The Leader of the Packkau.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:6178/FULLTEXT01.pdfThe Leader of the Pack A Service Perspective on Packaging and Customer Satisfaction . Martin Löfgren.

Faculty of Economic Sciences, Communication and ITBusiness Administration

DISSERTATION

Karlstad University Studies2006:58

Martin Löfgren

The Leader of the Pack

A Service Perspective on Packaging and Customer Satisfaction

Karlstad University Studies

2006:58

Martin Löfgren


A Service Perspective on Packaging and Customer Satisfaction

Martin Löfgren. The Leader of the Pack: A Service Perspective on Packaging and Customer Satisfaction

DISSERTATION

Karlstad University Studies 2006:58ISSN 1403-8099 ISBN 91-7063-089-5

© The author

Distribution:Karlstad UniversityFaculty of Economic Sciences, Communication and ITBusiness studies SE-651 88 KARLSTADSWEDEN+46 54-700 10 00

www.kau.se

Printed at: Universitetstryckeriet, Karlstad 2006

Abstract

Almost everything we as consumers buy in a store has a package. Packages have many functions – some, if not all, present marketers with the opportunity to gain competitive advantages. The packaging influences the usage behavior long after it has influenced the purchase, therefore it is an interesting empirical context to study within the field of marketing. Nevertheless, academic attention to packaging has been sparse over the last two decades even though the industry focus on packaging as a strategic tool has grown over that same period. Exceptions in the marketing literature are investigations of packaging and brand communication, advertisement-package coordination, and packaging size and shape. In contrast to the traditional approach that views packaging as a complimenting non-product-related attribute, it is suggested in this thesis that packaging is a product-related attribute that does affect the customers’ experiences of products. The overall aim of this thesis is to develop and test theoretical models and provide empirical evidence of customer experiences in the context of packaging from a service perspective. To study packaging from a service perspective is relevant for several reasons. One reason is that packaging can have several functions, which include more than the physical package. Another reason is that packages are carriers of information that is interpreted by customers. The combination of function, information, the physical package, and its content creates the total customer experience. The results of this thesis provide increased knowledge about packaging and customer experiences from a service perspective. On an attribute level, quality attributes such as protection and usability are categorized according to Kano’s theory of attractive quality. The results show that customers’ evaluations of packages are multi-dimensional. On a comprehensive or an overall level, structural equation modeling is used to investigate the consumption process. We conclude that the quality attributes of packages need to be designed to display quality both on the shelf in a store and during usage and consumption at both the attribute and comprehensive level.

Acknowledgements

This research has been financially supported by IRECO, Wettergrenstiftelsen, STFI-Packforsk, and The Service Research Center (CTF) at Karlstad University. I am most grateful to all of these organizations for supporting my research. Funding is, however, not the only support I have needed during the work on this doctoral thesis. I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the people who have contributed to the completion of this thesis. First of all I would like to express my gratitude to my main tutor Professor Anders Gustafsson (CTF). Anders is a dedicated researcher and a great source of inspiration. He has given me invaluable insights into research and what being a researcher is all about. We have also had a lot of fun together during this process and Anders has proven that it is possible to play the role of both a serious supervisor and a friend who tells really bad jokes. The present thesis would not have been possible without Anders’ tutoring. I am also thankful to Associate Professor Lars Witell. Lars is a humble perfectionist with whom I have had the good fortune to write four articles and two conference papers. He has taken our research to a level that I could not have reached on my own. We have also shared many laughs and interesting experiences on our conference trips, from watching the great whales in the Pacific Ocean outside the shore of Vancouver Island, Canada, to bargaining for a Meatloaf-DVD on Patpong night market in Bangkok, Thailand. I am very grateful to both Anders and Lars for taking me on as a member in their research team. Besides Anders and Lars, my committee has consisted of Professor Bo Edvardsson (CTF) and Ms. Birgitta Nilsson (STFI-Packforsk). Bo has been a valuable source of inspiration with his knowledge and experience of service research. In addition, I am thankful to Bo for using his natural authority to support me and my research in many different situations. Birgitta receives my appreciation for introducing me to the area of packaging and for encouraging me with her firm belief in the research project. Birgitta is, like me, a very straightforward person and I believe her personality has been fruitful for the co-operation between STFI-Packforsk and CTF. Our mutual straightforwardness has also resulted in many appreciated shared laughs over the last five years.

I would also like to thank all of my colleagues at CTF. We have a work environment at CTF in which we take our research very seriously, but we also know how to let our hair down and appreciate a good time. Around our coffee table almost anything goes and that can liven up any given workday. All in all, this makes it stimulating and fun to go to work. A special thanks to Assistant Professor Patrik Gottfridsson for showing his support by reading and commenting on my research. I am also grateful to Professor Håkan Wiklund (Mittuniversitetet) for valuable and constructive comments on a late version of the thesis manuscript and to Colleen Murphy for comments on my English. Finally, my warmest and most heartfelt thanks go to my wife Mari for putting up with me during this, sometimes exhausting, process and for giving me love and support by always being there for me. Säffle, October 2006 Martin Löfgren

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................ 7 1.1 AIM…............................................................................................................................ 10 1.2 SUMMARY OF APPENDED PAPERS ................................................................................. 10

1.2.1 Paper I: Winning at the First and Second Moments of Truth: An Exploratory Study ......................................................................... 11

1.2.2 Paper II: Kano’s Theory of Attractive Quality and Packaging........................ 12 1.2.3 Paper III: Classification of Quality Attributes ................................................. 13 1.2.4 Paper IV: Two Decades of Using Kano’s Theory of Attractive Quality:

A Literature Review............................................................................ 15 1.2.5 Paper V: Customer Satisfaction in the First and Second Moments of Truth ... 16

1.3 STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS – A READER’S GUIDE ....................................................... 18 2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ............................................................................... 19 2.1 THEORETICAL POINTS OF DEPARTURE.......................................................................... 20

2.1.1 The Service Perspective.................................................................................... 20 2.1.2 The Total Offer from a Packaging Perspective ................................................ 24

2.2 PACKAGING AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: A COMPREHENSIVE LEVEL................... 25 2.2.1 Customer Satisfaction ...................................................................................... 27 2.2.2 The First and Second Moments of Truth .......................................................... 28

2.3 PACKAGING AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: AN ATTRIBUTE LEVEL.......................... 32 2.3.1 Quality and Quality Dimensions ...................................................................... 33 2.3.2 The Theory of Attractive Quality...................................................................... 34

2.4 FINAL COMMENTS ON THE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK .............................................. 38 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ................................................................................. 41 3.1 METHODOLOGICAL POINTS OF DEPARTURE ................................................................. 41 3.2 QUANTITATIVE VS. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH .............................................................. 42 3.3 COMBINING QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE APPROACHES .................................... 44 3.4 METHODOLOGICAL RESEARCH DESIGN........................................................................ 46

3.4.1 Explorative Interview Study, Paper I ............................................................... 48 3.4.2 Empirical Kano-study of Packaging, Paper II ................................................. 51 3.4.3 Empirical Study of the Kano-methodology, Paper III...................................... 53 3.4.4 Literature Review of the Theory of Attractive Quality, Paper IV..................... 57 3.4.5 Structural Equation Modeling, Paper V........................................................... 59

3.5 REFLECTIONS ON THE RESEARCH PROCESS .................................................................. 62 3.5.1 Validity.. ........................................................................................................... 62 3.5.2 Reliability ......................................................................................................... 63

3.6 FINAL COMMENTS ON THE RESEARCH PROCESS........................................................... 64 4 EPILOGUE..................................................................................................................... 67 4.1 CONTRIBUTIONS ............................................................................................................ 68 4.2 MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS ........................................................................................ 70 4.3 FUTURE RESEARCH ....................................................................................................... 72 REFERENCES.....................................................................................................................I

APPENDED PAPERS

PAPER I: WINNING AT THE FIRST AND SECOND MOMENTS OF TRUTH: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY

PAPER II: KANO’S THEORY OF ATTRACTIVE QUALITY AND PACKAGING

PAPER III: CLASSIFICATION OF QUALITY ATTRIBUTES

PAPER IV: TWO DECADES OF USING KANO’S THEORY OF ATTRACTIVE QUALITY: A LITERATURE REVIEW

PAPER V: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN THE FIRST AND SECOND MOMENTS OF TRUTH APPENDED RESEARCH MATERIAL

INTERVIEW GUIDE, USED FOR PAPER I

QUESTIONNAIRE, USED FOR PAPER II

5- LEVEL KANO QUESTIONNAIRE, USED FOR PAPER III

3- LEVEL KANO QUESTIONNAIRE, USED FOR PAPER III

DIRECT QUESTION QUESTIONNAIRE, USED FOR PAPER III

FIRST MOMENT OF TRUTH QUESTIONNAIRE, USED FOR PAPER V

SECOND MOMENT OF TRUTH QUESTIONNAIRE, USED FOR PAPER V

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1 Introduction

Research scholars suggest that firms now compete with services rather than goods (Rust, 1998; Grönroos, 2000a; Vargo and Lusch, 2004a). Goods are appliances, i.e., tools for service provision according to the new service-dominant logic (Vargo and Lusch, 2006). The fact that IBM and other manufacturing companies are making greater profits from the services than from the goods they provide is an indication of this trend and also of the maturity of the service economy (Pine and Gilmore, 1998). Today 50 % of IBM’s revenue is directly service related. It is, however, important to remember that any given offering is often a combination of both goods and services (Gustafsson and Johnson, 2003). A consequence of this logic is that new product development is extensively encompassing more than the products’ core attributes which results in ‘offer development’ (Normann and Ramírez, 1994a; Normann and Ramírez, 1994b; Johne and Storey, 1998). For example, computer manufacturers and food retailers create customer value through a combination of goods and services (Berry et al., 2002b), e.g., the combination of a hard disk and the service ‘storing information’, or ready-cooked food and the service ‘saving time’. The type of competition and economy presented above has been described as service-dominated, with the offered good being an important part of the service, rather than the opposite (Rust, 1998), i.e., manufacturing companies are developing service offerings to create competitive advantages (Gustafsson and Johnson, 2003). Scania, for example, does not manufacture trucks but offers a ‘transportation function’, and McDonalds delivers ‘a service and an experience’ not just fast-food (Echeverri and Edvardsson, 2002). In this respect, goods can be viewed as distribution mechanisms for services (Vargo and Lusch, 2004a), i.e., the trucks and hamburgers Scania and McDonalds provide are physical manifestations of the offered services. The focus from this perspective is on what products1 can do and not necessarily on what they are (Oliver, 1997). This means that customers do not buy goods or services; they buy the benefits goods and services provide them with (Grönroos, 2000a). The perspective on products as doers that provide benefits

1 Products, offers, and offerings are used interchangeably in the thesis to describe goods and services, separately or in combination.

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is often described as ‘value-in-use’ (Vargo and Lusch, 2004a). It represents a shift from the traditional goods-dominant logic of exchange to a service-dominant logic. A central part of this change is the shift from operand resources (goods) to operant resources (skills and knowledge) (Levy, 2006; Vargo and Lusch, 2006). In the area of packaging2, little research has investigated the development from product requirements to value-in-use as previously described. Packaging has traditionally been viewed as an important compliment to the physical product (Brown, 1950) and it is still common to conceive of packaging as a non-product-related attribute (Underwood, 2003). The traditional approach denotes packaging as an aspect of the purchase and consumption process but most often not related to product performance (Ibid.). A review of the marketing literature reveals relatively little empirical and theoretical work in the area of packaging (Underwood et al., 2001), even though consumer and industry trends suggest an increasingly important role for packaging as a marketing vehicle (Olsmats, 2002). In fact, while industry focus on packaging as a strategic tool has grown over the last two decades, academic attention to packaging has been sparse over that same period (Underwood and Klein, 2002). Considering that virtually every product today has some form of packaging, this is a bit remarkable. Exceptions in the marketing literature are investigations of packaging and brand communication (Underwood et al., 2001; Walczyk, 2001; Wansink and Huffman, 2001; Underwood and Klein, 2002; Underwood, 2003), advertisement-package coordination (Garretson and Burton, 2005), and packaging size and shape (Wansink, 1996; Raghubir and Greenleaf, 2006). In contrast to the traditional approach that views packaging as a complimenting non-product-related attribute, Underwood (2003) suggests that packaging is a powerful product-related attribute often critical to the creation and communication of brand identity. We agree with this view on packaging as a product-related attribute that does affect the customers’ experiences of product performance. We also recognize the lack of packaging related research within marketing, especially from a value-in-use perspective.

2 The terms packaging and packages refers exclusively to packaging for consumer products throughout this thesis.

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Given the development from product requirements to value-in-use and the lack of interest for packaging in academia previously described, two main problematic areas in need of further investigation can be identified. First, although the majority of researchers agree on the service infusion in manufacturing companies, most theories are presented in ‘pure’ service contexts such as banking or air-line industries (Grönroos, 2000a). To be able to expand on the elaboration of the service perspective, there is a need for developing and testing concepts and theories that apply to both goods and services as suggested by Rust (1998). Second, since the marketing research is sparse in the context of packaging, more knowledge is needed about how packages are experienced by customers and what they feel is important about packaging. The change towards value-in-use may imply that certain functions of the package are modified or intensified, compared to the package’s previous main task of protecting the merchandise and facilitating storing and transportation. Companies consequently need to develop, design, and provide packages with high customer-experienced quality. In this doctoral thesis, it will be argued that the total offer and value-in-use should also be in focus when it comes to packaging. This means to start with the customers’ wants and needs, and end with solutions to customer problems and desires.3 We would like to point out that customer here means the consumer and it is exclusively the consumers’ experiences that are investigated in this thesis. For a comprehensive view of packaging handling in a traditional supply chain, see, e.g., Dominic et al. (2000). To study packaging from a service perspective is relevant for several reasons. First, packaging is something that can have several functions which includes more than the physical package. Second, packages are carriers of information that are interpreted by customers, i.e., the physical package is a distribution mechanism of the service information. Third, to study packaging from a service perspective allows for a theoretical investigation that applies both to the service sector and the goods sector, by viewing something (in this case packaging) as service rather then developing theories about what services are. It is argued in this thesis that the combination of packaging functions and information, the physical package, and its content create the total customer experience. We define the total customer experience as the result of the

3 This view is referred to as ‘the service perspective’ throughout the thesis.

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customer’s cognitive and emotional evaluations of an offering (in line with the Edvardsson et al., (2005a) definition of a service experience). In this thesis Kano’s theory of attractive quality and customer satisfaction modeling is used to investigate the role of packaging in the total customer experience.

1.1 Aim

The overall aim of this thesis is to develop and test theoretical models and provide empirical evidence of customer experiences in the context of packaging from a service perspective. This aim is divided into three entities:

1. Theoretical aim: to contribute to a better understanding of the service perspective and customer satisfaction.

2. Empirical aim: to provide more knowledge of customers’ experiences when interacting with and using package consumer products.

