Hospitality management and service positions have been moving from a purely vocational field of work to a scientific and inter-disciplinary supported area of professional development. This exploratory study aims to contribute to this quest by introducing the sociological concept of Dramaturgy to the service encounter as a way of understanding and improving upon present employee behaviors. A review of existing literature illustrates that Dramaturgy has only been used to develop an analogy of service, but has not yet been applied as a tool for further understanding behaviors and interactions during service encounters. The present study identified common concepts between Service Interactions and Dramaturgical Interactions, and used them to create a survey to measure Dramaturgical Awareness. It was proposed that four factors are used to create the structure of Dramaturgy in service encounters. A likert-type survey was distributed to 464 students studying at the Rosen College of Hospitality Management. The responses were subjected to a Principal Component Analysis, and the results introduced two unexpected factors. The original structure of four underlying factors emerged as a five-factor structure, including the two new factors and one factor that combined two former concepts. In response to the given survey, the surviving structure of dramaturgical awareness in service encounters (as measured by hospitality students) includes the following concepts: Interpersonal Communication; Improvisation Techniques; and Acting and Stage Behaviors. Further research can use these findings to understand service encounter behaviors from practitioners from specific areas of work in service, and to also develop a better understanding of the two unexpected factors, dramaturgical behaviors and role theory.

Arab countries strive toward the modernization and feminization of the Arab culture; however, some of these countries (i.e., Saudi Arabia) are culturally and legally governed by "sharia law", and have maintained cultural norms regarding segregation of the sexes. In order to have a better understanding of the Arab travelers to the U.S., this research focuses on the gender dynamics between the service providers and Arab customers during a service encounter. Specifically, this research examines how the same and opposite genders of service-provider and customer influence Arab customers’ emotional response (comfort), consequently their service encounter evaluation (satisfaction), and behavioral intentions (feedback willingness). This research also examines how the employees’ efforts to solicit feedback from Arab customers may intensify the effect of gender dynamics on Arab customers’ responses. Scenario-based online surveys are created and distributed to respondents of Arab descent in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and United Arab Emirates by using snowball sampling. The results based on 326 respondents show potential differences determined by gender interaction. Arab customers were more comfortable, more satisfied with the service encounter, and more willing to provide feedback, if the employee was the same gender as the customer, as opposed to the employee being the opposite gender from the customer. However, results showed that employee efforts to solicit feedback did not intensify the gender interaction effect. Additionally, through the service encounter, the Arab customers’ comfort influenced their service encounter satisfaction and their willingness to provide feedback. The findings of this research provide valuable implications for hospitality managers to better cater to the needs of Arab customers by examining the dimensions of gender boundaries in an intercultural service encounter.

Managers and researchers have become increasingly interested in linking marketing activities to firm financial performance. That is, they desire to make marketing more financially accountable. One approach to achieving this goal has been to “valuate” customers to determine their degrees of profitability over the lifetime of their relationships with firms. However, traditional customer valuation techniques are largely based on quantitative factors and do not account for softer measures such as a customer’s behavior and performance both during and after service encounters. Additionally, while customer profitability is commonly valuated, employees are not generally assessed in this manner in profit linkage frameworks. This indicates that employee factors have not been deemed to have an equivalent, direct impact on the bottom line. Instead, if included at all, employee factors have mainly been positioned as antecedents to customer factors in past linkage models. Because both customers and employees play essential roles in determining the success of service encounters, both customer and employee factors should be fully considered before profitability is determined. In this dissertation, an innovative theoretical model is presented in which past profit linkage research is extended to include nonfinancial considerations. This research merges traditional financial valuation methods with nonfinancial metrics to assess organizational performance. Furthermore, a conceptually parallel framework is developed in which both employee and customer factors are hypothesized as links through which service encounter dynamics can be connected to firm financial performance. This research examines the linkages between service interactions, customer and employee outcomes, and overall financial performance. Within the contexts of two studies, the overall structural model is dissected into comparable performance models and examined within the retail banking and computer services industries. The overall empirical findings provide some evidence of a positive flow of interconnected relationships between service encounter dynamics and firm financial performance. Accordingly, this research presents some indication of the importance of service encounters as antecedents to outcome behaviors that have critical financial consequences.

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The aim of this thesis is to bring understanding of what constitutes improvisation in the service encounter. The study adopts a qualitative approach using hidden observations to categorize different types of improvisation in the service encounter. The improvisation themes discovered within the service encounter were experience, impulsiveness, theatrical, personality and emotionality. All of these are factors that influence improvisation. This study offers original contributions by explaining the fundamentals of improvisation in the service encounter. These fundamentals establish a framework and gives a clearer definition of what the concept improvisation implies.

