Integrating Jewelry Boutique Owners’ Views on Service Quality with the

The marketing model used by the jewelry boutique industry has evolved from focusing on price competition, promotional activity, and exquisite décor-oriented to also including consumer needs. In addition, professional jewelry consultation services are being provided to consumers in hopes of elevating their trust in the company. Scholars have noted that the attitude and service quality of frontline staff are crucial factors determining the success or failure of a business in the service industry (Tansuhaj et al.,1988). To compete with online, mobile phone-based, and TV-based shopping malls, traditional jewelry boutiques must consider improving their service quality. By providing superior service quality, businesses can enhance customer satisfaction and establish favorable customer relationships. As a result, customers are willing to continue purchasing from the businesses (Keaveney, 1995). Buzzell and Gale (1987) noted that customers’ repurchase intention and company market share growth are higher and faster (respectively) for businesses with a higher service quality. In recent years, the most representative model adopted in service quality studies is the PZB

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service quality model introduced by Parasuraman et al.(1985).

2.2.2.1. The PZB service quality model contains ten service quality assessment determinants, which are listed below:

(A) Reliability: The ability to perform the promised service in a dependable and accurate manner.

(B) Responsiveness: The ability of businesses to help customers by providing prompt timely services.

(C) Competence: The possession of the required skills and knowledge to perform the service.

(D) Access: The approachability and ease of contact.

(E) Courtesy: The respectful, courteous, and friendly attitude that contact personnel shows toward customers.

(F) Communication: The extent that a business listens to its customers and fluently communicates with them.

(G) Credibility: how trustworthy and reliable that a business is to customers.

(H) Security: how secure and risk-free that a business’s services are to customers.

(I) Understanding the customer: understanding customers’ needs and providing services accordingly.

(J) Tangible: how appropriate a business provides or presents the service tools and equipment and the appearance of the business staff.

Although the PZB model is widely used in the service industry for making service quality management-related assessments, service quality-related data concerning jewelry

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boutique owners are relatively scant in existing literature. Therefore, this study conducted interviews and discussions with scholars and experts to identify 15 essential skills and knowledge (i.e., professional needs) that jewelry boutique industry personnel must possess, which are listed as follows: gem knowledge, diamond grading techniques, color matching knowledge, service training, knowledge on the Fair Trade Act, etiquette training, sales skills, communication skills, English listening skills, jewelry design skills, consumer psychology knowledge, introduction to fashion boutique, precious metals classification skills, metal crafting, and computer graphics skills. Next, this study integrated jewelry boutique owners’

views on service quality with the PZB service quality model, as shown below:

2.2.2.2 The service quality point view of jewelry industry:

(A) Reliability and security: knowledge on the Fair Trade Act (B)Competence: gem knowledge and diamond grading

(C) Responsiveness, knowing the customer: service training, consumer psychology, and introduction to fashion boutique

(D) Communication, courtesy, access: communication skills, etiquette training, sales skills, and English listening skills

(E) Credibility: precious metals classification

(F) Tangible: color matching, jewelry design, metal crafting, and computer graphics skills 2.2.3 Introducing the Expert Weighting Method to Service Quality Assessments

Kano (1984) employed a 2D quality assessment model that compared question responses from participants using a questionnaire design involving both positive and negatively worded items to identify customers’ true knowledge and needs. Chang (2011) investigated the

education quality of universities of science and technology using the Kano 2D quality

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assessment model, in which attributes of the schools’ education quality-related elements were analyzed and subsequently categorized to investigate the schools’ strategies for improving their education quality. The focus of the study was to explore strategies adopted by schools for improving education quality-related elements. The aforementioned 2D quality assessment model effectively distinguishes the pros and cons of quality-related variables for only a few variables; however, because the model only allows the analysis of two factors (i.e., elements) at any given time, an overly large number or variables makes the calculation process

cumbersome and the results confusing and difficult to understand. To assess service quality, Nayak and Pai (2015) identified the relationships between customer satisfaction and various variables using structural equation modeling, in which the results showed that service quality and customer satisfaction are positively correlated. Structural equation modeling is primarily used to locate the causal relationships between implicit factors that cannot be measured.

