Coordinating the Frontlines: An Interdisciplinary Agenda for Extending Organizational Frontlines Research

Abstract

Organizational frontlines research (OFR) has generated significant insights into the interactions between organizations and customers, the service interfaces through which these interactions occur, and how they unfold over time. However, less attention has been directed toward the mechanisms through which organizations coordinate these frontline dimensions. Building on Schneider and Bowen’s three-tier view of service organizations, we extend the OFR literature with a specific focus on the coordination tier, which consists of mechanisms responsible for integrating the boundary tier with the customer tier. Drawing on industry benchmarking survey data from senior service leaders and mapping these findings to established and emerging service research priorities, we identify six coordination-tier domains. These domains relate to the management of customer experience, service innovation, new technology exploration, service operations, culture and climate, and talent. By delineating key coordination challenges and a set of future research directions for each domain, we offer an integrated research agenda to advance interdisciplinary OFR scholarship. Additionally, we highlight the role of managers in coordinating resources and processes to deliver value across multiple touchpoints.