Service innovators

Citation

Kandampully, J. (2006), "Service innovators", Managing Service Quality: An International Journal, Vol. 16 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/msq.2006.10816aaa.001

Service innovators

Service firms that foresee their role as true service innovators do so not merely in the pursuit of a competitive advantage, but to assume a leadership role within their industry that is not founded on profit alone. In the past, we have seen many examples of firms that have risen to this challenge and established themselves as service innovators. For example, Federal Express used the hand-held “super tracker” system to create a new global standard in logistics, providing its customers with the ultimate peace of mind that ensues from being able to track every 30 minutes of the journey of their package. Similarly, Dell’s direct model revolutionized the computer industry by offering custom built computers. Service innovators are those firms that, prior to recognized market needs, lead the way in creating innovative services for the benefit of their customers – from which the firms themselves will benefit in the long term.

MSQ is introducing a new series of articles that examine service innovators. In this issue, the innovator being considered is Singapore Airlines: Heracleous and Wirtz discuss how Singapore Airlines, in collaboration with Singapore Changi Airport, have adopted the science of Biometrics to set a new standard of service excellence within the aviation industry.

Jay Kandampully