Creacion de valor al consumidor por tosti

Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 29:294–314, 2009 Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 0160-8061 print/1540-8604 online DOI: 10.1080/01608060903092151

Journal 1540-8604 0160-8061 WORG of Organizational Behavior Management, Vol. 29, No. 3, June 2009: pp. 1–32 Management

Organizational Performance and Customer Value
DONALD TOSTI

D. Tosti and and Herbst PerformanceS. A. Customer Value

Vanguard Consulting Inc., San Francisco, California, USA

SCOTT A. HERBST
University of Nevada, Reno, Reno, Nevada, USA

While behavior systems analysts have recognized the importance of the consumer of organizational products (i.e., receiving system) in developing models of organizational change, few have offered a systematic assessment of the relationship betweenconsumer and organizational practices. In this article we will discuss how a behavior systems approach can be used to achieve a customercentered organization through examples and reports from consultation cases. We begin with a performance-based model of customer value, and then consider the general behavioral characteristics of a customer-centered organization. Finally, we will present a seven-phasemodel of consultation aimed at aligning organizational practices with consumer values. KEYWORDS customer value, behavioral organizational culture, consultation model systems analysis,

ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE AND CUSTOMER VALUE
Arguably one of the most important stakeholders in any business organization is the customer (Ferrell, 2004). The company provides value to customers through productsand services, and the customer in turn provides value to the company through revenue. This fact provides a powerful incentive for a company to take a customer-centered view. This approach, however, stands in some contrast to traditional views of organizations. A “pure capitalist” view focuses on owners and financial stakeholders as being of
Address correspondence to Donald Tosti, 41 MarinitaAve., San Rafael, CA, 94901, USA. E-mail: Dont888@aol.com 294

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primary importance, while a “pure socialist” view focuses on employees, the wage earners, as the primary organizational stakeholders (Liu, 1982). Recently, models of business combining the capitalist and socialist views of organizations have been proposed (e.g., Abernathy, 2000). Numerousbehavior analysts have discussed how principles of operant selection might be put to use at organizational or cultural levels. In distinguishing behavior systems analysis (BSA) as a field distinct from but derived partially from behavior analysis, Krapfl and Gasparotto (1982) make the case that an understanding of how the behavior of individuals interacts is required to most effectively intervene inorganizations. Brethower (2000) extends this idea and notes that, in a systems analysis, it is important to understand the interests of all parties who influence the organization, including investors and consumers as well as those who do its work. Glenn and Malott (2004) provide a framework for understanding the relationships between these parties by identifying the metacontingency as the process bywhich certain organizational practices and outcomes (i.e., interlocking behavioral contingencies) are selected by the culture at large. Although the scope of BSA has expanded over the years and the vocabulary has grown more sophisticated, most behavior systems analysts tend to confine their interventions within the walls of the organization, despite recognizing the importance of the broaderenvironment that exists. That is, they do not typically include the customer in the intervention process. In this article we will discuss how a behavior systems approach can be used to achieve a customer-centered organization through examples and reports from consultation cases. We begin with a performance-based model of customer value, then consider the general behavioral characteristics of a...