Knowledge Management Best Practices in Services Industries

Knowledge Management Best Practices in Services Industries

The ability to stay on in step with customers' rapidly changing needs is only possible when a company completely commits itself to transforming data into information, while also capturing and using tacit and implicit knowledge. As this analysis will illustrate, data, information and knowledge are multifaceted and have many implications across the lifecycle of a business in general and customers specifically. Concentrating on how the data pertaining to customers can be optimized, this analysis concentrates on the Service Quality (SERVQUAL) methodology and metrics. SERVQUAL measures five dimensions of the customer experience including reliability, assurance, tangibles, empathy and responsiveness (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, Berry, 1985). While the scope of this analysis concentrates on SERVQUAL from the standpoint of capturing data, information and knowledge from a customer standpoint, there are many ancillary implications that also apply to the knowledge-based theory of firms as well. The use of SERVQUAL-based intelligence in a company can fuel even greater strides in the effectiveness of the entire value chain. From this standpoint, SERVQUAL can fuel significant change that is predicated on the knowledge-based theory of firms. Leadership in 21st century needs to be dictated by the effective use of knowledge-based assets over physical ones, as growth is predicated on how well a company interprets its environments and reacts to it (Singh, 2008).

Analysis of Theories and their Practical Use in Knowledge Management

The implications of transforming knowledge into a competitive advantage must begin at a systemic, focused level of evaluating how data can be aggregated and classified into taxonomies to deliver greater value. Data-oriented taxonomy development and the definition of data elements across roles in any organization will require a shift in culture and values, if the full value of the information generated is going to be used (Rai, 2011). This shift in organizational structure and culture attributable to better data management to the taxonomy and role level can also drastically improve the quality and quantity of information created (Nickerson, Zenger, 2004). Data in its most elementary form is meaningless without content. Creating taxonomies, defining the ontological relationships inherent in data elements, and creating frameworks to bring greater relevance to it All are essential for creating information (Gao, Li, Nakamori, 2002). Using advanced methodologies including SERVQUAL generate a myriad of data elements, and the taxonomies and ontologies inherent in this framework help to create information, yet stop short of making it enterprise-wide. That's where the value of the knowledge-based theory of the firm becomes highly relevant. The ontologies and more strategic frameworks of the knowledge-based theory of firms can accentuate and make more focused the SERVQUAL methodology. In addition to the ontologies and frameworks that the knowledge-based theory of firms provides, its frameworks also put implicit and tacit knowledge into a useful context for managing knowledge management (Martin, Hatzakis, Lycett, Macredie, 2004).

The ability of firms to create a more effective unified knowledge management strategy begins by incorporating corporate-wide sources of data and information, including tacit and implicit knowledge, into a broader framework. This is specifically what is required for making the contextual value of SERVQUAL and methodologies comparable to it as valuable as possible. Expanding or extrapolating these factors to a global context requires a multifaceted strategy of integrating customer-based and internal knowledge (Ringel-Bickelmaier, Ringel, 2010). Creating value from knowledge management must take into account the taxonomies of how data is organized to create information, and how tacit and implicit knowledge is used for capturing and building strategies over the long-term. The following actual examples of how this can be achieved in enterprises.

Case Analysis of SERVQUAL in the Hospitality Industry

The ability of companies to gain insights into how they can improve the orchestration of their customer service strategies to better understand customer expectations and satisfaction is possible using the SERVQUAL methodology (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, Berry, 1988). Marriott Hotels and others are actively using SERVQUAL to measure the gap between customer expectations and experiences, generating ongoing benchmarks showing the variations in each dimension (Enz, Siguaw, 2000). This data is generating valuable insights and intelligence that guides tactical and strategic changes in their overall approach to service quality, including the addition of new services and options for guests. One of the most significant findings from this analysis is that business travelers greatly value predictability of their surroundings in Marriott properties so they can navigate the rooms at night if they have to get up (Yesawich, 2006). Marriott also found that through the use of the SERVQUAL methodology that their most frequent travelers value a more rapid check-in over the formalities of being treated special due to their advanced status in loyalty programs (Yesawich, 2006). Time was more important to a business travel than status or formality.