186 2019, XXII, 3
Ma ke ing and T ade
10.15240/ ul/001/2019-3-012
In oduc ion
The se ice o ganiza ions de elop complex
se ice o e ings and p ocedu es o ca e o
he changing cus ome s’ equi emen s. The
inc eased complexi y o he se ice p ocesses
hal s e ec i eness o he ope a ions and may
lead o he lowe i m compe i i eness o e
ime (Schä e meye , Rosenk anz, & Hol en,
2012). The complexi y o se ice ope a ions
induces long wai ing imes o cus ome s and
high non- alue added cos s o he companies
(Geo ge, 2003), and he di e si y o he
se ice o e ings challenges e ec i eness
o he p ocesses (Ca lbo g, Kinds öm, &
Kowalkowski, 2013; Sil es o & Lus a o,
2015). Due o he di ec cus ome pa icipa ion
in he se ice p oduc ion, cus ome has powe
o signi ican ly impac and dis o se ice
ope a ions (Zome dijk & de V ies, 2007). Thus,
o ackle he issue o edundancy and imp o e
pe o mance, companies make de e mined
e o s o s anda dize hei ope a ions.
The s anda diza ion boos s en e p ise
pe o mance h ough cos , ime educ ion
and quali y imp o emen (Da enpo , 2005;
Müns e mann, Eckha d , & Wei zel, 2010). The
uni ica ion o he business p ocesses leads o
he imp o ed con ol and collabo a ion be ween
depa men s (Wuellenwebe , Koenig, Beimbo n,
& Wei zel, 2009). The d i e o con inuous
imp o emen is now p ominen in he se ices
segmen , and he p ocess s anda diza ion is
c i ical o ensu e e ec i eness o imp o emen
e o s (Ande son, Rung usana ham, Sch oede ,
& De a aj, 1995; Be ge , 1997). The goal o
s anda diza ion and con inuous imp o emen
is o achie e highe cus ome sa is ac ion in
he ligh o he changing cus ome p e e ences,
while deli e ing pe o mance bene i s
(Ande son, Fo nell, & Rus , 1997; Deming,
1993; Imai, 1986; Like & Mo gan, 2006).
Howe e , excessi e s anda diza ion may ha e
nega i e impac on cus ome sa is ac ion,
since s anda d ope a ions may no ailo o he
needs o he a ied cus ome base (Babba ,
1992; Hsiao, Chen, Chang, & Chiu, 2016;
Lill ank, Shani, & Lindbe g, 2001). Thus, in
he ace o he g owing cus omiza ion end,
companies ace he con lic ing ade-o o mee
cus ome demands and deli e pe o mance
imp o emen s (Sil es o & Lus a o, 2015).
Ou analysis o he li e a u e e eals
he sca ci y o s udies on he impac o
s anda diza ion on cus ome sa is ac ion, ye
less in se ices. The s udy o Müns e mann,
on S e en, Laume and Eckha d (2010) on
s anda diza ion o human esou ce p ocesses
p o ides o a a e excep ion. The p esen s udy
con ibu es o he scan ield o knowledge o
s anda diza ion applica ion in se ices, since
he p e ious esea ch has mainly ocused
on heal hca e, elecommunica ion and
manu ac u ing indus ies. The majo i y o he
s udies on s anda diza ion assesses he sa ing
gains, o en o e looking he impo ance o
cus ome sa is ac ion, e en hough cus ome
sa is ac ion is linked o a highe cus ome
e en ion and imp o ed e enue (Rus & Chung,
2006; Tyagi & Gup a, 2013). The exis ing
accoun s also ail o conside s anda diza ion
wi hin he wide o ganiza ional imp o emen
p ocess ha o en akes place simul aneously.
S anda diza ion o he ope a ions in ol es
signi ican cos s due o he in es men in he
design o he new p ocesses and employee
aining (Wang, Wang, Ma, & Qiu, 2010). A
he ini ial s age o s anda diza ion, he equi ed
in es men may ou weigh he bene i s associa ed
wi h he highe p ocess eliabili y and a minimal
cus ome sa is ac ion imp o emen . Howe e ,
e ec i e implemen a ion o he s anda dized
p ocesses will e en ually b ing in economies
o scale and emendous imp o emen o
he se ice quali y (Wang e al., 2010).
STANDARDIZATION IN SERVICES: ASSESSING
THE IMPACT ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
Oksana Ko al, S ephen Naba eseh, Felici a Ch omjako á
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Despi e he impo ance o s anda diza ion o
mode n businesses, he condi ions os e ing
e ec i eness o s anda diza ion emain la gely
unde s udied. The p e ious esea ch has
ocused on iden i ying wha le el o p ocess
a ie y as opposed o s anda diza ion should be
kep , in o de o mee cus ome equi emen s
(A le bach, Bolsinge , & Röglinge , 2016). In
hei esea ch, Schä e meye e al. (2012) ind
ha complexi y o he p ocesses signi ican ly
hinde s business p ocess s anda diza ion.
Rome o e al. (2015) builds upon con ingency
heo y and iden i ies h ee g oups o he
ac o s ha impac s anda diza ion: ex e nal
(di e ences in cul u e and legisla ion), in e nal
(o ganiza ional s uc u e and le el o company
dispe sion) as well as immedia e (manage ial
p e e ences).