Grove and Fisk ¡]1983¡^ had used the noun and idea of drama performance in the theater to compare the offering of service, such attendants as known as performer, customers as known as audience, and separate the front and back stage of service encounter clearly. At the same time, they offer the structure to easily understand the process of the wholly service contact and to help estimate the influence of each important link of service contact. So, this research focused on ¡§perceived value¡¨ of customer experiences through which, the ¡§visualized service backstage¡¨ in the service contact promotes the interaction of consumers and suppliers. Moreover, this study used the involvement of the back stage information and attention of attendants¡¦ appearance to moderate consumer experiences. The results showed that ¡§visualized service backstage¡¨ has positive influence on ¡§perceived value¡¨ with different levels, and customers have more consciousness on ¡§experience value¡¨. Actually the service with ¡§visualized service backstage¡¨ can really improve customers¡¦ perceived value. It not only can strengthen consumers¡¦ experience value, but also promote other different values of consumers. In fact, if service providers can use this advantage to create more perfect service performance by which the front stage and the back stage fully support. And it could bring to people more different service value than others. In addition, through the analysis of this study and real practices, it can help the service providers understand which value is the key factor to be attention for offering visualized service backstage.

The Critical Factors of Service Encounter satisfaction: Research on Restaurant Industry Author: Shao-Feng Chao Advisor: Dr. Yi-Heng Chou Abstract According to Directorate-general of Budget Accounting and Statistics Executive Yuan¡¦s survey of commerce and service industries in 1996, the statistics showed that the weight of Taiwan¡¦s restaurant industry became more and more influential in commerce. Its contribution to economic productivity cannot be ignored. However, the smaller business size and the easiness for entry enhance the competition and make it hard for operators to survive. To succeed in operation, the managers of restaurants have to emphasize not only the quality of physical goods but also the excellence of service quality, delivering what customers need and want. Many researchers have studied on service quality in recent years. They mainly use the closed questionnaire to measure how factors influence quality. It helps to understand service quality, but there are still some disadvantages. For example, its measure is closed and customers are no more than attitude accountants. Furthermore, the results can only show a part of service process, expressing no service encounters. To see more details about the service encounter between customers and service providers, this research adopts ¡§Critical Incident Technique¡¨(CIT). Customers¡¦ and service employees¡¦ opinions about the critical incidents which impacts on service encounters of fast-food restaurants and deluxe restaurants were collected, coded, and analyzed under the dramaturgical theory and Bitner¡¦s standard (BBM principle). It is to compare customers¡¦ view with service employees¡¦ and to identify the critical factors to service encounter satisfaction of fast-food restaurants and deluxe restaurants in Taiwan. The finding of the research is as followed. I. The critical factors to service encounter satisfaction of fast-food restaurants are: A. service employees¡¦ attitude and behavior, B. service employees¡¦ professional skills, C. the timely provision of service and the response to unreasonably delay, D. the performance of service processes and systems and the response to core service failure. II. The critical factors to service encounter satisfaction of deluxe restaurants are: A. the allocation of service environment, B. service employees¡¦ attitude and behavior, C. the quality of physical products, D. the timely provision of service and the response to unreasonably delay, E. the performance of service processes and systems and the response to core service failure. III. Service employees¡¦ attitude and behavior, the timely provision of service, and the performance of service processes and systems are all the critical factors to service encounter satisfaction no matter in fast-food restaurants of in deluxe restaurants. V. The factors, service employees¡¦ professional skills and the attention to customers, are only critical to service encounter satisfaction of fast-food restaurants. VI. The factors, the allocation of service environment, the quality of physical products, and the response to customers¡¦ preference, are only critical to service encounter satisfaction of deluxe restaurants. Key words: service quality, service encounter, dramaturgical theory, critical incident technique, restaurant industry

As virtual channels on the internet grow full-blown, two major chain department store corporations in Taiwan entered internet markets one after another in 2007. Since the department store is a typical service industry highly based on interactions, the salesclerk has been a major mediator for serving customers and therefore face-to-face interaction between consumers and salesclerks is especially important. With the coming of brand-new self-service system combined with technology, consumers are able to take advantage of the technology to serve themselves. The relationship between corporations and consumers is hence transformed with a delivery system of ¡§low contact but high technology.¡¨ Researchers of previous studies mainly focus on interpersonal-based service encounter for investigation of relationship marketing and customer loyalty and researches about technology-based self-service and interaction with consumers are rarely seen. This research takes department store customers as subjects of investigation and adopts their viewpoints from questionnaire, aiming to probe into the influence of the department store¡¦s introduction of self-service technology on the effect of relationship marketing for better understanding of the relationship between the effect and customers loyalty. The study will take questionnaire survey of internet, and put the questionnaire on the Telecommunication Laboratories (TL) website to gather data via the customer¡¦s e-mail in cooperation with the Web-based Newspaper for the credit card users of the department store of the department store. The questionnaire will put for one month from February 1 to February 28, 2008 to gather enough data for analysis. A total of 1412 copies of questionnaire are issued, retrieving 396 copies, with 1016 copies of effective questionnaire. Structural Equation Modeling is used in this research. The followings are four points of conclusion: (1) the quality of web-based self service has significantly positive influence on result indicators of relational benefits by means of customer relational benefits; (2) the quality of web-based self service, except for delivery service speed, has significantly positive influence on customer relational benefits; (3) customer relational benefits have significantly positive influence on result indicators of relational benefits; (4) customer relational benefits bring significant effect as a mediator between web-based self service and result indicators of relational benefits. Therefore, we suggest that the department store managers shall create more elements of relationship benefit so that the customers all feel highly of the relationship benefit in the hope to enhance the customer's satisfaction and loyalty on the enterprise.

