The South African health industry can be divided into public and private health institutions. The public health institutions are subsidised by the South African government, whereas the private institutions generate income from medical aids and out-of-pocket payments. Three major groups currently control the private health sector and include Medi-Clinic, Life Healthcare and Netcare. Due to the competitiveness of the private health sector with limited role players, institutions need to differentiate themselves on the service quality provided by these institutions. The purpose of the study was to measure service quality in a private hospital. This was done by setting the following objectives: Determining the importance of service quality, determining the current standard of service quality, determining the gap between the importance and satisfaction of service quality dimensions as well as the influence of gender on the perception of service quality. The literature consisted of two topics, which included the private healthcare sector and the standards of service quality. The private health care sector lightens the load on the current overburdened public sector, but in doing so utilises the majority of qualified personnel as well as half of the financial resources available. Medical schemes are the main contributor the private institutions and are only available to the individuals privileged enough to afford these schemes. Service quality pertains to the ability of the service provider to meet or exceed the expectations of the customer. Thus, the importance of such ability lies in the fact that institutions can use this to differentiate them from other role players in this highly competitive market. Several models exist to evaluate service quality, but the SERVQUAL model has been utilised in various health institutions. Furthermore, gender could also have an effect on the manner in which customers perceive service quality. The study made use of the SERVQUAL model, with a 38-item survey questionnaire forming the basis of the data collecting technique. The 38 items were divided into seven sections, which included premises/employees, doctors‟ medical services, diagnostics, nursing medical services, admissions, meals and wards. A response rate of 71% was obtained. The demographic profile of the study resembled the current demographic of the town and 35.85% of the respondents were male with 64.15% being female. The validity and the reliability of the study were confirmed by means of an exploratory factor analysis and Chronbach alpha coefficients. The analysis of the difference in means of the various factors indicated that tangibles 2 and responsiveness 1 required attention from management to improve customer satisfaction. The analysis of data pertaining to gender indicated that no difference in satisfaction levels was evident. In conclusion, management needs to focus on the factors highlighted during the study, with proper maintenance and improvement of the appearance of the facility and providing training to staff to promote patient relationships. Furthermore, the recommendations include that the model is used in all institutions to evaluate service quality levels to highlight possible shortfalls, thus providing management with ability to address these shortfalls, in an effort to improve the level of service quality across the whole health sector. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

South African short-term insurers are finding it increasingly more difficult to maintain their market value amidst unpredictable and erratic economic conditions. In addition, the short-term insurance industry is faced with two major challenges: the growing number of direct short-term insurers entering the industry, and the significant decline in customer retention rates. Based on the literature review, it was found that these challenges present short-term insurers with a strategic imperative – they need to adopt a CRM approach, incorporating an integrated customer focus aimed at developing long-term relationships with customers. If they want to succeed in this pursuit, short-term insurers need to understand their customers‟ perceptions of the service offering, their existing relationship with the insurer, their levels of satisfaction, and their behavioural intentions towards the insurer. The primary objective of this study was to determine the influence of both direct and indirect short-term insurers‟ service quality and benefits derived from being in a relationship with the insurer, specifically on their customers‟ levels of satisfaction, their loyalty, and positive word- of-mouth intentions. In this vein, the study also sheds light on how short-term insurers can adapt their marketing strategies in order to develop and maintain successful long-term relationships with their customers. The study followed a descriptive research design. Convenience sampling was used to select suitable respondents, and data was collected by means of mall-intercept, person-administered surveys from individuals residing in the Gauteng Province of South Africa and who currently have short-term insurance. A sample size of 891 responses was realised. The results from the study indicate that respondents’perceptions of their insurers’ service quality offering do not differ significantly from their expectations. In other words, respondents seem to be satisfied with their insurers’ services. Results furthermore showed that quality services and additional relational benefits positively influence respondents’ levels of satisfaction with their short-term insurers, which in turn influence their intentions to remain loyal to their insurers or to communicate positively about them. In addition, no significant differences were observed between direct and indirect short-term insurance respondents with regard to service quality, relational benefits, customer satisfaction, or behavioural intention. Based on the results, this study proposes a model that sets out to demonstrate how South African short-term insurers can utilise service quality and relational benefits to realise and improve customer satisfaction, in order to encourage positive behavioural intentions among their customers. It is recommended that, in order to differentiate themselves, short-term insurers (both direct and indirect) should