Fluent Essays

Construct a research method to test research questions. Develop or identify quantitative research instruments. ASSIGNMENT: Writing the research methods chapter of a dissertation proposal Construct a research method to test research questions. Develop or identify quantitative research instruments. Instructions: You need to combine the below three papers and write a consolidated paper using the three dissertations. The primary focus is of the paper is to measure if there are differences existed between Indian rural and urban Engineering graduates with respect to technologies and career interests in their field of study on the Strong interest Inventory . You are expected to majorly focus on the paper and bring, your thoughts similar to the ideas presented in the paper attached –(RURAL-URBAN STUDENT DIFFERENCES ON THE STRONG INTEREST INVENTORY FOR A CAREER COUNSELING CENTER SAMPLE) These sections may vary, but in general this information should be presented in the below format you should cover similar information. This assignment should be submitted in Word with APA as appropriate. Use the APA style for citations and references. Include all citations and the reference section. . As thoroughly as possible will write the following four sections of the research design and methodology chapter. Quantitative Analysis Introduction Research Purpose and Questions Participants Materials and Procedures Data collection Data analysis Instrument(s) [for each instrument] Scoring Validity and Reliability Summary Please use these tree papers and write the paper , expecting a paper of 8 pages excluding title and references The primary focus is of the paper is to measure if there are differences existed between Indian rural and urban Engineering graduates with respect to technologies and career interests in their field of study on the Strong interest Inventory .   3 Attachments Technological entrepreneurship in India Pamela Meil Institute for Social Science Research, Munich, Germany, and Hal Salzman E.J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA Abstract Purpose – Is the rise of the Indian software industry simply another Asian state-dominated industrial growth story or is India distinctive, an economy where small technology entrepreneurs also find niches for development and can be drivers of innovation? Research has focused on the large integrated Indian and international service providers. This study examines the opportunity for growth among smaller innovative technology entrepreneurial firms. Two areas of inquiry are: What factors have been responsible for spurring growth in the Indian IT industry? What type of work is being carried out at Indian firms and is this profile changing? This paper aims to examine the emergence of technology entrepreneurs, particularly in terms of their links to multinational firms and their role and position in global value chains. The paper takes a multi-level approach to understanding development trajectories in the IT sector in India: a global value chain approach to the extent that company processes are seen in their larger networked context across organizations and an institutional approach in terms of state policies that influence the creation of infrastructure that, in turn, shapes organizational development trajectories. Additionally, it examines the role of the various actors within IT sector organizations – the workers, the managers and, in the case of the small companies in our sample, the owners – on the outcome of growth trajectories in the Indian IT sector. We find that the various levels of change and policy all contribute to the outcome in company trajectories: the dominance of multinational enterprises on the market, the entrepreneurial vision and survival strategies of returned technology expatriates, and the changing policies of the government in promoting indigenous business. Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative research interviews; comparative case study; literature review; multi-tier analysis. Findings – The technology entrepreneurial development in India appears to represent quite a distinctive path in terms of both firm development and broader economic development. It is focused on the IT sector, in which high skill “knowledge work” is carried out and which has been able to develop despite lack of basic infrastructure (roads and reliable electricity). Research limitations/implications – After the opening up of the business environment to large Western multinational enterprises (MNEs), it was difficult for indigenous Indian entrepreneurs to compete in The authors wish to thank the National Science Foundation (Human and Social Dynamics Program, Grant No. SES-0527584; Social Dimensions of Engineering, Science and Technology Program, Grant No. 0431755) and the Kauffman Foundation for their support of this research. Their colleague Leonard Lynn, a collaborator in the overall project, has provided his expertise throughout. We appreciate his terrific collegiality in our joint research endeavors; Radha Roy Biswas has been an early and enduring collaborator and colleague, and host to the authors’ discovery of the wonders of India. Vigneswara and Parthasarathy (2012) have also been helpful colleagues who were generous in sharing their knowledge with the authors, as were Deepak Kumar and Professor S. Sadagopan. The authors are also immensely grateful to the engineers, developers, staff, managers and executives of the companies they visited and who graciously shared their time and knowledge with thems, and without whom this research would not have been possible, but who must remain anonymous. Earlier versions of this paper were presented at the Industry Studies Association meetings, supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Two anonymous reviewers and the editor provided helpful guidance for revising an earlier draft. The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at: www.emeraldinsight.com/2053-4604.htm Technological entrepreneurship 65 Received 13 August 2015 Revised 1 April 2016 Accepted 12 April 2016 Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies Vol. 9 No. 1, 2017 pp. 65-84 © Emerald Publishing Limited 2053-4604 DOI 10.1108/JEEE-08-2015-0044 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JEEE-08-2015-0044 innovative product development markets. Developing such companies depended on individual risk taking, as no specific infrastructure existed for niche production. However, the knowledge base and innovation clusters did offer opportunities for obtaining contracts. The Indian entrepreneurs did have to make a lot of compromises about defining their business and the tasks they could undertake. More research is needed on the paths and development opportunities for these smaller Indian-owned firms. Practical implications – Unique opportunities are emergent and defy easy policy prescriptions, other than precluding change that does not foreclose emergent possibilities (e.g. such as strong state controlled business development). Social implications – Indian-owned innovative companies, although having difficulties competing with large Indian and Western MNEs, do put pressure on these MNEs to move work up the value chain, thereby providing more interesting and challenging opportunities for Indian knowledge workers. Originality/value – This paper provides a unique company-level perspective about entrepreneurialism in the Indian software sector from the perspective of different actors in the process. It then links this company-level perspective to a larger context both in terms of trajectories of development at the macro level, as well as the role that the company’s place in multinational value chains has in its development perspectives. It gives a special insight into the motivations and obstacles facing entrepreneurs in India’s dynamic software sector. Keywords India, Emerging economies, Organizational structures, Multinationals, Entrepreneurialism, Software Paper type Case study The rapid growth of the Indian economy, particularly in the area of software development and services for just over a decade, has prompted a wide range of research on the roots of its success (Arora and Athreye, 2002; Arora and Gambardella, 2006; Dossani and Kenney, 2006; Athreye, 2005; Sharma, 2015). This interest is not surprising given the spectacular growth of this industry which has posted continual increases in exports and revenues in all sectors: the original driver of growth in the sector was the low cost, good quality IT-BPM services which reached aggregate revenues crossing the US$145bn mark as of 2015 (NASSCOM, 2012, 2013, 2016). Higher value-added sectors also experienced impressive growth rates: IT services exports grew by 19 per cent, amounting to US$40bn; engineering and R&D services reached exports of over US$10bn and the domestic software products segment grew by about 13 per cent from 2011 to 2012 (NASSCOM, 2012, 2013, 2016; Krishnan, 2010; Krishnan and Jha, 2011). Is the rise of the Indian software industry simply another Asian state-dominated industrial growth story or is India distinctive, an economy where small technology entrepreneurs also find niches for development and can be drivers of innovation? Indeed, most research has focused on the large integrated Indian and international service providers. There is no doubt that the offshoring of software services provided a dynamic growth opportunity for a number of well-placed Indian companies such as Infosys and WIPRO that entered the “entrepreneurial space” in the newly emerging IT outsourced services market in the 1980s and 1990s (Sharma, 2015), but there are few, if any, global IT product firms to have emerged. This raises the question of whether there is also an opportunity for growth among smaller innovative technology entrepreneurial firms, which are interested in product development, either for the Indian economy or for global markets? There are three areas of inquiry that can be pursued to answer these questions: Q1. What factors have been responsible for spurring growth in the Indian IT industry? Q2. What type of work is being carried out at Indian firms and is this profile changing? JEEE 9,1 66 Prasanna Kokku Cite Prasanna Kokku Cite Q3. What role do Returnees play in technology transfer and/or financing for entrepreneurial development, as human capital flows have changed course over the past decades? The first question touches upon a complex array of drivers at different levels of analysis. Those most often mentioned include the role of state policy, the role of region, the role of multinational companies and, as related to the third question, the role of the entrepreneur returnee or the “foreign connection” in general – sometimes referred to as reverse technology transfer (Chacko, 