Proactive Service Research Articles

How and when does benevolent leadership promote followers’ proactive customer service behavior?

PurposeThis study aimed to investigate the impact of benevolent leadership on proactive customer service performance by creating a moderated mediation model. The model focuses on the role of harmonious passion as a mediator in the relationship between benevolent leadership and proactive customer service performance as well as the moderating influence of proactive personality on this mediation.Design/methodology/approachThe model was tested using data from 339 immediate supervisor-subordinate pairs in eight five-star hotels in Egypt. Frontline service employees and their immediate supervisors completed separate questionnaires, and the responses were matched using identification numbers.FindingsThe results indicate that harmonious passion fully mediates the positive relationship between benevolent leadership and proactive customer service performance. Additionally, proactive personality was found to moderate the mediated relationship between benevolent leadership and proactive customer service performance through harmonious passion, such that the mediation was stronger for employees with higher proactive personalities.Research limitations/implicationsBy testing the moderated mediation model, this study contributes to our theoretical understanding of the motivational mechanism through which benevolent leadership influences proactive customer service performance.Originality/valueThis research offers initial evidence of the mediating role of harmonious passion in the positive relationship between benevolent leadership and proactive customer service performance. The moderated mediation model extends existing findings by incorporating proactive personality as a significant moderator in explaining the impact of benevolent leadership on proactive customer service performance.

Getting time and building trust: unveiling the systemic, relational, and personal factors influencing clinical pharmacy service implementation in South Africa, a qualitative study

BackgroundWhile multidisciplinary teams with clinical pharmacists improve medication use and outcomes, their integration in South Africa faces limitations. A lack of dedicated positions and healthcare professionals’ misunderstanding restrict ward activities and hinder full collaboration, limiting their potential to optimize patient care. This study addresses a gap by exploring how perceived healthcare professionals’ understanding of clinical pharmacists’ roles impacts their motivation and service implementation. Understanding these dynamics, particularly in resource-constrained settings, is crucial for optimizing integration and healthcare delivery.MethodsAdopting a constructivist approach, this qualitative study was conducted using focus group discussions. Through purposive sampling clinical pharmacists were recruited across South Africa’s public healthcare sector. A semi-structured guide based on previous findings explored how the perceived understanding around clinical pharmacy impacts service delivery and work motivation. Transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis, guided by the Self-Determination Theory framework. Thematic analysis employed an inductive approach, following an initial preliminary analysis of open and selective coding to develop a coding framework.ResultsClinical pharmacists (n = 16) reported various challenges impacting service implementation and motivation. Two main themes were identified: (1) Time: Dedicated ward time is crucial for both the proper implementation of clinical services, as well as the clinical pharmacists’ motivation; and (2) Trust: Clinical pharmacists experience a lack of trust amongst healthcare professionals in the value of clinical pharmacy services. The themes illustrated mechanisms at work at three levels: systemic (lack of dedicated positions), inter-relational (healthcare professional’s misconceptions), and personal (thwarted autonomy).ConclusionsSystemic challenges, like the absence of official positions present the biggest obstacle, affecting support, scope of practice, and healthcare professional interactions. While systemic changes are crucial for full integration of clinical pharmacists, in resource-constrained settings fostering autonomous motivation is equally important. This study emphasizes the need for a multi-faceted approach, including policy changes, international collaboration, interprofessional education, and interventions to empower clinical pharmacists for proactive service delivery. By addressing these interconnected challenges, healthcare systems can leverage the full potential of clinical pharmacists, ultimately improving healthcare delivery and patient outcomes.

Is Full Bright Smile a Positive Factor for Higher WTP?: Evidence from a Cross-Cultural Study on the Integrated Effects of Salesperson’s Non-verbal Behavior

This study examined the extent to which culture and familiarity with a shopping situation moderate the impact of a salesperson’s smile intensity on consumer decisions. Koreans, Indonesians, and Filipinos and Malaysians were recruited to represent low, mid, and high power distances, respectively. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two scenarios which asked to imagine shopping for a cosmetic product and being approached by a salesperson who either had a full smile and proactive service or had a limited smile and passively promoted sales. As predicted, the intentions to stay at the shop, purchase recommended items, and pay extra money for shopping were higher among the Korean participants when imagining a salesperson with a full smile. The Indonesians, in contrast, were more willing to pay extra money for shopping when approached by a salesperson with a limited smile. Implications for cross-cultural scholars and marketing practitioners are also discussed.

