Showing papers on "Service system published in 2014"

The Role of Customer Engagement Behavior in Value Co-Creation A Service System Perspective

Abstract: Recent developments in marketing and service research highlight the blurring of boundaries between firms and customers. The concept of customer engagement (CE) aggregates the multiple ways customer...

The service revolution and its marketing implications: service logic vs service-dominant logic

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this conceptual paper is to analyse the implications generated by a service perspective. Design/methodology/approach – A conceptual analysis of two approaches to understanding service perspectives, service logic (SL) and service-dominant logic (SDL), reveals direct and indirect marketing implications. Findings – The SDL is based on a metaphorical view of co-creation and value co-creation, in which the firm, customers and other actors participate in the process that leads to value for customers. The approach is firm-driven; the service provider drives value creation. The managerial implications are not service perspective-based, and co-creation may be imprisoned by its metaphor. In contrast, SL takes an analytical approach, with co-creation concepts that can significantly reinvent marketing from a service perspective. Value gets created in customer processes, and value creation is customer driven. Ten managerial SL principles derived from these analyses offer theoretical and practi...

The home health care routing and scheduling problem with interdependent services.

Abstract: This paper presents a model for the daily planning of health care services carried out at patients’ homes by staff members of a home care company. The planning takes into account individual service requirements of the patients, individual qualifications of the staff and possible interdependencies between different service operations. Interdependencies of services can include, for example, a temporal separation of two services as is required if drugs have to be administered a certain time before providing a meal. Other services like handling a disabled patient may require two staff members working together at a patient’s home. The time preferences of patients are included in terms of given time windows. In this paper, we propose a planning approach for the described problem, which can be used for optimizing economical and service oriented measures of performance. A mathematical model formulation is proposed together with a powerful heuristic based on a sophisticated solution representation.

Design for Value Co-Creation: Exploring Synergies Between Design for Service and Service Logic

Abstract: This paper aims to bridge recent work on Service Logic with practice and research in the Design for Service to explore whether and how human-centered collaborative design approaches could provide a source for interpreting existing service systems and proposing new ones and thus realize a Service Logic in organizations. A comparison is made of existing theoretical backgrounds and frameworks from Service Logic and Design for Service studies that conceptualize core concepts for value co-creation: actors, resources, resource integration, service systems, participation, context, and experience. We find that Service Logic provides a framework for understanding service systems in action by focusing on how actors integrate resources to co-create value for themselves and others, whereas Design for Service provides an approach and tools to explore current service systems as a context to imagine future service systems and how innovation may develop as a result of reconfigurations of resources and actors. Design for Service also provides approaches, competences, and tools that enable involved actors to participate in and be a part of the service system redesign. Design for value co-creation is presented using this model. The paper builds on and extends the Service Logic research first by repositioning service design from a phase of development to Design for Service as an approach to service innovation, centered on understanding and engaging with customers' own value-creating practices. Second, it builds on and extends through discussing the meaning of value co-creation and identifying and distinguishing collaborative approaches for the generation of new resource constellations. In doing so, the collaborative approaches allow for achieving value co-creation in designing.

Ontology-based healthcare context information model to implement ubiquitous environment

Abstract: To establish real u-healthcare environments, it is necessary to receive the context information obtained from various platforms at the proper time in portable devices which operate using both wired and wireless communication Moreover, a knowledge model is required that reflects the information and characteristics needed for such services while remaining appropriate for medical reference This paper develops an ontology-based healthcare context information model to implement a ubiquitous environment Contextual information will be extracted and classified to implement the healthcare services using the context information model The healthcare context information model can be defined using the ontology, and a common healthcare model will be developed by considering medical references and service environments Application and healthcare service developers can use the sensed information in various environments by authoring device- and space-specific ontologies based on this common ontology In addition, this paper designs a personalized u-healthcare service system The validity of the model used in this study is evaluated for the food and exercise recommendation in u-healthcare services

Transferring money using email

Abstract: Method, systems, and apparatus for receiving the email message from a sender device; identifying, using data processing apparatus of a payment service system, a sender email address, a service email address, and one or more recipient email addresses from the email message; identifying, for the sender email address, a sender financial account associated with the payment service system and, for each of the one or more recipient email addresses, a respective recipient financial account associated with the payment service system; identifying a payment amount from a subject or body of the email message; submitting a request to transfer, using the payment service system, the payment amount from the respective sender financial account to the respective recipient financial account.

