Service Management: An Integrated Approach to Supply Chain Management and Operations

1. The Important Role Services Play in an Economy

1.1. Introduction

There has been a surge of interest in all aspects of service management in recent times. Many books, articles, and research papers on services and service management have appeared in popular and academic business literature starting in the 1980s and continue to be published today. The impetus for this phenomenon can be traced back to two major developments in recent history. First, the quality movement that started in the 1980s had brought most consumers, news media, and academicians to the realization that the overall quality of services in the United States was not ideal, acceptable, or competitive in the international markets. Second, the fact that services no longer formed ...