Increasingly service providers show customers some activities originally in the backstage but few are known about the phenomenon from theoretical viewpoints. The purpose of this study is to conduct an exploratory investigation of positive backstage visibility and the corresponding perceived values. The CIT method was applied to analyze 387 service experiences in Greater China (including Mainland China, Macau, and Taiwan). The categorization of backstage visibility was classified by two dimensions (complexity and attractiveness), and the corresponding perceived values for backstage visibility for each category of backstage visibility was discussed. The main findings of this study include that (1) the visualized backstage could become a differentiated strategy or tangible clue for services, and (2) the contents of dramaturgy theory should be adjusted to be suitable in the business practices today.
BerryL.L.LampoS.K.Teaching an old service new tricks: the promise of service redesignJournal of Service Research232000265–275
2.
BerryL.L.CarboneL.P.HaeckelS.H.Managing the total customer experienceSlone Management Review433200285–89
3.
BitnerM.J.Servicescapes: the impact of physical surroundings on customers and employeesJournal of Marketing56199257–71
4.
BitnerM.J.BoomsB.H.TetreaultM.S.The service encounter: diagnosing favorable and unfavorable incidentsJournal of Marketing541199071–84
5.
BitnerM.J.OstromA.L.MorganF.N.Service blueprinting: a practical technique for service innovationCalifornia Management Review503200866–94
6.
BoksbergerP.E.MelsenL.Perceived value: a critical examination of definitions, concepts and measures for the service industryJournal of Services Marketing2532011229–240
7.
EisenhardtK.M.Agency theory: an assessment and reviewAcademy of Management Review141198957–74
8.
EzehC.HarrisL.Servicescape research: a review and a research agendaThe Marketing Review71200759–78
9.
FiskR.P.GroveS.J.JohnJ.Services Marketing Self-Portraits: Introspections, Reflections, and Glimpses from the Experts2000American Marketing AssociationChicago
GlinogaM., TombsA., 2007. Backstage visibility: do the customers care? In: ThyneM., DeansK.R., GnothJ. (Eds.), ANZMAC 2007 Reputation, Responsibility, Relevance. Conference Proceedings, Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy (ANZMAC) Conference 2007, Dunedin, New Zealand, 3–5 December, 2007, pp. 2541–2549.
12.
GlushkoR.L.TabasL.Designing service systems by bridging the front stage and back stageInformation Systems and e-Business Management72009407–427
13.
GremlerD.D.The critical incident technique in service researchJournal of Service Research7200465–89
14.
GroveS.J.FiskR.P.The service experience as theaterAdvances in Consumer Research191992455–461
15.
GroveS.J.FiskR.P.DorschM.J.Assessing the theatrical components of the service encounter: a cluster analysis examinationThe Service Industries Journal1831998116–134
16.
HarrisL.C.ReynoldsK.L.Jaycustomer behavior: an exploration of types and motives in the hospitality industryJournal of Services Marketing1852004339–357
17.
HuntS.D.Marketing Theory1983Richard D. IrwinHomewood, IL
18.
KantamneniS.P.CoulsonK.R.Measuring perceived value: scale development and research findings from a consumer surveyJournal of Marketing Management62199672–86
MoisioR.ArnouldE.J.Extending the dramaturgical framework in marketing: drama structure, drama interaction and drama content in shopping experiencesJournal of Consumer Behaviour442005246–256
21.
RosterC.A.Moments of truth in gift exchanges: a critical incident analysis of communication indicators used to detect gift failurePsychology & Marketing2312006885–903
22.
RyuK.JangS.Influence of restaurants’ physical environments on emotion and behavioral intentionThe Service Industrial Journal28820081151–1165
23.
SánchezJ.CallarisaL.RodríguezR.M.MolinerM.A.Perceived value of the purchase of a tourism productTourism Management272006394–409
24.
SánchezJ.MolinerM.A.CallarisaL.RodríguezR.M.Relationship quality of an establishment and perceived value of a purchaseThe Service Industries Journal2722007151–174
25.
SchmittB.H.Customer Experience Management2003John Wiley & SonsNew Jersey
26.
SerwerA.The hole story: how Krispy Kreme became the hottest brand in AmericanFortune200352–62
27.
ShethJ.N.NewmanB.I.GrossB.L.Consumption Values and Market Choice1991South Western PublishingCincinnati, Ohio
28.
ShethJ.N.NewmanB.I.GrossB.L.Why we buy what we buy: a theory of consumption valuesJournal of Business Research2221991159–170
29.
SinhaI.DeSarboW.S.An integrated approach toward the spatial modeling of perceived customer valueJournal of Marketing ResearchXXXV1998236–249
30.
SweeneyJ.C.SoutarG.N.Consumer perceived value: the development of a multiple item scaleJournal of Retailing772001203–220
31.
WalkerS.J., TrulyE., 1992. The critical incidents technique: philosophical foundations and methodological implications. Paper presented at the AMA Winter Educator's Conference, San Antonio, TX.
32.
WilliamsJ.A.AndersonH.H.Engaging customers in service creation: a theater perspectiveJournal of Services Marketing191200513–23
33.
WoodruffR.Customer value: the next source for competitive advantageJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science251997139–153
34.
ZeithamlV.A.Consumer perceptions of price, quality and value: a means-end model and synthesis of evidenceJournal of Marketing5219882–22
35.
ZeithamlV.A.BitnerM.J.GremlerD.D.Services Management: Integrating Customer Focus across the Firmfourth ed.2006McGraw-HillNew York, NY
