This project provides new insights into the differing levels of performance both within and across different service industries, and develops useful guidelines for implementing productivity improvements at both the firm and project levels. This is being accomplished through in-depth individual company case studies, as well as company-level performance comparisons within industries, and broad econometric analysis of several newly available databases. Linking econometric analysis with case study work in this way will help unravel questions of how to measure productivity at the aggregate level, and shed additional light on the so-called "productivity paradox" currently endemic to the service sector.

The initial phase of the project included case studies of four major service sector firms in the telecommunications, financial services, banking, and insurance industries, as well as an initial assessment of overall productivity in two of these industries (telecommunications and insurance). The new resulting model of services breaks them down into distinct process types. This model should help eliminate some of the severe measurement problems of the past, caused by attempting to view a highly diverse sector as though it were homogeneous and suitable for aggregate analysis.

This project is independently pursued under a grant from the Sloan Foundation.