Fabrice Bartholin presented his research ‘The future of services: a frontline employee perspective’ at the 12th SERVSIG conference
Fabrice Bartholin, lecturer in hospitality management in the School of Humanities at South East Technological University (SETU), was successfully awarded funding under Pathways 5, 8 and 11 from the 2022 Research Connexions support scheme.
The Research Connexions programme provides the academic community at SETU the opportunity to apply for internal funding to enhance their research activity and to increase the quality of research at the university. The programme comprises fourteen funding pathways designed to enable specific research activity ranging from support for research-related skills training, and software purchases to ‘buy out’ from teaching hours freeing academic staff to make research applications and carry out research.
The effect of human resource practices and technology on employee well-being and organisational performance
As a former hotel practitioner, Fabrice is interested in scholarship related to frontline service employees and the organisational factors determining customer outcomes. His current research connects with emerging literature on the future of work in the service industry by examining the effect of human resource practices and technology on employee well-being and organisational performance. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the management of services and people, his research involves bridging the gap between human resource management and service disciplines.
Research Connexions Pathway 5 – Multidisciplinary Publishing, seeks to promote the highest standards of excellence in academic publishing and supports the costs associated with publishing an academic journal article or book. Fabrice received a buyout of 2 hours per week for the 2022 academic year under Pathway 5, which enabled him to prepare publications for two top peer-reviewed journals in the service research discipline.
Establishing a solid international network of potential future collaborators
While Pathway 8, the Conference Participation Pathway, granted Fabrice funds to present his research ‘The future of services: a frontline employee perspective’ at the 12th SERVSIG conference in Glasgow in June 2022. Attending the 12th SERVSIG conference enabled Fabrice to establish a solid international network of potential future collaborators for interdisciplinary research. It also allowed him to identify external examiners for his VIVA.
And under Pathway 11, which exists to support the development of research-active staff, Fabrice was granted funds for a short course with CARMA (Consortium for the Advancement of Research Methods and Analysis) on advanced multilevel techniques in January 2022. This helped Fabrice increase his quantitative analysis skills thanks to the multilevel statistical training while building the School’s research capacity for using the R software for statistical computing.
Invaluable experience
Speaking of the difference Research Connexions has made to him, Fabrice explained, “The advanced training I received from CARMA will be beneficial once I have collected my data. The experience of being able to travel to Scotland to present my research at SERVSIG, the leading conference in my field, was also invaluable. Similarly, the two hours of relief per week granted from my timetable enabled me to write and submit a conceptual paper for a special issue in the 4-star ABS Journal of Service Research. I also submitted to the 3-star ABS Journal of Business Research, which is now at the Revise and Resubmit stage.”
In addition to his current publication with the Journal of Business Research, Fabrice is also hoping to publish his empirical findings in another top-tier peer-reviewed outlet in the human resource or hospitality management fields.
Timeliness and relevance of his research
Now a member of the international Service Research Community SERVSIG, Fabrice is planning to present a paper based on his empirical findings at the 13th SERVSIG 2024 in the prestigious Kedge School of Business in Bordeaux, France.
The feedback received from leading academics in his field through his SERVSIG presentation and journal submissions provided Fabrice with greater knowledge about the timeliness and relevance of his research.
Fabrice is currently doing his doctorate on a part-time basis with DCU Business School in collaboration with Trinity College and is currently collecting data in the field.