Panel Size and Overbooking Decisions for Appointment-Based Services under Patient No-Shows

Abstract: Many service systems that work with appointments, particularly those in healthcare, suffer from high no-show rates. While there are many reasons why patients become no-shows, empirical studies found that the probability of a patient being a no-show typically increases with the patient's appointment delay, i.e., the time between the call for the appointment and the appointment date. This paper investigates how demand and capacity control decisions should be made while taking this relationship into account. We use stylized single server queueing models to model the appointments scheduled for a provider, and consider two different problems. In the first problem, the service capacity is fixed and the decision variable is the panel size; in the second problem, both the panel size and the service capacity (i.e., overbooking level) are decision variables. The objective in both cases is to maximize some net reward function, which reduces to system throughput for the first problem. We give partial or complete characterizations for the optimal decisions, and use these characterizations to provide insights into how optimal decisions depend on patient's no-show behavior in regards to their appointment delay. These insights especially provide guidance to service providers who are already engaged in or considering interventions such as sending reminders in order to decrease no-show probabilities. We find that in addition to the magnitudes of patient show-up probabilities, patients' sensitivity to incremental delays is an important determinant of how demand and capacity decisions should be adjusted in response to anticipated changes in patients' no-show behavior.

A Reconceptualization of Manufacturers' Service Strategies

Abstract: Purpose: As part of service infusion, manufacturers use services to differentiate their products and provide growth. Although several attempts have been made to classify manufacturers' service strategies and offerings, most have been based on small purposive samples. The purpose of this article is to create a generic typology of manufacturers' service strategies. Methodology/approach: The unit of analysis was the manufacturer or strategic business unit. The data collection was based on a survey of 145 B2B manufacturers in the United Kingdom. Findings: Three categories of service offerings were identified: product-attached services, operations services on own products, and vendor independent operations services. These categories are used to specify three generic service strategies: Services Doubters, for whom services are not a strong differentiator with no focus on any category of service offerings; Services Pragmatists, for whom product-attached services are a key differentiator; Services Enthusiasts, fo...

Digital campus scheme

Abstract: The invention relates to a digital campus scheme The digital campus scheme specifically comprises (1) user management; (2) data storage; (3) setting of an information management system including (3a) a comprehensive teaching affair management system, (3b) a scientific research management system, (3c) an equipment asset management system, (3d) a human resource management system, (3e) a financial management system and (3f) a foreign affair management system; (4) setting of an information service system; (5) setting of an online working system; (6) setting of a digital library; (7) electronic commerce; (8) security management module The digital campus scheme improves informatization application, fully achieves information sharing, integrates multiple functions such as user management and usage, meanwhile, by means of multiple public electronic information platforms, facilitates data sharing, through an online auxiliary teaching system, facilitates usage, and takes full consideration of data security, thereby greatly facilitating campus digitalized construction

The role of learning in value co-creation in new technological B2B services

Abstract: Purpose – This study aims to explore the role of learning in value co-creation in the context of new technological B2B services. The research objective is approached from the customers' viewpoint, in terms of their motivation to make sacrifices in learning and to embark on value co-creation with a service provider. Design/methodology/approach – This study is based on a qualitative case study. The main source of data is 17 interviews with retailers who tested a new m-advertising service. Findings – The findings show that the customer's motives to make sacrifices, their absorptive capacity and exploitative/explorative learning orientation are important in explaining the role of learning in value co-creation, because perceived value can vary significantly depending on the level of the absorptive capacity of the firm, the orientation towards learning, and the customer's sacrifices in learning. Practical implications – The study can be of use to providers of new technological business services in showing how t...

Managing Retention in Service Relationships

Abstract: In a repeat business context, past experiences with a service provider affect customers' decisions to renew their contract. How should a strategic firm manage customized service over time to maximize the long-term value from each customer relationship? We propose a dynamic model that relies on behavioral theories and empirical evidence to capture the effect of past service experiences on service quality expectations, customer satisfaction, and retention. Although firms can benefit from managing service expectations at the beginning of a relationship, we find that varying service in the long run is not optimal. Behavioral regularities explain the structure of optimal service policies and limit the value of responsive service. Loss aversion expands the range of optimal constant policies; however, if satisfying experiences are more salient, then firms should constantly vary service levels. Loyal or high-margin customers need not warrant better service; those who anchor less on past service experiences do---provided that retention is improved by better past experiences. The effect of customer memory on service levels is determined by whether habituation or rather goodwill drives defection decisions. This paper was accepted by Christian Terwiesch, operations management.

