Service Domain Research Articles

A Transaction Cost Approach to Policy-Mandated Collaborations: Evidence from North Carolina

ABSTRACT In human services domains, policymakers mandate formal collaborations and alliances between public service agencies as part of policy implementation. We examine mandated child welfare collaborations in a stratified random sample of North Carolina counties, finding that agencies experienced frictions associated with collaboration fatigue and unclear goals. Access to private information, the ability to combine collaborations, and even serving lunch were conduits for successful collaboration. Agencies that did not engage faced high costs and saw little marginal benefit. We argue that policymakers looking to improve collaboration should communicate the value propositions to the agencies involved. They should also fund lunch.

Design and validation of Iranian Child Health-Friendly Neighbourhood checklist: a mixed-methods study

BackgroundA child health-friendly neighbourhood is defined as a neighbourhood where the child’s health is provided, protected and promoted. Designing and validation of an assessment tool is required to identify the...

Enhancing Conversations in Migrant Counseling Services: Designing for Trustworthy Human-AI Collaboration

Migrants often face a complex situation for navigating services and administrative processes to transition and integrate into a new environment. They rely on guidance from service advisors and informal peers like other migrants to assist them. Service advisors try to understand, explore, and resolve migrant concerns through conversational interaction, while often seeking advice from other domain experts. The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI)-mediated communication holds the potential for enhancing communication between migrants and service advisors while leveraging the expertise of service advisors and facilitating migrants' autonomy in the integration process. Our research investigates the social context, mental models, and challenges encountered in guidance counseling for migrants in Finland, while examining what role AI-mediated communication can play in supporting the process. Based on our findings, we propose design implications for improving shared understanding between service advisors and migrants through salient summarization of conversations and creating collaborative visual narratives. Our findings also indicate the crucial role of leveraging peer-based knowledge between (and within) service advisors, domain experts, and migrants, which can be facilitated by AI-based tools. Our exploratory research offers insights into human-centered AI integration in the migration process, as well as the opportunities and challenges of using AI-mediated communication to improve the migrant experience.

Service experience lies in the eye of the beholder: contextualizing extant literature toward integrating eye-tracking in service research

Purpose In spite of offering clear benefits and increased availability, relatively few service research studies rely on eye-tracking. Therefore, this paper aims to assist service researchers in harnessing the vast capabilities of eye-tracking technologies and methods for their own inquiries. Design/methodology/approach In addition to systematically reviewing extant research in the service domain and the wider marketing field with respect to the fundamentals and practices of eye-tracking, this paper presents a concise, empirical eye-tracking demonstration. These contributions suggest future outlooks for how to incorporate eye-tracking more effectively in service research. Findings The systematic literature review informs a comprehensive framework for integrating eye-tracking in service research that comprises research question focus regarding higher-order psychological constructs of interest, appropriate study settings, sample composition, optimal eye-tracking equipment and operationalization considerations. Research limitations/implications By establishing a common ground and recommended uses of eye-tracking for service research, this study equips service scholars with the knowledge they need regarding eye-tracking fundamentals, common practices and future outlooks. A simple, empirical example further demonstrates some options for unlocking the unique capabilities of eye-tracking in service research and uncovering the complexities inherent to service experiences and other core service concepts. Originality/value This paper compiles and contextualizes insights from existing eye-tracking research, which it uses to draw important lessons for deploying eye-tracking in service domains.

Web of shadows: Investigating malware abuse of internet services

Internet Web and cloud services are routinely abused by malware, but the breadth of this abuse has not been thoroughly investigated. In this work, we quantitatively investigate this abuse by leveraging data from the Cyber Threat Alliance (CTA), where 36 security vendors share threat intelligence. We analyze CTA data collected over 4 years from January 2020 until December 2023 comprising over one billion cyber-security observations from where we extract 7.7M URLs and 1.8M domains related to malware. We complement this dataset with an active measurement where we periodically attempt to download the content pointed out by 33,876 recently reported malicious URLs. We investigate the following questions. How generalized is malware abuse of Internet services? How do domains of abused Internet services differ? For what purpose are Internet services abused? and How long do malicious resources remain active? Among others, we uncover a broad abuse affecting 22K domains of Internet services, that Internet services are largely abused for enabling malware distribution, and that malicious content in Internet services remains active longer than on malicious domains.

