Lerzan Aksoy, Fordham University/New York, and Bart Lariviere, Ghent University/Belgium, will lead SERVSIG in the next two years as new Co-Chairs of the Board. To get to know them better, Linda Nasr interviewed both for the SERVSIG newsletter.
Please tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Lerzan: I live in New Jersey just outside of New York City with my husband Tim Keiningham and our 5 year old son Max! I feel very fortunate to have a loving family and a career that is so fulfilling. I first came to the United States as a Fulbright scholar and completed the PhD program in marketing at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. After completing my PhD, I started my academic career at Koc University in Istanbul, Turkey. In 2008, I returned to the USA and joined Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business. I love what I do for a living. I get to explore research questions that address challenges managers are facing, keep in touch with my students even after they graduate, and most recently I get to learn a little about what it takes to keep a business school going by taking on some additional administrative responsibilities as associate dean of the undergraduate program at the Gabelli School of Business. Although this means that I don’t get as much free time as I would like, whenever I can do it, I love cooking, spending time with friends and family, traveling and discovering new places. Also, contrary to common stereotypes I am an excellent driver and parallel parker—in fact, my husband will even get out of the driver’s seat so that I can park the car for him. Working in bustling cities like Istanbul and now New York City, this skill gets a lot of use.
Bart: I am passionate about two things: my family and my work. I live in Belgium, in a lovely city called Dendermonde (located somewhere within the triangle of Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent) together with Isabelle and our two boys – Nicolas (6) and Olivier (4). Although I am a workaholic, I am also a family person. I have one brother, Kris, who is a sales rep for a firm called 4Consulting that is specialized in customer relationship management. Kris is a big supporter of my work. In fact, he and our mother joined me during the 2009 Frontiers in Service Conference in Hawaii, where I received my first awards ever (Best Paper Finalist in the Journal of Service Research Paper, and the Best Practitioner Presentation Award). Before we had children, Isabelle used to join me at conferences. Hopefully, when our children get a little older, we can restart that tradition so that you can meet her. As you can probably tell by now, my family is very important to me. It is because of their unconditional love and support that I am able to live my dream as an academic researcher and teacher. My “academic” family is based in Ghent, where we founded the Center for Service Intelligence (CSI). We collaborate with various scholars in Belgium and internationally. One of our success stories is the creation of the Let’s Talk About Service (LTAS) workshop in collaboration with the University of Namur (Wafa Hammedi) and Antwerp University (Annouk Lievens). I am very proud of each member of my “academic” family, and am grateful for everything they have done to make our team successful.
What attracted you to marketing/services as a discipline of study?
Bart: I obtained my first master’s degree in marketing, second in marketing analysis, and a PhD in marketing modeling. I was attracted to the marketing discipline, as I related it to people trying to understand and deliver what other people might benefit from. I was intrigued by this customer-centric way of doing business. I wanted to know more about it, and soon found out that I liked how data and statistics can support finding solutions to marketing questions. I conducted my PhD in collaboration with AXA financial services, and, as such, entered the service field by studying topics like customer satisfaction, complaints, and loyalty by linking it to real purchase and churn data while applying sophisticated modeling techniques. When I submitted my first “service” article to the Journal of Service Research, and met Lerzan Aksoy and Tim Keiningham for the first time in Groningen in 2006, my real “service field” adventure began. In sum, it all started with marketing. Marketing is my roots, but the service field is where the flower has bloomed. This is where I belong and feel at home.
Lerzan: My marketing professor at college had a big influence on this decision. It was the very first marketing course I took and I knew very quickly this was where I wanted to focus my career and that I wanted to become an academic in this field. Shortly after I finished the doctoral program, I had the chance to work on research in service management. I quickly fell in love with the service field. It is a community of brilliant, kind people who genuinely want to make the work a better place, and working hard to make it so. There is no better place I want to be.
How do you describe your experience as SERVSIG member? What do you like the most about SERVSIG?
Bart and Lerzan: From the very first moment you feel very welcome in SERVSIG. Everyone is nice, supportive and there is a sincere interest in your work. It is a community where people help each other, and celebrate the successes of one another. What we like most so far is the informal and fun culture, the people we have met, the discussions we have had, events we have organized, founded and co-created, and the fulfillment and happiness that comes from working on something that is inspiring and helpful to others.