S anda diza ion is inhe en o con inuous
imp o emen ; ye , he e is a dea h, i no
absence, o he esea ch ega ding how ac o s
ha impac con inuous imp o emen , in luence
s anda diza ion and ope a ional pe o mance
o he i m. To esol e his disc epancy in ou
esea ch we p o ide an al e na i e app oach
o unde s anding he ac o s in luencing
ela ionship be ween s anda diza ion and
cus ome sa is ac ion h ough he p ism o
con inuous imp o emen ; hus, we a gue ha
ac o s ha a e p o en o in luence con inuous
imp o emen will also os e s anda diza ion in
he o ganiza ions. The goal o he esea ch is o
assess he impac o con inuous imp o emen
p ac ices on he s anda diza ion – cus ome
sa is ac ion ela ionship in he con ex o he
se ices i ms. The g owing dependence o he
global economy on he se ices sec o and a
lack o he esea ch on he se ice companies
p o ide a compelling case o he s udy.
1. Li e a u e Re iew
1.1 S anda diza ion and Con inuous
Imp o emen
S anda diza ion o he ope a ions enables
o ganiza ions o emo e non- alue added
wo k h ough educ ion o complexi y and
excessi e edundancy. The o ganiza ions
employ p ocess s anda diza ion o achie e
uni o mi y and anspa ency o he ope a ions
ac oss alue chain (Wuellenwebe e al.,
2009). Shaw, Holland, Kawalek, Snowdon
and Wa boys (2007) conside s anda diza ion
as an o ganiza ional e o o b ing ope a ions
o a single s anda d business p ocess.
S anda dized ope a ions educe a iance
associa ed wi h each ask, minimize ambigui y,
and help employees a oid cos ly mis akes
(C osby, 1979; Gilson, Ma hieu, Shalley, &
Ruddy, 2005). The uni ica ion o he p ocesses
ensu es high quali y o he deli e ed se ices.
Howe e , Taubi z (2014) ound ha excessi e
s anda diza ion can lead o he e o s and
iola ion o occupa ional sa e y.
Shaw e al. (2007) de ine s anda diza ion
as a pa o he “me a” p ocess o con inuous
imp o emen in he o ganiza ion. The p ocess
s anda diza ion is embedded wi hin he
concep o con inuous imp o emen , ensu ing
communica ion and in o ma ion low be ween
he indi iduals and eams, in ol ed in he
imp o emen p ojec s, h ough uni ica ion o
he bes p ac ices and communica ion ools
(Ma son & S au e , 2009; Nakamu a, 1993). In
he Six Sigma DMAIC cycle (De ine-Measu e-
Analyze-Imp o e Con ol) s anda diza ion
is undamen al o he Con ol s age, whe e
he newly es ablished e ined p ocesses a e
documen ed, employees a e ained and he
moni o ing plans a e es ablished; hus, making
he new p ocess an accep ed s anda d (Boon
Sin, Zailani, I anmanesh, & Ramayah, 2015;
Pyzdek & Kelle , 2009).
Con inuous Imp o emen (CI) is an umb ella
concep ying oge he imp o emen
me hodologies such as To al Quali y Manage-
men , Lean and Six Sigma in o a comp ehensi e
imp o emen app oach, bene i ing om he
complemen a y na u e o he me hodologies
(Be ge , 1997). Con inuous imp o emen is an
ongoing e inemen o he s anda ds es ablished
wi hin he o ganiza ion and s anda dized
p ocesses a e he p e equisi e o he u he
changes (Be ge , 1997; Nakamu a, 1993). As a
es imony o his s a emen , Be ge (1997)
p o ides an example o he PDCA (Plan-Do-
Check-Ac ) loop o he Lean me hodology,
whe e e e y imp o emen e o s leads o he
es ablishmen o he new s anda d ope a ions
ha a e con inuously imp o ed h ough he
applica ion o PDCA.
1.2 Rela ionship be ween Se ices
S anda diza ion and Cus ome
Sa is ac ion
Cus ome sa is ac ion (CS) is ypically
iewed as an ex en o which pe cei ed
se ice pe o mance co esponds o he
p io cus ome expec a ions (Ande son
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Ma ke ing and T ade
e al., 1997). The quali y o he p o ided
se ice, as pe cei ed by he cus ome , has
an in ica e impac on cus ome sa is ac ion,
and is dependen on he homogenei y o he
se ice quali y (Pa asu aman, Zei haml, &
Be y, 1998; Rome o e al., 2015; Wang e al.,
2010). The objec i e o he se ice ope a ions
s anda diza ion is o sa is y as many cus ome s
as possible, while accommoda ing only a limi ed
numbe o cus ome needs, which is akin o
he mass p oduc ion o goods (Simonson &
Nowlis, 2000). Gilson e al. (2005) sugges
ha cus ome s may pe cei e employees,
ained o pe o m ope a ions based on he se
o s anda ds, as mo e knowledgeable, which,
in u n, should lead o he highe cus ome -
pe cei ed quali y o he se ice. Thus, due o
he high le el o in e ac ion wi h he cus ome s
du ing he se ice p oduc ion, s anda diza ion
o p ocesses could be especially ele an
he se ice employees.
