A Multidisciplinary Design Model for New Service Offering Transfers and Internal Integration in Retail Chain Services

Abstract

Service science proposes a multidisciplinary approach to analyzing services. Models of internal integration have been studied extensively in operations management and organizational design research. However, there are few applications of these multidisciplinary models to study retail chain service environments, where knowledge transfer of a new service offering must be communicated and transferred to remote service operators who are primarily responsible for effective execution. This paper explores how to mitigate new service offering `stickiness` through an organizational design system that leverages information and communication technologies to promote internal integration practices and operational consensus in retail chain services. Furthermore, this paper offers a multidisciplinary framework of internal integration and several researchable propositions to advance scholarly service science research that will influence retail service practice.