Christopher A. Voss

Case research in operations management

This paper reviews the use of case study research in operations management for theory development and testing. It draws on the literature on case research in a number of disciplines and uses examples drawn from operations management research. It provides guidelines and a roadmap for operations management researchers wishing to design, develop and conduct case‐based research.

Quality management re-visited: a reflective review and agenda for future research

Quality management (QM) has become an all-pervasive management philosophy, finding its way into most sectors of today’s business society. After the initial hype and enthusiasm, it is time to take stock of the knowledge accumulated in what is now a mature field of study and look for directions to take the field further forward. This article reflects on the mass of literature in the field, synthesizing, organizing and structuring knowledge and offering suggestions for future research. It reviews QM research organized along five main themes: the definition of QM, the definition of product quality, the impact of QM on firm performance, QM in the context of management theory and the implementation of QM. The article draws on these themes to reflect on three questions which are fundamental to re-visit and re-appraise QM: (i) What is QM? (ii) Is the set of practices associated with QM valid as a whole? (iii) How to implement QM in a real business setting?

Towards a Classification of Service Processes

Over the years manufacturing managers have been unified by their acceptance of certain terminology to describe generic production processes. This has facilitated the sharing of ideas and management techniques and the development of our understanding of process choice implications on manufacturing strategies. In the service literature, no process model has been so powerful or pervasive as the manufacturing model. Postulates that a service typology which transcends narrow industry boundaries may lead to some cross‐fertilization of ideas and to an understanding of the management methods and techniques appropriate to each service type. Proposes a model analogous to the production process model, which has achieved such universal recognition in the world of manufacturing. Just as production volume is used in the latter model to integrate a wide range of production process dimensions, so suggests that the volume of customers processed per business unit per day correlates with six classification dimensions develo...

Service design for experience-centric services

Service organizations are increasingly managing customer experiences to promote differentiation and customer loyalty. This article examines the design of experience-centric services, particularly the design of their context. Drawing on relevant literature in service and experience design, the authors develop a theory-based set of propositions for experience design.The propositions are then investigated empirically by means of 17 case studies of design agencies, consulting firms, and experience-centric service providers in different industries. Strong support was found for the designing of “customer journeys” and “touchpoints,” for sensory design, and for the designing of a dramatic structure of events. In addition, the engagement of employees, the management of fellow customers, and the close coupling of backstage employees and frontstage activities represent promising new frontiers in experience design. By identifying the current design practices of leaders in experience design, this study both informs this practice and presents a unique perspective on the design of service delivery systems.

Alternative paradigms for manufacturing strategy

Over the past 20 years, the field of manufacturing strategy has developed many different approaches. Argues that there are three distinct paradigms in manufacturing strategy: competing through manufacturing; strategic choices in manufacturing; and best practice. Each is reviewed and its strengths and weaknesses discussed. Finally, the relationship between them is discussed and a cycle of manufacturing strategy is proposed.

Service Research Priorities in a Rapidly Changing Context

The context in which service is delivered and experienced has, in many respects, fundamentally changed. For instance, advances in technology, especially information technology, are leading to a proliferation of revolutionary services and changing how customers serve themselves before, during, and after purchase. To understand this changing landscape, the authors engaged in an international and interdisciplinary research effort to identify research priorities that have the potential to advance the service field and benefit customers, organizations, and society. The priority-setting process was informed by roundtable discussions with researchers affiliated with service research centers and networks located around the world and resulted in the following 12 service research priorities: stimulating service innovation, facilitating servitization, service infusion, and solutions, understanding organization and employee issues relevant to successful service, developing service networks and systems, leveraging service design, using big data to advance service, understanding value creation, enhancing the service experience, improving well-being through transformative service, measuring and optimizing service performance and impact, understanding service in a global context, and leveraging technology to advance service. For each priority, the authors identified important specific service topics and related research questions. Then, through an online survey, service researchers assessed the subtopics’ perceived importance and the service field’s extant knowledge about them. Although all the priorities and related topics were deemed important, the results show that topics related to transformative service and measuring and optimizing service performance are particularly important for advancing the service field along with big data, which had the largest gap between importance and current knowledge of the field. The authors present key challenges that should be addressed to move the field forward and conclude with a discussion of the need for additional interdisciplinary research.

Antecedents of New Service Development Effectiveness: An Exploratory Examination of Strategic Operations Choices

This article examines the strategic process of new service development (NSD). The authors empirically explore the strategic influence of team-based organizational structure, NSD process design, and information technology (IT) choices on the speed and effectiveness of NSD efforts. Several literature-based relationships are tested with a recursive path model using a multi-industry sample of U.S. service organizations. Most results for the service sector are similar to those found in manufacturing: (a) NSD cross-functional team structures directly influence the effectiveness of the firm’s NSD efforts, (b) more formalized NSD processes indirectly influence the firm’s ability to develop new services by increasing the speed of NSD, and (c) IT choices directly affect both the speed of the NSD process and the general effectiveness of the firm’s NSD activities. Contrary to expectations, no direct relationship between the use of cross-functional team structures and the speed of NSD was found.

Service Architecture and Modularity

An understanding of the nature of service architecture and modularity is crucial to service design and innovation. Two sets of approaches are developed that further our understanding and support decision making. First is a systematic decomposition approach to architecture modeling that allows organizations to understand their current architecture, evaluate alternative architectures, and identify key interfaces between different parts of the service. Second, the article develops a service modularity function (SMF), a mathematical model indicating the degree of modularity deriving from unique services and the degree to which the modules can be replicated across a variety of services. Three areas are identified that can contribute to competitiveness: the possession of unique service modules or elements not easily copied in the short term by competitors; the ability to exploit these through replication across multiple services and/or multiple sites; and the presence of a degree of modularity, which in turn supports both customization and rapid new product development. The SMF can support decision making in the design of services and the exploitation of service innovation. In particular, the relationship between architecture and modularity and the roles of service contact personnel in the customization of services is shown to be complementary. It is proposed that service customization can be either combinatorial (the combination of a set of service processes and products to create a unique service) or menu driven (the selection of one or more services from a set of existing services/products to meet customer needs).

Service Quality in Multichannel Services Employing Virtual Channels

Services employing virtual channels of delivery such as the Internet are typically multichannel. Service quality research in traditional services and, more recently, in e-services tends to take a single-channel perspective. This article argues that a multichannel setting introduces a set of complexities that call for a broader conceptualization of service quality, recognizing that customer experience is formed across all moments of contact with the firm through several channels. Building on existing research, the article develops a framework for conceptualizing multichannel service quality, distinguishing between virtual, physical, and integration quality. Integration quality is identified as a key new service quality component. The framework also addresses how the three components of service quality are delivered by the different parts of the service delivery system and identifies the associated challenges for providing good levels of service quality. A number of research and managerial implications as well as future research needs are put forward.

Benchmarking and operational performance: some empirical results

Investigates the link between benchmarking and operational performance using a sample of over 600 European manufacturing sites. Benchmarking is linked to the identification and adoption of improved operational practices, an increased understanding of competitive positioning, and the larger context of the “learning organization”. Shows that benchmarking may indeed contribute to improved operational performance, first through improving the firm’s understanding of its competitive position and its strengths and weaknesses, and second through providing a systematic process for effecting change. Learning organizations were more likely to benchmark than other firms.