When visionary leadership foster proactive customer service performance among community workers in China: the role of personal initiative and workload

When visionary leadership foster proactive customer service performance among community workers in China: the role of personal initiative and workload

Understanding workplace incivility in hospitality: Challenges and pathways to positive work environments

Workplace incivility in the hospitality sector is a pervasive issue with significant implications for employee well-being and organizational dynamics. This systematic literature review (SLR) aims to comprehensively examine the phenomenon of workplace incivility within the hospitality industry, focusing on its antecedents, consequences, mediators, and moderators. Through meticulous data gathering, organization, and evaluation, a total of 99 relevant articles were identified and analyzed. This review revealed that customer incivility, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, poses substantial challenges for frontline workers, leading to heightened stress levels and exacerbating existing strains. Moreover, employee-to-employee and supervisor-to-employee incivility perpetuate a cycle of hostility within service environments. While previous research has explored the impact of incivility on employee burnout and turnover, there is still a lack of research on the root reasons for rude behavior by service personnel. Additionally, the review highlights the potential of mindfulness practices in reducing the negative consequences of workplace incivility and promoting employee well-being, job satisfaction, and proactive service performance. By synthesizing existing research and identifying knowledge gaps, this SLR provides valuable insights for future research endeavors and offers pragmatic solutions for hospitality managers grappling with the challenges posed by workplace incivility.

Effectiveness of Health Behaviour Modification for Chronic Non-communicable Disease Patients with Health Coaches at Khiensa Hospital, Surat Thani Province

Background: Patients with chronic noncommunicable diseases often struggle to control their blood sugar and blood pressure levels, and they frequently experienced physical, mental, and self-care practice issues that needed to be addressed. However, they may not receive adequate guidance, or the guidance they receive may be mismatched to their needs, or they may be misunderstandings between providers and patients. Therefore, medical treatment alone is insufficient; lifestyle and behavioural changes are also required throughout treatment. Objectives: This quasi-experimental study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of health behaviour modification for chronic non-communicable disease patients through health coaching at Khiensa Hospital, Surat Thani Province. Methods: The study included 550 participants who underwent a three-month health behaviour change process for patients with chronic non-communicable diseases. Each group of ten participants was supervised by a single health coach. Health literacy, health behaviour modification, and blood sugar levels were assessed before and after participating in the process using structured questionnaires. The data were analyzed by using a paired t-test to compare the mean scores of the effectiveness of health behaviour modification for chronic non-communicable disease patients through health coaching using STATA. Result: The results showed that the average health literacy scores related to chronic noncommunicable diseases increased significantly from 162.0 to 170.2 after intervention. Similarly, the average health behaviour modification scores increased significantly from 51.4 to 55.1. Furthermore, average blood sugar levels decreased from 114.1 mg/dl to 109.2 mg/dl. Our statistical analysis revealed that the significant differences in the average scores of health literacy, health behaviour modification, and blood sugar levels before and after participating in the process (t=170.3, 151.6, and 95.0, respectively, p<0.001). Conclusion: The Ministry of Public Health should develop policies to support and prioritize holistic patient care and promote proactive health promotion services for patients through intensive health promotion program activities led by health coaches to enhance the effectiveness of care for chronic non-communicable disease patients.

Proactive IT Operations: A Comparative Analysis of Event Management in ServiceNow and BMC Helix

Abstract: This research paper presents a comprehensive comparison of the Event Management applications offered by ServiceNow and BMC Helix. The study examines key features, event detection and correlation capabilities, automation and orchestration, integration with other ITSM processes, and analytics tools of both solutions. By evaluating their strengths and weaknesses in managing IT events, this paper aims to provide insights for organizations seeking to enhance their proactive IT operations and service delivery.