RPA Demystified: How Software Robots are Revolutionizing Customer Service

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is revolutionizing customer service by introducing software robots capable of handling repetitive tasks with unprecedented efficiency and accuracy. This article explores the transformative impact of RPA on customer service operations, drawing parallels with everyday automation experiences to demystify the technology. Through case studies and empirical evidence, we examine how RPA streamlines processes such as data entry, ticket routing, and customer data retrieval, leading to significant improvements in operational efficiency and customer satisfaction. The article addresses common misconceptions about RPA, emphasizing its role as a complement to human workers rather than a replacement. We analyze the synergy between RPA and human customer service representatives, highlighting increased employee productivity and job satisfaction. The article also delves into the future prospects of RPA in customer service, including emerging trends like cognitive RPA, while discussing potential obstacles to widespread adoption and strategies for successful implementation. By presenting a comprehensive overview of RPA's capabilities, benefits, and challenges in the customer service domain, this article provides valuable insights for organizations seeking to enhance their customer service operations through automation.

Impact of E-Governance on Public Service Efficiency

This study examines the complex relationship between e-governance implementation and public service efficiency across diverse socio-economic contexts. Through a comprehensive review of recent literature, the research investigates how digital technologies reshape government operations and citizen interactions. The analysis reveals that while e-governance generally leads to improvements in service delivery, cost reduction, and increased transparency, these benefits vary significantly based on factors such as technological infrastructure, digital literacy, and specific service domains. The study challenges assumptions about immediate efficiency gains, particularly in developing countries where initial costs may increase due to the need for parallel traditional systems. The research emphasizes the importance of context-specific approaches, continuous evaluation, and addressing digital divide issues for successful e-governance implementation. These findings contribute to a nuanced understanding of e-governance's impact on public service efficiency, offering valuable insights for policymakers and public administrators navigating the digital transformation of government services.

Efficient management and compliance check of HVAC information in the building design phase using Semantic Web technologies

Several OWL ontologies have been developed for the AEC industry to manage domain-specific information, yet they often overlook the domain of building services and HVAC components. The Flow Systems Ontology was recently proposed to address this need, but it does not include HVAC components’ size and capacity-related properties. Also, despite their strengths in representing domain-specific knowledge, ontologies cannot efficiently identify poor data quality in BIM models. A four-fold contribution is made in this research paper to define and improve the data quality of HVAC information by (1) extending the existing Flow Systems Ontology, (2) proposing the new Flow Properties Ontology, (3) proposing an HVAC rule set for compliance checking, and (4), moreover, we use Semantic Web technologies to demonstrate the benefits of efficient HVAC data management when sizing components. The demonstration case shows that we can represent the data model in a distributed way, validate it using 36 SHACL shapes and use SPARQL to determine the pressure and flow rate of fans and pumps.

Implication of Financial Services Marketing: A Study with reference to Behavioral Economics

Abstract Purpose – It has been argued that the insights provided by behavioral economics have profound Implications for the study and practice of marketing. The purpose of this paper is to provide a detailed analysis of how such insights help enhance understanding of aspects of marketing and consumer behavior in financial services markets. Design/methodology/approach – This paper looks at various facets of behavioral economics Which it is felt provide particularly important and salient insights in the context of financial services. In particular, it studies loss aversion and prospect theory, status quo bias and defaults, framing and anchoring effects, hyperbolic discounting, availability effect and salience and over-confidence. In doing so, it provides a number of examples from the financial services context which provide insightful and informative insights for both commercial practitioners and policymakers. In each case, relevant phenomena are introduced and explained before providing a number of applications and examples from the financial services domain. Findings – The authors find that the insights afforded by behavioral economics are useful in helping to explain various aspects of consumer behavior in financial services markets. It is shown that an understanding of the implications of behavioral economics may help in fashioning a choice architecture that is more likely to bring the desired consumer response, from either a commercial or policymaking perspective. Practical implications – This analysis provides important insights for those responsible for the Marketing of financial services, policymakers in the financial services domain, third sector agencies seeking to foster greater engagement with financial services and other interested parties. Originality/value – The paper adds value by drawing together various aspects of behavioral Economics, providing an analysis of their relevance to financial services marketing and offering Numerous examples and applications. Keywords-: Financial services, Behavioral economics, Consumer behavior in financial services, Marketing Paper type-: Conceptual paper

Library Social Services: How Relevant Are Social Services to the Existing Library Missions?

ABSTRACTGiven the increasing prevalence of patrons with diverse social, physical, and psychological needs, public libraries are beginning to explore ways to address these community needs by offering social services. However, questions remain about whether social services should be part of the library's service domain and how libraries can effectively fulfill these needs. This poster presents insights from community members and librarians on the relevance of integrating social services into library missions, offering implications for a potential library social service.