3. Methodological aim: to investigate different approaches to the classification of quality attributes based on Kano’s theory of attractive quality.

By investigating packaging from a service perspective, and emphasizing value-in-use, we will show that packages are more than physical boxes, bottles, jars, cans, etc. that protect the goods inside. The contributions are made both in the framework of the thesis and in the appended papers. How the appended papers have contributed to fulfilling the aim of the thesis is presented in the summary of appended papers in the next section.

1.2 Summary of Appended Papers

This section contains summaries of the five appended papers. We chose to summarize the papers here in the introduction because we believe it facilitates the understanding of the theoretical and methodological chapters. As well, the intention with this disposition is to provide the reader with an overview of the conducted research at an early point in the thesis. The topic in Paper I is the service perspective and packaging. This is investigated on the basis of four interviews with packaging professionals and in relation to service marketing theories. Paper II focuses on how Swedish consumers experience packaging in everyday commodities. The quality

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attributes of packaging are categorized into different quality dimensions based on Kano’s theory of attractive quality. A close investigation of different approaches to classify quality attributes using the Kano methodology is then made in Paper III, followed by a literature review of Kano’s theory of attractive quality in Paper IV. In Paper V an elaboration is made on customer satisfaction by using the first and second moments of truth in customer satisfaction modeling. The appended papers are to be viewed as in-depth investigations into the area of inquiry described in the framework of the thesis.

1.2.1 Paper I: Winning at the First and Second Moments of Truth: An Exploratory Study

Already in 1977, Lynn Shostack concluded in her pioneering article Breaking Free from Product Marketing in the Journal of Marketing, that there are very few, if any, ‘pure’ goods or services. Nevertheless, over 20 years later, many publications about services focus on how service characteristics differ from goods (Grönroos, 2000b). It seems like product marketing emphasizes the creation of abstract associations, while service marketers focus on providing tangible clues as suggested by Shostack (1977). An integration of these two perspectives is necessary since most of today’s offers are combinations of goods and services. In this paper, an elaboration is made on the implications of seeing packaging as a service, based on four interviews with packaging professionals, and in relation to theories adapted from the service marketing area. A suggestion is made that the consumption of physical goods and services should not be separated, but integrated, into a process with two major steps: the first and second moments of truth. The first moment of truth deals with the package’s ability to grab the attention of customers as they are, for example, pushing their shopping carts in a store. Underwood and Klein (2002) have found that for decisions made at the point of purchase, packaging takes on a heightened importance relative to other communication tools because of its easy availability. Research also shows that when customers are shopping they make choices between products within seconds (Judd et al., 1989) and that the package often projects the customer’s first impression of a brand, its quality, or its value (Harckham, 1989).

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The second moment of truth is when the consumer uses and consumes the product. This is the moment of truth for the design of the prerequisites for services (i.e., information and functions etc.). The package must, for example, be easy to use, the information on it must be relevant so that consumers do not misuse the product, it has to fit in storage spaces, and if the product should be dosed the package has to facilitate this. It is crucial for companies to design packages with user-friendly prerequisites for services since there are no employees present in the service consumption process. One could say that the package bridges the gap between production and consumption. Consumers may evaluate a product’s, or offering’s, quality when it is purchased (buying a beverage) or when it is consumed (drinking a beverage) (Zeithaml, 1988). Using our terminology, this means that the perception of quality is created both at the first and second moment of truth. It is concluded that the combination of these two moments of truth makes up the total customer experience, since customer expectations created in the first moment of truth affect the experiences in the second moment of truth. In this paper it is also shown that when studying packaging from a service perspective, three interacting aspects create customer satisfaction: the physical package, content, and prerequisites for services. Martin Löfgren is the single author of this paper that has been published in Managing Service Quality (Löfgren, 2005).

1.2.2 Paper II: Kano’s Theory of Attractive Quality and Packaging

Inspired by Herzberg’s Motivator-Hygiene Theory (M-H Theory) (Herzberg, 1966), Professor Kano and his co-workers developed The Theory of Attractive Quality (Kano et al., 1984). It is a theory intended to better understand different aspects of how customers evaluate and perceive quality attributes. The theory of attractive quality explains how the relationship between the degree of sufficiency and customer satisfaction with a quality attribute can be classified into five categories of perceived quality: ‘attractive quality’, ‘must-be quality’, ‘reverse quality’, ‘one-dimensional quality’, and ‘indifferent quality’. According to Kano (2001), the theory of attractive quality originated because of a lack of explanatory power of a one-dimensional recognition of quality. For instance, people are satisfied if a package extends the expiry date of milk and

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dissatisfied if the package shortens the expiry date. For a quality attribute such as leakage, people are not satisfied if the package does not leak, but are very dissatisfied if it does. The one-dimensional view of quality can explain the role of expiry dates but not leakage. In this paper, an empirical investigation was conducted about how customers experience packaging in everyday commodities in order to increase our knowledge of the role of packages in the perception of quality. The research study is based on the theory of attractive quality (Kano et al., 1984) and investigates how 24 quality attributes of packages are perceived by customers. Data collection was conducted through a questionnaire that was mailed to randomly chosen Swedes aged 16-79 which asked them about their experiences of packaging in everyday commodities. There were a total of 1500 questionnaires sent, with 708 returned, representing an overall return rate of 47 percent. The results from the questionnaires provide evidence that there are quality attributes that are attractive to customers during the decision to buy and use the product such as recyclable material and resealability. There are also, however, must-be quality attributes such as no leakage and declaration of contents. In addition, the analysis shows that quality can not be seen simply as a one-dimensional construct. Having insight into which quality attributes fall into which quality dimensions provides a better understanding of customer requirements and can improve the focus on the right requirements. This paper was co-authored with Dr. Lars Witell. The main empirical work was conducted by the author of this thesis, and the analysis of the data and the actual writing of the paper was a joint effort with Dr. Witell. The paper was presented at the 9th International Conference on ISO 9000 & TQM (9-ICIT) in Bangkok, Thailand in 2004 and has been published in Quality Management Journal (Löfgren and Witell, 2005).

1.2.3 Paper III: Classification of Quality Attributes

An important feature of the theory of attractive quality is that quality attributes can be classified as ‘attractive quality’, ‘one-dimensional quality’, ‘must-be quality’, ‘indifferent quality’, or ‘reverse quality’. The original classification process is based on a ‘Kano questionnaire’ which is constructed through pairs

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of customer requirement questions (Kano et al., 1984; Berger et al., 1993). The first question in each pair is intended to capture the respondent’s feeling if a product possesses a certain attribute, whereas the second captures the respondent’s feeling if the product does not have that attribute. Recently, various authors have suggested alternative approaches to the classification of quality attributes. Jacobs (1999) and Martensen and Grönholdt (2001) used ‘importance weights’ to classify quality attributes. Emery and Tian (2002) asked customers to choose directly among different quality dimensions. Kano (2001) himself has suggested a development of his original approach involving fewer alternatives in answering the pairs of customer requirement questions. Introducing new approaches to operationalize the theory of attractive quality is an important step in the further development of the research area. It is also crucial, however, to test whether or not the different approaches provide consistent results. If there are differences in the results it is important to identify why such differences exist. Paper III aims to investigate whether or not consistent results are delivered by these variations on the classification of quality attributes according to the theory of attractive quality. An empirical investigation was conducted with 430 respondents to assess how they perceived the performance of an e-service. The investigation included the four approaches to the classification of quality attributes previously noted—(i) 5-level Kano questionnaire; (ii) 3-level Kano questionnaire; (iii) classification through direct questions; and (iv) classification via importance. The study facilitated comparisons from both a methodological and output perspective. The main conclusion to be drawn from this paper is that the different approaches to the classification of quality attributes are built on different methodological foundations and deliver different results. In comparison with the traditional method of classifying quality attributes (5-level Kano questionnaire), the three alternative approaches provided different results for eight of nine quality attributes. It is also concluded that the 5-level Kano approach (Kano et al., 1984), followed by the 3-level Kano approach (Kano, 2001), are the most appropriate approaches to the classification of quality attributes according to the theory of attractive quality.

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This paper was co-authored with Dr. Lars Witell who is the main author of the paper. We contributed equally in the empirical work and in writing the paper, but Dr. Witell is the engineer of the analysis presented in the paper. The paper was presented at the Quality Management for Organisational and Regional Development (QMOD) conference in Palermo, Italy in 2005 and is forthcoming in Managing Service Quality (Witell and Löfgren, 2007).

1.2.4 Paper IV: Two Decades of Using Kano’s Theory of Attractive Quality: A Literature Review

Over the past two decades the theory of attractive quality has received growing interest and attention. It has been applied in strategic thinking, business planning, and product development to demonstrate lessons learned in innovation, competitiveness, and product compliance (Watson, 2003). Despite the popularity of the theory, no research study has provided a systematic investigation of the further development of the theory of attractive quality. Our aim with this paper is to synthesize, organize, and structure knowledge from a research standpoint and offer suggestions for further research. This includes an investigation of the breadth of use of the Kano methodology and an investigation of how different researchers have used, interpreted, and modified the methodology. In addition, our literature review can guide managers and product developers in the design of studies utilizing the Kano methodology. In the literature review, 36 papers are identified where the focus is on conceptual issues, methodological issues, or application of the theory of attractive quality. The content of these papers is analyzed and a number of theoretical and methodological research themes are identified. The identified research themes provide a research synthesis of the theory of attractive quality. A research synthesis of this kind serves to integrate and systematically critique past research (Cooper, 1998) and can help current and future researchers and practitioners who employ the Kano methodology to examine their methodological decisions in detail. Although the theory of attractive quality has been frequently used in both academia and among practitioners, the literature review reveals several issues in need of further investigation. There is a need for more research oriented papers about the theory of attractive quality. This literature review can be seen as a first step in the new phase of development where we summarize the existing

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knowledge about the theory of attractive quality. The paper also includes a presentation of the improvements of the methodology that are valid, as well as those in need of more empirical tests before it can be decided if they are solid additions to the theory of attractive quality. We argue that the theoretical foundation of the theory of attractive quality, the life cycles of quality attributes, and attractive quality creation are areas in need of further research. We also believe that it would be fruitful to investigate the impact of the wording in both the questions and the alternatives to answer the pairs of customer requirements questions. As with Paper II and Paper III, this paper was co-authored with Dr. Lars Witell, who is to be acknowledged for the use of his analytical, statistical, and writing skills to take our research to a higher level in all of these three papers. The author of this thesis appears first in the list of authors mainly due to his work in the early phases of the literature review. The completion of the paper was truly a joint effort. The paper is submitted for international publication.

1.2.5 Paper V: Customer Satisfaction in the First and Second Moments of Truth

Almost everything we as consumers buy in a store has a package. One of the more interesting, and at the same time difficult aspects of packaged consumer products, is that point of purchase and consumption are usually separated. At the point of purchase, or as we call it the first moment of truth, the purpose of the package is to get the customers’ attention and function as a silent salesman that helps to sell the product. This is a difficult task as customers make choices between products within seconds when they are shopping (Judd et al., 1989). Nevertheless, it is an important task since it is estimated that 73% of all purchase decisions are made at point of sale (Rettie and Brewer, 2000). Once the purchase is made, the product is then consumed in the second moment of truth and there may actually be multiple second moments of truths because the whole package may not be consumed on one occasion. This second moment of truth is a process that deals with use, handling, and actual consumption post purchase. There are many difficulties that have to be overcome due to this separation of purchase and consumption, and this paper deals with some of them.

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The purpose of this paper is to create a better understanding of how customers evaluate different quality attributes in the first and second moments of truth. We are also measuring the effects from the first moment of truth on the second moment of truth. In this paper, a conceptual model is designed to measure different aspects of an offer at various times (occasions) and then to compare the changes in perceptions from buying to usage. We use the causal modeling method partial least squares (PLS)4 for the operationalization of our conceptual model. An empirical investigation is conducted of how customers experience three different packages for everyday commodities at the first and second moments of truth. The focus in the paper is on the drivers of satisfaction rather than the payoffs and we use loyalty as a proxy for retention which in turn affects profitability. The payoffs are, however, becoming increasingly evident (Gustafsson and Johnson, 1997) and include increased customer loyalty and retention, fewer customer complaints, and increased profitability (Anderson et al., 1994; Fornell et al., 1996; Reichheld, 1996; Verhoef, 2003; Gustafsson et al., 2005). As the link to profitability has become clear, customer satisfaction is now a prominent metric in business accounting and reporting (Johnson, 2001). Our results provide evidence that there are differences between the two points in time of consumption. The main conclusion is that we need to understand the way in which customers view a product during purchase and we need to measure the customers’ evaluation after usage. This paper is co-authored with Dr. Lars Witell and Dr. Anders Gustafsson who have designed this study. The initial statistical analysis using PLS was performed conjointly by all three authors. This part of the study and the interpretation of the results was part of a Ph. D-course in PLS for the author of this thesis. The additional statistical analyses were performed and written by Dr. Witell. Dr. Gustafsson has functioned as head of engineer for the study, supervising every step of the process. He has also contributed greatly in the writing process. The empirical work and the main part of the actual writing of the paper were conducted by the author of this thesis.

4 For a more detailed description of PLS, see “Structural Equation Modeling, Paper V” in the research methodology chapter.

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1.3 Structure of the Thesis – A Reader’s Guide

The outline of the thesis is structured according to the following: Chapter 1 contains an introduction to the area under investigation. The service perspective as well as packaging and customer satisfaction are briefly described. Then the aim and research questions of the thesis are presented. The chapter ends with a short summary of each of the appended papers. Chapter 2 contains the theoretical framework of the thesis. The basis for this theoretical investigation is theories from the services marketing area and customer satisfaction theories. Chapter 3 is the research methodology block of the thesis. Quantitative and qualitative methods are discussed, separately and in combination, as different ways of conducting social investigations. The methodological research design of the thesis is presented and discussed. Finally, in Chapter 4, an epilogue including conclusions, contributions, managerial implications, and suggestions for future research is presented. The Appendices contain the appended papers forming the basis for the research presented in the thesis plus the interview guide and the questionnaires used in Paper I – Paper V respectively.

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2 Theoretical Framework

The fundamental purpose of theory is to define, establish, and explain relationships between concepts or constructs (Amundson, 1998). In this section the theoretical concepts and constructs used in the thesis are presented and discussed. Three main theoretical areas are presented: the service perspective, the theory of attractive quality, and customer satisfaction. The theory of attractive quality is used for the discussion of customer experiences on an attribute level, whereas the other two are used on a comprehensive level. An overview of links between the appended papers and the main theories is presented in figure 2.1.

