Co-sponsored by:

		IEEE Systems, Man and Cybernetics Society
		School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University

Supported by:

National Natural Science Foundation of China

Hosted by:

A nation's economic evolution typically includes the mechanical, electrical and information stages, during which the primary focus is on agriculture/mining, manufacturing/construction and services, respectively. The living standard addressed at each stage pertains to level of subsistence, quality of goods, and quality of life, respectively. All advanced economies are at the information stage where services and quality of life are emphasized. In these economies, services - including wholesale/retail, business/professional, education, government, health care, finance/insurance/real estate, transportation, telecommunications, etc. - comprise the majority of the gross national product and employs the majority of the workers.

As an interdisciplinary domain, system theory can be productively applied to the service sector. The holism of system theory can provide an integrating framework for designing, refining and operating service systems, including the fields of marketing and organizational behavior (which focuses on both the input - i.e., customer or service co-producer - and the output - i.e., service quality) and operations management (which focuses on the process - i.e., service system activities). Additionally, advanced information technologies (including wireless, geographic positioning, and e-commerce) can serve to enhance service attributes and productivity.

Authors are invited to submit their original and unpublished work related to service systems and service management, including research, theory, development, and applications. Interdisciplinary research and service information technology are of interest. Contributions in related areas are also welcome.