education evaluation, investments into education are significantly related to the considered profitability indicator ratios (ROA, ROE, ROCE, ROS). Research limitations – follow from the size of the research sample, its extension is planned for the continuation of our research. Practical implications – the results of the research could stimulate organizations to pay more attention to the key factors of further education in their development so as to improve their financial performance. Originality/Value – the authors are not aware of any other empirical study from the post-transformation economies analyzing the relation of further education and the organization´s financial performance. It extends our pilot study presented at ECMLG 2017 in London. The results provide a suggestion for organizations which steps to take in order to gain the most from further education.

A demographic analysis of consumers’ preference for green products

Purpose – the aim of this research is to understand and present the outcomes of the strength of association between consumers and the use of the green (herbal) product from a demographic viewpoint. By extension, it measures the magnitude of dependents among demographic factors influencing the use of the green product in a developing country. Research methodology – to evaluate consumer’s demographics on the use of the green (herbal) product, 207 participants took part in the survey through a structured questionnaire. Data were obtained from users of green products (specifically herbs) in Ghana. A nonparametric test precisely chi-square test (x2) and Spearman's correlation rs were employed for our empirical analysis. Findings – the paper indicated the youthful population as the highest number of users of the green product in the herbal market. Results from the nonparametric test (Spearman’s rho) revealed that demographic factors (gender, age, education, and occupation) have an inverse relationship on the use of the green product. Whiles the chi-square test also discloses insignificant relationships among the observed attributes. This suggests that there is no empirical evidence to support the claim that use of green product depends on demographic factors of consumers. Research limitations – the limitation of this study considered the research scope, taking into account a smaller sample size for the study hence, future researchers should expand the sample size as well the other demographic variables necessary for a similar study. Practical implications – the practical implication of this study gives insights to practitioners and marketers in the herbal industry on how best they can progress in their quest to sustain in the business. Originality/Value – the present study aided in widening the scope of consumer behaviour towards the green product in the marketing discipline taken into consideration the widespread competition in the business nowadays especially in the herbal (green product) market

E-entrepreneurship in EU countries: evolutions and challenges

Purpose – the purpose of this paper is to identify how entrepreneurs from European Union (EU) use informational and communicational technologies in their business activities. We also try to identify the benefits and the challenges arisen for the European entrepreneurs in using information technologies. Research methodology – we analyze a sample of EU countries, by including them into two groups, according to the stage of their economic development. As methods, we use the logical-constructive method and also comparative methods. We also use the benchmarking method in order to estimate country indicators in the sample and compare them. Findings – the results of our study emphasize that e-entrepreneurship in developed countries is more advanced compared to developing countries. There are also significant differences regarding the use of informational technologies between types of firms by their size. Research limitations – are given by the availability of data. Practical implications – we emphasize that in order to support the development of E-entrepreneurship in the EU, government policies should pay more attention to the development of information technology infrastructure. Originality/Value – comes from grouping the EU countries into two groups, according to their stage of economic development. And, comparing the two groups as regards the use of informational and communication technologies. Keywords: information technology, e-entrepreneurship, e-business, innovation, EU countries

Role of scenario planning and probabilities in economic decision problems – literature review and new conclusions

Purpose – scenario planning is very helpful when the decision maker deals with uncertain issues. Probabilities are also frequently applied to such problems. In the paper, we examine the correctness of combining probabilities with scenario planning in economic decisions which are usually made under uncertainty. The goal of the article is to find and discuss cases where the use of probabilities in scenario planning is appropriate and cases where such an approach is not desira-ble. Research methodology – in order to achieve this target, we first make a concise literature review of existing approaches concerning the application of probabilities to scenario planning. Then, we investigate and compare diverse decision mak-ing circumstances presented by means of numerical examples and differing from each other with regard to the nature of the decision problem (way of payoff estimation, novelty degree of the problem, access to historical data etc.) and the de-cision maker’s objectives and preferences (one-shot or multi-shots decisions, attitude towards risk). We explore the newsvendor problem, the spare parts quantity problem, the project selection problem and the project time management with scenario-based decision project graphs. Findings – the work contains both recommendations already described in the literature and suggestions formulated by the author. We get to the point that scenario planning is unquestionable support for decision making under uncertainty, however, the use of probabilities as an accompanying tool may be necessary and justified in some specific cases only. Their significance depends for instance on (1) the number of times a given variant is supposed to be executed; (2) the de-cision maker’s knowledge about the considered problem; (3) the novelty degree of the problem; (4) the decision maker’s conviction that the probability values really reflect his/her attitude towards risk. The analysis of numerical examples leads us to the conclusion that scenario planning should not be linked with the likelihood (1) for one-shot decisions problems; (2) for decision problems related to different kinds of innovation; (3) in the case of lack of certainty which type of proba-bility definition ought to be applied to a given situation; (4) if the decision maker anticipates new future factors not in-cluded in historical data. Research limitations – in the paper we mainly analyse one-criterion problems and payoff matrices with data precisely de-fined. Further conclusions can be obtained after investigating multi-criteria cases and examples with interval payoffs. We limit our research to selected probability definitions. Nevertheless, a wider review can lead to new interesting observa-tions. Practical implications – the aforementioned findings are crucial in such domains as economic modeling and decision the-ory. The results of the research can be used in planning, management, and decision optimization. They provide valuable guidelines for each decision maker dealing with an uncertain future. Originality/Value – authors of previous papers related to this topic have already formulated many significant conclusions. However, this contribution examines the problem from a new point of view since it concentrates on novel decisions, con-cerning unique, innovative or innovation projects (products). It encourages the decision makers to treat problems usually called in the literature “stochastic problems” (i.e. with known probability distribution) as “strategic problems” (i.e. with unknown probability distribution). This is especially the case of the newsvendor problem and the spare parts quantity problem

