Configuring Customer Touchpoints : a Fuzzy-Set Analysis of Service Encounter Satisfaction

Kurzfassung/Abstract

Knowledge about the importance of sub-service en-counters or touchpoints within the service process is a topic of interest to both researchers and busi-nesses. However, existing research mainly analyses service encounter evaluations based on composite or overall measures. While these studies make a significant contribution to understanding the im-portance of specific attributes for evaluating the overall encounter, our study extends existing re-search by showing how evaluations might be built upon different configurations of touchpoints. Based on a qualitative comparative analysis, we identify the determinants that are ultimately necessary, as well as those that are sufficient, for creating posi-tive customer experiences within airline services. We provide managers with guidance on how to de-sign successful customer experiences and long-last-ing customer satisfaction. This knowledge helps service firms invest in quality improvements that will pay off in the long run. We enrich service theory by providing an in-depth view of customer service encounters and by identifying how different config-urations of touchpoint evaluations lead to satisfac-tory service experiences. We establish a comple-mentary explanation of the creation of customers’ evaluations of multiple touchpoints.