SERVICE MARKETING
Syllabus
EN
IT
Learning Objectives
LEARNING OUTCOMES: The learning outcome of the course is that of providing students with advanced skills to analyze the peculiarities of marketing in service firms. Which are the
peculiarities of services? Which kind of marketing implications can emerge? How can it be delivered an outstanding service?
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING: The course aims at providing the student with the specific knowledge of services marketing peculiarities through the transfer of advanced
knowledge, both theoretically and empirically, and thanks to the support of ad hoc analytical and operational tools. To this end, ample space within the course is dedicated to studying and discussing business cases, also thanks to industry experts’ seminars.
APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING: At the end of the course the student will have acquired detailed knowledge of the fundamental concepts of marketing and their
applications to services. The student should be able to apply the acquired knowledge of service peculiarities to marketing. The student's analytical skills are developed and
evaluated through the development and class discussion of case studies.
MAKING JUDGEMENTS: Interactive participation in lectures as well as in service marketing professionals’ seminars, will stimulate students’ critical analysis and independent judgment skills. Students will also be encouraged to collect and interpret relevant data through direct and in-depth involvement in studying the main issues related to services marketing. Students’ making judgment skills will also be stimulated by specific tasks required during the course, such as the analysis of case studies and the team works.
COMMUNICATION SKILLS: Communication skills are developed and evaluated not only through teacher-student interaction but also through team works, class discussion of
business cases, as well as through the exam.
LEARNING SKILLS: At the end of the course, the student will have acquired the ability todeal critically with marketing issues related to service firms.
peculiarities of services? Which kind of marketing implications can emerge? How can it be delivered an outstanding service?
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING: The course aims at providing the student with the specific knowledge of services marketing peculiarities through the transfer of advanced
knowledge, both theoretically and empirically, and thanks to the support of ad hoc analytical and operational tools. To this end, ample space within the course is dedicated to studying and discussing business cases, also thanks to industry experts’ seminars.
APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING: At the end of the course the student will have acquired detailed knowledge of the fundamental concepts of marketing and their
applications to services. The student should be able to apply the acquired knowledge of service peculiarities to marketing. The student's analytical skills are developed and
evaluated through the development and class discussion of case studies.
MAKING JUDGEMENTS: Interactive participation in lectures as well as in service marketing professionals’ seminars, will stimulate students’ critical analysis and independent judgment skills. Students will also be encouraged to collect and interpret relevant data through direct and in-depth involvement in studying the main issues related to services marketing. Students’ making judgment skills will also be stimulated by specific tasks required during the course, such as the analysis of case studies and the team works.
COMMUNICATION SKILLS: Communication skills are developed and evaluated not only through teacher-student interaction but also through team works, class discussion of
business cases, as well as through the exam.
LEARNING SKILLS: At the end of the course, the student will have acquired the ability todeal critically with marketing issues related to service firms.
Prerequisites
No specific prior knowledge is needed, despite it is preferrable that enrolled students in this course have already undertaken the General Management course and Marketing course. In fact, these two courses provide students with the basic managerial and marketing knowledge that can help them in learning Service Marketing concepts in a faster and effective way.
Program
This Service Marketing course identifies challenges organizations face in creating and delivering high-quality services. To reach this goal, the course is based on a mix of theory and practice, the latter in the form of in-class and extra-lecture assignments and practice-oriented guest lectures delivered by primary leaders of service companies.
The course is based on the following topics:
- Introduction to Service Marketing
- The STP process
- Market research
- Consumer behaviour in a service's context
- Managing relationships and building loyalty
- Applying the 4 Ps of marketing to services
- Analyzing the additional 3 Ps of service marketing
- Designing and managing service processes
- Crafting the service environment
- Managing people for service advantages
The course is based on the following topics:
- Introduction to Service Marketing
- The STP process
- Market research
- Consumer behaviour in a service's context
- Managing relationships and building loyalty
- Applying the 4 Ps of marketing to services
- Analyzing the additional 3 Ps of service marketing
- Designing and managing service processes
- Crafting the service environment
- Managing people for service advantages
Books
Wirtz, J. and Lovelock, C. (2022). Services Marketing, People, Technology, Strategy (9th edition). World Scientific, Hackensack (NJ).