Research and development projects fuzzy definition in the university context

Purpose – research on R&D projects implemented at universities shows that many researchers feel that the requirements set on R&D project definition in the process of calls for projects brake the innovativeness and the freedom of research. Thus, the objective of the paper is to propose a soft, fuzzy set based method of R&D project definition, which would allow to evaluate projects in the stage of project calls, but at the same time would not act contrary to the research ideas of the most ingenious and innovative researchers. Research methodology – the proposal is based on the results of over 70 structured interviews with R&D project managers from Polish and French universities. The respondents expressed their critical opinion about the required definition of R&D projects in the application stage of most calls, suggested which elements should be improved and in which way. Most of them criticised the required detail level of projects description and emphasized the uncertainty present in their research. Then we propose to model this uncertainty by means of fuzzy sets. Findings – the result of the research presented in the paper is a new way of R&D project definition, based on the fuzzy theory, adjustable to each R&D project type. The new method of project definition will express the actual uncertainty and innovative potential of each R&D project and thus allow a selection of R&D projects which would maximise their contribution to the university and science development. Research limitations – the proposed approach needs to be validated and verified on the basis of a big sample of a real world R&D project, with the participation of a representative sample of researchers. Another limitation is a highly probable resistance against such an approach among the researchers and research funding institutions, as it requires a deep analysis of the planned research and its context. Practical implications – it is proposed that the method will be used by research funding institutions in project calls. This will increase the efficiency of financial resources spent on research, in terms of value-added per one dollar invested in the research. Originality/Value – the proposed method is the first approach to project definition based on fuzzy numbers and one of very few existing approaches to project definition taking uncertainty into account

Customer game experience impact on gamification and online purchasing

PPurpose – the purpose of the current research was to investigate the influence of the experience of players and no-players on their purchasing behavior in a gamified purchasing setting. Research methodology – PLS-SEM has been employed to investigate the effect of gaming on consumer behavior and analyze the data gathered via the questionnaire distributed online. Findings – unlike studies in different domains, where the positive impact of game experience in a gamified learning environment and purchasing intention towards gamified products has been highlighted, the results of this research reveal the irrelevance of game experience in online purchasing behavior. Research limitations – firstly, no comparison has been made concerning the differences between board-games and online games. Secondly, the length of time spent playing has not been analyzed. Lastly, the research does not offer any insight regarding the country, nor compare online and offline buying behavior. Practical implications – eventually, game experience needlessly impacts the purchasing process in a gamified setting. Game design, personality, characteristics, cultural background and other attributes of the participants are an important caveat. Originality/Value – the research reveals stimulating results for scholars in the field of gamification, game elements, consumer behavior, and online purchasing

Impact of reputational loss on financial performance of the bank

Purpose – the purpose of the article is to identify the criteria influencing on the reputational performance of a financial organisation and recognise the impact of reputation on the activities of a financial institution. Research methodology – to estimate the reputational impact on a financial organisation an interview with experts was conducted. In order to process the received data SAW, COPRAS and geometric mean methods were used. The mentioned methods were applied for performance measurement to ensure the inclusion of the reputation-sensitive data. Findings – the weakest position of the financial company in terms of reputational condition implies decreased efficiency of its performance. The degree of reputation and the impact of repercussions on the organisation’s performance can be further measured through financial analysis. Research limitations – the financial organisation analysed in the current study does not provide services for local clients, hence there is no possibility to obtain primary data from direct interactors. Practical implications – the research results provide insight towards key areas to look on while conducting root-cause analysis for decrease of financial performance; reputational impact measurement model can be used for further planning processes related to the future repercussions prevention. Originality/Value – literature overview results prove that it is still argued over the way reputational impact could be measured due to the fact that organizational reputation is attributed to a long-term intangible asset which is sensitive towards the subjectivity of the analysed matter. While it is usual to measure the reputation from the clients’ perspective, the research on reputation impact relies on the particular statistical data on company’s condition in the market.

Impact of different price discount frames and levels on customer perception and behavioural intention

Purpose – this paper aims to examine the effect of framing price promotion on consumers’ purchase intentions. The main purpose of this paper is to analyse the impact of percentage and monetary price discount frames, discount levels of 20%, 40%, 60% and 80% on customer behavioural intention and perception within a high-end hospitality industry context. Research methodology – this study considers 8 manipulated sample scenarios that have been developed. In summary, the experiment consisted of 2×4 designs of the high-end hospitality industry. Two independent variables were included in the experiment: two discount formats (€-off, %-off) and four discount levels to instigate the impact it has on the behavioural intentions and perceptions. Findings – research has proved that in the high-end hospitality industry, different price discount frames and levels have a significant impact on customer behavioural intentions and perceptions. Research limitations – the results of this study show that the threshold for the discount rate may depend on the type of hotel. Therefore, in the future, the impact of a discount on several hotels of different levels should be assessed in one study. Practical implications – the practical implication for service firms that want to use price discount promotions to encourage sales and increase revenue is that they should carefully consider the price range and the value or quality of image they intend to signal when using these different price discount frames and the service they are selling to determine the discount level to use. Originality/Value – this paper is valuable to high-end service marketers that seek to use price discount promotions to encourage sales and increase revenue.