Journal of Operations Management 20
Journal of Operations Management 20 (2002) 121–134
The service concept: the missing link in service design research?
Susan Meyer Goldstein a ,
∗
, Robert Johnston b , JoAnn Duffy c , Jay Rao d a
Department of Operations and Management Science, University of Minnesota, 321 19th Avenue S, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA b Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK c Gibson D. Lewis Center for Business and Economic Development, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX 77341-2056, USA d Management Division, Babson College, Babson Park, MA 02457, USA
Abstract
The service concept plays a key role in service design and development. But while the term is used frequently in the service design and new service development literature, surprisingly little has been written about the service concept itself and its im- portant role in service design and development. The service concept defines the how and the what of service design, and helps mediate between customer needs and an organization’s strategic intent. We define the service concept and describe how it can be used to enhance a variety of service design processes. As illustrations here, we apply the service concept to service design plan- ning and service recovery design processes. Employing the service concept as an important driver of service design decisions raises a number of interesting questions for research which are discussed here. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords:
Service concept; Service design planning; Service recovery design
1. Introduction
A service organization can only deliver a ser- vice after integrating (or outsourcing) investments in numerous assets, processes, people, and materials.
Much like manufacturing a product composed of hun- dreds or thousands of components, services similarly consist of hundreds or thousands of components.
However, unlike a product, service components are of- ten not physical entities,
The service concept: the missing link in service design research?
Susan Meyer Goldstein a ,
∗
, Robert Johnston b , JoAnn Duffy c , Jay Rao d a
Department of Operations and Management Science, University of Minnesota, 321 19th Avenue S, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA b Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK c Gibson D. Lewis Center for Business and Economic Development, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX 77341-2056, USA d Management Division, Babson College, Babson Park, MA 02457, USA
Abstract
The service concept plays a key role in service design and development. But while the term is used frequently in the service design and new service development literature, surprisingly little has been written about the service concept itself and its im- portant role in service design and development. The service concept defines the how and the what of service design, and helps mediate between customer needs and an organization’s strategic intent. We define the service concept and describe how it can be used to enhance a variety of service design processes. As illustrations here, we apply the service concept to service design plan- ning and service recovery design processes. Employing the service concept as an important driver of service design decisions raises a number of interesting questions for research which are discussed here. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords:
Service concept; Service design planning; Service recovery design
1. Introduction
A service organization can only deliver a ser- vice after integrating (or outsourcing) investments in numerous assets, processes, people, and materials.
Much like manufacturing a product composed of hun- dreds or thousands of components, services similarly consist of hundreds or thousands of components.
However, unlike a product, service components are of- ten not physical entities,