Latency-Aware and Proactive Service Placement for Edge Computing

Latency-Aware and Proactive Service Placement for Edge Computing

Proactive Psychiatry: Innovating the Delivery of Consultation-Liaison Services in a Pediatric Hospital

BackgroundThe benefits of a proactive consultation-liaison (C-L) psychiatry service have been well-documented in the adult population, including decreased length of stay, increased satisfaction among physicians, and enhanced collaborative care. However, there is no available research on the effectiveness of this model in pediatric hospitals. ObjectiveThis study compared patients ages 5-18 years on a general medical floor receiving a proactive psychiatry consult to concurrent controls receiving no consult and to historical controls receiving traditional reactive consults. MethodNew admissions to two pediatric general medical hospital teams were reviewed on weekday mornings to identify those with active psychiatric concerns. Adjusted negative binomial regression was used to compare the primary outcome of hospital length of stay between the proactive (n=65), concurrent control (n=63), and reactive historical control (n=45) groups. Patient satisfaction, hospitalist satisfaction, and recommendation concordance (degree to which psychiatry recommendations were implemented by the primary team) were also compared between groups as secondary outcome measures. ResultsAfter adjusting for age, sex, race, insurance type, reason for consult, and medical diagnosis, concurrent control patients had 14% (p = 0.295) longer mean length of stay than proactive consults and historical controls had twice (p < 0.001) the mean length of stay of those with proactive consults. Response rate for patient satisfaction scores was low, but responses were modestly more favorable among patients who received proactive C-L services. Based on nine paired pediatric hospitalist pre- and post- surveys, follow-up surveys were statistically significantly more favorable after a proactive psychiatry consult service was introduced. Concordance of recommendations was observed to be higher for proactive consults than concurrent controls for diagnoses and non-medication (other) recommendations. ConclusionThe positive impact of a proactive C-L psychiatry consultation model was observed in a pediatric hospital and was associated with a lower length of stay than concurrent controls and historical reactive consults, higher hospitalist satisfaction among paired responses, and greater concordance of diagnosis and other non-medication recommendations.

Transformational Leadership in SMEs: Leveraging Initiative Climate and Employee Engagement for Enhanced Proactive Service Performance

This research explores the mediating role of initiative climate and employee engagement in the influence of transformational leadership on proactive service performance in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Balikpapan. Adopting a quantitative approach and utilizing Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), the study surveys 200 employees from the service sector. The results reveal that transformational leadership significantly enhances proactive service performance. Additionally, it is found that the initiative climate and employee engagement mediate the relationship between transformational leadership and proactive service performance. The initiative climate is vital in fostering an environment that encourages proactive behaviors, while employee engagement boosts motivation and involvement in service tasks. These findings underscore the importance of transformational leadership in promoting superior service performance by creating an initiative-driven work climate and fostering high employee engagement. The practical implications suggest that SMEs should strengthen transformational leadership and cultivate an initiative climate alongside employee engagement to improve service performance.

Don’t give me just positive feedback: How positive and negative feedback can increase feedback-based goal setting and proactive customer service behavior

Don’t give me just positive feedback: How positive and negative feedback can increase feedback-based goal setting and proactive customer service behavior

The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on an Integrated Care Programme for Older People with Different Frailty Levels (OPDFL): A Qualitative Study with Service Providers in the East of England.

While populations of all ages were affected by the pandemic, older people with frailty had much worse outcomes. The NHS England has mandated identifying and proactively managing older people with moderate and severe frailty in the General medical services (GMS) contract 2017/18. As a result of this policy, an integrated care programme for older people with different frailty levels (OPDFL) was introduced in Luton in 2018 (known as, Luton Framework for Frailty - LFF). This study was conducted to explore the views of service providers in Luton regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the implementation of LFF. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with service providers in Luton between April 2021 to July 2021. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. Eighteen service providers took part in the study. Three main themes were identified, the first of which was that proactive and frailty-related health promotion services were halted. Secondly, existing relationships due to the LFF facilitated the implementation of services for care home residents during the pandemic. Finally, participants identified that some of the challenges impacting the delivery of health promotion services were those that affected the health system in general, such as healthcare staff feeling stressed and the centralised decision-making by the government. The lessons learnt from this study could be useful in managing services for older people with frailty in times of emergencies or epidemics.

Navigate through the haze: Wildfire smoke exposure and Metrorail ridership

Adverse weather events significantly impact the operations of urban transportation systems and change human travel behaviors. Over the decades, wildfires have emerged as a pressing concern due to their increased frequency and intensity, yet the relationship between wildfire smoke and public transportation usage remains largely unexplored. Leveraging high-resolution daily wildfire-driven PM2.5 concentration estimates and station-level Metrorail ridership data in the Washington Metropolitan Area spanning 2012–2019, we examine the effects of wildfire smoke exposure on Metrorail usage. We find that wildfire smoke exposure results in a 0.8% increase in Metrorail ridership on weekdays and a more pronounced 3.7% rise on weekends. Additionally, we show a stronger response in Metrorail ridership to wildfire smoke during off-peak hours compared to peak hours, with the most substantial increase observed during the winter. Our heterogeneity analysis further suggests that a lack of vehicle ownership and higher reliance on walking and public transportation are key factors leading to increased Metrorail ridership. Collectively, these results highlight the need for proactive service adjustments and effective communication strategies to accommodate the potential shifts in human travel behaviors and Metrorail ridership on days exposed to wildfire smoke.

