a validation study of house of quality key performance indicators
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A validation Study of House of Quality key performance indicators
“The case of De Unie’s Online union”
Name: Ferdinand Kieboom
Number: 283241
Department: Marketing Management
Coach: Prof. Dr. F.M. Go
Co-Reader: Dr. D.M. Halemane
RSM Erasmus University Rotterdam
December, 2007
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Preface
The author declares that the text and work presented in this Master thesis is original and that no
sources other than those mentioned in the text and its references have been used in creating the
Master thesis.
The copyright of the Master thesis rests with the author. The author is responsible for its contents.
RSM Erasmus University is only responsible for the educational coaching and beyond that cannot be
held responsible for the content.
Ferdinand F. Kieboom
Department of Marketing Management
RSM Erasmus University Rotterdam
November, 2007
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Foreword
“The metropolis setting makes it possible and necessary for an individual to preserve his autonomy
and individuality in the face of overwhelming social forces, of historical heritage, of external culture,
and of the technique of life”
Simmel 1922
By the end of 2006, the RSM Erasmus University and Microsoft Netherlands started the research
project “The New World of Work”. This research project aimed to provide insights in the changing
way of working for the workforce, enabled by information and communication technology (ICT). One
of the organizations that joined the research project was Dutch labor union De Unie. Each student,
participating in this research investigated a single case study, from which the case study of De Unie
served as my Master’s Thesis.
At the start of this research project I only knew labor unions from strikes presented in the
newspapers and on television, and I was wondering why a Dutch labor union would like to participate
in our research project. To my opinion, labor unions were a little old-fashioned and conservative.
I already knew that representative organizations were facing a decline in memberships for the past
years. By the time I was wondering the above, I came to the understanding that in fact it was not
strange at all for a workforce representative organization such as De Unie to participate in this
research project.
As labor unions are facing difficulties on the recruitment and retention of members the primary
concern for unions will be to identify new concepts that adapt to the needs of the changing
workforce and rejuvenate the traditional union. Fortunately, I noticed the management of De Unie to
be aware of the urgency for workforce representative organizations to develop new concepts. And as
a result, De Unie recently started with the first virtual union in the Netherlands. My opinion about De
Unie changed; this might be a progressive organization!
Traditionally, labour unions centres on maintaining the elusive balance in the group-individual
member relationship. I came to the understanding that one of the forces that is changing the group-
individual relationship is the growth of the internet and other ICT tools. The latter increases the
speed and availability of information and turn the group-individual relationship on its head, due to
the emergence of ICT-enabled individualization. For De Unie, understanding members’ needs for
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individualization and reconciling these with the requirements of the group will be a precondition to
the online union’s success.
Towards the end of my thesis I realized that with the start of the online union, although at the
moment very small and not fully developed, De Unie explored a complete new concept with high
potential to succeed. By this research study, I have tried to provide De Unie direction for the ongoing
way of improving the online union to adapt to the needs of the changing workforce.
Providing direction is phase I in the process of improving the online union. Translating the needs of
the members into the design will be the second phase. During my last contact with De Unie, the
project manager of the online union mentioned: “Okay, I was thinking about the following technical
requirements in order to translate the needs.......how do you think about it?” At that point, my
opinion about labor union De Unie was definitely changed; this organization certainly can be
progressive.
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Acknowledgements
The research study you are about to read has been written as my Master’s thesis. In writing this
paper I was fortunate with the support and advice of many people with different fields of expertise.
In this section I’d like to dedicate some words of appreciation to those who guided me in my journey
towards this final thesis.
First of all I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Prof. Dr. Frank Go for his time, guidance,
overwhelming support and enthusiasm when writing this thesis. His knowledge, rich interpretations
and critical view led to many hours of great conversations that were of great importance for the final
result of this Master’s thesis. For his invaluable contributions I am very grateful.
I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to my co-reader, Dr. Murthy Halemane. I would like
to thank him for his time, critical view and overwhelming commitment. Also thanks for the nice
conversations, practical advices and interest in the research subject.
Furthermore, I would like to thank Ad Breukel for the valuable conversations we had in Utrecht. His
knowledge and experience in the field of research are tremendous. I would like to thank him for the
time he made free for us and for his valuable advices. In this way I will also show my respect to Dr.
Robbert Govers for his contributions at the start of our research.
A special word of thanks will go to Prof. Dr. Ir. Eric van Heck, Dr. Peter van Baalen and Drs. Marcel
van Oosterhout for their constructive criticism, contributions and support to our team during the last
year we worked on the New World of Work project. I really appreciated our cooperation. I would
also like to thank my “teammates” Robbert Engels, Marcel Legerstee, Vincent Vermeulen and
Wieteke Dupain; we made it!
For this research for the online union I will also express my gratitude to many people of De Unie for
the discussions, advice and support. I would also like to thank all members of the online union who
took the time to fill in my survey and therefore contributed with valuable information.
Last, but certainly not least, I would like to express my deepest respect and gratitude towards my
family; my parents and my brother. Their never ending support and encouragement was of great
importance to me. I feel very fortunate to have a family like you!
Ferdinand Kieboom, November 2007
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Dedication
This thesis is dedicated to the memory of R. van Zevenbergen-Huisman
(1917 – 2007)
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Executive Summary
Workforce representative organizations in the Netherlands are witnessing a decline in the number of
memberships for about 10 years. Under influence of ICT, the design of work is changing from a
centralized to a decentralized form. As a result, the function and role of representative organizations,
such as De Unie, are changing as well. In response, representative organizations are searching for,
and experimenting with new service concepts in order to recruit new members and increase the
position of the organization as well as the organization’s cash flow. Under influence of the
aforementioned forces, De Unie started to develop a new union concept that is more responsive to
the members’ contemporary needs. As a result, De Unie recently launched the first online union in
the Netherlands; “De Internetvakbond”.
The current research study serves to improve decision makers’ understanding of the demands of the
members, and offers objective knowledge about the key performance drivers of the online union.
Hence, it will provide De Unie direction to the ongoing process of designing an online union that
adapts to the demands of the changing workforce. By both identification of the most important
needs of the members, by collection of empirical data and; by translating the needs into appropriate
technical requirements.
This research starts with a literature review followed by exploratory research to the needs of the
members and the performance drivers of the online union. The present study applies the SERVQUAL
model to measure the quality of the services offered by the online union. By including Kano’s model
we were able to identify how well the different service attributes of the online union are satisfying
the needs of the members. By integrating the SERVQUAL and Kano model into the concept of the
House of Quality, we were able to translate the needs and requirements of the member into the
design process of the online union.
By exploratory research we identified five dimensions that are considered to determine the overall
performance of the online union; interaction, solidarity, information, safety and interaction.
Statistical analysis merged the dimensions interaction and solidarity and indicated a significant
positive relationship between tangibles and the overall performance of the online union. The House
of Quality indicated Digitalization to be the most important technical requirement in the ongoing
process of improvement and enables the online union to meet the widest collection of members’
needs. Digitalization in this case offers the online union possibilities for value-based pricing of
services, connect different parties in the network and enables interaction between the De Unie, it’s
members and third parties. From this perspective it increases the value of the online union.
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Table of Contents Preface ........................................................................................................................................ ii
Foreword .................................................................................................................................... iii
Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................... v
Dedication ...................................................................................................................................vi
Executive Summary ..................................................................................................................... vii
Table of Contents ....................................................................................................................... viii
List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... xi
List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ xi
Chapter 1 - Introduction ............................................................................................................. 13
1.1 Research Background .................................................................................................................. 13
1.2 Theories of service improvements .............................................................................................. 14
1.3 Problem Definition and Research Questions .............................................................................. 16
1.3.1 Research Questions .............................................................................................................. 17
1.4 Research objectives ..................................................................................................................... 18
1.5 Research Design .......................................................................................................................... 18
1.6 Thesis Structure ........................................................................................................................... 19
Chapter 2 - Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................. 21
2.1 Online trade unions ..................................................................................................................... 21
2.2 New Media challenges ................................................................................................................ 23
2.3 Virtual Communities .................................................................................................................... 26
2.3.1 Concept of virtual communities ........................................................................................... 26
2.3.2 Typology of virtual communities .......................................................................................... 29
2.3.3 Function of Virtual Communities in Marketing .................................................................... 31
2.4 SERVQUAL ................................................................................................................................... 33
2.5 Quality Function Deployment ..................................................................................................... 34
2.5.1 The Four-Phase Model ......................................................................................................... 35
2.5.2 House of Quality ................................................................................................................... 36
Customer Needs (WHAT’S) ............................................................................................................ 37
Planning matrix (WHY’S) ............................................................................................................... 39
Technical Response (HOW’S) ........................................................................................................ 39
Relationship matrix ....................................................................................................................... 39
Technical Correlation Matrix ......................................................................................................... 40
Technical Matrix ............................................................................................................................ 40
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2.6 Conceptual model ....................................................................................................................... 40
Chapter 3 – Methodology ........................................................................................................... 43
3.1 Research Design .......................................................................................................................... 43
3.2 Data description .......................................................................................................................... 43
Phase I: Exploratory research; defining member’s needs ............................................................. 44
Phase II Quantitative research; online survey ............................................................................... 44
Phase III Establishing the House of Quality ................................................................................... 45
3.3 Instrument development and quality ......................................................................................... 45
Chapter 4 - Results Empirical Study ............................................................................................ 49
4.1 Phase I: Results exploratory research ......................................................................................... 49
4.1.1 Interviews with employees of the online union ................................................................... 50
4.1.2 Interviews with the members of the online union ............................................................... 51
4.2 Results Quantitative research ..................................................................................................... 54
4.2.1 Sample description ............................................................................................................... 54
4.2.2 Factor analyse ....................................................................................................................... 57
Scale Reliablity ............................................................................................................................... 59
Correlations ................................................................................................................................... 60
4.2.3 Multiple Regression Analysis ................................................................................................ 60
4.3 Establishing the House of Quality; translating “What” into “How” ............................................ 62
4.3.1 Gap analysis ......................................................................................................................... 62
4.3.2 Kano Analysis ........................................................................................................................ 64
4.3.3 Data Collection House of Quality ......................................................................................... 65
4.3.4 The House of Quality ............................................................................................................ 66
4.4 Summary empirical results .......................................................................................................... 69
4.4.1 Exploratory research ............................................................................................................. 69
4.4.2 Conclusions Quantitative results .......................................................................................... 69
4.4.3 Conclusions House of Quality ............................................................................................... 70
Chapter 5 - Conclusions, Implications and Recommendations ...................................................... 71
5.1 Synopsis ....................................................................................................................................... 71
5.2 Central Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 71
5.3 Implications ................................................................................................................................. 72
5.4 Methodological value .................................................................................................................. 73
5.5 Recommendations for future research ....................................................................................... 73
References ................................................................................................................................. 75
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Appendix 1: Survey Data............................................................................................................. 81
1.1 Expectation vs. Perceptions ........................................................................................................ 81
Appendix 2: Independent correlations ........................................................................................ 82
Appendix 3 ................................................................................................................................. 84
3.1 Kano matrix ................................................................................................................................. 84
Appendix 4: Case description De Unie ......................................................................................... 85
Appendix 5: Interviews employees’ online labor union. ............................................................... 88
5.1 List of interviewed employees .................................................................................................... 88
5.2 Questions ..................................................................................................................................... 88
5.3 Conclusions interviews with employees ..................................................................................... 90
Appendix 6: Interviews with members online labor union. .......................................................... 93
6.1 List of interviewed members ....................................................................................................... 93
6.2 Questions ..................................................................................................................................... 93
6.3 Conclusions interviews with members. ....................................................................................... 95
Appendix 7: Survey Internetvakbond De Unie ............................................................................. 98
Appendix 8: Statistical Analyses ................................................................................................. 108
8.1 Factor Analysis ........................................................................................................................... 108
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List of Figures
Figure - 1 House of Quality .................................................................................................................... 16
Figure - 2 Thesis Outline ........................................................................................................................ 19
Figure - 3 Polyinclusion (Go & Fenema, 2003) ...................................................................................... 24
Figure - 4 The Four-Phase model of QFD (Cohen 1995) ........................................................................ 35
Figure - 5 House of Quality .................................................................................................................... 36
Figure - 6 Kano’s model (ReVelle et al, 1998) ....................................................................................... 38
Figure - 7 Conceptual Model (Based on Go, 2005) ............................................................................... 41
Figure - 8 Empirical research design after phase I. ............................................................................... 53
Figure - 9 Frequency site visits .............................................................................................................. 56
Figure - 10 Reason to visit website ........................................................................................................ 56
Figure - 11 Overview gap scores ........................................................................................................... 63
Figure - 12 Kano Categorization ............................................................................................................ 65
Figure - 13 The House of Quality for the online union .......................................................................... 66
List of Tables
Table 1 - Virtual Community benefits for consumers and producers (De Valck, 2005) ........................ 32
Table 2 -Service dimensions Online union ........................................................................................... 53
Table 3 - Demographic Characteristics .................................................................................................. 55
Table 4 - Sector of the organization ...................................................................................................... 56
Table 5 - Function of members ............................................................................................................. 56
Table 6 -Rotated component matrix .................................................................................................... 58
Table 7 - Dimensional structure after Factor Analysis .......................................................................... 59
Table 8 - Internal Reliability ................................................................................................................... 60
Table 9 - Correlation matrix .................................................................................................................. 60
Table 10 - Regression Coefficients ........................................................................................................ 61
Table 11 - Technical Correlation Matrix ................................................................................................ 68
Table 12 - Importance rankings How's .................................................................................................. 69
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Chapter 1 - Introduction
“Your workplace is wherever you are”
- Motto from Interpolis Insurances Tilburg
1.1 Research Background
Just looking at the captioned statement some people may probably remark: “Yeah, perhaps in your
dreams ....”. However, one of the leading insurance companies in the Netherlands succeeded in
turning its ‘your workplace is wherever you are’ dream scenario into an innovative office concept
back in 1995. Its imaginary power harnessed in a ‘new world of work’ dream scenario and ability to
mobilize superb implementation skills, supported by sound planning. This enabled Interpolis to
achieve concrete business savings in reality. For instance, its new building offers 64% more
workplaces and accommodates 103% more employees than its traditional office building (Veldhoen,
2005). Hence, this case provides both inspiration and an appropriate introduction to frame the
present case research. In particular, it conceives a test to validate the House of Quality technique
through a statistically reliable sample of the De Unie’s member population in the Netherlands.
Nowadays the way we design our work is strongly influenced by Information Technology. Sinha and
van de Ven (2005) indicate that the design of work, i.e. the way in which work is performed, is
changing from centralized to decentralized structures. Sinha and van de Ven (2005) attribute this
change to IT, which divides, distributes and coordinates work across organizational and national
boundaries. From the performance perspective IT can be viewed as an enabler of work design
changes rather than a just another tool to automate processes (Dederick, 2003).
This research study is part of the overall research project The New World of Work (NWoW). This
research project is conducted by the RSM Erasmus University in systematic- and comprehensive
collaboration with Microsoft Netherlands, Rabobank and the Dutch trade union organization De
Unie. The research team consists of nine members from three different departments of the RSM
Erasmus University; marketing management, decision and information sciences and strategic
management. The five student members investigated each one case study. The research project
results are culminated in a report, including the case studies, for the participating companies and,
separately, presented in a Master’s thesis, of which the present study serves as one.
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The present case study focuses on the Dutch labour union De Unie. Recently, De Unie started its
journey to discover new concepts of working. For example; a new building with different features to
facilitate new ways of working was built in the year 2003. Within 2006 De Unie started the first
online labour union in the Netherlands; “the online union” (De Internetvakbond). Labour unions
worldwide are facing a decline in the number of members for almost twenty years now (Greene
2000, Ward 2002, Heery 2004). Problems on recruitment and retention of members are the primary
concern for unions to identify new concepts that adapt to the needs of the changing workforce and
rejuvenate the traditional union. Also in the Netherlands unions are challenged with the above
described decline in the number of members.
In essence a labour union centres on maintaining the delicate balance in the group-individual
member relationship. The latter is shifting as a consequence of two main forces. First, the changing
power balance altering the traditional configurations and relations in the market; second, the growth
of the internet and other information and communication technologies (ICT). The latter accelerate
the velocity of information and business processes and turn the group-individual relationship on its
head, due to the emergence of ICT-enabled individualization.
Fortunately, the leadership of De Unie is aware of the significance of the aforementioned forces and
the urgent need to develop a new union concept that is more responsive to the members’
contemporary needs. It merely started an online union as an experiment to rejuvenate the
organizational concept that would fit to the needs of the “new workforce” and new members.
Hence, understanding members’ needs for individualization and reconciling these with the
requirements of the group is a precondition to the online union’s success. At present, there is a lack
of information regarding members’ identities and motives. Such data is vital to plot an adoption
strategy for the online union. Therefore, this research seeks to provide insights about members’
identities and motives in relation to the online union. Moreover, it provides recommendations on
how De Unie can improve its processes to align the online union with the conventional organization,
which is rooted in the co-located form of conducting work, that the majority of members are familiar
and comfortable with.
1.2 Theories of service improvements
In order to translate customer’s requirements into the development process of new products or
services, nowadays different methods exist to control, measure, manage and improve quality in
different areas. One method to measure the quality of a service is the SERVQUAL model of
Parasuraman et al (1985). The model determines the quality of a service by measuring customer’s
expectations and perceptions on different service attributes. A gap exists when the expectation of a
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service exceeds the perception of a service. In order to measure how well different service attributes
are able to satisfy the needs of customer the Kano model was developed (Kano, 1984). Kano’s model
classifies the attributes into three categories, according to the level of satisfaction.
The present study applies the SERVQUAL model to measure the quality of the services offered by the
online union. By including Kano’s model we are able to identify how well the different service
attributes of the online union are satisfying the needs of the members. The SERVQUAL model only
identifies gaps between member’s expectations and perceptions but does not mention how the
explored gaps can be closed in order to improve the performance of the online union. Therefore,
based on the concept of Tan and Pawitra (2001), the needs of the members identified by the
SERVQUAL model will be integrated into the concept of Quality Function Deployment (Akao, 1990).
This in order to provide information how De Unie can improve the design the online union.
Quality Function Deployment (QFD) represents a powerful structured methodology for exploring and
steering interaction between different contributors in the product or service development or
improvement process (Tidd 2001). This is also the case when designing IT-related products of
services, like in this case the online union. Within the theory of QFD there are two dominant models;
the four phase model and Akao’s Matrix of Matrices Model. This research study will make use of the
four phase model of QFD. The Four-Phase model divides a product or service development process
into four phases. For each phase a matrix in shape of a house is used.
In order to translate the needs and requirements of the member into the design process, the needs
explored by the SERVQUAL model will be integrated into the first house of the four phase model; the
House of Quality (HOQ). The HOQ is used to depict customer requirements, technical measures,
target values, and competitive analysis (Eureka and Ryan, 1994). Therefore the HOQ will be an
important instrument in this ongoing process of improvement in order to match the needs and
requirements of the members and the design requirements of the online union.
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Figure - 1 House of Quality
As showed in Figure - 1, the House of Quality is formed by a number of elements (rooms) on different
levels. The left room lists the member’s needs or requirements, the “Whats”. The room below the
roof consists of the “Hows”, the technical (design) requirements. Function of the “Hows” is to
translate the “Whats” into terms that are measurable. The body of the house presents the
correlation between the “Whats” and “Hows”. Through this correlation matrix we are able to analyze
the extent to which each “How” affects each “What”.
