Don’t Forget About the Frontline Employee During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Preliminary Insights and a Research Agenda on Market Shocks

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the way services are delivered. In this editorial, we shine a light on how frontline service employees are coping with the changing work environment. Leveraging insights from a critical incident technique data collection, we identify challenges related to employee morale, interfacing with service consumers, and transformational negative events. We then offer suggestions for future research on these topics. Moreover, we discuss how the business model transformations caused by COVID-19 could impact the role of technology in future service interactions as well as new challenges related to demand planning. We hope this editorial can serve as a platform to positively impact future research on how service is being delivered amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and future market shocks.

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