Impact of Self-Service Technology in Designing a Service Delivery System
Abstract
This paper models how self-service technology (SST) design choices interact with queueing dynamics in a service delivery system. It analyzes the equilibrium behavior of customers choosing between SST and human service, finding that SST can increase total system demand under certain conditions.
★ Curator Summary
Wang et al. (2025) is the most directly relevant academic paper for the FOW-Value model. Published in Production and Operations Management — a top-tier OM journal — it formally models how self-service technology design interacts with queueing dynamics. The key finding: SST can increase total system demand under certain conditions, which is exactly the induced demand / Jevons Paradox mechanism applied to service operations with rigorous mathematical treatment. This is the paper that bridges transportation-economics-inspired intuition to formal operations management theory.
Why It Matters
This paper validates the core thesis of the SDRM with formal operations management methodology. It's not an analogy from transportation or energy anymore — it's a direct proof that self-service technology can increase total demand in a service delivery system. When presenting to operations research-trained executives or academic audiences, this is the citation that makes the argument rigorous.
Caveats
The model uses specific assumptions about customer utility functions and service system structure. The 'certain conditions' under which SST increases demand need to be mapped to your specific contact center context. Published in 2025 — relatively new, hasn't been extensively cited yet.
Discussion
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