1.3 Problem Definition and Research Questions
Nowadays an information worker has got many technological tools available. The present study
levers IT as an enabler of work design. In the communications context and the array of tools available
for social interaction, IT tools are applied both on the co-located and remote work level. The
information environment helps workers to solve increasingly complex and ambiguous problems.
However, research that mapped information flows among executives indicated ‘that there was only
limited collaborative activity in pockets of the organization’; ‘in general this lack of collaboration was
a product of people not knowing what other people knew’ (Cross, 2001).
From an information environmental perspective ICT enables organizations to decentralize their
decision making system. By extension decentralized types of organizations provide people the
opportunity to make decisions that matter to them (Malone, 2004:6). Hence, it offers workers more
freedom in how and where to carry out their job. In spite of such promise, the new ways of working
paradigm faces a formidable challenge for organizations. Namely, they have to initiate a “change” in
the mind of the information workers, especially on how to deal with their new-found freedom on the
job.
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Providing employees with the “right” IT tools as an enabler of work is only a first step. The second
step is crucial, that is determining workers’ intentions and competences to bring about an
appropriate match between ‘man-machine’. Only then is it feasible to determine the requirements,
i.e., what is wanted and to translate such data into how organizational processes should be ordered
in an appropriate design.
As a workforce representative organization, De Unie will have to adapt to the changing workforce
and design new concepts that support the needs and requirements of her members and from this
become a valuable partner in terms of work related support and personal development. The
individualization of the workforce is gathering pace in the context of urbanization. It places a
premium on “an individual to preserve his autonomy and individuality in the face of overwhelming
social forces, of historical heritage, of external culture, and of the technique of life” (Simmel, 1922).
As the world (and organizations) becomes flat (Friedman, 2004) and the sourcing of human resources
increasingly flexible, in nature it is only logical that De Unie abandons centralized thinking and acting
in favour of a decentralized model of organization. Within this context, De Unie developed the online
union; that is supposed to function as a ‘virtual community’. Some of the main characteristics of a
virtual community are: a set of relationships between individual members and the group,
represented by De Unie and sub-units within the labor union.
But what happens when an organization migrates from a centralized to a decentralized model of
organizational structure and strategic decision making? How are geographically dispersed members
and branch offices of De Unie responding to the concept of the online union? Do stakeholders
perceive the online union primarily as a new way of social interaction? Or as a vehicle that corrodes
the character of relations that are based on face-to-face encounters and relations which have
evolved over time?
1.3.1 Research Questions
As mentioned in previous sections, this research is part of an extensive research for Microsoft
Netherlands. This specific research study for the online union will be conducted at De Unie. The
following research question and five sub questions are formulated:
Research question:
How does De Unie address to the implications for the New World of Work through the design
and implementation of the online union?
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Theoretical based sub questions:
1) How to use the theory of House of Quality?
2) To what extent can the online labour union be defined as a Virtual Community?
Practical based sub questions:
3) What are the needs of the members of the online labor union?
4) Who are the existing members and who can be potential members?
General sub question:
5) How does De Unie needs to change the organizational design of the online labour union
in order to fit with the needs of its members which are collected through the House of
Quality?
1.4 Research objectives
The research objective enables us to chart the course for this research. The objectives of this in-
depth study can be divided into a theoretical and practical objective.
Theoretical objective :An extensive theoretical review of the existing literature about online unions,
virtual communities and methods for measuring and managing the quality of a service will provide us
a better and deeper understanding of factors influencing the service performance of the online
union. The literature therefore will create a stable foundation for this research study.
Practical objective: Based on the integration of the SERVQUAL model and the Kano model into the
method of Quality Function Deployment, this study for the online union seeks to identify different
factors which help to match the design of the online labour union with the needs and requirements
of the members. The main goal for this research study is:
To improve the design of the (already existing) online union, in order to be more effective in its way
to serve the needs and requirements of its members. In other words; to get this community working
well for De Unie and its members, it will be crucial to get a clear understanding of the expectations
and needs of its members.
1.5 Research Design
A single case study will be conducted (Yin, 2003) to investigate the needs and requirements of the
members and from these findings redesign the online union. This research starts with a literature
study followed by preliminary research in terms of qualitative interviews with workers of the online
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union as well as members of the online union. Based on the literature study and the preliminary
research, the explored performance drivers and needs of the members will be processed into an
extensive questionnaire. A survey will be conducted under the member population of the online
union in order to quantify the findings of the literature study and the preliminary research.
The results of the survey will be processed into the House of Quality as “Whats”. In strong
collaboration with the management team of the online union, the process requirements to adapt to
the needs of the members will be identified and processed into the HOQ as “How’s”. By adding the
strength of the relationship between the “How’s” and the “What’s” we will be able to determine the
importance of each process requirement. By doing so we will be able to make pronouncements on
how to improve the online union.
1.6 Thesis Structure
A visualization of the thesis structure is presented in Figure - 2 (Verschuren en Doorewaard,’2002),
followed by a brief description of the content of each of the chapters included.
Figure - 2 Thesis Outline
Chapter 1 (Introduction): presents an introduction into the current research study and the subjects
included. Furthermore this chapter describes the problem statement, research objectives, research
design and description, contribution of thesis (relevance), and structure of thesis.
Chapter 1-Introduction-
Chapter 2-Literature review-
Chapter 2-Conceptual model-
Chapter 3-Methodology-
Chapter 4Phase I
Exploratory research
Chapter 4Phase II:
Survey Analysis
Chapter 4Phase III: Establishing
House of Quality
Chapter 5 Conclusions
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Chapter 2 (Theoretical Framework): presents the results of the literature review. This chapter will be
divided into four parts. The first part will discuss the content of this research in terms of the current
situation for representative organizations like unions and potentials for new concepts. The context
will be described within the second part and focuses on virtual communities whereas the third part
will discuss the process of improvement by an extensive review of the SERVQUAL and Kano models
and the concept of the Quality Function Deployment. The literature review will constitute as the
foundation for the conceptual framework that is present in the last part of this chapter.
Chapter 3: (Methodology) discusses the methodology for the current research study. This chapter
presents the research design, data description, instrument development and validity and reliability
aspects of the measures.
Chapter 4: Results Empirical study; this chapter is divided into three parts. The first part will discuss
the process and findings of the exploratory research to the needs of the members, indicated as key
performance drivers of the online union. Results of the interviews with employees as well as a group
of members of the online union will be presented. From these results several propositions are
formulated. The second part of this chapter presents an extensive analysis of the results of the
conducted online survey. To find empirical evidence for the formulated propositions, several
statistical tests like Factor analysis and multiple regression analysis will be discussed. Furthermore,
the information gathered by the online survey will function as input for the construction of the
House of Quality in the third part of this chapter. The third part presents a broad description of the
construction of the House of Quality for the online union. The House of Quality is used to provide De
Unie direction for informed decision making in the ongoing process of improving the online union, as
the House of Quality directly links the technical requirements to the needs of the members.
Chapter 5: (Conclusions and recommendations) will discuss the conclusions, implications and ideas
for further research. This chapter will describe an answer to the problem statement, realization of
objectives, theoretical and empirical conclusions from the research, managerial implications and
limitations and directions for further research.
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Chapter 2 - Theoretical Framework
This chapter will provide an overview of previous research related to the subjects that will be
discussed within this study. The first section, 2.1, will discuss literature findings about the topic of
this research study; online unions. It discusses the current situation of representative organizations
like a labor union and potentials for new concepts. Furthermore three future scenarios will be
presented. In relation to new union concepts, section 2.2 will discuss the influence and opportunities
of new media types. Especially the significance of changing ways of interactions between a supply
and demand sides will be highlighted.
One specific type of new media are virtual communities. A review of the concept, types and
relevance of virtual communities will be provided in this section 2.3. Section 2.4 presents the
SERVQUAL model which will be used to measure the performance of the online union. Data provided
by the SERVQUAL model will be processed into the method of Quality Function Deployment. This
research study will focus on the design process of the online union. The House of Quality presented
in section 2.5.2 will be used to design the concept of the online union to the needs of its members.
The established theoretical framework forms the foundation for the conceptual model. Section 2.5
presents the conceptual model for the current research study
2.1 Online trade unions
Problems in recruitment and retention of members over the past two decades form the foundation
for the decline of traditional labor unions. In order to reverse this decline, unions should adapt to the
needs of the changing workforce and from this perspective develop new types of unions that are in
shape with the needs of the workforce and are appropriate to the 21th century (Heery et al, 2000).
The existing decline increases the need for renewal of union memberships. According to Greene et al
(2000) it is important that renewal of a union is not limited to existing areas but unions should also
be aware of recruitment possibilities in traditionally non-unionized sectors and growth areas of the
economy like the service sector. Heery et al (2000) mentioned in this case also the increase of the
contingent workforce, which includes temporary work, agency work and freelance work.
The growth of the internet and many different information and communication technologies is also
challenging the role of traditional representative organizations like labor unions. Greene et al (2000)
argue that for their renewal labor unions should use IT options like internet, to organize in a more
innovative and potentially more effective way. In particular, the use of the internet in the labor union
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context is referred to as ‘e-union’, ‘virtual union’, ‘cyber union’ (Ward, 2002). The e-union includes
options, such as web sites, e-mail, chat rooms, bulletin boards and online applications and voting
mechanisms that attract new and younger members (Ward, 2002) and afford De Unie opportunities
to organize its activities in a decentralized manner. The shift to a decentralized organization model
has consequences, especially in three areas:
Space, time and distance: Employees and employers who were traditionally separated from
organization and solidarity due to physical barriers are able to participate by the use of IT. Distances
will decrease as IT applications make it possible to connect geographically dispersed members and
organizations. As a result of the dispersed and flexible work patterns of various work sectors, physical
relationships are hard to establish. E-unions can provide features of a strong community based
relationship between and with her members.
Transparency: As the internet offers members the opportunity to employ local, national and
international online union related resources, it increases the transparency of the behavior of union
officials to her members. Online unions can also provide a critical alternative source in a trade union
context, as they provide elements of civic participation, political activism and transport policy-making
(Greene et al, 2000 p4).
Solidarity and Activism: Online labor unions create opportunities for enhanced forms of solidarity
and communication at local as well as global levels. An online labor union can connect members with
the same interests or aims and therefore creates new ways to maintain collectivism and solidarity
without physical barriers. The Internet can also establish faster and more frequent communications
which can increase membership loyalty to collective actions (Pliskin et al, 1997).
In case of the changing workforce and the future of work, Beck (2000) described different scenarios.
Central in his scenarios is the change from the work society to the knowledge society. New
information technologies, globalization, individualization and ecological factors influence society and
the future of work. From Beck’s perspective it seems that new technologies and especially the
emergence of the internet also influence the nature and structure of union organizations. Within this
context Ward and Lusoli (2002) developed three scenarios:
1. Erosion: Although full-scale erosion is very unlikely, by the increasing influence of new information
technologies, limited erosion of the traditional functions of representative organizations is predicted.
First of all, new media types like e-commerce are challenging the traditional areas from which labor
unions have recruited their members. Secondly, the increasing use of new IT applications will result
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in a more individualistic and consumption orientated culture. Third, the traditionally hierarchical
structure and conservative culture of unions makes it difficult to benefit from new technologies.
2. Modernization: Within the scenario of modernization, unions will use the opportunities of new
information technologies to modernize traditional union functions. IT is used to establish a more
positive and modern image for labor unions. For example websites can be uses as online information
databases. Online services can be improved by providing not only commercial services but also
online professional assistance and training. But new information technologies can also be used for
targeting and recruiting new members like for example the so called e-generation; people who have
grown up with technology.
3. Democratization: The scenario of democratization moves further than the modernization scenario
where information technologies are used for modernization, online services or recruitment. The
increasing speed and the volume of information obtainable via diverse computer mediated
communications, offer members the ability to communicate their opinions on policy matters on a
more frequent and direct base to a local, national and global audience. Therefore IT facilitates
change towards both decentralized organizations and participation in the decision making of
individuals. However, if not coordinated in an effective manner it may lead to activism that may take
the form on the internet by the foundation and ‘wild-growth’ of independent online unions.
2.2 New Media challenges
Over the past decades transportation and information technology have transformed human
interaction with space. (Go and Fenema 2003). Information technologies made it possible to connect
people at different ends of the globe and accelerated the sharing of information (new facts) and
concepts (Simon 1991). Simmel (1922) therefore talked about “the metropolis” as a modern life
compared with small town/rural life. The used citation of Simmel in the foreword of this thesis
illustrates this idea.
The result of technology developments can be presented in two models. First, people may be
included in one or more spaces sequentially or in parallel. The different spaces in which people may
be included are depicted Figure - 3. In this model the material space represents situations where
artefacts and people exist together in the same context. Information space is the use of “network of
networks” (i.e. Lievrouw & Livingstone, 2006). Mind spaces are connected when people and/or
machines interact. Social spaces occur when people include themselves in multiple social contexts
and relationships (Go & Fenema, 2003). In this context the forming of mind space and social space
are faced with a shift from material spaces to information spaces. In theory a lot is written about
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“virtual communities” in which social spaces and mind spaces are formed in the virtual environment.
People are articulating their mind space by means of information technology, and direct one to one
interactions are mediated (“co-presence”).
Gutek (2003) argues that there are three patterns of interaction, namely; relations, encounters and
pseudo relationships. Relations exist when consumers have repeatedly contact with an organization.
In this context, both sides know each other in a more personal way. Encounters, on the other hand,
are patterns of interaction that happens once and episodically. Nowadays interactions shift more and
more from relationship to encounter but a relationship will not disappear. It is possible to deal with
“encounter” customers like they are “relation” customers. This is mainly a result of the changing
media. Within the so called pseudo relations there is no need for face-to-face interaction between
the organization and the customer. This implies that the relationship can be social and technical at
the same time. The relationship of the online union with her members can be described as a pseudo
relationship as there are in the first place no face-to-face interactions, interactions are mainly
through new media types but are still based on a more personal relation between De Unie and the
members.
It is argued by Prahalad & Ramaswamy (2004: p.5), that the processes of value creation are rapidly
shifting from a product view to personalized co-experiences. As value shifts to experiences, the
market is becoming a forum for conversation and interactions between consumers, consumer
communities, and firms. Therefore and in contrast to Gutek (2003), Prahalad and Ramaswany also
take into account the existence of networks. They distinguish four different dimensions of
interaction: dialog, access, risk-benefits, and transparency. A dialog implies interactivity, deep
Information
space
space
Social space
Material space
Mind space
Figure - 3 Polyinclusion (Go & Fenema, 2003)
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engagement and the ability and willingness to act on both sides. But a dialog will be difficult if
consumers do not have the same access and transparency to information. Nowadays it is possible to
connect to information as much as people needs from the community, from other consumers but
also from the organization. Both access and transparency are important to have a dialog.
Furthermore, these dialog, access and transparency can lead to a clear assessment of the risk-
benefits of a course of action and decision (Phahalad & Ramaswamy, 2004: p.9). The internet has got
a primary role in this ongoing process as the internet makes is possible to share personalized
experiences in an easy way by for example virtual communities.
Research has consistently shown that “who you know” has a significant impact on what you come to
know, as relationships are critical for obtaining information solving problems and learning how to do
your work. Particularly in knowledge intensive work, creating an informational environment that
helps employees solve increasingly complex and often ambiguous problems holds significant
performance applications (Cross et al 2001). A lack of collaboration is typically a product of people
not knowing what other people know. In order to create a strategic pay-off for the organization it is
important that the organization first recognizes and secondly understands how to cope with
knowledge and information flows. Cross et all expect emerging collaborative technologies to
facilitate virtual work and skill profiling systems to help with the location of relevant expertise.
However these emerging technologies are very important; to be effective and efficient just
technology is not enough and organizations need more information on how people seek out
knowledge, learn from and solve problems with other people in organizations. Within this context
Cross et al indentify four features that distinguish effective from ineffective relationships:
- 1 knowledge; knowing what another person knows and thus when to turn to them;
- 2 Access; being able to gain timely access to that person;
- 3 Engagement; willingness of the person sought out to engage in problem solving rather than dump
information,
- 4 Safety; i.e., a degree of safety in the relationship that promoted learning and creativity.
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2.3 Virtual Communities
This part of the theoretical review will discuss the subject of virtual communities. The way this
section is organized is adopted from the description of virtual communities by De Valck (2005).
Section 2.4.1 will discuss the concept of (virtual) communities and provides a definition. Section 2.4.2
will describe different types of virtual communities and section 2.4.3 will discuss the role of virtual
communities in marketing, particularly their potential effectiveness in stimulating participation
patterns of members (De Valck, 2005).
2.3.1 Concept of virtual communities
As a result of the development of the internet, nowadays it is easy for people to get in contact with
people from all over the world. The internet makes it possible to form direct interactions with people
who are geographically dispersed, have different backgrounds and live in different time-zones. This
offers people the possibility to interact with others about a common topic of interest or a common
problem.
When computer networks link people as well as machines, they become social networks, also called
computer supported social networks (CSSN’s) (Wellman et al 1996). A specific type of a CSSN is the
virtual community. Traditionally the term community is linked to a geographic place like a
neighborhood where people live together (Wellman and Gulia 1999b). Today, a community is no
longer limited to the physical place it occupies in society, but is regarded as a set of relationships
where people interact socially for mutual benefit (Wellman 1997). The term “virtual” indicates that
primary interactions are electronic or enabled by technology (Ridings 2004). This brings us to the
main difference between communities in the traditional environment and virtual communities: the
common space of a virtual community is the cyberspace. Go & Fenema (2003) emphasize that within
the virtual environment social spaces and mind spaces are formed. “People are articulating their
mind space by means of information technology, and direct one to one interactions are mediated
(“co-presence”)” (Go & Fenema 2003, p 9).
The concept of virtual communities finds it origin in the development of the internet and exists for
almost a quarter of a century (Reingold 2000, Ridings 2004). One of the first definitions of virtual
communities was made by Howard Reingold. He describes virtual communities as “a collective of
geographically distributed individuals bound by a common interest exploiting Internet technologies
to enable communication” (Reingold 1993). Ridings et al (2002, p 273) define virtual communities as
“groups of people with common interests and practices that communicate regularly and for some
duration in an organized way over the Internet through a common location or mechanism”.
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When we look to similarities between traditional and virtual communities, three core components
are found to be similar (Kozinets 2001, Muniz & O’Guinn 2001 p.418):
Consciousness of kind: members of the virtual community feel a strong connection towards
each other and see themselves as a group although they have never met. This sets them
apart from non-members.
Shared rituals and traditions: members of a community act and behave to the norms and
values of the community where they belong to.
A sense of Moral responsibility: members of a community feel a sense of responsibility to
each other and the community itself.
As mentioned above, there are similarities between virtual communities and traditional
communities. Besides the main difference in the common space in which traditional and virtual
communities occur, another important difference is that members participating in virtual
communities participate on a voluntary base (De Valck, 2005). The “only” consequence of leaving the
virtual community is the end of a membership. Within traditional communities joining and leaving
the community is much more difficult because often members grow up in these communities.
Hagel and Armstrong (1997) developed the virtual community business model which identifies five
defining characteristics of virtual communities:
Distinctive focus: within the virtual community people with the same interests come together. A
distinctive focus helps (potential) members to understand what resources can be found within the
community. Organizers of the community create a specific climate and create a set of norms and
values. Members have to act to these norms and values.
