Value not virtual ‐ one library's response to the virtual campus

McKnight, Sue

doi:10.1080/13614570009516949

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 2 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…At Deakin University, library user value statements were created for every market segment researched reflected the actual words used and emphasis placed by the customers, thus personalising the charters (McKnight, 2000). These charters or value statements provide a goal to be strived for over time.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Bridging the gap between service provision and customer expectations

McKnight

2009

Performance Measurement and Metrics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to serve as a reminder to all managers that they must understand their customers, from the customers' perspective, and not make assumptions about customer needs. Design/methodology/approachCustomer Value Discovery workshops are held with undergraduate on-campus students and academic staff at Nottingham Trent University to identify customer values and irritations. Library staff participate in the workshops and vote as they expected their customers to vote. The gaps identified between staff assumptions of customer perceptions of service importance and performance serve as a catalyst for staff engagement in the change process that is necessary to deliver on the value propositions and reduce customer irritations. FindingsLibrary staff assumptions of customer perceptions were not always accurate. The gaps identified helped to engage staff in the change process that was necessary to improve perceptions of value and to reduce irritations. By explicitly addressing the value propositions with the aims of adding value and reducing irritation, student satisfaction with library services, as measured by two independent satisfaction surveys, improved considerably. Research limitations/implicationsThe research is based on two customer segments of one university library. The research should be repeated after a gap of three-four years to check if the value propositions and irritations have changed in that time. If so, the goals of the library's operational plan would have to change to reflect the new value propositions. Practical implicationsA comparison of the Customer Value Discovery methodology with LibQUAL+™, which is used internationally, and the Rodski Research Group's methodology, used in Australia and New Zealand, is given. Originality/valueThe Customer Value Discovery methodology is most often used in the commercial sector. This paper explores its potential in the not-for-profit sector in the context of a university library service.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is particularly important in a service sector such as a library. Different customers mean different service requirements (McKnight, 2000;Wilson, 2009).…”

Section: Which Customers?mentioning

confidence: 99%