Constraint-Aware Approach to Web Service Composition

Abstract: The creation of value-added services by automatic composition of existing ones is gaining significant momentum as the potential silver bullet in service-oriented computing. A large number of composition methods have been proposed, and most of them are based on the matching of input and output parameters of services only. However, most services in the real world are not universally applicable, and some applicable conditions or restrictions are imposed on them by their providers. Such constraints have a great impact on service composition, but have been largely ignored by the existing methods. In this paper, they are discussed and defined, and a simple formal expression is adopted to describe them. Two novel concepts, called service intension and service extension, are presented, which allow one to divide the basic elements of a web service definition into two parts. Consequently, their use allows us to propose a constraint-aware service composition method in which service constraints are well taken care. The proposed solution includes a graph search-based algorithm and two novel preprocessing methods. A publicly available test set from ICEBE05 is used to evaluate and analyze the proposed methodology.

Optimal Design of Coproductive Services: Interaction and Work Allocation

Abstract: In services, customers provide significant inputs into the production process. In particular, these inputs may be the customers themselves participating in the service delivery. Although many service firms have explored different ways of involving customers in their production process, there is no clear guideline for the design of such coproductive systems. In this paper, we develop an analytical model of joint production between a service provider and a customer and characterize how a service firm should design its coproductive system. We show that, as a task becomes more standard, it is desirable to decrease the degree of interaction between the provider and the customer by making their efforts more substitutable and to allocate most of the work to whoever is the most efficient. Conversely, as a task becomes less standard, it is optimal to increase interaction by making efforts more complementary and to balance the work allocation. Our analysis gives rise to a service-process framework with three archet...

Customer experience from a self-service system perspective

Abstract: Purpose – A service system, including self-service technologies (SSTs), should facilitate actors’ value co-creation processes to enhance customer experiences. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how customers’ experiences – both favorable and unfavorable – are formed by identifying the underlying drivers when using SSTs in the context of a self-service-based system. The authors also analyze customers’ journeys, which occur before, during, and after their experience with a self-service-based system with SSTs. Design/methodology/approach – An exploratory, inductive study examines customers’ self-service experiences of using an SST. By undertaking 60 customer interviews, an event-based technique identified 200 favorable and unfavorable experienced events, which consist of activities and interactions identified through open coding guided by a theoretical framework. Customers’ experiences form through social norms and rules, referred to here as schemas. The authors sorted the drivers into four main categor...

The role of E-quality within the consumer decision making process

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop and test an empirically grounded comprehensive framework of e-quality that is the composite of the relationship between e-satisfaction and e-loyalty. This study’s objectives were: first, to develop a comprehensive measurement scale of perceived quality from an operations perspective, based on the classic Engel-Kollat-Blackwell (EKB) decision-making process; second, to develop a framework that integrates dimensions of quality and measures perceptions of e-quality during the customer’s decision-making process; and third, to examine the predictive capability of quality attributes in relation to service operations that rely on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Design/methodology/approach – Following review of the related literature, focus group protocols were developed and interviews conducted. Based on the focus group input, surveys were developed and administered. Survey data from 717 online customers allowed testing the research hypotheses, and st...

An intelligence life circle e-commerce system based on cloud service

Abstract: The present invention discloses an intelligence life circle e-commerce system based on a cloud service. The system includes: a cloud service platform system, a terminal system and a back-stage management system connected with one another; the cloud service platform system includes a cloud server, and an identity identifying systems, a positioning system, an interaction system and a service system connected with one another through the cloud server; the service system includes an O2Oe-commerce system, an online real estate service system, and a convenience-for-people service system; and the terminal system includes a resident end, a merchant end, a real estate end, and a convenience-for-people service end which perform data exchange through the cloud server. The purpose of the present invention is to provide an intelligence life circle e-commerce system based on the cloud service, provides multidirectional news information and an online and offline shopping platform for community residents, provides a high efficient, convenient and fast marketing platform for the merchant, provides an intimate and thoughtful service platform for the community real estate, and forms an intelligence Life circle with online and offline integration within the community life scope.

On a Unified Definition of the Service System: What is its Identity?

Abstract: In this paper, a unified definition of the service system is proposed. The motivation of this research effort is based on our observation that there are diverse definitions or descriptions of the service system in the literature and they have not provided an identity of the service system. Our goal to define the service system is thus to establish its identity. The most salient feature in our definition is the introduction of three subsystems in a service system: infrastructure, substance, and management. The substance flows over the infrastructure under the constraints of management. A service is established at the moment when the substance interacts with the human to cause a change in the human's status or state under a protocol, which further meets the human's request and need. With this new definition, a service system can be distinguished from other systems, such as manufacturing system, agricultural system, and product system. The new definition will be useful to classification of various service systems and various theories for service systems, which is the key to knowledge management for service systems and to optimization of design and management of service systems.

