Innovations and Change in Service Industry Management

Dear Colleagues,

Service industries continue to lead the economic development of nations, and the competitive advantage is increasingly underpinned by service innovations. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is a major inflection point for service industries. It simultaneously presents grave uncertainties and great opportunities for enterprises in the services sector. Service processes and spaces are redesigned for our smart machines to play greater roles in service delivery. Both the smartness of these machines and the way they are deployed to create synergic and delightful human–machine interactions will qualitatively change the value of services. That said, there are certain services where authenticity is vital, and traditional human touch will continue to determine competitive advantage. Even then, innovations that amplify authentic customer experiences while lowering the cost of service are important.

With shifts in labor markets primarily triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and the great resignation that followed, with few exceptions, services are no longer known for low-paying jobs. The brave new model of services promises a better balance between work and leisure and also a greater portability of human skills between different service industry operations. The latter is made possible by the interfacing layer of service technologies used commonly in different industries that bridges any gaps in how service knowledge is applied differently in different industries.

Another major driver of change is the servicification of manufacturing. There is a layer of service that manufacturers routinely add to their tangible products. In certain cases, such as in software-as-a-service, there are additional complexities in understanding distinctions between manufacturing and services. Theoretical nuances go much further when we try to model services in the metaverse. All these call for a renewed and refreshed understanding of services science and practices.

In this backdrop, the editors seek high-quality manuscript submissions highlighting how service enterprises and industries are transforming. Both empirical papers and literature-review-based articles are welcome. Manuscripts could touch upon one or more service industries (hospitality, tourism, gaming, transport, healthcare, banking, financial services, telecommunication, entertainment, media, information technology, energy, and retail, among others) or even non-industrialized services such as government and community services. There is a progressively greater presence of nonprofits in the services sphere and their activities could also constitute the focus of submissions. Some indicative topics, neither exclusive nor exhaustive, are listed below:

• Artificial intelligence in services;
• Blockchains, digital currencies, and services;
• Changing nature of competitive advantage in service industries;
• Changing nature of service consumer behavior;
• Conceptualizing services 4.0;
• Co-production of service experiences;
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion in service employment;
• Emerging models of service design and delivery;
• International and cross-cultural contrasts in services;
• International differences in services;
• Internet of Things as a service enabler;
• Metaverse and the virtualization of services;
• New service skills and future of employability in service industries;
• Performance and emotional labor in smart services;
• Service analytics and methodologies;
• Supply chain innovations in service industries;
• Service sustainability;
• Smart technologies and business models in services;
• Technological entrepreneurship in services;
• Technology and human touch in value creation in services;
• The future of tradition and authenticity in services;
• The role of service robots;
• Trends in service outsourcing.

Dr. Babu George
Dr. V.T Bindu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Administrative Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• service industries
• innovation
• technology
• future
• tourism
• hospitality
• retail
• banking
• healthcare
• entertainment
• energy
• artificial intelligence
• blockchain
• supply chain
• sustainability
• robots