Paper IPaper I

Paper IIPaper II

Paper IIIPaper III

Paper VPaper V

Paper IVPaper IV

The service perspectiveThe service perspective

The Theory of attractive

quality


quality

Customer satisfactionCustomer

satisfaction

Comprehensive level

Attribute level

Paper IPaper I

Paper IIPaper II

Paper IIIPaper III

Paper VPaper V

Paper IVPaper IV



quality


quality


satisfaction

Comprehensive level

Attribute level

Figure 2.1: An overview of links between the appended papers. The chapter begins with a description of the thesis’ theoretical points of departure, including elaborations on fundamental concepts such as the service perspective, the goods-to-services continuum, and the total offer. Then customer satisfaction is discussed on a comprehensive level in the context of packaging. This discussion leads to a suggestion regarding how the consumption of offerings that contain both physical and intangible assets could be described, by introducing the first and second moments of truth. In the second last section of the chapter, an elaboration is made on packaging and customer satisfaction on an attribute level. Product quality and quality

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dimensions are key concepts in this elaboration. The most important theory in this area for this thesis is Kano’s theory of attractive quality. The theoretical investigation ends with some final comments on the concepts and constructs that were used in the thesis.

2.1 Theoretical Points of Departure

To study packaging from a service perspective is not about what services are but rather the concept of seeing something as service and that is the essence of the investigation in this section. In accordance with this reasoning, Edvardsson et al. (2005b) describe service as “a perspective on value creation rather than a category of market offerings” (Edvardsson et al., 2005b, p. 118). It may still, however, be necessary to elaborate on what services are in order to apply a service perspective.

2.1.1 The Service Perspective

The IHIP (inseparability, heterogeneity, intangibility, and perishability) characteristics have often been used to describe the service specific characteristics (Edvardsson et al., 2005b). The following definition could be a typical way of describing services based on the IHIP characteristics (see, e.g., Parasuraman et al., 1985; Grönroos, 1996; Edvardsson, 1998 for similar descriptions):

Services are: (I) constituted of inseparable activities as they often are produced,

delivered, consumed, and marketed at the same time in co-operation with the customer;

(H) heterogenic regarding how employee, customer, and capital intensive they are;

(I) intangible, i.e., you most often can not touch or feel them; and (P) perishable, i.e., you can not, e.g., keep a stock of haircuts.

These service-specific characteristics have implications for the design of service processes (the chains of activities needed to realize the service) and service offerings (Echeverri and Edvardsson, 2002). However, the IHIP framework’s ability to support the paradigm that services are different from goods has been questioned in recent academic publications (see, e.g., Lovelock and

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Gummesson, 2004; Vargo and Lusch, 2004a; Edvardsson et al., 2005b). Vargo and Lusch (2004b) even wrote an article on the topic, labelling the IHIP characteristics ‘The four service marketing myths’. The authors have three main objections to the IHIP characteristics: (i) they do not distinguish services from goods; (ii) they only have meaning from a manufacturing perspective; and (iii) they imply inappropriate normative strategies (Vargo and Lusch, 2004b, p. 324). There has also been criticism about how ‘textbook theory’, such as Kerin et al. (2003), Kotler (2003), Pride and Ferrell (2003), and Solomon and Stuart (2003), treat services marketing as a subdiscipline of manufacturing-based marketing (Lovelock and Gummesson, 2004). To treat services marketing as a subdiscipline can be found to be rather strange since it has been suggested that the offered good is an important part of the service, rather than the other way around (Rust, 1998). However, given the nature of ‘textbook theory’, which often is used for undergraduate teaching, we can understand if authors of textbooks dichotomize services with goods as a pedagogic finesse. Thus far we can conclude that the IHIP characteristics seem to have become insufficient for the description of different offerings. An indication of this shortcoming is seen in the results of a study by Edvardsson et al. (2005b) where service scholars were asked for definitions that would best capture the essence of services. Examples of definitions provided by the service scholars are: “satisfying needs and wants”, “is a performance meant to provide benefit”, and “essence of service is the experience created for the customer” (Edvardsson et al., 2005b, p. 111). Another conclusion to be drawn at this stage is that it is unclear where the differences lie between services marketing and goods marketing. While Shostack (1977) suggested that it was time for services marketing to break free from product marketing, Vargo and Lusch (2004a; 2004b) argue that services marketing and goods marketing should be reunited under a new dominant logic in marketing in which service provision, rather than goods, is fundamental to economic exchange. A possible danger with this new logic, which can be interpreted as an unlimited broadening of the concept of services, is the loss of valuable service-specific knowledge (Stauss, 2005). However, we agree with Vargo and Lusch’s (2004a; 2004b) argumentation and believe it to be a fruitful one since most companies today seek to build a competitive advantage by providing a total offer that contains both goods and services (Gustafsson and Johnson, 2003). We

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understand Stauss’ (2005) concern, but our interpretation of the new logic does not exclude prior findings within either services marketing or goods marketing. On the contrary, our view of the new logic encompasses knowledge gained from both of these fields. With this view products can be discussed as offerings along a goods-to-services continuum. Shostack (1977) elaborated on the goods-to-services continuum by describing a scale of market entities (see figure 2.2).

Tangible dominant

Intangible dominant

Salt

Teaching

Consulting

Airlines

Investment management

Advertising agencies

Fast-food outlets

Cosmetics

Detergents

Automobiles

Soft drinks

Fast-food outlets

Tangible dominant

Intangible dominant

Salt

Teaching

Consulting

Airlines

Investment management

Advertising agencies

Fast-food outlets

Cosmetics

Detergents

Automobiles

Soft drinks

Fast-food outlets

Figure 2.2: The scale of market entities. Adapted from Shostack, 1977, p. 77. The intention with figure 2.2 is to illustrate that most (if not all) products contain both tangible and intangible assets and that companies (in most cases) are providers of total offerings. We also want to emphasize that our main focus is on understanding how customers experience offerings and not on categorizations (in terms of goods and services) of them. For example, automobiles have a more tangible than intangible dominant according to figure 2.2. This may be true in some cases. However, consider the case of a customer who has bought a convertible sports car for the purpose of cruising on summer nights. Is the feeling of the warm summer breeze while driving with the top down a tangible dominant? Or is the feeling of owning a car that is admired by others tangible? The answer to both of these questions is of course no. This also stresses the need for a shift from the traditional approach where the focus is placed on providing operand resources (goods), to an approach where operant resources (skills and knowledge) are in focus (Vargo and Lusch, 2006).

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In our example of the sports car, this change could be described as a shift from focusing on the car itself to understanding what skills and knowledge are needed for the creation and utilization of customer benefits. Grönroos (2000b) concludes that many characteristics may not be particularly discriminating between goods and services: “In the mind of a customer, a car can be as intangible as a restaurant service, and it easily may be as difficult to evaluate a pound of tomatoes before eating them as it is to evaluate the service of a bank” (Grönroos, 2000b, p. 13). This argument is supported by Zeithaml (1988) who uses the example of new food products which cannot be tasted before purchase unless free samples are provided. The important thing for companies is to understand the utility customers receive by using an offering, whether it is a good, a service, or the two in combination (Grönroos, 1994), i.e., to provide offerings that match customers’ spoken and unspoken wants and needs. Within marketing, there is a fascination with product performance which is illustrated in many advertising slogans (Oliver, 1997). With performance is here understood that customers buy products to ‘do something’ (e.g., ‘kill bugs’) and to do it better than competing alternatives (e.g., Avis’ slogan, ‘We try harder’). In recent research, products as doers that provide benefits are often described as ‘value-in-use’ (Vargo and Lusch, 2004a). In this thesis we have chosen to use the service perspective to place the focus on products as ‘doers’. This view leads to a standpoint where the most important task of a business is to create and offer suitable prerequisites for services and service encounters (Edvardsson, 1996; Edvardsson, 1998). In the context of packaging, information and functions that are realized into services when the customer experiences them can be seen as prerequisites for services. Vargo and Lusch (2004a) use the term ‘value propositions’ instead of prerequisites and state that since value always is co-produced with the customer, companies can only make value propositions. In this section we have shown that there are few, if any, ‘pure’ goods or services as stated by Shostack (1977) and that customers do not buy goods or services; they buy the benefits goods and services provide (Grönroos, 2000a). In the next section we discuss how value propositions are made through total offers by elaborating on how the service perspective can be applied in the context of packaging.

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2.1.2 The Total Offer from a Packaging Perspective

Packaged consumer products can, on a comprehensive level, be viewed as a total offer with three major parts: the physical package, prerequisites for services, and the content of the package (see figure 2.3). It is possible that others would choose different concepts such as materials and design for this description. We believe, however, that the chosen concepts are suitable for this comprehensive description.

Prerequisites for services

Content

Physical package

The total offer

Prerequisites for services

Content

Physical package

The total offer

Figure 2.3: The total offer from a packaging perspective.

The content of the package is obviously an important part of the total offer. The focus in this thesis, however, is on the combination of the physical package and the prerequisites for services, as the content of a package is product-specific and difficult to discuss in overall terms. Previous research has, to a great extent, had the physical package as the point of departure (Underwood, 2003) and neglected the service aspects. With our perspective, the physical package is a carrier of the prerequisites for services, which is intended to mediate the intangible assets of the package in interaction with the customer. For example, instructions of how to use a product or a cake recipe that is printed on a package can be seen as prerequisites for services that become services as they are experienced by the customer. With this perspective, however, the tangible assets can also be seen as prerequisites for services depending on the customers’ experience of them. Consider, for example, a scoop device on a package of detergent. At the point of purchase this is a part of the physical package and may not seem important to the customer. But when he or she brings the product home and uses it, the service originates in a process where the customer is interacting and experiencing the prerequisites for services of the package. From the customer’s

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view, this service could be defined in abstract terms like ‘fun and easy to use’ or in a more concrete way like ‘it facilitates dosing the detergent’. The scoop device can be viewed as a part of the physical product (a material product attribute) or as a prerequisite for a service (something that can create different kinds of customer value). We prefer the latter view as it places focus on value-in-use. The example with the scoop device illustrates that product characteristics may be experienced at the point of purchase differently than during usage. In the next section, an elaboration is made on packaging and customer satisfaction on a comprehensive level.

2.2 Packaging and Customer Satisfaction: A Comprehensive Level

In this section, customer satisfaction on a comprehensive level is examined. First we describe how customer satisfaction is linked to other concepts that affect a company’s profit. The aim of this discussion is to put the thesis in a business metrics context. Then a more detailed discussion of customer satisfaction is provided, followed by a discussion of customer satisfaction in the first and second moments of truth. Conjointly, these sections describe how we have investigated packaging and customer satisfaction on a comprehensive level in the thesis. The concept of satisfaction is strongly linked to other concepts such as quality, loyalty, and profitability (Johnson and Gustafsson, 2000). The most well-known model conceptualising these links and putting ‘hard’ values on ‘soft’ measures is the service-profit chain (see, e.g., Heskett et al., 1994). The service-profit chain describes the interdependencies between profitability, customer loyalty, and employee satisfaction, loyalty, and productivity (Heskett et al., 1994). A less complex and more delimited model that also elaborates on the direct and indirect impact different components have on profits, is presented by Oliver (1997). The ‘satisfaction sequence’ is used to show how the chain of ‘quality satisfaction loyalty’ affects profitability (Oliver, 1997). A summary of these effects is presented in figure 2.4.

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•Higher margins •Higher reputation •More positive word of mouth

•Greater retention •Increased purchasing •Higher price tolerance

•Guaranteed customer base •More strategic planning•Decreased marketing costs

Quality Satisfaction Loyalty

Profit

•Higher margins •Higher reputation •More positive word of mouth

•Greater retention •Increased purchasing •Higher price tolerance

•Guaranteed customer base •More strategic planning•Decreased marketing costs

Quality Satisfaction Loyalty

Profit

Figure 2.4: Direct effects on profitability of the components of the satisfaction sequence. Adapted from Oliver, 1997, p. 403.

As illustrated in figure 2.4 quality, satisfaction, and loyalty affect financial performance, both directly and indirectly. Quality is often described in terms of internal and external quality. Internal quality encompasses various production and maintenance processes, e.g., manufacturing processes in a goods context and the service offer and physical surroundings in a service context (Johnson and Gustafsson, 2000). External quality and customer satisfaction encompasses the consumption process, i.e., the attributes and the benefits of offers as well as the customers’ experiences and evaluations of them. Customer loyalty refers to the customers’ intention to buy while retention is an expression for the actual behavior (when a customer buys a certain brand repeatedly) (Ibid.). Research has shown that by retaining just 5% more of their customers, a company can raise profits by almost 100% (Reichheld and Sasser, 1990) since customers tend to generate increasingly higher profits for each year they stay with a company (Ibid.). Although the present thesis does not provide measures of, e.g., margins, retention, or marketing costs shown in figure 2.4, we want to present this model to position the thesis in a business metrics context. We want to show why it is important to investigate and measure quality, satisfaction, and loyalty in marketing. The implication of this reasoning is that, e.g., high customer satisfaction would not be valuable per se for a business if it was not for the impact customer satisfaction has on financial performance. Even if it is not written, the underlying assumption in the subsequent discussion is that the components of the satisfaction sequence have the effects on profitability as illustrated in figure 2.4.

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2.2.1 Customer Satisfaction

Satisfaction is derived from Latin satis (enough) and facere (to do or make) (Oliver, 1997). However, the concept of customer satisfaction is complex and includes many facets of doing or making enough, depending on the interpretation of what is enough. Oliver (1997) speaks of a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment, including levels of under and over fulfillment when describing satisfaction. A comprehensive definition of customer satisfaction is provided by Johnson (2001) who states that customer satisfaction is a customer’s evaluation of their purchase and consumption experience with a product, service, brand, or company. Research within this area has developed around two conceptualizations of customer satisfaction: transaction-specific satisfaction and cumulative satisfaction (Johnson et al., 1995). Transaction-specific satisfaction is a short-run evaluation of a product or service experience (Johnson, 2001). Cumulative satisfaction is defined as a customer’s overall experience with a product or service provider to date, i.e., a company’s current and long-run performance (Johnson et al., 1995). The national satisfaction indices, such as the Swedish Customer Satisfaction Barometer (SCSB: Fornell, 1992) and the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI: Fornell et al., 1996) are built upon cumulative satisfaction (Johnson et al., 2001). According to Johnson (2001), transaction-specific and cumulative satisfaction studies are complementary rather than competing, as they use different timeframes to measure customer satisfaction. Transaction-specific satisfaction studies focus on a given occasion or limited period of time, whereas the period of evaluation is left open in cumulative satisfaction research (Johnson, 2001). Cumulative satisfaction studies are, however, better predictors of customers’ loyalty intentions, since repurchase decisions are based on all prior experiences of a product or brand and not one single transaction (Lervik Olsen and Johnson, 2003). Customer satisfaction is typically modeled within a system of cause-and-effect relationships (Gustafsson and Johnson, 1997). In this thesis, such a model is created to measure satisfaction in the first and second moments of truth in Paper V5. The measures in this model are on the cumulative level and the focus 5 For a more detailed description of this model, see “Structural Equation Modeling, Paper V” in the research methodology chapter.

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is on different drivers of satisfaction in the first and second moments of truth rather than on the payoffs. The first and second moments of truth are described in detail in the following section.

