Some Foundation Stones of Service Research.

This article focuses on the author's experiences as a book review editor. Before leaving the "Service Industries Journal," the author's final task has been to persuade the editor to permit him to commission a special set of reviews that provide an opportunity for a group of researchers to identify and reflect on the paper or article that most influenced their research into service activities. Of the eight academics that were approached to undertake this onerous task only four completed what turned out to be a more difficult task than originally imagined. It is quite difficult to identify a single significant article over the course of a long academic career. The problem is that the economy is ever changing and so too must the ways in which academics conceptualize change. Related to this is what criteria should be used to make an informed choice. For example, what is meant by "influenced" should the article have resulted in a major alteration in the direction of research or just have influenced a particular research project. All four of the reviewers identify the work that encouraged them to think about service activities in new and different ways.