JOIN ‘WeServe’ [Work and Employees in Service] group during SERVSIG in Bordeaux!
Rapid technological advances such as digitalization, automation, service robots, and artificial intelligence (AI) are radically transforming the way organizations interact with their customers. This shift raises critical questions about the future of service work in today’s service environments where ‘high tech’ not only often supersedes ‘high touch’ but often threatens to replace it. At the same time, a significant proportion of frontline workers today occupy low-status, precarious, and stressful roles that expose workers to significant subsistence pressures. This “perfect storm” of technological and socioeconomic forces is transforming frontline service work in unprecedented ways.
To tackle these challenges, we decided to establish a new research group named, WeServe [Work and Employees in Service – Humanity on the Frontlines]. WeServe is a group of service researchers dedicated to studying the human element in service delivery amidst these technological and socioeconomic changes. Recognising consumers’ continued need for human interaction and the impact these changes may have on the well-being of frontline employees (FLEs) and the customers they serve, WeServe focuses on understanding the evolving role of FLEs and the challenges they face in today’s service industries. WeServe covers a wide range of topics, including service-related human resource practices, service leadership, human-technology collaboration, emotional labor, customer mistreatment, and underprivileged / marginalized service workers.
Our mission
Our mission is to cultivate a global community of service researchers and industry professionals, aimed at enhancing both theoretical and empirical studies of the human element in service work. We seek to enable the exchange of ideas to foster opportunities and establish collaborative networks.
Inaugural events
Interested scholars are invited to our inaugural WeServe event, coinciding with SERVSIG, just before the official conference begins in Bordeaux, France, on June 6, 2024, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 Noon (venue TBD). Additionally, a follow-up event will take place at the AOM conference in Chicago in August 2024, with more details forthcoming.
Join WeServe!
Join us on LinkedIn.
If you’re interested in learning more and/or have any enquiries, please feel free to contact any of the founding committee members listed below:
Mahesh Subramony: msubramony@niu.edu
Maria Golubovskaya: m.golubovskaya@griffith.edu.au
Ilias Danatzis: ilias.danatzis@kcl.ac.uk
David Solnet: d.solnet@uq.edu.au
Helena Nguyen: helena.nguyen@sydney.edu.au
Dana Yagil: dyagil@research.haifa.ac.il
