The “SERVSIG Best Services Article Award” is presented annually by SERVSIG to the author(s) of the best article in the services literature published during the previous calendar year. SERVSIG thanks the following committee members for their commitment and their work:
- Chair: Gaby Odekerken-Schroder
- David Bowen
- Lia Patricio
- Lars Witell
- Nancy Wünderlich
Based on the proposals from the community and a defined procedure the award committees chose the winning article. The past years winners can be checked out here
SERVSIG Best Services Article Award for 2016
Bram Foubert and Els Gijsbrechts (2016):” Try It, You’ll Like It—Or Will You? The Perils of Early Free-Trial Promotions for High-Tech Service Adoption”, Marketing Science, 35:5 , 810-826
Abstract: The proliferation of free trials for high-tech services calls for a careful study of their effectiveness, and the drivers thereof. On one hand, free trials can generate new paying subscribers by allowing consumers to become acquainted with the service free of charge. On the other hand, a disappointing trial experience might alienate potential customers, when they decide not to adopt the system and are lost for good. This dilemma is particularly worrisome in early periods, when service quality has not been “tried and tested” in the field, and breakdowns occur. We accommodate these phenomena in a model of consumers’ free-trial and regular adoption decisions. Among other effects, it incorporates usage- and word-of-mouth-based learning about quality in a setting where quality itself is evolving. Consumers are forward-looking in that they account for changes in quality and anticipate uncertainty reduction due to trial usage. We estimate our model and run simulations on the basis of a rich and unique data set that incorporates customers’ trial subscription, adoption, and usage behavior for an interactive digital television service. The results underscore that free trials constitute a double-edged sword, and that timing and consumers’ usage intensity during the trial are key to the effectiveness of these promotions. Implications for managers are also discussed.
Link: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11747-014-0413-6
say congrats here !!!
Highly Commended Article Award
Delcourt, Cecile, Dwayne Gremler, Allard van Riel, Marcel van Birgelen (2016), “Employee Emotional Competence: Construct Conceptualization and Validation of a Customer-Based Measure”, Journal of Service Research, 19 (1), 72-87
Lemon, Katherine N. & Peter C. Verhoef (2016), “Understanding Customer Experience Throughout the Customer Journey,” Journal of Marketing, 80(6), 69-96
Meyer, Jeffrey and Venkatesh Shankar (2016), “Pricing Strategies for Hybrid Bundles: Analytical Model and Insights,” Journal of Retailing, 92 (2), 133-146
Important
- General topics may include (but are not limited to) services marketing and services management. The article should have appeared in an English language refereed journal during 2014.
- Candidates for a SERVSIG Award do not have to be a member of SERVSIG or the AMA to be eligible or to win.
- Candidates may be from anywhere in the world. From the beginning, SERVSIG has sought to be globally oriented and globally active.
- Candidates for the awards do not have to be academics. SERVSIG recognizes the vital link between academe and business practice.