ensure that their service quality offerings are superior to those of their competitors’. Short-term insurers can attain high quality service offerings by paying special attention to their reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. It is also recommended that short-term insurers should attempt to provide the same levels of relational benefits to all of their customers, independent of demographic differences, as a way to improve the overall morale and satisfaction of their customers. Since no significant differences were found in terms of different groups of respondents, it is further recommended that short-term insurers should differentiate themselves by customising their target market(s), through focusing their service and relational offerings on specific demographic, geographic, and psychographic segments. Finally, it is recommended that short-term insurers should use the model developed in this study with a view to improve the overall effectiveness of their CRM efforts. Recommendations for future research include extending this study to other South African provinces, in order to determine whether differences exist between respondents from different geographic locations. Future research can include representative numbers of respondents from each individual short-term insurer with a view to attain more accurate and representative information regarding specific insurers. A similar study can also be conducted among long-term insurers in order to determine whether the insurance industry in its entirety can benefit from the findings from this study. Finally, future research can test the CRM model presented in this study in the context of other service industries to determine its relevance and applicability. / Thesis (PhD (Marketing management))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

The South African health industry can be divided into public and private health institutions. The public health institutions are subsidised by the South African government, whereas the private institutions generate income from medical aids and out-of-pocket payments. Three major groups currently control the private health sector and include Medi-Clinic, Life Healthcare and Netcare. Due to the competitiveness of the private health sector with limited role players, institutions need to differentiate themselves on the service quality provided by these institutions. The purpose of the study was to measure service quality in a private hospital. This was done by setting the following objectives: Determining the importance of service quality, determining the current standard of service quality, determining the gap between the importance and satisfaction of service quality dimensions as well as the influence of gender on the perception of service quality. The literature consisted of two topics, which included the private healthcare sector and the standards of service quality. The private health care sector lightens the load on the current overburdened public sector, but in doing so utilises the majority of qualified personnel as well as half of the financial resources available. Medical schemes are the main contributor the private institutions and are only available to the individuals privileged enough to afford these schemes. Service quality pertains to the ability of the service provider to meet or exceed the expectations of the customer. Thus, the importance of such ability lies in the fact that institutions can use this to differentiate them from other role players in this highly competitive market. Several models exist to evaluate service quality, but the SERVQUAL model has been utilised in various health institutions. Furthermore, gender could also have an effect on the manner in which customers perceive service quality. The study made use of the SERVQUAL model, with a 38-item survey questionnaire forming the basis of the data collecting technique. The 38 items were divided into seven sections, which included premises/employees, doctors‟ medical services, diagnostics, nursing medical services, admissions, meals and wards. A response rate of 71% was obtained. The demographic profile of the study resembled the current demographic of the town and 35.85% of the respondents were male with 64.15% being female. The validity and the reliability of the study were confirmed by means of an exploratory factor analysis and Chronbach alpha coefficients. The analysis of the difference in means of the various factors indicated that tangibles 2 and responsiveness 1 required attention from management to improve customer satisfaction. The analysis of data pertaining to gender indicated that no difference in satisfaction levels was evident. In conclusion, management needs to focus on the factors highlighted during the study, with proper maintenance and improvement of the appearance of the facility and providing training to staff to promote patient relationships. Furthermore, the recommendations include that the model is used in all institutions to evaluate service quality levels to highlight possible shortfalls, thus providing management with ability to address these shortfalls, in an effort to improve the level of service quality across the whole health sector. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Background: It is a known phenomenon that when external shopping malls arise next to cities the business of the city centres can be affected. This situation occurs since many years and in various places in the world, even Sweden. Purpose: The purpose of this research is to examine what factors are important to the consumers when they are shopping in general, and then to evaluate how these factors influence consumer satisfaction with regard to shopping malls and city centres.   Methodology: The research is based on a cross-sectional design with a quantitative strategy. The data collection is conducted through an internet based questionnaire with a snowball sampling approach.   Conclusion: The results are that, for consumers, store variety, atmosphere and service quality are quite important aspects when shopping. They also shows that store variety influences consumer satisfaction in both the shopping mall and the city centre. Finally, convenience influences satisfaction in the city centre and the social aspect influences customer satisfaction in shopping malls.

