Title: A modular response model for increasing awareness of systemic variety in service operations

Authors: Henri Karppinen; Kaisa Seppänen; Janne Huiskonen

Addresses: Department of Industrial Management, Lappeenranta University of Technology, P.O. Box 20, FI-53851 Lappeenranta, Finland ' Department of Industrial Management, Lappeenranta University of Technology, P.O. Box 20, FI-53851 Lappeenranta, Finland ' Department of Industrial Management, Supply Chain and Operations Management, Lappeenranta University of Technology, P.O. Box 20, FI-53851 Lappeenranta, Finland

Abstract: Successful service requires a responsive service delivery system with adaptive operations. People participate in services constantly in different roles, but it is still difficult to capture and transform the realisation into usable information for operative decision-making. The service literature provides insights into the design of a service system at the abstract level, but service operations are still managed in a less systemic manner. We propose that systems thinking has to be acknowledged in service operations, and therefore this study focuses on developing a framework for managing process-level variety in a service process through systemic response components. The developed framework is evaluated in two emergency rescue service systems by utilising the case study methodology. The main contribution of this study is providing a model for operational response creation through operational information. The practical implications encourage adding new competences for information processing as a part of service operations management in service systems.

Keywords: service process variety; service process response; service modularity; modular response; service operations management; emergency rescue services; emergency services; responsive service delivery; adaptive operations; case study; modelling; information processing; service systems.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSSCI.2014.066500

International Journal of Services Sciences, 2014 Vol.5 No.2, pp.95 - 115

Received: 23 Mar 2013
Accepted: 27 Aug 2013
Published online: 14 Jan 2015 *

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