The Evolution and Future of Services: Building A Multidisciplinary Field

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The Evolution and Future of ServicesBuilding A
Multidisciplinary Field

• by
• Raymond P. Fisk
• Texas State University - San Marcos
• and
• Stephen J. Grove
• Clemson University
• Ray.Fisk_at_txstate.edu

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Evolution of the Services Marketing Field
Walking Erect
Scurrying About
Crawling Out
1980-1985
Pre-1980s
1986-1992
Source Fisk, Brown and Bitner (1993)
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Evolution of Services Marketing

• Crawling Out (Pre 1980)
• Early services marketing work was
  conceptual/theoretical.
• Goods Marketing vs. Services Marketing Debate
• Shostack (1977) Breaking Free From Product
  Marketing.
• Berry (1980) Services Marketing is Different.
• Scurrying About (1980-1985)
• More services research was published.
• Literature was still mostly conceptual.
• Literature was beginning to move beyond goods vs.
  services issues.
• Enthusiasm centered around AMA Services Marketing
  Conferences.
• Emergence of a core group of academics business
  practitioners.
• Walking Erect (19851992)
• Increasing number of services scholars.
• Explosive growth in the literature
• Acceptance of services research by major journals
• More dissertations
• More textbooks
• Academic events in Europe
• Creation of academic centers

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Recent Stages of Services Evolution
Building Community
Creating Language
Making Tools
2000-Now
1992-2000
The Future
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Making Tools (1993-2000)

• More quantitative research - measurement,
  statistics, and decision support modeling.
• Broadening, deepening and sharpening of the
  research.
• Continued globalization and multidisciplinary
  research.
• Expanding topic areas
• service design delivery
• service experiences
• service quality customer satisfaction
• service recovery
• modeling measurement
• technology infusion

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Creating Language (2000-Now)

• Services Marketing is Becoming the Language of
  Marketing
• Services rather than goods are fundamental to
  economic exchange - Vargo Lusch (2004)
• Global Language
• Services marketing has always been a global
  field, but it is expanding rapidly.
• Expansion of literature worldwide
• More conferences and centers worldwide
• Transdisciplinary Language
• IBMs Service Science, Management, Engineering
  (SSME) Initiative

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Building Community (The Future)

• An eclectic, multidisciplinary approach is
  required.
• No discipline can provide complete solutions.
• The centers of disciplines are more important
  than their boundaries.
• Inclusiveness is essential.
• Power sharing is essential.
• No discipline, organization, or country should
  dominate.

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A Big Tent for T-Shaped People

• Service Arts
• Service Management
• Service Engineering
• Service Science
• Service Performance - the center pole that
  unifies the disciplines.
• T-Shaped people are needed to link and unite
  these disciplines.
• Breadth and depth are essential.
• A friendly ethos is essential.

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Service Collaboration

• Our modern communications era (especially the
  Internet) vastly reduces the barriers to
  collaboration.
• Multidisciplinary social networks are needed that
  capitalize on these technologies.
• Need to move from silos of knowledge to webs of
  knowledge.
• The customer must be part of the conversation!