Showing papers on "Service system published in 1999"
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors developed measures of different social mechanisms used in the interaction between a customer and a service provider and examined their effects and found that customers having a service relationship with a specific provider had more service interactions and were more satisfied than those who did not have one.
Abstract: In 3 separate studies, the authors developed measures of different social mechanisms used in the interaction between a customer and a service provider and examined their effects. Service relationships occur when a customer has repeated contact with the same provider. Service encounters occur when the customer interacts with a different provider each time. Service pseudorelationships are a particular kind of encounter in which a customer interacts with a different provider each time, but within a single company. The 3 studies showed consistently that customers having a service relationship with a specific provider had more service interactions and were more satisfied than those who did not have one. These results held across 7 different service areas, 3 diverse samples, and 2 different ways of measuring a service relationship.
344 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the role and impact of operations management on the management of services has been discussed, and the authors suggest that the current key focus for service academics should be with the application of frameworks and techniques and also suggest that as the service movement has grown, with increasing overlap between the subjects of operations, marketing and HRM, there is a need to return to roots.
Abstract: Over the last 20 years we have witnessed the emergence of a large‐scale, world‐wide academic movement concerned with the management of services. This paper charts the role and impact of operations management on this movement and proposes that the current key focus for service academics should be with the application of frameworks and techniques. Also suggests that as the service movement has grown, with increasing overlap between the subjects of operations, marketing and HRM for example, there is a need to “return to roots”. Contends that service academics, in their bid to develop cross‐functional service management material, may have lost, or inadvertently ignored, the strength of their core disciplines. Re‐focusing on the traditional strengths of operations management, such as performance quality, design, and operational improvement, might help provide a greater rigour to the developing subject of service management. Discusses nine areas for service operations research and suggests specific research questions. The topics include linking operational performance to business drivers, performance measurement and operations improvement, service design, service technology, the design of internal networks and managing service capacity.
232 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the effect of state information on the performance of a M/M/s/r/r queueing model with balking and reneging.
Abstract: This paper investigates the effect upon performance in a service system, such as a telephone call center, of giving waiting customers state information. In particular, the paper studies two M/M/s/r queueing models with balking and reneging. For simplicity, it is assumed that each customer is willing to wait a fixed time before beginning service. However, customers differ, so the delay tolerances for successive customers are random. In particular, it is assumed that the delay tolerance of each customer is zero with probability β, and is exponentially distributed with mean α-1 conditional on the delay tolerance being positive. Let N be the number of customers found by an arrival. In Model 1, no state information is provided, so that if N ≥ s, the customer balks with probability β; if the customer enters the system, he reneges after an exponentially distributed time with mean α-1 if he has not begun service by that time. In Model 2, if N - s + k μ s, then the customer is told the system state k and the remaining service times of all customers in the system, so that he balks with probability β + (1 - β)(1 - qk), where qk = P(T > Sk), T is exponentially distributed with mean α-1, Sk is the sum of k + 1 independent exponential random variables each with mean (sμ)-1, and μ-1 is the mean service time. In Model 2, all reneging is replaced by balking. The number of customers in the system for Model 1 is shown to be larger than that for Model 2 in the likelihood-ratio stochastic ordering. Thus, customers are more likely to be blocked in Model 1 and are more likely to be served without waiting in Model 2. Algorithms are also developed for computing important performance measures in these, and more general, birth-and-death models.
224 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the meaning of the service concept in the management literature and find that there are clear dichotomies between providers' and customers' views of "service" and suggest ideas for marketing and management of services.
Abstract: Explores the richness of meaning that has grown up around the service concept in the management literature. Examines the subtleties which arise when “service” is used to denote industries, outcomes and processes, and explores more specific service concepts, such as the quality of service encounters and service experiences. Concludes that many of the concept’s ambiguities relate to the use of the word “service” and shifts of meaning which result. Indicates that there are clear dichotomies between providers’ and customers’ views of “service”. Parallel dichotomies can be found between the delivery and consumption of “core services” and the emotional/hedonic dimensions of service performance. Discusses the importance of these and suggests ideas for the marketing and management of services. In addition, develops a broad structural framework with which these ideas can be linked and identifies a number of new avenues of research.