Ability to integrate content and communication: the virtual community makes it possible to share a
lot of different published information. Members not only interact with each other about the
credibility of the content, but also with the publishers. This can result in credible, valuable and
reliable information which for example can be used in the purchasing process of a product of service.
Appreciation of member-generated content: members participate within the community by giving
opinions, sharing experiences, discussing products or services. The information and knowledge
provided by a certain member can be valuable for the community and its members. These virtual
exchanges of a certain member can for example influence certain buying behaviour of other
members.
Access to competing publishers and vendors: much more as in the traditional environment, the
virtual environment offers (potential) online consumers the possibility to compare many publishers
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and suppliers to each other. Within the virtual environment consumers can compare different
products, services, quality, prices and locations which will help them to make a more well-defined
decision. In this case the virtual community acts as an organizing community to its members.
Commercial orientation: some companies create their own communities; commercial communities.
Companies provide valuable information about the company or/and her products to the members of
the community. This information can lead to more appreciation of the company and her products by
the members of the community. This makes the virtual community an attractive tool for companies.
When discussing the concept of virtual communities an important aspect is to understand why
people join a virtual community. What is their main purpose, why do they actively participate and
why do they come back to the community every time? One of the reasons for participating in a
virtual community can be either functional, such as information exchange (Wellman 1996) or from a
hedonic aspect as the creation and consumption of a positive experience through interaction
(Bargozzi and Dholakia, 2002). Interaction is recognized on three levels of communication; two-way
non interactive communication; reactive communication and fully interactive communication (Jones,
1997). Within the community information and knowledge can be seen as a valuable currency or as
social resource (Hitz and Wellman 1997). Different form traditional communities, useful information
and knowledge can be spread within the virtual community through so called “weak-ties” because
members are relative strangers to each other. The virtual community can also be considered as an
important reference group for its members, mostly in a secondary but sometimes also in a primary
way (Constant et al, 1996).
Another reason for participating in a virtual community is the social aspect provided by the
community. It is stated by Heering (1996) that the freedom to express views and to receive social
support are one of the main reasons for individuals to join and participate in a virtual community.
Wellman (1997) defines virtual communities as social networks that use computer support as the
basis of communication among members instead of face-to-face interaction. Furthermore, virtual
communities make it possible to find individuals who are in the same situation and provide
emotional support, social support, a sense of belonging and companionship (Wellman et al, 1999a).
According to Hagel and Armstrong (1997) following types of needs can be distinguished why people
participate in a virtual community:
Interest; within the virtual community members come together because of a common
interest. Members exchange information and share knowledge about this common interest
by sharing resources or giving opinions and advices. Preece (2000) defines the virtual
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community as a group of individuals who cooperate to share resources and satisfy each
other’s needs.
Relationships; virtual communities offer people with the same interests of/ or problems the
possibility to come together within the virtual community. By frequently interacting within
the virtual community, strong and personal relationships may be formed. Sociability, or social
interaction, is a key ingredient in building social capital in virtual communities. Social capital
is fundamental to the sustenance of the community and encourages members to collaborate
and cooperate with each other for a common purpose (Preece 2002).
Fantasies; members in virtual communities can share different fantasy experiences they
have. For example; members can engage in role-playing games where everything seems to
be possible.
Transaction; in the virtual community members can make economical transactions. For
example goods can be sold to other members like at markplaats.nl
As a growing interest and influence of virtual communities is assured, Kozinets (1999) emphasizes
that “unlikely to replace physical encounters or information from traditional media, online
interactions are becoming an important supplement to social and consumption behavior”.
2.3.2 Typology of virtual communities
According to De Valck (2005) virtual communities can be used for a wide range of different topics but
vary greatly due to (1) their main purpose, (2) the computer-mediated context in which they occur,
and (3) their organizational structure. The first type of segmentation, main purpose, is most relevant
for this particular research and will be discussed more deeply below followed by a brief discussion of
the other two types of segmentation.
Segmentation by main purpose
As mentioned above, virtual communities are organized around different topics. Also many different
typologies to distinguish virtual communities are known. The most well known typology is made by
Hagel and Armstrong (1997). They made a distinction of communities based on the purpose for
which they are organized: communities of relationships, communities of interest, communities of
fantasy and communities of transaction:
Communities of relationships; within this type of communities members have something in
common or are in the same situation. For example a common illness, being single or having
the same job.
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Communities of interest; members of this type of communities are willing to share
knowledge and experiences. For example recommendation sites like Kieskeurig.nl, where
people share their experiences about different product.
Communities of fantasy; within communities of fantasy members interact with each other by
playing virtual games with each other. Within this fantasy world members can play with
fictive persons in different fictive environments.
Communities of transaction; within this communities members exchange goods, services etc.
on a demand and supply manner.
Although this classification by Hagel and Armstrong (1997) is still used, nowadays many other types
of virtual communities can be distinguished. Some examples are; brand communities (Muniz &
O’Guinn, 2001), communities of ethnicity (Mitra, 1999), communities of consumption (Kozinets,
1999) and e-learning communities (Hardaker and Smith, 2002). Although these types of virtual
communities are useful to detail and will limit the focus for research, according to De Valck (2005)
they do not add new categories to the classification of Hagel and Armstrong (1997).
De Valck (2005) stated that in fact most virtual communities are a combination of a community of
relationships and a community of interest which combines social interaction with information
exchange based on for example a similar demographic background, specific brand, consumption
related activity, certain travel destination or a medical problem.
To cover the main purpose served by virtual communities, De Valck (2005) adds another type to the
four types distinguished by Hagel and Armstrong (1997); the community of practice. A community of
practise consists of a group of people who are informally bound (within or between organizations)
and share their knowledge and information to learn from each other regarding shared (work) related
practices.
Segmentation by computer mediated context
Virtual communities are supported by different functional software systems, like for example; email
lists, chat rooms, electronic bulletin boards or online buying functionalities. Different types of virtual
communities will arise due to different characteristics of the software (De Valck, 2005). Kozinets
(1999) classified virtual communities, based on the computer mediated context of the community.
This classification is based on two dimensions; group focus (information exchange vs. social
interaction) and social structure (loose vs. tight).
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Segmentation by organizational structure
According to De Valck (2005), the way a virtual community is organized not only influences the way
individual members participate but has also influence on how they make consumer decisions.
Therefore the third segmentation aspect distinguished by De Valck (2005) is based on the
organizational structure of the virtual community. For segmentation on the organizational structure
De Valck distinguished several dimensions. The most appropriate one for De Unie will be the issue
whether and to what extent the individual members are likely to endorse the virtual community on a
voluntary basis.
2.3.3 Function of Virtual Communities in Marketing
As mentioned before, the internet can be very valuable to its users. The internet is able to connect
across diverse and dispersed locations. By doing so, the internet creates new social constructs like
communities of users (Jones 1999). Therefore the interest of marketers in learning about, organizing
and managing virtual communities on the internet is increasing (Bagozzi and Dholakia, 2002).
Hagel and Armstrong (1997) announce that companies which are able to invest in new possibilities
created by the internet will gain positive advantages by the creation of virtual communities, leading
to market knowledge and information. Nowadays marketers start finding ways that can strengthen
and support their brand image and overall corporate identity by the creation of strong virtual
communities (Hildebrand, 1998).
Kozinets (1999) mentioned that marketers should be aware that within the virtual environment,
consumers are considered to be; 1) more active and discerning; 2) less accessible to one-on-one
processes and 3) provide a large amount of valuable and cultural information. Taking this into
account, Rowley (2004) contributes that within the virtual environment marketing communications
therefore are concerned with the following factors; creating presence, creating relationships and
creating mutual benefits.
De Valck (2005) summarized the benefits for consumers as well as for producers in the overview
presented in Table 1.
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Table 1 - Virtual Community benefits for consumers and producers (De Valck, 2005)
The main benefit for consumers will be the extent of information that can be found by interacting in
virtual communities. Knowledge and experiences related to products, services, brands, producers
and retailers are shared between community members. The information gathered within the
community can result in improved consumers decision-making and product usage.
Besides gathering knowledge and experiences of other users, virtual communities can be used for
interaction between consumers and producers. Interaction with consumers will provide companies
more information about consumer needs, attitudes, behaviour and norms and values (De Valck,
2005). Interactions with companies offer consumers the opportunity to give their opinions about
existing products and services. Companies can anticipate on this feedback and use it in further
development processes. By interaction between companies and customers a relationship can be
established which can result in loyalty and mutual understanding.
When communities are integrated into the development process of new products, this is called
collaborative product development (Go, 2007) or community based innovation (Fuller, 2004). Due to
their high product interests and knowledge, members of communities of consumption can be a
suitable source for virtual participation in new product development processes (Kozinets, 1999).
Members of virtual communities can act as co-creators, testers and buyers by their contribution in
the development process (Fuller, 2004) and therefore co-create value in a dynamic way (Prahalad
and Ramaswamy, 2004).
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2.4 SERVQUAL
The SERVQUAL model developed by Parasuraman et al (1985) provides organizations a technology
for measuring and managing service quality (Buttle, 1996). Unlike the quality of goods, the quality of
services cannot be measured objectively by for example the number of defects. Parasuraman et al
(1985) stated that the quality of services is an abstract and elusive construct because of the following
three unique features of services; intangibility, heterogeneity and inseparability of production and
consumption. As objective measures for services are difficult, an appropriate approach for measuring
the quality of the firm is to assess customer’s perceptions about the service. The multi-item scale
SERVQUAL model measures customers perceptions on a quantitative way and can be uses as
diagnostic application to indicate service quality and strengths. The SERVQUAL model defines service
quality as the difference, the gap, between customer’s perceptions of the service and the
expectations of the service. Since its foundation in 1985, extensive research has resulted in a refined
model that consists of 22 items distributed into five dimensions. The 22 items describe aspects of the
following five dimensions of service quality:
Tangibles: physical facilities, equipment, and the appearance of personnel.
Reliability: ability to perform the promised service accurately and dependably.
Responsiveness: willingness to help customers and to provide prompt services
Assurance: knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to convey trust and
confidence.
Empathy: caring and individualized attention to customers
To measure the five dimensions of service quality, the SERVQUAL survey consists two sets of 22
statements. The first set measures customer’s expectations for a class of services (e.g. hotels)
whereas the second set measures the perceived performance of a particular service provider (e.g.
Hilton Hotel). A score for the quality of service is assessed by subtracting the perceptions score (P) of
the expectations score (E). Positives scores mean that the perceived performance exceeds
customer’s expectations. Negative scores submit to an underperformance in relation to customers
expectations. A score of zero means that there is satisfactory quality.
Parasuraman et al (1988) tested the SERVQUAL model in different service categories (appliance
repair and maintenance, retail banking, long-distance telephone, securities brokerage and credit
cards) and claim that the model consists of generic dimensions and therefore is applicable for use in
a variety of service encounters. Other research studies challenge the dimensionality of the
SERVQUAL model. Buttle (1996) stated that the SERVQUAL dimensions are not universal but the
number and content of the dimensions depend on the context. Within some contexts the domain of
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service quality may be complex whereas it can be simple and unidimensional in others (Babakus and
Boller 1992).
Tan and Pawitra (2001) discus two other areas of improvement. The SERVQUAL model assumes a
linear relationship between customer satisfaction and service performance attributes. Low customer
satisfaction therefore would be a result of low attribute performance. This is not necessarily true; in
case of satiation or when the attribute is taken for granted, paying more attention to a specific
attribute will not always result in higher customer satisfaction. On the other hand, unexpected or
delightful attributes can have a great impact on customer’s satisfaction.
The third limitation according to Tan and Pawitra (2001) is that although the SERVQUAL model is a
good method to identify service gaps, it is not able to indicate how the gaps can be closed or how to
translate the gaps into innovation. Tan and Pawitra (2001) therefore integrated the SERVQUAL model
(Parasuraman et al 1988) and the Kano model (Kano et al, 1984) into Quality function Deployment
(Akao 1990) in order to further service excellence. The customer satisfaction evaluations of different
service attributes are used as input for improvement and innovation. The Kano model will be
discussed in section 2.5.2. The concept of Quality Function Deployment will be presented in section
2.5.
The above described approach by Tan and Pawitra (2001) will be used as a foundation for this
research. Member satisfaction of different online union related attributes will be measured and
integrated into the House of Quality to guide improvement and innovation of the online union.
2.5 Quality Function Deployment
The original term Quality Function Deployment is derived from six Chinese characters: “hin shitsu ki
no ten kai”, this can be translated into “quality (hin shitsu) function (kino) deployment (ten kai)’.
Together the Japanese characters mean “how do we understand the quality that our customers
expect and make it happen in a dynamic way” (Cohen, 1995).
The concept of Quality Function Deployment (QFD) was originated in the early 1970’s as a means to
motivate engineers to consider quality early in the design process. Akao (1990) described the method
of QFD as “a method for developing a design quality aimed at satisfying the customer and then
translating the customer’s demand into design targets and major quality assurance points to be used
throughout the production phase”. In line with Akao’s definition, the definition of Hauser and
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Clausing (1988) is more concerned with teamwork and communications; “quality function
deployment focuses and coordinates skills within an organization, first to design, then to
manufacture and market goods that customers want to purchase and will continue to purchase”.
Although QFD is originally developed for productdevelopment, it has been used in the service
industry for quite a while. QFD is a good way to get a clear identification of the detailed steps which
are necessary to perform a service. In case of the online labour union we can identify the members
as keystone customers. They have most influence in determining the succes or failure of this new
concept. Other groups in this case are the Unie itself and third parties like employer organisations
and the government.
2.5.1 The Four-Phase Model
Within the theory of QFD there are two dominant models. The first model is the Four-Phase model
which is also known as the Clausing model or the American Supplier Institute (ASI) model. Second
model is Akao’s Matrix of Matrices Model. While the Four-Phase model provides a blueprint for
product/ service development and therefore covers basic product/ service development steps, the
Matrix of Matrices model is also designed for Total Quality Management (TQM). The Four-Phase
model is easier in style and therefore more widely used, although in the content the two models
don’t differ that much. For this research we will focus on the Four-Phase model.
The Four-Phase model divides a product or service development process into four phases. For each
phase a matrix in style of a house is used (Figure - 4).
Figure - 4 The Four-Phase model of QFD (Cohen 1995)
The first phase of the model is used to collect the customer requirements and attributes for a
product or service; the needs of the customers. These needs are called WHAT’S.
In this phase of the model the WHAT’S need to be transformed into technical requirements called
the HOW’S. The second phase will have to transform the technical requirements from the first phase
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into part characteristics, which is called parts deployment. Within the third phase the key part
characteristics are transformed into process parameters or/ of operations, this is called process
planning. In the fourth phase these process parameters or/ of operations are transformed into
production parameters of/ of operations and is called production planning.
The product and service planning in the first phase is the most fundamental part of the Four-Phase
model and therefore is given a special name; House of Quality (HOQ). As mentioned in section 2.5.1,
this research focusses on the four phase model and especially on the first phase; House of Quality.
2.5.2 House of Quality
The foundation of the House of Quality (HOQ) is the belief that products should be designed to
reflect customers’ desires and “tastes”. Hauser and Clausing (1988) described the HOQ as a sort of
conceptual map that provides the means for interfunctional planning and communications. Clausing
and Plugh (1991) give a more specific definition as the HOQ is a multifunctional tool that can be used
throughout the whole organization. For engineers, it is a way to summarise basic data for the
product of service development process in a usable form. For marketing, it represents the customer’s
voice and general managers can use it to discover new opputunities. A typical House of Quality will
be presented as a house-shaped matrix (Figure - 5). The horizontal part of the matrix contrains
qualitative and quantitative information relative to the customer (WHAT’S). The vertical portion of
the matrix contrains technical information that responds to the customers inputs (HOW’S). The
following elements form the House of Quality and will be discussed below; 1. Customer needs (left),
2. The planning matrix (right), 3. Technical requirements or HOW’S (upper), 4. Relation matrix
(centre) 5. The roof and 6. Technical matrix (bottom).
Figure - 5 House of Quality
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Customer Needs (WHAT’S)
As mentioned before, QFD starts with the customer. The first step in creating a House of Quality is to
identity the needs of the customers for the product or service, collect and when necessary organize
these needs, and reveal the relative importance perceived by the customers. Usually when an
organization is using the HOQ, the focus is on the ultimate customers. Also in this research for the
Unie, the focus will be on the ultimate customers who are in this case the members of the online
labour union.
After identifying the target group of customers, the needs of the customers for the product or service
have to be determined. A customer need is a description, in the customer’s own words, of the benfits
that have to be fullfilled by the product or service (Griffin and Hauser 1993).
Kano et al. (1984) developed a model which defines three types of customer needs (Figure - 6). In
this model attributes of a product or service are categorized on how well they are able to satisfy the
needs of the customers. The following categories of customer needs are defined:
- Basic needs, also known as must-be needs; customers become dissatisfied when performance of the
product attribute is low and satisfaction will not rise above neutral even with a high performance of
product or service attribute. These needs reflect to features wich must exist before a potential
customer will consider a product or service. The performance or one-dimensional needs allow a
direct comparisson between competing products and are therefore more quantifiable. Customer
satisfaction is a linear function of the performance of the product attribute; higher attibute
performance will lead to higher customer satisfaction. The third category are the exitement or
attractive needs also called delighters. Inclusion of these features delight the customer, even if they
did not ask for such features. Therefore customer satisfaction increases super-linearly when
increasing the product of service attribute performance. Important to notice is that there will be no
decrease in customer satisfaction when there is a decrease in attribute performance. These are the
features that give a feeling of “wow” to the customers and therefore we can conclude that these
features are most suitable for differentiation.
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Figure - 6 Kano’s model (ReVelle et al, 1998)
The Kano model suggests that only satisfying the basic and performance needs of the customer may
not be enough. In highly competitive markets it can be important for organizations to create product
or service attributes targeted at exciting and over-satisfying them (Tan et al 2001). Shen et al. (2000)
discussed that the Kano model shows that attributes which had once been attractive, become one-
dimensional over time because people get used to their availability. Over time these attributes
become taken for granted and will fall into the category of basic needs of the customer. Therefore
timely development and introduction of products or services with innovative and novel attributes
will be important in a highly competitive market.
There are many different methods available for gathering the qualitative data about the customer
needs; reactive and proactive methods and different types of interviews. One-on-one intervieuws
and focus groups are proved to be effective methods (Griffin and Hauser, 1993). After analyzing the
qualitative data, for example by using an affinity diagram, the data is ready for quantification. A
reliable method for quantifying is a well-designed survey (Cohen 1995 p294). When constructing a
survey it is important to pay attention to the selection of an approriate sample size, to ensure an
adequate respons and clear readability of the survey to avoid amiquity bias. Griffin and Hauser
(1993) stated that a self-selection bias might be present in standerd customer satisfaction data
collected by the organization itself.
Not all needs have the same priority to the customers. Some customer needs have higher priorities
than other needs. The organization will use these priorities to make decisions which balance the cost
of fulfilling these needs with the desirability (to the customers) of fulfilling that needs (Griffin and
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Hauser 1993). In literature the importance of the WHAT’S are mostly positioned at the the right side
of the House of Quality. Recent studies discussed the House of Quality with the importancies of the
WHAT’S positioned at the left, next to the WHAT’s. To our opinion this is the right position because
the importancies are strongly related to the WHAT’S and provide a better and more clear
understanding of the House of Quality when positioned right next to the needs to which they belong.
