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Does the customer perspective really matter to public managers?
Type
conference paper
Date Issued
2005-08-31
Author(s)
Abstract
When developing evaluation concepts, the integration of the customer perspective is often neglected. Although the acceptance of and the satisfaction with reforms among the users of public services is vital to their own legitimization only few public managers attempt to
consider the evaluation of the customer perspective on a sufficiently high level. One approach to measure the customer perspective with regard to reform projects may be the use of a customer survey. But theoretical considerations and empirical research indicate that
in cases in which customer surveys are applied their results do not allow systematic comparisons. Instead the generated conclusions rather concentrate on intransparent phrasings which do not support a clear and obvious judgement about weather the undertaken reform project has been successful or not in the eyes of the customer. In this
article we discuss potential reasons for this contradiction. We identify three main barriers, a technical, a motivational and a cultural barrier, which determine the public managers behaviour concerning the realization of customer survey projects and its interpretation.
Taking a closer look at the nature of these barriers finally leads to the assumption that current participation approaches suffer from a lack of trust in the public's ability to evaluate public services.
consider the evaluation of the customer perspective on a sufficiently high level. One approach to measure the customer perspective with regard to reform projects may be the use of a customer survey. But theoretical considerations and empirical research indicate that
in cases in which customer surveys are applied their results do not allow systematic comparisons. Instead the generated conclusions rather concentrate on intransparent phrasings which do not support a clear and obvious judgement about weather the undertaken reform project has been successful or not in the eyes of the customer. In this
article we discuss potential reasons for this contradiction. We identify three main barriers, a technical, a motivational and a cultural barrier, which determine the public managers behaviour concerning the realization of customer survey projects and its interpretation.
Taking a closer look at the nature of these barriers finally leads to the assumption that current participation approaches suffer from a lack of trust in the public's ability to evaluate public services.
Language
English
Keywords
Customer Orientation
Public Management
Trust
Customer Surveys
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
Yes
Event Title
European Group for Public Adminstration (EGPA) Annual Conference 2005
Event Location
Bern
Event Date
31.08.-03.09.2005
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
41118