Text analytics and new service development: a hybrid thematic analysis with systematic literature review approach

PurposeThis study addresses the gap in understanding text analytics within the service domain, focusing on new service development to provide insights into key research themes and trends in text analytics approaches to service development. It explores the benefits and challenges of implementing these approaches and identifies potential research opportunities for future service development. Importantly, this study offers insights to assist service providers to make data-driven decisions for developing new services and optimising existing ones.Design/methodology/approachThis research introduces the hybrid thematic analysis with a systematic literature review (SLR-TA). It delves into the various aspects of text analytics in service development by analysing 124 research papers published from 2012 to 2023. This approach not only identifies key practical applications but also evaluates the benefits and difficulties of applying text analytics in this domain, thereby ensuring the reliability and validity of the findings.FindingsThe study highlights an increasing focus on text analytics within the service industry over the examined period. Using the SLR-TA approach, it identifies eight themes in previous studies and finds that “Service Quality” had the most research interest, comprising 42% of studies, while there was less emphasis on designing new services. The study categorises research into four types: Case, Concept, Tools and Implementation, with case studies comprising 68% of the total.Originality/valueThis study is groundbreaking in conducting a thorough and systematic analysis of a broad collection of articles. It provides a comprehensive view of text analytics approaches in the service sector, particularly in developing new services and service innovation. This study lays out distinct guidelines for future research and offers valuable insights to foster research recommendations.

The integration and challenges of digital economy with the tourism industry: Evidence from the Yellow River Basin in China

As the global economic landscape evolves, the digital economy becomes a central domain, gradually deepening and widening its confluence with diverse fields. This study aims to systematically explain the intricacies and dynamics of the amalgamation of the digital economy with tourism within the Yellow River Basin. The study builds an evaluative framework based on integrative development mechanisms; this study measures the combined development between the tourism industry and the digital economy between 2011 and 2021. After this quantification, it delves into their unified growth spatiotemporal nuances and discerns impediments based on an obstacle degree analysis. As far as development is concerned, a paradigm of “dual-track convergence” is observed in the Basin, showcasing the gradual ascension of digitalization and diversification of tourism. Regarding the coupling coordination degree (CCD), the nexus between the two exhibits temporal dynamics of a “spiral ascent followed by a transient descent” and a spatial “U-shaped differentiation,” undoubtedly reflecting the vivacity and heterogeneity inherent in their integration.Regarding impediments, the analysis reveals a multifaceted dynamism of barriers across various strata. Systemically, the tourism sector encounters escalating hindrances, with digital infrastructure and market breadth constituting predominant sectoral bottlenecks. On the indicator plane, critical limiting factors include tourism's foreign exchange earnings, the influx of inbound tourists, the proliferation of web pages, e-commerce turnover, and the count of corporate entities within the software and information technology services domain. This study is based on the theory of collaborative development and offers nuanced recommendations by dissecting the co-progress of tourism and the digital economy. The insights tendered herein profoundly impact China and the global community in fostering the common proliferation in both fields.

Examining Behavioral Intention to Use Mobile Government Services in Bangladesh: An Empirical View

Purpose: This study aims to identify factors influencing users’ behavioural intentions towards mobile government services. Methodology: We develop a research model with information quality, interaction quality, perceived value, power distance, and perceived compatibility. The structural equation modeling method was used to analyze the data collected through an online survey of 301 participants who are mobile government service users in Bangladesh. Findings: The results of this study show that information quality, interaction quality, perceived value, and perceived compatibility have significant and positive influences on behavioural intention to use mobile government services. Practical Implications: This research identified users' specific requirements and expectations about government services, and the necessary actions that the government should take in the event of dissatisfaction among the public. Moreover, the results indicate that giving users succinct and uncomplicated information suitable for standard mobile phones will motivate them to use mobile government services. Originality/Value: This study significantly contributes to information systems literature, particularly in the domain of mobile government services. Researchers developed an integrated model with the relevant dimensions of mobile government services, explaining the variation in the behavioural intention of mobile government services. Limitations: This research has some limitations. Initially, this investigation was confined only to the geographical boundaries of Bangladesh. Furthermore, the study model considers a limited number of factors that impact individuals' behaviour about their intention to use mobile government services. Most of the respondents are under the 20-30 age range; hence, the conclusions may not be relevant for older individuals.