The s anda diza ion o p ocesses
ha e led o he eme gence o he e m
“McDonaldiza ion” in he se ice indus ies
(Ri ze , 2011). The s anda dized p ocesses
p o ide an ad an age o p edic abili y and
consis ency o he se ice s anda d; hus,
deli e ing he same high le el o se ice
quali y and cus ome sa is ac ion du ing e e y
in e ac ion wi h he o ganiza ion (Ding & Keh,
2016; Hsieh & Hsieh, 2001). The echnological
ad ancemen s and in en ion o sel -se ice
echnologies has led o a highe le el o se ice
consis ency, especially in a el, hospi ali y,
banking and e ail indus ies (Le i , 1976). The
esea che s ha e demons a ed ha cus ome
sa is ac ion depends on he quali y o he
se ice; howe e , li le esea ch has been done
o add ess he ques ion o how s anda diza ion
o he se ice a ec s cus ome sa is ac ion.
The e is a disag eemen among schola s
ega ding he na u e o he ela ionship
be ween cus ome sa is ac ion and
s anda diza ion. Ope a ions esea ch and
p oduc ion managemen li e a u e sugges s
ha his ela ionship is posi i e (C osby, 1979;
Deming, 1993; Ju an, 1988). In hei esea ch
Müns e mann, Eckha d , e al. (2010) ound
ha s anda diza ion o he hi ing p ocess
deli e ed 30% cos educ ion. In economics
li e a u e, howe e , i is main ained ha an
inc eased cus ome ocus leads o he g ow h
o he p oduc ion cos s, lowe e iciency and
p oduc i i y (Ande son e al., 1997; Ha , 1995;
Wang e al., 2010). The esea che s Chiang
and Wu (2014) pos ula e ha s anda diza ion
o he se ice ope a ions leads o he inc ease
o cus ome o ien a ion among employees.
The e is also e idence o he posi i e impac
o p ocess s anda diza ion on job sa is ac ion
(Chiang & Wu, 2014; Hsieh & Hsieh, 2001).
Howe e , Rus , Je ey, Jianmin and Zaho ik
(1999) asse ha excessi e cus omiza ion
can be ha m ul o he e en ion o cus ome s.
Gilson e al. (2005) ha e simila indings: eams
wi h he s anda d p ocesses achie e highe
cus ome sa is ac ion, howe e , excessi e
s anda diza ion may educe employee c ea i i y
and p oblem sol ing skills, hus, esul ing in
educ ion o cus ome sa is ac ion. Building
on he p e ious esea ch we hypo hesize ha
s anda diza ion posi i ely in luences cus ome
sa is ac ion:
Hypo hesis 1 (H1): S anda diza ion has a
posi i e impac on cus ome sa is ac ion.
1.3 Fac o sIn luencingE ec i eness
o S anda diza ion and
Measu emen I em
The s anda diza ion–cus ome sa is ac ion
ela ionship is embedded wi hin he wide
o ganiza ional con ex , and, consequen ly,
is a ec ed by he he e ogeneous in e nal
and ex e nal ac o s (Duncan, 1972). In ou
esea ch we ollow p e ious s udies linking
s anda diza ion o cus ome sa is ac ion. We
conside s anda diza ion a pa o an ongoing
con inuous imp o emen p ocess wi hin he
o ganiza ion. Wi h his assump ion in mind,
we build u he hypo heses and p opose he
ollowing s a emen s ega ding s anda diza ion:
1) s anda diza ion is inhe en o con inuous
imp o emen ; 2) con inuous imp o emen has
a posi i e impac on cus ome sa is ac ion,
hus, s anda diza ion also posi i ely impac s
cus ome sa is ac ion; 3) he ela ionship
be ween s anda diza ion and cus ome
sa is ac ion can be impac ed by he ac o s, ha
a e p o en o os e con inuous imp o emen .
To e lec he complex ela ionship be ween
s anda diza ion and cus ome sa is ac ion, we
in oduce mul iple media o s, ollowing Shah
and Golds ein (2006). The e is a scan esea ch
ega ding ac o s ha in luence s anda diza ion
in he i ms. Since s anda diza ion is one o
he key elemen s o CI, in ou esea ch we
a gue ha he ac o s, in luencing CI, also ha e
impac on s anda diza ion. We d aw u he
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3, XXII, 2019
Ma ke ing and T ade
hypo heses based on he no ion o ela edness
o s anda diza ion o CI. The su ey i ems
we e con ex ualized om p io esea ch and
modi ied o applica ion in he se ices indus y.
To ope a ionalize he cons uc s, he sui able
measu emen s we e adap ed om he esea ch
li e a u e (see Appendix A). In line wi h he
li e a u e e iew we asked esea ch pa icipan s
o e alua e in luence o S anda diza ion on
imp o emen o cus ome sa is ac ion on he
1-5 Like - ype scale, whe e 1 is o S ongly
Disag ee and 5 o S ongly Ag ee. We conside
cus ome sa is ac ion as he majo indica o s
o ope a ional pe o mance based on Imai
(1986), Deming (1993); Bessan and F ancis
(1999); Anand e al. (2009). We adap he
S anda diza ion measu e om Deming (1993),
Kim, Kuma and Kuma (2012) as well as
Like (2006). Fig. 1 p o ides he model o he
hypo hesized ela ionships.
Employee Rewa ds and Recogni ion
Rewa ds and ecogni ion aid in educing
employee esis ance owa ds he changes,
associa ed wi h he p ocess s anda diza ion
and imp o emen p ojec s. When no ewa ded
app op ia ely, employees may sabo age he
imp o emen ini ia i e (Oláh, Szolnok, Nagy,
Lengyel, & Popp, 2017; T on oll, B own,
G emle , & Ed a dsson, 2011). A he same
ime, o ganiza ions ha ha e designed
employee ewa ds and ecogni ion sys ems ha
ensu e high le el o employee in ol emen and
pa icipa ion, epo be e esul s om p ocess
imp o emen (Hab oo , 2016; Yang, Lee, &
Cheng, 2014). In ou esea ch, we a gue ha
employee ewa ds and ecogni ion acili a e
p ocess s anda diza ion in he company.
