QUIS15 was hosted by the School of Engineering of University of Porto (FEUP), on June 12-15, 2017, in conjunction with CTF, Service Research Center, Karlstad University, Sweden, the Center for Services Leadership, W. P. Carey School of Business, Arizona State University, USA, and with the Center for Hospitality Research, School of Hotel Administration, Cornell University, USA.
With almost 190 presentations and more than 240 participants from 31 countries, QUIS15 showcased the best and most recent service research. Participants were also enthralled by the beautiful city of Porto and enjoyed the best of Portuguese food with breathtaking views over the Douro River and over the Atlantic ocean in two great conference dinners.
The conference started on the 12th of June, with the welcome reception at Ateneu Comercial do Porto. In this 19th century ballroom an animated crowd reviewed friends and colleagues and exchanged the first ideas. On the 13th the School of Engineering received the participants for the first full day of presentations and keynote speakers. Paulo Malta from the Portuguese Ministry of the Presidency and Administrative Modernisation showed the audience the latest service innovation initiatives from the Portuguese Governments, such as LabX, the Experimentation Lab for Public Administration. Peter Verhoef then spoke about the latest developments on customer experience and, in the afternoon, Pedro Oliveira presented the Patient Innovation platform. In the evening, a visit to the Porto Wine cellars showed the great history of this world-renowned wine and participants enjoyed an unforgettable meal overlooking the Douro River in the two Michelin Star Yeatman Hotel.
After such a great dinner, Bart Larivière and the panel of the Future of Service Research (Ruth Bolton, Amy Ostrom, Daniela Sangiorgi and Steve Vargo), had the difficult, and very successful, task of starting the second day of QUIS15. In the afternoon, Lara Lee shared her experience on the importance of emotional connection to foster growth. As more presentations filled the day, the QUIS15 crowd got a well-deserved Awards Dinner at the iconic Leixões Cruise Terminal. Almost one kilometer away from the coast, this venue offered unique views over the coast.
In the last day of the conference, participants were still going strong and showed up to see the last presentations of the conference, including those of the Best Paper Award and the Highly Commended Award papers. The conference closed with a panel moderated by Lia Patrício, where Bo Edvardsson, Christian Grönroos, Irene Ng and Wolfgang Ulaga presented their service research centers.
QUIS15 was a lot of fun, and the chair Lia Patrício, and co-chairs, Gabriela Beirão, Jorge Grenha Teixeira, Amy Ostrom, Bo Edvarsson and Rohit Verma, want to thank all participants for attending QUIS and sharing their research and enthusiasm!
For some impressions of the event click here:
