Operations Management activities and operational performance in service firms

Abstract

Recent years have witnessed a surge of interest in the application of operations management practices in a service context. This recognition, has, in turn, placed an emphasis on the question of where and how operations management related activities have influenced the operational performance of service firms. Our paper attempts to address this question. Drawing from the responses of a sample of 190 Australian service firms, our results suggest that the performance of a service firm is influenced significantly by operations scheduling, service process, and work measurement. Also, we found that service process has the strongest bearing on a firm's performance. Copyright © 2007 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.