Editorial

Citation

Evardsson, B. (2008), "Editorial", International Journal of Service Industry Management, Vol. 19 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijsim.2008.08519eaa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: International Journal of Service Industry Management, Volume 19, Issue 5

I have been the editor for almost four years and have felt that the time has come to make some changes to further develop the International Journal of Service Industry Management. This editorial focuses on a position statement and a new name of the journal. The new name from January 2009 is the Journal of Service Management ( JOSM). The re-title coincides with the 20th anniversary of the launch of the journal and the move onto the Manuscript Central online submission and review system.

I invited the members of the International Editorial Advisory Board to be part of a dialogue to further improve the quality of the journal and the ISI rating. We had a meeting in San Francisco at the Service Frontiers conference in October 2007. Many suggested a new name that better reflects the focus of the journal and a more clear positioning on management issues in the creation of value through service in not only traditional service companies but also in manufacturing companies being in transition from products to service offerings. We have agreed on a new name and after discussions with Emerald the decision was taken to support this important step in developing this leading service journal to become even more highly rated. As a result of the change the ISSN will change to 1757-5818, however it will still be possible to search the journal articles via online databases as before.

I am also very pleased to announce that the Thomson Reuters (ISI) impact factor has once again increased from 0.540 in 2006 to 0.804 in 2007. This is a 49 per cent rise.

Positioning statement

As the economies across the world have become more service-oriented, so has the importance of studying and understanding the challenges faced by managers and executives charged with running service organizations. Such challenges arise not only in the traditional service businesses of hospitality and retailing, but also in information, engineering, health care, consulting, governmental, not-for-profit, and services in manufacturing companies.

The mission of this journal is to add theoretically anchored, empirically validated research to the understanding of service and its effective management. The journal will publish articles that make important contributions and add value to the knowledge base of a science of service.

The aim of the journal is to provide a communication medium for all who are interested in the study of management of service and service organizations, irrespective of discipline, functional area, sector or nationality. JOSM is positioned as a leading scholarly journal with a truly global and trans-disciplinary perspective on service management. Contributions to this journal are especially welcomed from academics, but practitioners are also encouraged to contribute. Research rigor and managerial relevance are both emphasized. The main requirement for the acceptance of an article in JOSM is that it makes an original research contribution to service management research. JOSM prefers manuscripts that span disciplines and that include substantiation from all relevant literatures.

The journal is open for contributions from academic disciplines such as management, service marketing, information management, operations management, psychology, human resources management, leadership and computer science. The journal welcomes empirical, theoretical and conceptual papers as well as scholarly literature overviews and debate articles. A range of research designs are encouraged including qualitative-, quantitative-, explorative- and case-based research addressing managerial issues in new ways.

The journal covers many different areas and topics such as:

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  the management and leadership of service employees, their emotions, and their effective performance in service co-production and customer relationships;

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  management of the customer as co-creator and a resource in value creation;

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  motivating service employees;

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  the organization of service structures and cultures;

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  managing an effective service climate;

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  justice and ethics in service organization and management;

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  the management of human resources in service including employee selection, training, evaluation, and reward systems;

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  service system planning, design, and evaluation;

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  creating, managing, and sustaining an effective service strategy;

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  managing alliances and strategic partners in the service value chain;

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  service information system management;

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  entrepreneurship in service organizations;

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  managing the service environment and service setting;

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  value creation across the service-profit chain;

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  management and assessment of the service encounter and service experiences;

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  management of service quality, complaints management and service recovery;

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  management of customer satisfaction, loyalty and profitability;

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  new service development, innovation and design;

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  technology infusion in service and self-service based on technology;

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  service networks, internationalization of service and service outsourcing;

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  service infusion and service logic in manufacturing companies;

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  capacity management, queuing, and yield management;

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  effective service management practices and service organization effectiveness; and

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  service productivity.

JOSM recognizes every year:

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  the best article selected by the review board; and

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  the best reviewer selected by the editor based on number and quality of reviews completed, as well as the speed of completion.

Changing a name of an established journal is not easy and possible without a lot of work and support from Emerald and all who are involved in the journal. A new name must be combined with marketing activities and this is what Emerald and I have planned.

We now urge all of you connected to the journal, be it as an Editorial Advisory Board member, reviewer, author or reader to help us to spread the word about the new name.

Bo Evardsson