O desenho do serviço e o servicescape

: o estudo do caso IKEA

Abstract

This work is a case study of the IKEA organization, with the purpose of understanding the design of its service and specificities of its implementation with focus on its physical aspects.It starts with a literature review on the subject of service design, trying to answer three fundamental questions: firstly, what is the importance of service design in the services sector; secondly, what is the definition of service design; and lastly which elements constitute the service design. This review then finds that service design is perceived as a process in which, from the alignment of its different elements, including its physical installations, a satisfactory service offer is built.The work then focuses on the physical component, or servicescape, of the service design, trying to understand its importance, its definition and its dimensions. From this, the work concludes about the importance of the servicescape as a tool capable of exerting influence on customer’s emotional states and behavior.The work then analyses the IKEA organization, focusing on its history and some of the relevant facts and concepts of its business model and service experience.Lastly the work analyses the physical installations of the IKEA service design, and the characteristics found in its stores, comparing the empirical facts with the literature review.The work then presents its conclusions about the alignment between those empirical facts and the literature review on the physical component of service design. The work also discusses the relation between IKEA’s servicescape and the organization’s business model and concept and its contribution to the service experience it offers.

Date of Award	2012
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Sofia Salgado (Supervisor)