Construction of a Service Classification: Comparisons of Process Selection and Strategic Fit

Service industries have grown at a phenomenal pace over the last 100 years. The development of tools to better understand and compare service operations makes an important contribution to our knowledge of services from both an academic and a practical perspective. In an effort to better understand and compare services, researchers have developed a number of tools such as frameworks and classifications to facilitate the understanding of service operations issues; to help services learn from each other through cross-fertilization of ideas and increased understanding of appropriate management methods; develop meaningful strategies and guidelines for service marketing and operations; and explore general principles and provide insights for the improvement of management. Many of the existing service classifications have either focused on marketing oriented dimensions or operational oriented dimensions. Few classifications exist in the service operations literature that links the service product characteristics, the service process characteristics and the underlying implications of alternative process choices and their strategic implications. This paper explores how service product dimensions can be utilized to generate a classification based on dimensions previously found in the literature but uniquely combined in this paper. This service product matrix classifies services along two dimensions: 1) the focus of the service and 2) the rental characteristic. While these two service product dimensions have been identified in the existing literature, they have not previously been defined and combined as they are in the classification scheme presented. The focus of the service includes three classifications defined as information-processing, possession-processing, and people-processing. The rental characteristic also includes three classifications defined as place, space, expertise/labor. These six dimensions are crossed to create nine service product categories which are utilized to highlight how the service delivery process alters across these categories. The service delivery process was broadly categorized (simple routine services, flexible routine services, adaptive services, and integrated services) based on the number of interrelated services offered and the degree to which the service ranged from transactional to experiential. Additionally, the possibility for off-diagonal service processes was discussed and incorporated into the model. An overview of key functional areas of the generic service delivery processes is identified based on characteristics of the service product; characteristics of the service interaction; characteristics of the delivery process; characteristics of investment and cost; and characteristics of the infrastructure. Then, the service delivery process is viewed through the lens of each service product category and similarities, differences and trade-offs across these categories are highlighted and discussed. This discussion illustrates the shift in focus for the service process delivery based upon each unique service product category. Further discussion demonstrates that the service process model can be used to evaluate and strategically analyze service operations in four areas: 1) the fit between marketing and service delivery operations; 2) the current market position; 3) the competitive arena; and 4) strategic repositioning.