A model for strategic repositioning of service processes

Abstract

The restructuring of service channels, driven by deregulation, intensifying global competition and emerging information technology, is forcing every company to re‐evaluate the adequacy of current customer services. Introduces a normative model, called service process analysis (SPA), that properly differentiates the concept of service from the specification of the delivery channel so as to facilitate the analysis of repositioning strategies. In SPA, efficient matching of services and channels is determined on the basis of the trade‐off between production costs and transaction costs involved. Compares the SPA model with some well‐known frameworks and measurement schemes and illustrates its implications for the repositioning of service strategies in selected industries.