Showing papers on "Service system published in 2017"

Blockchain Technology as an Enabler of Service Systems: A Structured Literature Review

Abstract: Blockchain technology is expected to revolutionize the way transactions are performed, thereby affecting a vast variety of potential areas of application. While expectations are high, real world impact and benefit are still unclear. To be able to assess its impact, the first structured literature review of peer-reviewed articles is conducted. As blockchain technology is centered around a peer-to-peer network, enabling collaboration between different parties, the service system is chosen as unit analysis to examine its potential contribution. We have identified a set of characteristics that enable trust and decentralization, facilitating the formation and coordination of a service system.

Adoption of Robots, Artificial Intelligence and Service Automation by Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Companies – A Cost-Benefit Analysis

Abstract: Travel, tourism and hospitality companies have started to adopt robots, artificial intelligence and service automation (RAISA) in the form of chatbots, delivery robots, robot-concierge, conveyor restaurants, self-service information/check-in/check-out kiosks, and many others. Despite the huge advancements in social robotics, the research on robots in tourism has been extremely limited – a gap that is partially filled by this paper. It investigates the costs and benefits of the adoption of RAISA by travel, tourism, and hospitality companies (hotels, restaurants, event organisers, theme and amusement parks, airports, car rental companies, travel agencies and tourist information centres, museums and art galleries and others). Specifically the paper looks at how RAISA influence the competitiveness, service quality, human resource management, service operations processes and standards, hospitality facilities layout, operating costs and revenues, and investigates the conditions under which the adoption of RAISA would be of benefit of the company. The paper acknowledges that the adoption of RAISA is dependent on the labour and technology costs, customers’ readiness and willingness to be served by a robots, cultural characteristics of both customers and service providers, the technological characteristics of RAISA solutions and other factors. The paper elaborates on the practical challenges to be faced by tourist companies when introducing RAISA (e.g. related to resistance to change, reengineering of service processes) and provide recommendations to both tourism companies and robot manufacturers how to deal with these challenges.

What is 5G? Emerging 5G Mobile Services and Network Requirements

Abstract: In this paper, emerging 5G mobile services are investigated and categorized from the perspective of not service providers, but end-users. The development of 5G mobile services is based on an intensive analysis of the global trends in mobile services. Additionally, several indispensable service requirements, essential for realizing service scenarios presented, are described. To illustrate the changes in societies and in daily life in the 5G era, five megatrends, including the explosion of mobile data traffic, the rapid increase in connected devices, everything on the cloud, hyper-realistic media for convergence services and knowledge as a service enabled by big-data analysis, are examined. Based on such trends, we classify the new 5G services into five categories in terms of the end-users’ experience as follows: immersive 5G services, intelligent 5G services, omnipresent 5G services, autonomous 5G services and public 5G services. Moreover, several 5G service scenarios in each service category are presented, and essential technical requirements for realizing the aforementioned 5G services are suggested, along with a competitiveness analysis on 5G services/devices/network industries and the current condition of 5G technologies.

Gatekeepers at Work: An Empirical Analysis of a Maternity Unit

Abstract: We use a detailed operational and clinical data set from a maternity hospital to investigate how workload affects decisions in gatekeeper-provider systems, where the servers act as gatekeepers to specialists but may also attempt to serve customers themselves, albeit with a probability of success that is decreasing in the complexity of the customers’ needs. We study the effect of workload during a service episode on gatekeepers’ service configuration decisions and the rate at which gatekeepers refer customers to a specialist. We find that gatekeeper-providers (midwives in our context) make substantial use of two levers to manage their workload (measured as patients per midwife): they ration resource-intensive discretionary services (epidural analgesia) for customers with noncomplex service needs (mothers with spontaneous onset of labor) and, at the same time, increase the rate of specialist referral (physician-led delivery) for customers with complex needs (mothers with pharmacologically induced labor). Th...

Services In Global Value Chains: From Inputs to Value-Creating Activities

Abstract: This report provides new evidence on the role of services in global value chains (GVCs). With the release of the Trade in Value Added database, it was highlighted that services account for a larger share of world trade than suggested by traditional statistics. But this evidence does not tell the whole story about services in GVCs. In addition to services bought as inputs, there are also services activities within manufacturing firms. Moreover, manufacturing companies increasingly produce and export services either as complements or substitutes to the goods they sell. This shift to services is related to strategies aiming at adding more value and creating a long-term relationship with customers. The report highlights that services inputs, whether domestic or foreign, account for about 37% of the value of manufacturing exports in the sample of countries covered. By adding service activities within manufacturing firms, this share increases to 53% and the overall contribution of services to exports is close to two-thirds. Across countries, between 25% and 60% of employment in manufacturing firms is found in service support functions such as R&D, engineering, transport, logistics, distribution, marketing, sales, after-sale services, IT, management and back-office support. SMEs are also part of this “servicification” and contribute to exports of services bundled with goods.