197 citations
Book•
13 Jul 1999
TL;DR: The fundamentals of services marketing management classifying services and service delivery processes the service environment services buying behaviour service quality information and market research in service organizations a framework for strategic services planning at corporate level strategic services marketing planning in strategic business units internationalization of services people, organization and processes providing and developing services communication distribution of services pricing services implementation and control marketing government and public services.
Abstract: The fundamentals of services marketing management classifying services and service delivery processes the service environment services buying behaviour service quality information and market research in service organizations a framework for strategic services planning at corporate level strategic services marketing planning in strategic business units internationalization of services people, organization and processes providing and developing services communication distribution of services pricing services implementation and control marketing government and public services.
174 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1999
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the challenges for senior managers in the context of service provisioning in the marketplace and highlight the challenges faced by senior managers when managing relationships and building customer loyalty.
Abstract: Preface About the Authors PART I: UNDERSTANDING SERVICES 1 Distinctive Aspects of Service Management 2 Customer Involvement in Different Service Processes 3 Managing Service Encounters 4 Positioning a Service in the Marketplace PART II:UNDERSTANDING CUSTOMERS AND MANAGING RELATIONSHIPS 5 Customer Behaviour in Service Settings 6 Managing Relationships and Building Customer Loyalty 7 Complaint Handling and Service Recovery PART III: STRATEGIC ISSUES IN SERVICES MARKETING 8 Creating Services and Adding Value 9 Designing Service Delivery Systems 10 Pricing Services: Understanding Customer Costs and Corporate Costs 11 Communicating to Customers: Education and Promotion PART IV:CHALLENGES FOR SENIOR MANAGEMENT 12 Productivity and Quality: Two Sides of the Same Coin 13 Managing Demand 14 Managing Customer-Contact Personnel 15 Developing Integrated Service Strategies for International Operations
174 citations
TL;DR: An understanding of the contingencies which render the design, control and improvement of different service processes appropriate is yielded and it is contended that cost effective services will be positioned along the volume‐variety diagonal.
Abstract: Draws on the service management literature to enhance understanding of the key operational differences in managing professional services, at one extreme, and mass services, at the other. Contributions are drawn together, developed and integrated into the service process model. This yields an understanding of the contingencies which render the design, control and improvement of different service processes appropriate. Strategic implications of the service process model are considered. It is contended that cost effective services will be positioned along the volume‐variety diagonal. It is proposed that the service process model can be used as a strategic tool in three ways. First, it can be used to evaluate possible strategic moves along the volume‐variety diagonal. Second, it can be used to analyse a competitive area and evaluate a service offering relative to the competition. Third, it can be used to analyse internal organisational processes with a view to identifying processes which have different volume‐variety characteristics and which should therefore perhaps be managed separately.
131 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors suggest a triangular model of industrial service quality involving structural, process-consuming, and outcome-related aspects, which have strong impacts on the customer's trust, satisfaction, and commitment.
Abstract: The rapidly growing field of services marketing has had a strong focus on consumer
services. This article deals with industrial services, i.e., services provided by a
manufacturing company to organizational customers. The authors suggest a triangular
model of industrial service quality involving a disctinction between structural, process-
related, and outcome-related aspects. These three quality dimensions are shown to have
strong impacts on the customer’s trust, satisfaction, and commitment. The authors
discuss theoretical and managerial implications of their findings.
124 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors define transnational strategy as the integration strategy formulation and implementation across all countries in which the company elects to do business, in contrast to a multidomestic (or "multilocal") approach that provides for independent development and implementation of strategy by management units within each country.
Abstract: Defines transnational strategy as the integration strategy formulation and implementation across all countries in which the company elects to do business, in contrast to a multidomestic (or “multilocal”) approach that provides for independent development and implementation of strategy by management units within each country. Asks how different types of service firms should move from multidomestic strategies, to the creation of a truly transnational strategy. Considers three perspectives: first, the nature of services marketing in a large federal country like the USA; second, the drivers that stimulate the internationalization of an industry and the different ways in which they apply to three broad types of services; and third, how the concept of core and supplementary services can be applied to both standardization and customization of services in a global setting.