Fit Entropy-Based Dynamic Communication Resource Slicing-Optimization Method in Smart Distribution Grids on the Medium-Low-Voltage Side.

With the rapid development of new energy and smart technology, the demand for inter-device communication in medium-low-voltage smart distribution grids has sharply increased, leading to a surge in the variety and quantity of communication services. To meet the needs of diverse and massive communication services, deploying service function chains to flexibly combine virtual resources has become crucial. This paper proposes an optimization method based on fit entropy and network utility to address the limited communication network resources in medium-low-voltage smart distribution grids. This was conducted by modeling the distribution grid as a three-domain model consisting of a service domain, a logical domain, and a physical domain and transforming it into a hierarchical bipartite hypergraph-matching problem, which is a complex combinatorial optimization problem. This paper introduces two matching optimization algorithms: "business domain-logic domain-physical domain integration" and "service domain-logic domain, logic domain-physical domain two-stage", which effectively address this problem based on fit entropy and utility. The simulation results demonstrate that these algorithms significantly improve service success rates and resource utilization, enhancing overall network utility.

Experience of health care utilization for inpatient and outpatient services among older adults in India

BackgroundPatient experiences have not been documented at all India level among older adults for inpatient and outpatient services. We provide all-India and sub national estimates on six domains of patient experience, namely: waiting time, respectful treatment, clarity of explanation provided, privacy during consultation, treated by provider of choice, and cleanliness of facility. MethodsUnit records of adults aged 45 years and above for their inpatient (n = 4330) or outpatient (n = 33,724) service use were assessed from the Longitudinal Ageing Survey of India (LASI), conducted in 2017-18. We identified patient experience as negative if the respondent rated it as either “Bad” or “Very Bad” on a five-point Likert scale. We computed proportion of negative experience by socio-economic status, geographic location, and type of healthcare facilities. We used binary logistic regression to estimate predictors of negative patient experience, and a three-level logistic regression model to partition the total geographic variation of patient experiences. FindingsMost individuals rated their experience in all six domains as “Good”. Negative experiences were higher among patients who used public facilities, specifically for waiting time and cleanliness of facility. Among inpatients, the higher-than-average negative experience was noted in the north and northwest, while among outpatients, it was higher in the northeast. The largest geographic variation in negative patient experience was attributable to the villages/CEBs for all domains in outpatient services and three domains of inpatient services, whereas states accounted for the other three inpatient domains. InterpretationMajority of older adults rated their experience of healthcare use positively, but less for public health facilities.

The impact of Fintech innovations on digital currency adoption: a blockchain-based study in India

Purpose The purpose of this study is to integrate customer value theory (CVT) and protection motivation theory (PMT) to understand the factors that have an impact on customer experience, e-trust and intention to recommend, which influence the adoption behaviour of digital currency users. Design/methodology/approach A purposive sampling technique was used, and data were gathered through an online survey of 414 respondents. The measurement and structural models were tested using partial least squares structural equation modelling to establish linkages between the constructs. Findings Functional, emotional and social values positively impact customer experience. Furthermore, perceived severity, perceived vulnerability, response efficacy and self-efficacy had a positive impact on e-trust. E-trust positively affects customer experience and intention to use the digital currency directly. The study demonstrated that perceived value and protection motivation factors play a significant role in influencing the use of digital currency. Practical implications For managers and policymakers interested in the Indian digital currency market, it is suggested that functional utility and emotional and social benefits can enhance user satisfaction. In an e-trust model, user education to increase risk and protection awareness, effectiveness of responses and self-efficacy are critical to building e-trust. Originality/value Building on CVT and PMT’s usage in the broader financial services domain, this research empirically confirms the significance of perceived value and protection motivation factors while adopting digital currency. It provides an extensive and multifaceted approach to comprehending customer involvement and trust in digital financial services, thus enhancing the theoretical and empirical knowledge of both the fintech and blockchain industries.

Forever I am yours: the interrelationship between service brand love, psychological contracts and customer switching barriers in the banking industry

PurposeThis study aims to examine the influence of dimensions of the psychological contract on strengthening customers' switching barriers through the mediating role of service brand love.Design/methodology/approachThe study used a cross-sectional survey research design to collect data from 406 respondents from commercial banks in the banking industry. A quantitative approach using structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data collected through structured questionnaires.FindingsThe findings revealed that dimensions of the psychological contract, namely, ideological, transactional and relational psychological contract, significantly influence the strengthening of customers' switching barriers when mediated by service brand love.Practical implicationsManagers should consider adopting high-intensity relationship approaches that go beyond mere customer satisfaction to ensure customer retention.Originality/valueWhile customer retention remains the primary avenue for establishing competitive advantages, there remain unresolved issues regarding what determines customers’ intentions to stay or switch. This study represents one of the initial endeavors to explore the psychological contract within the context of the service industry. It contributes to the existing knowledge by enhancing the understanding of the mechanisms that can impact customers' switching barriers and complements the literature on customer retention in the service domain.