Bibliography
• Wirtz, J. and Lovelock, C. (2022). Services Marketing, People, Technology,
Strategy (9th edition). World Scientific, Hackensack (NJ).
• Leoni, L. (2015), Adding service means adding knowledge: an inductive
single-case study, Business Process Management Journal, Vol. 21 No. 3, pp. 610-627.
• Mari M., Poggesi S. (2013), “Servicescape cues and customer behavior: a systematic literature review and research agenda”, The Service Industries Journal, vol. 33, n. 2, pp. 171-199.
• Mingione, M., Cristofaro, M., & Mondi, D. (2020), 'If I give you my emotion, what do I get?'Conceptualizing and measuring the co-created emotional value of the brand, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 109, pp. 310-320.
• Naumov, N. (2019), "The Impact of Robots, Artificial Intelligence, and Service Automation on Service Quality and Service Experience in Hospitality", Ivanov, S. and Webster, C. (Ed.) Robots, Artificial Intelligence, and Service Automation in Travel, Tourism and Hospitality, Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp. 123-133.
Strategy (9th edition). World Scientific, Hackensack (NJ).
• Leoni, L. (2015), Adding service means adding knowledge: an inductive
single-case study, Business Process Management Journal, Vol. 21 No. 3, pp. 610-627.
• Mari M., Poggesi S. (2013), “Servicescape cues and customer behavior: a systematic literature review and research agenda”, The Service Industries Journal, vol. 33, n. 2, pp. 171-199.
• Mingione, M., Cristofaro, M., & Mondi, D. (2020), 'If I give you my emotion, what do I get?'Conceptualizing and measuring the co-created emotional value of the brand, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 109, pp. 310-320.
• Naumov, N. (2019), "The Impact of Robots, Artificial Intelligence, and Service Automation on Service Quality and Service Experience in Hospitality", Ivanov, S. and Webster, C. (Ed.) Robots, Artificial Intelligence, and Service Automation in Travel, Tourism and Hospitality, Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp. 123-133.
Teaching methods
Apart from theory lectures, the teaching approach is featured by a strong practitioner input, through ‘live’ case discussions, combined talks with service marketing experts, and group projects.
Exam Rules
The exam is differentiated between “attending students” and “non-attending students”.
Attending students are those students who:
1. deliver at least 5 group assignments (counting both in-class and extra-lecture assignments)
2. are present, at least, for 14 out of 17 lectures (the first lecture does not count)
For attending students, the exam is only written, while non-attending students must perform both the written and oral exams.
The written test, which is the same for both categories of students, must be performed via a student's personal computer within the classroom and it is based on:
- 2 open-ended questions: 7.5 points maximum for each according to the comprehensiveness of the answer.
- 15 closed-ended questions: 1 point for each if you correctly respond, 0 if you do not respond, and -0.25 if you give a wrong answer.
If a student’s written test is evaluated as “not sufficient” (e.g., in the first call of the summer session), the student is not allowed to repeat the test in the same exam session (e.g., in the second call of the Summer session).
The exam lasts 40 minutes. When receiving the test in any given call, the student has the initial 10 minutes to withdraw; in this case, the test is considered as “not performed”.
For “attending students” the final mark is given by the sum of the written test mark and group assignments' extra marks collected over the course.
For “non-attending students” the final mark is given by the written test mark +(if the test is sufficient) the oral evaluation + group assignments' extra marks collected over the course.
In-class and extra-class assignments:
• During each lecture, more or less, will be assigned a group task + a group task will precede each guest speaker lecture
• Extrapoints are assigned only if 6 group assignments (summing up in-class and extra-class ones) are delivered and you were present during lectures
• Grading: from 2 to 4 extrapoints in total
The exam assesses the overall preparation by the student in accordance with the Dublin descriptors, as follows: acquired knowledge (quantity and quality) in relation to the topics of the programme and consequentiality of reasoning; ability to apply such knowledge and to make connections among the different parts of the programme, including also the acquired knowledge from other similar courses; analytical ability, synthesis, and autonomy of
judgement; communication skills of the student (language properties, clarity of presentation, and appropriate use of terminology, specific to the course).