Tell us briefly about your previous role(s) within SERVSIG?
Lerzan: The first time I was part of a SERVSIG event was when I was invited to be a speaker at the doctoral consortium in Taiwan. Following the consortium I was asked by Werner Kunz to become a SERVSIG mentoring officer (2014-2016) which I happily accepted. I then co-organized two SERVSIG doctoral consortiums: one in Miami (2014) and the other in San Jose (2015). It was a wonderful experience!
Bart: I was privileged to be the SERVSIG Mentoring Officer (2014-2016). My main responsibilities were to shape and organize events for the youngest SERVSIG members. Based on prior participants’ feedback, we revamped the format of the doctoral consortium preceding the Frontiers in Service Conference. We extended the breakout sessions and made them more interactive. In addition, I am one of the founders of the Let’s Talk About Service (LTAS) two-day workshop that is designed to introduce young scholars to the wonderful world of service research and to guide them through their PhD journey (from fresh PhD Students to early career starter). LTAS is empowered by SERVSIG.
How do you feel about being the new SERVSIG co-chairs?
Lerzan and Bart: We are grateful and thrilled beyond words. We also understand that it is both a great honor and a great responsibility. SERVSIG has become a well-known brand with a clear brand image of connecting people, empowering and aiding service researchers, and helping to shape the service field of the future. We are both very committed to doing the best job we possibly can. We have also known each other for more than 10 years, published articles together, and also co-chaired the 2015 doctoral consortium in San José. We feel privileged to join forces and collaborate with the SERVSIG board and each member of our community as we work toward reaching our goals!
What would be your major goal(s) as SERVSIG co-chair?
Lerzan and Bart: Starting with the SERVSIG founder Ray Fisk, past SERVSIG chairs, leaders and board members have done a terrific job in shaping SERVSIG to become what it is today. So we are in the fortunate position of building on something great. Our first goal is to continue to grow and diversify the member base of SERVSIG globally without losing the community feel that characterizes SERVSIG. The interdisciplinary nature of our field offers a unique opportunity to attract scholars currently outside of our field and to find new ways to engage them. Our second goal is to reinforce the connection between academic excellence and business relevance by finding ways to disseminate knowledge to broader audiences through (new) SERVSIG platforms. Finally we will continue to expand the way in which we connect people, events, and ideas, as well as develop potential new revenue models that allow SERVSIG to do even more for the community. We are convinced that SERVSIG is in an ideal position to increase its visibility and impact.
If you had not gone into marketing/academia, what would have been your alternative career?
Bart: Teacher in an elementary school… I have some great memories of one of my teachers (Mr. Cochez) who was playing the guitar while singing songs with us on Friday afternoons. By serving young people in such a way, you don’t just bring them “cognitive” knowledge; you also teach them something about the things that really matter in life: friendship, honesty, persistence and teamwork.
Lerzan: I always dreamed of becoming an architect and creating designs for innovative buildings. As a child, my parents would indulge me and take me to visit locations where I could observe and admire beautiful structures. I was also an avid follower of architectural magazines.
What about you surprises new students and/or colleagues?
Lerzan: That I am a “Global Nomad”. I am originally from Turkey but was born in Santiago, Chile and spent most of my life moving from one place to another. I have lived in Mexico, Jordan, Pakistan, and Cyprus in addition to Turkey and the USA.
Bart: I asked them, and here is what they said: “Bart is supportive and emotionally involved in mentoring his PhD students, although he provides sharp feedback”, “Bart always puts our interests/careers first, and his own interests/career second”, “He always involves the team in any important decision he makes, by co-creating value for the entire team”, “He did not mention that he was considering to leave academia anymore for more than 3 years”, “he/we can talk for hours… so keep this in mind, when you enter his office to just say hello”.
Coffee or Tea? And how do you take it?
Bart: “Coffee, milk, no sugar” and I would love to take my coffee with a slice of cake, some cookies or Belgian chocolates – or even all of them J
Lerzan: Tea brewed in a traditional “Turkish style”, sugar and served in the classic hourglass shaped tea glasses. It’s the taste of home.