Purpose of this study was to determine the service quality among sport and fitness centers of universities. Participants of the study constituted of 484 (194 female, and 290 male) person who are student, academic and administrative staff attending to sport and fitness centers of seven universities in Ankara. The mean age of the participants was 22.45 &plusmn / 5.14. The SQAS-T (The Turkish Version of the Service Quality Assessment Scale) was used as instrument. In the statistical analysis, descriptive statistics was used to identify participants&amp / #8217 / demographic profiles and to investigate distribution of mean of the participants&amp / #8217 / difference scores (service quality satisfaction scores). Inferential Statistics (MANOVA: Multivariate Analysis of Variance test) was used to investigate if there was any significant difference in the service quality satisfaction scores of the participants according to their demographic profiles. Finally, the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient test was used to investigate if any relationship existed between the age and service quality satisfaction scores of the participants. Results indicated that service quality among the sport and fitness centers of the universities did not fulfill their users&amp / #8217 / expectations. However, according to mean of total difference scores it was seen this dissatisfaction level was not so huge. Results also indicated that participants&amp / #8217 / demographic profiles did not show any significance difference in the service quality satisfaction scores. In addition, there was no strong relationship observed between the age and service quality satisfaction scores of the participants.

This thesis is discussing and analysing expectations and perceptions about service quality in Destination Gotland. The aim is to analyze and research about the role of service quality for creating customer satisfaction and we want to find out the gap between expectations and perceptions through the customers point of view. The difference between expectations and perceptions can be described as satisfaction or lack of satisfaction. The specific questions that are researched in this thesis are: What expectations does customer have on Destination Gotland’s service quality to become satisfied? What perceptions does customer have about the service quality at Destination Gotland? What are the differences between expectations and perceptions (gap 5 in the SERVQUAL-model)? The survey is constructed as a case-study and is based on the quantitative method. The results from the different dimensions show that there is a gap between expectations and perceptions which means that the customers are not fully satisfied about the service quality at Destination Gotland. On the other hand, the main respondents said yes on the question if they think the service meet their expectations. From the overall result in the statements we can see that there are several gaps between expectations and perceptions which means that the service quality do not fully meet the expectations. The result shows a total gap at -0,39.

Abstract The purpose of this thesis is to undertake theory development and testing particular to re-purchase intention in an experiential service context, specifically the cultural performing arts. Services researchers suggest implementing a multi-disciplinary approach to research that uses theories and methods from several of the management fields will advance the domain of services research. This thesis aims to contribute to the field of service research by drawing from methods and theories offered in both service operations and services marketing fields. To date, service research has been preoccupied primarily with consumer behaviour aspects of services marketing such as satisfaction but underestimates the importance of constructs such as re-purchase intention and the subsequent implications for strategy formulation and implementation. Further to this, the current approach to services research has overlooked the nexus between marketing and operations and the importance of the implementation of strategy to achieve objectives. It is argued that failing to integrate service operations both practically and theoretically into the re-purchase intentions research framework confines its potential effectiveness. In addition, the lack of specific service context application has been identified as a significant oversight in previous services research. Construct measurements and findings have been difficult to replicate across contexts and contextual examination of constructs and relationships has been suggested as a solution. One such context deserving of attention is that of the experiential services, specifically the performing arts. Therefore, using measures and theories developed specifically for this context, this thesis will offer a more comprehensive approach to re-purchase intention research in a performing arts setting. This thesis adopts a mixed method approach by implementing a series of three integrated studies, which amalgamates both operations and marketing fields. This thesis aims to identify the aspects of a performing arts encounter that are relevant to the customer by conducting a two-staged set of qualitative interviews. This process is based on the operations technique Service Transaction Analysis (STA). First, consultant consumers and organisational personnel were used to formulate a consensus definition of a typical performing arts experience and, second, 26 in-depth interviews were conducted with potential future consumers of the performing