Title: Consumer and co-producer roles in e-service: analysing efficiency and effectiveness of e-service designs

Authors: Mei Xue, Gregory R. Hein, Patrick T. Harker

Addresses: Wallace E. Carroll School of Management, Boston College, 140 Commonwealth Avenue, Fulton Hall 350, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA. ' Wallace E. Carroll School of Management, Boston College, 140 Commonwealth Avenue, Fulton Hall 350, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA. ' The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, 3620 Locust Walk, 1000 Steinberg Hall-Dietrich Hall, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA

Abstract: Many electronic services are distinguished by the active and significant participation of customers in real-time service design and delivery, a phenomenon referred to as service co-production. Because e-service often involves higher levels of service co-production than in traditional person-to-person services, it has become important to incorporate customers| needs both as a service consumer and as a service co-producer into the design of e-service systems. In this paper, we propose a two-stage approach to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of e-services. We focus on meeting customers| needs as both consumers and co-producers. The approach is demonstrated in an exploratory empirical study of the e-service operations of a sample of internet food retailers.

Keywords: e-services; service co-production; efficiency analysis; data envelopment analysis; electronic services; e-commerce; electronic commerce; consumer roles; co-producer roles; e-service design; customer needs; internet; food retailers.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEB.2005.006909

International Journal of Electronic Business, 2005 Vol.3 No.2, pp.174 - 197

Published online: 21 Apr 2005 *

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