Service Industries

This paper presents an extensive review on the services, six-sigma, and application of six-sigma in services. In order to improve service quality focus on service process is necessary. Six-sigma is a philosophy which also concentrates on the improvement of ...

Este trabajo presenta una metodología de planeación logística que integra cuatro herramientas conceptuales: gerencia de los servicios, logística, gestión de proyectos y dinámica de sistemas. Esta metodología permite realizar un análisis integral de las actividades llevadas a cabo por las empresas prestadoras de servicios a través del ciclo logístico, partiendo de la comprensión del proceso de prestación del servicio como una sucesión de proyectos, en los que, para cada actividad se analizan las variables controlables y no controlables, los recursos renovables y no renovables y sus interacciones desde una perspectiva sistémica; esta integración se soporta en la dinámica de sistemas como herramienta cuantitativa de análisis. La metodología propuesta apoya la toma de decisiones a nivel estratégico, táctico y operativo a fi n de mejorar la coordinación entre las actividades y la asignación de recursos disminuyendo las demoras y por lo tanto mejorando la percepción del cliente acerca de ...

This paper aims for profit optimization of an Ethiopian chemical company located in Adama (Ethiopia) using linear programming model. Particularly, our present study brings out clearly the necessity of using quantitative techniques for utilization in Ethiopian company; a factory situated within Adama about 90 kms. from Addis Ababa (Capital of Ethiopia). The
first step comprises data generation. A questionnaire is prepared and circulated amongst company staff both executive and technical to determine the production, sales and profit during a few months of 2014. The profits varied considerably owing to subjective approach. It was established that the decisions are undertaken by experienced people without use of quantitative
people and quantitative method. Whole approach applied here is seemingly subjective. A theoretical perspective undertaken for the present study is review of various different applications of linear programming. The characteristics of base assumptions of linear programming and its advantages and disadvantages towards establishing its need for optimization are briefly outlined in terms of its application to the factory. Survey data is analyzed to determine the style of decision making and the problem is defined. An objective function is created in terms of decision variables of production, sales and profit over a period of time using
the quantitatively available data of these parameters. A linear programming model for company is developed for profit optimization. The model equations with adequate restraints taking into account manufacturing limitations are solved using MS-Excel solver. Finally, some conclusive observations have been drawn and recommendations have been suggested.

The concept of “trust” has gained considerable importance in the field of marketing during the last decades and is seen as a key mediator of customer relationship marketing. But upon a closer look at the literature, the construct “trust” is conceptualized and measured very differently. Based on a literature review and theoretical work, the purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual model of consumer trust in a service company, which distinguishes two fundamental dimensions. Using these dimensions, it is possible to detect different mediating effects of trust in the customer relationship to the service company. Antecedents and consequences of trust are studied in a business-to-consumer services context in the banking industry. To test hypotheses, empirical data are collected from a sample of 232 retail bank customers with checking accounts. By means of a LISREL approach, two rivalling measurement models of trust are compared and show various mediating effects. The empirical data support the two-dimensional model of trust. Further, the two dimensions of trust are mediating the effect of customer satisfaction (CS) differently. In particular, it is shown that “benevolence” has a significantly greater influence on customer loyalty than “credibility.” Finally, beside CS, the customer’s propensity to trust also influences trust.

Credit risk concentration is one of the leading topics in modern finance, as the bank regulation has made increasing use of external and internal credit ratings. Concentration risk in credit portfolios comes into being through an uneven distribution of bank loans to individual borrowers (single-name concentration) or in a hierarchical dimension such as in industry and services sectors and geographical regions (sectorial concentration).To measure single-name concentration risk the literature proposes specific concentration indexes such as the Herfindahl–Hirschman index, the Gini index or more general approaches to calculate the appropriate economic capital needed to cover the risk arising from the potential default of large borrowers.However, in our opinion, the Gini index and the Herfindahl–Hirschman index can be improved taking into account methodological and theoretical issues which are explained in this paper.We propose a new index to measure single-name credit concentration risk and we prove the properties of our contribution.Furthermore, considering the guidelines of Basel II, we describe how our index works on real financial data. Finally, we compare our index with the common procedures proposed in the literature on the basis of simulated and real data.

Although management scholars have devoted considerable effort to researching the effects of servicescapes [Bitner, M.J. (1992). Servicescapes: The impact of physical surroundings on customers and employees. Journal of Marketing, 56(2), 57–71] on customer behavior, we still lack an up-to-date systematization of both theoretical and empirical findings. This paper aims at filling the gap with a systematic literature review based on rigorous criteria. In reviewing the 188 selected papers, attention has been devoted to an in-depth analysis of new research paths on the topic. Our research findings contribute to a deep understanding of the link between customer behaviors and new ways of interpreting specific features of the servicescape. We believe these implications are valuable for both managers and scholars.

This article focuses on a project designed to investigate the validity of the results obtained from a prior exploratory study undertaken to identify the critical success factors (CSFs) in ‘UK Corporate Hotels’. The CSF approach and its application to hospitality and other types of business environment are briefly reviewed prior to an explanation of the survey methodology adopted in the

The rise of the service industries has changed operational business environments and mixed the roles and blurred the boundaries of private and public sectors. While cooperation has become more evident and more diverse, also simultaneous cooperation and competition between different firms and the firm and the public sector, namely coopetition, is gaining an increasing importance. We consider intentional and unintentional coopetition between firms and the public sector within the service industries by using Pyhä-Luosto tourism destination in Lapland, Finland, as a context of analysis. The analysis stresses, first, the challenging tension between cooperation, competition and coopetition in a tourism destination, and secondly, both strategically planned and unintended, more instinctive coopetition. In particular, the case illustrates interplay between public and private sectors, the relationship between strategic and operational levels of development work, and emphasises the role of the surrounding region in development.

La planeación estratégica del mercadeo es clave para la toma de decisiones a nivel organizacional, cuya implementación toma mayor relevancia en entidades del sector salud colombiano, que precisan hacer frente a una crisis estructural del sistema sanitario. Por ello, se realizó un estudio para analizar los retos en la planeación estratégica del mercadeo en instituciones prestadoras de servicios de salud en la ciudad de Medellín; conducido metodológicamente por un enfoque cualitativo, utilizando como técnica de análisis de la información herramientas de la Teoría Fundamentada. Así, se identificaron como retos para estas instituciones: la relación entre prestadores-aseguradores y el impacto en su capacidad financiera, la prestación de servicios de calidad y, finalmente, la gerencia estratégica de marketing. De allí se concluye que la incorporación del mercadeo en estas organizaciones se ha enfocado hacia el componente social, para mejorar las estrategias de promoción de la salud y prevención de la enfermedad.

Strategic marketing planning is key to decision-making at the organizational level, the implementation of which takes greater relevance in Colombian health sector entities, who need to deal with a structural crisis of the health system. For this reason, a study was carried out to analyze the challenges in strategic marketing planning in Health Service Providers Institutions in the city of Medellin; meticulously driven by a qualitative approach, using as an information analysis technique tools of Founded Theory. Thus, they were identified as challenges for these institutions: the relationship between providers – insurers and the impact on their financial capacity, the provision of quality services, and finally, strategic marketing management. It concludes that the incorporation of marketing into these organizations has focused on the social component, to improve strategies for health promotion and disease prevention.