Events

2021 Frontiers in Service Conference Explores Service in the World of AI and Digital Technologies

July 9-10, 2021

Industry Leaders and prominent academics met virtually to discuss and share research on “Service in the World of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Technologies” at the 2021 Frontiers in Service Conference.

Founded in 1992 by Distinguished University Professor and David Bruce Smith Chair in Marketing Roland Rust of the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, the annual event draws attendees from over 40 countries and is widely considered the world’s leading annual conference on service research.

“The gathering features a unique international mix of business people and academics, and a cross-functional list of topics, including service science, service innovation, service marketing, service operations, service human resources, service information technology, e-service, service innovation, and customer relationship management,” Rust said. “The speakers include many of the world's leading service experts, including high-ranking executives and prominent academics.”

For the 2021 event, Rust introduced conference chair, Xueming Luo of the Fox School of Business on opening morning, then delivered one of the keynote presentations and chaired two of the four plenary sessions, which were live-streamed on Facebook.

Keynote and plenary session topics and speakers included:

• “AI-Powered Automation and the Future of Service” (9 a.m. Friday) by IBM computer scientist (retired) Jim Spohrer and IBM CTO of AI Automation and Vice President of Blockchain Technologies Jerry Cuomo
• “AIML for Customer Journey Analytics (9:40 a.m. Friday) by Temple marketing professor Xueming Luo
• “Sex Robots, AI, AE, and Services” (1 p.m. Friday) by York University research professor Russell Belk
•  “Female Advantage from Artificial Intelligence” (2:20 p.m. Friday) by Rust and National Taiwan University professor Ming-Hui Huang
• “How the future of technology will change service” (9 a.m. Saturday) by former Cisco Vice President Gary Bridge
• “The Future of Marketing and Technology: The Age of AI and Robots” (9:40 a.m. Saturday) by Babson College marketing professor Dhruv Grewal
• “Artificial Intelligence and The Service Economy: Informing Dynamic Corporate and Policy Decisions in an Interconnected World” (1 p.m. Saturday) by Taiyō CEO Saurabh Mishra
• “The AI-driven consumer: How technology is altering consumer choice processes” (1:40 p.m. Saturday) by Wharton professor Robert Meyer

Sponsors included INFORMS, the American Marketing Association, Maryland Smith’s Center for Excellence in Service, and the Global Institute for Artificial Intelligence & Business Analytics at Temple University’s Fox School of Business.

2015 Frontiers in Service Conference

• See photos on our Facebook page

2014 Frontiers in Service Conference

• See photos on our Facebook page

2012 Frontiers in Service Conference

• IBM Networking Reception  
• Welcome Reception - Thursday, June 14
• Award's Dinner - Friday, June 15
• Opening Plenary, Friday, June 15

2011 Frontiers in Service Conference

• Networking Event
• Plenary Session
• Awards Dinner

2018 Frontiers in Service Conference

The 27th annual Frontiers in Service Conference was held in Austin, Texas, on September 6-9, 2018. Hosted by Texas State University, the conference was sponsored by the American Marketing Association and INFORMS. Founded by Roland Rust in 1992, the conference is also sponsored annually by the Smith School's Center for Excellence in Service. The 2018 co-chairs of the conference were Ray Fisk, Sid Anderson, Linda Nasr and Steve Rayburn.

2017 Frontiers in Service Conference

The 2017 conference was held in New York City, June 22-25, 2017, and hosted by Fordham University. The 2017 conference featured both research presentations and a research poster session.

2016 Frontiers in Service Conference

The 25th Annual Frontiers in Service Conference was held June 23-26, 2016 in beautiful Bergen, Norway, the gateway to the fjords of Norway and the birthplace for the world-renowned composer Edvard Grieg. Founded by Roland Rust, the Frontiers conference is sponsored annually by the Smith School's Center for Excellence in Service, INFORMS, and the AMA SERVSIG. Our host institution was the Norwegian School of Economics. Frontiers is the world's leading yearly conference on service research and management. This year's conference was attended by 230 service management scholars and practitioners, from over 30 countries. The theme was transformation of governments, industries, and businesses through technology and innovation. The annual AMA SERVSIG doctoral consortium was held prior to Frontiers.

