Useful concepts in service management are technical (outcome) and functional (process) aspects of quality. Service quality has technical and functional dimensions. Grönroos (2010) differentiates between two aspects of the service offering: the technical quality of the service and the functional quality of the process. You can understand this through the example of hairdressing.
Service can be understood as a 'bundle' of processes with both functional and technical dimensions.
Understanding what Grönroos is driving at with respect to outcome and process dimensions is
Both flights have the same process outcome - they both will take you to Melbourne. However, they compete with each other for your attention around their process - or their functional quality and on price. Jetstar is known as a budget airline and so their service is more stripped down. This does not mean that their process has less quality - you get what you expect and pay for. Air New Zealand also offers economy flights, but their reputation relies a lot on excellent service and so you expect a bit more. Their pricing reflects this expectation.
Reference
Grönroos C. (2010) Service management and marketing: Customer management in service competition, Chichester: John Wiley and Sons Ltd.
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| Technical service quality (outcome) |
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| Functional process quality (process) |
Understanding what Grönroos is driving at with respect to outcome and process dimensions is
easier to understand if we see it through another example. See the airplanes below: imagine both are flying an Auckland-Melbourne route. One is an Air New Zealand flight. The other is a Jetstar flight.
Both flights have the same process outcome - they both will take you to Melbourne. However, they compete with each other for your attention around their process - or their functional quality and on price. Jetstar is known as a budget airline and so their service is more stripped down. This does not mean that their process has less quality - you get what you expect and pay for. Air New Zealand also offers economy flights, but their reputation relies a lot on excellent service and so you expect a bit more. Their pricing reflects this expectation.
Reference
Grönroos C. (2010) Service management and marketing: Customer management in service competition, Chichester: John Wiley and Sons Ltd.
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