LEVERAGING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF KNOWLEDGE-INTENSIVE SERVICES: THE ROLES OF CUSTOMERS AND SERVICE PROVIDERS

SILVA, SIMONE SANTOS DA; SANTOS, JULIANA BONOMI

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Revista de Administração de Empresas

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ARTICLES • Rev. adm. empres. 61 (2) • 2021 • https://doi.org/10.1590/S0034-759020210203 copy

LEVERAGING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF KNOWLEDGE-INTENSIVE SERVICES: THE ROLES OF CUSTOMERS AND SERVICE PROVIDERS

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

ABSTRACT

This study develops a theoretical model that relates customer participation in knowledge-intensive services (KIS), the actions of service providers to encourage customer engagement and the effectiveness of services. Five hypotheses were tested using structural equations, and data were collected by surveying a sample of 106 users of physical therapy, personal training, Pilates and global postural reeducation services. The results show that educating customers is not enough; service providers need to empathize and create an emotional bond with them. Additionally, customer education and emotional empathy have different effects on customer feedback and the extent to which customers follow instructions. This study contributes to the literature by promoting a holistic view of the factors that influence customer participation and its effectiveness in KIS.

KEYWORDS:
Knowledge-intensive services; service effectiveness; customer participation; emotional empathy

Sample Characteristics	Classes	Sample (n=106)Freq. %
Gender	Male	37.9
Gender	Female	62.1
Age	31 or younger	29.2
	31-45	47.5
	46-64	21.4
	65 or older	1.9
Marital Status	Single	43.7
	Married	47.6
	Other	8.7
Education	Secondary education degree	28.4
	Undergraduate degree	31.4
	Graduate degree	40.2
Type of Service	Personal training	59.2
	Physiotherapy and GPR	19.4
	Pilates	21.4
Relationship Length	Less than 1 year	56.3
Relationship Length	More than 1 year	43.7
Frequency of Use	Every day	12.6
	3 times a week	27.2
	Twice a week	42.7
	Once a week or less	17.5

Construct	Scales	Mean	Standard deviation	Factor loading CFA^* * significant at the 0.01 level
Service Effectiveness	I am succeeding in achieving the goals I initially established	5.7	1.1	.91
	I will succeed in achieving the goals I initially established	6	1.1	.84
	I feel I have improved my weight/posture since I started using this professional's service	5.8	1.2	.70
Following Instructions	I continue to follow this professional's instructions even when I am not with him	5.4	1.2	.77
	To achieve my goal, I follow all tips from this professional	5.7	1.0	.74
	I follow this professional's instructions about what must be done before and after the exercises, even when he is not around	5.7	1.1	.74
	When I am alone, I continue to follow the instructions about posture/stretching and other instructions he gave in order to keep the results of the performed exercises	5.4	1.2	.75
Providing Feedback	I make constructive suggestions so that this professional can improve his services	5.4	1.3	.64
	When I have a problem related with this professional, I provide feedback so that he can improve the quality of service	5.6	1.2	.86
	When this professional defines exercises that I like and that bring me results, I provide feedback to let him know	6.1	1.1	.67
Customer Education	This professional explains the technical concepts of the recommended exercises, and he always indicates the best ways	5.7	1.3	.80
	This professional always provides the information I need about the exercises	5.9	1.1	.81
	This professional always explains the pros and cons of the exercises he recommends	5.6	1.3	.81
Emotional Empathy	I feel that this professional pays attention to my emotions, feelings and body language	5.3	1.3	.86
	This professional shows concern about feelings I don't verbalize	5.1	1.4	.98
	This professional pays attention to my feelings	4.9	1.5	.68

Indices	Measurement Model	Reference Standard (Kline, 2005)
χ² - Chi-square	165.4	**
DF - Degrees of Freedom	94	**
TLI	0.90	>0.9
CFI	0.91	>0.9
IFI	0.92	>0.9
RMSEA	0.08	<0.08
χ² - Normed Chi-square	1.76	≤3.00

Constructs^* * AVE in the diagonal	CR	Emotional Empathy	Customer Education	Providing Feedback	Following Instructions	Service Effectiveness
Emotional Empathy	0.84	0.65
Customer Education	0.85	0.25	0.66
Providing Feedback	0.77	0.27	0.26	0.54
Following Instructions	0.84	0.03	0.24	0.11	0.56
Service Effectiveness	0.86	0.09	0.13	0.10	0.28	0.67

Indices	Model Fit	Reference Standard(Kline, 2005)
χ² - Chi-square	2.68	**
DF - Degrees of Freedom	1	**
TLI	0.92	>0.9
CFI	0.99	>0.9
IFI	0.99	>0.9
χ² - Normed Chi-square	2.68	≤3.00

Hypothesis	Conclusion
H1a: The customer's act of following instructions is positively associated with greater service effectiveness.	confirmed
H1b: The customer's act of providing feedback is positively associated with greater service effectiveness.	not confirmed
H2a: Customer education in KIS is positively associated with the customer's act of following instructions.	confirmed
H2b: Customer education in KIS is positively associated with the customer's act of providing feedback.	confirmed
H3a: The customer's act of following instructions mediates the relationship between customer education and service effectiveness;	confirmed
H3b: The customer's act of providing feedback mediates the relationship between customer education and service effectiveness.	not confirmed
H4a: The service provider's emotional empathy is positively associated with the customer's act of following instructions.	not confirmed
H4b: The service provider's emotional empathy is positively associated with the customer's act of providing feedback.	confirmed
H5a: The customer's act of following instructions mediates the relationship between the service provider's emotional empathy and service effectiveness.	not confirmed
H5b: The customer's act of providing feedback mediates the relationship between the service provider's emotional empathy and service effectiveness.	not confirmed

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