Iden i ica ion o he p ocess s anda diza ion
oppo uni ies equi es e o s on he side o
employees, and app op ia e ewa ds sys em
will d i e employee mo i a ion owa ds highe
s anda diza ion.
Hypo hesis 2 (H2): E ec i e ecogni ion
and ewa d sys em ein o ces he posi i e
ela ionship be ween s anda diza ion and
cus ome sa is ac ion.
Quali y-O ien ed Cul u e
The quali y-o ien ed cul u e engages employees
a e e y le el by p omo ing sha ed alue o
cus ome ocus. Consequen ly, in an a emp
o deli e he se ice o p oduc o consis en ly
high quali y, o ganiza ions end o s anda dize
hei p ocesses. Resea che s acknowledge
he undamen al ole o he quali y-o ien ed
cul u e o e ec i eness o imp o emen
e o s (Cal o-Mo a, Picón, Ruiz, & Cauzo,
2013; Hab oo , 2016). Quali y cul u e di ec ly
in luences he le el o employee in ol emen
in p ocess imp o emen and s anda diza ion
(Tsi onis & Psychogios, 2016). Sophis ica ed
quali y cul u e se es as an in eg a ing ool o
o ganiza ions, and helps hem o o e come
implemen a ion ba ie s (De e , Sch oede , &
Mau iel, 2000; Dow, Samson, & Fo d, 1999;
P ajogo & B own, 2006). We concep ualize his
media o om De e e al. (2000); Bo olo i e
al. (2015); Jayan h and Xu (2016).
Hypo hesis 3 (H3): Quali y-o ien ed cul u e
posi i ely media es he ela ionship be ween
s anda diza ion and cus ome sa is ac ion.
Managemen Commi men
The managemen o he o ganiza ion should be
he d i ing o ce behind imp o emen ini ia i e
(Powell, 1995; Bessan & F ancis,1999; Bo olo i
e al., 2015; Hab oo , 2016). Leade ship can
demons a e i s commi men o he imp o emen
and s anda diza ion by p o iding esou ces
a he ope a ional le el and de ining s a egic
goals ha inco po a e p ocess imp o emen a
he o ganiza ional le el (Haikonen, Sa olainen,
& Jä inen, 2004). Managemen commi men
o p ocess imp o emen acili a es us in
leade ship among employees, which u he
os e s employee au onomy and p oac i e
p ocess imp o emen (Anand e al., 2009;
Ch omjako á, 2016). P ocess imp o emen
should in ol e employees om he shop loo
o he op-le el managemen in o de o be
e ec i e (Like & Mo gan, 2006). Leade ship
o he o ganiza ions should exempli y he
co e con inuous imp o emen alues and
ensu e ha he esou ces, equi ed o
p ocess imp o emen s and s anda diza ion
a e alloca ed; hus demons a ing commi men
o he imp o emen e o (Imai, 1986; Kaye &
Ande son, 1999). Acco dingly, we hypo hesize
ha high managemen commi men will lead o
he high le els o p ocess s anda diza ion.
Hypo hesis 4 (H4): Managemen commi -
men ein o ces he posi i e ela ionship be ween
s anda diza ion and cus ome sa is ac ion.
T aining and De elopmen o Employees
T aining o employees is a complex ac o
ha can be iewed as an educa ion on he
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190 2019, XXII, 3
Ma ke ing and T ade
job- ela ed skills o on he imp o emen
me hod. In he p oposed esea ch, we ake
he la e s ance and assess impac o he
aining on imp o emen me hodology on he
cus ome sa is ac ion and s anda diza ion.
The p e ious s udies la gely ocus on he job-
ela ed, a he han on speci ic imp o emen
me hodology aining (Pon , Fu lan, & Vinelli,
2009; Zeng, Phan, & Ma sui, 2013) and he e
is a gene al lack o he s udies on he impac
o he imp o emen me hodology aining on
he ope a ional pe o mance. Howe e , Polli
(2013) obse ed he ounda ional ole o aining
o he e ec i eness o imp o emen e o in
he o ganiza ion. Thus, we hypo hesize ha
aining in imp o emen echniques will acili a e
s anda diza ion in he company. We a gue
ha app op ia e aining equips employees
wi h he se o skills o iden i y s anda diza ion
oppo uni ies:
Hypo hesis 5 (H5): T aining and de elopmen
o employees ha e a posi i e impac on he
s anda diza ion-cus ome sa is ac ion ela ionship.
Goal Se ing and P ojec Managemen
The p ope selec ion and coo dina ion o
imp o emen p ojec s co esponding o he
s a egic goals can lead o an imp o ed
ope a ional e ec i eness (Choo, Linde man, &
Sch oede , 2007; Kaynak, 2003; Powell, 1995).
The de eloped sys em o he imp o emen
p ojec s, aligned wi h he s a egic goals o
he company, a e ca dinal o sus ainabili y o
he imp o emen ini ia i e beyond he ini ial
oll-ou (Anand e al., 2009; Cal o-Mo a e
al., 2013). Fo a long- e m e ec i eness
o imp o emen ini ia i e, he o ganiza ion
needs o igo ously selec p ojec s ha mee
cus ome s’ needs (Jääskeläinen, Laihonen, &
Lönnq is , 2014); o he wise, ailu e o adop
a cus ome - ocused app oach may lead o
de e io a ion o o ganiza ional pe o mance.