Proactive Service in the Housing and Utilities Sector as a Trend of Technological Development (In Russ.)

Proactive Service in the Housing and Utilities Sector as a Trend of Technological Development (In Russ.)

Is insomnia detrimental to proactive service performance and customer-directed helping? Mediation of employee resilience and moderation of job crafting

Despite the increasing severity of stressors in the service sector, little research has explored the impact of insomnia among frontline service employees (FSEs) on their service behavior, let alone the long-term consequences of insomnia. To fill this gap, this study aims to examine the mediating relationship between FSEs' insomnia, employee resilience, proactive service performance, and customer-directed helping while also exploring how job crafting moderates these relationships. To investigate the long-term effects of insomnia, we collected three-wave data from 318 FSEs in diverse service sectors over six months. The results of our mediation analyses demonstrated that FSEs’ insomnia negatively affected proactive service performance and customer-directed helping six months later by decreasing their resilience. Our findings further indicated that job crafting significantly attenuated the adverse effects of insomnia on employee resilience. In addition, our moderated mediation analyses revealed that insomnia negatively affected proactive service performance and customer-directed helping through employee resilience among FSEs engaged in a low or moderate level of job crafting. This negative effect was not observed among FSEs who engaged in high levels of job crafting, suggesting a buffering role of job crafting. These findings enrich the service literature and provide valuable insights and contributions to the field.

Enhancing intelligent transport systems: A cutting-edge framework for context-aware service management with hybrid deep learning

This study presents a comprehensive framework for optimizing intelligent transport systems (ITS) by integrating advanced communication and information technologies into vehicles, roads, and infrastructure. The primary goal is to enhance transportation efficiency, safety, and environmental sustainability while improving overall mobility for people and goods. Leveraging contextual information, the framework offers personalized, proactive services such as real-time traffic updates, route recommendations, and parking availability. Additionally, it enhances safety and security by providing early hazard warnings and adapting to changing road conditions. Our proposed framework utilizes the enhanced coral reef optimization (ECRO) algorithm to efficiently group vehicles for energy-saving data collection, maximizing information gathering efficiency. Collected data is then transmitted to a central data gathering center via a sink node optimized through the modified pelican optimization (MPO) algorithm, considering various vehicle node design constraints. An incident detection module accurately classifies and detects road incidents, enabling timely emergency service requests and alternate route recommendations. To facilitate incident detection, we introduce the deep Rigdelet neural network (DRNN), a novel deep learning technique tailored for decision-making in incident classification. We validate our framework's performance through NS-2 simulations using the SUMO traffic generator, demonstrating its effectiveness in meeting quality of service (QoS) metrics. Through comparative analysis with existing frameworks, our proposed approach stands out for its superior performance and ability to optimize ITS operations.

Proactive product warranty service planning and control: unravelling the boons of customer-generated content and multi-frequency analyses

Proactive warranty service problems planning and control serve a crucial role in service continuity and sustainability. In this regard, for the majority of manufacturers, predicting warranty claims for complicated goods is a reliability problem. The prediction of warranty claims is a complex task that also inherently possesses ambiguity, uncertainty, and volatility due to various factors. This study tries to overcome these challenges by providing a unique hybrid forecasting technique and experimenting with the use of social media data to improve the accuracy of warranty claims forecasts. We have established a collaborative partnership with a provider of automobile product services to curate a comprehensive dataset comprising two distinct types of data: (1) internal operational data and (2) social media data sourced from Twitter and Facebook. The proposed algorithm exhibits a high level of proficiency in predicting warranty claims and demonstrates robustness in effectively handling various forms of time series data that display multifarious statistical characteristics. Empirical Wavelet Transform (EWT), Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), and a Bayesian optimisation algorithm for optimising the shaped Deep LSTM-CNN hyperparameters make up the proposed approach. It is shown that using EWT to provide multi-frequency analysis, LSTM-CNN combination to capture both short- and long-term memory of the data, and the utilisation of social media data significantly improve the efficacy of out-of-sample predictions and counteract the impact of the “warranty data maturation” phenomenon. The suggested algorithm exhibits a decrease in Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) ranging from 29.13% to 90.64% compared to other advanced benchmark models.

