The Impact of Synchronicity and Contiguity on the Customer Service-Encounter
Process
Leonce Newby, Tony Ward, Central Queensland University
Abstract
This conceptual paper addresses the various ‘states’ that a customer goes through during the
cyclical purchasing process in a consumer setting. Previous work from a face-to- face service
encounter scenario (that is, synchronous and contiguous) is modified to address the
purchasing process using the internet. The paper presents a five-phase model specifically for
an internet purchase and identifies the main customer variables for each of the five states. The
face-to-face encounter scenario is modified to account for the asynchronous and noncontiguous nature of an internet purchase, thus providing theorists and practitioners with a
new model for evaluation of the process that a customer goes through when purchasing on the
internet.
Introduction
Marketing is widely accepted as a process whereby a customer receives a good or service
product from a provider in exchange for something of value. A role theory perspective
suggests that exchange interactions between customer and service provider occur in a dyadic
customer/provider service encounter (Solomon, Surprenant, Czepiel and Gutman, 1985). The
dyadic service encounter provides the context in which customer interaction occurs so it is
important to consider the dimensions of the service encounter to reach an understanding of all
the antecedents influencing the interaction occurring in the encounter (Chandon, Leo and
Philippe 1997). Two significant factors that impact on the exchange interaction have been
identified as time (synchronicity) and customer/provider juxtaposition (contiguity) (Ward and
Hafey, 2003). However, the effect of variations in synchronicity and contiguity on an
exchange encounter has not been widely considered.
Since service encounter research has been extensively undertaken for some time a conceptual
analysis, informed by cognitive constructivism theory (Talja, Tuominen and Savolainen
2005), of the extant service encounter literature was previously undertaken which resulted in
the development of a comprehensive antecedent classification model of the face-to-face
cyclical service encounter (Ward and Newby, 2006). The model contained five parts in order
to examine the five phases of an encounter:
·
·
·
·
·
Phase 1: The Pre-Encounter State (PrES);
Phase 2: Service Encounter (SE);
Phase 3: Post-Encounter Evaluation (PEV);
Phase 4: Post-Encounter State (PES) and
Phase 5: Post-Encounter Behaviour (PEB).
The antecedents impacting on the interaction in an encounter have been identified in the
model to allow appreciation of the possible sources of discord between the customer/provider
actors. Recognition of sources of potential differences allows marketers to come to ‘a deeper
3415
understanding of customer relationships’ (Roos 2002, p. 193). The model’s holistic approach
provides insight for customer service managers and staff by showing them different aspects of
each phase of the cyclical process.
Traditionally, most service encounters have taken place in a personal selling (face-to- face)
context. However, interaction may also occur through advertising, sales promotion, public
relations, and direct marketing. The different tools used to promote the customer/provider
exchange interaction vary in the amount of customer/provider synchronicity and contiguity
that they utilize. Figure 1 positions commonly used promotional tools on the basis of the
degree with which they require synchronous marketing and contiguous marketing to achieve
their purpose. The model demonstrates that these tools fall into four groups. These groups
indicate that potentially there may be four different types of cyclical service encounters.
FIGURE 1 - Model of synchronous and contiguous states
Contiguous
marketing
Synchronous/
Contiguous
(Personal selling)
Asynchronous/
Contiguous
(Advertising;
Sales promotion)
Asynchronous
marketing
Synchronous
Marketing
Asynchronous/
Non-Contiguous
(Public relations)
Synchronous/
Non-Contiguous
(Internet, mail
and telephone
direct marketing)
Non-contiguous
marketing
The significance of the time and service setting variables, synchronous/contiguous marketing,
in the personal selling or face-to- face type of encounter, was acknowledged in the cyclical
service encounter exchange models developed by Ward and Newby (Ward and Newby 2004;
Newby and Ward 2005; Ward and Newby 2006). However, the impact of variations in the
synchronous/contiguous dynamic has not been examined in relation to the other types of
service encounter exchanges identified in Figure 1. Advertising and sales promotions do not
require the customer and provider to be present at the same time to be effective, though these
types of provider promotional efforts must occur in the vicinity of the customer for the
customer to benefit from them. Public relations can take place at different time periods for the
customer and provider and does not necessarily require the provider and customer being in
the same place. Synchronous/non-contiguous marketing takes place during the use of
Internet, mail and telephone marketing: these tools allow marketers to ‘communicate with
their customers in real-time’ (Kotler, Armstrong, Brown and Adam 1998, p. 532) but the
marketer is not required to be in the same place as the customer for interaction to occur. With
such variations in the time/place dynamic, the effect of this dynamic on different types of
service encounters calls for consideration since it has been established that excellent quality
interactions in customer service encounters contribute significantly to a service organisation’s
3416
competitive advantage (Zeithaml and Bitner, 1996). In this paper the cyclical model will be
examined in its application to Internet service encounters.
