A NALYSIS OF A COFFEE BAR ACTOR ´ S ACTIVITY SYSTEM

The objective of the activity analysis is to identify a peak of the performance landscape where the coffee bar actor will access customers with high willingness to pay and be able to appropriate this value. This implies performing activities that create customer value through

serving customers needs and preferences. The choice of activities also creates value through reducing the threats of competitive forces of the market and exploiting the potential value of its strategic resources. The previous industry and resource analyses indicate that the coffee bar can reduce the threat of some competitive forces by offer products and services that differentiate the actor from its potential substitutes, entrants or competitors.

The activity-system map presented in Figure 13 illustrates the choice of a coffee bar´s strategic activities that exploits the opportunities for value creation in accordance with a needs-based differentiation strategy and the strategic resources. The activities in dark blue are high-order primary activities that are implemented through performing the support-activities that are illustrated in light blue. The thin lines that connect two support-activities illustrate a relationship between these two activities in order to create customer value. The thicker lines illustrate activities that also create complementary value through synergies with the

connected activity. The five primary activities that aim to create customer value are; use of educated and trained baristas, offering high quality coffee beverages, offering a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere at the coffee bar premises, offering a coffee bar concept that constitutes a wide range of attributes improving the coffee bar experience, continuous concept development to satisfy emerging customer needs and preferences, and providing coffee bar premises in many “A-locations”.

Use of educated and trained baristas create customer value through increasing the customer service level for the customers visiting the coffee bar and the quality level of the offered products and services. Good customer service and high quality of the coffee bar´s coffee products are both highly valued as a part of the coffee bar customers´ experience when visiting a coffee bar.

Offering high quality customer beverages creates value through increasing the customers´

perceived value and benefit of the coffee beverages offered at the coffee bar. High coffee beverage quality is rated as the most important factor positively influencing the customers´

coffee bar experience, and is therefore an important source of customer value.

Figure 13 Activity map for a coffee bar actor in Oslo

Offering a concept constituting a wide range of attributes improving the customers´ coffee bar experience creates customer value as it serves a number of customer needs identified through the coffee bar customer survey. The attributes that are most valued by coffee bar customers are illustrated through the connecting support activities connected in the strategic activity map. As this activity constitutes a number of factors increasing customer value creation it therefore hold great potential of economic value creation for the coffee bar actor.

Offering a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere at the coffee bar premises creates

customer value related to offering the customers a comfortable place to sit and consume their purchased products. The coffee bar atmosphere and interior design are very important

sources of value creation influencing the customers´ perceived benefit when visiting a coffee bar. The activity implies offering different seating solutions to best serve the customers needs of comfort according to the length of their coffee bar visit. The activity also serves the needs of having a place to socialize with others or a place to spend some time in solitude.

This creates customer value as it provides a little break from the customers´ everyday lives.

Continuous concept development to satisfy emerging customer needs crates value through continuously improving the coffee bar concept and product and service offerings to best serve customers´ needs and preferences. This is a critical activity to be able to differentiate the coffee bar actor´s products and services from its competitors and potential substitutes.

This activity is also supported by activities of accumulating knowledge of the coffee bar actor´s target customers´ needs and preferences. Such accumulation can be performed through allowing customers to provide feedback, in addition to gather data from customer surveys. By continuously improving the concept, the coffee bar actor is able to increase customer value, and thereby increase the potential of generating superior profit.

Providing many coffee bar premises in “A-locations” create customer value as it increases the customers´ access to the coffee bar actor´s units. This serves their needs of convenient access to the products and services they desire by increasing their access to the coffee bar actor´s units providing these products and services. This thereby creates customer value.

However, the value potential of this activity depends on the customers´ options of other coffee bar actors or close substitutes with nearby locations. If these actors offer alternative coffee bar concepts that are perceived as providing equal amounts of customer value, the number of locations becomes irrelevant as a source of value creation for the customer. This

implies that a coffee bar actor with only one location can create just as much customer value as the coffee bar chains given that it has the best concept and provides the best quality of value creating attributes relative to its competitors. Also, the appropriated amount of the value created by providing “A-locations” depends on the nature of the factor market for this resource. The coffee bar concept, the atmosphere of the premises and quality level of customer service and products and services therefore contain somewhat higher potential for creating customer value than providing “A-locations”.