Service Quality and Experience

With the rise in the service economy, an important area of research has emerged that focuses on the experiences of service providers, the workers employed in the service sector and the clients they serve. Our service experience and service quality research is grounded in the everyday realities of work and organizational life--acknowledging that it is through dynamic, emergent organizational practices that the work of organizations is accomplished. Our practice-based approach to service innovation focuses on the interactions, coordination and relationships among people, and between people and technology that constitute and enable service systems. The outcome of our research informs the design of organizational interventions - including methods, technologies, programs and formal processes - that improve the overall performance of service organizations.

An important focus area for our innovations is the quality of the service experience. As backstage service delivery becomes increasingly predictable and standardized, there is an opportunity to differentiate on the front-stage where clients and providers interact. Our research on the front-stage elements of high quality service enables the development new tools, methods and metrics. These are based on a deep understanding of what constitutes high quality service in the business-to-business arena. We are able to add value to the service experience by understanding what takes place in the interaction zone where clients and providers meet, where elements of front-stage quality come into play, and where much of the perceived value of a service is constructed.