Winter Nie

A framework for strategic service management

Abstract A service framework is needed to foster strategic thinking in services. This paper introduces the service process/service package matrix to meet that need. The important feature of the service process is the degree of customer influence on the service process. The unique characteristic of the service package is that it consists of both tangible and intangible aspects. The service package is described by the degree of customization found in those tangible and intangible elements. Strategic competencies are identified and discussed along the service process dimension, the service package dimension, and the main diagonal of the matrix. Some existing strategic frameworks are embedded and incorporated in the matrix. Additionally, we formulate research propositions based on the matrix. Service firms can use this matrix to gain strategic insights by aligning the type of service package offered with the type of process used to create the service and to have a better understanding of their service operations strategy.

Revisiting customer participation in service encounters: does culture matter?

Abstract Service customers expend significant effort through a variety of behaviors, before, during, and after encounters, to increase the likelihood of satisfactory service experience or to salvage failing service encounters. Service customers’ satisfaction-seeking behaviors are both proactive and reactive in terms of both intent and execution. These behaviors include preparation, relationship building, information exchange, and intervention. This extension of the original research was presented by Youngdahl and Kellogg [Journal of Operations Management 15 (1997) 19]. It provides an examination of how robust the satisfaction-seeking behaviors are across cultures. The overall question is whether people in different cultures would use similar participative behaviors. We also examined whether or not culture is related to service customers’ effort and satisfaction. The counter-intuitive findings indicate that service customers’ satisfaction-seeking behaviors are not related to their cultural orientations. Additionally, culture is not related to effort or satisfaction level. The implication is that prescriptions derived from earlier research on these forms of service participation can be applied both across cultures and to any culturally diverse customer base.

The Impact of Gender and Experience on User Confidence in Electronic Mail

INTRODUCTION Groupware systems are changing the way people communicate, interact, learn, and preserve organizational memory. Collaboration technologies are emerging that allow workers separated by distance and time to communicate on an “anytime-anyplace” basis (Briggs et al., 1998; Markus, 1994). From a social and economic perspective, groupware technologies show significant potential. From a management perspective, the diffusion and structuration of the technology can be a daunting challenge of organizational adjustment. While groupware technologies are advancing rapidly in the organizational context, it appears that a considerable number of participants, for one reason or another, lack the skills and/ or confidence in electronic media. This may make it more difficult to adopt and diffuse the technology and limit the medium’s effectiveness. Unless a technology like e-mail is truly pervasive and ubiquitous, organizational productivity may suffer. The e-mail component of groupware is one of the most widely used and fastest-growing applications for computers today. It increases the range, diversity, and frequency of communication (Contractor and Eisenberg, 1990) and may lead to improvements in the effectiveness of organizational intelligence development and decision-making (Huber et al., The Impact of Gender and Experience on User Confid nce in Electronic Mail

Operational factors as determinants of expatriate and repatriate success

Global business frequently requires the expatriation and repatriation of managers and skilled workers. Previous research has focused on cultural and demographic factors that lead to success with this process. This study goes beyond the cultural and demographic issues to examine implications of operational and technology‐related factors, including use of standard practices, degree of technical sophistication of operations, and technical orientation of the employee. Our results indicate that the technical sophistication of operations abroad, use of standard practices at home, technical orientation of the individual, and increased responsibility and promotion all positively contribute to expatriate satisfaction. Repatriate satisfaction is primarily influenced by difficulty in finding a suitable position upon relocation home. The technical orientation of the individual, in turn, has important implications for repatriation success. This research identifies important new operational and technology‐related factors that should be considered by global firms in management of their internationally located operations.

A comparative study of quality management in Taiwan's and China's electronics industry

Assesses differences in the economies of Taiwan and China to determine whether or not perceptions of quality management differences exist among managers of electronic firms in the two countries. Statistical results suggest that these two groups of managers not only differ in how they define quality, they also differ in their beliefs about the relationship between quality management and organizational outcomes, the extent to which quality management is practiced in the firm, and how the quality of their products compares with products produced by competitors in other countries.

A study of operations and marketing goal consensus in the banking industry

Consensus building plays an important role in strategy formulation and implementation. Previous researchers have attempted to find a link between goal consensus among top management and organizational performance, mainly in manufacturing settings, with varying results. Few extant studies have examined goal consensus at the functional level. Aims to expand our knowledge of the goal consensus/performance relationship by focusing on the relationship between operations and marketing in the service setting. Attempts to identify the types of co‐ordination mechanisms that help achieve functional goal consensus between operations and marketing. Finds a positive relationship between goal consensus of the marketing and operations managers and performance based on return on equity and return on assets. Concludes that consensus is correlated with the use of process and programming co‐ordination mechanisms and not correlated with the use of interpersonal co‐ordination mechanisms.