E VALUATION OF THE RESULTS

Figure 17: The dimensions of user experience according to case studies.

Unaltered dimensions are white, paired dimensions are black, totally new dimensions are red, the dimension divided into two is yellow and the dimension encompassing four theoretical dimensions is green.

4.2 Evaluation of the results

The theoretical and empirical literature in the fields of relationship marketing and customer perceived quality is vast. As stated in the introduction this dissertation aims at adding understanding to this body of knowledge by uniting different elements of customer perceived quality and customer satisfaction into one model that could add the

understanding of total quality perception but especially of the customer experience. This model was presented in chapter 2.

The literature review revealed that even if there is a solid theoretical background about customer perceived quality, customer satisfaction – and to some degree customer experience – there are some severe theoretical problems concerning the relationships between the constructs. One main contribution of this research to the body of relationship marketing knowledge is that the suggested model combines the constructs in a coherent way.

Previous research has also been interested in the dimensional nature of the different quality constructs – in this dissertation these constructs are named service, product and relationship. Previous research has been interested in one or in some rare instances of two of these elements. This has lead to a narrow understanding of customer perceived quality. This dissertation contributes to widening this understanding so that customer perceived quality is seen as a holistic experience covering all elements of the offering.

The theory was utilized in the field of facilities management and more specifically in landlord-tenant relationships. This may be seen as a critical test of the theory in one branch that has its own special features. From this perspective this dissertation adds the understanding of the potential to find branch independent dimensions for assessing customer experience. The results of this dissertation do not support the idea that certain predetermined dimensions of quality or customer experience could be applied in all branches and in all circumstances.

Also, this dissertation is an attempt to bring relationship marketing themes into theoretical discussion in the facilities management field. There are some previous examples of this type of cross-disciplinary approach (McLennan 2004; Cambell and Finch 2004; Bandy 2002; Shaw and Haynes 2004). This dissertation contributes to this theoretical discussion.

As facilities management is an applied science with no solid theory base of its own, this could be one step to import such a base to the field of facilities management.

The aim of this dissertation is to offer facilities management theory one way to understand and conceptualize the customer experience utilizing a well established and thoroughly discussed theoretical tradition. This dissertation offers a way to understand the dimensional nature of the customer experience in one specific facilities management related context – in landlord-tenant relationships – by introducing the dimension of customer experience in landlord-tenant relationships.

Practical implications

Many practitioners in Finnish rental business are still quite space oriented and they do not see their business as a service business. Thus, there is a need to raise customer orientation in the branch. This need is acknowledged by the landlords themselves as they need to compete in constantly harsher environment for ever more demanding customers.

This is pushing the branch to develop the ways of doing business (Rasila & Nenonen 2007). Hopefully this dissertation is one step towards raising the understanding.

The landlords understand well euros and square meters. They also note that they should understand their customers and their core businesses better if they want to have satisfied customers and long term customer relationships. This in important also as previous research suggests that Finnish tenants feel that the landlords “do not care for them enough” (Rasila & Nenonen 2007). Understanding the complexity and multi-dimensionality of the customer experience is one step of knowing the customer better.

The practitioners may utilize the methodology suggested here to understand their customer needs and wishes. This dissertation suggests a way to carry out the task of assessing the customer experience by carrying out individual interviews and walkthrough audits. Feedback especially from the audits has been very positive as the landlords learn to understand their customers through such journeys. The journeys also seem to give the customers a feeling that they are heard.

In order to understand the customer in the context of a landlord-tenant relationship it was necessary to open up the concept and the company internal actors of the tenant side in a business deal. This increases landlords’ understanding of who their customers really are and who are the persons that need to be considered when the customer experiences are evaluated.

Contribution

As a summary it may be stated that this dissertation hopes to contribute both theoretically and practically. The contribution to the theory and praxis is presented in Table 8.

Table 8: The main contributions of this dissertation

Theoretical Practical

Combining the constructs of customer perceived quality, satisfaction and customer experience into one model

Raising awareness of the customer focus in rental business

Holistic view of different elements of quality related to different offerings

Helping the landlords to understand their customers and customer needs better

This dissertation does not support the common claim that the dimensions of customer experience are generic.

Providing a methodology for assessing the customer experience

Bringing new cross-disciplinary ideas to the theory of facilities management

Understanding the tenant as a customer organization with individual actors

Increasing the existing body of knowledge related to using relationship marketing approach in facilities management

Building the theory base of facilities management

Understanding the customer experience in a landlord-tenant relationship