Building customer strategy across virtual and physical service industry environments

A service value networks (SVNs) structural equation modeling (SEM) approach is suggested as new method to investigate services industries. This study uses the pharmacy industry to demonstrate the author's theoretically developed SVNs approach, and focuses the research upon the point of contact between the business and the customer - termed the business-customer encounter. It models the observed variables associated with the research determined front-end business cells, customer engaging cells and the immediate (micro) environments of the business and its customers. The linkage between the business and the customer is found to be via multiple significant engagement pathways, which combine to deliver the net business-customer encounter outcome. This SVN SEM approach sheds new light on the complexities in delivering a business-customer exchange, and gives the manager an approach that may be used to better align the business and its deliverables with the satisfaction, servicing and perceived value of the customer. This SVN SEM approach is more complex than the approaches of customer relationship management (CRM), and it allows the business to reposition itself and engage higher levels of agility specifically targeted to its customer requests.

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38th Annual Meeting of the Decision Sciences Institute

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