arts based on this description of the offering. These two studies, coupled with extant literature, informed the research instrument designed for the main survey. This instrument was conducted on 273 potential future consumers of the performing arts. Qualitative work undertaken in Study 1 identifies the service experience description. Study 2 highlights the service management and marketing issues relating to re-purchase intention especially focusing on value, customer satisfaction, show experience and service quality and discloses a set of specific issues incorporated into the wording of the survey instrument. Study 3 measures and tests the key constructs of service quality, show experience, value, satisfaction and the significance of the hypothesised pathways to re-purchase intention. The proposed model is then analysed using the AMOS 5.0 Structural Equation Modelling package. This thesis is structured in the journal paper format with each of the chapters representing each of the five journal papers. In addition, an introductory and concluding chapter are appended with the concluding chapter providing an in-depth discussion of the contributions of this thesis. The papers are based on the progressive results of the research program and offer an integrated set of findings and discussions. The papers are not mutually exclusive but interrelated to comprehensively illuminate the central research theme of the thesis and discuss many aspects of marketing and operations significant to re-purchase intention. The entire thesis is drawn from the data set generated from the three integrated studies developed to address the overall research theme. The central research theme is to investigate the nature of re-purchase intention in an experiential setting using marketing and operations theories as platforms of analysis. Interestingly, the tested model of this thesis found empirically that the subjective and experiential aspects of the service, such as the emotional and artistic quality of the show, did not have a significant and direct relationship with re-purchase intention. This finding is of interest, in particular, to scholars of experiential consumption and marketing practitioners offering these types of services. Previous research has supported the desire to fulfil experiential needs as driving the initial purchase. Conversely, this finding suggests that the desire to visit again is driven by utility and value. As customer maintenance and repeat patronage are of utmost importance to practice, this is an exciting development. Offering further support, the tested model found service quality and show experience were mediated by value to satisfaction, with satisfaction inturn mediating the relationship between value and re-purchase intention. Collectively, these findings have lead to several developments and contributions for both scholarship and practice. The contributions to knowledge of this thesis highlight five main theoretical contributions and four main managerial implications. These encompass: · Advancing the ‘service management trinity’, specifically strengthening the importance of the relationship between service marketing and service operations. · Advancing service management theory by understanding the service offering more intricately and the importance of service description. · Clarifying the roles of experiential and utilitarian attributes of the service experience in an experiential setting extending knowledge related to re-purchase intention. · Particularizing and measuring the construct of re-purchase intention to the performing arts and clarifying the predictors of this construct in the context of experiential performing arts. . · Testing and clarifying the relationships of value and satisfaction to re-purchase intention extending the understanding of re-purchase intention in this field and elaborating the approach and understanding of this construct for future research. This thesis further contributes to knowledge by offering several managerial contributions. These incorporate: · Market segmentation and targeting strategies as critical for performing arts management. · Operations service design and creation strategies in the performing arts by including important aspects of the service experience as highlighted by customer driven research. · Specific recommendation for streamlining delivery through standardised mass customisation. · Offering value frameworks for creating value in service delivery and targeting customer perceptions of superior value. This extending the understanding of the customer perceived value equation. By contributing to the field of service management and advancing enquiry in the field of services marketing and service operations, this thesis offers a new perspective and practical approach to service marketing context analysis making a valuable contribution to scholarship. This approach is based on improving organisational performance in experiential services specifically by applying operations and marketing theory from a customer-perspective. By doing this, findings inform organisations of ways to better meet the needs and wants of consumers through design, delivery and marketing. Moreover, the findings assist researchers in further advancing the field of services research. This research positions the future research program to focus on continuing the advancement of service management by examining the higher order constructs of service quality and show experience and examining the impact of additional customer motivations such as emotional goal attainment and involvement in experiential settings.