122 citations
TL;DR: The idea of service operations improvement by mapping objectively the service experience of customers from the view of customer journey is proposed, and a portraying scheme of serviceExperience of customers based on the IDEF3 technique is proposed.
Abstract: The growing importance of the service sector in almost every economy in the world has created a significant amount of interest in service operations. In practice, many service sectors have sought and made use of various enhancement programs to improve their operations and performance in an attempt to hold competitive success. As most researchers recognize, service operations link with customers. The customers as participants act in the service operations system driven by the goal of sufficing his/her added values. This is one of the distinctive features of service production and consumption. In the paper, first, we propose the idea of service operations improvement by mapping objectively the service experience of customers from the view of customer journey. Second, a portraying scheme of service experience of customers based on the IDEF3 technique is proposed, and last, some implications on service operations improvement are given.
110 citations
Patent•
14 Oct 1999
TL;DR: In this paper, a customer computer connects to an online service provider by phone, Internet, or other telecommunications link, and the link gives the customer access to additional processing and storage resources such as virtual storage, processing power and/or additional software or data through interaction between the customer computer and an online services provider computer over the link.
Abstract: A customer computer connects to an online service provider by phone, Internet, or other telecommunications link. The link gives the customer access to additional processing and storage resources such as virtual storage, processing power and/or additional software or data through interaction between the customer computer and an online service provider computer over the link. The additional resources made available to the customer computer enhance the customers' local needs through access to virtual storage, a more powerful processor of similar type for program execution, and/or online support services such as software rental, software sales, release update services, anti-viral services, data backup and recovery services, diagnostic services and/or repair services.
TL;DR: This paper investigates the possibility of predicting each customer's waiting time in queue before starting service in a multiserver service system with the first-come first-served service discipline, such as a telephone call center.
Abstract: This paper investigates the possibility of predicting each customer's waiting time in queue before starting service in a multiserver service system with the first-come first-served service discipline, such as a telephone call center. A predicted waiting-time distribution or an appropriate summary statistic such as the mean or the 90th percentile may be communicated to the customer upon arrival and possibly thereafter in order to improve customer satisfaction. The predicted waiting-time distribution may also be used by the service provider to better manage the service system, e.g., to help decide when to add additional service agents. The possibility of making reliable predictions is enhanced by exploiting information about system state, including the number of customers in the system ahead of the current customer. Additional information beyond the number of customers in the system may be obtained by classifying customers and the service agents to which they are assigned. For nonexponential service times, the elapsed service times of customers in service can often be used to advantage to compute conditional-remaining-service-time distributions. Approximations are proposed to convert the distributions of remaining service times into the distribution of the desired customer waiting time. The analysis reveals the advantage from exploiting additional information.
TL;DR: Role analysis offers both focus on role consistency in service provision and a framework for dealing with the uncertainty and evolution in long-term service relationships as discussed by the authors, and role can be incorporated as a factor in successful service performance and form a central framework for good service encounter management.
Abstract: In this article, the contribution of role theory to our understanding and management of service encounters is highlighted. In the first section of the article the focus on social exchange within role theory is identified and commonalities between relational approaches to marketing and a role theoretical perspective are outlined. Thereafter the article outlines the specific contribution of role theory to our understanding of service encounters. Role theory, it is argued, permits better management of the interactive features of service provider-client interface and a clearer focus on role performance and the interpersonal dimensions of service quality. Role analysis offers both focus on role consistency in service provision and a framework for dealing with the uncertainty and evolution in long term service relationships. In services marketing, role can be incorporated as a factor in successful service performance and form a central framework for good service encounter management.
Patent•
02 Mar 1999
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a product hierarchy database that organizes company market performance and stock investment information by the products and services produced and offered by each competitor, where companies that produce each product/service are relationally linked to each of their products/services through records.