2007; Kale and Little, 2010). The second question mainly addresses the type of activities carried out at Indian IT sites and India’s position on global value chains or in global production networks. The latter is, however, inextricably linked to the first in terms of available infrastructure, available talent and the strategies of multinationals. It is these three dimensions and their interaction that frame this analysis of the development of technology entrepreneurship in India. The traditional development experience of emerging economies, particularly in the Global South, has been that of supplying low-cost labor for activities “offshored” by industrial countries’ multinational enterprises (MNEs). Indeed, India’s traditional reputation has centered on being a low-cost site with skilled human resources doing relatively low-level work (in call-center support or back-office software services). Typically, this would not be the most fertile ground for technological entrepreneurial activity. Moreover, in this sector, there was significant out-migration of the most educated and skilled graduates and workers, with over 90 per cent of computer science graduates from the most elite universities, emigrating during the 1990s. The “Asian Miracle” experience of the other “Asian tigers” is generally thought to reflect large, sustained and highly focused state investment, coupled with human capital and business development [e.g. the “capital accumulation” and “productive assimilation” factors as discussed by Nelson and Pack (1999) and Amsden (2001)] which was geared to promoting growth in higher value-added activities. Yet, the case of India differs from these widely noted Asian cases in that the Indian IT sector grew without large state investment and, arguably, outside of the purview of state policy[1]. Has the lack of state-directed investments (also in infrastructure) led to constraints on Indian innovation that hindered the development of technological entrepreneurship, or did the presence of other factors lead to an alternative path of development for technological entrepreneurship in India, particularly in IT and in smaller niche markets? It is within the larger context of development strategies and innovation that we examine the Indian case of technology entrepreneurs. Our hypothesis is that, although the absence of a strong state-led development policy (as can been seen in structuring China and other East Asian growth trajectories) limited the types of export industries that could potentially take hold, it also created, by default, the “entrepreneurial space” that left the ground clear for other types of non-state-led development to emerge. It is this distinctive path, a technology entrepreneurial space fostering innovation in small firms, which is the focus of this chapter[2]. The exploratory case studies presented here examine the nature of a particular type of technology entrepreneurship, which grew mainly in the IT sector and was linked to foreign MNEs. The Indian IT industry and technology entrepreneur development follows a different path than typically described for entrepreneurship in which market opportunities are identified and/or a technology is first developed and then pursued in a domestic and/or international market. Instead, the technology entrepreneurship sector in IT, beyond the few large and notable cases of IT 67 Technological entrepreneurship Prasanna Kokku Use Prasanna Kokku Use Prasanna Kokku Cite services (e.g. Infosys, WIPRO, TCS), as characterized by Chandra et al. (2009, p. 38), can be seen as serendipitous, in which “social networks combined with firm competencies and motivations that drive the discovery of international market opportunities” (Ratajczak-Mrozek, 2014). In the cases discussed here, there is yet another dimension which is how the atypical entrepreneur pathway, of failed product development, brings a set of characteristics (skills, motivation) different from that in the large IT service companies and, we find, leads them, ultimately, to a different path of “value chain creep” innovation. To the extent that these firms expand, or the number of such firms grows, they may develop one of the important sectors of indigenous growth in high technology and become a sector that is undergoing transformation from a low-cost services industry to an emerging innovation industry in both services and, perhaps, products. The IT industry, a common focus of Indian technology development, is an extremely diverse sector. Software activities can, for example, be divided into different categories – design and development, analysis and design for clients and applications for firms using IT for their businesses – all of which involve a wide range of task complexity (Arora, 2006). The dominant early models of Indian IT industry growth have been based on the appearance of several large firms in the 1990s that provide software services to client firms (predominantly in the USA) and the establishment and growth of offshore locations of multinationals to provide software services functions within the MNE (either directly for use by the MNE or as part of the MNE’s software consulting services). This is consistent with larger trends of outsourcing and/or offshoring discrete, usually low value-added operations of a firm, described as a lengthening of the value chain (Flecker and Meil, 2010). These simpler processes involved tasks such as rewriting code, customizing user interfaces, maintaining data or adding functionality to existing software. These are the tasks initially targeted for outsourcing or offshoring to lower cost sites to reduce the overall expenditure for software development projects. Also, many of these tasks deal with detailed, time-consuming work. Earlier studies (Balasubramanyam and Mahambare, 2003) had found that most Indian firms were not able to move up the value chains of their Western MNE customers, but rather remained confined to carrying out low value-added tasks. Among those cases, however, some exceptions were identified that were able to engage in higher value-added jobs involving more complex task profiles. Often these exceptions involve a related but distinct type of offshoring that allows the integration of small firms into the value chain of larger companies for carrying out development work. It is different from the predominant type of offshoring and outsourcing in that it involves smaller firms, development work that is higher value-added and is generally a key, non-commodity component of the MNE’s value chain. The shift from back-office services and commodity work to this type of development work is a key transition point in a nation’s industrial development (in this case, India) and in changing the nature of offshoring for the MNE home country. This shift in the emerging economies has been discussed as a developing “innovation shift” (Lynn and Salzman, 2007), with profound implications for both the MNE home and host countries. It appears that India is beginning to move up the value chain in terms of task complexity and activities such as product development, which were formerly limited to MNE home-country sites. Our findings show that the linkage between multinationals and Indian technology entrepreneur firms is a major driver of this development. JEEE 9,1 68 Prasanna Kokku Cite Prasanna Kokku Cite We see the development of technology entrepreneurs in India as stemming from two parallel paths that began to converge in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The first involves factors originating in India, such as the development of the Indian IT industry as a by-product of the national defense industry, atomic energy development and the formation of the Department of Electronics in 1970 (Sharma, 2015; 39ff), as well as research labs and the launching of education policies and indigenous infrastructures, accompanied by migration to Western institutions of higher education. The latter two played key roles in developing highly – skilled human capital in science and technology fields (Khadria, 1999, 2007; 2012). The second development was the corporate restructuring of primarily USA, but also European firms and their global distribution of work beginning in the 1990s, leading to a unique interaction between multinationals and local Indian firms. The pathway from India Indian policy and the public sector National research laboratories, which were mostly defense related, were located in the South of India, where (in the 1950s and 1960s) they were beyond the reach of missiles that could be sent from hostile northern neighbors. These labs outsourced some of their work which led to the development of a network of small private companies in the regions, in a sense incubated by the national labs. Both were supplied workforces by the regional colleges. It is not clear how successful the small firms were in terms of adopting and developing high technology. Nonetheless, they did establish a pool of people with significant scientific experience. Sadagopan (2007) (Seshagiri, 2007; Sharma, 2015) argues that pioneering efforts in computing took place in the national labs in the 1960s. These, along with the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore (IISc), were important incubators for the IT industry in India. Presently, the areas of Bangalore and, followed by Hyderabad and now several other growing areas, are the predominant sources for scientists and technicians in India. These areas have large industrial parks devoted to IT and a number of government policies promoting IT, and the largest numbers of IT graduates come from educational and training institutions in these two areas. As the history of IT development by Sharma (2015) shows, the Indian government took an active role in developing the computer industry starting in the 1960s and the 1970s, particularly with the formation of the Department of Electronics in 1970 and the Electronics Commission in 1971, though this was focused on providing the electronics needed for defense and atomic energy development. Private sector IT development was not actively state-led though the public sector in general played a facilitating role in the growth of the Indian IT industry. Indeed, most of the significant, early IT initiatives were in the public sector such the computerization of the Indian Railways. One of the early top Indian firms, Computer Maintenance Corporation, sprang up to service IBM systems. Computer Maintenance Corporation was staffed by former IBM employees after IBM left the country in 1978 rather than comply with the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act which would have reduced IBM’s equity ownership to 26 per cent (IBM India Milestones, 2011; Sharma, 2015). It was a public-sector firm and its creation came from the government’s domestic development policies that limited foreign ownership with the goal of fostering domestic firms. Thus, government policies, both in the form of public sector initiatives as well as education (including regional colleges), contributed to the birth and growth of the IT industry in India. It is the particular path that developed through the government’s policy evolution that led to growing technology entrepreneurship. 