The Application of Innovative Automobile Maintenance Services from Customers’ Viewpoints: A Hybrid Method*

Company experts and academicianshave paid significant attention to issues of new product/service development. However, few studies have been carried outtodiscuss innovative product/service development mindful of the competitive positions between competitors. This study introduces a hybrid method of positioning analysis, conjoint analysis and rough set theory to understand the competition positions and facilitate innovative product/service development from the customers’ perspective. The hybrid method is also supported by in-depth interviewing, factor analysis, preference regression, ideas simulation, ideas selection, and specific weight valuation methods. We choose the automobile maintenance industry in Taiwan, whose objective is to improve product/service qualities and enhance customers’ satisfaction and loyalty.This is also the subject of our empirical study. The results show that the proposed hybrid method is effective for innovative product/service development. Moreover, the empirical findings provide useful information for automobile maintenance providers so that they may be better able to pay attention to their competitive positions and their customers’ preferences, and better able to facilitate their innovative automobile maintenance service development, in order to achieve sustainable competitive advantages.