Internet service encounters
In the last decade, technology has had a remarkable influence on the growth of service
delivery options (Dabholkar and Bagozzi, 2002) and a profound effect on services marketing
(Bitner, Brown and Meuter, 2000). In order to remain competitive, retailers are increasing
their technology-based service options (Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons, 1997) with retailers
adopting technology to deliver their services. The adoption of this technology has resulted in
reduced costs, the creation of value added services for customers (Zhu, Jr and Chen, 2002),
facilitated their employees’ jobs, and provided self-service options for customers (Dabholkar
and Bagozzi, 2002). Technology-based services can provide a good opportunity for
organisations to provide new models for service design strategies and develop new service
products (Henderson, McGoldrick and McAdam, 2003).
It is important to define technology-based services. A review of the current conceptualisation
of technology-based service revealed that general automated service definitions included
specific reference to the internet, but they negated the inclusion of other important automated
service types, such as telephone service and automated service delivery outlets. In this
research the internet is the sole focus. Thus the following definition was adopted: ‘interactive,
content-centred and internet-based customer service, driven by the customer and integrated
with related organisational customer support processes and technologies’, adapted from
Ruyter, Wetzels and Kleijnen (2001, p.186). Adoption of this definition is supported by the
concept that a web-based service is delivered through the internet whereby the customer’s
interaction or contact with the organisation was limited to the information and communication
technology itself (Surjadjaja, Ghosh and Antony, 2003) and other definitions which refer to
web sites-based customer service (Surjadjaja, Ghosh and Antony, 2003; Parasuraman,
Zeithaml and Malhotra, 2005).
By positioning specific empirical research findings relating to internet synchronicity and
contiguity in the broader context of the encounter, the model has the potential to assist both
theorists and practitioners.
The cyclical process
The face-to-face model of the customer service-encounter cyclical process in a consumer
context has five phases:
Phase 1 – Pre-Encounter State (CPrES) Both primary actors involved in the encounter will
enter the Pre-Encounter State with a combinations of their persona and past experiences.
Phase 2 – Service Encounter (SE) The service encounter comprises the interaction between
the customer and service provider.
P h a s e 3 – P o s t -Encounter eValuation (PEV) The post-encounter evaluation (PEV)
incorporates the feelings, emotions and attitudes held by the customer after the encounter.
Phase 4 - Post-Encounter State (CPES) The customer’s post-encounter state (CPES) will
result from the evaluation phase and the customer will emerge in a different state to that prior
to the encounter with respect to the service provider organisation.
Phase 5 - Post-Encounter Behaviour (PEB) In addition to the ever-present persona, six
main areas have been identified that are related to the customer’s post encounter behaviour
(CPEB) consisting of: the customer’s post-encounter state; repeat purchase behaviour; word-
3417
of- mouth; search for alternative supplier/product; switching behaviour; complaining
behaviour and feedback to the supplier; and, the effect of new promotions activities (Ward
and Newby 2006).
An examination of the variables identified for each of these five phases shows that many are
specific to the face-to- face encounter, and would be different for other combinations of
synchronicity and congruity. Of specific interest to this paper is the case of marketing using
the internet. The internet was chosen as it is a major emergent channel of distribution, it is
relatively new (compared to other channels) and it involves a completely new approach to
marketing.
Research question: What changes need to be made to the service encounter holistic
cyclical model to make it applicable to internet marketing?
The Internet Service Encounter Interaction Model
The model (Ward and Newby 2006) shows the main variables for both customer and service
provider in each of the five phases. For this paper as the service provider is ‘replaced’ by a
computer, only the customer variables will be addressed, though note will be taken of how the
different ‘service provider’ impacts on the customer. Figure 2 shows the customers PreEncounter State (PrES) for the internet scenario which is the same as for a face-to-face
encounter. While the same five variables impact on the Customers PrES, the nature of
‘persona’ and ‘mood and emotions’ will be reduced due to the prospect of lack of direct faceto-face contact with a service provider.
FIGURE 2 - Phase 1: Pre-Encounter State
(PrES)
FIGURE 3 - Service Encounter (SE)
C Persona
Expectations
C Pr E S
Prior product
Service Setting
C Persona
knowledge/cognition
Mood and emotions
Customer’s
PreEncounter
State
Time
Customer’s
encounter
state
Emotions
Promotions activities
Product Knowledge
Figure 3 shows the Service Encounter, which in this case is neither synchronous nor
contiguous. Two items from the face-to-face case are removed, namely the ‘service provider’
and ‘other customers’. Again, the impact of persona will be reduced, and the ‘emotions and
interaction’ variable is modified to just ‘emotions’ as there will be no interactions with
people.