Abstract The purpose of this thesis is to undertake theory development and testing particular to re-purchase intention in an experiential service context, specifically the cultural performing arts. Services researchers suggest implementing a multi-disciplinary approach to research that uses theories and methods from several of the management fields will advance the domain of services research. This thesis aims to contribute to the field of service research by drawing from methods and theories offered in both service operations and services marketing fields. To date, service research has been preoccupied primarily with consumer behaviour aspects of services marketing such as satisfaction but underestimates the importance of constructs such as re-purchase intention and the subsequent implications for strategy formulation and implementation. Further to this, the current approach to services research has overlooked the nexus between marketing and operations and the importance of the implementation of strategy to achieve objectives. It is argued that failing to integrate service operations both practically and theoretically into the re-purchase intentions research framework confines its potential effectiveness. In addition, the lack of specific service context application has been identified as a significant oversight in previous services research. Construct measurements and findings have been difficult to replicate across contexts and contextual examination of constructs and relationships has been suggested as a solution. One such context deserving of attention is that of the experiential services, specifically the performing arts. Therefore, using measures and theories developed specifically for this context, this thesis will offer a more comprehensive approach to re-purchase intention research in a performing arts setting. This thesis adopts a mixed method approach by implementing a series of three integrated studies, which amalgamates both operations and marketing fields. This thesis aims to identify the aspects of a performing arts encounter that are relevant to the customer by conducting a two-staged set of qualitative interviews. This process is based on the operations technique Service Transaction Analysis (STA). First, consultant consumers and organisational personnel were used to formulate a consensus definition of a typical performing arts experience and, second, 26 in-depth interviews were conducted with potential future consumers of the performing arts based on this description of the offering. These two studies, coupled with extant literature, informed the research instrument designed for the main survey. This instrument was conducted on 273 potential future consumers of the performing arts. Qualitative work undertaken in Study 1 identifies the service experience description. Study 2 highlights the service management and marketing issues relating to re-purchase intention especially focusing on value, customer satisfaction, show experience and service quality and discloses a set of specific issues incorporated into the wording of the survey instrument. Study 3 measures and tests the key constructs of service quality, show experience, value, satisfaction and the significance of the hypothesised pathways to re-purchase intention. The proposed model is then analysed using the AMOS 5.0 Structural Equation Modelling package. This thesis is structured in the journal paper format with each of the chapters representing each of the five journal papers. In addition, an introductory and concluding chapter are appended with the concluding chapter providing an in-depth discussion of the contributions of this thesis. The papers are based on the progressive results of the research program and offer an integrated set of findings and discussions. The papers are not mutually exclusive but interrelated to comprehensively illuminate the central research theme of the thesis and discuss many aspects of marketing and operations significant to re-purchase intention. The entire thesis is drawn from the data set generated from the three integrated studies developed to address the overall research theme. The central research theme is to investigate the nature of re-purchase intention in an experiential setting using marketing and operations theories as platforms of analysis. Interestingly, the tested model of this thesis found empirically that the subjective and experiential aspects of the service, such as the emotional and artistic quality of the show, did not have a significant and direct relationship with re-purchase intention. This finding is of interest, in particular, to scholars of experiential consumption and marketing practitioners offering these types of services. Previous research has supported the desire to fulfil experiential needs as driving the initial purchase. Conversely, this finding suggests that the desire to visit again is driven by utility and value. As customer maintenance and repeat patronage are of utmost importance to practice, this is an exciting development. Offering further support, the tested model found service quality and show experience were mediated by value to satisfaction, with satisfaction inturn mediating the relationship between value and re-purchase intention. Collectively, these findings have lead to several developments and contributions for both scholarship and practice. The contributions to knowledge of this thesis highlight five main theoretical contributions and four main managerial implications. These encompass: · Advancing the ‘service management trinity’, specifically strengthening the importance of the relationship between service marketing and service operations. · Advancing service management theory by understanding the service offering more intricately and the importance of service description. · Clarifying the roles of experiential and utilitarian attributes of the service experience in an experiential setting extending knowledge related to re-purchase intention. · Particularizing and measuring the construct of re-purchase intention to the performing