Great remains great, weak becomes weaker? Examining the influence of platform’s signaling cues on provider performance

In the evolving domain of access-based services characterized by intricate multi-actor interactions, understanding the determinants of provider performance is vital. This study investigates the moderating role of platform-based signaling cues on the relationship between customer experience (CX) and provider performance. We utilize a mixed-methods approach, integrating text mining to quantify CX from customer reviews and panel data fixed-effects regression to assess performance outcomes. Our findings reveal an asymmetry in the impact of CX based on platform signals: non-signaled providers suffer more from negative experiences than their signaled counterparts, while positive experiences do not exhibit a differential impact. Interestingly, customer-reviewed ratings dampen the adverse effects of negative CX, serving as a substitute for platform endorsement. Moreover, high dispersion in customer feedback enhances the benefits of positive CX for signaled providers. These insights offer actionable strategies for access-based companies to optimize customer touchpoints and foster enhanced service delivery.

Customer service chatbot enhancement with attention-based transfer learning

Customer service is an important and expensive aspect of business, often being the largest department in most companies. With growing societal acceptance and increasing cost efficiency due to mass production, service robots are beginning to cross from the industrial domain to the social domain. Currently, customer service robots tend to be digital and emulate social interactions through on-screen text, but state-of-the-art research points towards physical robots soon providing customer service in person. This article explores the feasibility of Transfer Learning different customer service domains to improve chatbot models. In our proposed approach, transfer learning-based chatbot models are initially assigned to learn one domain from an initial random weight distribution. Each model is then tasked with learning another domain by transferring knowledge from the previous domains. To evaluate our approach, a range of 19 companies from domains such as e-Commerce, telecommunications, and technology are selected through social interaction with X (formerly Twitter) customer support accounts. The results show that the majority of models are improved when transferring knowledge from at least one other domain, particularly those more data-scarce than others. General language transfer learning is observed, as well as higher-level transfer of similar domain knowledge. For each of the 19 domains, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test suggests that 16 have statistically significant distributions between transfer and non-transfer learning. Finally, feasibility is explored for the deployment of chatbot models to physical robot platforms including “Pepper”, a semi-humanoid robot manufactured by SoftBank Robotics, and “Temi”, a personal assistant robot.

Trends in the availability of comprehensive services within outpatient substance use treatment facilities from 2018 to 2022

ABSTRACT Background: Little is known regarding the extent to which substance use disorder (SUD) treatment facilities adopt comprehensive services to meet patients’ medical and social needs. Objective: To examine trends in the availability of comprehensive services within outpatient SUD treatment facilities from 2018 to 2022. Methods: We used data from the Mental Health and Addiction Treatment Tracking Repository, a national database of SUD treatment facilities (n = 13,793). We examined the availability of four domains of comprehensive services and four types of SUD treatment services from 2018 to 2022. We conducted bivariate and multivariate logistic regression predicting the availability of a comprehensive service model (defined as having at least one service from each service domain), controlling for organizational and community characteristics. Results: Comprehensive services were increasingly offered from 2018 to 2022. In unadjusted and adjusted models, facilities which were externally accredited (OR: 1.50; 95%CI: 1.30–1.74), accepted Medicaid (OR: 1.51; 95%CI: 1.30–1.74), performed community outreach (OR: 2.05; 95%CI: 1.80–2.33), provided naloxone and overdose education (OR: 3.50; 95%CI: 3.06–3.99), had a robust SUD treatment infrastructure (OR: 2.33; 95%CI; 2.08–2.62), and were located in a county with a lower percentage of White residents (OR: 0.99; 95%CI: 0.99–0.99), a higher percentage of residents in poverty (OR: 1.02; 95%CI: 1.00–1.03), and the Northeast compared with the South (OR: 1.21; 95%CI: 1.01–1.45), had significantly higher odds of adopting a comprehensive service model. Conclusion: Findings highlight the importance of factors reflecting experience with organizational change efforts and enhanced external support. Policymakers working to enhance the uptake of comprehensive services should focus on obtaining the financial and technical support necessary to develop these models.