Challenges for service script implementation : Australian service workers views

Syed H. Rahman

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticle

    Abstract

    This paper reports on the views of Australian service workers about the challenges for service script implementation. A scripted service is often mentioned as a way to overcome the inherent variability problem for service firms. One of the management challenges for service firms is the effective implementation of the scripts. In the absence of any reported research on the implementation of service scripts, a qualitative research methodology of grounded theory has been used for this research. A conceptual model of service script implementation gaps evolved during the research and through continuous interplay between analysis and data collection. The findings of the qualitative research were then tested using a quantitative method of exploratory factor analysis. The key findings of the research show that the service firms use a variety of modes to communicate the scripts to their employees, with the most common ones being formal and informal face-to-face sessions between the manager and staff, electronic messaging, hard copy scripts to be read and acknowledged reading, and formal training sessions. It also shows that there are three distinct potential gaps in the implementation process of the scripts i.e. communications gaps, implementation gaps due to variability, and follow-up gaps. Based on these findings, the paper proposes an easy to grasp model of service implementation gaps that will be useful for practitioners and can help researchers to develop future research and conceptualisation in the area.
    Original languageEnglish
    JournalInternational Journal of Applied Marketing
    Publication statusPublished - 2006

    Keywords

    • implementation
    • gaps
    • script
    • service
    • standardisation
    • quality

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