69 Technological entrepreneurship The Indian government has gone through several different “phases” of policy for foreign direct investment (FDI) (Kumar, 2002; Balasubramanyam and Mahambare, 2003). Following independence, the Indian government enacted a number of different policies and individual, case-by-case reviews of foreign investment that was selectively restrictive. The period between 1968 through 1979 was a restrictive phase, effectively limiting foreign equity to a maximum of 40 per cent in a firm and putting other restrictions on MNE operations and expansion in India which led a number of US companies to divest their Indian operations, most notably Coca-Cola and IBM. After 1980, national regulation of foreign investment was slowly liberalized, with changes in regulation of software and telecommunications companies beginning in the mid-1980s, allowing greater foreign ownership and less restrictive regulation. In 1991, FDI of up to 51 per cent in a joint venture was permitted in specific capital-intensive and high-technology industries (and up to 75 per cent in a small number of other industries on a case-by-case basis). By 1997, complete foreign ownership was allowed, although limited to software companies. In 1994, IBM re-entered India through a joint venture with TATA, and GE formed a joint venture with WIPRO. India has continued to liberalize FDI and other industry policies, particularly in certain sectors such as export software services and businesses in special enterprise zones. Indian policies provided, intentionally or not, an opportunity for Indian firms to grow with some independence from USA and other foreign firms. Many of these initial technology entrepreneurial firms in IT services are now well-established multinationals in their own right (e.g. Infosys, WIPRO). Often lost from view is that in the early 1990s, Indian entrepreneurs started product companies to develop indigenous IT innovation. Both as a result of the FDI restrictions that limited foreign firms entry into the Indian market and an IT product market that was not fully dominated by global firms and/or markets in which there were competing products, such as different office software products (e.g. Wordperfect an early market leader in word processing, and a number of different database systems) and even operating systems that were poised to gain dominant market share outside of the USA (e.g. open source systems were being considered by some governments until Microsoft intervened, exerting pressure on these governments to adopt Microsoft products instead). However, by the late 1990s, it was only the Indian software services industries that prospered globally as primarily US software product companies came to dominate global markets (e.g. Microsoft for the office software market and operating system; Peoplesoft, Oracle, etc., for ERP markets, with SAP, a German-based firm, as one of the few non-US companies to gain global dominance). It was, thus, only in the offshoring software services market that provided growth opportunity for a number of Indian firms to grow from smaller entrepreneurial firms to large multinationals (e.g. Infosys) and for other large firms to move into software services (e.g. TCS, WIPRO). As offshore software services began to grow, it was then the integrated multinational as well as foreign (non-Indian) software services companies expanded operations in India (e.g. IBM, Unisys), thereby creating captive Indian services firms. This history raises the question about whether technology entrepreneurship is still possible in significant numbers, and if so, in what ways? To the extent that technology entrepreneurship is growing, do these firms follow existing models of technology entrepreneur trajectories or do they follow different pathways, representing new models? Does India make use of “brain circulation” in developing technology entrepreneurship? To the extent that returning Indians are involved in technology entrepreneurship, is this due to attracting diaspora Indians who were entrepreneurs in other countries (e.g. USA), or is it through returning diaspora Indians who launch their entrepreneurship ventures only when returning to India? Does the re-entry of foreign firms into India provide a second opportunity JEEE 9,1 70 for a new wave of technology entrepreneurial firms? If so, is it through a different set of market dynamics and linkages to foreign MNEs? And does this “second moment” in the Indian IT industry create a new “entrepreneurial space” for innovation? To the extent that there is research on emerging market global entrepreneurship (Chandra et al., 2009), most of the arguments surrounding the relationship between Western companies and Indian technology development are demand-driven perspectives: What do Western companies need and what do they offshore to Indian sites? However, there is little detailed information available about the “pull” side. Where do Indian firms want to go? Where do they see themselves on the value chain? What role do they play in the changing strategies of their customers? For instance, there is evidence that in software development, the acquisition of knowledge and the enrichment of the provided services were necessary to make offshore locations viable. Relocating or outsourcing only simple coding tasks to India or to Central and Eastern Europe countries was often not sustainable. Particularly in India, companies faced the problem of high personnel turnover because skilled and ambitious IT workers judged their jobs according to the learning and advancement opportunities they provided. High rates of personnel turnover forced European and US companies to more fully use the technical skills of IT workers in India by moving more demanding tasks and thus more stages of the development process to their Indian subsidiaries or outsourcing service providers (Flecker and Kirschhofer, 2002). This then had the effect that dependent units in the value chain were upgraded. This paper addresses these questions by analyzing and comparing case study data on MNE captives, spin-offs and independent producers in India. The analysis contained here comes from research conducted as part of a larger project which examines the globalization of technology development work by multinational firms (Lynn and Salzman, 2009; Lynn et al., 2012). In the context of this study, interviews were carried out on the issues of overall company strategy, inter-company relations and governance structures with customers, recruitment practices, work organization and job tasks. Information was collected on the history of the companies, the development of their product profile and portfolio, challenges for obtaining contracts, relations in the value chain with larger MNEs and changes over time, strategies and visions for the future, challenges on the labor market and related issues as they emerged in the interviews. We used these data to examine whether technological entrepreneurialism is still possible and, if so, what were the defining elements of its success or failure? What role can small niche firms play in the overall Indian landscape of technology players? The study: methods To capture the complexity of a multi-tiered analysis in which institutional context, company and inter-company level strategies and individual level motivations of particular actors all play a role in the evolution of technology entrepreneurship in India, we chose a qualitative case study methodology as the most suitable means of tracking emerging practices, goals and strategies that are still in the process of development. We created a series of cases using the comparative case study method (Yin, 2003; and more broadly Eisenhart, 1989; Glaser and Strauss, 1967). Toward this end, we carried out interviews in eight firms in various locations in India. The companies represented a good cross-section of local firms embedded in the value chains of large Western MNEs, encompassing their first-tier subsidiaries, their captives and the spin-offs of these first-tier suppliers. It also included independent Indian-owned providers who did work for the MNEs either directly or through their Indian subsidiaries. It is these small Indian-owned firms that are the focus of the more detailed case studies presented below. In all of the companies, we interviewed owners (where appropriate), 71 Technological entrepreneurship Prasanna Kokku Use for interview and use for consulting project also managers, project leaders and engineering/technologists in India and some at the home country MNE site that was contracting out to the supplier firm. This linked case study design allows us to examine the dynamics on both sides of the value chain. We also complemented these company cases with interviews from four colleges, which are the recruitment source for the Indian high-technology labor market. This provided a useful overview of recruitment pools, recruitment practices and career trajectories for Indian employees. Altogether, this yielded 48 interviews at the eight technology firms in India. The Indian companies in the study ranged in size from under 100 employees to over 1,000. The sectors covered included engineering design … INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type o f computer printer. The quality o f this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. 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RURAL-URBAN STUDENT DIFFERENCES ON THE STRONG INTEREST INVENTORY FOR A CAREER COUNSELING CENTER SAMPLE by Susan L. Pauly Master o f Arts, University o f North Dakota, 1992 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty o f the University o f North Dakota in partial fulfillment o f the requirements for the degree o f Doctor o f Philosophy Grand Forks, North Dakota December 1996 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 9721216 UMI Microform 9721216 Copyright 1997, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. This dissertation, submitted by Susan L. Pauly in partial fulfillment o f the requirements for the Degree o f Doctorate o f Philosophy from the University o f North Dakota, has been read by the Faculty Advisory Committee under whom the work has been done and is hereby approved. (Chairperson) This dissertation meets the standards for appearance, conforms to the style and format requirements o f the Graduate School o f the University o f North Dakota, and is hereby approved. 