However, using poor variable designs and settings will require repeated revisions be made before accurate results can be generated.

In consideration of the needs of jewelry boutique owners, this study employed the expert weighting method to identify factors needed to elevate service quality as well as the

importance and ranking of such factors (Bao, 2012). The method entails a simple and clear calculation process and may be used as a reference by educational or training departments when planning training courses to complete crucial service training within a specific time period. In addition, the method enables jewelry boutique owners to design shortor long-term service training courses to effectively elevate the professionalism of their service personnel, enhance business performance, and improve company image within the expected timeframe.

2.3 Demands for Jewelry Education Courses

Jewelry education courses are innovative courses that had been introduced in Taiwan

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over recent years. In response to jewelry stores’ large demands for service personnel

following Taiwanese government’s policies to open its door to Chinese tourists, high schools, vocational schools, and universities began introducing unique jewelry education-related courses. To compete with online marketing platforms and international jewelry brands, jewelry boutique owners began paying attention to elevating the service quality of frontline service personnel as well as providing them with relevant education and training. This ultimately resulted in increased attention and demand for jewelry education courses and training.

Wang & Yang (2008) suggested that the jewelry education should be guided by the needs and development of the market and should reform the teaching methods, optimize the content of courses, strengthen the practical lessons, set up the brand of the jewelry higher education, and deepen the reformation of subject system and construct a harmonious environment to cultivate.

Yağmur (2012) mention in many other sectors in jewelry and jewelry design sector the need for intermediate staff is rapidly increasing. Since these intermediate staff is not trained sufficiently in vocational high school, a research application was made to present the

advantages of school-sector cooperation in order to make the jewelry education more efficient and effective. Before and after the sector education assessment questionnaires were made to students and gathered results were studied in SPSS statistics programmer in order to find out the advantages of the school-sector cooperation. In line with the results new proposals have been presented on the mentioned education programmers in vocational high schools. Rajili et al. (2015) mention previous studies in jewelry design have primarily focused on the

techniques of the jewelry design process, such as the use of tools including computer aided design, rapid prototyping and other design technology. However, limited attention has been devoted to understanding the jewelry design practice itself, including methodologies and

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rationale of the work. Therefore, how designers reason about jewelry making, and how they create the knowledge they need in the design process is important.

Because favorable and applicable course planning that elevates students’ service quality remains absent in jewelry education, jewelry boutique owners have put forward various ideas to improve such courses. To objectively and fairly assess the factors of influence concerning jewelry boutique owners’ demands, this study worked together with the Taiwan Jewelry Industry Association and the Gem and Mineral Society on three separate occasions to invite jewelry boutique owners for a discussion. The participants were asked to brainstorm, which facilitated the design of questionnaires. The questionnaire divided the 15 professional needs into three categories (i.e., “demand characteristics”) according to their utility, essentiality, and learnability. Concerning utility, it highlights that service quality-oriented jewelry training curriculum that emphasizes a disproportionately large amount of theory and/or technical skill-related courses (e.g., courses on metal crafting, computer graphics skills, and gem knowledge) and ignores customer interaction skill-related courses (e.g., courses on communication skills and service training) will result in students’ inability to effectively showcase their talents and professionalism when interacting with customers. Essentiality emphasizes what skills and knowledge should be essential in jewelry courses and training.

However, it differed between jewelry boutique owners and their views on the courses and training varied because their needs differed. For example, jewelry boutique owners who already possessed professional gem knowledge may consider metal crafting and

communication skills essential, whereas jewelry boutique owners who do not possess such knowledge may consider diamond grading and gem knowledge essential. With respect to learnability, jewelry boutique owners may have different impressions of the courses as a result of their subjective opinion, professional expertise, and related experience. Therefore, this study used three different types of questionnaires to investigate the scores given by the

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participants for each factor of influence, from which the participants’ views and assessments about the courses were obtained in an objective manner.

