A typology of de-coupling strategies in mixed services

A typology of a class of service systems is proposed. The typology links st rategic operational objectives to the decision to de-couple work between th e front and back offices of a service system. Four specific ideal types of a strategy/de-coupling mix are described; each of which has distinct operat ional, marketing and human resource ramifications. A type that has had sign ificant representation in traditional literature is the "Cost Leader" type, where back-office activities are de-coupled from the front office for the purpose of lowering costs. Another traditional type representative of the c raftsman legacy is the "Personal Service" type, which retains back-office t asks in the front office to pursue non-cost-oriented strategic goals. Theor etical and empirical evidence is also given for two non-traditional types: the "Kiosk" type, where all tasks remain in the front office to achieve low er costs, and the "Focused Professional" type, which de-couples front- and back-office activities to enable front-office workers to provide higher ser vice, rather than to reduce costs. Empirically, retail bank lending systems are analyzed to support the typology. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All r ights reserved.