Digital service technologies, service robots, AI, and the strategic pathways to cost-effective service excellence

ABSTRACT Recent research has shown that the trade-off between customer satisfaction and productivity can be mitigated through three strategic pathways: the (1) operations management (OM) approach, (2) focused service factory, and (3) dual culture strategy, which allow firms to achieve cost-effective service excellence (CESE). We advance that these strategies are also excellent enablers for the development, implementation, and use of digital service technologies, service robots, and artificial intelligence (AI). First, the OM approach reduces process variations in service delivery, creating opportunities for leveraging technology to automate processes. Second, the focused service factory strategy enables high volumes of largely identical service transactions with minimized customer-induced variability, easing service automation. Third, the dual culture strategy ensures that digital automation is firmly customer-centric and achieves service excellence. We advance a set of propositions and research questions aimed at stimulating research at the intersection of the two streams of literature on digital service technologies and CESE.