Combining granular computing technique with deep learning for service planning under social manufacturing contexts

Abstract: As an essential element in the overall designing of a service system, service planning plays an important role in improving final service quality and user experience. Service planning is a customer-oriented approach that facilitates the translation of customer requirements into activity process features or engineering characteristics. The trend is towards learning decision-support knowledge from massive service case data to facilitate service planning. However, when learning from imbalanced data, existing methods have poor predictive ability to identify minority patterns. To improve the quality and efficiency of the service planning, an innovative approach based on the combination of granular computing and deep learning are presented. It employs an inductive paradigm, clustering examples in a best granularity, sampling and refining into a more balanced example set, and feeding them into a deep learning model. The proposed approach can mine the planning patterns between the customer requirements and service process features, thereby facilitating knowledge transferring in service planning under the social manufacturing context.

The Role of the Sales-Service Interface and Ambidexterity in the Evolving Organization: A Multilevel Research Agenda

Abstract: Despite a long history of independent sales and service functions within organizations, customers are pressuring organizations to rethink their sales and service operations. Specifically, customers...

On Value and Value Creation in Service: A Management Perspective:

Abstract: To develop a managerially relevant understanding of value and value creation, these phenomena must be analysed on a micro level. Seen from above, they lack a microfoundation. In the present...

Multi-Service System: An Enabler of Flexible 5G Air Interface

Abstract: A multi-service system is an enabler to flexibly support diverse communication requirements for the next generation wireless communications In such a system, multiple types of services coexist in one baseband system with each service having its optimal frame structure and low out-of-band emission waveforms operating on the service frequency band to reduce the ISvcBI In this article, a framework for a multi-service system is established, and the challenges and possible solutions are studied The multi-service system implementation in both the time and frequency domains is discussed Two representative SFMC waveforms, F-OFDM and UFMC, are considered in this article Specifically, the design methodology, criteria, orthogonality conditions, and prospective application scenarios in the context of 5G are discussed We consider both SR and MR signal processing methods Compared to the SR system, the MR system has significantly reduced computational complexity at the expense of performance loss due to ISubBI in MR systems The ISvcBI and ISubBI in MR systems are investigated with proposed low-complexity interference cancellation algorithms to enable multi-service operation in low interference level conditions

A multilevel consideration of service design conditions: Towards a portfolio of organisational capabilities, interactive practices and individual abilities

Abstract: Purpose The purpose of this paper is to advance the current understanding of organisational conditions that facilitate service design. Specifically, the focus is on organisational capabilities, interactive practices and individual abilities as units of analysis across service system levels. Grounded in design principles, the paper conceptualises and delineates illustrative service design conditions and introduces a respective service design capability-practice-ability (CPA) portfolio. In doing so, an emerging microfoundations perspective in the context of service design is advanced. Design/methodology/approach Conceptual paper. Findings This paper identifies and delineates a CPA that contributes to service design and ultimately customer experiences. The service design CPA consists of six illustrative constellations of service design capabilities, practices and abilities, which operate on different organisational levels. The service design CPA builds the foundation for in-depth research implications and future research opportunities. Practical implications The CPA framework suggests that if an organisation seeks to optimise service design and subsequent customer experiences, then individual- and organisational-level (cap)abilities and interactive practices should be optimised and synchronised across specific CPA constellations. Originality/value This paper provides the first microfoundations perspective for service design. It advances marketing theory through multilevel theorising around service design capabilities, practices and abilities and overcomes extant limitations of insular theorising in this context.

Evaluating the Effects of Service Quality, Customer Satisfaction, and Service Value on Behavioral Intentions with Life Insurance Customers in India