2.2.2 The First and Second Moments of Truth

A service encounter has been defined as, “…a period of time during which a consumer directly interacts with a service” (Shostack, 1985, p. 243). This definition includes all the aspects of a service firm with which the customer may interact during a given period of time, including its employees and tangible elements (Bitner, 1990). From the customer’s perspective, these encounters often are the service (Bitner et al., 1990). Service encounters have also been referred to as moments of truth in the service management literature (see, e.g., Edvardsson, 1996; Edvardsson et al., 2000). The metaphor has its origin in Hemingway’s description of the encounter between the bull and the matador and was introduced by Richard Normann in 1984. The service encounter is a moment of truth because the customer’s experience of the encounter contributes to her or his perception of the total service quality. Consequently, it is important to manage and control every individual service encounter to enhance overall perceptions of service quality (Bitner, 1990).

Production Consumption

Mar

ketin

g

Marketing?

Service consumption

Service (production) process

Production Consumption

Mar

ketin

g

Marketing?

Service consumption

Service (production) process

Figure 2.5: The nature of consumption of physical goods and services and the role of marketing. Adapted from Grönroos, 2000a, p. 52.

The consumption of a service is process consumption (the lower part of figure 2.5) rather than outcome consumption (the upper part of figure 2.5) which is

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the case with the consumption of physical goods. As shown in figure 2.5, a service encounter (e.g., a restaurant visit or a telephone call) is a process. In this process the service provider is always present (Grönroos, 2000a). This is true for a typical service encounter where customers are interacting with employees of a service firm and production, consumption, and marketing are simultaneous. When it comes to packaging, however, this is hardly the case. You can not ask a package questions nor can you tell it if you are satisfied or dissatisfied with the offer. Production, consumption, and marketing are not simultaneous and employees are not participating in the service production process. This stresses the need for an alternative description of moments of truth for offerings that contain both physical and intangible assets. Perhaps the nature of consumption of physical goods and services should not be separated but integrated into a process with two major steps: the first and second moments of truth (see figure 2.6).

Production

Buying decision

Marketing by “the silent salesman”

Do not buyBuys

Package with prerequisites for servicesInteraction and service consumption

The customer

First moment of truth

Second moment of truth

Production

Buying decision


Do not buyBuy


The customer


The customer



Production

Buying decision


Do not buyBuys


The customer



Production

Buying decision


Do not buyBuy


The customer


The customer



Figure 2.6: The first and second moments of truth. The first moment of truth deals with the package’s ability to grab the attention of customers as they are, for example, pushing their shopping carts in a store. There are, of course, other things than packaging that affect purchase decisions. For example, Dodds et al. (1991) reports on the effects of price, brand, and store information on a customer’s willingness to buy and Baker et al. (2002)

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elaborates on the influence of multiple store environment cues on perceived merchandise value and patronage intentions. Here, however, focus is placed on how packaging affects willingness to buy. Underwood and Klein (2002) have found that for decisions made at the point of purchase, packaging takes on a heightened importance relative to other communication tools because of its easy availability. The package often forms the customer’s first impression of a brand, its quality, or its value (Harckham, 1989) and stimulates purchasing behavior as it is a medium of attention, information, and aesthetics (Bech-Larsen, 1996). A package that captures the customer’s attention facilitates quick in-store decision making (Silayoi and Speece, 2004). It is important for a product to stand apart from its competitors since it is estimated that 73 percent of all purchase decisions are made at point of sale (Rettie and Brewer, 2000). Obtaining customers’ attention can, however, be difficult because of the large number of stimuli in a store, most of which is ignored by customers who purchase habitually (Underwood et al., 2001). A stimulus that is perceived negatively in the store environment drives shopping experience cost perceptions and can be the difference between getting a product and giving up (Baker et al., 2002). Research shows that customers make choices between products within seconds when they are shopping (Judd et al., 1989). Within those few seconds the package needs to be a “silent salesman” who markets the product, attracts the customers, and holds their attention against the visual clamour of competitive products (Ibid.). That is the first moment of truth. The second moment of truth is when the consumer uses and consumes the product. This is the moment of truth for the design of the prerequisites for services (i.e., information and functions etc.). The package must, for example, be easy to use, the information on it must be relevant so that consumers do not misuse the product, it has to fit in storage spaces, and if the product should be dosed the package has to facilitate this. It is crucial for companies to design packages with user-friendly prerequisites for services since there are no employees present in the service consumption process. Stated another way, one can say that the package bridges the gap between production and consumption. Nelson (1970) distinguishes between ‘search’ and ‘experience’ attributes of an offer. Search attributes such as price can be investigated by the customer prior

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to the purchase, whereas experience attributes such as the taste of a food product can only be discovered after purchase when the product is used and consumed (Ibid.). This means that both search an experience attributes affect the first moment of truth if the customer has prior experiences of the offerings. In cases where the customer lacks experience of the different offerings, search attributes will take on heightened importance in the first moment of truth. The customers’ experience of the second moment of truth is mainly affected by experience attributes. However, the first moment of truth has an impact on how the second moment of truth is experienced. One example would be if the expected cost of search in the first moment of truth is found to be greater than the marginally expected return when the offer is consumed in the second moment of truth. In addition to Nelson’s (1970) search and experience attributes, Darby and Karni (1973) distinguish a third class of properties they term ‘credence’ attributes. Credence attributes cannot be easily evaluated without additional costly information (Darby and Karni, 1973). One example would be when you have your car serviced and you cannot notice any difference in the car’s performance after the service. In the area of packaging, the environmental impact of the package would be an example of a credence attribute as this is difficult for the customer to judge even after consuming the product and recycling of the package. The first and second moments of truth are to be viewed as part of an iterative consumption process. The customers’ experience of the first moment of truth affects how the second moment of truth is experienced. Then, when the customer once again is facing a purchase situation, the experience from the second moment of truth in t1 will have an impact on decisions made at purchase in the first moment of truth in t2. This view has been described as a consumption-system approach (Mittal et al., 1998; Mittal et al., 1999; Mittal et al., 2001; Johnson et al., 2006). (For a deeper investigation of this approach, see Paper V in the appended papers.) Based on what has been presented in this section, a conclusion can be drawn that the recognition of the first and second moment of truth is important for understanding how customers experience packaged consumer products, i.e., on a comprehensive level. For a more detailed description, it is necessary to investigate packaging and customer satisfaction on an attribute level.

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2.3 Packaging and Customer Satisfaction: An Attribute Level

Even in 1963, Boyd and Levy concluded that: “Many companies are sophisticated enough to realize that purchases are made not for the sake of the product but of the product’s functions – that is, what the product will do in satisfying needs and wants” (Boyd and Levy, 1963, p. 130). This view corresponds with the suggestion made previously in this chapter that the most important thing for companies is to provide appropriate prerequisites for services. This means providing tools that the customers can use to create their own experiences. Even if companies can not produce or package value (since it is created in a customer process), they still have to signal the possible experiences, and ultimately value, that the customers can achieve by purchasing and using their products. Researchers provide thoughtful insights into the importance of knowing about and recognizing the clues (Berry et al., 2002a) and cues (Zeithaml, 1988) a company sends to its customers. Berry et al., (2002a) elaborates on “orchestrating the total customer experience” by recognizing the clues a company is sending to its customers. “Anything that can be perceived or sensed – or recognized by its absence – is an experience clue” (Berry et al., 2002a, p. 86). These clues can be divided into two categories: one that concerns the actual functioning of a good or service (e.g., a package’s resealability) and a second that concerns emotions and includes the sounds, sights, tastes, and textures of the good or service (e.g., how a package is aesthetically appealing), as well as the environment in which it is offered (Ibid.). The latter category of clues includes ‘mechanics’ (clues emitted by things) and ‘humanics’ (clues emitted by people) (Ibid.). Zeithaml (1988) divides the attributes that signal quality into intrinsic and extrinsic cues based on the work of Olson (1977). Intrinsic cues involve the physical composition of the product (Zeithaml, 1988). Flavor, color, texture, and degree of sweetness in a beverage are examples of intrinsic cues. These attributes are consumed as the product is consumed (Ibid.). Extrinsic cues are product-related but not a part of the physical product itself. Price and brand name are examples of extrinsic cues to quality. Clues (Berry et al., 2002a) and cues (Zeithaml, 1988) are used in the explorative discussion on customer satisfaction in the first and second moments of truth in this thesis (see Paper I in the appended papers). Another approach to gaining deeper knowledge of how customers evaluate different offerings on an attribute

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level is to classify quality attributes in different quality dimensions. This approach is used in Papers II-IV in the present thesis. The basis for the classification of quality attributes in these papers is Kano’s theory of attractive quality (Kano et al., 1984).

2.3.1 Quality and Quality Dimensions

Kano’s theory of attractive quality includes five quality dimensions that have different impacts on customer satisfaction and customer dissatisfaction, depending on the degree of achievement. The theory is described in detail following a short discussion of the concept of quality. This means a basic outlook on quality whether it refers to goods, services, or the two in combination. There are numerous definitions of the quality concept. Walter A. Shewhart was one of the pioneers in the industrial society concerning the introduction and development of quality management. He viewed quality from two related perspectives: the objective and subjective side of quality (Shewhart, 1931). The first perspective views quality as an objective reality independent of the existence of man. In contrast, the subjective side of quality considers what we think, feel, and sense as a result of the objective reality. Bergman and Klefsjö (2003) suggest that: “The quality of a product is its ability to satisfy, or preferably exceed, the needs and expectations of the customers” (Bergman and Klefsjö, 2003, p. 24). This definition implies that it is not always enough to fulfil customer expectations; they sometimes need to be exceeded to create customer satisfaction and delight customers. One of the best known concepts of quality is Juran’s concept of fitness for use (see, e.g., Juran, 1988). The concept of fitness for use emphasizes that quality is the extent to which a product successfully serves the purpose of the user (Juran and Gryna, 1988). Other researchers have a similar approach to the concept of quality and argue that quality lies in the eye of the beholder (Garvin, 1988; Edvardsson, 1996). “Fitness for use” and “lies in the eye of the beholder” do not antithesis each other and they both have a strong customer focus or are user-based as Garvin (1988) would have stated. This view of the concept of quality constitutes the basic outlook on quality in this thesis.

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Often, quality is defined as a multidimensional concept, where a product may be of high quality in one dimension and of lower quality in another, (see, e.g. Feigenbaum, 1961; Garvin, 1987; Feigenbaum, 1991). Garvin (1987) identifies eight dimensions for describing the basic attributes of product quality: (1) Performance, (2) Features, (3) Reliability, (4) Conformance, (5) Durability, (6) Serviceability, (7) Aesthetics, and (8) Perceived Quality. Feigenbaum (1991) also recognizes that the quality concept can be described using a spectrum of different quality attributes, such as reliability, serviceability, maintainability, and attractability. What is considered to be of high quality is the composite of quality attributes which provides the intended functions with the greatest overall economy (Feigenbaum, 1991). Service quality is also often viewed as a multi-dimensional concept, e.g., SERVQUAL that describes service quality through five quality dimensions (tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy) (Parasuraman et al., 1985; Parasuraman et al., 1988).

2.3.2 The Theory of Attractive Quality

After the brief discussion of quality and quality dimensions, we now turn our attention to the theory of attractive quality. Kano et al., (1984) present a model for how a product attribute affects customer satisfaction. This model displays the relationship between the physical fulfillment of a quality attribute on a product and the perceived satisfaction of that attribute. The relationships are not equal for all quality attributes and they also change over time. This perspective of quality does not contain any general quality dimensions; instead product attributes are classified into five categories (‘attractive quality’, ‘must-be quality’, ‘reverse quality’, ‘one-dimensional quality’, and ‘indifferent quality’) according to the theory of attractive quality. A source of inspiration for the theory of attractive quality was “The motivation to work” by Herzberg et al. (1959). Following this work, Herzberg wrote “Work and nature of man” (Herzberg, 1966). In this book the author elaborated on the Motivator-Hygiene theory (M-H theory). The M-H theory posits that the factors that cause job satisfaction are different from those that cause job dissatisfaction. In other words, the opposite of job satisfaction is not job dissatisfaction but, rather, no job satisfaction; and similarly, the opposite of job dissatisfaction is not job satisfaction, but no job dissatisfaction. Motivator factors (e.g., recognition for achievement) are the primary cause of job satisfaction and hygiene factors (e.g., working conditions) are the primary cause

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of job dissatisfaction (Herzberg 1966). The M-H theory is widely recognized and it has been used as a reference point for the development of the two-factor theory of customer satisfaction within the marketing discipline (Oliver, 1997). Inspired by the work of Herzberg, Kano and Takahashi introduced the “M-H Property of Quality” (Kano and Takahashi, 1979) to show that quality can not be seen as a one-dimensional construct. In the western world, the theory was introduced through the paper “Attractive Quality and Must-Be Quality”6 in 1984 by Kano and his colleagues. The reason for renaming the theory was to avoid unfortunate mix-ups with the M-H theory. Today the theory is often referred to as ‘the theory of attractive quality’. In total, the theory presented by Kano et al. (1984) includes five quality dimensions that have different impacts on customer satisfaction and customer dissatisfaction, depending on the degree of achievement. Kano et al. (1984) state that their ideas are similar to the ideas suggested by Mizuno (1971) and Ishikawa (1973) but in addition to theory, Kano and his co-workers also provide a methodology for use. According to Kano (2001), the theory of attractive quality originated because of the lack of explanatory power of a one-dimensional recognition of quality. For instance, people are satisfied if a car has low fuel consumption and dissatisfied if it has high fuel consumption. For a quality attribute such as brake action, however, people are not satisfied if the brakes work correctly since they expect them to do so, but they are very dissatisfied if the brakes do not work. The one-dimensional view of quality can explain the role of fuel consumption but not the role of brake action. To understand the relationship between the physical performance and perceived customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction with a quality attribute, Kano et al. (1984) present a model that evaluates patterns of quality based on customers’ satisfaction with specific quality attributes and their degree of sufficiency. The five quality dimensions are displayed in a diagram (see figure 2.7). The horizontal axis displays the physical sufficiency of a certain quality attribute and the vertical axis shows the satisfaction with a certain quality attribute (Kano et al., 1984).

6 This is actually a summary of a presentation made in 1982 at the 12th Annual Meeting of the Japan Society of Quality Control (JSQC) translated from Japanese to English by Glenn Mazur.