arts and clarifying the predictors of this construct in the context of experiential performing arts. . · Testing and clarifying the relationships of value and satisfaction to re-purchase intention extending the understanding of re-purchase intention in this field and elaborating the approach and understanding of this construct for future research. This thesis further contributes to knowledge by offering several managerial contributions. These incorporate: · Market segmentation and targeting strategies as critical for performing arts management. · Operations service design and creation strategies in the performing arts by including important aspects of the service experience as highlighted by customer driven research. · Specific recommendation for streamlining delivery through standardised mass customisation. · Offering value frameworks for creating value in service delivery and targeting customer perceptions of superior value. This extending the understanding of the customer perceived value equation. By contributing to the field of service management and advancing enquiry in the field of services marketing and service operations, this thesis offers a new perspective and practical approach to service marketing context analysis making a valuable contribution to scholarship. This approach is based on improving organisational performance in experiential services specifically by applying operations and marketing theory from a customer-perspective. By doing this, findings inform organisations of ways to better meet the needs and wants of consumers through design, delivery and marketing. Moreover, the findings assist researchers in further advancing the field of services research. This research positions the future research program to focus on continuing the advancement of service management by examining the higher order constructs of service quality and show experience and examining the impact of additional customer motivations such as emotional goal attainment and involvement in experiential settings.

Abstract The purpose of this thesis is to undertake theory development and testing particular to re-purchase intention in an experiential service context, specifically the cultural performing arts. Services researchers suggest implementing a multi-disciplinary approach to research that uses theories and methods from several of the management fields will advance the domain of services research. This thesis aims to contribute to the field of service research by drawing from methods and theories offered in both service operations and services marketing fields. To date, service research has been preoccupied primarily with consumer behaviour aspects of services marketing such as satisfaction but underestimates the importance of constructs such as re-purchase intention and the subsequent implications for strategy formulation and implementation. Further to this, the current approach to services research has overlooked the nexus between marketing and operations and the importance of the implementation of strategy to achieve objectives. It is argued that failing to integrate service operations both practically and theoretically into the re-purchase intentions research framework confines its potential effectiveness. In addition, the lack of specific service context application has been identified as a significant oversight in previous services research. Construct measurements and findings have been difficult to replicate across contexts and contextual examination of constructs and relationships has been suggested as a solution. One such context deserving of attention is that of the experiential services, specifically the performing arts. Therefore, using measures and theories developed specifically for this context, this thesis will offer a more comprehensive approach to re-purchase intention research in a performing arts setting. This thesis adopts a mixed method approach by implementing a series of three integrated studies, which amalgamates both operations and marketing fields. This thesis aims to identify the aspects of a performing arts encounter that are relevant to the customer by conducting a two-staged set of qualitative interviews. This process is based on the operations technique Service Transaction Analysis (STA). First, consultant consumers and organisational personnel were used to formulate a consensus definition of a typical performing arts experience and, second, 26 in-depth interviews were conducted with potential future consumers of the performing arts based on this description of the offering. These two studies, coupled with extant literature, informed the research instrument designed for the main survey. This instrument was conducted on 273 potential future consumers of the performing arts. Qualitative work undertaken in Study 1 identifies the service experience description. Study 2 highlights the service management and marketing issues relating to re-purchase intention especially focusing on value, customer satisfaction, show experience and service quality and discloses a set of specific issues incorporated into the wording of the survey instrument. Study 3 measures and tests the key constructs of service quality, show experience, value, satisfaction and the significance of the hypothesised pathways to re-purchase intention. The proposed model is then analysed using the AMOS 5.0 Structural Equation Modelling package. This thesis is structured in the journal paper format with each of the chapters representing each of the five journal papers. In addition, an introductory and concluding chapter are appended with the concluding chapter providing an in-depth discussion of the contributions of this thesis. The papers are based on the progressive results of the research program and offer an integrated set of findings and discussions. The papers are not mutually exclusive but interrelated to comprehensively illuminate the central research theme of the thesis and discuss many aspects of marketing and operations significant to re-purchase intention. The entire thesis is drawn from the data