2.3.1 Utility

Chandon,Wansink, and Laurent (2000) explained that utility signifies the effect of an item on customers’ non sensory attributes and cognition. This concept reveals that course content that fails to meet current market needs or is unable to effectively elevate students’

service quality will result in a waste of resources as well as jewelry boutique owners and students’ disappointment in the students’ learning results.

In the era of knowledge economy, knowledge and skills updating to speed up, the development of traditional digital teaching resources has some disadvantages such as high cost, long period and difficulty (Zhu,2012).Practicability is important I in education,

According to the development of the social needs and the characteristics of higher vocational students, studies the significance, practicability and interests of English learning, and pay attention to the adaptive education of English listening and speaking. It adopts interesting teaching method to strengthen students' learning motivation and promote the increase of higher vocational students' comprehensive ability (Lin, 2012).

2.3.2 Essentiality

Essentiality refers to skills that jewelry boutique owners should possess or tangible and intangible services that they must offer on the basis of their needs and the environment under which they are in. Essential items in the jewelry boutique industry are things that help jewelry boutique owners or service personnel improve their weaknesses; in other words, things that jewelry boutique owners should possess to facilitate favorable professional image, brand image, skills, and reputation.

2.3.3 Learnability

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Singh and Wesson (2009) noted that learnability denotes how well users are able to learn a particular skill at first encounter. The better the learnability is, the easier the skill becomes for users. Prior to receiving training, students generally picture courses are easy and

interesting, therefore, schools and jewelry boutique owners that introduce overly specialized or difficult course content or content that cannot be learned in a short period of time may lead to students’ loss of confidence and interest or their decision to avoid learning.

Utility highlights that service quality-oriented jewelry training curriculum that

emphasizes a disproportionately large amount of theory and/or technical skill-related courses (e.g., courses on metal crafting, computer graphics skills, and gem knowledge) and ignores customer interaction skill-related courses (e.g., courses on communication skills and service training) will result in students’ inability to effectively showcase their talents and

professionalism when interacting with customers. The contents addressing essentiality varied because the needs of jewelry boutique owners differed from person to person. For example, jewelry boutique owners who already possess professional gem knowledge may consider metal crafting and communication skills essential, whereas jewelry boutique owners who do not possess such knowledge may consider diamond grading and gem knowledge essential.

With respect to learnability, jewelry boutique owners may have different impressions of the courses as a result of their subjective opinion, professional expertise, and related experience.

Therefore, this study used three different types of questionnaires to investigate the scores given by the participants for each factor of influence, from which the participants’ views and assessments about the courses were obtained in an objective manner.

2.4 Mistakes in Jewelry Education Courses

As mentioned, jewelry education courses are one of the emerging courses introduced in recent years. Identifying courses that are effective, meet jewelry boutique owners’

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expectations, and are acceptable to learners is one of the most crucial goals of such courses.

However, questions such as work skills demanded by the jewelry boutique industry, areas that schools should help students improve to facilitate training, and modifications to course

content in response to industry changes and changing times should be carefully explored to formulate appropriate solutions that meet social expectations and industry needs. Fujian et al.(2006) study on present situation of the jewelry education in universities and points out the problems such as laying too much stress on theory, ability to identify, and amount of students, and looking down on practice, management, and quality. Its education is short of explicit aim, cultural quality and wide-ranging knowledge.

Literature on course-related mistakes mostly focuses on the gap between language education and students’ language level. Guo (2011) investigated mistakes in junior high school geography courses taught in the new curriculum and asserted that such mistakes were a result of the gap between student needs and two other factors (i.e., education techniques and course innovation). The study examined three mistakes, which are listed as follows: (a) many schools are fixated on designing novel and innovative courses but fail to consider the

legitimacy of traditional courses, which have withstood the test of time and are a result of many years of development. Therefore, innovative courses do not necessarily equate to being the “right” courses; (b) schools wrongfully believe that geography education requires constant innovation, resulting in excessive interactive education that creates overly complex and impractical course content; and (c) teachers include a disproportionately high amount of related information in geography courses in an effort to be comprehensive and to demonstrate their authority over the subject, which deviate from the original objectives of the courses. In a study on education mistakes and adaptive strategies, Guan (2012)focused on teacher training, teaching strategies, and teaching speed, in which three mistakes were explored: (a) teacher training for non-Chinese teaching is not necessary; however, this resulted in teachers’

