Maximizing service efficiency: Service culture within the retail supply chain

It is becoming increasingly important to research the impact of exchange based on service rather than the exchange of goods alone as a competitive advantage for organizations. Research in retailing has examined the importance of customers' expectations of service as key to retailer longevity. Conversely, research in supply chain management has examined the importance of service quality from the logistics functions between interorganizational partners. Both disciplines agree that the retailer is one of the most critical components in the supply chain as it is typically the final interface with the end customer. The purpose of this research is to examine the importance of both traditional business to consumer competencies and logistics service competencies from the retailer's perspective. The result is better understanding of service culture for the retailer. The development of a retailer service culture encompasses service from both the business to consumer and the business to business perspective, as service culture extends across organizational boundaries within traditional channels. A pilot study was conducted to verify the service culture construct and to assess the nomological validity of the proposed antecedents and consequences of service culture. The results of the pilot study indicate support for a unidimensional measure of service culture. A second study was conducted with key decision makers in various retail positions across the United States to test the conceptual model. The results demonstrate that customer orientation and relationship quality are key influencing factors for the development of service culture. Furthermore, service culture is positively related to increases in market performance and customers' perceptions of quality for the retailer.