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We examine the longitudinal impact of service mix on cost efficiency in U.S. acute care general hospitals. We propose two different dimensions of service mix, with the first dimension capturing internal emphasis on specific service lines (i.e., specialization) and the second dimension reflecting the deviation of a hospital from the average level of specialization for hospitals in the same service area (i.e., differentiation). We hypothesize that as the level of a hospital's specialization increases, hospital cost efficiency should improve at a decreasing rate. We also hypothesize that differentiation helps improve cost efficiency in competitive markets. Lastly, we examine whether acute care general hospitals can use service mix as an operational lever to improve cost efficiency when specialty hospitals are present in the same local markets. We find strong empirical support for the hypothesized relationships.

One major characteristic of studies in operations and supply chain management literature is a focus on how integration can lead to superior operations and manufacturing outcomes. Most of these studies, however, focus only on internal or external integration and few have been dedicated to understand how both internal and external integration influence performance outcomes. In addition, few studies, if any, have looked to the antecedents of organizational structure as a driver for such forms of integration. To help filling this gap, we draw on organizational structure and resource-based view theoretical perspectives to present a conceptual model that proposes a relationship between organizational structure and integration. The model also considers major antecedents of organizational structure and the manufacturing performance consequences of integration. As a result, we introduce a series of propositions to be subject to empirical scrutiny as well as serve as a reference for future conceptual and empirical models.

This article examines how customer value may be affected by deploying radio frequency identification (RFID) technologies within service environments. Business articles promote operational cost savings and improved inventory management as key benefits of deploying RFID. In response, service firms are using RFID to reengineer service transactions and customer touchpoints. Customers may view these RFID applications to offer both benefits and drawbacks. This article demonstrates that individuals will recognize far more value from RFID service applications than just cost savings and inventory availability. The article analyzes qualitative survey responses on the value gained from RFID to identify a broad list of value objectives-benefits and drawbacks-associated with RFID service applications. The article contributes to academic literature by providing salient value dimensions for return on investment models of service RFID applications and for future empirical analyses of means-ends and value-profit chain models. Managers can use the list of dimensions to develop rich business cases for evaluating the benefits and costs from enhancing service operations with RFID. The identified drawbacks also provide managers with a resource for understanding potential risks of RFID applications.