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Customer Satisfaction

Very Satisfied

Very Dissatisfied

Degree of Achievement

FullyNot At All

Must-Be

Attractive

One-Dimensional

Indifferent

Reverse

Customer Satisfaction

Very Satisfied

Very Dissatisfied

Degree of Achievement

FullyNot At All

Must-Be

Attractive

One-Dimensional

Indifferent

Reverse

Figure 2.7: An overview of The Theory of Attractive Quality. Attractive quality attributes provide satisfaction when achieved fully but do not cause dissatisfaction when not fulfilled (Kano et al., 1984). These quality attributes are not normally expected and are therefore sometimes referred to as surprise and delight attributes (e.g., rain sensors for the windshield wipers on a car) (Berger et al., 1993). Since these types of quality attributes often unexpectedly delight customers, they are just as often unspoken. One-dimensional quality attributes result in satisfaction when fulfilled and result in dissatisfaction when not fulfilled (Kano et al., 1984). Lee and Newcomb (1997) refer to one-dimensional quality attributes as the-more-the-better attributes, i.e., the more of it there is, the better the customer likes it. An example could be the mileage of a car; the better the mileage the higher the customer satisfaction and vice versa; high fuel consumption is likely to result in customer dissatisfaction. Must-be quality attributes are taken for granted when fulfilled but result in dissatisfaction when not fulfilled (Kano et al., 1984). In our example with the car, these attributes can be represented by brake action. Customers are dissatisfied when the brakes do not work properly, but when they do work the

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result is not increased customer satisfaction. Since the customer expects these attributes and views them as basics, it is not likely that they are going to tell the company about them when asked about quality attributes. They assume that companies understand these product design fundamentals (Watson, 2003). In a similar manner as Kano et al. (1984), Oliver (1997) suggests that customer satisfaction with products is influenced by three kinds of attributes (pp. 151-152):

1. Bivalent satisfiers – the upward and downward translatable attribute that can cause both satisfaction and dissatisfaction.

2. Monovalent dissatisfiers – essential but unprocessed attributes only capable of causing dissatisfaction when flawed.

3. Monovalent satisfiers – psychological ‘extras’ processed at a higher level of the need hierarchy.

Within service research, a discussion similar to Oliver’s (1997) can be found about satisfiers and dissatisfiers of service quality and the zone of tolerance (Johnston, 1995a; Johnston, 1995b). With Kano terminology, the three groups of attributes previously described would be referred to as one-dimensional, must-be, and attractive quality attributes respectively. The difference, in relation to Oliver (1997), is that the focus in the theory of attractive quality is on evaluating specific quality attributes, i.e., the relationship between performance of an attribute and the level of attribute satisfaction. Another difference is that Kano et al. (1984) use two additional quality dimensions; indifferent and reverse quality attributes. The first one refers to aspects which are neither good nor bad and consequently they do not result in either customer satisfaction or customer dissatisfaction. The latter refers to a high degree of achievement resulting in dissatisfaction and vice versa, i.e., a low degree of achievement resulting in satisfaction. It also shows that not all customers are alike. Some customers prefer high-tech products, for example, while others prefer the basic model of a product and will be dissatisfied if the product has too many features or ‘extras’ (Gustafsson, 1998). The theory of attractive quality predicts that quality attributes are dynamic and change over time, i.e., over time an attribute will change from being indifferent, to attractive, to one-dimensional, and finally to a must-be item (Indifferent quality Attractive quality One-dimensional quality Must-Be quality).

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According to Kano (2001), successful quality attributes follow the life cycle previously suggested. When introduced on a market, often an attribute may not be very interesting to customers – they feel indifferent towards the new attribute. In the growth phase of a market, an attribute might gain the ability to make customers feel satisfied, but they feel neutral if the service does not include this attribute. However, customers who frequently have used services including this attractive attribute will be strongly dissatisfied if this attribute later disappears. After frequent usage, the perceptions of the attribute are changed to ‘one-dimensional’ quality. Furthermore, over time a ‘one-dimensional’ attribute becomes mature and many people know its value; it has turned into a must-be item (Kano, 2001).

2.4 Final Comments on the Theoretical Framework

The basic outlook in this theoretical framework is the service perspective where the focus is placed on value-in-use. After this perspective has been established we have used customer satisfaction theories and the theory of attractive quality to gain deeper knowledge of how customers experience packaging both on a comprehensive level and on an attribute level. Our main theoretical contribution is the introduction of the first and second moment of truth. In addition, as Rust (2006) points out, we need to recognize our purpose as an applied discipline (that being the marketing field). In this respect we are contributing by elaborating on the service perspective and customer satisfaction in the context of packaging, since research so far has been sparse in this area. Following are some final comments on the theoretical framework. The intention of the theoretical investigation in this chapter is to contribute to the ongoing debate on the service perspective and customer satisfaction. This debate is far from new. Boyd and Levy (1963) stated the following regarding the purpose of a business: “A logical starting point, under this approach, is to concentrate on the functions that the product serves in satisfying a customer’s needs instead of becoming preoccupied with the physical aspects of the product itself. Phrased in terms of functions, companies sell such things as transportation, nutrition, energy, comfort, self-expression, escape, intellectual development, and conformity; rather than cars, bread, oil, pillows, pens, novels, textbooks, and uniforms” (p. 129). In 1977 Lynn Shostack concluded that there are very few, if any, ‘pure’ goods or services. More recent research emphasizes that the present and future

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economy is, and will continue to be, service-dominated but it also acknowledges that goods are an important part of the offer (Rust, 1998; Vargo and Lusch, 2004a). Rust (1998) suggests that: “…the deepest and most important work in service research today applies both to the service sector and the goods sector” (p. 107). The present theoretical framework is an attempt to contribute to a conceptual framework that applies both to the service sector and the goods sector. One main implication of this discussion is an awareness of the fact that most companies are providers of total offers, e.g., health care can not be viewed as only a service since it is experienced by humans who use physical tangibles to evaluate the service, and a car manufacturer does not provide only the physical car but a transport service, a lifestyle, status etc. Whether you are a car manufacturer or in the health care business, the service perspective should be the starting point for the business for two main reasons:

1. When seeing something as a service, the emphasis is placed on understanding the benefits customers experience when using an offer, i.e., to see offers from the customer’s point of view. For that reason customer requirements, and not product requirements, are in focus when developing offers.

2. Customers’ experiences of benefits can, however, differ in ways such as level of abstraction, i.e., from product and service attributes (cues and clues), to customer benefits like ‘easy to use’, and ultimately to customer satisfaction (Gustafsson and Johnson, 1997). Companies should therefore think in terms of prerequisites for services, i.e., to provide customers with the tools they need in order to experience the desired benefits of an offer.

The service perspective focuses on value-in-use (Vargo and Lusch, 2004a) and service is seen as a perspective on value creation rather than an opposite to goods (Edvardsson et al., 2005b). In the area of packaging we can conclude that packages have many functions – some, if not all, present marketers with the opportunity to gain competitive advantages (Nancarrow et al., 1998). In fact, the packaging influences the usage behavior long after it has influenced the purchase (Wansink, 1996) and it is therefore an interesting empirical context to study from a value-in-use perspective.

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Research shows that a company’s success depends on making a correct judgement of the customer’s value creation logic (Normann and Ramírez, 1994a). It is not until the company has identified the factors that generate value for the customer that they can start to design a service concept to meet the customer’s expectations. The physical product mediates various service dimensions and can be described as a physical manifestation of the services supplied by the actors who have contributed to the product’s development (Normann, 1991; Normann and Ramírez, 1994a). Therefore, product differentiation should not be solely about the physical product but should comprise the total offer, which typically contains both physical and intangible assets. In summary, we can say that the service perspective is a resource perspective of operand vs. operant resources and constitutes the basic outlook in this theoretical framework. We have then suggested that the recognition of the first and second moments of truth is fruitful for the understanding of packaging and customer satisfaction on a comprehensive level. In addition, Kano’s theory of attractive quality has been used when discussing customer satisfaction on an attribute level. We believe that the combination of the chosen perspective and theories provides a sound basis for discussing and investigating packaging and customer satisfaction on both a comprehensive and an attribute level.

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3 Research Methodology

Three main theoretical areas investigated and used in this thesis are, as described in the previous chapter: the service perspective, the theory of attractive quality, and customer satisfaction. To investigate these areas in the context of packaging we have used interviews (Paper I), a literature review (IV), and questionnaires (Paper II, III, and V). The methodological research designs used in the various papers are discussed and described in detail later in this chapter. But first a short description of the methodological points of departure is given and then qualitative and quantitative research is discussed. The reason for this discussion is that “the social sciences are particularly self-conscious about their methodologies, and the distinction between quantitative and qualitative methods is more distinctly drawn than it should be” (Sechrest and Sidani, 1995, p. 77). In other sciences, such as astronomy, particle physics, and molecular biology, methodological pluralism seems to be taken for granted (Ibid.). We agree with Sechrest and Sidani (1995) and do not believe in the dichotomization between qualitative and quantitative methods. On the contrary, we advocate the use of a variety of methods, including both qualitative and quantitative techniques, depending on the area under investigation. This view is described and discussed in detail in the following sections.

3.1 Methodological Points of Departure

Within the social and behavioral sciences, some researchers are of the opinion that quantitative and qualitative research are competing and even contradicting views of how the social reality should be inquired (Hammersley, 1992). An alternative standpoint is to suggest that both qualitative and quantitative research are appropriate for various kinds of research problems (Morgan and Smircich, 1980). This implies that the research issue determines the method/methods to be used. In this thesis, the latter of these two standpoints is employed, implying that quantitative and qualitative research strategies are viewed and used as two facets of a systematic way of conducting research. This standpoint uses qualitative and quantitative research for testing or verifying existing theories, as well as for extending or generating theories (Meredith, 1998). In accordance with Sechrest

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and Sidani (1995) and Tashakkori and Teddlie (1998), we argue that the line between quantitative and qualitative methods is more distinctly drawn than it should be, and propose that qualitative and quantitative research are two compatible research strategies that can be used separately or preferably in combination. In the following sections, these two facets are discussed both as separate research strategies and in combination. This is done in order to first contrast the two approaches and then to motivate the use of both approaches in combination. In the section Methodological Research Design, the specific research design of the thesis is described and discussed.

3.2 Quantitative vs. Qualitative Research

In table 3.1 some possible differences between quantitative and qualitative research are listed in eight dimensions. These dimensions form the basis for the following discussion in this section.

Dimensions Quantitative Qualitative

1. Role of qualitative research

Preparatory means to exploration of actors' interpretation

2. Relationship between researcher and subject

Distant close

3. Researcher's stance in relation to subject

Outsider insider

4. Relationship between theory/concepts and research

Confirmation emergent

5. Research strategy Structured unstructured

6. Scope of findings Nomothetic ideographic

7. Image of social reality static and external to actor processual and socially construed by actor

8. Nature of data hard, reliable rich, deep

Table 3.1: Some differences between quantitative and qualitative research. Adapted from Bryman, 1988, p. 36.

The role of qualitative research is often described in quantitatively-oriented, social science methodology textbooks, as a suitable approach only at the early or ‘exploratory’ stages of a study (Bryman, 1997). Qualitative researchers, on the

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other hand, suggest that quantitative research is not the only way of establishing the validity of findings from qualitative field research. Experiments, official statistics, and survey data may sometimes be inappropriate as they, for instance, exclude the observation of behavior in everyday situations (Silverman, 2000). In quantitative research, the relationship between researcher and subject is fairly fleeting or even non-existent (Bryman, 1988). In contrast, qualitative researchers’ interaction with people being studied is much more sustained, especially when conducting participant observations (Gephart Jr, 2004). The relationship between researcher and subject is closely related to the researcher's stance in relation to subject. The quantitative researcher adopts the role of an outsider looking in on the social reality. Qualitative researchers believe that it is only by getting close to the subjects being investigated (i.e., being an insider) that the researcher can see the reality from the perspective of the actors who live in it (Hammersley, 1992). The relationship between theory/concepts and research is usually described as emergent for qualitative research and confirmation for quantitative research. This indicates a desire to discover theories, rather than verify them (Alvesson and Sköldberg, 1994; Bryman, 1997). To specify theories prior to investigations is often discouraged, since it may lead to precipitated conclusions (Bryman, 1997). Quantitative research tends to adopt a structured research strategy. For example, survey research is structured so that sampling and questionnaire construction are conducted before data collection (Bryman, 1988). The research strategy has a natural strong influence on the scope of findings. As shown in table 3.1 it is common to conceive of the quantitative/qualitative dichotomy in terms of respective commitments to ‘nomothetic’ and ‘ideographic’ modes of reasoning (Halfpenny, 1979). A nomothetic approach seeks to establish general findings that are independent of time and space. An ideographic approach seeks place findings in specific spaces and in certain time periods (Ibid.). Quantitative research tends to have an image of social reality as something static that lies beyond the actor, while qualitative research describes the same social reality as something processual that is construed socially (Bryman, 1997).The nature of data deriving from qualitative research is often described as ‘rich’ and ‘deep’. This generally means providing many intricate details by penetrating the area under investigation through sustained contact with the subjects being

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investigated. One of the main concerns of quantitative researchers is for data collection to be conducted in a valid and reliable manner so that generalizations can be made (Tashakkori and Teddlie, 1998). Data that emanate from quantitative studies are often described as hard, rigorous, and reliable (Bryman, 1988). As indicated by the heading (quantitative vs. qualitative research), the focus of this section has been on how it is common to conceive of quantitative and qualitative research when the focus is placed on the differences between them. We believe that these dichotomies should be viewed as spectra which include a variety of possible positions in all eight dimensions previously mentioned. For example, we feel that there are many facets of how hard and reliable or rich and deep the nature of data can be. This applies to both qualitative and quantitative research. As described in the methodological points of departure in this chapter, we believe that quantitative and qualitative research are two compatible research strategies that can be used separately or in combination. In the following section, the focus is placed on the combination of quantitative and qualitative research.

3.3 Combining Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches

The usage of more than one method, and thereby more than one type of information, has been referred to as triangulation7 (Tashakkori and Teddlie, 1998). From this perspective, quantitative and qualitative research can be seen as different ways of studying the same topic (Sechrest and Sidani, 1995). The use of a variety of methods might result in more robust and generalizable results (Scandura and Williams, 2000) and the researcher can make greater claims about his or her conclusions, as they have been verified in two different ways (Jick, 1979). No results or conclusions, or for that matter methodological approaches, are free from defects and flaws. For example, criticism has been expressed regarding the quantitative method’s tendency to neglect the social and cultural construction of the ‘variables’ which quantitative research seeks to correlate (Silverman, 2000). Other researchers, us included, argue that quantitative research can be much more explorative and unpredictable as theoretical reasoning often occurs 7 The original term triangulation refers to a surveying/nautical process in which two points (and their angles) are used to determine the unknown distance to a third point (Tashakkori and Teddlie, 1998, p. 41).