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inability to teach foreign students who do not know any Chinese; (b) teachers alternate the language used in class to teach Chinese, in which teachers use English to explain Chinese and students communicate in their mother tongue, creating a poor language learning environment;

and (c) the manner in which teachers use a language becomes the standards by which students emulate, such as inappropriate talking speed (e.g., too fast or too slow) hinders students’

ability to express themselves clearly to others in the future. Luo and Guo (2013) pointed out three mistakes in their study on mistakes in jewelry design courses taught in higher education in Taiwan, which were (a) poor training targets and overly simple drawings that cannot be used in practice; (b) excessively high number of jewelry design courses offered solely for the purpose of offering them. Students are thus unable to gain further knowledge and experience in jewelry production and market changes; (c) problems in the ratio of jewelry design theories and practical jewelry design knowledge taught. Luoand Guo also indicated that to develop outstanding jewelry designers, engineering courses and art education must be integrated to create scientific, sound theoretical as well as practical education systems. The aforementioned studies each put forth their views on the effects that the incompatibility between education content and teachers’ education methods have on students’ learning results.

Jewelry education course-related planning in Taiwanese schools are often restricted by teachers’ limited expertise or their need to comply with schools’ education plans and demonstration of students’ learning results (e.g., learning results presentation). As a result, they place a disproportionately high emphasis on metal craft training and art creation,

overlooking the fact that the ultimate goal is to market the merchandise created. In marketing management, service quality and interpersonal relationship training are considered an

essential part of training. Differences in teachers’ backgrounds and expertise may result in the skills learned by students failing to completely meet the needs and expectations of the

industry. In addition, jewelry boutique owners can only select from available courses when

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training employees and the right courses and education departments that truly meet their needs have been difficult to find; as a result, employees who study such courses are unable to effectively elevate their service quality and the stores’ business performance.

This study introduced the concept of seamless integration, in which jewelry boutique owners ‘needs and courses provided by schools ‘educational departments were investigated to identify course mistakes. Next, the CCR model used in data envelopment analysis were employed to locate the most crucial weight for the two parties, in which the weights were used as the basis for course planning. This enabled educational departments to offer courses deemed by teachers and jewelry boutique owners as highly important and most effective, providing students and employees with the training urgently needed by the jewelry industry.

This also allowed the courses to meet actual market demands so that students and employees do not find the skills learned inapplicable or unable to meet the demands and expectations of customers and the jewelry industry.

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CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODS

3.1 Discussion with Business Experts

Discussions were conducted with industry experts (i.e., jewelry boutique owners and executive officers) based on questions that were arranged by the researchers of this study.

According to the responses from the various respondents, additional questions were

developed to explore the professional needs of jewelry owners in training sales staff and other employees.

3.2 Expert Weighting Method

Determining appropriate weights for each variable is highly challenging because the weights affect the subsequent evaluations on efficiency considerably; thus, numerous studies have discussed how to weight each variable (Dyson &Thanassoulis, 1988; Thompson et al., 1990; Wong & Beasley, 1990), recommending that the weights be determined through conducting expert questionnaires regarding their perceptions and opinions on the study topic.

Among the various methods for evaluating efficiency in degrees of job performance (high vs low), the CCR model is the most appropriate. However, if a DMU requiring evaluation is not can be improved (e.g., the importance of each variable that this study seeks to evaluate), then the CCR model may be an inappropriate choice. Accordingly, the method proposed in this study was based on the scores allocated by experts according to their professional knowledge and experience; subsequently, the importance of variable i is divided by the importance of variable j; thus, the degree to which i exceeds j is obtained. If the total number of variables is s, then several s ratios can be employed to evaluate the average of the importance of variable i.

Before introducing the steps of the implementation process, the following definition is provided:

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3.2.1 Defining Expert Weighting

Definition: The ratio obtained from dividing the importance of variable by the

Definition: The ratio obtained from dividing the importance of variable by the