O ganiza ions ha iden i y p ojec s based
on hei impo ance o he s a egic p io i ies
a e mo e in eg a ed and able o o e come
unnecessa y complexi y (Galeazzo, Fu lan,
& Vinelli, 2016). Resea che s emphasize he
necessi y o a uni ied coo dina ion and goal
se ing o imp o emen ini ia i es and asce ain
posi i e impac o p ojec managemen on
e ec i eness o he imp o emen ini ia i e
(Gonzalez & Ma ins, 2016). Thus, we a gue
ha he o ganiza ions exe cising goal se ing
and p ojec managemen o imp o emen
ini ia i e would bene i om a highe le el o
p ocess s anda diza ion. We adap he media o
Goal Se ing and P ojec Managemen om
Galeazzo e al. (2016), Kaynak (2003), Sabella,
Kashou and Om an (2014).
Hypo hesis 6 (H6): Goal se ing and p ojec
managemen ein o ce he posi i e ela ionship
be ween s anda diza ion and cus ome sa is ac ion.
2. Me hodology – Da a Collec ion
and Sample
The da a was collec ed h ough he su ey
ins umen in ou coun ies: he Czech Republic,
Poland, Slo ak Republic and Hunga y ha o m
a Viseg ad Fou (V4) g oup. We used da abases
om he na ional in es men and de elopmen
agencies o iden i y ini ial con ac s in he se ice
companies (see ABSL, 2016; CzechIn es ,
2015; HIPA, 2015; PITA, 2015; SARIO, 2015),
and u he used snowballing echnique as well
as in o ma ion a ailable online o each wide
esea ch sample (Edmondson & McManus,
2007). To ga he da a om he se ice i ms
wi h su icien numbe o manage s, we
aimed a selec ing companies wi h mo e han
100 employees. Expe ience in con inuous
imp o emen o a ailabili y o es ablished
imp o emen p og am in he company was
ano he selec ion c i e ion. The i ms we e
solici ed o pa icipa ion by email, calling o
pe sonal isi when app op ia e.
To ensu e eliabili y and comp ehensi eness
o he su ey ins umen , we consul ed 2 acul y
membe s, 2 senio consul an s as well as
4 con inuous imp o emen manage s. Upon
ecei ing mani old eedback, he ins umen was
modi ied p io o la ge-scale s udy. As a inal s ep
in p epa a ion o he su ey, we conduc ed a pilo
s udy on wen y- wo companies o con i m he
easibili y o selec ed app oach and ins umen
(Dillman, Smy h, & Ch is ian, 2014). A cus om
web-su ey ha gene a ed and sen a unique link
o he esponden s was used o da a collec ion.
Cus omized online su ey ensu ed secu i y and
p i acy o he esea ch pa icipan s (Dillman
e al., 2014). To ensu e eliabili y o he esul s
and o a oid bias, we aimed a collec ing mul iple
esponses om op manage s, eam leade s
and on -line employees a he pa icipa ing
(Woodside, 2016). We applied a pessimis ic
app oach o agg ega e da a a he company le el
h ough sub ac ion o he minimum alues om
he esponses in each case (Has ie, Tibshi ani,
& F iedman, 2001). The inal esponse a e
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191
3, XXII, 2019
Ma ke ing and T ade
accoun ed o 62%. The sample consis s o 304
companies ha p o ide a wide spec um o
se ices: inance, accoun ing, human esou ces,
logis ics, in o ma ion echnology (including
sys ems suppo ), cus ome suppo and
p ocu emen . Since Viseg ad g oup expe ienced
economic ansi ion and inc eased pa icipa ion
in he in e na ional se ices ade (OECD,
2015), we expec a p onounced a iabili y in
he CI pe o mance and p ac ices (Sch oede &
Flynn, 2001; Zeng e al., 2013). Tab. 1 p o ides
an o e iew o he pa icipa ing companies.
3. Resul s
To clea ly asce ain he e ec o media o s on
he ou come a iable (Cus ome Sa is ac ion),
he media ing a iables and hei espec i e
bes esponses we e u he analyzed. O e
58.1% o he esponden s epo o ha e an
e ec i e ecogni ion and ewa d sys ems, 67.3%
ha e a co po a e cul u e o ien ed on quali y,
64.9% ha e commi men o managemen o
he imp o emen ini ia i e, 30.6% deli e p ope
aining and lea ning o p ojec pa icipan s and
87% se clea goals o imp o emen o p og am.
3.1 Reliabili y Tes
The eliabili y analysis was ca ied ou using
C onbach Alpha o iden i y he ela ionship
be ween i ems and he le el o in e nal
consis ency. C onbach’s coe icien α alues o
mo e han 0.7 we e conside ed o be consis en
and eliable. The highe he alue o C onbach’s
coe icien α o he close alpha is o 1.0, he
highe he eliabili y o he measu emen i em.
As indica ed in Tab. 2, he C onbach’s alpha
alue o he s anda diza ion cons uc was
0.898 and 0.798 o he media o s. The alues
eco ded o all he cons uc s signi y a e y
s ong in e nal consis ency measu emen
componen s and he eliabili y o u he
analysis gua an eed.