4 / j j u a J $ ________ Dean o f the Graduate School Date Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. PERMISSION Title Rural-Urban Student Differences on the Strong Interest Inventory For a Career Counseling Center Sample Department Counseling Degree Doctor o f Philosophy In presenting this dissertation in partial fulfillment o f the requirements for a graduate degree from the University o f North Dakota, I agree that the library of this University shall make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for extensive copying for scholarly purposes may be granted by the professor who supervised my dissertation work, or in her absence, by the chairperson o f the department or the dean o f the Graduate School. It is understood that any copying or publication or other use o f this dissertation or part thereof for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. It is also understood that due recognition shall be given me and to the University o f North Dakota in any scholarly use which may be made o f any material in my dissertation. Signature Date 111 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES..................................................................................................................... v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS........................................................................................................ vi ABSTRACT.............................................................................................................................vii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................... I II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE...........................................................................3 III. METHOD.................................................................................................................. 47 IV. RESULTS..................................................................................................................56 V. DISCUSSION........................................................................................................... 64 REFERENCES........................................................................................................................ 71 iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Demographic Characteristics o f the Sample.............................................................49 2. Iachan Congruence Index Calculation Codes...........................................................52 3. Sample Means and Standard Deviations on SII Scales and for ACT, GPA, Iachan Index Scores, and Profile Differentiation Scores................... 57 4. Summary o f Hierarchical Regression Analysis for Variables Predicting GPA- Equation 1...................................................................................................................59 5. Summary o f Hierarchical Regression Analysis for Variables Predicting GPA- Equation 2...................................................................................................................60 6. Analysis o f Variance for the Iachan o f Congruence by Gender and Rural /Urban S tatus...............................................................................62 7. Results o f Independent t-tests for z-indifference Scores......................................... 63 v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the members o f my dissertation committee for their helpful feedback and flexibility. I am especially grateful to Denise Twohey, Ed.D., my chairperson and mentor, who provided editorial advice as well as emotional support throughout my graduate program. George Henly, Ph.D. deserves special recognition for his continued guidance and practical advice. I would also like to thank my colleague and friend, Michael Ewing, Ph.D. for his assistance on the statistical portions o f this dissertation. I would also like to express my sincere thanks to Drs. Deborah Betsworth and Richard Grosz o f the UND Counseling Center for granting my access to the archival career counseling data. In addition, Dr. Tim Driscoll, Division o f Student Affairs Research and Evaluation, provided important support for this project. I would also like to express my deepest gratitude to my husband, Richard L. Pauly, and my children, Julie, Jason, and Matthew. Without their cooperation and support, I would not have been able to do any o f this. vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT The purpose o f this study was to explore whether differences existed between rural and urban students’ responses on the Strong Interest Inventory (SII). The subjects for this study were 665 students who had taken the SII as part o f career counseling services received at the University o f North Dakota. The subjects were classified as either rural or urban based on the population o f their hometown. The rural and urban groups’ scores were compared on the SII General Occupational Theme (RIASEC), Academic Comfort and Introversion/Extroversion scales, the Iachan index o f congruence between RIASEC scores and college major, measures o f indifference in responding, and profile differentiation. No mean differences between rural and urban subjects were detected on any o f the comparisons. The study also examined whether cumulative grade point average (GPA) could be predicted by factors including Academic Comfort, gender, being from a rural/urban environment, and ACT composite scores. Results indicated that when ACT scores are included in the prediction equation, the effects o f rural/urban disappear. Rural-urban status and gender were not found to moderate the relationship between Academic Comfort scores and GPA. vii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER 1 Introduction As part o f graduate training, I was privileged to work as an individual career counselor at the University o f North Dakota Counseling Center. In that role, I worked with many career clients and interpreted a number o f Strong Interest Inventories (SII). Over the course o f this time, I began to notice some trends in the students' scores on the SII which are o f interest to me, and I believe, also, to the psychological community. While conducting vocational interviews and interpreting SII's, I observed that students from rural areas tended to have lower scores on the SII Academic Comfort (AC) scale than did those from larger, urban areas. Also, I noticed that rural students tended to respond with a higher percentage o f "dislike" than either "indifferent" or "like" responses to the SO items, especially items in the areas o f occupations and school subjects. This resulted in SII profiles with low scores on the General Occupational Themes (GOTs) and no significant differences between the six GOT scores. For interpretative purposes, this low, undifferentiated profile is problematic because it means that the test-taker’s personality pattern, as identified by their three highest GOT scores, cannot be clearly delineated. Therefore, the number o f occupations that match the person’s pattern is reduced. Stated in practical terms, this means that when a student takes the SII to help them identify careers which match with their interests, and the end result is a low, 1 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 2 undifferentiated profile, the student is often disappointed to find few career matches for consideration. There are a number o f reasons why rural students obtain flat SII profiles. Perhaps rural students genuinely dislike many o f the occupations and school subjects represented in the SII questions, and the profile correctly reflects their lack o f interests. Alternatively, rural settings may not give students enough exposure to different occupations, school subjects and leisure activities to permit them to respond knowledgeably to many o f the items. In the latter instance, the SII must be interpreted differently for rural students, something o f which career counselors should be made aware. The SO is one o f the most widely used vocational assessment instruments (Hansen, 1992). Its applicability has been studied for many populations. One for which it has not been studied is the rural population. No references were found for any research exploring the use o f the SII for rural individuals. Therefore, it is the intent o f this study to explore whether rural and urban students respond differently on the SII. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited w ithout permission. CHAPTER 2 Review o f the Literature The review begins with a definition o f interests and their relation to occupational choice. Next, theories about the development o f occupational interests and stereotypes are considered, as these are the foundation upon which career interest inventories rest. The history and structure o f the SII, and its use with college populations, is discussed next. Because those from rural populations may be considered as a minority group, literature on the use of the SII with minority and ethnic groups is also reviewed. Finally, a review o f research on career concerns for rural populations is presented. Definition o f Occupational Interests In order to understand how vocational interests develop, it is important to have some understanding about what the word “interest” means in relation to occupational choice. Super (1957) delineated four types o f interests. He defined “expressed interests” as expressions o f preference for a vocation or activity. The SII, then, measures expressed interests because it requires test-takers to indicate their preferences for school subjects, leisure activities, and occupations. Super (1957) also believed that interests could be inferred from our actions as evidenced by participation in activities. These interests he called “manifest interests”. He also stated that interests could be measured in two ways. When a scoring algorithm is used to estimate interests based on individual responses 3 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 4 regarding the person’s likes, dislikes and preferences for one activity versus another (expressed interests), Super called them “inventoried interests.” Therefore, Super would suggest that the interests measured by scores on the SII scales are inventoried interests. He also believed that manifest interests could be measured under controlled conditions, such as the amount o f time spent examining resources for specific careers. He called these interests “tested interests”. Super (1957) further stated that there are six categories within each o f these types o f interests. He classified them as: (a) scientific, technical or material; (b) humanistic or social