Through a validation study, or an analysis of a statistically reliable sample of respondents a test is
performed to distinguish between the abolute important and less significant needs. This test used a
five point Likertscale to measure an importance ranking; where number five represents the most
important and number 1 the least important.
Planning matrix (WHY’S)
Whereas the left side of the HOQ, the WHAT’S, consists qualitative data about the customer needs,
the right side consists of quantitative data about the customer needs. This part of the House of
Quality is also called the Planning Matrix. The planning matrix contains a series of collums that
represent key strategic product or service planning information. The data placed in this matrix allows
the organization to make stategic decisions about the products of services they are planning. Some
examples are; competitive satisfaction performance, sales points, goals and in some cases an overall
weighting of the total collums of the planning matrix.
Technical Response (HOW’S)
As discussed, the first two parts of the House of Quality collect and analize information about the
customer needs (WHAT’s). The next section of the House of Quality, the Technical Response, will
transform these needs in technical measures; also called the HOW’S. This is the orange part in the
middle of Figure - 5. According to Chan et al (2002) HOW’s are methods, company measures, design
requirements, substitute quality characteristics, and engineering characteristics, which can be
related to and measure the customer needs (WHAT’S). The American Supplier institute (1994) stated
that good HOW’s must be measurable, global and proactive.
Relationship matrix
The relationship matrix is the center of the House of Quality. The relationship matrix identifies the
strengths of the relationships between the customer needs (WHAT’S) and the technical requirements
(HOW’S) and therefore is a vital part and the heart of the House of Quality. The strenght of the
relationship is also called the impact of each HOW on a specific WHAT. Usually the following four
relationship levels can be distinquished: no relationship, weak/possible relationship,
medium/moderate relationship, and strong relationship. A symbol representing these ratings will be
entered into the two-dimensional matrix.
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Technical Correlation Matrix
The roof of the House of Quality, shows which HOW’S are interrelated and how strong these
relationships are. The technical correlation matrix shows for which areas close communication and
collaboration is important and for which areas it is less or not important and between which
attributes design bottlenecks may occur (Cohen 1995). Like for the relationship matrix, also for the
correlation matrix symbols are used to indicate mutual improvement (+) or trade off (-) relationships
between the HOW’S.
Technical Matrix
The last part of the House of Quality is the Technical Matrix. This part provides a lot of technical
information that is linked to both customer needs and parts characteristics in the second phase of
QFD (Chan, 2002). First the relative importance ratings of each HOW to all the WHAT’S needs to be
determined by multiplying the final importance ratings and the weightings from the plannin matrix.
Next step is to set the targets for the HOW’S, also called the HOW MUCH’es (American Supplier
Institute 1994). These targets represents levels of performance for the HOW’S in a way that the
organization believes that is required in oder to be competitive in comparison to competitive
products or services. In order to be specific and measurable each target should be quantified. It is
also important that the targets that are set, are reachable according to the technical sources of the
The HOW’S with the highest final rates are moved to Phase II of Quality Function Deployment, the
parts deployment.
2.6 Conceptual model
Previous sections discussed the literature relevant for the present research study. Based on the
literature findings we developed the conceptual model as depicted in Figure - 7. As discussed in the
literature review, new types of interaction are becoming more significant. For the present research
we focus on virtual communities, which nowadays form the basis of the internet. More specifically,
the concept of the online union can be classified as an online community. The present research seeks
to provide new insights on how to create value by matching the needs of the members of the online
union on the demand side and the design of the online union on the supply side. Therefore,
exploratory research followed by a validation study, through a statistically reliable sample of
members of the online union, is applied to identify key performance drivers of the online union.
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Figure - 7 Conceptual Model (Based on Go, 2005)
The conceptual model is based on the matchmaker model of demand, mediation and supply and
draws on to the idea of Prahalad and Ramaswamy (2004). As described in section 2.2, Prahalad and
Ramaswamy (2004, p.5) claim that: “The processes of value creation are shifting from a product view
to personalized experiences.” As the value creation is shifting, the market is becoming a forum for
interactions between consumers, communities and organizations. Specifically, interactive media is
able to strengthen these relationships between consumers and organizations, but is can also
strengthen the relationship between consumers (Lievrouw & Livingstone 2006). These relationships
can be defined as pseudo relationships (Gutek, 1996).
Thus the interaction will result in changing relationships and influences between the different
participants. First, the interactivity aspect of the online community makes it possible to share
experiences and information and therefore can be a source of knowledge between members. In
general within online communities different members can be identified. These different identities
have their own specific knowledge, needs, and expectations. As a result, interactivity can create
value in a way of mutual benefits.
Second, interaction strengthens the relation between the organization and the third parties involved.
The identity of the organization fits with the identity of the members of the online community. In
other words the organization needs to examine its stakeholders and the expectations of their
stakeholders (i.e. members and third parties) to create a matching organizational identity. To sum
up, due to interactivity the components linked to internal and external information will provide
members of the online union information and knowledge; internal direct from all sorts of members
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of the online union and the union itself, and external in a way that information can be gathered
indirect by third parties.
In this way the conceptual model is consistent with the interaction approach as stated by the
Industrial Marketing and Purchase Group; value is co-created through interaction between
stakeholders including customers, corporations and communities (Ford et al 2003).
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Chapter 3 – Methodology
Chapter two discussed the theoretical framework of this research study, followed by the explanation
of the conceptual model. This chapter will discuss the methodology used for the present research.
First, section 3.1 presents the research design followed by a brief discussion of the chosen research
approach and a description of the different data sources in section 3.2. To conclude this chapter,
section 3.3 discusses the development and quality of the survey instrument.
3.1 Research Design
The present research study is conducted at the Dutch labor union De Unie, and specifically focuses
on a new union concept; the online union. In order to test the conceptual model and indentify key
performance drivers of the online union, a single case study or survey instrument is not enough to
validate the model and find appropriate empirical evidence. Therefore different data sources and
approaches will have to be integrated in order to collect appropriate information. As a result, this
research will provide De Unie a deeper understanding about the needs of the members of the online
union and will offer objective knowledge about the key performance drivers. Hence, it will give
direction to the ongoing process of improvement for the online union.
As mentioned in previous chapters, the main purpose of this research is to identify expectations and
perceptions of the members of the online union about its performance and from this point attend to
the process of improvement of the online union. This means that this research study is not limited
merely to the identification and proposition of service performance driver enhancements for the
online union. It has to be noticed that in this case improvements ideally are part of the ongoing
process (‘s Gravendijk, 2007). In order to find empirical evidence for the process of improvement of
the online union, we will follow the three steps of measurement and analysis of Quality Function
Deployment defined by Griffin and Hauser (1993). The first step is to identify the needs of the
members by means of exploratory research. After this the needs of the members will have to be
structured in order to set priorities for these needs in the third step. The three different phases will
be briefly discussed in section 3.2.
3.2 Data description
This section discusses the chosen research approach of the current study. It also presents an
explanation of the different data collection techniques and the way they are preformed. The
research structure can be divided into three separate phases;
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Phase I: Exploratory research; defining member’s needs
Several sources will be used in order to indentify the specific needs of the members that can be
considered as key performance drivers for the online union. One source is the literature research
discussed in chapter two. Exploratory research to define the needs will be done by two types of
planned in-depth interviews.
Interviews with Union experts: The knowledge embedded by experts can be valuable for the
classification of the service aspects desired by the members. Union experts in this case are
employees of De Unie that are in a professional way related to the online union. The knowledge of
experts about the firm and the industry can help in diagnosing the nature of the research problem
(Malhotra and Birks 2003). Three structured interviews will be conducted with members of the
management team of the online union. The results of the interviews are used as input for the in-
depth interviews with members of the online union.
Interviews with members: Based on the results of the in-depth interviews with union experts, semi-
structured in-depth interviews will be held with individual members of the online union. Purpose of
the interviews is to get a deeper understanding of factors that determine member’s perception of
the online union. Important to notice in this case is that all interviewed members are also employee
of De Unie. From this perspective they have a certain double role. While the online union is an
organization that operates on the internet, its members are geographically dispersed over the
Netherlands. For practical reasons I decided to interview employees who are also members of the
online union and therefore located on one of the offices of De Unie. The interviewed members are
selected from different departments in order to get a deeper understanding of the needs from
different perspectives.
The interviews with the union experts and the members of the online union will result in a list of
items that are assumed to be related to the overall performance of the online union. Propositions
will be formulated to test the assumed relationships. The explored items will be validated by
surveying a statistically reliable sample of members of the online union. Results of the exploratory
research are present in chapter 4.
Phase II Quantitative research; online survey
After exploratory research conducted in phase I, an online survey will be used to quantify the
explored items and to test the formulated propositions by advanced statistical techniques. Based on
the SERVQUAL concept, the online survey will collect data of member’s perceptions and expectations
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of the explored items in phase I. Besides perceptions and expectations, the survey will measure the
priorities of the explored items based on the Kano model. Data gathered by the SERVQUAL model
and Kano model will be processed into the House of Quality.
The content and methodology of the online survey will be discussed in section 3.3. The statistical
analysis of the data gathered with the online survey will be presented in chapter 5.
Phase III Establishing the House of Quality
The data collected from the survey of phase II will be processed into the House of Quality. As
mentioned in section 2.5 this technique is used to translate the needs of the members of the online
union into appropriate technical requirements. The House of Quality will provide information for De
Unie about performance drivers of the online union that are expected and desired by its members.
Therefore the results in terms of requirements and prioritized expectations can be used as input for
improvement, innovation and strategic direction (Gonzales 2006) of the online union. On the other
hand, the House of Quality will be used to provide answers for the research questions and to validate
the conceptual model. The construction and analysis of the House of Quality will be presented in
chapter 5.
3.3 Instrument development and quality
A survey can be defined as a “pre-formulated set of questions to which respondents record their
answers, usually within rather closely defined alternatives” (Sekaran 2003, p.236). An online survey
will be conducted to quantify the items investigated by exploratory research. Hence, it will provide
data for statistical analysis and integration into the House of Quality.
Construction of the survey instrument is based on the SERVQUAL model by Parasuraman et al (1988),
that measures the service quality. Its original service dimensions determined by Parasuraman et al
(1985) have a universal nature and are in a certain way applicable for many service organizations to
measure the gap between the delivered quality of services and the expected quality of services. By
exploratory research we will look if the SERVQUAL attributes are appropriate for this specific
research. Moreover we are interested to look for new items in relation to the service quality of the
online union. After exploratory research, the investigated items will be grouped into dimensions.
Each dimension consists of several items. Items will be measured on a five-point Likert scale from
strongly disagree to strongly agree. Each item is measured by two questions. The first question
measures the overall expectation, whereas the second questions measures the respondent’s
perception about the item in relation to the online union.
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The perceived importance of the items is measured by the KANO model in part II and III of the
survey. In part II respondents are asked how they feel when a certain performance characteristic is
available at the online union whereas in part III respondents are asked how they feel when a certain
performance characteristic is missing. Importance’s of each characteristic is measured on a five-point
scale with the following answer options; I enjoy it that way – I expect it that way – I am neutral – I
dislike it, but can live with it – I dislike and do not accept it.
Evans and Mathur (2005) discusses the advantages and weaknesses of an online survey. The main
advantages of an online survey for the current research study will be discussed below, followed by
the most important weaknesses:
- Flexibility: One of the main advantages is that an online survey is flexible in a way that it can be
conducted in different formats. For example; an e-mail with an invitation and link to the survey, a
pop-up when a person is visiting a website. For this research the survey was implemented in an
online survey tool (Global Park). An e-mail invitation with a link was send to all members of the
online union.
- Speed and Timeliness: Members of the online union are geographically dispersed over the
Netherlands. Due to the speed and global reach of the internet an online survey makes is possible to
interact with geographically dispersed respondents.
- Convenience: The third important advantage of an online survey will be the fact that respondents
can fill in the survey on a convenient time and take as much time for answering the questions as they
need.
- Ease of data entry and analysis: For respondents an online survey is a relative simple way to fill in a
questionnaire. The answers of the survey will be automatically transferred into data that can be used
for statistical analysis. Therefore time needed for inputting and processing data will reduce
significantly.
- Controlled Sampling: Online surveys offer different formats to generate samples. For this research
the database of members of the online union was used to compose the research sample. An email
that invited members to participate was send to all approximately 1000 registered members.
Advantage for De Unie is that by inviting the members, the organization shows to be interested in
member’s opinions and therefore enhances its relationship with her members.
The most important weaknesses of an online survey relevant for this research:
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- Unclear answering instructions: Online surveys are self-administered and therefore the answering
instructions have to be very clear. As a result of unclear answering instructions respondents might
stop filling in the questionnaire without finishing it. The questionnaire for the online union consist
clear answering instructions before each new part of the survey. Instructions are carefully tested in
the pre-test phase of the survey.
- Impersonal: Online surveys are characterized by the absent of human contact whereas personal
interviews offer the possibility to in-depth questions. Therefore the questions must we well
formulated and clear in order to get valuable and usable information.
- Privacy and security issues: Respondents might hesitate to fill in an online survey when it’s unclear
if their answers will be treated confidentially and whether their information will be sold to other
companies. The introduction of the questionnaire for the online union explains the purpose for this
research and the way information will be treated. An email address will be asked to ensure the
uniqueness of the answers. The email address will not be used for other purposes.
Sekeran (2003) stated that when designing a questionnaire one should focus on three areas of design
principles:
Principles of wording: The principles of wording refer to different aspects as; the appropriateness of
the questions, how questions are worded and the level of sophistication of the language used, the
type and form of questions asked and the personal data sought from the respondents.
Principles of measurement: The use of suitable scales and scaling techniques will have to lead to two
methodological conditions that are required for a good research; validity and reliability. Validity
determines how well a technique, instrument or process is measuring a specific concept. Reliability
will indicate how stable and consistently the instrument measures the variable.
Overall appearance of the questionnaire: In order to get a valuable response not only the first
principles are important, the overall appearance of the survey is important too. Therefore a good
introduction, organized questions, clear answer instructions and a conclusion are aspects that will
stimulate respondents to participate and will increase the value of a survey.
A pre-test was carried out to ensure the reliability and validity of the questionnaire. For the pre-test
of the survey a selection of 15 professionals of De Unie, graduate students, practitioners were asked
to fill in the questionnaire and give their opinion about the content and the way questions were
formulated. Furthermore experts in the field of marketing management and technology and
innovation management were involved in the developing process of the questionnaire-items.
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During the pre-test, grammatical inaccuracies were rectified and when needed the items were
further clarified. The pre-test was equipped with comment boxes that gave respondents the
opportunity to comment on its wording, instructions and length. The time needed to complete the
questionnaire was considered to be +/- 10 minutes. Pre-test showed out that the time ranged from 8
till 13 minutes which was in line with the expectations and adequate for the respondents. The length
of the questionnaire was appropriate and in cooperation with De Unie we decided to add one more
item to the dimension tangibles in order to gather more information about member’s preferences
for custom made service aspects. After the pre-test the questionnaire was administered to 1000
registered members of the online union, resulting in 120 respondents in three weeks (calendar week
42, 43 and 44) who completed the questionnaire. In the current research a “complete” questionnaire
means that there are no missing values in the data set which means all questions were answered.
The developed questionnaire consists of the following features:
PART I
- Based on the SERVQUAL method, twenty-two items measured by two
questions to determine gaps between the perceived and expected
services of the online union.
PART II
- Based on the Kano method, twenty-two questions to measure perceived
importance when characteristics are available (functional).
PART III
- Based on the Kano method, twenty-two questions to measure perceived
importance when characteristics are not available (dysfunctional).
PART IV
- Thirteen demographic questions (respondent’s age, gender, education,
name of the company, work sector of company, job function, work
experience, years of work in recent firm, years of work in recent position,
household situation, region of living, frequency visits online union,
reason for visiting online union).
The final questionnaire, as distributed to the members, can be found in Appendix V.
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Chapter 4 - Results Empirical Study
The research methodology for this research study has been discussed in chapter 3. This chapter
presents the results of the empirical study. Section 4.1 discusses the results of the exploratory
research. It presents the identified member’s needs, indicated as performance drivers, and the
assumed relationships to the overall performance of the online union. Based on the explored items,
propositions are formulated and tested by an online survey. Section 4.2 presents the statistical
analysis of the survey and will validate the needs of the members. Data gathered by the online
survey will be processed into the House of Quality. The composition and analysis of the House of
Quality is described in section 4.3.
4.1 Phase I: Results exploratory research
This section discusses the exploratory research to the needs of the members. The needs can be
indicated as the performance drivers of the online union. The performance drivers are considered to
affect the overall performance of the online union. The literature research as described in chapter 2
functions as the first part of the exploratory research. Based on the literature review, a conceptual
model was established. The most important element in the exploratory phase are the interviews with
employees and the members of the online union, in order to investigate the needs, and therefore the
performance drivers of the online union.
As discussed in previous chapters, the SERVQUAL model will be used to measure the quality of
services offered by the online union. The SERVQUAL model is described to be applicable to a wide
variety of service organizations and offers options to reword some of the items in order to create a
fit with a specific context (Parasuraman et al, 1988). This particular research study for the online
union is highly specialized. We expect that one or more attributes of the current SERVQUAL model
will fit not with the context of the present research study. By qualitative research we expect to
identify several new attributes which are highly related to online services. This leads us to the
following proposition:
Proposition 1: By qualitative research we expect to explore new SERVQUAL attributes that
are specifically related to online services, not present in the current set of attributes of the
SERVQUAL model, and that influence the overall performance of the online union.
Besides interviews with union experts and members of the online union, value information for this
particular research can be gathered by an exploratory benchmark study. A benchmark study
compares the activities and/ or performance of competing companies or companies in different
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areas. For this research study we planned to perform a benchmark study to compare the activities
and performance of the online union with direct competitors and other e-services in different areas.
Potter (1994) mentioned that the starting point for benchmarking will be that the organization must
change and will have to change radically. As noticed in the previous sections, the online union is the
first online labour representative organization in Holland. Other union organizations in Holland are
(yet) not working with this online concept. Although in this case, it has to be mentioned that
competitors FNV and CNV are developing new campaigns which make use of new media types like
the internet. However, they do not offer online services in a separate entity. At the moment De Unie
has planned to start a benchmark study based on the concept of the balanced score card in January
2008. Due time constraints and the practical start of a benchmark by De Unie within two months we
were not able to conduct a suitable benchmark study and therefore results of a competitive
assessment are not included in the current research study.
4.1.1 Interviews with employees of the online union
In order to gain information from an organizational perspective, three interviews with union experts
were conducted. As mentioned in section 4.3.1, knowledge of the interviewed experts will be used
for the classification of service aspects for the online union. Therefore the most relevant people to
interview are union experts whose function is nearly related to the online union. To assess a
complete overview of information, experts in different hierarchical positions and with different
functions were interviewed. A complete list of interviewed experts as well as an extensive summary
of the interview results can be found in appendix 5. This section will discuss the explored service
characteristics which will be used as input for the planned interviews with members of the online
union as well as for the final questionnaire in phase II.
As mentioned before; due a decline in the number of members, unions are searching for new
concepts that focus on a younger population of members like for example young professionals. De
Unie also focuses on the “new type of worker” and therefore differentiates from other union
organizations in Holland. These new type of workers are defined to have a high affinity with digital
environments like the internet and will use IT as an enabler of work. They are also individualistic in
terms of searching and gathering for information and knowledge. According to the interviewed
experts, by the use of the internet an online union is able to function as a valuable “partner” for the
new type of workers. Valuable in way that it is able to integrate different parties into the network of
De Unie in order to facilitate an environment that provides knowledge and information that is in
shape with the needs of the members.
