Purpose – To contribute to the theoretical work on products that contain both tangible (goods) and intangible (service) dimensions, by arguing that the consumption of physical goods and services should be understood as a process with two major steps – the first and second moments of truth.Design/methodology/approach – An investigation of the service perspective and packaging is made based on a literature review. Empirical examples are then presented from an interview study of people working with packaging-related issues at Procter & Gamble, Schwarzkopf & Henkel, Procordia Food, and Coop. The relationship between theory/concepts and research in the paper can be described in terms of extension and emergent.Findings – Consumers evaluate quality when they purchase an offering and when they consume it. Using the terminology of the present paper, this means that the perception of quality is created at both the first and second moments of truth. The first moment of truth is about obtaining customers’ attention and communicating the benefits of an offer. The second moment of truth is about providing the tools the customer needs to experience these benefits when using the product. The combination of these two moments of truth makes up the total customer experience.Originality/value – This paper holds the potential to contribute to extending understanding of the service perspective and service encounters.

Purpose- To explore the impact of packaging on customer perceptions of quality.

Design/methodology/approach - Sees representing quality as additional to packaging's function of product protection, draws on Kano's theory of attractive quality, and its associated perceived quality attributes, uses Kano's must-be, reverse, one-dimensional and indifferent quality attributes, and debates why factors causing dissatisfaction are different to those that generate satisfaction. Tests the theory of attractive quality in relation to packaging by questionnaire survey of 708 Swedish consumers, questions respondents on product and packaging ergonomics, and technical and communicative attributes, and gives an example of the paired questions used in the survey, e.g. how do you feel if a feature is present, or how do you feel if a feature is absent.

Findings - Tabulates results ranking 24 packaging attributes, shows that leakage protection, content declaration, instructions, opening date and appearance are must-be attributes, summarizes results in a better-worse diagram, includes a section on attributes from disabled/elderly consumer perspectives, and underlines that packaging has an increasingly important role as a marketing vehicle.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the different approaches to the classification of quality attributes deliver consistent results.

Design/methodology/approach – The investigation includes four approaches and enables comparisons to be made from a methodological perspective and from an output perspective. The different approaches are described, analyzed, and discussed in the context of an empirical study that investigates how 430 respondents perceive the performance of an e-service. The theory of attractive quality rests on a solid theoretical foundation and a methodological approach to classify quality attributes. Recently, various authors have suggested alternative approaches to the traditional five-level Kano questionnaire – including a three-level Kano questionnaire, direct classification, and a dual-importance grid.

Findings – The classification of quality attributes are found to be dependent on the approach that is utilized. The development of new ways to classify quality attributes should follow rigid procedures to provide reliable and consistent results.

Originality/value – This is the first attempt to compare alternative approaches to classify quality attributes. For managers, our results provide guidance on what approach to choose based on the strengths and weaknesses with the different approaches.

The multidimensional model of quality attributes known as Kano' theory of attractive quality has over the past twenty year gained increasing acceptance among academics and practitioners alike. However, no research has provided a systematic review of subsequent development of this theory. A review of 33 papers relevant to the theory of attractive quality revealed several developments with respect to methodological issues, but many of these lack the scientific basis that would justify inclusion in the theory. Study results also provide guidance on how to incorporate the latest developments in Kano methodology in product development and customer satisfaction studies.

Purpose Almost everything consumers buy in a store has a package. At point of purchase, the first moment of truth, the package functions as a silentsalesman. Once the purchase is made, the product is consumed in the second moment of truth. The purpose of this paper is to create a betterunderstanding of how customers evaluate different aspects of the package in the first and second moments of truth.Design/methodology/approach An empirical investigation is conducted on how customers experience three different packages for everydaycommodities in the first and second moments of truth. Causal modeling is used to analyze the impact of different benefits of a package onto customersatisfaction and loyalty.Findings It was found that both benefits and attributes can have different roles in affecting customer satisfaction and loyalty in different parts of theconsumption cycle. Furthermore, the results show that there are significant differences for the impacts of customer satisfaction on loyalty in the firstmoment of truth compared to the second moment of truth.Practical implications By applying a consumption system approach, it is possible for managers to design a package that can attract customers inthe first moment of truth and at the same time create customer satisfaction in the second moment of truth.Originality/value The research shows that the role of certain benefits and attributes can be different in the purchase and use situation. Previously,this has been modeled separately but by operationalizing the first and second moment of truth in the same model the true effects of various benefitsand attributes can be identified