The main aim of the research was to: "construct a typology capable of containing a wide range of cci based on a multitude of services". Other important aims included: explaining the research findings drawing on concepts and theories from a broad range of scientific disciplines; generating strategic and operational guidelines for managing cci; and identifying topics for future research into cci. Chapter 1 presents frameworks, such as the servuction system model and the RAPP model, which assist understanding of the nature of service production, delivery and consumption. Such models embody the occurrence of cci, and reflect the fact that one of the key aspects of services that needs to be managed is the interactive character of service production and delivery. Chapter 2 presents cci as belonging conceptually to the broader theme of customer co-production. The central role of the customer as a co-creator of value in service production is emphasised. Managerial implications of customer participation are addressed. These include the recognition that the service customer has to be managed as a resource, and that such management should embrace how customers interact with one another. Chapter 3 explores cci conceptually. The book's focus on on-site cci, defined as "specific interactions between customers in the service setting or in its immediate vicinity ", is made clear. The notion of customer(s) A and customer(s) B is introduced as a useful framework for describing and analysing customer-to-customer interactions. Other concepts of cci, beyond the one used in the present study, are considered. The characteristics of services which are cci-intensive are examined. Several service classifications specifically designed for generating insights into customer-to-customer interaction are put forward. Chapter 4 examines previous research related to cci. The range of methodological approaches used in previous studies is presented, and includes: the critical incident technique; participant observation research; observable oral participation (OOP2); questionnaires; and field experiments. These studies were useful in establishing the procedures and methodology for this research. The chapter also reveals how service academics have worked on cci. Their approaches have included: assessing cci frequency; labelling cci behaviours; investigating service organisation response to cci; examining variation in customer desire to engage in cci; studying cci in extended service encounters; and developing gender perspectives on cci. Chapter 5 addresses the crucial issue in service management research of the choice of an appropriate methodology. The discipline of service management has a strong and developing tradition of qualitative research. Indeed most previous studies of cci have adopted a primarily qualitative approach, such as the critical incident technique. Qualitative studies are most suited to research focused on establishing, from depth of understanding, what is going on. Glaser and Strauss (1967) proposed a distinction between studies which aim to generate theory and studies which seek to test theory. In fields which are relatively new to research it is often desirable to generate theory on the basis of 'real data', i.e. grounded theory. The study of cci is just such a field. Because service encounters are episodic, i.e. a sequence of incidents, it is advisable to research them using a methodology, such as the CIT, which can capture them as episodes, rather than convert them into abstract attributes (Stauss and Hentschcl, 1992). Many service management researchers have proposed the CIT as being particularly useful in research designed to describe a real world phenomenon based on thorough understanding. Indeed, the use of CIT to explore employee/customer responses to service has a tradition going back over two decades. The book takes into account a number of key service management concepts which help to explain why managing interactions is of strategic importance. Attention is paid to modern marketing management theory, including relationship marketing. The importance of the service encounter, that is, the interpersonal element of service performance, is emphasised. The conceptual link between services marketing and service quality management is discussed. In particular, evidence is provided to support the proposition that service quality is a profit strategy. Some relevant service quality concepts such as service failure, service recovery and zones of tolerance are introduced. (skrócony abstrakt oryginalny)
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