Working Papers, Hanken School of Economics
No 550:
Value of Image in Service
Tore Strandvik ()
and Anne Rindell ()
Abstract: Purpose This paper takes a customer view on corporate
image and value, and discusses the value of image in service. We propose a
model depicting how the customer’s corporate brand image affects the
customer’s value-in-use. Methodology/approach The paper represents
conceptual development on customers’ value and image construction
processes. By integrating ideas and elements from the current service and
branding literature a model is proposed that extends current views on how
value-in-use emerges. Findings From a current service perspective it is the
customer who makes value assessments when experiencing service. Similarly,
if branding is a concept used to denote the service provider’s intentions
and attempts to create a corporate brand, image construction is the
corresponding process where the customer constructs the corporate image.
This image construction process is always present both in service
interactions and in communication and has an effect on the customer’s
value-in-use. We argue that two interrelated concepts are needed to capture
corporate image construction and dynamics and value-in-use – the
image-in-use and image heritage. Research implications The model integrates
two different streams of research pointing to the need to consider
traditional marketing communication and service interactions as inherently
related to each other from the customer’s point of view. Additionally the
model gives a platform for understanding how value-in-use emerges over
time. New methodological approaches and techniques to capture image-in-use
and image heritage and their interplay with value-in-use are needed.
Practical implications The company may not be able to control the emergence
of value-in-use but may influence it, not only in interactions with the
customer but also with pure communication. Branding activities should
therefore be considered related to service operations and service
development. Additionally, practitioners would need to apply qualitative
methods to understand the customer’s view on image and value-in-use.
Originality/value The paper presents a novel approach for understanding and
studying that the customer’s image of a company influences emergence of
value-in-use. The model implies that the customer’s corporate image has a
crucial role for experienced value-in-use.
Keywords: service logic; service dominant logic; corporate brand image; image heritage; image-in-use; value-in-use; (follow links to similar papers)
19 pages, September 6, 2010
Before downloading any of the electronic versions below
you should read our statement on
copyright.
Download GhostScript
for viewing Postscript files and the
Acrobat Reader for viewing and printing pdf files.
Full text versions of the paper:
550-978-952-232-084-1.pdf 
Download Statistics
Questions (including download problems) about the papers in this series should be directed to Staffan Dellringer ()
Report other problems with accessing this service to Sune Karlsson ()
or Helena Lundin ().
Programing by
Design by Joakim Ekebom