welfare; (c) systematic or business detail; (d) business contact; (e) literary; and (f) musical/artistic. Dawis and Loftquist (1984) defined interests in a manner similar to Super (1957). They believed that interests stem from underlying values and abilities. They suggested that there is a complex relationship between our values and abilities and that we strive to express this relationship in a variety o f ways. One expression o f the relationship o f values and abilities is through the statement o f preferences for various activities. For example, an individual might say, “I like to read books.” According to Dawis and Loftquist (1984), this preference is termed an “expressed or stated interest.” At times, we may want to create an instrument which inquires about preferences for a comprehensive sample o f activities that have been experienced by a majority o f people. When an individual responds to such an instrument (e.g., the SII), their scored responses are termed “measured interests” (p. 18, Dawis & Loftquist, 1984). Dawis and Loftquist (1984) also referred to preferences for activities which may be observed by others through our participation in the activity. They call this “exhibited interest” and state that congruence Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 5 between these exhibited interests and measured interest is called “validated interest’* (p. 19, Dawis & Loftquist, 1984). Although Holland’s (1985) description o f interests is similar to those o f Super (1957) and Dawis and Loftquist (1984), his definition places more emphasis on interests as a manifestation o f personality. He stated that preferences for activities are based on an interplay o f personal and environmental forces such as heredity, peers, family, social class, culture, and the physical environment. These activity preferences develop into specific interests which, over time, cause a person to develop special competencies. Holland (1985) believed that the combination o f interests and competencies creates a personal disposition which leads an individual to think and respond in characteristic ways. He called this their personality type. The six pure personality types Holland defined (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising and Conventional) are remarkably similar to the interest classifications noted by Super (1957). Therefore. Holland (1985) saw interests and personality type as essentially equivalent constructs. Knowledge o f how interests are defined and how they relate to personality is important to understanding the structure and meaning o f the SII. Essentially, the instrument is based on the assumption that an individual has preferences or expressed interests in activities, school subjects, working with certain types o f people and in certain occupations. The test is also based on the idea that these expressed interests, when compiled permit inferences about basic interest or personality types which can be used to classify both the individual expressing them and the environment in which the individual works. Ultimately, the scores obtained from the SII are inventoried interests that measure Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 6 what Holland calls personality type. These scores are then used to help match the person with congruent occupations. Essentially, then, the ideas o f Super (1957), Holland (1973. 1985) and Dawis and Loftquist (1984) help explain how the SII works, and why it is successful. Models o f Vocational Interest Development In addition to understanding how interests are defined, it is also important to understand how career interests develop. Many theories have emerged about career and interest development. The major theories for consideration may be classified as developmental, personality, social learning, and valence instrumentality models. Developmental Career Theories. Super’s (1953, 1957, 1980) theory is called developmental because it considers career decision making across the life-span. Super (1957) based his theory on twelve propositions. In the first three, he stated that the process o f vocational development was ongoing, irreversible, orderly, predictable, and dynamic. Super (1980) specified the orderly stages o f the process as growth, exploration, establishment, maintenance, and decline. He described the growth stage as occurring until about age fifteen and one in which the focus is on physical and psychological development as well as acquiring experiences which will give background knowledge about the environment, including the world o f work (Super, 1957). The exploration stage may last until the individual is around twenty-five years o f age and starts with the realization that work is a part o f life. In this stage, many choices are fantasized about, but the range o f choices is eventually narrowed down to only those realistically attainable. The establishment phase is typified by initial work experiences and attempts to access Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 7 earlier vocational decisions. During the maintenance phase, which lasts until about age sixty-five, the individual continues to enhance the vocational situation by adjusting both pleasant and unpleasant aspects o f the job. The declining phase begins prior to retirement and focuses on meeting work standards and simply retaining the job till retirement (Super, 1957). In proposition four, Super (1957) introduced the notion o f self-concept formation. Definition of a clear self concept is the primary task in career development. It is the self concept which must be translated into occupational terms before it can be implemented in a career choice. This idea is considered to be the central tenet o f Super’s developmental theory. In propositions five and six, Super (1957) suggested that personal and societal reality factors, including the parental relationship, have increasingly profound effects on occupational choice. Super (1957) also stated in propositions seven and eight that vocational choice is affected by intelligence, SES, needs for status, values, interests, interpersonal skills, education, economic supply and demand, role models, and available community resources. In proposition nine, Super (1957) spoke to the work environment requirements for specific skills, abilities, and interests. Propositions ten and eleven referred to work satisfaction as a function o f the congruence between the individual’s interests, abilities, values and personality traits and those provided by the work environment. Furthermore, the degree o f satisfaction is measured by the degree to which self-concept is implemented in the workplace. Finally, in proposition twelve, Super (1957) suggested that work is an expression o f personality. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 8 Super (1980) also believed that across the life-span, there are a variety o f roles that an individual plays. He described the life roles as child, student, leisurite, citizen, worker, spouse, homemaker, parent and pensioner. He believed these roles are carried out in four theaters which he labeled, the home, the community, the school, and the workplace. He integrated the concepts o f life stages, roles, and theaters in a graphic representation he called the Life-Career Rainbow (Super, 1980). He added to this the concept o f decision points which he believed occurred at times o f transition between roles. At these decision points, choices are affected by the interaction o f all personal and environmental forces (Super, 1980). Ultimately, Super (1957) viewed the development o f occupational interests as an interplay between personal and environmental determinants, and the developmental goal as the implementation o f the self-concept. Gottfredson (1981) also proposed a developmental theory o f career choice. She believed this development is highly influenced by social environment as well as cognitive development. According to Gottfredson, the most relevant influences on career development are gender, social class, intelligence, values, competencies and interests. Her theory stated that these elements become a part o f individual self-concept at different stages o f cognitive development. Gottfredson’s (1981) four stage theory begins with the “orientation to size and power” which occurs at ages three to five. In this stage, children are first able to understand the concept o f being an adult someday. In the next stage, “orientation to sex roles,” children confirm the concept o f gender. This stage occurs at about six to eight years o f age. At age nine to thirteen, children enter the stage o f “orientation to social valuation” where the Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 9 concepts o f social class and ability become important influences on social expectations and behavior. The final stage o f development is called “orientation to the internal, unique s e lf ’ and typically begins at about age thirteen. Here, adolescents are increasingly able to deal with emotional stress as well as more abstract and complex cognitive tasks. Also, teens in this stage are more aware o f their own inner feelings and personal capabilities (Gottfredson, 1981). In practical terms, Gottfredson (1981) postulated the following developmental progression. The preschool child has a fairly positive view o f the occupations in his/her awareness; this view is modified first by ruling out those jobs which are incongruent with gender role, and later by eliminating occupations which do not meet requirements for status and prestige or that exceed requirements for individual effort. Finally, in adolescence, individuals begin to consider personal capabilities, interests and values as they further restrict the range o f career choices. This narrowing o f choices is also affected by environmental opportunities and barriers. Gottfredson (1981) suggested that the choice o f career is a compromise between the fulfillment o f adolescent dreams and the reality o f barriers to employment. She maintained that the pattern o f compromise will begin with sacrificing vocational interests first, followed by job level, and then sex type. Poole and Cooney (1985) proposed a model o f career decision-making based on personal possibility theory. While their theory is not strictly a developmental theory, it contains elements similar to Super’s notion o f self concept and Gottfredson’s ideas about concepts related to career choice. They argued that at each stage o f individual development, people are faced with a huge range o f choice possibilities. Internal Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 10 cognitive structures then affect the possibilities by screening, organizing and creating experiences (Poole & Cooney, 1985). Therefore, to exercise choice, a person