The final mark of the exam is expressed out of thirty and will be obtained through the following grading system:
Fail: important deficiencies in the knowledge and understanding of the topics; limited analytical and synthesis skills; frequent generalisations and limited critical and judgemental abilities; the topics are set out inconsistently and with inappropriate language.
18-21: the student has acquired the basic concepts of the discipline and has an analytical capacity that emerges only with the help of the teacher; the way of speaking and the language used are on the whole correct.
22-25: the student has acquired the basic concepts of the discipline in a discreet way; knows how to orient him/herself among the various topics covered; and has an autonomous analysis capacity knowing how to express using the correct language.
26-29: the student has a well-structured knowledge base; he/she is able to independently rework the knowledge acquired in the context of the choice of conventional and unconventional materials according to the application; the way of speaking and the technical language are correct.
30 and 30 cum laude: the student has a comprehensive and thorough knowledge base. The cultural references are rich and up-to-date, which are expressed with brilliance and properties of technical language.
Attending students are those students who:
1. deliver at least 5 group assignments (counting both in-class and extra-lecture assignments)
2. are present, at least, for 14 out of 17 lectures (the first lecture does not count)
For attending students, the exam is only written, while non-attending students must perform both the written and oral exams.
The written test, which is the same for both categories of students, must be performed via a student's personal computer within the classroom and it is based on:
- 2 open-ended questions: 7.5 points maximum for each according to the comprehensiveness of the answer.
- 15 closed-ended questions: 1 point for each if you correctly respond, 0 if you do not respond, and -0.25 if you give a wrong answer.
If a student’s written test is evaluated as “not sufficient” (e.g., in the first call of the summer session), the student is not allowed to repeat the test in the same exam session (e.g., in the second call of the Summer session).
The exam lasts 40 minutes. When receiving the test in any given call, the student has the initial 10 minutes to withdraw; in this case, the test is considered as “not performed”.
For “attending students” the final mark is given by the sum of the written test mark and group assignments' extra marks collected over the course.
For “non-attending students” the final mark is given by the written test mark +(if the test is sufficient) the oral evaluation + group assignments' extra marks collected over the course.
In-class and extra-class assignments:
• During each lecture, more or less, will be assigned a group task + a group task will precede each guest speaker lecture
• Extrapoints are assigned only if 6 group assignments (summing up in-class and extra-class ones) are delivered and you were present during lectures
• Grading: from 2 to 4 extrapoints in total
The exam assesses the overall preparation by the student in accordance with the Dublin descriptors, as follows: acquired knowledge (quantity and quality) in relation to the topics of the programme and consequentiality of reasoning; ability to apply such knowledge and to make connections among the different parts of the programme, including also the acquired knowledge from other similar courses; analytical ability, synthesis, and autonomy of
judgement; communication skills of the student (language properties, clarity of presentation, and appropriate use of terminology, specific to the course).
The final mark of the exam is expressed out of thirty and will be obtained through the following grading system:
Fail: important deficiencies in the knowledge and understanding of the topics; limited analytical and synthesis skills; frequent generalisations and limited critical and judgemental abilities; the topics are set out inconsistently and with inappropriate language.
18-21: the student has acquired the basic concepts of the discipline and has an analytical capacity that emerges only with the help of the teacher; the way of speaking and the language used are on the whole correct.
22-25: the student has acquired the basic concepts of the discipline in a discreet way; knows how to orient him/herself among the various topics covered; and has an autonomous analysis capacity knowing how to express using the correct language.
26-29: the student has a well-structured knowledge base; he/she is able to independently rework the knowledge acquired in the context of the choice of conventional and unconventional materials according to the application; the way of speaking and the technical language are correct.
30 and 30 cum laude: the student has a comprehensive and thorough knowledge base. The cultural references are rich and up-to-date, which are expressed with brilliance and properties of technical language.