2015 Frontiers in Service Conference

Last summer, academic experts and business leaders from countries around the world gathered in San Jose, California for the 24th Annual Frontiers in Service Conference, hosted and sponsored by IBM, Cisco Systems, and the Lucas Graduate School of Business at San Jose University. Conference attendees had the opportunity to present their research on a variety of cross-functional topics and attend a pre-conference doctoral consortium organized by the AMA SERVSIG. Last year’s event sponsors included the American Marketing Association SERVSIG, INFORMS Service Science Section, and the University of Maryland’s Center for Excellence in Service.

2014 Frontiers in Service Conference

23^rd Annual Frontiers in Service Conference
June 26-29, 2014
University of Miami, Miami, USA

Sponsored by The Center for Excellence in Service, Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, USA, University of Miami, INFORMS, The American Marketing Association, and IBM.

2013 Frontiers in Service Conference

22^nd Annual Frontiers in Service Conference
July 4- July 7, 2013
National Taiwan University, Taiwan

Sponsored by The Center for Excellence in Service, Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, USA, National Taiwan University, INFORMS, The American Marketing Association, National Science Council- Taiwan, and IBM.

2012 Frontiers in Service Conference

21st Annual Frontiers in Service Conference
June 14 – June 17, 2012
College Park, Maryland USA

Sponsored by The Center for Excellence in Service, Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, USA, INFORMS, The American Marketing Association and IBM.

2011 Frontiers in Service Conference

20th Annual Frontiers in Service Conference
June 30 - July 3, 2011
Columbus, Ohio, USA

Sponsored by The Center for Excellence in Service, Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, USA, Initiative for Managing Services, Fisher College of Business, Ohio State University and The American Marketing Association.

2010 Frontiers in Service Conference

19th Annual Frontiers in Service Conference
June 10-13, 2010
Karlstad, Sweden

Sponsored by The Center for Excellence in Service, Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, USA, CTF - Service Research Center Karlstad University, IBM, INFORMS and The American Marketing Association.

2009 Frontiers in Service Conference

18th Annual Frontiers in Service Conference
October 29 - November 1, 2009
Honolulu, HI, USA

Sponsored by The Center for Excellence in Service, Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, USA, The Shidler College of Business, University of Hawaii at Manoa, IBM, Shidler CIBER, Service Research and Innovation Initiative (SRII), INFORMS and The American Marketing Association.

2008 Frontiers in Service Conference

17th Annual Frontiers in Service Conference
October 2-5, 2008
Washington, DC, USA

Sponsored by The Center for Excellence in Service, Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, USA, IBM, National Science Council, Taiwan, Smith CIBER, INFORMS and The American Marketing Association.

2007 Frontiers in Service Conference

16th Annual Frontiers in Service Conference
October 4-7, 2007
San Francisco, California, USA

Sponsored by The Center for Excellence in Service, Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, USA, IBM Research, and The American Marketing Association.

2006 Frontiers in Service Conference

15th Annual
Frontiers in Service Conference
June 29 - July 2, 2006
Brisbane, Australia

Sponsored by The Center for Excellence in Service, Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, USA, UQ Business School, University of Queensland, Australia, and The American Marketing Association.

2005 Frontiers in Services Conference

14th Annual Frontiers in Services Conference
October 6-9, 2005
Tempe, AZ

Sponsored by The Center for Excellence in Service, Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, Center for Services Leadership, W. P. Carey School of Business, Arizona State University, and The American Marketing Association.

2004 Frontiers in Services Conference

13th Annual Frontiers in Services Conference
October 28-31, 2004
Miami, FL

Sponsored by the Center for Excellence in Service, Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, the University of Miami School of Business, and the American Marketing Association.

2003 Frontiers in Services Conference

12th Annual Frontiers in Services Conference
October 23-26, 2003
Washington, DC

Sponsored by the Center for Excellence in Service, Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, in cooperation with the American Marketing Association.

2002 Frontiers in Services Conference

11th Annual Frontiers in Services Conference
June 27-29, 2002
Maastricht, The Netherlands

Sponsored by the Center for Excellence in Service, University of Maryland, College Park and Maastricht University, the Netherlands in co-operation with the American Marketing Association (AMA).

2001 Frontiers in Services Conference

10th Annual Frontiers in Services Conference
October 25-28, 2001
Washington, DC

Sponsored by the Center for Excellence in Service, Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, in cooperation with the American Marketing Association, the conference was held in Bethesda, MD and the University of Maryland.