must have an awareness o f available options. The researchers then postulated that occupational perceptions may be influenced by their environments (Poole & Cooney, 1985). Specifically, they examined whether sex, social class and ethnicity affected the awareness o f occupational possibilities and found evidence to support the influences o f each o f these factors. Holland’s Personality Theory o f Career Development. Holland (1973) stated that personality types develop as a result o f a variety o f forces including genetic, cultural, personal, and environmental. Specifically, Holland (1985, p. 16) suggested that “types produce types” meaning that individuals become a certain personality type based on parental influences, physical and psychological factors, as well as the availability o f environmental opportunities. This combination o f influences leads an individual to develop likes and dislikes for certain activities and these preferences are continually evaluated as the individual participates in different settings such as school, college, or job. The interaction between preferences and environments subsequently works to create a personality type that exhibits a predictable set o f behaviors and characteristics as well as skills and coping styles (Holland, 1985). Holland (1973) believed there are six basic personality types and developed a hexagonal model describing the relationship between them. The underlying theory for the model was based on four assumptions. First, people can be described in terms o f their resemblance to six different types: realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, and Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 11 conventional. Also, work environments can be classified in terms o f the same six types, with the corresponding types o f people dominating the environment. Furthermore, people will seek an environment that is congruent with attitudes, values, skills, and abilities and which is stimulating and satisfying to them. Finally, a person's behavior is determined by the interaction between the individual and the environment and this influences such factors as work stability, job performance, and job satisfaction (Holland, 1973). Holland’s (1973) model is described as hexagonal in structure based on the similarities o f the six personality types. This model is discussed in greater detail later in this dissertation because of its direct relevance to the development o f the SII, the instrument used in this study. Gati (1979) developed his hierarchical model in response to concerns he had about the hexagonal model o f Holland (1973). Although Gati (1979) did not take issue with Holland’s basic ideas regarding interest development, his model did differ dramatically from Holland’s in structure. Assumptions o f the circular and hexagonal models are that the adjacent fields are equidistant, and that certain fields tend to be grouped together. Gati (1979), however, cited a number o f studies by other researchers which did not support either premise. Gati acknowledged that there are similarities between adjacent fields, but argued that their spatial representation in a hexagonal or circular manner greatly oversimplifies their empirical relationships. Instead, Gati (1979) proposed that occupations could be … CONCEPTUAL/THEORETICAL PAPER Customer engagement in service V. Kumar1,2,3,4 & Bharath Rajan1 & Shaphali Gupta1,5 & Ilaria Dalla Pozza6 Received: 1 February 2017 /Accepted: 20 September 2017 /Published online: 7 October 2017 # Academy of Marketing Science 2017 Abstract We develop a framework to facilitate customer en- gagement in service (CES) based on the service-dominant (S- D) logic. A novel feature of this framework is its applicability and relevance for firms operating both in developed and emerg- ing markets. First, we conduct a qualitative study involving service managers from multinational companies (MNCs) across the developed and emerging markets to understand the practitioner viewpoints. By integrating the insights from the interviews and the relevant academic literature, this framework explores how interaction orientation and omnichannel model can be used to create positive service experience. We also iden- tify the factors that moderate the service experience, and categorize them as follows: offering-related, value-related, en- abler-related, and market-related. Further, we also propose that perceived variation in service experience moderates the influ- ence of service experience on satisfaction and emotional attach- ment, which ultimately impacts customer engagement (CE). From these factors, we advance research propositions that dis- cuss the creation of positive service experience. One of the study’s key contributions is that MNCs can focus their attention on the moderators to ensure consistency in positive service experience, in an effort to enhance CE. Keywords Service experience . Customer engagement . Developed markets . Emerging markets . Service-dominant logic Introduction The emergence of service activities globally can be observed at the firm level through the concept of customer engagement (CE). In such an environment, engaging with customers has been recognized as a viable way for enhancing brand and firm performance (Gartner 2014). For instance, Gallup research found that on a per-trip basis, Bfully engaged^ customers in the consumer electronics industry spent $373, compared to $289 by the Bactively disengaged^ customers (Sorenson and Adkins 2014). With financial performance at stake, service firms would, therefore, be more inclined to engage with their customers. Research studies have identified CE as a key success factor for firms (Kumar and Pansari 2016; Verhoef et al. 2010). In this regard, value contribution from customers to the firms extends beyond just purchases transactions to also include non-purchase related customer behaviors (Kumar and Reinartz 2016). All these ways of customer value contribution Satish Jayachandran served as Area Editor for this article. * V. Kumar [email protected] Bharath Rajan [email protected] Shaphali Gupta [email protected] Ilaria Dalla Pozza [email protected] 1 Center for Excellence in Brand & Customer Management, J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30326, USA 2 Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China 3 Hagler Institute for Advanced Study, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA 4 Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, India 5 Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon, India 6 IPAG Business School, 75006 Paris, France J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci. (2019) 47:138–160 DOI 10.1007/s11747-017-0565-2 mailto:[email protected] http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1007/s11747-017-0565-2&domain=pdf Prasanna Kokku 2 Prasanna Kokku 1 to the firm have been accommodated in the conceptualization of CE (Kumar et al. 2010; Van Doorn et al. 2010). Recently, Pansari and Kumar (2017) identified the components of CE to be direct and indirect customer contributions, and the antecedents of CE to be satisfaction and emotion. Additionally, Hollebeek et al. (2016) and Brodie et al. (2011) have established the fit between CE and S-D logic theories to understand CE implications for marketing practice better. The current study adopts this line of investigation in understanding CE in a service context using the S-D logic. Despite the CE conceptualizations, little attention has been given to the type of market firms operate in. We believe this to be an important aspect for two reasons. First, while studies have identified the drivers and moderators of CE in developed market settings, no comparable studies exist in the emerging markets. Second, there is insufficient information regarding the drivers and moderators of CE that are relevant in a service setting that can also be applied across emerging and developed markets. This study aims to address these two gaps by pro- posing a framework (that accommodates emerging and devel- oped markets) for establishing CE in the service setting. Service as the study setting Within the service discipline, topics regarding the classifica- tion and characteristics of service and the service-dominant (S-D) logic have been identified as core topics of research (Grönroos 2011). Further, the popular approach of distinguishing services from goods has been challenged with newer perspectives such as focusing on value-in-use, and moving away from a goods-focused exchange process. In this regard, the S-D logic has been proposed as a better way to offer value to customers by focusing on their operant re- sources (Vargo and Lusch 2004). Additionally, such a view considers service as performing a specific action for another party (i.e., firm performing an action to customers in exchange to create value), as opposed to a firm’s unit of output (i.e., goods vs. services). For the purpose of this study, we adopt the definition and context of service as provided by the S-D logic. An important aspect of the service exchange between firms and customers is the customer service experience. Literature has studied customer experience as Bcustomer activity chain^ (Sawhney et al. 2004), extending before and after the purchase instance (Arnould et al. 2002), and a co-creation processes (Carù and Cova 2003), among others. For the purpose of this study, we define service experience as the overall customer experience that is borne out of all forms of customer interac- tions, communications, and transactions regarding the service offerings, over time. Given the limited attention, the Marketing Science Institute (MSI) Research Priorities (2014;; 2016) have identified customer experience to be an important research challenge. Regarding the service setting, Ostrom et al. (2015) have identified Benhancing the service experience^ as a top service research priority and highlighted sub-topics of research on the service experience. In light of these prior studies, we choose service as the study setting and service experience as the variable of interest. The market type Marketers continue to focus on developing offerings for de- veloped and emerging markets that can create profitable and loyal customers, as listed in Table 1. However, with differing business climates across emerging and developing markets it is important to better understand country differences when engaging with customers. For in- stance, China’s fragmented social media landscape has forced major firms to compete for subscriber base even at the region level (Chiu et al. 2012). In such cases, firms would need guid- ance on navigating competition and connecting with their cus- tomers. A country’s technological capabilities is another chal- lenge area for firms worldwide. For