set generated from the three integrated studies developed to address the overall research theme. The central research theme is to investigate the nature of re-purchase intention in an experiential setting using marketing and operations theories as platforms of analysis. Interestingly, the tested model of this thesis found empirically that the subjective and experiential aspects of the service, such as the emotional and artistic quality of the show, did not have a significant and direct relationship with re-purchase intention. This finding is of interest, in particular, to scholars of experiential consumption and marketing practitioners offering these types of services. Previous research has supported the desire to fulfil experiential needs as driving the initial purchase. Conversely, this finding suggests that the desire to visit again is driven by utility and value. As customer maintenance and repeat patronage are of utmost importance to practice, this is an exciting development. Offering further support, the tested model found service quality and show experience were mediated by value to satisfaction, with satisfaction inturn mediating the relationship between value and re-purchase intention. Collectively, these findings have lead to several developments and contributions for both scholarship and practice. The contributions to knowledge of this thesis highlight five main theoretical contributions and four main managerial implications. These encompass: · Advancing the ‘service management trinity’, specifically strengthening the importance of the relationship between service marketing and service operations. · Advancing service management theory by understanding the service offering more intricately and the importance of service description. · Clarifying the roles of experiential and utilitarian attributes of the service experience in an experiential setting extending knowledge related to re-purchase intention. · Particularizing and measuring the construct of re-purchase intention to the performing arts and clarifying the predictors of this construct in the context of experiential performing arts. . · Testing and clarifying the relationships of value and satisfaction to re-purchase intention extending the understanding of re-purchase intention in this field and elaborating the approach and understanding of this construct for future research. This thesis further contributes to knowledge by offering several managerial contributions. These incorporate: · Market segmentation and targeting strategies as critical for performing arts management. · Operations service design and creation strategies in the performing arts by including important aspects of the service experience as highlighted by customer driven research. · Specific recommendation for streamlining delivery through standardised mass customisation. · Offering value frameworks for creating value in service delivery and targeting customer perceptions of superior value. This extending the understanding of the customer perceived value equation. By contributing to the field of service management and advancing enquiry in the field of services marketing and service operations, this thesis offers a new perspective and practical approach to service marketing context analysis making a valuable contribution to scholarship. This approach is based on improving organisational performance in experiential services specifically by applying operations and marketing theory from a customer-perspective. By doing this, findings inform organisations of ways to better meet the needs and wants of consumers through design, delivery and marketing. Moreover, the findings assist researchers in further advancing the field of services research. This research positions the future research program to focus on continuing the advancement of service management by examining the higher order constructs of service quality and show experience and examining the impact of additional customer motivations such as emotional goal attainment and involvement in experiential settings.

Abstract The purpose of this thesis is to undertake theory development and testing particular to re-purchase intention in an experiential service context, specifically the cultural performing arts. Services researchers suggest implementing a multi-disciplinary approach to research that uses theories and methods from several of the management fields will advance the domain of services research. This thesis aims to contribute to the field of service research by drawing from methods and theories offered in both service operations and services marketing fields. To date, service research has been preoccupied primarily with consumer behaviour aspects of services marketing such as satisfaction but underestimates the importance of constructs such as re-purchase intention and the subsequent implications for strategy formulation and implementation. Further to this, the current approach to services research has overlooked the nexus between marketing and operations and the importance of the implementation of strategy to achieve objectives. It is argued that failing to integrate service operations both practically and theoretically into the re-purchase intentions research framework confines its potential effectiveness. In addition, the lack of specific service context application has been identified as a significant oversight in previous services research. Construct measurements and findings have been difficult to replicate across contexts and contextual examination of constructs and relationships has been suggested as a solution. One such context deserving of attention is that of the experiential services, specifically the performing arts. Therefore, using measures and theories developed specifically for this context, this thesis will offer a more comprehensive approach to re-purchase intention research in a performing arts setting. This thesis adopts a mixed method approach by implementing a series of three integrated studies, which amalgamates both operations and marketing fields. This thesis aims to identify