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towards the end of the research process (Bryman, 1997). It has also been pointed out that most quantitative researchers do not share the image of the social reality as static, but rather they agree on the understanding of the reality as socially constructed (Tashakkori and Teddlie, 1998). Since both the service perspective and customer satisfaction place great importance on customer experiences, it should be evident that we agree with this image of the social reality. A frequently mentioned challenge in qualitative research is the researchers’ ability to interpret what is going on from the perspective of others, e.g., customers (Bryman, 1997). To clarify this issue it is important to thoroughly explain how categories and themes were discerned in the research process (Gephart Jr, 2004). The ambiguity regarding interpretation possibilities in qualitative research is also, however, considered to be a strength (Alvesson and Sköldberg, 1994). Another possible problem with qualitative research is generalizability. Many qualitative researchers are uncertain whether or not their results are generalizable beyond the single case they have studied (Bryman, 1997). Possible solutions to this problem are to study more than one case, to let more than one researcher study a case or several cases, and to choose cases that are “typical” for a certain cluster of characteristics (Ibid.). However, there are different types of generalizability (Blair and Zinkhan, 2006). Since qualitative sampling is often theory-driven, the aim is seldom to provide results that are generalizable to different populations (Miles and Huberman, 1994). The aim is rather to provide results that are generalizable to existing or new theories in the area under investigation (Ibid.). There are different scenarios for combining qualitative and quantitative methods. When choosing a research strategy, trade-offs will undoubtedly be made. For instance, the benefit of greater precision is likely to result in less breadth, and vice versa (Hammersley, 1992). The costs and benefits of various trade-off positions will vary according to the particular goals and circumstances of the research being pursued (Ibid.). Quantitative and qualitative research can also have different levels of relevance at different stages in the research process (Bryman, 1997). Qualitative measures could, for example, be used to develop quantitative tools or to explain quantitative results (Tashakkori and Teddlie, 1998). Another approach is to use quantitative and qualitative methods on an equal and parallel basis to understand the phenomenon being studied (Ibid.). Hammersley (1992) emphasizes that the selection among these positions should

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depend on the purposes and circumstances of the research and should not be derived from methodological or philosophical commitments. In the next section we describe our choices among these positions as the methodological research design of the thesis is presented.

3.4 Methodological Research Design

It has been discussed previously in this chapter that choice of methodology should be discussed while taking the research problem and the phenomenon investigated into consideration. This leads to a stand which accepts the use of both quantitative and qualitative methods, separately or in combination, since the research problem rather than methodological preferences is the point of departure. The acceptance of both quantitative and qualitative methods does not neglect the importance of being aware of the characteristics of different methods. On the contrary, such awareness is necessary to be able to fit the best technique available with a given research question. It is also crucial for the researcher to describe the choice of methodology accurately so that it is understood by the reader on which basis the choice was made. Research Issues

Paper I Paper II Paper III Paper IV Paper V

Aim To describe packaging from a service perspective.

To describe the role of packaging in the perception of quality.

To compare different approaches to the classification of quality attributes

To provide an overview of how the theory of attractive quality has been used and interpreted in academic papers.

To empirically test the findings of Paper I in a customer satisfaction model.

Research approach

Qualitative Quantitative Quantitative Qualitative Quantitative

Data collection Semi-structured interviews

Questionnaires Questionnaires Literature review

Questionnaires

Empirical basis Four packaging professionals at high management levels.

708 Swedish consumers.

430 respondents from three different studies.

36 academic Kano-articles.

112 respondents and a total of 484 valid questionnaires for six different packages.

Table 3.2: An overview of research issues in the appended papers.

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Table 3.2 provides an overview of the different research designs employed in the five appended papers in this thesis. As can be seen in the table, both qualitative (interviews and literature review) and quantitative approaches (questionnaires) were used. In the beginning of this research project, our knowledge of packaging was quite limited. One aim of the interview study conducted for Paper I was therefore to learn about the packaging professionals’ experiences from, and knowledge of, packaging and packaging development. Using interviews initially gave us the opportunity to be more open to the area under investigation. In this sense, the qualitative interview study can be viewed as preparatory for the quantitative questionnaire studies presented in Paper II and Paper V. We also believe it was necessary for the interview study to precede these questionnaire studies considering our rudimentary knowledge of packaging. After Paper II was completed a genuine interest in Kano’s theory of attractive quality was developed which lead to in-depth investigations of the theory in Paper III and IV. The links between the appended papers are described in figure 3.3.

Paper IPaper I

Paper IIPaper II

Paper IIIPaper III

Paper VPaper V

Paper IVPaper IV


The Kano methodologyThe Kano

methodology


satisfaction

Comprehensive level

Attribute level

Paper IPaper I

Paper IIPaper II

Paper IIIPaper III

Paper VPaper V

Paper IVPaper IV


The Kano methodologyThe Kano

methodology


satisfaction

Comprehensive level

Attribute level

Figure 3.3: An overview of links between the appended papers. The explorative study in Paper I lead to an elaboration on how the consumption process for packaged consumer products could be described from a service perspective. The service perspective was then used when the

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questionnaire for Paper II was constructed, i.e., the focus was placed on customer requirements rather than product requirements. To investigate customer requirements we decided to use Kano’s theory of attractive quality because of its multi-dimensional view of customer satisfaction. While the elaboration on packaging from a service perspective in Paper I was made on a comprehensive level, the Kano methodology investigates customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction on an attribute level (marked by the dotted line in figure 3.3). We received positive feed-back after we had presented the results of Paper II at both national and international conferences for packaging professionals and finally in international publication. There were some concerns, however, regarding the sufficiency of the Kano methodology. It was therefore decided to make a closer investigation of the methodology in Paper III, where four different approaches to classification of quality attributes are studied and analyzed. Since the method has received much attention the past two decades, it was also decided to investigate how the theory of attractive quality has been used and interpreted in academic publications in Paper IV. Once these three Kano studies were completed, we had gained increased knowledge of both customer satisfaction on an attribute level and Kano’s theory of attractive quality. Even though we had used the service perspective as a theoretical point of departure, we now wanted to empirically test our explorative results from Paper I. Finally, in Paper V we returned to the comprehensive level and investigated packaging and customer satisfaction with structural equation modeling. The arrow from Paper V to Paper I in figure 3.3 illustrates that we now were able to extend our argumentation on the consumption process for packaged consumer products based on empirical findings. The ellipses in figure 3.3 are intended to show how the results from one paper affect the next paper. We want to make clear, however, that there are accumulation effects, i.e., the results of Paper V and how it was written is affected by all the preceding papers, not only Paper IV. Following is a detailed description of each paper from a methodological perspective.

3.4.1 Explorative Interview Study, Paper I

The study started with a literature review of the service perspective and moments of truths. We then chose to use interviews to investigate the theoretical findings from the literature review empirically. This gave us the

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opportunity to be open and explorative in the area under investigation (Bryman, 1988). In other words, we embarked on a voyage of discovery rather than one of verification (Bryman, 1984). The interviews were conducted with people who are managing packaging-related issues at Procter & Gamble, Schwarzkopf & Henkel, Procordia Food, and Coop.8. This sample resulted in a study that took place in three different countries. The person interviewed at Procter & Gamble (Brussels, Belgium) is a Packaging Manager who is responsible for the packaging development of detergent in Western Europe. The respondent at Schwarzkopf & Henkel (Düsseldorf, Germany) is also a Packaging Manager. He is responsible for packaging development in the oral care business. At Procordia Food (Eslöv, Sweden) the Head of R & D was interviewed and at Coop (Stockholm, Sweden) the interview was conducted with a Brand Manager. The theoretical priorities in Paper I are to contribute to the theoretical work on the consumption process of products that contain both physical (goods-dimension) and intangible (service-dimension) assets by investigating packaging from a service perspective. This includes an investigation of the consequences of seeing something as a service. Silverman (2000) emphasizes that thinking through one’s theoretical priorities is the crucial issue when choosing a sample. “Providing that you have done that and can demonstrate a research design driven by those priorities, nobody should have cause for complaint” (Silverman, 2000, p. 110). Eisenhardt (1989) also supports the view that cases can be chosen for theoretical not statistical reasons, and Alvesson and Sköldberg (2000) state that statistical generalizability and representativeness are not central goals in qualitative research. In Paper I, quotations from the interviews are used for the purpose of illustration rather than representation. Such illustrations have been described by Miles and Huberman (1994) as ‘vignettes’ which are focused descriptions taken to be typical in the case your doing. Much effort was put into finding respondents who not only had a great experience in packaging development, but who were also at a fairly high level in their respective company to provide important information. Bickman and Rog (1998) describe this strategy as purposeful sampling in which particular settings, persons, or events are deliberately selected for the important information they can provide that cannot be acquired as well from other choices. 8 Procter & Gamble and Schwarzkopf & Henkel are multi-national manufacturers of family, personal, and household care products. Procordia Food and Coop are Scandinavian based companies in the everyday commodity business with the Nordic countries as their primary market.

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We believe that the respondents’ knowledge and experience of packaging was necessary for the discussion of packaging as a phenomenon that is a part of a product contributing to the creation of customer value. The customers’ experiences of packages would also be an interesting area to investigate. We feel, however, that such an investigation should be conducted on a different abstraction level that focuses more on product specific characteristics and the customers’ experiences. We needed to know what packages are in order to investigate what they could be from a service perspective. This would have been difficult to ask customers about since they have not thought about it to the same extent as packaging professionals. It was decided that the participating companies should be in the everyday commodity business, as the initial purpose was to investigate packages to which people could relate. An alternative approach could have been to choose a more advanced package, e.g., a medical device with many functions. Such a package may have been easier to describe from a service perspective, but it could also have been seen as an extreme case. The final choice of the four participating companies was made based on availability and interest to take part in the study, using my employer’s, i.e., STFI-Packforsk’s contacts in the packaging business. The interviews lasted for approximately one-and-a-half hour each. A semi-structured interview guide9 was used so that the respondents could speak freely and tell ‘their story’ in an unbiased manner (Silverman, 2000). The purpose of the interviews was to learn about the respondents’ experiences and knowledge of packaging and packaging development. Themes discussed at the interviews were packaging development, customer involvement, the role of packaging in the perception of quality, and customer satisfaction. Of special interest was how the respondents viewed their packages (as a separate area or as part of a total offer etc.) and how they believed that packages could contribute to customer satisfaction. The respondents were informed about this purpose in a letter of introduction that was sent to them prior to the interviews. They were also given the opportunity to comment on the analysis presented in the paper. The analysis used can be described as interpretation of meaning (Kvale, 1997). In this method, the researcher takes a specific perspective concerning the investigated topic and then interprets the interviews from this perspective (Ibid.). In this study the service perspective was used to interpret the interviews.

9 See the appended research material for the interview guide in its entirety.

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The interviews were transcribed verbatim and then categorized according to various themes. The relationship between theory/concepts and research in the paper can be described in terms of extension and emergent (Bryman, 1988). The analysis, which is based on both the literature review and the interviews, resulted in the introduction of two new concepts for the description of the consumption of products that contain both physical and intangible assets which are the first and second moments of truth. General concepts from both Grönroos (2000a) and Normann (1984) were used in the analysis. Grönroos (2000a) was a source of inspiration regarding the nature of consumption of physical goods and services, and the concept of ‘moment of truth’ was introduced into service management by Normann (1984). According to Layder (1998), this way of using, or ‘borrowing’, general concepts is a fruitful approach to building theory. The interviews proved to be productive in the discussion of the service perspective. The first and second moment of truth can be seen as new concepts emerging from an extension of existing theories. It is also, however, a direct result of the interview study. The final part of the analysis was conducted by using metaphors (moments of truth) and constructing a conceptual display (see figure 3 in Paper I) as suggested by Miles and Huberman (1994).

3.4.2 Empirical Kano-study of Packaging, Paper II

After the exploration of packaging in the first and second moments of truth in Paper I, we wanted to gain a deeper understanding of what the customers’ felt was important on a package. In the empirical investigation that forms the basis for Paper II, a structured questionnaire study was conducted. The purpose of the study was to investigate how Swedish consumers experience packaging in everyday commodities and then to describe the role of packaging in the perception of quality. Kano’s theory of attractive quality10 (Kano et al., 1984) was used to classify quality attributes in this description. Basically, the theory of attractive quality shows that quality is a multidimensional concept. The theory explains how the relationship between the degree of sufficiency and customer satisfaction with a quality attribute can be classified into five categories of perceived quality: ‘attractive quality’, ‘one-dimensional quality’, ‘must-be quality’, ‘indifferent quality’, and ‘reverse quality’.

10 See Paper II in the appended papers for a more detailed description of Kano’s theory of attractive quality.

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Data collection was conducted through a questionnaire11 that was mailed to randomly chosen Swedes aged 16-79 asking them about their experiences of packaging in everyday commodities. There were a total of 1500 questionnaires sent, with 708 returned, representing an overall return of 47 percent. Of these 708 persons, 250 answered after receiving a reminder letter that was sent out two weeks after the questionnaire. Those answers were kept apart from the others at the first stage, since people who respond later are assumed to be similar to nonrespondents (Armstrong and Overton, 1977). No significant differences were, however, found between the answers of the two groups. The response rate indicates that even if packages are considered low commitment goods, it is something that interests people. The respondents received a lottery ticket worth 10 SEK, which could have affected the response rate. The Kano questionnaire contains pairs of customer requirement questions (Kano et al., 1984; Berger et al., 1993). Each question has two parts: how do you feel if that feature is present in the product (functional form of the question) and how do you feel if that feature is not present in the product (dysfunctional form of the question) (Berger et al., 1993)? To each part of the question the respondent can answer choosing one of five alternatives. The reason for standardizing the questions and answers is to ensure that all respondents are replying to the same question (Churchill, 1995). To get “out of the box” and not get caught in traditional views of packages, theories from the area of product semantics were used when constructing the questionnaire. According to these theories, a product (or an offer) can be divided into three entities: ergonomic, technical, and communicative entity (Wikström, 2002). The first of these includes everything that has to do with adaptations to the human physique and behavior when using the product (e.g., if a package is user-friendly). Technical entity means the product’s technical function, construction, and production (e.g., if a package is manufactured in a recyclable material). The product’s ability to communicate with humans (i.e., to transmit a message and the product’s adaptation to the human perception and intellect) belongs to the communicative entity (Ibid.). Examples of quality attributes in this entity involve the package’s ability to communicate with humans through text and symbols.

11 See the appended research material for the questionnaire in its entirety.

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We believe that this division into three entities provided a more nuanced view of package quality as experienced by the customer. In total, 24 customer requirements (7 technical, 9 ergonomic, and 8 communicative) were identified, used, and operationalized in the empirical investigation. In addition to the pairs of customer requirements questions, the questionnaire included a section for self-stated importance (1-10) of the different quality attributes. The respondents also received a letter of introduction that explained the purpose of the survey.

3.4.3 Empirical Study of the Kano-methodology, Paper III

During and after our work on Paper II, Dr. Lars Witell and I developed a special interest for Kano’s theory of attractive quality. In addition, we received many questions from other researchers and practitioners at conferences and seminars about the methodology. Therefore, we decided to make a closer investigation into the various approaches for classifying quality attributes. As we began this investigation, we discovered that several authors had suggested alternative approaches to the classification of quality attributes. Jacobs (1999) and Martensen and Grönholdt (2001) used ‘importance weights’ to classify quality attributes. Emery and Tian (2002) asked customers to choose directly among different quality dimensions. Kano (2001) himself has suggested a variation on his original approach which involves fewer alternatives in answering the pairs of customer requirement questions. An overview of the original procedure for classification (Kano et al., 1984) and the alternative approach with fewer response alternatives (Kano, 2001) is presented in figure 3.4. The different approaches are referred to as 5-level Kano methodology and 3-level Kano methodology respectively. When using classification through direct questions or via the dual importance grid, no pairs of customer requirements questions are asked (see figure 3.5). The first of these two approaches is initiated by the researcher who explains the theory of attractive quality to the respondents. Then each respondent is asked to classify each quality attribute into a specific quality dimension. The subsequent steps are similar to the 3-level and 5-level Kano methodology in classifying quality attributes. The classification through direct questions has been used by Shen et al., (2000) and Emery and Tian (2002).