3.2 Explo a o y Fac o Analysis
Explo a o y Fac o Analysis (EFA) was pe o med
on he da a o condense and summa ize da a
Se ices b anch Czech
Republic
Slo ak
Republic Hunga y Poland
Finance 17 6 12 14
Accoun ing 16 5 15 15
Human Resou ces 12 5 9 14
Logis ics 10 3 7 17
In o ma ion Technology 15 5 10 15
Cus ome Suppo 18 5 19 13
P ocu emen 9 3 7 8
To al 97 32 79 96
% o basic sample 54% 53% 72% 12%
Sou ce: own based on ABSL CZ (2016), HIPA (2015), PITA (2015), SARIO (2015)
Tab. 1: Demog aphics o pa icipa ing companies
Cons uc C onbach’s Alpha
(α)
C onbach’s Alpha Based
on S anda dized I ems N o I ems
S anda diza ion 0.898 0.900 4
Media o s 0.798 0.899 5
Sou ce: own
Tab. 2: Reliabili y s a is ics
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192 2019, XXII, 3
Ma ke ing and T ade
in o smalle componen s. The use o EFA u he
e ealed he con e gence le el o i ems. The EFA
assis ed in hypo hesizing concep s in he ini ial
analysis. Acco ding o Hai , Ta ham, Ande son,
and Black (1998), ac o loadings g ea e han
0.30 a e signi ican , 0.40 a e impo an while
0.50 o mo e a e e y signi ican . Also by ule
o humb, ac o loadings o 0.50 o g ea e a e
conside ed e y signi ican o be used o u he
analysis. This pape adop ed ac o loadings
o 0.50 o g ea e o be e y signi ican and
u he applied he 0.50 ac o loading in he
Pa h analysis o he hypo heses. P io o he
ac o analysis, an ap io i analysis based on
he P incipal Componen Analysis (PCA) was
ca ied ou o de e mine he sui abili y o ac o
analysis on he da a using he Kaise -Meye -
Olkin (KMO) Measu e o Sampling Adequacy
and he Ba le ’s Tes o Sphe ici y. As indica ed
in Tab. 3, he Ba le ’s Tes o Sphe ici y is
s a is ically signi ican a a P = 0.00, a KMO
o 0.778 and a co ela ion ma ix p oducing
co ela ions o 0.30 o abo e be ween a iables.
The PCA was adap ed o p oduce he
eigen alues in he ac o loadings able.
Eigen alues o a leas 1 we e highly e ained.
Howe e , o he ini ial alues close o one
we e also conside ed, since he measu emen
a iables a e ew. Th ee measu emen i ems
in s anda diza ion accoun o 90.881% o
o al a iance and wo media ing a iables
accoun ed o 70.33% o o al a iance as
indica ed in Tab. 3. Fo con e gen and
disc iminan alidi y, he cons uc s/dimensions
sa is ied p io equi emen s wi h ac o loadings
g ea e han 0.50.
3.3 Con i ma o yFac o AnalysisUsing
S uc u al Equa ion Models (SEM)
To espond o he hypo hesis, i s he
di ec impac o s anda diza ion on CS was
assessed. Then media ion a iables such as
ewa ds, quali y-o ien ed cul u e, managemen
commi men , aining and goal se ing we e
in oduced o asce ain he impac o such
media o s on he ou comes wi h he e ec
Componen
Ini ial Eigen alues Ex ac ion Sums o Squa ed
Loadings
To al %
o Va iance
Cumula i e
%To al %
o Va iance
Cumula i e
%
S anda diza ion
A1 1.809 47.324 57.324 1.809 47.324 47.324
A2 1.454 22.003 69.327 1.454 22.003 69.327
A3 1.001 21.554 90.881 1.001 21.554 90.881
A4 .866 9.119 100.00
Media o s
C1 1.56 44.18 44.18 1.56 44.18 44.18
C2 1.03 26.15 70.33 1.03 26.15 70.33
C3 .75 15.75 86.08
C4 .70 13.92 100.00
KMO and Ba le ’s Tes
Kaise -Meye -Olkin Measu e o Sampling Adequacy .778
Ba le ’s Tes o Sphe ici y App ox. Chi-Squa e 2,278.132
d . 92
Sig. .000
Sou ce: own
No e: Ex ac ion me hod: P incipal Componen Analysis.
Tab. 3: To al a iance explained
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3, XXII, 2019
Ma ke ing and T ade
on he La en Va iable (see Appendix A).
Co ela ions we e de e mined o analyze he
s eng h o ela ionship be ween he a iables.
F om Tab. 4, h ee measu emen i ems o
s anda diza ion signi ican ly ela e o he
ou come a iable o cus ome sa is ac ion.
The model gene a ed o espond o he
hypo heses was e alua ed o alida e he
in e nal consis ency eliabili y, con e gen
alidi y and disc iminan alidi y. The A e age
Va iance Ex ac ed (AVE) was used o alida e
he con e gen alidi y o he la en a iable
in he model. I can be obse ed in Tab. 5
ha all he measu emen i ems a e abo e he
h eshold o 0.5 as by ule o humb. The squa e
oo o AVE, using he Fo nell-Lacke C i e ion
Disc iminan Validi y Tes , has high diagonal
esul s o 0.722. This con i ms he disc iminan
alidi y o he model.
3.4 Tes ing Impac o Media o s
on S anda diza ion-Cus ome
Sa is ac ion Rela ionship
Cus ome sa is ac ion is dependen on a lo
o a iables. Companies may misapp op ia e
ce ain condi ions o cus ome sa is ac ion
wi hou ca e ully aligning a iables o in luence.
