Impacts of Top Service Designers: Analysis of Golf Course Quality and Price

Service firms today leverage talents of many designers known for design excellence or prior competitive performance, who may design experiences that meet customer needs better than those of mainstream designers, due to unique design approaches or a knowledge of how to perform exceptionally well in related service environments. Despite expanding use of top designers, no research examines practical implications of top designers as compared to mainstream designers. In considering whether to use top designers, service managers must consider both the benefits from investment in high quality designs and the subsequent monetary returns from customers. Using proprietary data on golf courses and golf course designers, we study how top designers influence quality and pricing of Texas golf courses. We analyze effects of top designers and of lead user designers (i.e., exceptional professional golfers who also design golf courses).