Productivity, quality and relationship marketing in service operations A revisit in a new service paradigm

Abstract: Purpose - This article aims to look at the evolution of service management and marketing through three paradigms, the latest prescribing a new logic of service, to comment on a previously published article (Gummesson, 1998) on productivity, quality and relationship marketing in service operations. Design/methodology/approach - The article takes the form of a critical review on productivity, quality and relationship marketing in service operations. Findings - The article suggests that practitioners and scholars in the hospitality field should pay close attention to the new logic of service. Research limitations/implications - The analysis of the 1998 article shows that many of the essential issues are still valid but others need to be amended or dropped. When the original article is cited, it is imperative that researchers consider this. Originality/value - This article shows that the new service logic, Paradigm 3, offers a synthesis of the best of earlier research and discards what is no longer or never was viable. It is a new theory on a higher level but it has an open code and keeps developing. Scholars in the hospitality field are invited to make contributions.

Perceived value of service innovation: a conceptual framework

Abstract: Purpose – This paper aims at better understanding the intention to adopt service innovation in a business context by analyzing the nature of perceived value. Design/methodology/approach – This research uses Holbrook's approach on value, applied to a B2B context, in order to better understand the nature of the perceived value of a new service. A qualitative study on 33 firms is carried out through two steps: an exploratory stage and an understanding stage. Findings – The results show different aspects of the service innovation value in a business market, identify various recipients of this value, and underline how the level of newness in the service impacts the nature of perceived value. More generally, this research provides an analytical framework of service innovation value for a firm in a B2B market. Research limitations/implications – This study aims at broadening previous research that studied the perceived value of offerings in a B2B context by considering various types of perceived value of a servi...

A Framework for Analyzing Service Operations

Abstract: Gabriel Bitran and Maureen Lojo develop a framework for analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of firms engaged in providing services, synthesizing and building on the literature addressing service operations. First, they summarize the distinguishing characteristics of service products, as compared to manufactured goods. They then partition the context in which firms operate into three segments. The external environment encompasses product definition and differentiation, as well as competitive forces. The internal environment concerns issues similar to those in traditional management of manufacturing operations. The customer interface is the most critical segment, representing the service firm's ‘moment of truth.’ They discuss each environment in turn in the first part of a two-part article.

Cloud Manufacturing Service System for Industrial-Cluster-Oriented Application

Abstract: Common technology and business demands, such as information sharing, designing and manufacturing outsourcing, order collaborating etc., among enterprises and factories in the industrial cluster area ask for public technology supports and services Recently, Cloud Manufacturing Service System (CMSS) as a novelty way to provide public and generalized manufacturing services, is put forward. In order to fulfill the real-time designing and manufacturing information interaction among the collaborative partners in an industrial cluster area, we designed an industrial-cluster-oriented CMSS and provide services for these small and medium manufacturing enterprises by means of mobile cloud system and relative technologies. The framework of CMSS is defined, and a series of corresponding enabling technologies, including virtualization of manufacturing resources, using ways of virtualized manufacturing resources, lifecycle management of manufacturing service, and compounded access control model of CMSS, are developed. At end, a lightweight application of CMSS, which can provide optimization, simulation and analysis services, is built. Our work can help to satisfy the common designing demands of industrial-cluster area partly. Also, we have performed an effective attempt of engineering applications of mobile cloud system.

Complementary online services in competitive markets: maintaining profitability in the presence of network effects

Abstract: A growing number of firms are strategically utilizing information technology and the Internet to provide online services to consumers who buy their products. Online services differ from traditional services because they often promote interactivity among users and exhibit positive network effects. While the service increases the value obtained by consumers, network effects are known to intensify price competition and thus may reduce firms' profits. In this paper, we model the competition between two firms that sell a differentiated product when each firm can offer a complementary online service to its customers. We derive the market equilibrium and determine how firms should adjust their strategies to account for network effects. We find that when the service exhibits network effects, a firm's decision whether or not to offer the service depends on both the competitor's decision and the competitor's service quality. When the service does not exhibit network effects, this is not the case. In addition, we show that a firm can benefit from the technological ability to offer the service, and from an increase in the strength of network effects or in the market size of the service, only when the value customers derive from the direct functionalities (those that do not rely on the network) of the service are sufficiently high. As a result, a firm's investment in the direct functionalities of its service increases with the strength of network effects of the service as long as the marginal development cost is not too high. Finally, we show that inefficiencies in terms of the number of firms offering the service as well as the total number of service users may prevail.