A number of previous researchers have
indicated the importance of managing supply
and demand in services to ensure quality of
service(Sasser,1976;Rhyne,1987;Chase
and Bowen,1991;Lovelock,1992;Armistead
and Clark,1994).The strategies proposed
include:the``chase and level strategy'',where
the firm chases demand by employing part-
time employees or offering flexible working
hours,etc.,and the firm alters the level of
demand by utilising marketing mix(Sasser,
1976);``yield management''is used to alter
demand,by careful forecasting,overbooking,
choosing high yield customers,etc.(Kimes,
1989);``intelligence enhancement strategy''
is used to analyse historial trends in demand
and supply(Shemwell and Cronin,1994);
product variation,time and location variation,
queuing,pricing(Lovelock,1992);
developing``coping''strategies which
recognise dimensions within a total service
delivery(Armistead and Clark,1994).