instance, research on emerging markets has shown that for every ten percentage points increase in internet penetration, the per capita GDP increases by 1.2 percentage points, and for every ten percent- age points increase in broadband penetration, the per capita GDP increases by 1.38 percentage points (Qiang et al. 2009). Additionally, Ostrom et al. (2015) identified Bunderstanding service in a global context^ as a top service research priority. In this regard, research has questioned prior wisdom to show that service experience matters more when the economy is performing better, and not worse (Kumar et al. 2014). The overall goal of this study is to understand the function- ing of CE in service (CES). Pansari and Kumar (2017) have identified the antecedents of CE to be satisfaction and emo- tion, which is the result of positive customer experience. We build on their framework by focusing on: & How can firms ensure a positive service experience that can lead to higher CE? & What variables influence the creation of a positive service experience? Specifically, does the market type (developed vs. emerging) have any influence on service experience? To answer these questions, we conduct a qualitative study, and review related research to understand the challenges and relevance of ensuring CE in service activities. Based on the information gathered, we propose a framework to establish CES, and advance testable research propositions. Specifically, we propose that an interaction orientation ap- proach by the firm and an omnicahnnel model will drive the service experience of customers. A positive service experi- ence, in turn, can result in creating CE. In this process, we identify and group the moderating variables between interac- tion orientation and omnichannel model, and service J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci. (2019) 47:138–160 139 Prasanna Kokku Use Prasanna Kokku Study Prasanna Kokku 4 Prasanna Kokku 3 Prasanna Kokku Refer Prasanna Kokku Direct Prasanna Kokku Use Prasanna Kokku 5 Table 1 Select CE-focused marketing actions in the developed and emerging markets What’s being done? Who’s doing it in the developed markets? Who’s doing it in the emerging markets? Loyalty program (LP) • Companies provide incentives to make customers ° buy more (e.g., store cards such as Kroger Plus, ‘InCircle’ from Neiman Marcus, and ‘ExtraCare’ card from CVS) ° buy often (e.g., frequent flyer programs such as ‘All-New Rapid Rewards’ from Southwest Airlines, Star Alliance, and Marriott Rewards) ° buy intensively (e.g., aimed at product promotions, incentivized actions, and own purchases—‘My Starbucks Rewards’, aimed at depth of purchases— ‘REI Membership’, and aimed at purchases across multiple channels— ‘Loyallist’ by Bloomingdales) • Companies provide incentives to make customers ° buy more (e.g., store cards such as Big Bazar in India, ‘In Circle’ from Tata Consumer Products, Bonus Link Program in Malaysia) ° buy often (e.g., ‘Preview Sales’ from Shoppers Stop, Smiles an e-commerce Frequent Flyer Program in Brazil, and ‘Papa John Free Pizza Meter’ in Russia) ° buy intensively (e.g., aimed at product promotions, incentivized actions, and own purchases— ‘My Starbucks Rewards’ in India & Russia, and program aimed at promoting use of public utilities—Smartclub program in Shanghai) Integrated marketing communications • IBM’s BSmarter Planet^ campaign spanned multiple platforms and modes of communication to help convey to their customers and prospects that technology can contribute to solving world’s problems. • Lipton Ice Tea, South Africa—The ‘Never lose your cool’ IMC campaign featured a well-integrated mix of social, online and traditional marketing tactics including merchandising, promotion, publicity outreach, and co-branding.a Co-creation • The Heineken Open Design Explorations Edition 1: The Club is a progressive pop-up club based on the theme of ‘Changing Perspectives’. Guests throughout the Design week are encouraged to share their vision, becoming part of the co-creation process so Heineken can give its consumers the opportunity to be part of this evolving project. • Imlek is a large dairy company from Serbia. For one of their brands - Moja kravica, the company sought ideas from customers to develop a new package design and format. • Tanishq, the jewelry arm of the Tata Group, has launched ‘My Expression’, which invites consumers to submit an idea for Mia—the new Working Women’s line from Tanishq. The winner will get to collaborate with designers at Tanishq to design the latest collection. • Coca Cola in South East Asia used online co-creation to gather expressions of its brand promise BEnergizing refreshment^ through videos, animations, illustrations and photographs that could be used in its marketing campaigns worldwide. Cross-selling offers • Jones Lang LaSalle cross-sell their facilities management/ outsourcing services to manage properties. They also up-sell their strategic consulting services to help the customer’s property acquisition and/or liquidation efforts. • Garanti Bank in Turkey—For increasing its cross selling activities, Garanti bank design solutions for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through partnerships with powerful brands and institutions . Multichannel management • To provide superior customer service, London’s Gatwick Airport uses a combination of Twitter (for real-time customer support), billboards (for public information), and review sites (for information/ratings about facilities and retailers in the airport). • ASOS in UK: Leading UK-based online fashion retailer ASOS launched an integrated Facebook shopping application powered by Usablenet’s platform that combines shopping and social media by extending full e-commerce functionality to the ASOS Facebook community. • Burberry in Asia - Its social media platforms go beyond Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to include China’s WeChat and Japan’s Line into live-streaming and real-time engagement with its fans. They have also experimented with Snapchat and Periscope for real-time engagement. • Uniqlo in China - In-store shoppers could try on outfits in front of screens with global city backdrops. These images were then sent to the company’s WeChat account where users could share the image with friends. Fans could also send a selfie if they could not make it to a store. Referral marketing • Many companies including Sprint and Scottrade offer incentives to the referring and the referred customers. • Tesla’s referral program in China offers a USD1000 reward to Model S owners and buyers who take advantage of word-of-mouth referrals of the electric carsb Solicited customer feedback • KFC in Australia—They are currently incentivizing consumers to provide feedback by offering discounts on items in exchange for surveys. • Airbnb in America—They use Net Promoter Score to evaluate stay experience and how it could be made better. They also bring hosts together at local events so that they can share best practices and creative solutions and achieve even better results for future customers. • Xiaomi in China - Smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi succeeds because it places customers at the center of their market research. When Xiaomi designs new products, it works with consumers, to obtain feedback and use these opinions to refine the design. They encourage users to share their good and bad thoughts on forums, and they take them seriously. Feedback sessions are structured, open, honest and useful—leading to actionable changes. Social CRM • JCPenney posts hauls (fashion videos made by teens) on YouTube to take advantage of the user generated content. • Taylor Swift used Google Hangouts to announce the release of her 2012 album, Red.c • South Africa tourism uses CRM tools to make big commitments to social networks to engage with their customers better during the 2010 FIFA World Cup d • Movistar Argentina, an Argentine telecom service provider allows its customers to cancel their mobile account via Twitter @MovistarArg.e a BIntegrated Marketing Campaign by Lipton Helps Thirsty Beachgoers^ [available at http://www.marketingtango.com/integrated-marketing-campaign- by-lipton-helps-thirsty-beachgoers/] b http://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1845133/tesla-offering-us1000-bounty-model-s-referral-sales c B4Ways to Use Google Hangouts in Your Business,^ U.S. Small Business Administration, February 13, 2013, http://www.sba.gov/blogs/4-ways-use- google-hangouts-your-business (Accessed on August 13, 2014) d http://www.tourismcambodia.com/news/worldnews/1031/south-africa-tourism-ramps-up-call-center-social-crm-for-world-cup.htm e http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/latin-americas-movistar-fields-social-media-agents-globetrotting-socialcrm-interviews-jesus 140 J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci. (2019) 47:138–160 http://www.marketingtango.com/integrated-marketing-campaign-by-lipton-helps-thirsty-beachgoers/ http://www.marketingtango.com/integrated-marketing-campaign-by-lipton-helps-thirsty-beachgoers/ http://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1845133/tesla-offering-us1000-bounty-model-s-referral-sales http://www.sba.gov/blogs/4-ways-use-google-hangouts-your-business http://www.sba.gov/blogs/4-ways-use-google-hangouts-your-business http://www.tourismcambodia.com/news/worldnews/1031/south-africa-tourism-ramps-up-call-center-social-crm-for-world-cup.htm http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/latin-americas-movistar-fields-social-media-agents-globetrotting-socialcrm-interviews-jesus experience into four categories: offering-related, value-relat- ed, enabler-related, and market-related. After identifying the variables that influence service expe- rience, we explore how service experience can lead to the creation of CE. In doing so, we use the approach offered by Pansari and Kumar (2017) to propose that service experience leads to the creation of satisfaction and emotional at- tachment, which in turn leads to CE. However, based on the qualitative study, we identify that perceived var- iation in service experience moderates the influence of service experience on both satisfaction and emotional attachment. On the specific focus on the service setting, a key contribution of this article is the attention to how the service experience of customers varies across eco- nomic markets. We expect such a perspective will spur future discussion and research in this important area of study. We conclude this article by stating the contribu- tions of this study and identifying future research directions. Related research Literature has covered several engagement concepts such as customer engagement (Kumar et al. 2010; Pansari and Kumar 2017; Verhoef et al. 2010), customer engagement behaviors (Van Doorn et al. 2010), consumer brand engagement (Hollebeek et al. 2014), and customer engagement marketing (Harmeling et al. 2017), among others. For the purpose of this study, we focus the review of the literature on the customer engagement concept. Within the CE concept, studies have investigated topics such as a customer’s direct and indirect contributions (Pansari and Kumar 2017), interactive and co- creative experiences (Brodie et al. 2011), value co-creation (Jaakkola and Alexander 2014), and consciousness (Grewal et al. 2017), among others. In defining/explaining CE, studies have adopted various perspectives. For instance, Kumar et al. (2010) adopt a value-based perspective and define CE as Bactive interactions of a customer with a firm, with prospects, and with other customers, whether they are transactional or non- transactional in nature.