International Journal of Services Technology and Management 

About: International Journal of Services Technology and Management is an academic journal published by Inderscience Publishers. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Service (business) & Supply chain. It has an ISSN identifier of 1460-6720. Over the lifetime, 562 publications have been published receiving 5906 citations. The journal is also known as: IJSTM.

Innovation as a Loosely Coupled System in Services

Abstract: In this chapter we will put forward a model of the innovation system in services. The model is theoretical, but based on a review of a large amount of existing empirical research on innovation in services, including a recent EU financed project, called the SI4S (Services in Innovation and Innovation in Services) project which we have participated in, and which has been the occasion for us to develop these thoughts1 (Sundbo and Gallouj, 1998).

Knowledge-Intensive Business Services (KIBS) as drivers of multilevel knowledge dynamics

Abstract: KIBS research to date has been conducted mainly by taking an innovation perspective where an explicit focus on knowledge processes is not very well pronounced. The paper intends to make a conceptual contribution to a deeper understanding of the role of KIBS as an industry that produces, uses and transforms knowledge. It focuses on the knowledge dimension and uses evolutionary and organisation-based knowledge approaches to show that KIBS can be identified as drivers of knowledge dynamics in multilevel contexts. Both the specific characteristics of their composite knowledge products and the way these are produced are considered to be responsible for the unique way they foster knowledge dynamics in firm, sector and territorial contexts. By the application of different knowledge dimensions such as types of knowledge bases and domains mainly used to examine knowledge processes and innovation in industrial sectors, the specificities of KIBS to multilevel knowledge dynamics are analysed and discussed.

Management of multi-purpose stadiums: importance and performance measurement of service interfaces

Abstract: Maintaining and increasing visitor satisfaction is a crucial success factor in managing modern, multi-functional stadiums for sports, concerts, shows and other kinds of events. Based on a typical service delivery process when attending an event, this study identifies the relevant factors that influence visitor satisfaction with stadiums. An analysis of this process and its service interfaces by means of direct observation allows us to establish relationships in a structural equation model. Using data from almost 2,500 visitors of a major German multi-purpose stadium, the hypothesised relationships are subsequently tested by means of the partial least squares (PLS) path modelling approach. An importance-performance map-based assessment is used to derive recommendations for improving service interface performance and hence, visitor satisfaction.

Lean service operations: translating lean production principles to service operations

Abstract: One common theme throughout the lean production literature is the focus on manufacturing companies. This paper begins the investigation into the contingencies to the applicability of lean production to service companies. A framework for lean production is described and translated into service companies, using an empirical base consisting of descriptions of lean production applications in the service sector, made by practitioners from service companies. The findings indicate that lean production is applicable to service operations, although there are contingencies to the application. The contingencies stem from the characteristics of services. There are also instances where lean production is perhaps more applicable to services than manufacturing, again due to the nature of services. The conclusions indicate a need to make operations more general, avoiding making clear differentiation between manufacturing and services, and instead focusing on the similarities between the two and thus the possibility to learn from each other.

Services trade and growth

Abstract: The competitiveness of firms in open economies is increasingly determined by access to low-cost and high-quality producer services - telecommunications, transport and distribution services, financial intermediation, etc. This paper discusses the role of services in economic growth, focusing in particular on channels through which openness to trade in services may increase productivity at the level of the economy as a whole, industries and the firm. The authors explore what recent empirical work suggests could be done to enhance comparative advantage in the production and export of services and how to design policy reforms to open services markets to greater foreign participation in a way that ensures not just greater efficiency but also greater equity in terms of access to services.