This pape u he assessed he pa ame e s
closely associa ed wi h cus ome sa is ac ion
by de eloping six hypo heses. The model in
Fig. 1, and he esul s deplo ed in Tab. 6 p esen
he pic o ial indings. Using he s anda diza ion
la en a iables wi h media o s applied,
he model in Fig. 1 inco po a es Cus ome
sa is ac ion as he ou pu a iable. The model
is highly i o be analyzed and deployed in
p ac ical se ings. A ca e ul analyses o he
i indices in Tab. 6 indica e ha chi-squa e
is no signi ican a a es s a is ic o 0.05,
RMSEA < 0.05 and CFI is 0.971. F om Tab. 6
and Fig. 2, H3 and H6 a e he hypo heses no
suppo ed in he analysis. The g ea e he le el
o s anda diza ion in a company, he highe he
posi i e impac on CS. This esul is suppo ed
by a 99.974% o accu acy, 0.000 P- alue and a
T-s a is ic o abo e 2.
Fo CS o be enhanced, ewa ds and
ecogni ion o employees in ol ed in
s anda diza ion mus be in place, which is
con i med by he esul o he second hypo hesis
wi h a p- alue o 0.011. The o he measu emen
indices a o he conclusion d awn o
hypo hesis 2. The commi men o managemen
La en Va iable S anda diza ion
A1 A2 A3 A4
Cus ome Sa is ac ion 0.459** 0.384** 0.223* −0.411
P-Value 0.000 0.003 0.000 0.103
Sou ce: own
No e: **, * Co ela ion is signi ican a 0.01 and 0.05 le els ( wo ailed), espec i ely.
La en
Va iable Symbols
Boo s apped
T-Value
(loadings)
Loadings Composi e
Reliabili y
C onbach’s
Alpha AVE
S anda diza ion A1 3.657 0.792 0.850 0.750 0.587
A2 3.302 0.696
A3 4.500 0.822
A4 3.046 0.676
Sou ce: own
Tab. 4: Co ela ions o la en a iable and ou come
Tab. 5: Quali y c i e ia
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194 2019, XXII, 3
Ma ke ing and T ade
Fig. 1: Model wi h media o s o cus ome sa is ac ion
Sou ce: own
Hypo hesis Model Pa h Coe icien P-Value S.E. T-S a is ic Ou come
H1 S anda diza ion → CS 0.740 0.000 0.026 3.913 Suppo ed
H2 S anda diza ion →
Rewa ds →CS 0.243 0.011 0.000 2.442 Suppo ed
H3 S anda diza ion →
Quali y cul u e →CS −0.021 0.881 0.143 2.113 No Suppo ed
H4 S anda diza ion
→ managemen
commi men →CS
0.153 0.001 0.016 3.318 Suppo ed
H5 S anda diza ion →
employee aining →CS 0.093 0.021 0.052 3.854 Suppo ed
H6 S anda diza ion → Goal
se ing and P ojec
Managemen →CS
0.347 0.057 0.033 3.616 No Suppo ed
Chi2 = 733.726
P > chi2 = 0.058
R2 = 0.980
RMSEA = 0.034
d = 304
CFI = 0.971
Sou ce: own
Tab. 6: Hypo heses e alua ion and i indices o Cus ome Sa is ac ion (CS)
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201
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Ma ke ing and T ade
Zeng, J., Phan, C. A., & Ma sui, Y. (2013).
Supply chain quali y managemen p ac ices and
pe o mance: An empi ical s udy. Ope a ions
Managemen Resea ch, 6(1-2), 19-31. h ps://
doi.o g/10.1007/s12063-012-0074-x.
Zome dijk, L. G., & de V ies, J. (2007).
S uc u ing on o ice and back o ice wo k
in se ice deli e y sys ems – An empi ical
s udy o h ee design decisions. In e na ional
Jou nal o Ope a ions & P oduc ion
Managemen , 27(1), 108-131. h ps://doi.
o g/10.1108/01443570710714565.
Ing. Oksana Ko al, Ph.D.
Tomas Ba a Uni e si y in Zlin
Facul y o Managemen and Economics
Depa men o Indus ial Enginee ing
and In o ma ion Sys ems
Czech Republic
[email p o ec ed]
Ing. S ephen Naba eseh, Ph.D.
Tomas Ba a Uni e si y in Zlin
Facul y o Managemen and Economics
Depa men o S a is ics and Quan i a i e Me hods
Czech Republic
[email p o ec ed]
p o . Ing. Felici a Ch omjako á, Ph.D.
Tomas Ba a Uni e si y in Zlin
Facul y o Managemen and Economics
Depa men o Indus ial Enginee ing
and In o ma ion Sys ems
Czech Republic
[email p o ec ed]
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202 2019, XXII, 3
Ma ke ing and T ade
Measu emen
I em
I em
Code I em Desc ip ion Suppo ing Re e ences
Independen Va iable
S anda diza ion A1 We usually de elop s anda d
ope a ing p ocedu es o all
p ocesses.
Peng, Sch oede , & Shah, 2008;
Pon e al., 2009; Taylo , Taylo , &
McSweeney, 2013; Ungan, 2006
A2 We end o s anda dize
p ocesses be ween se ed
clien s.