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By the absence of a formulated strategy and communication plan it is difficult for the online union to
recruit and retain new members. For De Unie it is also unclear which sectors of work are represented
in the online union. The degree of participation of the members is perceived to be very small. A few
interaction components are available but nearly used (for instance; Hyves communicator). In order to
create a network of relationships De Unie planned to integrate interaction tools like a forum and
different platforms that creates opportunities to connect members. Also the involvement of third
parties like for example Stageplaza1 are aspects planned for the near future.
Union experts mentioned the custom-made character of the online union to be a critical advantage
over the traditional unions. Different from the traditional union, a relative small membership
contribution has to be paid on a yearly basis instead of a monthly contribution fee. This contribution
allows members to pose one query for advice. After this they will have to pay for each query
separately. Experts also noticed the lack of current information offered on the website of the online
union.
4.1.2 Interviews with the members of the online union
The results of the interviews with union experts were used as input for the interviews with the
members of the online union. Interviews with members were conducted in order to classify their
needs and to identify the performance drivers of the online union. A list of interviewed members and
an extensive summary of the results are available in appendix 6. The results of the interviews in
combination with the results of the interviews with the union experts are used to compose the
online survey.
The exploratory interviews with the members identified several performance aspects of an online
union that can be divided into five different categories that, according to the members, determine
the overall performance. The categories (dimensions) will be discussed below. For each dimension a
proposition was formulated to test its influence on the overall performance of the online union.
Information: interviewed members mentioned the importance of information provided by the online
union. Interviews showed out that information is the main criteria to visit or contact the online
union. Therefore, members expect the online union to provide up to date information, information
that is trustworthy but also information that is relevant and useful for them. Besides this the
information must be easy accessible.
Proposition 2: Information will positively influence the overall performance of the online
union.
1 Stageplaza; mediating organization for student internships.
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Interaction: interviews revealed that members expect certain ways of interaction between the union
and its members. At the moment the online union for example interacts with her members by
providing online newsletters. But members also expect to get involved in the development process of
the online union to shape the online union to their preferences. Members also perceived a lack of
personal attention. Possibilities of interaction between members was mentioned to be preferred but
are not experienced in the current situation.
Proposition 3: Interaction positively influences the overall performance of the online union.
Safety: the category safety mainly reflects to the needs of members for a good representation of
their shared interest by the online union. Related to a good representation is the influence of the
online union on for example collective bargaining. Interviewed members expect the online union to
have a suitable influence to secure a good representation of their interests. Another “safety” related
aspect is the expectation of affective and adequate support to work related issues but also for
personal related aspects like for example assurances.
Proposition 4: The overall performance of the online union will be positively affected by
safety.
Solidarity: one of the reasons for people to join a union is the feeling of solidarity provided by a
representative organization. This feeling of solidarity originates from the fact that members join a
union for more or less the same reasons and therefore expect to meet members in equal positions.
Although in the current situation not available in a suitable way; members expect the online union to
offer new opportunities to interact with people in the same position and share knowledge and
experiences.
Proposition 5: Solidarity will positively affect the overall performance of the online union.
Tangibles: the most important reason for the interviewed members to join the online union is the
custom-made approach in combination with the relative low contribution price as presented in
section 4.1.1. This approach offers members the possibility to be represented for their shared
interest and to profit from customized services for a relative low price. From this we can conclude
that a good representation of their shared interests and customized services are important service
characteristics of an online union. Also a first-class presentation of the online union and appropriate
online facilities (e.g. speed and content of the website) are identified to be important performance
aspects.
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Proposition 6: Appropriate perceived tangibles will have a positive effect on the overall
performance of the online union.
The explored dimension can be visualized into a research model as depicted in Figure - 8. The model
represents the assumed influence of the dimensions on the overall performance. By analysis of the
survey results in section 4.2 we will test the formulated propositions.
Figure - 8 Empirical research design after phase I.
The explored items are embodied in a model and clustered into five different dimensions (Table 2)
Table 2 Service dimensions Online union
Information
Interaction
Solidarity
Safety
Tangibles
OverallPerformance
+
+
+
+
+
+
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4.2 Results Quantitative research
This section presents the results of the quantitative research study. Several attributes investigated in
the first phase are integrated into the survey model. Based on the SERVQUAL model, an online
questionnaire was designed to measure gaps between the actual performance and the member’s
expectations of the online union. By integrating the Kano model we are able to categorize the
attributes according to the influence of each of the attributes on member’s satisfaction. The
collected data will be used to test the propositions formulated in section 4.1.2. Hence, data collected
by the online survey will function as input for the construction of the House of Quality (Tan and
Pawitra, 2001).
Section 4.2.1 presents the demographics of the research population whereas section 4.2.2 presents
the statistical analysis of the survey data. Based on qualitative research to the needs of the members
we conducted five dimensions (Table 2).A factor analysis will be performed to test the structure of
the composed dimensions. After the factor analysis, we will execute a multiple regression analysis to
test for the influence of each of the dimensions on the overall performance of the online union in
section 4.2.3
4.2.1 Sample description
Within three weeks 120 respondents have finished the questionnaire. From a total sample of 1000
registered members this results in a response rate of 12%. Except from the question “What is the
name of your company”, all questions were mandatory which resulted in a dataset without missing
values. Before starting the analysis we filtered the data on respondents duration time to complete
the questionnaire. Respondents whose duration time was shorter than seven minutes were filtered
out. Based on the average time of 12,5 minutes, a duration time less than seven minutes assumes
that they have not filled in the questionnaire seriously enough. After expectation of the dataset, four
respondents were filtered out resulting in a final dataset of 116 respondents.
Based on the demographic questions we shaped a general descriptive profile of the member
population of the online union (Table 3). Specific work and union related characteristics will be
discussed later in this section. From the general characteristics as presented in Table 1, we can
conclude that the majority of the sample is male, merely of the age of 50 or higher, educated with a
MBO or HBO (Bachelors) degree, full-time employed, living together with an employed partner and
merely settled in the region Noord-Brabant. As mentioned before, the main target group of the
online union are young professionals. Therefore it is surprising to see that most of the respondents
are of the age of 50 or higher. One explanation might be that at the start of the online union a
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respective group of members of the traditional union became a member of the online union as they
feel highly associated to the organization De Unie.
Variable Composition Frequency Percentage
Gender Male 97 83,6
Female 19 16,4
Age <25 4 3,4
25 - 34 19 16,4
35 - 39 14 12,1
40 - 44 12 10,3
45 - 49 14 12,1
50 - 54 22 19,0
>54 31 26,7
Educational Level Professional Degree 15 12,9
PHD 1 0,9
Masters Degree 16 13,8
Bachelor Degree 38 32,8
Associate Degree 1 0,9
University, no Degree 5 4,3
MBO 39 32.6
High School 1 0,9
Household Situation Single 29 25,0
Couple, partner non-employed 20 17,2
Couple, partner employed 69 59,5
Work situation Full time employed 90 77.5
Parttime employed 16 13,8
Non-employed 10 8,6
Region Zuid - Holland 19 16,4
Noord - Holland 12 10,3
Utrecht 10 8,6
Zeeland 3 2,6
Noord- Brabant 36 31,0
Limburg 7 6,0
Gelderland 12 10,3
Overijssel 4 3,4
Flevoland 4 3,4
Friesland 2 1,7
Groningen 2 1,7
Drenthe 5 4,3
Table 3 - Demographic Characteristics
Table 4 shows the different sectors where employees of the online union work, whereas Table 5
presents the functions employed by the members.
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Table 4 – Sector of the organization Table 5 – Function of members
As represented in Table 4 most respondents are employed in the financial sector and the services
sector. The number of respondents working in these sectors can be explained by the fact that in the
first year of the online union employees of two financial organizations where faced with
reorganizations and mergers. There was no collective bargaining agreement for their specific sector.
To represent the interests of these employees, De Unie started a campaign and became the
employee’s representative organization. This also explains the results of Table 5 from which we can
conclude that most members have a financial related or management function.
Figure - 9 Frequency site visits Figure - 10 Reason to visit website
The frequency of visits to the website of the online union is presented in Figure 9. Overall we can
conclude that members do not visit the site of the online union very often. The majority of the
0 10 20 30 40
Other
Manufacturing
Education
Government
Finance
Wholesale
Retail
Healthcare
Construction
Transportation
Insurance
ICT
Services
0 10 20 30
Other
Consultancy
General management
Finance - Administration
Healthcare
Procurement and Logistics
Legal
Marketing-PR-Advertising
Research and Development
Government
Human resources
ICT
Sales
Daily 0.9%
A few times a week 2,6%
Once a week 4,3%
A few times a month 12,1%
Once a month 24,1%
Less than once a month 56,0%
Information 87,1%
Recreation 10,3%
Interaction 2,6%
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sample visits the site less than once a month (56%) or once a month (24.1%). As showed in Figure 10,
the main reason for members to visit the site is to gather information (87.1%).
4.2.2 Factor analyse
In our model quality (Q) measured by one item is the sum of an expectation rating (E) extracted from
the corresponding perception rating (P). A gap-score is defined as Q = P – E. The computed gap-
variables are used for further scale analysis. Further analysis of the gap scores will be discussed in
section 4.3.
After qualitative research in phase one, the explored items were structured into five dimensions
(Table 2). To test the structure of the modified dimensions factor analysis was conducted. Factor
analysis is a multivariate statistical technique which aim is to reduce a large number of variables to a
smaller number of underlying dimensions, known as factors. Therefore factor analysis will try to
explain a maximum amount of variance in our data by means of a small number of factors.
Before conducting factor analysis, we should test if factor analysis is an appropriate method for
detecting structures in our data. Therefore we will first inspect the correlation matrix, the Bartlett’s
test of sphericity, the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) and the measure of sampling adequacy (MSA).
When the results of the tests conclude that factor analysis is allowed, the items will be structured
into factors.
The Bartlett’s test of sphericity will test the inequality between the correlation matrix and the
identity matrix. The test values detected a significant result (Chi 1164.774; p:0.00) from which we can
conclude that there are differences between the correlation matrix and the identity matrix. The
second test, the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin test, measures the sampling adequacy. A high value indicates
sufficient intercorrelations between the variables which mean that the correlations between pairs of
variables can be explained by other variables.. The test value in our analysis is 0.875. A value of >0.8
is meritorious. The last test for sufficient intercorrelations is the Measure of Sampling Adequacy
(MSA). Looking at the anti-image matrix in SPSS, low MSA values of <.55 will have to be removed. The
values of the anti image matrix in our test are all higher than 0.8 except for one item that scores
.719, which is still allowed. From the above we can conclude that factor analysis is allowed.
After the different tests to detect if factor analysis is allowed, a suitable method of analysis should be
selected. For this analysis we will use the method of Principal Component analysis. This method will
determine the minimum number of factors that explain a maximum of variance in the data.
(Malhotra & Birks, 2004). The factor analysis was computed by the use of SPSS 13.0 and is included in
appendix 8.
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The scree plot and eigenvalues provided by SPSS, indicate a composition of four factors. After
deciding the number of factors, the communality values were inspected. A communality (hi2) = % of
variance in xi explained by the factor model. When a communality value of a variable is relative low
(<.30), that variable correlates low with other variables (therefore is “quite unique”). Variables with
low communality values should be removed as they definitely measure something else. In our
analysis no variables are removed as all communality values are >.414.
The Varimax rotation procedure was used to select variables into factors. The varimax rotation
procedure is an orthogonal method of rotation (axes are maintained at right angles) that minimizes
the number of variables with high loading factors on a factor thereby enhancing the interpretability
of the factor (Malhotra & Birks, 2004).
Component
1 2 3 4
Up-to-date information ,807 Reliability of information ,796 Offering relevant information ,728 Member involvement on development ,481 Interaction between Union and members ,425 ,500 Interaction between members ,674 Involvement third parties ,604 Recognizing needs of the members ,461 Perception of solidarity ,499 Opportunity of physical meetings ,721 Opportunity of virtual meetings ,779 Members in the same position ,639 Good representation of interests ,641 Perception of safety and protection ,509 ,656 Influence of online union ,756 Intelligibility objectives and services ,507 Offering effective support ,646 Reliability and quality of services ,556 Professional presentation ,511 ,632 Good online facilities ,777 Accessibility of information ,608 Custom-made services ,658
Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.
Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization.
a Rotation converged in 6 iterations.
Table 6 - Rotated component matrix
Factor analysis, as presented in Table 6 indicates four factors which collectively explained 58,7% of
the variance in all items. Based on the exploratory investigations of phase I, the original model (
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Table 2) consisted five dimensions (factors). The explored dimension “Solidarity” was not recognized
as a single dimension. Factor analysis merged the dimensions “Interaction” and “Solidarity” and
indicated it as one dimension, that we (still) name “Interaction”. Furthermore the item “recognizing
the needs of the members” switched from the dimension “Interaction” to “Information”, whereas
the item “reliability and quality of services” was replaced from the dimension “Tangibles” to “Safety”.
Due to the high factor loadings and plausible interpretations, we decided to adopt the new structure.
The new dimensional structure is presented in Table 7.
Table 7 - Dimensional structure after Factor Analysis
Scale Reliablity
After the factor analysis, item analysis was conducted to test if the dimensions composed by the
factor analysis are reliable. Cronbach’s alphas were employed to test the reliability of the
dimensions. Item anlysis is conducted after the factor anlysis because Cronbach’s alphas measures
how well a set of items measures a unidimensial construct; the scale has no underlying factors.
Cronbach’s alphas value varies betwen 0 and 1, where values <0.6 indicate unsatifactory internal
consistency reliability. Values of >0.7 are acceptable. As presented in Table 8, for all dimensions
Cronbach’s alphas are >0.7 which implicates that the scales are reliable.
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Dimension Number of items
Cronbach’s Alphas
Mean Std Deviation
Interaction 8 0.843 -0.629 0.700 Safety 6 0.817 -0.963 0.737 Tangibles 4 0.758 -0.573 0.760 Information 4 0.762 -0.830 0.801
Table 8 - Internal Reliability
Correlations
Correlations were calculated to look for association between the variables. Pearson’s product
moment correlation (r) was used to express the strength and direction of coherence between the
independent variables and between the dimensions composed by factor analysis. The higher the
correlation value the stronger the coherence between the variables.
Table 9 - Correlation matrix
All four dimension positively correlate to each other on a significance level of P<.001. (Table 9). The
strongest correlation is found between the dimensions Tangibles and Safety (0.611, p<0.001)
whereas the dimensions information and Tangibles appear to have the weakest correlation.
The complete table of correlations between all independent items can be found in Appendix 1.
Extremely high correlations (r>0.90) or very low correlations (r<0.30) normally will have to deleted
from the dataset as these correlations makes the interpretation less clear. The aim of the identified
model was to collect data for integration into QFD; therefore we choose to keep all items in the
constructs and will not perform a way of data reduction.
4.2.3 Multiple Regression Analysis
As described in the previous section, all factors and independent variables correlate significantly to
each other. In this section we will perform an analysis to look for the assumed relationship of the
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explored dimensions on the overall performance of the online union. In order to test the unique
effects of each dimension (Interaction, Safety, Tangibles and Information) we will conduct a multiple
regression analysis in which the overall performance will be the dependent variable.
Table 10 - Regression Coefficients
The results of the multiple regression analysis are presented in Table 10. The analysis indicates the
dimension Tangibles to have an independent significant influence on the overall performance
(t=2,248, p<.05). Although the other dimensions have a positive influence on the overall
performance, multiple regression analysis did not show significant effects of the independent
variables.
From the regression analysis presented in Table 10 we can formulate our population regression
model to estimate the effects of the exploratory variables;
Overall performance = α + β1 Interaction + β2 Safety + β3 Tangibles + β4 Information + εi
Where in this analysis α is the regression intercept or constant and εi is the standard regression error.
In our model, when β1 Interaction + β2 Safety + β3 Tangibles + β4 Information = 0, the expected value
of the dependent variable overall performance = 1. Based on the regression model the following
sample regression model can be stated;
Overall performance = 7,257 + 0,295 Interaction + 0,069 Safety + 0,523 Tangibles + 0,121
Information + 1,023
The R2 indicates the degree of explanation of the regression model. The R2 for our model can be
derived from Table 10 and has a value of 0,286, the adjusted R2 is 0,243 which indicates that our
model explains 24,3% of the variation in the overall performance of the online union. This
percentage is explicable by the fact that the online union currently appears to be in an experimental
phase and does not spread out her function and offerings in an unambiguous way. This makes it hard
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for members to understand the possibilities and what can be expected. From this perspective an
adjusted R2 of 24,3% in this case is acceptable.
4.3 Establishing the House of Quality; translating “What” into “How”
In section 4.2 the dataset of items established from the perception and expectation ratings was
statistically tested. Factor analysis examined the structure of the dimensions whereas a regression
analysis was conducted to test the unique effects of the established dimensions on member’s overall
rating of the online union. In this section we will integrate the data gathered by substracting the
expectations from the perceptions plus the data from the Kano related part of the survey into the
first matrix of Quality Function Deployment; the House of Quality.
Section 4.3.1 discusses the gap analysis between the expectations and perceptions. Section 4.3.2 will
present the Kano analysis. Involvement of the management team as experts in the data collection for
the QFD process is described in section 4.3.3. The compositition of the House of Quality will be
presented in section 4.3.4.
4.3.1 Gap analysis
Based on the SERVQUAL method, the first part of the survey measured the quality of the services
provided by the online union. As discussed in section 2.4 gaps occur when there are differences
between customer’s expectation and the actual perception of the service provided; the wider the
gap, the larger the difference. Positive scores means that the perceptions of a service exceeds the
expactations whereas a score of zero indicates satisfactory quality. Negative scores on the other
hand submit to an underperformance in relation to the customer’s expactations.
Each item is measured by two questions. In our survey the first question measures the expectations
of a member by asking to indicate on a five-point Likert scale how a specific situation in general
should be. The second question measures the same situation but than specifically in the case of the
online union. For example; the first announcement will be “A trade union organization should have
good online facilities”, followed by “The online union has good online facilities”.
All items in the survey measured negative gaps. An overview of the gap scores is presented in Figure -
11. A possible explanation for the negative gaps might be the fact that people have the intention to
respond more extremly when they are asked to indicate an ideal situation. Therefore the focus
should be on the variation of the gaps instead of the negative values (Teas, 1993b). The measured
gaps can be very valuable to the organization as it clearly indicates on which service aspects the
organization is underperforming. This study focusses on the process of improvement, therefore the
gaps are valuable as input for the House of Quality but not as single indicators.
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The highest negative gapscore can be seen for the attribute “influence of the online union”. This
score indicates that members expect a union to have sufficient influence on for example collective
bargainings, whereas they perceive the online union to have less influence. The member population
of the online union is relative small compared to other unions. As presented in Table 6 the
memberpopulation is also divided over many different worksectors. The representation in number of
members in a specifc sector is therefore low which persuades the influence of the online union.
The second highest negative gap is found on the attribute “offering effective support”. This attribute
indicates that members expect a union to provide effective support when needed, which can be
stated to be an important aspect of an online union. The smallest negative gap is represented by the
attribute “custommade services”. Further analysis of the gaps will be done after a combined
integration with the Kano scores into the House of Quality.
