Service Innovation and Marketing
| Module title | Service Innovation and Marketing |
|---|---|
| Module code | BEMM070 |
| Academic year | 2021/2 |
| Credits | 15 |
| Module staff | Dr Laura Phillips (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 60 |
|---|
Module description
Summary:
This module provides an interdisciplinary/applied approach for understanding, analysing and innovating service delivery. Understanding market segments, value propositions, and innovative ways to deliver service is essential for competitiveness. Digital techniques and technologies (natural language processing; eye-tracking; AR/VR) provide significant opportunities to innovate service design and delivery.
Building upon operations management and marketing theory, the idea of a service system is introduced. You will explore the influence of customer value and experience on business model design, delivery and evaluation. You will acquire technical skills and consultancy skills to equip you for the workplace. The module uses real-world data and service improvement examples in the classroom.
Additional Information:
External Engagement
This module invites outstanding academics and practitioners to bring their expertise and knowledge related to service design and innovation into the classroom.
Employability
Students develop skills in analytical thinking, relationship building and teamwork, and communication. Consultancy skills and the use of innovative digital technologies, such as eye tracking, will equip students for the workplace of the future.
Module aims - intentions of the module
Service businesses are an important contributor to the economy. These businesses, operating in a global market place, are faced with the challenges of business model innovation to remain competitive. Innovative business models require an understanding of market segments and specific value propositions. New digital technologies and techniques such as natural language processing and eye-tracking provide new insights to inform market segmentation and value propositions. New ways of delivering value propositions, such as Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR/VR) provide significant opportunities to innovate service delivery. This module provides an interdisciplinary approach to understanding, analysing and innovating service delivery. Building upon core concepts from operations management and marketing theory, the module aims to introduce you to the idea of a service delivery system, designed for an intended customer experience. You will acquire technical skills in evaluating the realised customer experience, including eye tracking and natural language processing, and will make recommendations for improvement and innovation. This module is research led and is informed by research results from the VISTA AR project; a €7.8m (ERDF) project looking at digital innovation in cultural heritage sites. The module also draws on a number of research/consultancy engagements with, for example, Vodafone, Microsoft, Rolls Royce, NHS, National Trust, to provide real service innovation and improvement examples in the classroom.
There is a strong applied focus throughout the module, introducing practical tools in customer experience analysis and the use of advanced tools such as eye-tracking and natural language processing. The module will draw real examples from a broad range of services and will be taught using lectures and practical workshops. As part of the assessment, you will be required to analyse 'real world' service examples and make recommendations for improvement.
Specifically the module aims are to:
- Enable students to critically evaluate Operations Management/Marketing theories in a service context
- Develop analytical skills for service innovation and improvement
- Develop technical and consultancy skills
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. understand and critique the theories which underpin service systems and operations/marketing;
- 2. identify, analyse and evaluate service delivery systems and assess the impact on performance;
- 3. apply relevant models, tools and frameworks to evaluate service delivery.
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 4. apply understanding of service and systems concepts and their relevance to the modern economy;
- 5. critically evaluate design options for service delivery;
- 6. use relevant tools and technology to document, measure and analyse the customer experience.
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 7. work independently and in small groups to develop research and problem-solving skills;
- 8. present analytical findings in written and oral formats.
Syllabus plan
The following topics will be explored in this module:
- Overview of service systems and operations
- Traditional and contemporary understanding of service
- Business models and business model innovation
- Service design
- Customer experience
- Tools and techniques for service evaluation
- Using eye tracking for customer insights
- Using Natural Language Processing (NLP) for customer insights
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 18 | 132 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity | 10 | Lectures (10 x 1hour) |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity | 8 | Workshops (4 x 2hours) |
| Guided Independent Study | 132 | Reading; research and workshop preparation; group work; portfolio writing |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual and group exercises applying analysis tools from the course to case data | In class (during workshops) | 1-8 | Verbal |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group project | 30 | 10 mins recorded presentation | 1,2,6,7,8 | Written feedback |
| Portfolio of written work | 70 | 2500 words | 1,3,4,5,6,7,8 | Written feedback |
| 0 |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group project | Individual pre-recorded presentation | 1,2,6,7,8 | August/September reassessment period |
| Portfolio of written work | Portfolio of written work | 1,3,4,5,6,7,8 | August/September reassessment period |
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
This course builds upon core concepts within operations management and marketing theory using contemporary understanding in service, as such an up-to-date reading pack of articles will be provided on ELE (Exeter Learning Environment). An indicative list of these articles is shown below:
Bitner, M. J., Ostrom, A. L., & Morgan, F. N. (2008). Service blueprinting: a practical technique for service innovation. California management review, 50(3), 66-94.
Lemke, F., Clark, M., & Wilson, H. (2011). Customer experience quality: an exploration in business and consumer contexts using repertory grid technique. Journal of the academy of marketing science, 39(6), 846-869.
McColl-Kennedy, J. R., Zaki, M., Lemon, K. N., Urmetzer, F., & Neely, A. (2019). Gaining customer experience insights that matter. Journal of Service Research, 22(1), 8-26.
Ordenes, F. V., Theodoulidis, B., Burton, J., Gruber, T., & Zaki, M. (2014). Analyzing customer experience feedback using text mining: A linguistics-based approach. Journal of Service Research, 17(3), 278-295.
Ostrom, A. L., Parasuraman, A., Bowen, D. E., Patrício, L., & Voss, C. A. (2015). Service research priorities in a rapidly changing context. Journal of Service Research, 18(2), 127-159.
Ponsignon, F., Smart, P. A., & Maull, R. S. (2011). Service delivery system design: characteristics and contingencies. International Journal of Operations & Production Management.
Voss, C. A., Roth, A. V., Rosenzweig, E. D., Blackmon, K., & Chase, R. B. (2004). A tale of two countries’ conservatism, service quality, and feedback on customer satisfaction. Journal of Service Research, 6(3), 212-230.
Wedel, M., & Pieters, R. (2008). A review of eye-tracking research in marketing. Review of marketing research, 4(2008), 123-147.
| Credit value | 15 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 7.5 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 7 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 26/07/2018 |
| Last revision date | 13/09/2021 |
