Dialectical Inquiry – Does It Deliver? A User Based Research Experience

Dialectical Enquiry (DI) as a research method was used in the study of customer/student experience and its management (CEM) in not for profit as higher education. The (DI) method is applied to senders, receivers of the customer experience across six English universities to gather real world data using an imposed dialectical structure and analysis. By conducting sixty interviews from the actors involved an extensive data base was developed., The enquiry was grounded in interviewing actors and their real experiences (the phenomena) from which data was analyzed to create scripts, themes and eventually three models of not for profit CEM. Seven for profit models of CEM were analyzed and compared to expose current assumptions, and do they fit in a not for profit setting. The motives and objectives for profit CEM centers on revenues and profits and lifetime value were the customer is manipulated to stay loyal to the organization., Not for profit CEM motives and objectives at universities was to use CEM as a communication and support tool that is used to inform students on secondary services(supports).