Figure - 11 Overview gap scores
-1,43
-1,07
-1,04
-1,01
-0,95
-0,91
-0,90
-0,84
-0,77
-0,75
-0,72
-0,72
-0,72-0,66
-0,63
-0,62
-0,60
-0,55
-0,52
-0,49
-0,32
-0,22
-1,60 -1,40 -1,20 -1,00 -0,80 -0,60 -0,40 -0,20 0,00
Influence of online union
Offering effective support
Good representation of interests
Intelligibility objectives and services
Offering relevant information
Up-to-date information
Perception of solidarity
Opportunity of physical meetings
Member involvement on development
Reliability of information
Accessibility of information
Recognizing the needs of members
Professional presentation
Interaction between union and members
Good online facilities
Reliability and quality of services
Perception of safety and protection
Interaction between members
Opportunity of virtual meetings
Involvement third parties
Members in the same position
Custom-made services
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4.3.2 Kano Analysis
The second part of the questionnaire (Appendix 7) consists of questions based on the Kano model.
The Kano model (Kano, 1984) was developed to classify product or service attributes on how well
they are able to satisfy the needs of the customer. Parallel to the items measured in the first part of
the survey (SERVQUAL), the Kano model measures both the functional and dysfunctional forms of
the attributes. In example, a functional form to measure will be “How do you feel when the online
union offers you up to date information?”, whereas the dysfunctional form will be “How do you feel
when the online union does not offer you up to date information?” For both questions the
respondents were asked to answer one of the following 5 options “I enjoy it that way”, “I like it that
way”, “I am neutral”, “I dislike it but can live with it that way”, “I dislike it and don’t accept it that
way”. While our survey was conducted in Dutch the answer options were translated into respectively
“Dat stel ik op prijs”, “Ik verwacht niet anders”, “Neutraal”, “Vervelend, maar kan ermee leven” and
“Vervelend en onacceptabel”.
The collected data from the functional and dysfunctional questions makes it possible to classify the
attributes into one of the following Kano categories: attractive, one dimensional, must be,
indifferent, questionable and reverse. In order to integrate the Kano categories into the House of
Quality, the categories will have to be quantified. Therefore Tan and Pawitra (2001) developed an
arithmetic method. For each functional and dysfunctional question the answers of the all
respondents to each of the answer options were summed. The answer option with the highest sum
results in the arithmetic and therefore determines the Kano category of a specific attribute. After
this, all attributes can be presented into the matrix depicted in Appendix 3. As a result the
classification of the attributes into Kano categories is presented in Figure - 12.
From the classification presented in Figure - 12 we can conclude that the attributes “Third party
involvement”, “Good online facilities” and “Custom made services” are classified in the category
attractive. This indicates that these three attributes surprise and attract the customer when
available. Implications of the Kano categories were discussed in section 2.5.2. In order to integrate
the Kano classification of the attributes into the House of Quality, Tan and Pawitra (2001) add
weightings to the different categories. The category ‘attractive’ will be multiplied by factor ‘4’, ‘one
dimensional’ by factor ‘2’, ‘must-be’ by factor ‘1’ and ‘indifferent’ by factor ‘0.5’.
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Figure - 12 Kano Categorization
4.3.3 Data Collection House of Quality
The SERVQUAL gaps of section 7.1 identified the differences between member’s expectations and
current perceptions of the online union. With addition of the Kano model we were able to determine
for which attributes improvements will be most critical. A limitation of the SERVQUAL model is that it
only identifies gaps without addressing on how to close the identified gaps. By integrating both
models into the House of Quality offers the opportunity to recommend on how to improve and
innovate the services of the online union.
As stated by Hauser and Clausing (1988) the method of quality function deployment focuses and
coordinates different skills within the organization. First to design, secondly to manufacture and
market the product or service. Therefore to optimize the results of QFD a cross functional team
including members with different backgrounds and expertise is required (Griffin and Hauser, 1993).
Data for the House of Quality was provided by the management team of the online union, consisting
of three people. In this case all members have good knowledge of the current situation of the online
union and the technical and financial options of the organization. In order to make sure the matrix of
the House of Quality was well interpreted, a meeting was hold to explain the method. After this first
session almost all required data was collected. A two-hour telephone meeting with the project
manager completed the data collection for the House of Quality
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4.3.4 The House of Quality
The different parts of the House of quality are discussed in section 2.5. To recap; the construction of
the House of Quality consists of 1) the customer needs (left), 2) the planning matrix , 3) technical
requirements or HOW’S, 4) relation matrix (centre) 5) technical correlation matrix (the roof) and 6)
technical matrix.
The House of Quality as constructed for the online union is presented below (Figure - 13). Although
processed in the completion of House of Quality as depicted below, the technical correlation matrix
is not displayed in Figure - 13 but will be presented separately. The different elements of the House
of Quality will be discussed underneath.
Figure - 13 The House of Quality for the online union
Customer Requirements
The customer requirements or “Whats” are qualified by the interviews with employees of the online
union and members of the online union in phase I of this research study. After this the needs were
defined into five dimensions and quantified by the online survey of phase II. Factor analysis in phase
III classified the needs into four dimensions; interaction, safety, tangibles and information.
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Technical Requirements
The technical requirements or “Hows” are established from investigations of the service process of
the online union during the past half year of this research study. Furthermore requirements were
performed in strong collaboration with the management team of the online union. A clarification of
the technical requirements will be discussed below.
1- Contact availability; available options for members to get in contact with online union.
2- Employee availability; number of union experts available for direct services.
3- Knowledge; knowledge available in the organization of the online union (experts, databases,
third parties)
4- Frequency of contact; interaction moments with members (newsletter, requests, site visits,
etc).
5- Speed of services; process time of the services.
6- Frequency of information updates; number of information updates on website, newsletters.
7- Member feedback processing; how feedback is effectively processed through the
organization.
8- Database options; database options with all relevant information of the members.
9- Personalization of services; extent of personalized services for a specific member.
10- Automatization; extent to which service processes are automated.
11- Digitalization; extent to which services and facilities are digitalized.
12- Networking availability; extent of options to create networks between members, the online
union and third parties.
Planning matrix/ Competitive assessment
The results of the benchmark study in chapter 5 were not sufficient enough to be processed into the
House of Quality (Figure - 13). This insufficiency of the information can be explained by two factors.
First of all, the online union of De Unie is the only virtual union in Holland whereas competitors in
this case are the traditional unions. Therefore to compare the activities of the online union we
studied other e-services in chapter five. Secondly, as mentioned in the introduction and in section 2.2
the decline in the member population creates a climate where every competitor is searching for new
ways to recruit members. The management team of the online union does not have enough
knowledge of the competitive projects related to the online union to process into the House of
Quality. De Unie has planned to start with a competitive benchmark in the first months of 2008.
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Technical Correlation Matrix
Traditionally the technical correlation matrix is shaped as the roof of a house (Figure - 13 The House
of Quality for the online union). In order to increase the readability of this part of the HOQ, we
decided to collapse the roof into the matrix presented in Table 11. The technical correlation matrix
will map the correlation between the established technical requirements (How’s). Trade–offs will
have to be made when negative correlations appear. In our model only two negative correlations can
be identified; first a negative correlation occurs between the speed of the services and
personalization of services and secondly between speed of services and feedback processing.
Table 11 - Technical Correlation Matrix
Technical Matrix
The technical matrix will display the importance rankings of the technical requirements and guides
the organization in making decisions within the (re)design process. Therefore this part is the most
important element of the House of Quality (Figure - 13). To calculate the importance of each
technical requirement, the interrelations weightings will be multiplied with the adjusted importance
score for each customer requirement. After this, the scores for each “What” will be summed up. The
relative importance of the technical requirement is than calculated as a percentage of the total score
of the “How’s”. Priorities and relative importance scores of each “How” are presented in Table 12.
Digitalization of the services received the highest score, closely followed by the frequency of
contacts. Other important “How’s” are the networking facilities, contact availability and knowledge
transfer between members and De Unie and membership.
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Table 12 - Importance rankings How's
4.4 Summary empirical results
4.4.1 Exploratory research
In the first phase of the current research, extensive qualitative research was performed to ensure the
most important characteristics of an online union, according to the members as well as the
employees. Based on the idea of the SERVQUAL model by Parasuraman et al (1988), the explored
items are embodied in a model and clustered into five different dimensions (Table 2). Exploratory
research provides evidence for proposition one; from the original SERVQUAL model only the
dimension “tangibles” was maintained and four new context specific dimensions were established.
The new dimensions are Interaction, Information, Solidarity and Safety. Based on the explored items
a survey was composed to validate the explored performance drivers through a statistically reliable
sample of members of the online union.
4.4.2 Conclusions Quantitative results
The factor analysis tested the structure of the five dimensions established after exploratory research
in phase I. Factor analysis indicated four dimensions instead of five dimensions. The dimensions
interaction and solidarity were fused into one single dimension. The four dimensions showed out to
be reliable by high Cronbach’s alpha’s (>0.7) and strongly correlate to each other. Therefore we
decided to adopt the dimensions constructed by Factor analysis as presented in Table 7.
Regression analysis indicated a significant causal relationship between the independent variable
tangibles and the dependent variable overall performance. Although the other independent variables
showed out to influence the overall performance positively, these relationships are not significant.
From this, the regression analysis provides significant evidence for proposition 6. Based on the
adjusted R2, our model explains 24,3% of the variation of the overall performance of the online union
which is in this case acceptable.
A validation Study of House of Quality key performance indicators
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From the statistical analysis of the survey data we can conclude that the overall performance of the
online union is most influenced by the dimension tangibles. Items within this dimension are the
online facilities, custom made services, good presentation and the availability and accessibility of
information.
4.4.3 Conclusions House of Quality
The House of Quality was established to provide De Unie direction to the improvement of the online
union. From the presented HOQ in Figure - 13 we can conclude that the technical requirement
“Digitalization” will be the most important in the ongoing process of improvement and enables the
online union to meet the widest collection of member’s needs. Although the online union already is
an organization that functions in a digital way, digitalization will certainly help to improve services
and offers important opportunities to adapt to the needs of the members. For example; digitalization
makes it possible to increase the involvement of members by providing new methods of interaction
like forums, personalized mails, and polls. Digitalization enables De Unie to offer relevant information
in a digital way which increases the speed to offer up to date information. According to Figure - 13,
involvement of third parties is of high importance to the members. Digitalization is able to integrate
and connect different parties in the network of the online union in a fast and relative uncomplicated
way.
The House of Quality directly links the technical requirements to the needs of the members and
therefore can be considered to be one of the most untainted instruments for improvement (Akao,
1990). For this research study, considerations and correlations addressed to the HOQ are made by
the management team of the online union and the writer of this study. It has to be mentioned that
the value of the HOQ depends on the expertise of the design team. In this case team members had
different expertise’s which made it possible to interpret the HOQ from different perspectives.
The next step in this ongoing process of improvement of the online union, will be the establishment
of the second matrix of the concept of QFD; parts deployment. Due time and organizational
constraints it was not possible to start with the construction of this matrix. Therefore the House of
Quality as constructed in this research will function as a guide to give direction to De Unie for the
improvement of the online union. By the time (January 2008) De Unie will start with the next step
and will continue with the QFD approach. By construction of the second House, De Unie will
transform the “How’s” of Figure - 13 into part characteristics.
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71
Chapter 5 - Conclusions, Implications and Recommendations
5.1 Synopsis
Under influence of ICT the design of work is changing from centralized to a decentralized form. This
development impacts the function and role of representative organizations such as De Unie, which
witnessed a membership decline over the past ten years. In response, De Unie has been searching
for, and experimenting with new service concepts including the online union. The online union is
seen as an appropriate tool to recruit new members and operate as a means to interact with her
members, and deliver new services that will increase the position of the organization as well as the
organization’s cash flow.
To improve the decision makers’ understanding of the demands of the members and design an
online union that adapts to the demands of the changing workforce, two approaches were applied in
this research study. First, statistical analysis aimed at determining the needs of the members and
secondly the use of the quality function deployment by integrating the needs of the members into
the House of Quality.
5.2 Central Conclusion
A validation study, i.e., an analysis of a statistically reliable sample of respondents is applied in the
present case to identify the key indicators that impact the performance of the online union.
Interpretation of the empirical results cause us to conclude that the area of “tangibles” appears to
have the most significant effects on the ongoing process of improving the online union, and
therefore, deserves the undivided attention and allocation of resources from De Unie’s management.
Our central conclusion is derived from the statistical analysis conceived by the test conducted to (1)
determine the structure of the explored attributes and 2) obtain empirical evidence of the unique
influence of each attribute on the overall performance of the online union. By exploratory research
in phase I we identified five dimension that were considered to determine the overall performance
namely; interaction, solidarity, safety, tangibles and information. Factor analysis merged the
dimensions interaction and solidarity into one dimension. Both dimensions consist of items that are
associated to each other. Therefore, and as a result of the high factor loadings and improved
reliability scores, we adopted the new structure of four dimensions. Statistical analysis provided
significant evidence for Proposition 5; tangibles will positively influence the overall performance of
the online union. Although the other dimensions all positively influence the overall performance,
multiple regression analysis did not show significant relationships. The four dimensions; tangibles,
A validation Study of House of Quality key performance indicators
72
interaction/solidarity, safety and information merely explain 24, 3% of the variation in the overall
performance of the online union.
5.3 Implications
The House of Quality directly links the technical requirements to the needs of the members and
therefore can be considered to be one of the most untainted instruments for improvement (Akao,
1990). Two types of data were integrated in the House of Quality. First of all the gaps between the
expectations and perceptions of the online union measured by the method of the SERVQUAL model
and secondly the Kano category to indicate the influence of each item on member’s satisfaction.
The method of quality function deployment is used to provide De Unie direction for informed
decision making. First, by questioning the members’ needs; and, second by tailoring the design of the
online union. Continuously, to match the demands of the members as closely as possible in a
responsive manner.
What are the main implications of the House of Quality results?
For one, “Digitalization” is observed as the most important in the ongoing process of improvement
and enables the online union to meet the widest collection of member’s needs. Subsequently,
translate such needs into desirable and valuable services to generate and maintain a cash flow on
which De Unie depends for its growth and survival. Although the online union already is an
organization that functions online, the concept of digitalization should be understood as a
continuous process of versioning information. Shapiro and Varian (1999) refer to ‘versioning’ as a
technique to lever ‘value-based pricing, i.e., to sell the online union’s services to different members
at different prices will certainly help to improve services of and offers opportunities to meet the
most important member requirements. Value-based pricing of services affords the development and
exploitation of two-way communication with members and stakeholders. Such online approach
affords De Unie the opportunity to obtain valuable market data without expensive and time-
consuming marketing studies. Simply, by offering members and third parties a menu of services and
monitor which one they choose. For instance, De Unie can offer a product line with one product
offered at members and another one at ‘outsiders’ and observe sales figures to observe purchase
patterns in both markets evolving. Shapiro and Varian (1999:54) refer to this technique as
‘versioning’. Digitalization in this case enforces the opportunity to connect different parties in the
network of the online union. Therefore it enables interaction between De Unie and her members,
mutual between members but it can also enforce the integration of third parties. From this
A validation Study of House of Quality key performance indicators
73
perspective it increases the value of the online union, not only for her members but as well as for the
organization De Unie.
5.4 Methodological value
Based on the SERVQUAL model (Parasuraman et al, 1985) we explored four new attributes by
exploratory research that fit with the context of the online union. Factor analysis reduced the
number of attributes to three new explored attributes applicable to online services. From the original
model merely the attribute tangibles was maintained although the items were modified into topic
related items. The SERVQUAL model assumes the attributes to have a linear function. By integration
of the Kano model we were able to get information of the non-linear power of each performance
driver on the overall performance of the online union which complements the SERVQUAL gaps and
gives strong support for decision making in case of trade-offs.
By integrating the SERVQUAL model and the Kano model into the House of Quality, a strong
instrument was developed to measure the performance of the online union and to provide direction
for improvement sequentially to create a design that adapts to the needs of the members. Quality
function deployment originally was developed for product design but nowadays becomes also
important for the design process of services. By integration of the SERVQUAL and Kano model we
complemented the method of quality function deployment especially for the design of online
services.
5.5 Recommendations for future research
De Unie is planning to start a benchmark study within the first months of 2008. Due time
constraints and for the already planned benchmark study of the De Unie we were not able to
integrate suitable information of competitors and e-services in other areas, into our research
study. As a result we could not establish the planning matrix/ competitive assessment of the
House of Quality. To complement the results of the House of Quality, De Unie should
incorporate the competitive assessment into the model when establishing the second house.
The House of Quality is established to prove direction to De Unie for the ongoing process of
improving the online union. As discussed in section 2.4 the second House will transform the
technical requirements from the first House into part characteristics. By the House of Quality
we identified different needs and validate a general direction of improvement. To serve the
different groups available in the community of the online union it is necessary to get a
deeper understanding of their specific needs and expectations. A proved method to obtain a
deeper insight, and to gain knowledge about motives and values of different groups will be
A validation Study of House of Quality key performance indicators
74
the creation of personas. Cooper (1999) described a persona as ”a user archetype you can
use to help guide decisions about product features, navigation, interactions, and even visual
design. By designing for the archetype - whose goals, attitudes, and behaviour patterns are
well understood - you can satisfy the broader group of people represented by that
archetype”.
An extensive part of the inputs for the House of Quality is provided by the management team
of the online union. The input provided correlates with the subjectivity, knowledge and
experience of the team members. Therefore to optimize the results for the House of Quality
a cross functional team including members with different backgrounds and expertise is
required (Griffin and Hauser, 1993). As the online union merely started as an experiment of
De Unie, nowadays the management team of the online union consists of three people.
Incorporating more team members would increase the subjectivity, knowledge, experience
and understanding of the management team. Hence, it will improve the validity of the
outcomes for the House of Quality.
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75
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Web sites visited:
www.internetvakbond.nl
The official website of De Unie’s online union and subject of this research study.
www.unie.nl
The official website of labor union De Unie.
www.geocities.com/unionsonline
The most known website for information about online unionism.
www.geocities.com/e_collectivism/
Website offers space for discussion and debate about collective activism, organizing and
action through electronic means
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Appendix 1: Survey Data
1.1 Expectation vs. Perceptions
0,00 1,00 2,00 3,00 4,00 5,00
Influence of online union
Offering effective support
Good representation of interests
Intelligibility objectives and services
Offering relevant information
Up-to-date information
Perception of solidarity
Opportunity of physical meetings
Member involvement on development
Reliability of information
Accessibility of information
Recognizing the needs of members
Professional presentation
Interaction between union and …
Good online facilities
Reliability and quality of services
Perception of safety and protection
Interaction between members
Opportunity of virtual meetings
Involvement third parties
Members in the same position
Custom-made services
Average Expectation
Average Perception
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Appendix 2: Independent correlations
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Appendix 3
3.1 Kano matrix
Questionanble Attractive Attractive AttractiveOne
Dimensional
Reverse Indifferent Indifferent Indifferent Must be
Reverse Indifferent Indifferent Indifferent Must be
Reverse Indifferent Indifferent Indifferent Must be
Reverse Reverse Reverse Reverse Questionable
Dat stel ik op prijs
Ik verwacht niet anders
Neutraal
Vervelend, maar ik kan er mee leven
Vervelend en onacceptabel
Dat stel ik op prijs
Ik verwacht niet anders
Neutraal Vervelend, maar ik kan ermee leven
Vervelend en onacceptabel
Fun
ctio
na
l
Dysfunctional
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Appendix 4: Case description De Unie
Summary Case Description De Unie
History
The First labor unions in the Netherlands were raised between 1860 and 1870. The growth of the
industrialization had significant impact on society. The working conditions were bad, child
employment was a normal fact, workdays were very long and the position of employees was very
weak. De Unie is established from several mergers between different independent unions of
different sizes. De Unie BLHP was founded in 1972 and in 1995 the name of the organization was
changed in the current name; De Unie.