Abstract: The present study aims to empirically test and evaluate the direct and indirect effects of service encounter constructs of service quality, customer satisfaction and service value on loyalty related behavioral intentions of customers in Indian Life services in India to determine the best fitting model Most studies based on comprehensive models of service constructs relationships have not considered alternative competing models The theoretical background and the empirical support for these issues derive mostly from prior studies in the developed markets of the US, UK and Canada Further, the study aims to contribute to resolution of the variance in structure and dimensionality of service quality (dimensionality) in literature by developing and validating a second order model of service quality which integrates the two dominant perspectives ie the Nordic and the American approach Design/methodology/approach: A second order scale of service quality was developed and validated by integrating the American and Nordic approach to Service Quality using exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis The constructs of Customer satisfaction, service value and Behavioural intentions were validated using confirmatory factor analysis Two competing models of effects of the three service encounter constructs on Behavioral Intentions were tested using structural equation modeling The results show that Service quality is a second order construct consisting of the dimensions of Core service, Service Delivery, Sales Agent Quality, Tangibles and Empathy The process dimensions (sales Agent Quality and Service delivery) are most important in overall service quality perceptions The effect of service quality on positive behavioural intentions is both direct and indirect with the moderating effect of service value and customer satisfaction being significant The study contributes to research by developing and validating a hierarchical model of service quality and testing two competing models of direct and indirect effects of service quality on behavioral intentions so that there is better understanding of the simultaneous and composite interactions and effects of the three service encounter constructs The results would provide practitioners with a valid measure of service quality in life insurance services and would enable them to devise marketing strategies which enhance customer loyalty related behavioral intentions The study addresses the gap related to wide divergence in dimensionality and structure of service quality and contributes to the debate on whether the effect of service quality on behavioral intentions is only indirect or both direct and indirect

Value co-creation behaviour – role of embeddedness and outcome considerations

Abstract: Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify antecedents and consequences of customers’ value co-creation behaviour (VCB). VCB as a means to facilitate value realisation processes is gaining importance in service research and practice. Encouraging such enactments can be challenging, but can also offer competitive advantages. Design/methodology/approach We empirically investigate a conceptual model by converging three contemporary concepts of co-creation research – embeddedness, VCB and value-in-context – and examining the interdependencies between them. Data were collected in an online forum of a leading international weight-management firm. Findings Results suggest that customers’ embeddedness is a key antecedent of customers’ VCB in a service system. The three embeddedness dimensions – structural, relational and cultural – have a differential impact on customers’ VCB. Furthermore, findings illustrate that customers’ VCB has a significant impact on their object-oriented, self-oriented and brand-oriented social value-in-context outcomes. Research limitations/implications This study contributes by empirically investigating and validating antecedents and consequences of VCB in a service system. In doing so, the study highlights the significance of the nature of customer’s social constellations to develop contexts where value outcomes are actualised. Understanding the factors that shape VCB offers insights for firms to recognise how and where value propositions can be deployed that drives on-going co-creation processes. Originality/value This study is the first empirical research to offer insights into important pre-conditions and subsequent outcomes concurrently to illustrate how customers’ VCB can be managed and nurtured for sustainable value co-creation processes within service systems. This research further advances mid-range theorizing and microfoundational perspectives in marketing.

Information systems for smart services

Abstract: Digital interactions among businesses and consumers through powerful information systems and omnipresent connected devices establish today’s networked society. In this light, Service Science continues to take root as a research discipline that focuses on the integration of (digital) resources by service providers and service customers for value co-creation in service systems. Rapid advances in information technology allow for designing novel information systems that enable entirely new configurations of service systems. In turn, Service Science also leaves its mark on the design, adoption, and use of information systems and technology. With this special issue, we compile a set of timely papers that investigate selected facets of the complex interplay between information technology, information systems, and Service Science to design innovative IT artifacts for smart service. This editorial opens this special issue by elaborating on our understanding of smart service.

Efficient Ignorance: Information Heterogeneity in a Queue

Abstract: How would the growing prevalence of real-time delay information affect a service system? We consider a single-server queueing system where customers arrive according to a Poisson process and the service time follows an exponential distribution. There are two streams of customers, one informed about real-time delay and the other uninformed. The customers’ uninformed behavior may be due to information ignorance or rational behavior in the presence of an information fee. We characterize the equilibrium behavior of customers with information heterogeneity and investigate how the presence of a larger fraction of informed customers affects the system performance measures, i.e., throughput and social welfare. We show that the effects of growing information prevalence on system performance measures are determined by the equilibrium joining behavior of uninformed customers. Perhaps surprisingly, we find that throughput and social welfare can be unimodal in the fraction of informed customers. In other words, some a...

Toward a public service management: past, present, and future directions

Abstract: Purpose In providing a fine-grained analysis of public service management, the purpose of this paper is to make an important contribution to furthering research in service management, a body of literature that has tended to regard public services as homogenous or to neglect the context altogether. Design/methodology/approach Integrating public management and service management literatures, the past and present of public service management are discussed. Future directions for the field are outlined drawing on a service-dominant approach that has the potential to transform public services. Invited commentaries augment the review. Findings The review presents the Public Service Network Framework to capture the public value network in its abstraction and conceptualizes how value is created in public services. The study identifies current shortcomings in the field and offers a series of directions for future research where service management theory can contribute greatly. Research limitations/implications The review encourages service management research to examine the dynamic, diverse, and complex nature of public services and to recognize the importance of this context. The review calls for an interdisciplinary public service management community to develop, and to assist public managers in leveraging service logic. Originality/value The review positions service research in the public sector, makes explicit the role of complex networks in value creation, argues for wider engagement with public service management, and offers future research directions to advance public service management research.

