Key research themes
1. How can e-service operational strategies balance customization and efficiency to improve customer retention?
This research area investigates the strategic design and operational challenges of delivering e-services that both meet individual customer needs and maintain cost-effective, efficient service performance. It matters because the Internet's transformational role in service delivery has produced varying outcomes—some companies have succeeded by innovatively leveraging e-services to expand offerings and streamline delivery, while others have failed by not effectively translating promises into operational realities. Understanding how to model customer retention and analyze operational benefits in e-services guides practitioners to better strategic decisions in digital service environments.
2. What are the effective configurations and service chains in online health platforms that optimize customer acquisition and retention?
This theme focuses on how online health service platforms can structurally configure their service offerings along the patient journey to simultaneously attract new users and retain existing ones. The importance lies in the rapid growth yet high failure rates of e-health startups and the need to strategically design service bundles using frequency-rarity analysis and service chain continuity principles. Understanding which individual and combined services drive retention and acquisition informs platform design and resource prioritization to sustain business models in the competitive online health market.
3. What roles do online platforms and digital infrastructures play in enabling widespread adoption and effective delivery of e-government and online services in institutional and developing contexts?
This theme explores the critical influence of digital infrastructure, ICT integration, and online platform strategies on the adoption, sustainability, and efficiency of online services in government, military, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and public sector domains—particularly in developing countries. It addresses barriers faced such as technology access, user skills, and system interoperability and examines how innovative uses of web services and institutional support can overcome these challenges to empower users and improve service delivery.