the aspects of a performing arts encounter that are relevant to the customer by conducting a two-staged set of qualitative interviews. This process is based on the operations technique Service Transaction Analysis (STA). First, consultant consumers and organisational personnel were used to formulate a consensus definition of a typical performing arts experience and, second, 26 in-depth interviews were conducted with potential future consumers of the performing arts based on this description of the offering. These two studies, coupled with extant literature, informed the research instrument designed for the main survey. This instrument was conducted on 273 potential future consumers of the performing arts. Qualitative work undertaken in Study 1 identifies the service experience description. Study 2 highlights the service management and marketing issues relating to re-purchase intention especially focusing on value, customer satisfaction, show experience and service quality and discloses a set of specific issues incorporated into the wording of the survey instrument. Study 3 measures and tests the key constructs of service quality, show experience, value, satisfaction and the significance of the hypothesised pathways to re-purchase intention. The proposed model is then analysed using the AMOS 5.0 Structural Equation Modelling package. This thesis is structured in the journal paper format with each of the chapters representing each of the five journal papers. In addition, an introductory and concluding chapter are appended with the concluding chapter providing an in-depth discussion of the contributions of this thesis. The papers are based on the progressive results of the research program and offer an integrated set of findings and discussions. The papers are not mutually exclusive but interrelated to comprehensively illuminate the central research theme of the thesis and discuss many aspects of marketing and operations significant to re-purchase intention. The entire thesis is drawn from the data set generated from the three integrated studies developed to address the overall research theme. The central research theme is to investigate the nature of re-purchase intention in an experiential setting using marketing and operations theories as platforms of analysis. Interestingly, the tested model of this thesis found empirically that the subjective and experiential aspects of the service, such as the emotional and artistic quality of the show, did not have a significant and direct relationship with re-purchase intention. This finding is of interest, in particular, to scholars of experiential consumption and marketing practitioners offering these types of services. Previous research has supported the desire to fulfil experiential needs as driving the initial purchase. Conversely, this finding suggests that the desire to visit again is driven by utility and value. As customer maintenance and repeat patronage are of utmost importance to practice, this is an exciting development. Offering further support, the tested model found service quality and show experience were mediated by value to satisfaction, with satisfaction inturn mediating the relationship between value and re-purchase intention. Collectively, these findings have lead to several developments and contributions for both scholarship and practice. The contributions to knowledge of this thesis highlight five main theoretical contributions and four main managerial implications. These encompass: · Advancing the ‘service management trinity’, specifically strengthening the importance of the relationship between service marketing and service operations. · Advancing service management theory by understanding the service offering more intricately and the importance of service description. · Clarifying the roles of experiential and utilitarian attributes of the service experience in an experiential setting extending knowledge related to re-purchase intention. · Particularizing and measuring the construct of re-purchase intention to the performing arts and clarifying the predictors of this construct in the context of experiential performing arts. . · Testing and clarifying the relationships of value and satisfaction to re-purchase intention extending the understanding of re-purchase intention in this field and elaborating the approach and understanding of this construct for future research. This thesis further contributes to knowledge by offering several managerial contributions. These incorporate: · Market segmentation and targeting strategies as critical for performing arts management. · Operations service design and creation strategies in the performing arts by including important aspects of the service experience as highlighted by customer driven research. · Specific recommendation for streamlining delivery through standardised mass customisation. · Offering value frameworks for creating value in service delivery and targeting customer perceptions of superior value. This extending the understanding of the customer perceived value equation. By contributing to the field of service management and advancing enquiry in the field of services marketing and service operations, this thesis offers a new perspective and practical approach to service marketing context analysis making a valuable contribution to scholarship. This approach is based on improving organisational performance in experiential services specifically by applying operations and marketing theory from a customer-perspective. By doing this, findings inform organisations of ways to better meet the needs and wants of consumers through design, delivery and marketing. Moreover, the findings assist researchers in further advancing the field of services research. This research positions the future research program to focus on continuing the advancement of service management by examining the higher order constructs of service quality and show experience and examining the impact of additional customer motivations such as emotional goal attainment and involvement in experiential settings.