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(Fun

ctio

nal f

orm

)

(Dys

func

tiona

l for

m)

QI

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56

The dual -importance grid is based on measurements of ‘overall satisfaction’, ‘stated importance’, and ‘motivational importance’ (Jacobs, 1999). The first, ‘overall satisfaction’, is rated on a numerical scale from ‘very dissatisfied’ to ‘very satisfied’. ‘Stated importance’ is measured by asking the respondents how important a certain attribute is on a numerical scale ranging from ‘not at all important’ to ‘extremely important’. ‘Motivational importance’ can then be derived by a statistical analysis of the relationship between the attribute performance ratings with measures of ‘overall satisfaction’ (Ibid.). The empirical investigation is based on a study of an e-service for ordering cinema tickets online (see Nilsson-Witell and Fundin, 2005). The investigation looks at the overall service (‘booking tickets online’) together with eight e-service attributes for ordering cinema tickets online at www.sf.se, which is the website of the largest cinema operator in Sweden. The eight e-service attributes included four core e-services (‘select seating online’, ‘watching trailers online’, ‘SMS services online’, and ‘advanced booking’) and four e-service quality dimensions (‘web navigation possibilities’, ‘treatment of personal information’, ‘reliability of information’, and ‘availability of the e-service’). A number of different questionnaires were used to be able to investigate the differences in methodology and results between the four different approaches to the classification of quality attributes. It was believed that a questionnaire including all four approaches would be too long. Instead, three types of questionnaires were constructed to be used throughout the study. The first questionnaire was based on the original 5-level Kano questionnaire (Kano et al., 1984). The second questionnaire included the 3-level Kano questionnaire (Kano, 2001) in combination with questions that allowed a classification of quality attributes using a ‘dual-importance grid’ (Jacobs, 1999). The third questionnaire included questions that allowed a classification of quality attributes through direct questions (Emery and Tian, 2002). The respondents were mostly young adults. Ninety percent were aged 20–30 which is typical for users of this kind of e-service. Apart from little variation in age, the members of the sample also had small variances in income and education, which are variables that can influence the use of e-services (Meuter et al., 2003). Altogether 430 respondents participated in the study. Of these, 193 completed the first questionnaire based on the 5-level Kano questionnaire, 172 completed the second questionnaire based on the 3-level Kano questionnaire

57

and 65 respondents completed the third questionnaire based on the direct classification approach. All respondents were included in a lottery where approximately ten percent of the respondents won cinema tickets. There were no statistically significant differences between early and late responders to the surveys (Armstrong and Overton, 1977). In addition, there were no differences in the descriptive statistics of the respondents using the three different questionnaires. This allowed for a comparison of similarities and differences between the different approaches and an analysis of how the use of various approaches influences the results of an empirical study built on the theory of attractive quality. First, an overall comparison of the four approaches was made. Because the original 5-level Kano classification has been the most commonly used (19 of 29 empirical studies identified in the literature review in Paper IV), its results were taken as a baseline for the present study. The results from the other approaches were then compared and contrasted with this baseline. The results from the three approaches that utilized individual respondents (5-level Kano, 3-level Kano, and direct questions) were then plotted in a ‘better–worse’ diagram. These indices indicated whether customer satisfaction could be increased by meeting a certain quality attribute or whether fulfilling this quality attribute merely prevented the customer from being dissatisfied (Berger et al., 1993). This diagram provided a graphical overview of the differences and similarities seen in the results of the various approaches. Finally, comparisons on an individual level were made. Of the 65 respondents who participated in the direct approach, 51 also participated in the 3-level Kano study. For these 51 cases, it was possible to compare the answers between the two approaches on an individual level.

3.4.4 Literature Review of the Theory of Attractive Quality, Paper IV

Over the past two decades the theory of attractive quality has gained increasing exposure and acceptance. It has been applied in strategic thinking, business planning, and product development to demonstrate lessons learned in innovation, competitiveness, and product compliance (Watson, 2003). Despite the popularity of the theory of attractive quality, no published paper since 1993 (Berger et al., 1993) has provided a research synthesis systematically examining

58

the further development of the theory of attractive quality. Whereas Berger et al. (1993) focused on experiences learned from working with the Kano methodology, the point of departure in this paper is how the theory of attractive quality has been used and interpreted in academic papers. Our aim is to synthesize, organize, and structure knowledge from a research standpoint and offer suggestions for future research by conducting a literature review. Literature reviews can be used to find ‘typologies with empty boxes’ with reference to vacua in conceptual schemes and provide a sound analytic basis for further research (Silverman, 1985). The literature review was conducted for two main reasons: first, to investigate the breadth of use of the Kano methodology and second to investigate how researchers have used, interpreted, and modified the methodology. The combination of the literature review and the discussion in this paper provides a research synthesis of the Kano methodology. A research synthesis of this kind serves to integrate and systematically critique past research (Cooper, 1998). It can also help current and future researchers and practitioners who use the Kano methodology to examine their methodological decisions in detail. The literature review began with a search for research publications using the theory of attractive quality in the databases ABI/Inform, Academic Search Elite, Business Source Elite, Emerald, and ISI. The following keywords or terms are often used in the literature to describe Kano’s theory of attractive quality and were therefore deemed to be the most relevant search keywords:

• Kano, • quality dimensions, • must-be quality, • attractive quality, • theory of attractive quality, • attractive quality creation, and • customer satisfaction.

Papers where the author could not be identified were rejected, as were papers that were not academic in nature, i.e., they did not use references etc. Finally, a ‘snowball’ technique was employed by perusing Kano studies collected from the previously mentioned sources to identify other Kano studies referenced. The final sample consists of 36 publications. Most of these articles have been

59

published in Quality and Management journals such as Total Quality Management, Managing Service Quality, and Quality Management Journal, which seems logical due to the nature of the methodology. Seven of the articles in the sample were conceptual in essence. The first findings of the literature review showed that most of the empirical articles in the review (22 of 29) were published in the present century, which indicates a growing interest in the theory of attractive quality. We also found that the theory of attractive quality is often used in combination with other methods, (such as QFD and SERVQUAL) for measuring quality or developing new products. The most interesting finding, however, was that most empirical studies on the theory of attractive quality have modified the methodology and/or devised novel ways to classify quality attributes. This was investigated in more detail and resulted in an identification of a number of research themes. The research themes cover both methodological and theoretical issues and include the following: (1) quality dimensions and wording, (2) classifications of quality attributes using pairs of customer requirements questions, (3) alternative approaches to the classification of quality attributes, (4) relation to other methods, (5) the life-cycle of quality attributes, and (6) attractive quality creation. For each of these research themes the main findings are synthesized and suggestions for further research are offered. At the end of the paper, a discussion of the theory of attractive quality is made from both a methodological and a theoretical perspective.

3.4.5 Structural Equation Modeling, Paper V

In this paper packaging and customer satisfaction is investigated with structural equation modeling. An empirical investigation of how customers experience three different packages for everyday commodities is made. The products are coffee, frozen lasagna, and orange juice. The first task for the respondents was to fill out a questionnaire for each product. At this point they were given the products so they could see and feel the different packages. This part of the study measured how the respondents perceived the first moment of truth for each product. Then the respondents took the different products home and used them for a period of two weeks. During this time they filled out another set of questionnaires for each product.

60

This part of the study measured how the respondents experienced the second moment of truth. The respondents in the study were mainly young Swedish adults. In total 112 people participated in the investigation and evaluated the three surveyed packages for a time period of two weeks. Of these respondents 93 people completed both questionnaires (the first and the second moment of truth) for the product coffee, 75 respondents filled out both questionnaires for the product frozen lasagna, and 74 respondents completed both questionnaires for the product orange juice. In total 484 valid questionnaires were collected. There were no significant differences in the descriptive statistics of the respondents. The two different questionnaires that were used to evaluate various quality attributes in the first and second moments of truth respectively were similar with the exception of ‘satisfaction with content’. This attribute could only be measured in the second moment of truth since the respondents were not allowed to open the packages when filling out the first questionnaire. The respondents were not allowed to open the package in order to simulate a purchase situation, and you are most often not allowed to open any packages in stores. Each questionnaire included background questions about the gender, age, and level of education of the respondents. In addition to the questions on attribute level, the questionnaire included a section that investigated the customers’ experiences of the products on a comprehensive level. This part included 13 and 14 questions respectively in the first and second questionnaire that were used to investigate the latent variables customer satisfaction, price, loyalty, and corporate image. Price and corporate image are not, however, used in the analysis in this paper. All constructs are measured using multiple indicators.12 The causal modeling method partial least squares (PLS) is used for the operationalization of our conceptual model (figure 3.6). PLS is an iterative estimation procedure that integrates principal components analysis with multiple regression and is particularly well suited for satisfaction modeling (Gustafsson and Johnson, 1997). According to Gustafsson and Johnson (1997), the objective of PLS is to explain the ultimate dependent variable in the model, which in most cases has bottom-line managerial relevance (e.g., satisfaction,

12 See the appended research material for the questionnaires in their entirety.

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retention, and profits). Another reason for using PLS in this study is that the method is well suited to small samples and the skewed distributions that are common in satisfaction research. For a detailed discussion of PLS, see Fornell and Cha (1994).

CustomerSatisfactionFM

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Note: FM and SM stands for First and Second Moment of Truth respectively in the figure. Figure 3.6: Our conceptual model. The latent variables technical, ergonomic, and communicative quality are adapted from theories within the area of product semantics (Wikström, 2002). The customer satisfaction questions used in the study have been tested and are commonly used in satisfaction studies (Fornell, 1992; Fornell et al., 1996). The only difference is that we have added a measurement variable for overall satisfaction with the content in the second moment of truth. The measurement variables for loyalty in the study are adapted from Johnson et al. (2001), who in turn based their measures for operationalizing loyalty on Zeithaml et al. (1996).

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3.5 Reflections on the Research Process

The following are some reflections concerning the quality of the research conducted in this thesis. In this discussion the concept’s validity and reliability are used. These concepts have their origins in the quantitative research tradition and it has therefore been argued that they should not be used in the evaluation of qualitative research (Bryman, 1997). As stated previously in this chapter, however, the aim of qualitative research is seldom to provide generalizability with respect to different populations, but rather to provide results that are generalizable to existing or new theories to the area under investigation based on theory-driven sampling (Miles and Huberman, 1994). We believe therefore, that these concepts can be used for evaluating both qualitative and quantitative research.

3.5.1 Validity

External validity (often referred to as generalizability, see, e.g., Blair and Zinkhan, 2006) refers to how generalizable findings are across times, settings, and individuals (Scandura and Williams, 2000). According to Blair and Zinkhan (2006), generalizability in academic marketing research distinguishes it from consulting projects. The use of a variety of methods might result in higher external validity (Scandura and Williams, 2000). From this point of view, the use of interviews, questionnaires, and a literature review may have contributed to a more robust and generalizable set of findings. Sample bias affects the generalizability negatively and can arise in three ways (Blair and Zinkhan, 2006): Coverage bias will occur if some segment of the population is excluded from the investigation for some reason. Selection bias occurs if some parts of the population have extra high or low chances of selection. Nonresponse bias will occur if failure to respond is disproportional across groups. It may be argued that we have an issue with selection bias in the interview study made for Paper I. As described previously in this chapter, however, we feel that given the theoretical priorities in Paper I we can stand by the purposeful sampling employed for the study. It may also be argued that using mainly young Swedish adults as respondents in Paper III and Paper V may have caused both coverage bias and selection bias. Still, since the purposes of the studies are to compare different methodological approaches and to test theoretical findings respectively, we believe that the

63

chosen samples and methods are applicable. In addition, all studies were tested for non response biases, as suggested by Armstrong and Overton (1977). Internal validity can be described as the degree to which the researcher studies and measures what is intended (Merriam, 1994). To improve the internal validity of the interview study, additional interviews could have been conducted. Participant observations at R & D departments, in combination with interviews, is another possible improvement alternative. Due to time and cost aspects, these alternatives were not, however, realizable in this research project. Regarding the internal validity of the questionnaire studies, we believe that the measures used are adequate for the aims of the studies. One possible problem concerning internal validity in the literature review (Paper IV) is that only papers in English were considered (selection bias). This restriction may have excluded fruitful publications in other languages, especially in Japanese since the theory of attractive quality was developed in Japan. Therefore, we decided to include some conference papers by Japanese authors to increase the occurrence of influences from Japan.

3.5.2 Reliability

The role of reliability is to minimize errors and biases in a study (Yin, 1994). To enhance the reliability of our work we have tried to describe our research methodology and strategy in such a way that possible errors, previously undetected, can be detected by the reader of this thesis. Regarding biases, there is always a problem with ‘reactivity’ – the reaction on the part of those being investigated to the investigator and his or her research instrument (Bryman, 1988). The consequences of reactivity are that people’s behavior or responses may not correspond to their normal behavior or views (Silverman, 2000). The problem is whether a respondent’s answer should be treated as something that gives direct access to his or her experience or if it should be treated as constructed narrative. It is possible that the interviewees highlighted their commitment and their companies’ commitment in the areas we asked them about, but we do not believe this was the case. It is also possible that the respondents in the questionnaire studies got the impression that packaging plays a more important

64

role in the perception of quality than it actually does. We have tried to be clear in our view that packaging is a part of a total offer but we have also, by comments in questionnaires and at seminars, learned that it is sometimes perceived as if we have exaggerated packaging’s impact on the total customer experience. We believe this is an indication that we should have described the total offer more thoroughly before introducing our area of research interest.

3.6 Final Comments on the Research Process

The core of the discussion presented in this chapter, is that choice of methodology should be discussed in relation to the research problem. A conclusion of the discussion is that both quantitative and qualitative methods can be used as systematic ways of conducting research. To use a variety of methods is one way of obtaining corroborating evidence (Scandura and Williams, 2000). This approach has been used in this thesis. We hope and believe that the presented research strategy including interviews, questionnaires, and a literature review shows that our guidance has been research problems rather than methodological preferences. The methodological issues discussed in this section are important since neglecting them may limit the ability to base conclusions on the conducted research (Scandura and Williams, 2000). The methods should also, in our opinion, be presented in such a way that the reader is able to judge their applicability. This has been our top priority in this chapter. It has also been our ambition to describe and discuss the chosen research strategy with a focus on the conducted research. It may not be possible to conduct a flawless study (Scandura and Williams, 2000). Any research method chosen will have inherent flaws, and the choice of that method will limit the conclusions that can be drawn (Ibid.). The present thesis has pros, cons, and limitations like any other study. If given the opportunity to rewrite the thesis, the author would have tried to broaden his repertoire. This thesis, as well as most other academic publications, has sought inspiration from within its own field. It is of course necessary to relate to the latest findings within one’s field, but that does not hinder researchers from seeking inspiration from other fields.