3418
Figure 4 shows the modified Post-Encounter evaluation for the customer. The same variables
are all retained in this case as the experience of the ‘purchase process’ although different in
nature, will still apply, as will ‘product usage’, whether or not the ‘needs and wants’ are
satisfied, and the ‘quality of the customer service and the product’.
FIGURE 4 –Post-Encounter eValuation (PEV)
SE
C Persona
Purchase process
Product usage
Needs and wants met
Customer’s
postencounter
evaluation
Quality CSQ &Product
The Post- Encounter State (PES) and Post-Encounter Behaviour phases will both retain the
same variables, although each will be affected differently due to the nature of the purchase
process, and they are shown in figure 5.
FIGURE 5 –Post-Encounter State (PES)
C P EV
FIGURE 6 –Post-Encounter Behaviour
C Persona
Relationship strength
C Persona
Repeat purchase
Satisfaction
Perceptions of supplier
CPES
Customer’s
postencounter
state
W-O-M referrals
Search for new
supplier/product
Loyalty
Complaining
behaviour
Customer’s
postencounter
behaviour
New promotions
activities
Discussion
The models above provide a guide for both theory and practise that have been specifically
tailored for the internet purchase scenario. Of special interest is that the synchronous/
contiguous and this internet scenario both have the same variables in the final phase, postencounter behaviour. Thus, in terms of these most important ‘outcome variables’ from the
purchasing process, customers will evaluate their experience in a very similar manner.
3419
A limitation of the paper is that there is insufficient space to allow a detailed description of
how each variable in each model impacts on each state and subsequent state. This issue
requires further research in the future.
3420
Reference list
Bitner, M., Brown, S., Meuter, M., 2000. Technology infusion in service encounters, Journal
of the Academy of Marketing Science, 28(1), 138-149.
Chandon, J-L., Leo, P-Y., Philippe, J., 1997. Service encounter dimensions – A dyadic
perspective: Measuring the dimensions of service encounters as perceived by customers and
personnel, International Journal of Service Industry Management, 8 (1), 65-86.
Dabholkar, P., Bagozzi, R., 2002. An attitudinal model of technology-based self-service:
Moderating effects of consumer traits and situational factors, Journal of the Academy of
Marketing Science, 30(3), 184-201.
Fitzsimmons, J., Fitzsimmons, M., 1997. Service management: operations strategy, and
information technology. Irwin and McGraw-Hill, New York.
Henderson, J., McGoldrick, E. and McAdam, R., 2003. A critical review of e-service in
Northern Ireland Electricity, Managing Service Quality, 13(6), 463-470.
Kotler, P. Armstrong, G. Brown, L., Adam, S., 1998. Marketing. 4th edn Prentice Hall,
Australia.
Newby, L. and Ward, T., 2005. The service provider’s service encounter holistic cyclical
model, ANZMAC 2005 Proceedings, Freemantle, Western Australia.
Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V., Malhotra, A., 2005. E-S-QUAL: A multiple- item scale for
assessing electronic service quality, Journal of Service Research, 7(3), 213-234.
Roos, I., 2002. Methods of investigating critical incidents: A comparative review, Journal of
Service Research, 4 (3), 193-205.
Ruyter, K., Wetzels, M., Kleijnen, M., 2001. Customer adoption of e-service: an experimental
study, International Journal of Service Industry Management, 12(2), 184-207.
Solomon, M., Surprenant, C., Czepiel, J.and Gutman, E., 1985. The role theory perspective on
dyadic interactions: The service encounter, Journal of Marketing, 49 (1), 99-112.
Surjadjaja, H., Ghosh, S., Antony, J., 2003. Determining and assessing the determinants of eservice operations, Managing Service Quality, 13(1), 39-53.
Talja, S., Tuominen, K., Savolainen, R., 2005. “Isms” in information science:Constructivism,
collectivism and constructionism, Journal of Documentation, 61(1), 79-101.
Ward, T., Hafey, N., 2003. Taxonomy of customer service encounters, ANZMAC
Proceedings, Adelaide.
Ward, T., Newby, L., 2004. . The customer service-encounter cyclical process and its impact
on the customer, ANZMAC 2004 Proceedings. Wellington, New Zealand
3421
Ward, T., Newby, L., 2006. Service encounter interaction model, ACR 2006 Proceedings.
Sydney, Australia.
Zeithaml, V., Bitner, M., 1996. Services marketing, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY.
Zhu, F., Jr, W., Chen, I., 2002. IT-based services and service quality in consumer banking,
International Journal of Service Industry Management, 13(1), 69-90.
3422