Bench Marking in Service Industry.

In the context of globalization, there appears to be a tangible shift in the nature of

industrial activity worldwide. The history of industry has witnessed changes from an
agrarian economy to a production and manufacturing context in the past several
decades of industrial development. Lately however, the world has seen the emergence
of a new economy, based not only on production and manufacturing systems, but also
on creation and delivery of services aimed at meeting a wide variety of customer
needs. Given the intangible nature of services, industry has faced several challenges in
identifying stakeholder needs and developing services to maximize stakeholder
satisfaction, overall organizational productivity and performance.
Research in services management has developed frameworks which have served as
the foundation for the development of theoretical perspectives related to services
research. However, there is a need for further conceptual and empirical clarity on a
host of issues related to services research. Research in this domain has identified
several gaps in literature, such as the need for a consensus with regard to
measurement issues in services, factors influencing the management of services, the
link between services management and organizational strategy, etc.
The field as such would benefit from an interdisciplinary approach to both theory
building and empirical examination of key factors of services management and their
impact on organizational performance. Towards this end, this special issue calls for
theoretical and empirical contributions using a variety of empirical methodologies and
theoretical lenses to examine current problems in services management. The special
issue invites papers from researchers as well as practitioners in management. These
papers could be theoretical, empirical, conceptual, reviews, case studies or other work
in the field of services research. This issue aims at consolidating current theoretical,
methodological and empirical perspectives in services research as well as serves as a
foundation for future research and practice in services management.

Submissions including, but not limited to the following themes, would be considered
for publication in the special issue (covering services such as healthcare, IT,
hospitality & tourism, education, and banking & financial services especially in the
context of growing economies):
• Benchmarking in services: Studies on various frameworks of benchmarking and
their application to the services context and its link with overall organizational goals
are invited. Authors are encouraged to bring different theoretical and empirical
perspectives (e.g., ISO 9001:2000) to the study of benchmarking in services and
present frameworks for development and application of various interdisciplinary
methodologies to services benchmarking. Authors are encouraged to reflect on the
implications of benchmarking for services management and practice.
• Value chain analysis of services: Studies in this area could focus on the key factors
associated with the value chain in the context of services, the development of the
service value chain and its role in services delivery, quality and performance. Papers
on the integration of the value chain with the overall organizational objectives, related
theoretical and conceptual frameworks and empirical studies are invited.
• Services performance management: Studies using frameworks such as Balanced
Score Card in examining service performance are invited. Researchers and
practitioners in services management are encouraged to explore areas of application
of existing frameworks of performance management and excellence, as well as
develop robust measures that could possibly explore the various dimensions that are
unique to services performance.
• Role of services in developing and sustaining competitive advantage: Researchers
and practitioners are encouraged to examine the role of services in developing and
sustaining organizational as well as overall economic competitive advantage. This
area assumes importance especially in the light of the progress among developing
economies that have emerged as preferred destinations for global services across a
wide range of sectors. Studies in this domain could explore competitive advantage of
services using existing frameworks as well as develop comprehensive frameworks
that identify unique features of competitive advantage in services.
• Business models in services: Services research and practice would greatly benefit
from a business model analysis of services in the context of the global economy.
Emerging models in technology-enabled services (e.g., e-commerce) are likely to
change the way business models are designed, developed and implemented in the
context of services. Authors are encouraged to examine business models in services
and identify ways in which existing and new models can enhance organizational
profitability and performance.
• Services innovation: Frameworks for innovation in services would be useful to
improve services delivery, performance and satisfaction. Application of existing
frameworks of innovation in services as well as development of new frameworks is
encouraged.
• Stakeholders’ perspectives: Given the intangible nature of services it is important
to focus on the key stakeholders involved in creation and delivery of services with the
aim of understanding gaps in services delivery. Theoretical and empirical studies
incorporating frameworks investigating the role of key stakeholders (such as
providers, government, customers and employees) in successful service outcomes are
invited.
• Other relevant areas: Submissions focusing on other areas that have implications
for services management are also invited. Innovative papers on theory as well as
developments in methodology for assessment of dimensions of quality, performance
and benchmarking of services are invited.