^ Van Doorn et al. (2010) adopt a be- havioral perspective and define CE as Ba customer’s behav- ioral manifestation toward a brand or firm, beyond purchase, resulting from motivational drivers.^ Brodie et al. (2011) adopt a multidimensional perspective and define CE as a Bpsychological state that occurs by virtue of interactive, cocreative customer experiences with a focal agent/object (e.g., a brand) in focal service relationships.^ Finally, Hollebeek et al. (2016) extends Brodie et al. (2011) by adopting a S-D logic perspective to define CE as Ba cus- tomer’s motivationally driven, volitional investment of focal operant resources (including cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and social knowledge and skills), and operand resources (e.g., equipment) into brand interactions in service systems.^ The CE concept has been effectively adapted and developed to conceptualize and investigate several topics. In this regard, Table 2 presents representative CE studies in the marketing literature. Regarding a broader theme, the current study incorporates and builds on the work of Hollebeek et al. (2016) (which is an extension of Brodie et al. 2011) and Pansari and Kumar (2017). First, Pansari and Kumar (2017) undertake a holistic viewpoint toward CE that Bencompasses all customer activities^ (p. 295). Such an approach results in direct contri- butions (i.e., customer purchases) and/or indirect contribu- tions (i.e., customer referrals, customers’ online influence, and customer feedback) to the firm. In essence, they use the tenets of relationship marketing to understand better how all customers can engage with the firm. While they do posit that CE will be enhanced in the case of service industry (when compared to goods), they do not provide details on how it does, and how it can be managed. This study fills that gap by identifying that a perceived variation in service experience can explain the increases in CE. Further, this study also provides managerial insights on how to manage the variation in service experience. Second, Hollebeek et al. (2016) firmly integrate CE and S- D logic to develop a revised set of S-D logic–informed fun- damental propositions of CE (based on Brodie et al. 2011). Since the S-D logic states in axiomatic terms that service is the fundamental basis of exchange (Vargo and Lusch 2016), it is ideally suited for our study’s focus on the service setting. Further, Hollebeek et al. (2016) demonstrate the relevance of adopting an S-D logic-informed perspective of CE by advanc- ing managerial insights that can aid in enhancing Bcustomer interactions, which over time, facilitate the development of superior customer relationships and lifetime value^ (p. 2). These studies serve as the ideal foundation for us to investi- gate CE in the service context. Qualitative study To better understand the importance of service experience in establishing CE, we adopted the grounded theory approach (Glaser and Strauss 1967). According to this approach, Bknowledge is seen as actively and socially constructed with meanings of existence only relevant to an experiential world^ (Goulding 1998). Therefore, managers who are directly in- volved in delivering/overseeing service experience across the developed and the emerging markets were approached for their opinions and insights. The appropriateness of this technique has been established in recent studies on customer experience management (Homburg et al. 2017) and CE (Hollebeek et al. 2016). J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci. (2019) 47:138–160 141 Prasanna Kokku Use pakka Prasanna Kokku Use Prasanna Kokku Use Prasanna Kokku Use pakka Prasanna Kokku Use Prasanna Kokku Use pakka T ab le 2 R ep re se n ta ti v e C E S tu d ie s in M ar k et in g S tu d y A cc o u n t fo r m ar k et ty p e (d ev el o p ed o r em er g in g ) N at u re o f st u d y (c o n ce p tu al o r em pi ri ca l) R es ea rc h fo cu s K ey co n tr ib u ti o n s B o w d en (2 0 0 9) N o C o nc ep tu al P ro p os e a C E fr am ew o rk b as ed o n th e ex te n t to w h ic h cu st o m er s ar e ei th er n ew o r re p ea t p u rc h as e cu st o m er s o f a sp ec if ic se rv ic e b ra n d . A cc o u n tf o r th e d ep th o f cu st om er s’ em ot io n al re sp o n se s to co n su m p ti o n si tu at io n s th at le ad to lo y al ty an d re pe at pu rc ha se . K u m ar et al . (2 0 1 0 ) N o C o nc ep tu al P ro p os e th at th e cu st o m er ’s en g ag em en t v al u e (C E V ) is co m p ri se d o f th ei r p u rc h as e b eh av io r, in ce n ti v iz ed re fe rr al o f n ew cu st om er s, b eh av io r to in fl u en ce o th er cu st o m er s’ p ur ch as e b eh av io r, an d v al u e ad d ed to th e fi rm b y fe ed b ac k . S u g g es t ap p ro p ri at e m et ri cs fo r m ea su ri n g th e v ar io u s co m p o n en ts o f C E V , an d p ro p o se re la ti o n sh ip s b et w ee n th e d if fe re n t co m p o n en ts o f C E V . V an D o or n et al . (2 0 10 ) N o C o nc ep tu al D ev el op a co nc ep tu al m od el of th e an te ce de nt s an d co ns eq ue nc es of C E B s th at re la te to cu st om er ,f ir m , an d so ci et y. P ro p o se a C E B M an ag em en t P ro ce ss w he re fi rm s id en ti fy , ev al u at e an d re ac t to k ey C E B s. B ro d ie et al . (2 0 11 ) N o C o nc ep tu al E x p lo re th e th eo re ti ca l fo u n d at io n s o f C E b as ed o n th e re la ti o n sh ip m ar k et in g th eo ry an d th e S -D lo g ic . Id en ti fy fi v e fu n d am en ta l pr o p o si ti o n s o f C E , an d d is ti n g u is h th e co n ce p tf ro m o th er re la ti o n al co n ce p ts . V iv ek et al . (2 0 1 2 ) N o C o nc ep tu al P ro p os e th at C E is co m p o se d o f co g n it iv e, em o ti o n al , b eh av io ra l, an d so ci al el em en ts , an d id en ti fy th e an te ce d en ts an d co n se q ue n ce s o f C E . H ig h li g h t th e im p o rt an ce o f u n d er st an d in g in d iv id u al s’ co n n ec ti o n s w it h ea ch o th er re la ti v e to th e b ra n d , re g ar d le ss o f w h et h er th ey ar e p u rc h as in g o r ev en co n si d er in g p u rc h as in g th e b ra n d . H o ll eb ee k (2 0 11 a) N o C o nc ep tu al P ro p os e a co n ce p tu al m o d el to ex pl ai n th e re la ti o n sh ip s b et w ee n cu st o m er b ra n d en g ag em en t (C B E ) an d o th er m ar k et in g co n st ru ct s. Id en ti fy p o te n ti al ly d if fe re n ti al co n su m er b eh av io r o u tc o m es ac ro ss th e pr o p o se d se g m en ts o f cu st o m er s. H o ll eb ee k (2 0 11 b ) N o E m p ir ic al C o n ce p tu al iz e C B E u si n g li te ra tu re an d re se ar ch te ch n iq u es . D ef in e C B E as th e le ve l o f a cu st o m er ’s co g n it iv e, em o ti o n al an d b eh av io ra li n v es tm en ti n sp ec if ic b ra n d in te ra ct io n s. H o ll eb ee k (2 0 1 3 ) N o E m p ir ic al E x p lo re h o w C E m ay co n tr ib u te to ge n er at in g cu st o m er v al u e (C V ) an d en su in g lo y al ty fo r u ti li ta ri an an d h ed o n ic b ra n d s. F o u n d (a ) a cu rv il in ea r re la ti o n sh ip b et w ee n C E /C V fo r u ti li ta ri an an d h ed on ic b ra n d s; an d (i i) u p to a le v el , in cr ea si n g C E g en er at es gr ea te r C V fo r h ed o n ic , th an fo r u ti li ta ri an b ra nd s. Ja ak k o la an d A le x an d er (2 0 1 4 ) N o E m p ir ic al C o n ce p tu al iz e C E B in v al u e co -c re at io n w it h in a m u lt is ta k eh ol d er se rv ic e sy st em . P ro p o se s th at C E B af fe ct s v al u e co -c re at io n th ro u g h cu st o m er s’ re so u rc e co n tr ib u ti o n s to w ar d th e fi rm / st ak eh o ld er s th at au g m en t th e o ff er in g . H o ll eb ee k et al . (2 0 1 6 ) N o C o nc ep tu al D ev el o p an in te g ra ti v e, S -D lo g ic – in fo rm ed fr am ew or k o f C E co m p ri si n g th re e C E fo u n d at io n al p ro ce ss es . D ev el o p a se t o f re v is ed S -D lo g ic – in fo rm ed F P s o f C E , an d ap p ly th e re v is ed F P s to C R M to g en er at e m an ag er ia l in si g h ts . H ar m el in g et al . (2 0 1 7 ) N o E m p ir ic al D ef in e cu st o m er en g ag em en t m ar k et in g , an d p ro p o se a fr am ew o rk to sh o w h o w en g ag em en t m ar k et in g d ri v es lo n g -t er m C E . Id en ti fy u n iv er sa l ch ar ac te ri st ic s o f en g ag em en t m ar k et in g , d if fe re n ti at e it fr o m o th er m ar k et in g st ra te g ie s, an d o ff er a ty p o lo g y o f tw o ty p es o f en g ag em en t m ar k et in g (t as k -b as ed an d ex p er ie n ti al ) th at ca n d ri v e lo ng -t er m C E . G re w al et al . (2 0 1 7 ) N o C o nc ep tu al P ro p os e th at co n sc io u sn es s as a fo u n d at io n al p h il o so p h y ca n b e u se d b y fi rm s to cr ea te a m o re en g ag in g an d m ea n in g fu l cu st o m er ex p er ie n ce . P ro p o se th at co m p an ie s ca n en h an ce th ei r cu st o m er en g ag em en t b y b u il d in g o n fo u n d at io ns o f 142 J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci. (2019) 47:138–160 Data collection We conducted in-depth interviews with 46 managers from 42 business-to-consumer service firms (after initially ap- proaching 52 firms) headquartered in North America (2 each from Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.), the United Kingdom (5 companies), Germany (5 companies), France (5 companies), Netherlands (5 companies), India (5 companies), China (5 companies), Brazil (5 companies), and UAE (5 companies). A total of 31 face-to-face interviews and 15 telephonic inter- views were conducted during an 8-month period. Since four of the companies in our study had offices in both developed and emerging markets, two managers from each company (the one responsible for the developed market, and the one respon- sible for the emerging market) were interviewed. The man- agers we interviewed had, on average, over six years of expe- rience in a …