Mission and strategy
De Unie has set herself the following target: in a world of life and work where everyone is constantly
faced with fresh choices, to set out together and to find realistic solutions to individual needs and
matters relating to work, income and personal development. De Unie attaches great importance to
carefully handle the interests of society and those of members, staff and stakeholders, in line with
her focus on socially responsible entrepreneurship.
Profile
With members employed in the industrial, service and health care sectors, De Unie is a modern,
independent trade union that goes for custom-made solutions. De Unie is a typical network
organization and contributed to over 300 collective agreements and represents the shared interests
of employees in mergers and reorganizations but also member’s individual interests in the areas of
work, income and personal development. De Unie mainly targets on professionals and are well
represented among middle and senior management. The total number of members nowadays is over
97.000.
According to other labor unions, De Unie distinguishes itself by providing personal support based on
in-depth understanding of businesses and collective agreements. In the area of income, De Unie
provides individual members with advice in particular on taxation, pensions and social security, but
she also handles queries about other matters relating to income.
In addition to the basic products and services of a labor union, De Unie offers her members other
products and services under labels such as UnieReizen (travel) and Member Benefits (financial
advice, insurance and mortgages). In order to create a network of partnerships De Unie works
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together with partners who share the philosophy of socially responsible entrepreneurship.
From the above described profile we can conclude that De Unie aims to be a trade union that helps
its members to develop their personal strengths.
Environment
The Netherlands has got three trade union confederations: the FNV (Federation of Dutch Trade
Unions), the CNV (National Federation of Christian Trade Unions) and the MHP (Trade Union
Confederation for Middle and Senior Management). De Unie is, via the union of independent trade
organizations, a member of the MHP. De Unie is aware of the fact that we live in a global society.
Unions should meet the challenges this brings along. Therefore De Unie is affiliated to Union
Network International [UNI], the European Metalworkers Federation [EMF], the International
Metalworkers Federation [IMF] and the International Travel workers Federation [ITF].
Organizational structure
From eight regional offices throughout the Netherlands, union officials, lawyers and secretaries keep
in direct contact with the members of De Unie. The management and service departments are
located at the head office “Unieplaza” in Culemborg. At this moment 220 employees work for De
Unie. The head office, Unieplaza, has opened her doors in 2003 and has got a deeper function
instead of just a building. This Unieplaza acts as a metaphor for De Unie as it stands for transparency
and transformation and therefore represents the character and culture of the organization.
Culture
The culture of De Unie can be best described as an open culture with a high level of collegiality and
an open way of communication. The relationship between the employees and the management team
is not that open as it is between the employees. There is a high level of top-down decisions that
result in some resistance and “fear” from the employees to the management team. Another
important issue might be that the chosen policy and direction of the management team is not clear
and policies are not always good understood by everyone. The communication between employees
and the management team can be described as more formal. The management team is settled in the
head office of De Unie in Culemborg and from this fact regional offices have a certain resistance to
the “head office” as to their opinion this represents the management.
Internal and external trigger
An internal trigger for De Unie is that the current organizational structure is used for about twenty
five years now. The organizational structure is region bounded (eight region offices and one head
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office) which does not fit with the current situation in our society. The structure will have to be
changed into a project or sector-based structure in order to go deeper into the core businesses.
De Unie is aware of the change in society and in the way work is going to change in the future. One of
the issues mentioned by all interviewed employees is the change from “industrial employment” to
“knowledge employment”. Although management of De Unie is aware of this change, they realize
that the organization in general still acts as a traditional labor union. Another very important external
trigger is the fact that the traditional market of De Unie is shrinking. The number of members is not
growing anymore; in fact it is going down for about ten years now.
Process
The head office Unieplaza is facilitated with flexible workplaces at all departments. People can
choose to work in cocoons for effective meetings, concentration rooms and flexible workplaces
between colleagues. Secondly working at home is already a common fact at De Unie. A lot of
employees, when possible in their function, work one day a week at home. Employees are satisfied
about the offered hard- and software which makes remote-working possible.
Although there might be some resistance to decisions made by the management, the adoption level
of new technologies is perceived to be high.
New concepts
De Unie is the first labor union in the Netherlands that started with a labor union on the internet; the
online union (www.internetvakbond.nl). One of the differences with a labor union in the traditional
environment concerns the price of a membership. For the traditional labor union a standard price is
set, whereas for the online union members pay a small standard price for which they can get help for
one question. After this, members will have to pay for each request separately.
In line with the concept of the online union is the concept of www.ruziemetdebaas.nl. This site acts
as a sort of platform to discuss (starting) conflicts with the boss. The site is free to access for
everyone. Main goal is to give people a deeper understanding about the conflict itself, their position
in this conflict, and off course possible solutions. Another new and unique concept, applicable on the
site of the online union, is the Medstick. The Medstick is a completely electronic mobile medical
database (USB stick) with the same size as a normal credit card. The Medstick consists all the medical
information of the owner of the stick. This concept is perfectly in line with the mission of De Unie to
find realistic solutions to individual needs and matters relating to work, income and personal
development.
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Appendix 5: Interviews employees’ online labor union.
5.1 List of interviewed employees
Date / Time
Departement
Location
Name
Function
21-09-2007
13.00 – 14.00
Policies and
expertise
Unieplaza,
Culemborg
Licisca Kruse Policy manager
Online union
20-09-2007
14.00 – 15.00
Online labour
union
Unieplaza,
Culemborg
Bart Willems Project manager
Online union
20-09-2007
15.15-17.15
General
Management
Unieplaza,
Culemborg
Jacques Teuwen Chairman De Unie
5.2 Questions
Introductie
- Mijzelf introduceren, doel interview aangeven (Onderzoek naar de behoeften van de leden
door middel van QFD, dit interview is bedoeld om verwachtingen binnen de Unie te
kwalificeren, in het bijzonder met betrekking tot het huidige beleid, kennis overdracht en
mogelijkheden binnen De Unie te kwalificeren)
- Wie is de geïnterviewde (functie,kennis internetvakbond, opleiding en ervaring)
Algemeen
- Wat is de achtergrond van de internetvakbond, wat zijn de beweegredenen geweest om
hiermee te starten en wat denk je dat het doel is?
- Waar bestaat het huidige aanbod van de internetvakbond uit?
- Wat is de huidige status van de internetvakbond, in termen van acceptatie?
Inrichting internetvakbond
- Wordt de internetvakbond centraal of decentraal (vanuit regio’s) aangestuurd in termen van
IT en vakbondmedewerkers?
- Zijn er behalve de leden en De Unie nog andere partijen die participeren binnen de
internetvakbond en hoe worden deze partijen bij de ontwikkeling van de internetvakbond
betrokken?
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Ledenbestand
- Wie is/zijn op dit moment de doelgroep(en) qua leden en is hier een verschuiving te
verwachten?
- Zijn er voor de bestaande traditionele leden van vakbond De Unie ook voordelen aan de
internetvakbond?
- Wat is een kritiek voordeel voor potentiële leden om voor de internetvakbond te kiezen ipv
de traditionele vakbond?
- Hoe worden de huidige leden van de internetvakbond betrokken bij de ontwikkeling van de
internetvakbond?
- Hoe denk je dat het gevoel van verbondenheid is bij de leden van de internetvakbond?
Behoeften leden
- Wat is volgens jullie de Top 5 van verwachtingen van leden van de internetvakbond?
- In hoeverre voldoet de internetvakbond aan deze behoeften verwachtingen?
- Hoe zou deze top 5 er volgens jullie in de nabije toekomst uit zien, zou deze gelijk blijven?
Welke verschuivingen zou je verwachten?
Verschillen t.o.v. traditionele vakbond
- Wat zijn de belangrijkste verschillen met de traditionele vakbond?
- Hoe worden deze verschillen naar de buitenwereld gecommuniceerd?
- Wat is de invloed van de internetvakbond op de relatie met leden en hoe verschilt deze met
relaties met leden in de traditionele omgeving?
Toekomst
- Er zijn duidelijke verschuivingen zichtbaar op het gebied van werk, zie ons onderzoek, wat
zou in jou ogen de mogelijke impact hiervan kunnen zijn voor de internetvakbond in termen
van vraag en aanbod?
- Wat zijn in jou/jullie ogen (mogelijke) verbeterpunten van de internetvakbond en wat
zouden deze verbeteringen op kunnen gaan leveren?
- Welke meerwaarde heeft de internetvakbond in jou ogen?
Overig
- Einde van het interview, zijn er nog zaken met betrekking tot de internetvakbond die niet
behandeld zijn in dit interview en volgens jou toch van belang zijn?
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5.3 Conclusions interviews with employees
General
In the year 2006 De Unie started the first online union in the Netherlands. The foundation of the
online union is based on the actuality of a decreasing number of “traditional” members of De Unie. In
fact the size of the member population is decreasing for almost ten years. It must be stated that De
Unie is not the only labor union with a decreasing number of members; all labor unions in the
Netherlands, and even abroad, are facing this tendency.
The different labor unions in the Netherlands are developing new concepts in order to reach a
younger population of members like students or starters. De Unie differentiates from this by not only
focusing on young members but also on the “New type of worker”. These new type of workers have
got a high affinity with digital environments and use IT as an enabler of work and are more
individualistic in terms of searching and gathering information and knowledge. De Unie is aware of
the fact that we live in a global society and that there is a change in the field of work and in the use
and usefulness of new media types. From this perspective the online labor union is used as a kind of
experience to determine how De Unie can become a useful “partner” for these new type of workers.
The objective for the online union is not only to stop the decrease of members but moreover to
create, as a labor union, added value for this new generation of workers. An important aspect for
achieving this goal is to get a well understanding on how to manage relationships within this virtual
environment. At this moment De Unie is trying to discover how they can combine different parties of
their network in order to facilitate an environment that provides knowledge and information which
fits with the needs of this new type of workers and therefore will become a valuable source.
At this moment the online labor union offers mainly three types of services:
- Shared promotion of members interests
- First line support to employer related subjects by union experts
- Different platforms like “conflicts with your employer”, “My core competences” and an
online internship database.
The online union is organized around a fully centralized structure. The IT-applications and the
management team are located in Unieplaza, Culemborg. Of course, the union experts who attend to
the questions of the members are also located in some of the eight region offices. Because questions
are answered by the same employees for the traditional union as for the online union, the quality of
the services provided by the online union is stated to be the same as for the traditional union.
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Communication about the online union to the outside is based on free publicity through
communication channels of De Unie itself like the internet site of the “traditional” Unie, newsletters,
magazines etc. In the near future De Unie will focus on communication options on the internet, for
example search engines or cooperation with other communities.
As mentioned above, the online union started in 2006. The spin off resulted in almost 2500
members. Due to the absence of a formulated strategy and communication plan it is difficult to
retain these members. As a result the number of members of the online union is already decreased
to +/- 2000. In terms of acceptation, all interviewed persons agreed that there is an already a certain
level of acceptation of the online labor union. This acceptation is still insufficient due to the fact that
the online labor union is still not completely developed and is still unknown for most people. At the
moment it is unclear which sectors are most present in the member population; different sectors are
represented.
Critical advantage of the online union above the traditional union is the customized identity of the
online union. The contribution price for the online union is stated at 10 euro for a one year
membership including one possibility to ask information of a union expert. After this, members will
have to pay for each question separately. For the traditional union the contribution price is stated at
15 euro a month without knowing which services you will use. A member of the online union pays for
what he needs.
The participation of the recent members is sufficient. For example members have the possibility to
actively participate in the decision process for their shared promotion of interests. This works out to
be a prosperous element of the online union. The participation of members on the development of
the online labor union is very small. At the start of the online union members had the possibility to
participate as an ambassador to assist in the development process. Unfortunately De Unie never
looked at these advices and decided to stop with this ambassador function.
Interviewed employees perceive the members feeling of solidarity to De Unie as low. This is mainly
due to the absence of “follow up actions”. At this moment there is only a monthly newsletter. In the
future this feeling of solidarity will have to grow as a result of more involvement of the members in
the development of the online union. One possibility to achieve this is to set up different forums in a
way like the Hyves network works.
At this moment there are not many other organizations participating in the online union. One
organization that participates is Stageplaza. The current platform for internships is facilitated in
cooperation with Stageplaza. In the future other organizations that will link their network to the
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network of De Unie are expected to join the online labor union. The plan is to set up different forums
where people can get in contact with each other. From this the aspect of relationship management
shows up again.
Interviewed employees were asked of what they think are the most important needs of the
members. The answered needs are mentioned below:
- The need of appropriate information; where and how easily can I find the information I need.
- Networks; which party be important for me and for which issue can I use this person.
- First line assistance to employer related issues.
- Interaction with other members who are in the same sector/position
- Feeling of solidarity
When looking on the needs mentioned above, the interviewed employees conclude that the first line
assistance to employer related issues works well. But the online union is not developed enough to
fulfill the other needs. For example the interaction aspect on the site is very small, only the Hyves
site of the labor union offers members the possibility to interact with each other although the use of
this possibility is minimal. Another example related to the network-need is the start of the internship
database. Overall we can conclude that for this moment, the online union works presents itself as
the traditional union in a new appearance. For the near future, a shift in the needs is not expected
but they will definitely become stronger.
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Appendix 6: Interviews with members online labor union.
6.1 List of interviewed members
Date / Time
Department
Location
Name
Function
24-09-2007
9.00-9.45
Policies and Expertise
Unieplaza, Culemborg
Ewald van de Sark Labour counsellor
24-09-2007
10.00-10.45
Policies and Expertise
Unieplaza, Culemborg
Sjerp Holterman Head department policies and expertise
24-09-2007
11.00-11.45
Policies and Expertise
Unieplaza, Culemborg
Peter Kersten Staff member
Reward systems
24-09-2007
13.00-14.45
Region Office Mid Unieplaza, Culemborg
Jos Drogen Statesman
24-09-2007
15.00-15.45
Section Chairmen Unieplaza, Culemborg
Wim Brouwer Operating group chairman
25-09-2007
13.00-14.00
Section Chairmen Telephone meeting
Gerwin van de Lei Operating group chairman
Reserve Reserve Reserve Susan Mogony Reserve
6.2 Questions
Introductie
- Mijzelf introduceren (onderzoek naar de behoeften van leden van de internetvakbond door
middel van QFD; dit interview is bedoeld om verwachtingen en huidig beeld van leden t.a.v.
de internetvakbond te kwalificeren.
- Wie zit er voor mij (functie; sinds wanneer lid, kennis internetvakbond)
Algemeen
- Hoe werd je geattendeerd op het bestaan van de internetvakbond (bijv. via bestaande
communicatie kanalen van De Unie, op internet gevonden, via vrienden etc.)
- Heb jij zelf mensen geattendeerd op het bestaan van de internetvakbond en de
mogelijkheden die deze dienst aanbied?
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- Kun je specifiek aangeven waarom jij gekozen hebt om lid te worden?
- Wie zijn in jou ogen de doelgroep(en) van de internetvakbond?
Verschillen internetvakbond vs. traditionele vakbond
- Kun je aangeven wat in jou ogen het verschil is tussen de internetvakbond en de traditionele
vakbond?
- Wat is voor jou een kritiek voordeel van de internetvakbond ten opzichte van de traditionele
vakbond?
- Is er voor jou ook een belangrijk nadeel van de internetvakbond en de traditionele vakbond?
Verwachtingen leden
- Wat waren je verwachtingen van de internetvakbond ten aanzien van de diensten/ services
die zij aanbieden?
- In hoeverre voldoet de internetvakbond aan deze verwachtingen?
- Welke meerwaarde heeft de internetvakbond voor jou?
- Wat zijn in jou ogen (mogelijke) verbeterpunten van de internetvakbond?
Betrokkenheid
- Een vakbond, en zeker De Unie, wil leden een gevoel van verbondenheid geven. In hoeverre
is dat gevoel van verbondenheid bij jou als lid van de internetvakbond aanwezig, en kun je
uitleggen waar dat gevoel op gebaseerd is?
- Hoe wordt je als lid betrokken bij de ontwikkeling van de internetvakbond?
- Heb je zelf weleens gebruik gemaakt van een van de diensten van de internetvakbond? Zo ja,
beschrijf je ervaringen?
Uitstraling
- Heb je het gevoel dat de internetvakbond dezelfde kwaliteit en professionaliteit aanbiedt als
de traditionele vakbond De Unie?
- Als je specifiek kijkt naar de website van de internetvakbond, straalt de internetvakbond dan
dezelfde kwaliteit en professionaliteit uit als de traditionele vakbond De Unie?
Overig
- Einde van het interview, zijn er nog zaken met betrekking tot de internetvakbond die niet
behandeld zijn in dit interview en volgens jou toch van belang zijn?
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6.3 Conclusions interviews with members.
Interviewed members were mainly attended to the online union through communication channels of
De Unie. Attention was created on the website of De Unie and by newsletters provided by De Unie.
Two interviewed members mentioned posters and the free publicity in for example papers at the
introduction period of the online union. Nowadays advertisements of the online union are only
noticed on the website of De Unie. Four out of six interviewed members attended relatives on the
online labor union which resulted in a couple of new memberships. The other two interviewed
members also attended other people, but from a professional perspective as they are employees of
De Unie.
People were asked to mention a specific reason why they chose to join the online union. The most
frequently answered reason was the price members have to pay for a membership of the online
labor union in contrast with the price of a traditional membership. This price offers members the
possibility to be represented for their shared interests and to profit from customized services for a
relative small price.
According to the interviewed members, the target group of the online union are younger people who
are at the starting point of their career (young professionals) or at the end of their professional or
academic study. Two interviewed members noticed that the online union is not only focusing on
young employees or students. They mentioned that the concept of the online union, to their opinion,
is suitable for people who crave for the safety of shared promotions of interest and on the other
hand are looking for the comfort of custom made services.
In line with the answers of the interviewed employees in Appendix 5.3, the interviewed members
defined the same differences between the online union and the traditional union. From a consumer
perspective, first of all the price of a membership indicates a significant difference. Secondly, all
interviewed members mentioned the difference in concept; the traditional union works from a
supply perspective (standard package of services) as the online union works from a demand
perspective (custom made services). From these answers we might conclude that the concept of the
online labor union is clear to the members, but it is important to mention that these answers might
be biased by the fact that all interviewed members are employees of De Unie.
Member’s opinions about the presentation of the site of the online union are divided. Half of the
interviewed members perceive the site to have a professional performance, the other members
think that the site does not look professional and looks a little out dated. Although there are
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different opinions about the professional looks of the site, all members perceive the quality of the
online union is equal to the traditional union and according to them the site looks trustworthy.
An important aspect of the interviews with members of the online union was to identify member’s
expectations and to what extent these expectations are fulfilled by the current online union. Each
aspect mentioned will be discussed below:
Easy accessible Information:
Members of the online union expect to find useful information in an easy and quick way. The online
union should provide a sort of “database” with relevant information divided in for example sector
categories. Members perceive the amount of information which is relevant and useful for them as
low. The online union consist no judicial work-related information in an easy accessible context.