Abstract: A product hierarchy database organizes company market performance and stock investment information by the products and services produced and offered by each competitor. The companies that produce each product/service are relationally linked to each of their products/services through records. An investment information service includes the product/service hierarchy database and makes it accessible to investor and analyst subscribers through a query system across the Internet. Data entry personnel continually load qualitative and quantitative information about companies and their products/services through a product hierarchy generator connected to the product/service hierarchy database. Subscribers can punch-through to query individual data items, and they can find out what relationships exist between all the important aspects of the companies and the products/services being tracked. The invention also provides for the creation of an index and corresponding index value for every product or service type in the database, which consists of a composite of all companies in a product or service area and whose index value can be measured and compared against any other product or service type index value.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present an approach for effective service operations management by integrating market-based objectives and operating decisions of managers, which can be used by managers to make better decisions about product/service design and positioning services according to market needs.
Abstract: This study presents an approach for effective service operations management by integrating market-based objectives and operating decisions of managers. This approach is based on constructs from operations management, econometrics, and marketing and can be used by managers to make better decisions about product/service design and positioning services according to market needs. Empirical data for this study were collected from the pizza delivery industry in a large metropolitan area in the western United States. Pizza delivery profiles were experimentally designed based on seven attributes: promised delivery time, actual delivery time, pizza variety, pizza temperature, money-back guarantee, price, and discount. An econometric procedure known as probabilistic discrete choice analysis was used to identify the customer pizza choice patterns and managers’ perceptions of customer choice patterns. The results show how customers trade off among different attributes when choosing a pizza delivery company. Managers ...
TL;DR: The objective of this paper is to evaluate the impact of the environmental factors which include probability of no-show, coefficient of variation of service times, and the number of customers per service session on the performance of an ASR.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors employ a theory-in-use methodology to map out a set of capacity strategy propositions and demonstrate that capacity can be employed as a resource to achieve a series of strategic objectives that serve to improve the performance of the firm.
Abstract: Services are by nature perishable. As such, managing a service firm’s capacity to match supply and demand has been touted as one of the key problems of services marketing and management practice. This paper advances an alternative perspective of unused service capacity. Based on a review of current literature and an exploratory study, this paper employs a theory‐in‐use methodology to map out a set of capacity strategy propositions. These propositions show a divergence between what literature suggests and what service firms actually practise with regard to reducing the occurrence of unused service capacity. The paper also demonstrates that capacity can be employed as a resource to achieve a series of strategic objectives that serve to improve the performance of the firm. Service firms should therefore approach capacity management not only from the standpoint of operations management, but also from that of marketing.
TL;DR: In this article, the mediating roles of service image, job satisfaction and organizational commitment regarding the relationship between service orientation and business performance were analyzed with Lisrel 8, while it was discovered that service orientation was defined as customer focus, employees empowerment, service leadership, service rewards/incentives, service training/technology, service prevention, and service standards communication.
Abstract: This study analyzes the mediating roles of service image, job satisfaction and organizational commitment regarding the relationship between service orientation and business performance. In order to analyze the data collected from 596 respondents in 184 hotels, the structural model was analyzed with Lisrel 8, while it was discovered that service orientation was defined as customer focus, employees empowerment, service leadership, service rewards/incentives, service training/technology, service prevention, and service standards communication. The empirical results and implications are as follows. First, service image has a significant mediating role in the relationship between service orientation and business performance. Second, job satisfaction has a significant mediating role in the relationship between service orientation and business performance. If customer‐contact service employees perceive a hotel to have high service orientation, they will have greater job satisfaction, and the greater the job sati...
TL;DR: In this article, the technical and functional aspects of services quality and their relation to service management effectiveness, were found to be different between the core and supplementary services, between customers and service personnel and between customers with and without experience.
Abstract: This study assessed the technical (tangible) and functional (human interaction) quality of services in a first‐class international health resort and related these to service management effectiveness. Service management is effective when customers judge the overall service quality to be good, they are highly satisfied, they are willing to recommend the firm to others and they intend to re‐purchase or are predisposed to purchase additional services from the firm. The technical and functional aspects of services quality and their relation to service management effectiveness, were found to be different between the core and supplementary services, between customers and service personnel and between customers with and without experience. The results support the statement that competitive advantage in this industry can be obtained by improving the functional aspects of services management, by better performance of supplementary services and by reducing the gap in perceptions between customers and contact personnel.
Patent•
30 Dec 1999
TL;DR: In this article, a mobile unit determines its geographic position, and based on that position selects the proper service system, which can be determined using a global position system, dead reckoning, or estimated from a last known position.