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to create an understanding of what types of initial contacts exist within the service encounter and their functions for the interaction. Design/methodology/approach – To study the initial contact between the employee and the customer, we have used a qualitative approach where observations were the data collecting method. The observations have been conducted in Karlstad at 22 different locations, which generated a total of 83 observations. These observations were analyzed and generated concepts and categories, that were incorporated into themes. Findings – The research showed five types of initial contacts could be identified along with their functions. The types identified are the time effective, the improvised, the committed, the observant and the strategic positioning. Originality/value – By narrowing the interaction to the first moment, this paper contributes knowledge about the initial contact which will facilitate frontline employees work in the face-to-face interaction with customers. Research limitation/implications for future research – The study is conducted in Karlstad. Depending on which kind of industry examined and contextual factors, variations in the result may occur. The findings could differ if cultural perspectives were considered, which could be something to include in future research. Only the face-to-face interaction is examined. This creates opportunities for future research to extend this study by, for instance, investigate the initial contact over internet or phone.

Le but d’une consultation médicale est de guérir le patient ou pour le moins, de tout mettre en oeuvre afin d’y parvenir. Jusqu’au XXème siècle, le médecin décide de tout puisqu’il sait mieux que quiconque comment soigner et quels traitements administrer. Au XXème siècle, cette pouvoir absolu décline peu à peu. Lorsqu’elle est ignorée, la dualité entre le médecin, expert des maladies, et le patient, expert de sa propre condition de malade, émerge comme un frein à la production du service de soins. La notion d’alliance thérapeutique apparait.Les Sciences de gestion mettent aussi en avant cette collaboration client-fournisseur avec le Service Dominant Logic. La qualité de la relation semble déterminante pour susciter la participation du client.Or la relation médecin-patient se construit au cours d’un processus dynamique retracé dans le Guide Calgary-cambridge, LA référence mondiale en matière de communication santé. Ce Guide doit permettre une cocréation de valeur.Paradoxalement, d’après ce Guide, le patient, de même pour le support du service lorsqu’il est vivant (animal, enfant, personne sous tutelle), participent passivement à l’interaction et ne mobilisent aucune compétence particulière.Ainsi, au cours d’une interaction de service, les conditions qui génèrent la coproduction du service et la cocréation de valeur et donc les compétences mobilisées pour y parvenir sont peu décrites en sciences de gestion ou dans l’activité de soins. Afin de répondre à cette question, nous avons choisi d’étudier la consultation vétérinaire canine, activité économique florissante très peu abordée jusque là. De plus, cette relation triadique de service B to C, implique un lien d’attachement entre le client et le support du service.La relation de service étant un processus dynamique dans le temps, nous avons choisi de filmer des consultations et de les analyser ensuite de manière qualitative et semi-quantitative en s’aidant d’entretiens avec les personnes présentes lors de la consultation. / The purpose of a medical consultation is to cure the patient or at least to do everything possible to achieve it. Until the twentieth century, the doctor decides everything since he knows better than anyone how to treat and which medicine to administer. Then this absolute power declines gradually. When ignored, the duality between the knowledge brought by the physician, an expert in diseases, and that brought by the patient, an expert in his own physical condition, emerges as a barrier to the service coproduction. As a result, the notion of therapeutic alliance arises.Management science also emphasizes client participation and client-provider collaboration through the Dominant Logic Service approach. Thus, the doctor-patient relationship is being built unsing a dynamic process outlined in the Calgary-Cambridge Guide.Paradoxically, according to this Guide, the patient passively participates to the interaction and do not mobilize any particular competence.Therefore, during a service encounter, what are the conditions that generate the service coproduction and therefore the competencies mobilized by each actor to achieve it?To answer this question, we decided to study the canine veterinary consultation, a flourishing economic activity that has been little discussed so far. Moreover, this triadic relationship of B to C service implies an attachment bound between the customer and the service support.Our research brings theoretical contributions, notably a typology of functional and dysfunctional triads, managerial contributions to veterinary clinics regarding their approach of the customer relationship, an adjustment of the reflerential of veterinary activities for the French veterinary schools, as well as methodological originalities by the use of video and triangulation of data analysis.