Up to date information:
It is important for members that the information that is offered by the online union is highly up to
date. People expect here to find the most recent information about relevant work related issues. At
this moment members perceive the online union not as a medium that can provide them the latest
relevant information. The site is not updated very often and consists no or very few recent facts.
Interaction:
The aspect of interaction can be divided into two categories; first of all there can be interaction
between the online union and its members. Members expect for example to be informed by
(personalized) newsletters, interaction about the development of the online union and some of the
interviewed members favor more personal contact when they have made a request. At this moment
newsletters are not personalized and appear on a monthly base. Members of the online union are
not involved in the development process, although at the start a platform of ambassadors was
founded. Unfortunately the online union never used this possibility.
Secondly, members expect that there are possibilities to interact with people who are in equal
situations or who can be useful for them in a particular way. This type of interaction is not available
on the online union. In a certain way it is possible to interact with people in the same situation on the
online platform www.ruziemetdebaas.nl, but this platform only contains information about conflicts
between employer and employee. Not only interaction with people is preferred, also with third party
organizations which can be valuable for the members. For example insurance companies, retirement
fund organizations or the upcoming internship database which is launched in cooperation of
Stageplaza.
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The above described aspects of interaction with other members focuses only on virtual aspects. Two
interviewed members noticed the absence of physical meetings. “When organizing an event to bring
people together who for example work in the same sector, will probably increase the feeling to
belong to a certain group”.
Solidarity
In line with the quote above; one of the reasons for people to join a union is the feeling of solidarity
provided by a union. This feeling of solidarity originates from the fact that members join a union for
more or less the same reasons. The feeling of solidarity with the online union can be classified as
small. This is mainly caused by the absence of face-to-face contact between the online union and her
members but is also affected by the nonexistence of virtual and physical interaction possibilities
between members.
Safety
People join the online union to have the certainty that their common interests are represented and
promoted in an effective way. Interviewed members mentioned that due to the broad variety of
subjects handled by the online union there is an increase in uncertainty about a well representation
of their common interests. Some members consider the influence of the online union to be relative
small in comparison to the traditional union.
First-line support
Affective and adequate support to work related issues is expected by members of the online union.
Members expect quick response on questions. It was mentioned that for some questions a database
on the site would be enough. People can find the answer/ solution by themselves without the need
of support by an expert.
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Appendix 7: Survey Internetvakbond De Unie Introductie
Welkom!
De wereld van werk is aan het veranderen en hierdoor ook de behoeften van de werknemers. Om
haar leden goed van dienst te kunnen zijn dient een vakbond in te spelen op deze veranderingen.
Daarom heeft vakbond De Unie ruim een jaar geleden een nieuwe service opgericht; de
Internetvakbond.
Deze vragenlijst is opgesteld om te onderzoeken welke verwachtingen er onder leden heersen ten
opzichte van de internetvakbond en hoe de internetvakbond op deze behoeften kan inspelen.
Het invullen van deze vragenlijst is van groot belang; de internetvakbond kan hierdoor beter
ingericht worden naar de behoeften van haar leden en kan jou hierdoor beter van dienst zijn.
Dit onderzoek maakt deel uit van een onderzoek dat is opgezet door Microsoft Nederland in
samenwerking met de RSM Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam. Vakbond De Unie participeert ook
binnen dit onderzoek naar de invloed van informatie technologieën op de manier hoe wij ons werk
inrichten.
Begin bij het invullen van deze vragenlijst met het opgeven van je e-mailadres, dit om te waarborgen
dat jou antwoorden uniek zijn. Je e-mailadres zal niet voor andere doeleinden gebruikt worden en zal
niet aan derden verstrekt worden.
Het invullen van deze vragenlijst neemt ongeveer 10 minuten tijd in beslag.
Deze vragenlijst bestaat uit vier verschillende delen. In elk deel worden verschillende aspecten
gemeten.
Deel I: Percepties van karakteristieken van een vakbond
Deel II: Gevoelens bij aanwezigheid van verschillende karakteristieken
Deel III: Gevoelens bij het ontbreken van verschillende karakteristieken
Deel IV: Algemene en demografische gegevens
Bedankt voor je deelname!
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DEEL I Dit eerste deel van de survey gaat over verschillende karakteristieken van een vakbond. We willen je vragen om telkens aan te geven:
- In hoeverre jij vindt dat een vakbond over een bepaalde karakteristiek moet beschikken. - In hoeverre de internet vakbond aan deze karakteristiek voldoet.
De verschillende karakteristieken zijn geclusterd in de volgende groepen: informatie, interactie,
verbondenheid, veiligheid en gebruik.
Information (Volledig mee oneens – Volledig mee eens)
1.1 – De informatie die een vakbond aanbiedt dient actueel te zijn.
1.2 – De internetvakbond biedt actuele informatie aan.
1.3 – Van een vakbond mag verwacht worden dat de informatie die zij aanbiedt betrouwbaar is.
1.4 – De internetvakbond biedt betrouwbare informatie aan.
1.5 – Een vakbond dient haar leden te informeren wanneer zij specifieke beroepsgerelateerde
informatie voor hen heeft.
1.6 – De internetvakbond informeert haar leden wanneer zij specifieke beroepsgerelateerde
informatie voor hen heeft.
Interaction (Volledig mee oneens – Volledig mee eens)
2.1 – Van een vakbond mag verwacht worden dat zij haar leden actief betrekt bij de ontwikkeling van
de vakbond.
2.2 – De internetvakbond betrekt haar leden actief bij het ontwikkelen van de internetvakbond.
2.3 – Een vakbond dient te voorzien in interactie tussen de vakbond en haar leden.
2.4 – De internetvakbond voorziet in interactie tussen de vakbond en haar leden.
2.5 – Een vakbond dient interactie mogelijk te maken tussen leden onderling.
2.6 – De internetvakbond maakt interactie mogelijk tussen haar leden.
2.7 – Om een zo volledig mogelijk pakket aan diensten te bieden dient een vakbond derde partijen
zoals bijvoorbeeld pensioenfondsen, verzekeringen of stagebanken bij de vakbond te betrekken.
2.8 – De internetvakbond betrekt derde partijen zoals bijvoorbeeld pensioenfondsen, verzekeringen
of stagebanken in haar aanbod.
2.9 – Het is realistisch om te stellen dat een vakbond begrijpt wat de behoeften van haar leden zijn.
2.10 – De internetvakbond begrijpt wat de behoeften van haar leden zijn.
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Solidarity (Volledig mee oneens – Volledig mee eens)
3.1 – Een vakbond moet een gevoel van verbondenheid naar haar leden uitstralen.
3.2 – De internetvakbond straalt een gevoel van verbondenheid uit naar haar leden.
3.3 – Fysieke ontmoetingen met andere leden dragen bij aan een gevoel van verbondenheid.
3.4 – De internetvakbond maakt fysieke ontmoetingen met andere leden mogelijk
3.5 – Virtuele ontmoetingen met andere leden dragen bij aan een gevoel van verbondenheid.
3.6 – De internetvakbond maakt virtuele ontmoetingen met andere leden mogelijk.
3.7 – Binnen een vakbond vindt men leden die in dezelfde positie verkeren (gelijkgestemden).
3.8 – Binnen de internetvakbond vind men leden die in dezelfde positie verkeren (gelijkgestemden).
Safety (Volledig mee oneens – Volledig mee eens)
4.1 – Een vakbond zorgt voor een goede belangenbehartiging van haar leden.
4.2 – De internetvakbond zorgt voor een goede belangenbehartiging van haar leden.
4.3 – Een vakbond geeft haar leden een gevoel van zekerheid en geborgenheid.
4.4 – De internetvakbond geeft een gevoel van zekerheid en geborgenheid.
4.5 – Een vakbond kan in voldoende mate invloed uitoefenen bij bijvoorbeeld Cao-onderhandelingen
4.6 – De internetvakbond kan in voldoende mate invloed uitoefenen bij bijvoorbeeld Cao-
onderhandelingen.
4.7 – Een vakbond geeft duidelijk aan wat haar doel is en wat voor diensten zij aanbiedt.
4.8 – De internetvakbond geeft duidelijk aan wat haar doel is en wat voor diensten zij aanbiedt.
4.9 – Van een vakbond mag verwacht worden dat zij adequaat hulp te biedt wanneer dat nodig is.
4.10 – De internetvakbond biedt adequate hulp wanneer dat nodig is.
Tangibles (Volledig mee oneens – Volledig mee eens)
5.1 – Een vakbond is betrouwbaar en levert en diensten van goede kwaliteit aanbiedt .
5.2 – De internetvakbond is betrouwbaar en levert en diensten van goede kwaliteit aanbiedt.
5.3 – Een vakbond dient zich op een professionele manier te presenteren.
5.4 – De internetvakbond presenteert zichzelf op een professionele manier.
5.5 – Een vakbond dient goede online faciliteiten te hebben (denk hierbij aan de het aanbod op de
site).
5.6 – De internetvakbond heeft goede online faciliteiten (denk hierbij aan de het aanbod op de site).
5.7 – Een vakbond dient ervoor te zorgen dat informatie snel en makkelijk toegankelijk is.
5.8 – De internetvakbond biedt informatie op een snelle en makkelijk toegankelijke manier aan.
5.9 - Een vakbond dient een vraaggericht aanbod aan services te bieden (betalen naar gebruik i.p.v.
algemeen lidmaatschapstarief).
5.10 - De internetvakbond biedt een vraaggericht aanbod aan services aan.
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DEEL II
In dit tweede deel van de survey vragen we je een aantal stellingen te beantwoorden. Elke stelling
beschrijft een bepaalde situatie met betrekking tot een vakbond. Stel je de verschillende situaties
goed voor en geef aan welke antwoordoptie het meest je gevoel bij deze situatie beschrijft.
Antwoordopties:
I enjoy it that way Dat stel ik op prijs. I expect it that way Ik verwacht niet anders I am neutral Neutraal I dislike it but can live with it Vervelend, maar kan er mee leven I dislike and do not accept Vervelend en onacceptabel
1 – Hoe zou je het vinden wanneer jouw vakbond altijd de meest actuele informatie aanbiedt?
2 – Wat vind je ervan als de informatie die jou vakbond aanbiedt betrouwbaar is?
3 – Hoe zou je het vinden wanneer jouw vakbond je informeert wanneer zij specifieke
beroepsgerelateerde informatie voor je heeft?
4 – Wat vind je ervan waneer jouw vakbond jou betrekt bij de ontwikkeling van de vakbond?
5 – Hoe zou je het vinden als er mogelijkheden tot interactie zijn tussen de vakbond en haar leden?
6 – Hoe zou je het vinden als er mogelijkheden tot interactie zijn tussen de leden van jou vakbond
onderling?
7 – Wat vind je ervan als jouw vakbond derde partijen zoals bijvoorbeeld pensioenfondsen,
verzekeringsmaatschappijen en stagebanken?
8 – Hoe zou je het vinden wanneer jouw vakbond goede kennis heeft van de behoeften van haar
leden?
9 – Hoe zou je het vinden als jouw vakbond een gevoel van verbondenheid uitstraalt?
10 – Hoe zou je het vinden als jou vakbond fysieke ontmoetingen met andere leden mogelijk maakt
(bijv. d.m.v. een evenement) om het gevoel van verbondenheid/ saamhorigheid te stimuleren.
11 – Hoe zou je het vinden als jou vakbond virtuele ontmoetingen met andere leden mogelijk maakt
(bijv. d.m.v. forums) om het gevoel van verbondenheid/ saamhorigheid te stimuleren
12 – Hoe zou je het vinden als je binnen jou vakbond leden tegenkomt die in dezelfde positie als jou
zitten (gelijkgestemden)?
13 – Wat vind je ervan als jouw vakbond zorg draagt voor een goede belangenbehartiging?
14 – Wat vind je ervan als jouw vakbond zorgt voor een gevoel van zekerheid en geborgenheid?
15 – Wat vind je ervan als jouw vakbond in voldoende mate invloed kan uitoefenen op bijvoorbeeld
Cao-onderhandelingen?
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16 – Hoe zou je het vinden als jouw vakbond duidelijk aangeeft wat haar doel is en welke diensten zij
aanbiedt?
17 – Wat vind je ervan als jouw vakbond adequaat hulp kan bieden aan haar leden wanneer dit nodig
is?
18 – Hoe zou je het vinden wanneer jouw vakbond betrouwbaar is en diensten van goede kwaliteit
aanbiedt?
19 – Hoe zou je het vinden wanneer jouw vakbond zich op een professionele manier presenteert?
20 – Hoe zou je het vinden wanneer jou vakbond over goede online faciliteiten heeft (denk hierbij
bijvoorbeeld aan het aanbod op de site)?
21 – Hoe zou je het vinden wanneer jouw vakbond informatie op een snelle en makkelijk
toegankelijke manier aanbiedt?
22 - Hoe zou je het vinden wanneer jouw vakbond een vraaggericht aanbod aan services aanbiedt?
(Betalen naar gebruik i.p.v. een algemeen lidmaatschapstarief)?
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DEEL III
In dit deel van de survey worden je dezelfde stellingen voorgelegd als in het vorige deel. Bij de
stellingen in dit deel zijn de verschillende karakteristieken echter niet aanwezig. Geef wederom aan
welke antwoordoptie het meest jou gevoel bij de situatie beschrijft.
Antwoordopties:
I enjoy it that way Dat stel ik op prijs. I expect it that way Ik verwacht niet anders I am neutral Neutraal I dislike it but can live with it Vervelend, maar kan er mee leven I dislike and do not accept Vervelend en onacceptabel
1 – Hoe zou je het vinden wanneer jouw vakbond niet altijd de meest actuele informatie aanbiedt?
2 – Wat vind je ervan als de informatie die jou vakbond aanbiedt niet betrouwbaar is?
3 – Hou zou je het vinden wanneer jouw vakbond jou niet informeert wanneer zij specifieke
beroepsgerelateerde informatie voor je heeft?
4 – Wat vind je ervan waneer jouw vakbond jou betrekt bij de ontwikkeling van de vakbond?
5 – Hoe zou je het vinden als er geen mogelijkheden tot interactie zijn tussen de vakbond en haar
leden?
6 – Hoe zou je het vinden als er geen mogelijkheden tot interactie zijn tussen de leden van jou
vakbond onderling?
7 – Wat vind je ervan als jouw vakbond geen derde partijen zoals bijvoorbeeld pensioenfondsen,
verzekeringsmaatschappijen en stagebanken?
8 – Hoe zou je het vinden wanneer jouw vakbond geen goede kennis heeft van de behoeften van
haar leden?
9 – Hoe zou je het vinden als jouw vakbond niet een gevoel van verbondenheid uitstraalt?
10 – Hoe zou je het vinden als jou vakbond geen fysieke ontmoetingen met andere leden mogelijk
maakt (bijv. d.m.v. een evenement) om het gevoel van verbondenheid/ saamhorigheid te stimuleren.
11 – Hoe zou je het vinden als jou vakbond geen virtuele ontmoetingen met andere leden mogelijk
maakt (bijv. d.m.v. forums) om het gevoel van verbondenheid/ saamhorigheid te stimuleren
12 – Hoe zou je het vinden als je binnen jou vakbond geen leden tegenkomt die in dezelfde positie als
jou zitten (gelijkgestemden)?
13 – Wat vind je ervan als jouw vakbond geen zorg draagt voor een goede belangenbehartiging?
14 – Wat vind je ervan als jouw vakbond niet zorgt voor een gevoel van zekerheid en geborgenheid?
15 – Wat vind je ervan als jouw vakbond in onvoldoende mate invloed kan uitoefenen op
bijvoorbeeld Cao-onderhandelingen?
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16 – Hoe zou je het vinden als jouw vakbond niet duidelijk aangeeft wat haar doel is en welke
diensten zij aanbiedt?
17 – Wat vind je ervan als jouw vakbond geen adequate hulp kan bieden aan haar leden wanneer dit
nodig is?
18 – Hoe zou je het vinden wanneer jouw vakbond niet betrouwbaar is en garant kan staan voor een
goede kwaliteit van haar diensten?
19 – Hoe zou je het vinden wanneer jouw vakbond zich niet op een professionele manier
presenteert?
20 – Hoe zou je het vinden wanneer jou vakbond niet over goede online faciliteiten heeft (denk
hierbij bijvoorbeeld aan het aanbod op de site)?
21 – Hoe zou je het vinden wanneer jouw vakbond informatie niet op een snelle en makkelijk
toegankelijke manier aanbiedt?
22 - Hoe zou je het vinden wanneer jouw vakbond geen vraaggericht aanbod aan services aanbiedt?
(Algemeen lidmaatschapstarief i.p.v. betalen naar gebruik)?
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DEEL IV
Dit is het laatste deel van de survey. In dit laatste deel willen we graag nog enkele algemene vragen
stellen over de internetvakbond en enkele demografische vragen.
Hoe vaak bezoek je de site van de internetvakbond?
Dagelijks
Een aantal keren per week
Een keer per week
Een aantal keren per maand
Eens per maand
Minder vaak
Met welke reden bezoek je de site van de internetvakbond over het algemeen?
Om informatie in te winnen
Voor ontspanning
Voor interactie met de internetvakbond
Voor interactie met leden
Als je een cijfer mag geven aan de internetvakbond, wat voor cijfer zou je op dit moment geven op een
schaal van 1-10 (1=erg slecht - 10=uitmuntend)?...........................................
Voor welke organisatie ben je werkzaam? (open)……………………………………….
Sector waarin uw organisatie actief is
Productie
Onderwijs
Overheid
Financiële sector
Groothandel
Detailhandel
Gezondheidszorg
Bouw
Transport
Verzekeringen
Informatietechnologie
Overige
Functie
Consultancy
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106
Algemeen management
Financiën, administratie
Gezondheidszorg
Inkoop en logistiek
Juridisch
Marketing, PR, reclame
Onderzoek en ontwikkeling
Overheid
Human resources
ICT
Verkoop
Leeftijd
<25
25 - 34
35 - 39
40 - 44
45 - 49
50 - 54
>54
Geslacht
Man/ Vrouw
Opleidingsniveau
Professionele graad
Gepromoveerd
Masters (aan universiteit)
Bachelors (aan HBO of universiteit)
Kandidaats
Universitaire opleiding, geen diploma
MBO
Middelbare school
Overig
Huishouden
Alleenstaand
Met partner (niet-werkend)
Met partner (werkend)
Overig
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In welke regio woon je:
Zuid-Holland, Noord-Holland
Utrecht, Zeeland
Noord-Brabant
Limburg, Gelderland
Overijssel, Flevoland
Friesland, Groningen
Drenthe
Werkervaring
Ik ben momenteel…
Full time werkend
Parttime werkend
Niet werkend
Sinds hoeveel jaar werkt u voor uw huidige werkgever? (selecteer één antwoord)
0 - 0,5 jaar 3 - 5 jaar
0,5 - 1 jaar 5 - 10 jaar
1 - 2 jaar 10 of meer jaar
Sinds hoeveel jaar werkt u in uw huidige functie?
0 - 0,5 jaar
0,5 - 1 jaar
1 - 2 jaar
3 - 5 jaar
5 - 10 jaar
10 of meer jaar
Hoeveel verschillende functies of betrekkingen hebt u binnen uw huidige organisatie gehad?
1 - 3
4 - 6
6 - 9
10 of meer
Opmerkingen
We stellen eventuele opmerkingen zeer op prijs: als je nog opmerkingen hebt of vragen wilt stellen
naar aanleiding van deze vragenlijst, kun je deze hier invoeren.
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