Inter-Disciplinary Research Agenda on Inter-Cultural

Service Systems

Wendy CasperJohn D. LeeCelia McKoy

John RuggieroJingyun Zhang

Disciplines Represented Management/Industrial-organizational psychology Economics Human factors and cognitive engineering Marketing

The Framework

Culture

Culture

Culture

Expectations

Evaluations

Reactions

Technology

Technology

Technology

You-The Customer

The Service Provider/ Employees

Other Customers

The Healthcare Industry-An Example

Why healthcare? High consequence domain

Cost, quality of life… Goods vs. service continuum Patient vs. provider continuum Emotional valence Confronting the core cultural values of people

End of life, mental health, reproductive health… Culture introduces the potential mismatch of

expectations

Research Questions

Key questions: In today’s diverse, inter-cultural settings, how do we

a) Reduce cost, improve healthcare provider performance and enhance patient experience?

b) Enhance patient compliance with medical advice (e.g., diet for diabetics) in order to foster positive health outcomes?

Healthcare

Background: previous research indicates that patient-provider demographic similarity relates to better outcomes

Our questions: Why? What underlying cultural factors account for this

relationship? How does demographic and cultural similarity with other

patients enhance this relationship? How can technology mediate or enhance the patient-to-

patient experience (and patients’ overall experience)? To what degree should the technology be tuned to the

individual’s culture?

You-The Patient

The Healthcare Provider

Other Patients

Similarity (cultural distance)

Similarity (cultural distance)

Technology

Technology

Technology

Similarity- is it good or bad?

“Maybe yes / Maybe no”

Will similarity between the patient and the care provider lead to better patient experience and positive behavioral outcomes (e.g., Positive WOM, customer

voluntary behavior, customer citizenship behavior)? Similarity-attraction paradigm (rapport, comfort, trust...)

“Similarity-pressure paradigm”? (unreasonable expectations, disappointment, distrust… “loss is more than the gain”- prospect theory?)

Similarity- is it good or bad?

Will similarity between the patient and other patients lead to better patient experience and positive behavioral outcomes? Similarity attraction Mismatched expectations, negative patient-to-patient

interactions How can healthcare providers manage or facilitate positive

patient-to-patient interactions to enhance experience? How can we use technology to better manage such an experience? Patient-to-patient communication: support groups, emails,

online discussion forums etc. http://nikeplus.nike.com/nikeplus/?locale=en_us

Why Do We Need a Multi-Disciplinary Team?

Economics (econometrics) Cognitive modeling: Lens model (proximal-distal etc.): Management: focus on the employee or the care giver

point of view Marketing: focus on the customers’ point of view

“When mathematical modeling meets business application”

J

II

I

IV

III

Judgment Task

Sample Survey

Formal Theory

ComputerSimulation

Field Study

Field Experiment

Lab Experiment

ExperimentalSimulation

RELEVANCE

GENERALIZABILITY

RIGOR

Methodological Approaches Qualitative research

Individual Interviews Observational research

Quantitative research Experimental studies

Written scenarios Videos Simulations

Surveys

Multi-methods approach