Anand e al., 2009; Gonzalez &
Ma ins, 2016; Like & Mo gan, 2006
A3 We usually use Bes P ac ices as
an example o ollow and change
o he p ocesses acco dingly.
Chak a o y, 2009; Kaye & Ande son,
1999; Sabella e al., 2014
A4 We end o s anda dize
p ocesses be ween se ed
coun ies.
Deming, 1993; Kim e al., 2012; Like &
Mo gan, 2006; Powell, 1995; Swa ling
& Olausson, 2011
Media o s
Employee
Rewa ds and
Recogni ion
C1 Ou company has es ablished an
e ec i e ecogni ion and ewa d
sys em o s imula e employee
pa icipa ion in Con inuous
Imp o emen .
Bessan & F ancis, 1999; Deming,
1993; Dow e al., 1999; Nai , Malho a,
& Ahi e, 2011; Yang e al., 2014
Quali y Cul u e C2 Ou company has a s ong
co po a e cul u e o ien ed on
quali y and suppo s associa ed
cul u al changes.
Bo olo i e al., 2015; Cal o-Mo a e
al., 2013; Dow e al., 1999; Gonzalez &
Ma ins, 2016; Hab oo , 2016; Jayan h
& Xu, 2016; Sabella e al., 2014
Managemen
Commi men
C3 Managemen
o he company shows a s ong
commi men o CI h ough
egula communica ion abou CI,
pa icipa ion in he imp o emen
e en s and isible suppo
o he CI p og am.
Anand, Chhajed, & Del in, 2012;
Bo olo i e al., 2015; Cal o-Mo a e al.,
2013; Hab oo , 2016; Nai e al., 2011;
Powell, 1995; Samson & Te zio ski,
1999
T aining and
de elopmen
C4 Ou company ensu es ha
employees, pa icipa ing in CI
p ojec s, ecei ed p ope aining
and lea ning oppo uni ies.
Bo olo i e al., 2015; Dow e al., 1999;
Hab oo , 2016; Jayan h & Xu, 2016;
Laux, Johnson, & Cada, 2015; Pon e
al., 2009; Yang e al., 2014; Zeng e
al., 2013
Goal Se ing
and P ojec
Managemen
C5 Ou company se s goals and
imp o emen p ojec s ha ocus
on cus ome needs.
Anand e al., 2009; Cal o-Mo a e al.,
2013; Galeazzo e al., 2016; Kaynak,
2003; Sabella e al., 2014
Ou come Va iable
Cus ome
Sa is ac ion
D2 We ha e imp o ed cus ome
sa is ac ion h ough con inuous
imp o emen p ojec s in ou
company.
Ande son e al., 1995; Deming, 1993;
Imai, 1986; Jayan h & Xu, 2016; Pie cy
& Rich, 2009
Sou ce: own
No e: All i ems use i e-poin Like - ype scales, whe e 1 = s ongly disag ee and 5 = s ongly ag ee.
Appendix A: Measu emen i em o SEM models
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Ma ke ing and T ade
Abs ac
sTanda dizaTion in se ices: assessing The impacT on cusTome
saTis acTion
Oksana Ko al, S ephen Naba eseh, Felici a Ch omjako á
To achie e high compe i i eness, he companies need o sa is y a ying cus ome needs.
The changing na u e o cus ome p e e ences leads o he inc eased complexi y o he p ocesses
in se ice companies. In o de o deli e he se ices o he high quali y a he accep ed cos s, he
companies eso o he p ocess s anda diza ion. Howe e , excessi e p ocess s anda diza ion may
lead o company’s inabili y o ca e o he di e en cus ome needs, and hinde i m compe i i eness
o e ime. The goal o he p esen s udy, hus, is o e alua e he impac o s anda diza ion on
cus ome sa is ac ion, and iden i y ac o s ha can u he os e his ela ionship. We iden i y he
ac o s ha impac he s anda diza ion-cus ome sa is ac ion ela ionship h ough explo a o y and
con i ma o y ac o analysis, and hen pe o m a s uc u al equa ion model linking s anda diza ion o
cus ome sa is ac ion in he sys em o mul iple media ing ac o s. The analysis o 304 i ms e eals
he posi i e impac o s anda diza ion on cus ome sa is ac ion. We u he e alua e he e ec o
employee ewa ds and ecogni ion sys em, quali y-o ien ed cul u e, managemen commi men ,
aining and de elopmen as well as goal se ing and p ojec managemen on s anda diza ion-
cus ome sa is ac ion ela ionship. The analysis e eals he iad o he ac o s ha a e ca dinal o
imp o emen o cus ome sa is ac ion h ough s anda diza ion: aining on imp o emen me hods,
ewa ds and ecogni ion o employees o s imula e hei pa icipa ion in imp o emen ini ia i es,
as well as managemen commi men . Fu he analysis e eals ce ain egional di e ences in he
p e ailing ac o s con ibu ing o s anda diza ion ac oss s udied coun ies. The s udy con ibu es o
he sca ce ield o knowledge o s anda diza ion applica ion in se ices domain as well as p o ide
di ec ions o he u he schola ly wo k in he ield o p ocess imp o emen and s anda diza ion
as well as guidelines o he p ac i ione s conduc ing p ocess imp o emen in hei o ganiza ions.
Key Wo ds: S anda diza ion, cus ome sa is ac ion, con inuous imp o emen , S uc u al
Equa ion Modeling (SEM).
JEL Classi ica ion: L8, L12, O33.
DOI: 10.15240/ ul/001/2019-3-012
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