Abstract: The present invention enhances service system selection by a mobile unit in a wireless communication system. The mobile unit determines its geographic position, and based on that position selects the proper service system. The geographic position may be determined using a global position system, dead reckoning, or estimated from a last known position. The distance of varying service systems from the mobile station can then be calculated and a service system selected based on this distance. The mobile station may also use the position information in combination with a database including position information of service systems to select the proper service system. The position information of the service systems can be included in the system selection database. The mobile station may also map service systems based on position information and service availability. The mobile station can then subsequently refer to these maps to estimate available service.
01 Jan 1999
TL;DR: This paper describes a protocol through which the user and the network (or two network domains) can negotiate network services, and refers to the protocol as a Resource Negotiation and Pricing protocol (RNAP).
Abstract: Network delivery services providing “better-than-best-effort” service over the Internet are being studied, and are particularly necessary for multimedia applications The selection and use of a specific delivery service involves negotiation between the user and the network; they agree upon specifications such as the type of service user packets will receive, the constraints the user traffic must adhere to, and the price to be charged for the service In this paper, we describe a protocol through which the user and the network (or two network domains) can negotiate network services We refer to the protocol as a Resource Negotiation and Pricing protocol (RNAP) Through RNAP, the network service provider communicates availability of services and delivers price quotations and charging information to the user, and the user requests or re-negotiates services with desired specifications for one or more flows RNAP protocol mechanisms are flexible enough to support multiple delivery service models, and allow dynamic re-negotiation of services during a session Two different network architectures are defined to support RNAP, a centralized architecture with a Network Resource Negotiator (NRN) administering each network domain, and a distributed architecture without any centralized controlling entity Mechanisms are proposed for local price and charge computation, formulation of end-to-end prices and charges across multiple domains, and communication of this information through RNAP messages Results of a prototype implementation are briefly described
Patent•
30 Jul 1999
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present an Internet on-line insurance policy service system that facilitates real-time automated communication of policy information, adjustment of policy parameters, calculation and communication of resulting policy quotes, and implementation of policy changes, while obviating insurer personnel involvement and supervision of the communication.
Abstract: An Internet on-line insurance policy service system that facilitates real-time automated communication of policy information, adjustment of policy parameters, calculation and communication of resulting policy quotes, and implementation of policy changes, while obviating insurer personnel involvement and supervision of the communication. The system comprises a plurality of software modules relating to on-line real-time communication of existing policy information, testing of a wide range of variations in policy parameters, computing and communicating changes in policy premiums that would result from such variations, communicating desired changes in policy parameters and implementing desired policy changes. Other modules relate to communication of claims information and the providing of on-line forms.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors developed an optimal service design model by combining a conjoint analysis-based optimal product design model from marketing with capacity and demand management strategies from operations management to determine a profit maximizing service facility.
Abstract: This paper develops an optimal service design model by combining a conjoint analysis‐based optimal product design model from marketing with capacity and demand management strategies from operations management to determine a profit maximizing service facility. It extends optimal product design models to services by specifically modeling the interactive relationship between potential attractiveness of a service, capacity and waiting times. Additionally it extends current capacity‐demand operations models by modeling the impacts of different capacity/demand matching strategies in a competitive market. Combining these two perspectives provides a more direct link between customer perceptions of various service attributes, including waiting time and profitability. An example is shown where the model is applied to an existing ski resort. Data are incorporated from resort management, existing customers, potential customers and industry experts to determine the profit maximizing mix of capacity and demand management strategies for an actual ski resort. The results show that important insights about profit maximization are gained from a model that captures the effects of capacity and demand management strategies.
TL;DR: An efficient algorithm for determining the optimal arrival schedule for customers in a stochastic service system is developed that arrives exactly when scheduled, and service times are modeled as iid Erlang random variables.
Abstract: An efficient algorithm for determining the optimal arrival schedule for customers in a stochastic service system is developed. All customers arrive exactly when scheduled, and service times are modeled as iid Erlang random variables. Costs are incurred at a fixed rate per unit of time each customer waits for service, and an additional cost is incurred for every unit of time the server operates beyond a scheduled closing time. The objective is to minimize total operating cost. This type of problem arises in many operational contexts including transportation, manufacturing, and appointment-based services. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 46: 549–559, 1999
TL;DR: The software architecture and experiences building DISCWorld using Java and CORBA components are discussed, and the associated research issues for metacomputing that the authors are addressing are discussed.
