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Optimising the internal value chain: Principles and practices

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2015

Mark T Spence  and
Sudhir H Kale
Mark T Spence
Affiliation:
Bond University, Gold Coast QLD, Australia
Sudhir H Kale
Affiliation:
Globalization and Development Centre, Bond University, Gold Coast QLD, Australia
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Abstract

The employee–customer interface in hedonic services requires high quality interactions at key touch points to ensure experiences are positively remembered. We propose an approach that combines service blueprinting with internal marketing to achieve these experiences. While internal marketing suggests using marketing techniques for hiring, retaining and motivating employees, the literature in this field has been largely independent of each employee's contribution to the internal value chain. Service blueprinting is a useful approach which makes explicit the value creation processes used in service production. No study has thus far connected the blueprint (which identifies functions to be performed) to internal marketing (which specifies the mechanisms for hiring, retaining and motivating the people performing the functions). This paper proposes a service value chain optimisation framework to enhance employee–customer interactions in hedonic services using these two research streams.

Keywords

internal value chainmoments of truthinternal marketingservice blueprinting
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 14 , Issue 2 , May 2008 , pp. 193 - 206
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2008

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