An Exploratory Study on Customer Participation in New Service Development Process: With Specific Reference to Hotel Industry in India

Growing importance and competitiveness in service industry has led service managers to constantly innovate and launch new services. In order to keep customers satisfied their inputs and feedback are necessary. Thus, academicians and managers working in service industry are realising the importance of Co-creation in New service development process. Co-creation is emerging as new marketing discipline based on Service-dominant logic of marketing. It is defined as "joint activity by parties involved in direct interactions aiming at contributing to the value that emerges for one or both parties" (Grönroos, 2012). Although, both academicians and practising managers accept the importance of customer participation in New service development process; but there is dearth of literature in the field of steps followed in the collaboration process of new service development and levels of customer participation in the development process. This study is based on existing literature and exploratory case interviews conducted in Five Star hotels working in India. Based on the findings the study concludes the steps involved in new service development process and level of customer participation in new service development process followed in five star hotel industry in India. The study suggests service managers to follow the steps of new service development process for launching a successful service with customer involvement in each step. Managers develop a planned and formal process of new service development process and obtain customer inputs in all the stages of new service development with more emphasis on personnel training and commercialization.