Purpose

The quality of the customer journey has become a critical determinant of successful service delivery in contemporary business. Extant journey research focuses on the customer path to purchase, but pays less attention to the touchpoints related to service delivery and consumption that are key for understanding customer experiences in service-intensive contexts. The purpose of this study is to conceptualize service journey quality (SJQ), develop measures for the construct and study its key outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses a discovery-oriented research approach to conceptualize SJQ by synthesizing theory and field-based insights from customer focus group discussions. Next, using consumer survey data (N = 278) from the financial services context, the authors develop measures for the SJQ. Finally, based on an additional survey dataset (N = 239), the authors test the nomological validity and predictive relevance of the SJQ.

Findings

SJQ comprises of three dimensions: (1) journey seamlessness, (2) journey personalization and (3) journey coherence. This study demonstrates that SJQ is a critical driver of service quality and customer loyalty in contemporary business. This study finds that the loyalty link is partially mediated through service quality, indicating that SJQ explains loyalty above and beyond service quality.

Research limitations/implications

Since service quality only partially mediates the link between service journey quality and customer loyalty, future studies should examine alternative mediators, such as customer experience, for a more comprehensive understanding of the performance effects.

Practical implications

The study offers concrete tools for service managers who wish to understand and develop the quality of service journeys.

Originality/value

This study advances the service journey concept, demonstrates that the quality of the service journey is a critical driver of customer performance and provides rigorous journey constructs for future service research.

中文翻译：

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服务旅程质量：概念化、测量和客户结果

目的

客户旅程的质量已成为当代企业成功提供服务的关键决定因素。现有的旅程研究侧重于客户的购买路径，但较少关注与服务交付和消费相关的接触点，这些接触点对于理解服务密集型环境中的客户体验至关重要。本研究的目的是对服务旅程质量 (SJQ) 进行概念化，制定构建措施并研究其关键结果。

设计/方法/方法

该研究使用以发现为导向的研究方法，通过综合来自客户焦点小组讨论的理论和基于领域的见解来概念化 SJQ。接下来，作者使用 金融服务环境中的消费者调查数据 ( N = 278)，为 SJQ 制定了衡量标准。最后，基于额外的调查数据集 ( N  = 239)，作者测试了 SJQ 的规则有效性和预测相关性。

发现

SJQ 包括三个维度：（1）旅程无缝性，（2）旅程个性化和（3）旅程连贯性。本研究表明，SJQ 是当代商业中服务质量和客户忠诚度的关键驱动因素。本研究发现忠诚度链接部分通过服务质量来调节，表明 SJQ 解释了超出服务质量的忠诚度。

研究限制/影响

由于服务质量只是部分中介服务旅程质量和客户忠诚度之间的联系，未来的研究应该检查替代中介，如客户体验，以更全面地了解绩效影响。

实际影响

该研究为希望了解和发展服务旅程质量的服务经理提供了具体工具。

原创性/价值

本研究提出了服务旅程的概念，表明服务旅程的质量是客户绩效的关键驱动因素，并为未来的服务研究提供了严格的旅程结构。