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Zaltman (2000) suggests that consumer researchers should ‘take a hike’; not in the sense to go away but to go off the beaten path. One possible path for gaining a deeper understanding of customers’ experiences could have been to investigate psychologically oriented sources. Another possibility could have been experimenting more in general. When the author of this thesis was given the opportunity to use the Bruce Springsteen song “Badlands” to analyze an interview during a Ph.D. course in qualitative analysis, the result was quite interesting (r-e-s-p-e-c-t Professor Jan Ch Karlsson for letting us loose). Most researchers, including myself, could and hence should be more open-minded to other fields as well as other approaches to conducting research.

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4 Epilogue

Already in 1950, Professor Brown at the University of Chicago investigated the role of packaging appearance at point of purchase (Brown, 1950) and another early publication in Journal of Marketing investigated how value can be added through packaging (Twedt, 1968). As stated previously in this thesis, however, academic attention to packaging has been sparse over the last two decades. Within the field of marketing, previous research has focused on packaging appearance at point of purchase by investigating topics such as packaging and brand communication, and packaging size, color, and shape. Positive first impressions at point of purchase will not, however, last very long if the package is not user-friendly and functional once the consumer has brought it home for use and consumption. In this thesis we have shown that quality attributes are experienced differently and have different impacts on customer experiences both at point of purchase and during usage and consumption. Woodruff (1997) supports this argument and states that customers consider value at different points in time, e.g., when making a purchase decision or when experiencing products during or after use. “Purchase means choosing, and that requires customers to distinguish between product offer alternatives and evaluate which is preferred. In contrast, during or after use, customers are more concerned with performance of the chosen product in different use situations.” (Woodruff, 1997, p. 141). Product attributes seem to play more of a role at point of purchase, while consequences are more salient when consumers evaluate use (Woodruff, 1997). This implies that the perception of quality is created both at point of purchase and during usage. With our terminology, this means that the perception of quality is created at both the first and second moments of truth. As a result, the traditional perspective on packages needs to be broadened and not limited to the physical aspects in order to examine how packaging can increase the perceived quality, customer satisfaction, loyalty, and ultimately retention. We conclude that the quality attributes of packages need to be designed to display quality both on the shelf in a store and during usage and consumption at the attribute and the overall level. The intention with studying packaging from a service perspective has been to provide increased knowledge about how customers experience packages and to

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contribute to the ongoing debate about the service perspective and customer satisfaction. Amundson (1998) divides the purpose of scientific knowledge into five categories shown in table 4.1, based on the work of Reynolds (1971).

1. A method of organizing and categorizing "things", a typology 2. Predictions of future events 3. Explanations of past events 4. A sense of understanding about what causes events 5. The potential for control of events

Table 4.1: The purposes of scientific knowledge. Adapted from Reynolds, 1971, p. 4.

As shown in table 4.1, scientific knowledge includes both theory and non-theoretical knowledge such as descriptions, classification systems, data, and predictive models (Amundson, 1998). We believe that the results of the present thesis could be categorized according the following in relation to table 4.1: Paper I deals with explaining and understanding (point three and four) the role of packaging in the first and second moment of truth. Services marketing theories are used to understand how customers experience packaging. Then we introduce the first and second moments of truth to explain these experiences in a consumption system. In Paper II and Paper III, categorizations (point one) of quality attributes are made to understand (point four) the role of packaging in the perception of quality. The main effort in Paper IV is to organize and categorize (point one) prior research within the theory of attractive quality. Finally, in Paper V the first and second moments of truth are used to understand (point four) the role of packaging in the consumption process. The structural equation modeling in Paper V results in an explanation (point three) of cumulative customer satisfaction and how it changes over time in the first and second moments of truth. On an overall level, the framework of the thesis and the appended papers collectively contribute to a deeper understanding, i.e., increased knowledge of packaging and customer satisfaction from a service perspective.

4.1 Contributions

One may expect customers’ interest in packaging to be low since packages are considered to be low commitment goods. Our empirical investigations show

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the opposite – people do care about packages and have strong opinions about them. The main empirical contribution of this thesis is the description of how customers experience packaging, both on a comprehensive (i.e. overall) and attribute level. On the comprehensive level, we have shown how cumulative satisfaction evolves in the first and second moments of truth. On an attribute level, the main contribution is the categorization in different quality dimensions according to the theory of attractive quality. Since packaging related research has been sparse within the field of marketing, we see this research as a first step in the new phase of development. We do not only conclude that packaging is a powerful marketing tool – but we also provide empirical evidence of how packaging is experienced by customers, both on a comprehensive and an attribute level. This empirical evidence includes experiences of both the purchase situation and consumption process, while previous research has extensively focused on the purchase situation. The main theoretical contribution in this thesis is the introduction and measurement of the first and second moments of truth which we believe to be a fruitful way of describing the consumption process of packed consumer products. With our focus on value-in-use in the consumption process, we see this as a contribution to the ongoing debate about the new service-dominant logic of marketing (Vargo and Lusch, 2004a; Stauss, 2005; Vargo and Lusch, 2006). By studying the consumption process with the first and second moments of truth, focus is placed on customer perceived value from the point of purchase, to use and consumption, and then to the disposing of the package. The combination of functions, information, the physical package, and its content creates the total customer experience in this consumption process. The package, with its functions and information, can be seen from a value-in-use perspective as a carrier of prerequisites for services, which implies that the package bridges the gap between production and consumption. We also believe that the first and second moments of truth work well as a conceptual model. This model contributes to recent research using a consumption system approach and investigates how experience of using a product changes the consumers’ underlying preferences (Mittal et al., 1999; Mittal and Katrichis, 2000; Thompson et al., 2005; Johnson et al., 2006; Rust et al., 2006). Our results provide empirical evidence that there are significant differences in customer experiences between the first and second moments of

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truth. Technical quality, for example, has a larger impact on customer satisfaction and hence loyalty in the first moment of truth compared to the second moment of truth. These technical quality items consist of aspects such as color, protection, design, and hygiene. Our main conclusion states the necessity to understand the way in which customers view a product during purchase and to measure the customers’ evaluation after usage. Methodologically, we have contributed to the theory of attractive quality. We have concluded that the theory of attractive quality is useful in the area of packaging. In addition, we have shown that alternative ways of classifying quality attributes presented in research papers are built on different methodological foundations and deliver inconsistent results. A contribution in this area was the conclusion that the development of new ways to classify quality attributes should follow rigid procedures to provide reliable and consistent results. Finally, the literature review in Paper IV contributes by describing how the theory of attractive quality has been used and interpreted in past research, which provides a sound basis for future research.

4.2 Managerial Implications

The main managerial implication of the service perspective is for companies to think in terms of prerequisites for services, i.e., providing customers with the tools that they need to experience the desired benefits of an offer. If packaged consumer products are viewed from a service perspective, three interacting parts create customer value: the physical package, content, and prerequisites for services. In this aspect, an important task for marketers is to find the cues customers use as signals for quality. This process includes factors both at point of purchase (the first moment of truth) and during usage of the product (the second moment of truth). Companies must gain a deeper understanding of how customers experience these clues. This should be done from a service perspective—because this perspective focuses on customer requirements and the benefits that customers experience when using an offer. To be able to retain and expand their customer base, an organization needs to implement new attractive product attributes that correspond to customer needs. However, the organization must also make the product reliable. This requires a dual focus during product development which incorporates the voice of the customer early in the process and subsequently breaks it down into different

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subsystems to assure reliability. By using the theory of attractive quality, companies can classify quality attributes and gain an increased understanding of how customers experience their products. Once the classification is made, importance weights can be used as a means of prioritizing the attributes within a quality category. The suggestion is to fulfill all must-be quality attributes and to be competitive with market leaders on one-dimensional quality attributes. Moreover, some of the attractive quality attributes have to be included in order to delight customers. Several benefits are obtained from using the Kano methodology. First, the analysis shows that quality can not be seen simply as a one-dimensional construct. Having insight into which quality attributes fall into which quality dimensions provides a better understanding of requirements and can improve focus on the right requirements. If a company is unable to fulfill the must-be and the one-dimensional quality attributes, for example, it does not matter how much effort they put into the innovation of exciting products and features. They will still have a problem with customer dissatisfaction. Researchers have, however, also emphasized the importance of attractive quality creation (Yamada, 1998; Kano, 2001) since this dimension has been neglected by quality specialists who have tended to focus on how to eliminate quality problems. Emphasis is often placed solely on ‘must-be quality’ due to the misunderstanding that users’ satisfaction can be gained by simply reducing defects and complaints. Based on our results in Paper II, this could be exemplified with a company that tries to increase customer satisfaction by focusing on, e.g., protection and declaration of contents. In addition, reduction of defects and complaints, and improvement in safety and reliability are omitted based on the misunderstanding that users’ satisfaction can be gained as long there are additional functions and new designs. What managers want to know about customer satisfaction is where to improve quality to increase satisfaction effectively and what are the payoffs (Gustafsson and Johnson, 1997). The focus of this thesis is the drivers of satisfaction rather than the payoffs. However, other researchers have shown that the payoffs include increased customer loyalty and retention, fewer customer complaints, and increased profitability (Anderson et al., 1994; Fornell et al., 1996). In the area of packaging, much focus has been placed on the purchase situation. A problem with this managerial approach is that it only takes one part of the consumption process into consideration. At first glance, a new package could

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be considered to be a success based on sales figures, however, if the usability of the package is low this will cause dissatisfaction causing the customer to consider a different brand next time and the company will miss out on retention. The managerial lesson to be learned is that it is crucial to monitor how the drivers of customer satisfaction change over time in the consumption process. Finally, our research encourages managers to view packages as powerful product-related attributes that do affect the customers’ experiences of product performance. We believe that a value-in-use perspective can help companies to place the focus on their customers.

4.3 Future Research

On the basis of what has been presented in this thesis, five main areas need consideration in future research. First, the debate on the service perspective has been ongoing for at least 40 years (see, e.g., Boyd and Levy, 1963; Shostack, 1977; Parasuraman et al., 1988; Fisk et al., 1993; Brown et al., 1994; Rust, 1998; Grönroos, 2000a; Vargo and Lusch, 2004a; Lusch and Vargo, 2006). Rust (1998) emphasizes that authors should, “…seek to create conceptual and methodological frameworks that will produce a new and transformed view of the service-dominated economy of the future (and present)” (p. 107). In addition to this, Rust (1998) suggests that the most important service research applies both to the service and goods sector. In this area we believe further research is needed, i.e., research that applies a service perspective and then investigates goods and/or services. The discussion on the service-dominant logic of marketing provided by distinguished research scholars in a recent edited book (Lusch and Vargo, 2006) shows that it is debatable how such research should be conducted. Second, in the area of packaging, deeper knowledge and more empirical research is needed about customer experiences of packages. We have focused on packaging’s role in the first and second moments of truth and on the various quality attributes of packages, using Kano’s theory of attractive quality. Another fruitful approach would be to investigate consumer decision-making styles (Lysonski et al., 1996) and store environment cues (Baker et al., 2002) to understand how customers experience packaging. In this area it would be interesting to conduct experiments using an eye tracking camera.

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Third, regarding the theory of attractive quality, we welcome further development of the alternative approaches to classifying quality attributes because our present knowledge about these approaches is limited. In summary, there is a lack of empirical evidence that these new approaches deliver correct results, and more research is needed to scrutinize the further development of methodological issues related to the theory of attractive quality. A first step in the new phase of development is taken in our literature review in Paper IV where we summarize the existing knowledge on the theory of attractive quality and discuss improvements for the methodology. We argue that the theoretical foundation of the theory of attractive quality, the life cycles of quality attributes, and attractive quality creation are areas in need of further research. We also argue that it would be fruitful to investigate the impact of the wording in both the questions and the alternative answers for the pairs of customer requirement questions. Fourth, high customer satisfaction improves loyalty intentions and actual retention (Johnson et al., 2006). However, these relationships are complex and by no means static (see, e.g., Mittal and Katrichis, 2000; Johnson et al., 2006; Rust et al., 2006). We believe that these complex relationships within consumption systems are in need of further investigation to increase our knowledge of customer satisfaction, loyalty, and repurchase patterns. In this area it is important to better understand how relationships change between the constructs when customers move from transaction to cumulative-based evaluations (Johnson, 2001; Gustafsson et al., 2005; Thompson et al., 2005; Johnson et al., 2006). Finally, and interestingly in relation to the fourth area for future research, the amount of research in consumer behavior that examines actual consumption behavior – not purchase behavior– is small (Chandon and Wansink, 2002). In the area of packaging, more empirical research is needed regarding actual consumption and context of use since most of the package’s functions, e.g., usability are tested post purchase and we know that product use experience affects perceived capability and perceived usability over time (Thompson et al., 2005). This is, however, not mirrored in the body of research in the packaging area where most research concerning customers is conducted about the role of packaging at point of purchase.

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Karlstad University StudiesISSN 1403-8099

ISBN 91-7063-089-5


Almost everything we as consumers buy in a store has a package. Packages have many functions – some, if not all, present marketers with the opportunity to gain competitive advantages. The packaging influences the usage behavior long after it has influenced the purchase, therefore it is an interesting empirical context to study within the field of marketing. Nevertheless, academic attention to packaging has been sparse over the last two decades even though the industry focus on packaging as a strategic tool has grown over that same period. Exceptions in the marketing literature are investigations of pack-aging and brand communication, advertisement-package coordination, and packaging size and shape. In contrast to the traditional approach that views packaging as a com-plimenting non-product-related attribute, it is suggested in this thesis that packaging is a product-related attribute that does affect the customers’ experiences of products.

The overall aim of this thesis is to develop and test theoretical models and provide empirical evidence of customer experiences in the context of packaging from a service perspective. To study packaging from a service perspective is relevant for several reasons. One reason is that packaging can have several functions, which include more than the physical package. Another reason is that packages are carriers of information that is interpreted by customers. The combination of function, information, the physical package, and its content creates the total customer experience.

The results of this thesis provide increased knowledge about packaging and customer experiences from a service perspective. On an attribute level, quality attributes such as protection and usability are categorized according to Kano’s theory of attractive quality. The results show that customers’ evaluations of packages are multi-dimensional. On a comprehensive or an overall level, structural equation modeling is used to investigate the consumption process. We conclude that the quality attributes of packages need to be designed to display quality both on the shelf in a store and during usage and con-sumption at both the attribute and comprehensive level.

The Leader of the Packkau.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:6178/FULLTEXT01.pdfThe Leader of the Pack A Service Perspective on Packaging and Customer Satisfaction . Martin Löfgren.

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