Block chain-based online taxi-hailing service system

Abstract: The invention discloses a block chain-based online taxi-hailing service system. The system includes a traffic cloud database, a traffic cloud artificial intelligence system (TAI) and a mobile client. With the block chain-based online taxi-hailing service system adopted, a decentralized, trustless, collectively maintained, asymmetric cryptography reliable database basic infrastructure and underlying internet protocol can be provided for traffic cloud; and a mobile SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) application pattern, a distributed computing normal form and a group intelligence model which can establish high-degree connections for travelers based on time stamp, achieve travel resource allocation consensuses and provide services according to demands can be realized.

What causes imbalance in complex service networks? Evidence from a public health service

Abstract: Purpose Service networks are inherently complex as they comprise of many interrelated actors, often driven by divergent interests. This can result in imbalance, which refers to a situation where the interests of at least one actor in a network are not secured. Drawing on the “balanced centricity” perspective, the purpose of this paper is to explore the causes of imbalance in complex service networks. Design/methodology/approach Adopting a qualitative case-based approach, this paper examines a public health service network that experienced imbalance that was detrimental to the lives of its users: the Mid-Staffordshire National Health Service (NHS) Trust, UK. Drawing on service-dominant logic and stakeholder theory, case evidence provides insight into the origin and drivers of imbalance in complex public service networks. Findings The origin of imbalance stems from competing institutional logics of various actors (patients/public, employees, managers, regulatory bodies, etc.), but the degree to which these competing institutional logics lead to imbalance is moderated by accountability, communication, engagement, and responsiveness within the service network. Research limitations/implications By uncovering causes of imbalance in complex public service networks, this paper pinpoints important research avenues for developing the balanced centricity perspective. Practical implications The inherent existence of multiple parallel institutional arrangements makes networks imbalanced, but value creation can be achieved when the appropriate mechanisms are fostered to manage balance between divergent logics. Originality/value By examining imbalance as the underlying cause of network dysfunction, this research contributes to understanding of the dynamics in, and performance of, complex public service networks.

Managing customer arrivals in service systems with multiple identical servers

Abstract: We analyze a discrete multiserver model for scheduling customer arrivals under no-shows. The challenge is to assign customers to time slots so that the service system utilizes its resources efficiently and customers experience short waiting times. We provide theoretical and heuristic guidelines for an effective practice of appointment overbooking to offset no-shows. Recursive and explicit expressions for the performance measures of interest are derived based on the random evolution of the system’s workload in transient state. We prove discrete convexity properties of the optimization problem that restrict our search to a contained solution space and guarantee that a local search algorithm terminates with a globally optimal schedule. Extensive computational experiments reveal additional properties and patterns that appear in the optimal schedule and motivate the development of two very well-performing and computationally inexpensive heuristic solutions. The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/1...

Data Plane Programmability Beyond OpenFlow: Opportunities and Challenges for Network and Service Operations and Management

Abstract: SDN and OpenFlow reshaped the way we configure forwarding devices and determine network behavior, by offering an open interface upon which apps like routing, monitoring, etc. can be built. SDN/OpenFlow helped break network "ossification" and unleash evolution, by enabling one to effectively think networking from top-down. It evidenced, however, a subtle but important problem: networking evolution is also hampered by the inability to change switch behavior, which forces one to build systems constrained from the bottom up. This scenario can change dramatically with the re-emergence of programmable data planes, and languages like POF and P4. Although recent, these languages proved to be very influential, powering several contributions towards flexible and customizable forwarding devices. In this paper, we survey the literature on data plane programmability, from early concepts (like Active Networks) to state-of-the-art solutions. We then dive into research questions that more recent work (especially P4) have uncovered: how to deploy and manage custom switch programs in large-scale networks? Can we improve services like monitoring and security with programmable data planes? Can we make network operation more dependable? As another contribution, we organize and discuss opportunities and challenges with potential to influence research in the field, from the perspective of network and service operations and management.

