3 November 2016
Over 70 participants attended the Centre for Service Excellence (CenSE) launch conference on Friday 28 October ranging across the research and practice communities. The event was chaired by Professor Susan Deacon, University Assistant Principal for Engagement. It included a session from Professor Stephen P. Osborne, Director of CenSE, which outlined the mission and objectives of CenSE in terms of research, engagement with practice, and teaching and learning.
The keynote was delivered by Christian Grönroos, Professor Emeritus at Hanken Business School in Helsinki. Professor Grönroos is acknowledged both as a founding father of the service management and marketing discipline worldwide and as one of the leading researchers in the field in the contemporary era. His keynote presentation focused on the concept of value creation in service and services, and provoked a spirited discussion from practitioners across the public and private service sectors.
Professor Grönroos was followed by a panel of four leaders from the public and private service sectors, which discussed the future of service and services in Scotland. The panel highlighted the challenges and opportunities of digital and smart technology, the changing nature of the workforce, and the transformation of consumer expectations in the contemporary world. The conference concluded with a personal reflection by Scott Black, Chief Executive of leading recruitment specialist FWB Park Brown, and also Chair of the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce. He reflected on his personal journey as a leader in the service sector in Scotland and worldwide and offered important insights and lessons for the future.
Doctoral Colloquium
In the afternoon CenSE hosted a doctoral colloquium with doctoral students from across the UK gathering to discuss the cutting edge of research on service management.
This event was organised by three CenSE PhD students, Pablo Escarate Sanchez, Qian Wang and Edwina Zhu. Following CenSE’s Inaugural Conference, the Doctoral Colloquium shared the theme 'The Future of the Service Sector'. The Call for Abstracts saw a strong response. The 11 papers presented on the day covered a wide range of topics in service management, which included service innovation, customer experience, hospitality services, B2B Services and value co-creation. The colloquium also involved a diverse group of universities involved in service management research; the presenting students came from nine different universities across the UK.
The CenSE Doctoral Colloquium not only aims to build a platform for PhD students to share their research, but also intends to provide more academic support to these young scholars. Therefore, the Organising Committee invited Professor Grönroos, Professor Tina Harrison, Professor Osborne, Dr Dahlia El-Manstrly and Dr Mehdi Safavi to be the panel discussants. Every presenter received comments and suggestions specific to his or her topic. Discussants’ friendly interactions with presenters and members of the audience inspired, even more, discussions around service management research in each panel.
In the closing remarks, the Organising Committee thanked all the participants for their support. In response, the presenting students expressed their expectations for the Doctoral Colloquium next year.
Moving Forward
Professor Osborne and his colleagues in CenSE will now be working on making the opportunities for CenSE a reality and in evolving its role as a leader in research, engagement and learning for service and services management in Scotland and worldwide.
For more information on CenSE, its work, and how you can engage with it, please contact us at cense@business-school.ed.ac.uk.