IMPROVING MARKETING STRATEGY BY USING MACHINE LEARNING AND GPS TRACKING

"Hawkar and Vendor is a remarkable software program that utilizes Global Positioning System (GPS) or radio frequency identification (RFID) to define geographical boundaries. Essentially, Hawkar and vendor create a virtual barrier known as geofencing, which is an innovative technology enabling an online marketplace for proactive contextual services. This technology allows users to easily discover and subscribe to interesting services, while enabling providers to offer their services for a variety of applications such as electronic toll collection, contextual advertising, or tourist information systems, without the need for additional infrastructure. The primary objective of this research was to explore how the use of spatial data can enhance advertising performance for customers. Tracking systems and monitoring, based on global navigation services by satellite and including geofencing functionality, could also contribute to pinpointing the exact location of an institution or company, thereby enhancing sales and business prospects efficiently. This shift allows for advertising on smartphones as an economically and accurately tested alternative to large billboards." Key Words: Hawkars &amp;Vendors, Special offer ,Machine learning, Blind people

Hospital and out-of-hospital services provided by public geriatric medicine departments in Australia and New Zealand.

To describe the types of hospital and out-of-hospital services provided by public geriatric medicine departments in Australia and New Zealand, and to explore head of department (HOD) views on issues in current and future service provision. An electronic survey was sent to HODs of public geriatric medicine departments. Seventy-six (89%) of 85 identified HODs completed the survey. Seventy-one (93%) departments admit inpatients and 51 (67%) admit acute inpatients, with variable admission criteria. Sixty-four (84%) have hospitals with an inpatient general medicine service, and 58 (91%) of these admit older patients with acute geriatric issues. Sixty (79%) departments provide inpatient rehabilitation. Forty (53%) have beds for behavioural symptoms of dementia and/or delirium. Seventy (92%) provide a proactive orthogeriatric service. In terms of out-of-hospital services, 74 (97%) departments have outpatient clinics, 59 (78%) have telehealth and 68 (89%) perform home visits. Forty-five (59%) provide an inreach/outreach service to nursing homes. The most frequent gaps in service provision identified by HODs were acute geriatrics, surgical liaison, a designated dementia/delirium behavioural management unit, geriatricians in Emergency, outreach/inreach to residential care and shared care with some medical specialities. Increasing staff numbers and government policy change were the most frequently identified ways to address these gaps. Geriatric medicine service provision is variable across Australia and New Zealand, with key gaps identified. These findings will inform future directions in implementation of geriatric medicine models of care and discussions with various levels of government about the ongoing development of geriatric medicine services.

The trends and spatiotemporal variability of temperature and rainfall in Hulbarag district, Silte Zone, Ethiopia

Ethiopia gets its agricultural water primarily from rainfall. This study was intended to investigate current climate variability and trends across space and time. Daily gridded temperature and rainfall data from 1993 to 2022 in the Hulbarag district, Silte Zone of Ethiopia was obtained from the Ethiopian National Metrological Institute and the Climate Hazard Group Infrared Precipitation with Station. The trends and variability of temperature and rainfall were analyzed using the Mann-Kendall trend test, Sen's slope, coefficient of variation, precipitation concentration index, and rainfall anomaly index. The results indicated that annual, spring, and summer rainfall revealed statistically significant decreasing trends at Hulbarag and Sankura stations, with the magnitude of −13.4, −11.6, and −10.6 mm per year and −6.8, −3.6 and −10.9 mm per year respectively. Conversely, autumn and winter season rainfall showed statistically significant increasing trends at Hulbarag and Sankura stations, with the magnitude of 5.1 and 5.5mm per year and 3.4 and 1.84mm per year consecutively. Between 43 % and 47 % of the observation periods had negative anomalies. The average yearly temperature, average yearly minimum temperature, and average yearly maximum temperatures at Sankura and Fonko stations all displayed statistically significant increasing trends, with a magnitude of 0.091 °C, 0.009 °C and 0.051 °C per year and 0.03 °C,0.01 °C and 0.0022 °C per year successively. It is advisable to develop a farming system that is climate-resilient by improving the adaptive capacity of wheat and maize-growing farmers by expanding the availability of early maturing seeds, changing crop calendars, and enhancing proactive and credible climate information services.