Measuring the Deliverable and Impressible Dimensions of Service Experience

Abstract

Service innovation has become a priority within the field of innovation management and is increasingly focused on the creation of memorable experiences that result in customer loyalty. Studies of experience design suggest individual service elements to be managed when staging an experience whereas conceptual models in the literature emphasize the holistic way in which an experience is perceived. In short, service experience is greater than the sum of its parts. Therefore, successful innovation management requires the ability to understand and measure the mechanisms by which service innovations impact customers’ experiences. Our research addresses this need by identifying dimensions of service experience and developing a tool for their measurement. Using a three stage process of 1) systematic literature review; 2) rigorous scale development and reduction; and 3) validation, we identify six dimensions of the service experience and develop scales to measure each one. This results in a model of service innovation that highlights the levers through which a company’s service innovation efforts can result in memorable experiences and ultimately generate service success.