Patent•
05 Oct 1999TL;DR: In this paper, a method and system for responding to a trigger condition detected during the handling of a call connection in an intelligent network (IN) is presented, where a service interaction manager (40) in a service control point (14) queries a home location register (60) for a subscriber involved in the call connection requesting subscriber subscription information.
Abstract: A method and system for responding to a trigger condition detected during the handling of a call connection in an intelligent network (IN). Upon receipt of an IN trigger, a service interaction manager (40) in a service control point (14) queries (37) a home location register (60) for a subscriber involved in the call connection requesting subscriber subscription information. The service interaction manager also queries (95) a service library (50) associated with the service control point to determine which of an implicated set of services are currently available in the service library and what the properties of those services are. Depending upon which services are available, which services are in the subscriber's subscription list, and the service priority information received from the home location register and the service library, including the properties data from the service library, the service interaction manager reduces the list of implicated services to an applicable set of services and generates a customized execution sequence for the applicable services. Thereafter, at least one of the applicable services is executed (108) in accordance with the customized execution sequence.
Patent•
06 Dec 1999TL;DR: In this article, a static route is created in the subscriber's computer to establish a continuous logical connection between the user's computer and a continuous service provider to provide the subscriber with continuous services.
Abstract: A system and method to provide enhanced computer network services to computer network subscribers. A static route is created in the subscriber's computer to establish a continuous logical connection between the subscriber's computer and a continuous service provider to provide the subscriber with continuous services. Simultaneously, subscribers can obtain services offered by temporary service providers over the network. To obtain these services, the system establishes a temporary logical connection between the user and the temporary service provider. The temporary logical connection is destroyed when the user has completed using the desired services of the temporary service provider. To increase security, the continuous service provider is not directly connected to systems not controlled by the continuous service provider, such as the Internet. However, where such security concerns are not relevant, the continuous service provider can be connected to such systems.
Patent•
18 Oct 1999TL;DR: In this article, the authors proposed a service control in a telecommunications network which includes customer terminals (CTs) and servers (SPs) for offering services to the customers, where the service is provided by transmitting information to the customer terminal, and the customer pays for the service by sending payment messages.
Abstract: The invention relates to service control in a telecommunications network which includes customer terminals (CT) and servers (SP) for offering services to the customers. The service is provided by transmitting information to the customer terminal, and the customer pays for the service by sending payment messages. To achieve a versatile control system for controlling the provision of the service, the system maintains a control parameter whose value is dependent (1) on the service price and on the moments of change in the service price, and (2) on the payments made and on the moments in time that the payments are made. The value of the control parameter is compared to a threshold (TT), and the provision of the service is stopped when the value of the control parameter has reached the threshold.
TL;DR: Users of senior centers were older and more likely to live in rural areas, and had more social contacts, better mental health, and fewer ADL problems.
Abstract: Logistic regression analysis was used to compare users and non-users of senior centers. Variables assessing linkage to the service system were more significant predictors of senior center utilization than predisposing, enabling, or need variables. More specifically, users of senior centers were older and more likely to live in rural areas. They also had more social contacts, better mental health, and fewer ADL problems. Senior center users were also more aware of specific service agencies, more likely to consult formal resources in making service decisions, and more likely to have used other services.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors found that job characteristics alone accounted for a significant amount of customer service behavior variance, while job characteristics did not moderate the relationship between service predisposition and CSB.
Abstract: The achievement of customer satisfaction in service operations depends to a great extent on employee customer service behavior (CSB) In this study, 123 service providers (77% response rate) responded to a survey assessing service predisposition and job characteristics Employees also completed a behaviorally based CSB measure developed after interviewing and surveying customers (n=96) Analyses suggest that job characteristics, alone, accounted for a significant amount of CSB variance Job characteristics did not moderate the relationship between service predisposition and CSB In contrast to previous work, service predisposition and CSB were not correlated A service provider typology is presented to explain these findings