Towards an understanding of creativity and innovation within professional services and marketing

Greatly increased competition in the professional services and marketing sectors has reinforced the need for firms to develop an organisational culture that facilitates adaptation to changing conditions and competitive threats. More generally, competitive changes within business environments require new and creative ways of organising and managing firms. In order for marketing practitioners to be ahead of competitors in identifying and meeting customer needs, creative thought is essential. An organisational culture that supports creativity and facilitates the adoption of innovative practices, products and services, improves a firm’s ability to remain competitive within an uncertain environment. This paper presents a conceptual model of an organisational culture supporting creativity and innovation. The model posits relationships between creativity and innovation and organisational performance. The main contribution of the paper is to build a foundation for future research directed primarily towards exploring the relationships in the theoretical model of interest. Implications for marketing practitioners are also considered.

The antecedents and consequences of customer emotions in collective hedonic services: An exploratory study

The investigation of the antecedents that influence positive and negative customer emotions and how these emotions influence service outcomes has not been studied in the context of collective hedonic services. In addition, the possibility of moderating effects has not been explored. This paper reports the findings of a qualitative exploratory study that sought to understand the antecedents and consequences of customer emotions in the context of collective hedonic services. This study involved five focus group interviews of customers that attended sporting, performing arts and popular concert events. The findings have important implications for managers and for managing the service process of collective hedonic services.

Examination of the influence of personal attributes on consumer use of m-services

The rapid uptake of mobile devices has created the capacity to provide services to consumers while they are on the move, and new mobile services (m-services) are constantly emerging. In past research, personal attributes have been found to be important in the adoption and use of information and communication technology. However, little research has been conducted in the area of m-services. To explore factors influencing the use of these services, this paper examines personal attributes in terms of motivational, attitudinal and demographic characteristics. Specifically, it investigates the influence of innovativeness, self- efficacy, involvement and impulsiveness, as well as age and gender on m-services use. Data were collected from a convenience sample of 250 respondents using an online survey and a modified snowball procedure. Age and gender were quite well balanced in the sample. The multiple regression model was significant and the hypotheses relating to the positive relationship between impulsiveness, involvement and gender and m-services were supported. Findings are discussed, further implications for managers are suggested and directions for future research are proposed.