Personal Archive Service System using Blockchain Technology: Case Study, Promising and Challenging

Abstract: This paper is to explore applications of the blockchain technology to the concept of “proof of X” such as proof of identity, proof of property ownership, proof of specific transaction, proof of college degree, proof of medical records, proof of academic achievements, etc. It describes a novel approach of building a decentralized transparent immutable secure personal archive management and service system. Personal archive is defined as a collection of various artifacts that reflect personal portfolio as well as personal unique identifications. Personal portfolio is beyond of a statement of personal achievement. It is an evidentiary document designed to provide qualitative and quantitative chronically documents and examples. Subjects can tag their information with proof, that is, certified by trusted entities or organizations like universities. Such proofs are associated with confidentiality levels exposed in the public domains. Personal identifications include biometrics as well as other multi-factors such as something the subject “has”, the subject “knows” or the subject “acts”. Stack holders in a consortium oriented blockchain network serve as verifiers and /or miners that provide their trusted services the delegated proof of stake. Such personal archive based system can be exploited to various applications including professional network like Linkedin, instant credit approval like alipay or live human from social bots like internet social media. A prototype simulation shows that such personal portfolio management and service system is feasible and immune to many ID attacks.

Service encounter thinklets: how to empower service agents to put value co-creation into practice

Abstract: The concept of value co-creation and the service encounter as locus of this value co-creation gained much academic interest, notably in marketing research and service sciences. While the current research discourse mainly follows conceptual perspectives, there has been little research on the practical implications on service agents' enabling co-creation of value in the information technology IT-supported service encounters with clients. In this paper, we seek to bridge this gap and first use the example of IT-supported citizen advisory services to show the fundamental deficiencies in current service agents regarding the implementation of value co-creation work practices. We introduce the concept of service encounter thinklets, adapted from collaboration engineering, to overcome these deficiencies and to empower service agents to put value co-creation into practice. We show how service encounter thinklets can complement existing advisory support measures to enable service agents to transform the IT-supported customer service encounter into a collaborative work environment, bringing together themselves, customers and supporting information systems to co-create the advisory's value. A test with employees in a public administration's front office has provided first evidence that service encounter thinklets can effectively empower service agents on the job to adapt their work practices and to bring value co-creation into practice.

Patient Triage and Prioritization Under Austere Conditions

Abstract: In war zones and economically deprived regions, because of extreme resource restrictions, a single provider may be the sole person in charge of providing emergency care to a group of patients. An important question the provider faces under such circumstances is whether or not to perform triage and how to prioritize the patients. By choosing to triage a particular patient, the provider can determine the health condition and thus the urgency of the patient, but that will come at the expense of delaying the actual service (stabilization or initial treatment) for that patient as well as all the other patients. Motivated by this problem, which also arises in other service contexts, we consider a service system where finitely many patients, all available at time zero, belong to one of the two possible triage classes, where each class is characterized by its waiting cost and expected service time. Patients’ class identities are initially unknown, but the service provider has the option to spend time on triage to...

WeChat Library: a new mode of mobile library service

Abstract: Purpose This study aims to introduce a new mode of mobile library service, named “WeChat Library”, developed under the WeChat (social media platform) public service platform. The design and realization of WeChat Library is also presented with Chongqing University Library taken as the example. Design/methodology/approach This study designed a new mobile library service system, WeChat Library of Chongqing University Library, analyzed its construction cost and usage statistics and discussed the advantages of the new service mode. Findings Investigation results showed that 84.6 per cent of the “985” universities opened up WeChat Libraries, which signified that WeChat Library has become one of the important mobile service modes for Chinese university libraries. WeChat Library received high appreciation from the patrons; in 20 months of operation, 20.3 per cent of patrons in Chongqing University had used WeChat Library. The five most commonly used services are OPAC retrieval, items borrowed, personal center, resource discovery and announcements. WeChat Library was found to have many advantages, such as low development cost, automatic cross-platform service, adaptive screen, low acceptance cost, easier promotion, strong user viscosity, strong interactivity and real-time consulting. Practical implications The functional design and technological architecture of WeChat Library was presented with Chongqing University Library taken as the example. The technical realization of several unique services, namely, QR code access, space reservation and overdue reminders, was also demonstrated. The study will provide favorable suggestions and references for other libraries that have also launched the WeChat Library. Originality/value The mainstream service mode of mobile libraries is application for mobile terminals (APP). Although mobile services are applied extensively in China, numerous small- and medium-sized libraries are still unable to provide mobile services for patrons primarily because the investment is too high to bear for some libraries. Therefore, mobile library services urgently need a more economical model of mobile services. The most prominent advantages of WeChat Library are its low development cost and low technology threshold. WeChat Library can provide a better solution for mobile library services.