Can Service be Stored through Inventory Management? A Case Study on Cabbies' Work Practices in Taipei

Abstract

In a service industry setting, can invisible service be stored through inventory management by adopting the idea of shifting its push-pull boundary which has been frequently implemented in the field of supply chain management? This is the main question this study attempts to answer. By analyzing users' deployment of service inventory through the restructuring of their work practices, this article examines how users may deliver different types of innovative services around technology in their workplace daily. Specifically, this field study investigates the adoption of a Global Positioning System (GPS) for enabling vehicle-dispatching, implemented by the largest taxi fleet in Taiwan. The findings highlight that, by adopting GPS technology to fulfill service inventory management, cabbies can efficiently store service capacity temporally and spatially in their various patterns of work practices and work processes. Consequently, taxi drivers will deploy timely service by means of proper work practices when passengers express a need for taxi services. In our concluding analysis, we reinforce the theoretical and practical implications of our service inventory research from the perspective of the work practice lens.