Episode #56 | Jochen Wirtz | Beyond Productivity

In this episode, Lasse Rindom speaks with Jochen Wirtz, Vice Dean of MBA Programmes and Professor of Marketing at NUS Business School, National University of Singapore. A globally recognized authority on services marketing and management, Jochen Wirtz has authored over 20 books, including the recently released Agentic Artificial Intelligence: Harnessing AI Agents to Reinvent Business, Work, and Life.Their conversation delves into:

• The service revolution of AI and how artificial intelligence is transforming service delivery, comparable to the Industrial Revolution
• Transforming education and healthcare by exploring why sectors like education and healthcare are poised for significant change through AI, while certain personal services remain less susceptible
• Abundance and automation and discussing how the proliferation of AI and automation influences our work priorities and the aspects of life we value most
• Challenges of a frictionless world by contemplating whether the primary challenge ahead is the risk of dehumanization or adapting to a world where services are seamlessly integrated
• Designing AI for human behavior and examining how the design of AI systems influences human behavior and the reciprocal training between humans and machines

They also navigate complex paradoxes such as productivity versus meaning, choice versus anxiety, and the balance between consumption and being consumed by technology. If you're curious about whether we're heading toward a future of enlightened leisure or facing the pitfalls of algorithmic dependence, this episode offers both optimism and critical insights.   Do you want to know more about Jochen Wirtz? Jochen Wirtz is Vice Dean MBA Programs and Professor of Marketing at the NUS Business School, National University of Singapore.  He has published over 200 academic articles, including 6 features in Harvard Business Review, and over 20 books. His books include Agentic Artificial Intelligence: Harnessing AI Agents to Reinvent Business, Work and Life (2025), Intelligent Automation: Learn How to Harness Artificial Intelligence to Boost Business & Make Our World More Human (2021), Services Marketing: People, Technology, Strategy (9th edition, 2022), and Essentials of Services Marketing (4rd edition, 2023).  With translations and adaptations for over 26 countries and regions, and combined sales of almost 1 million copies, they have become globally leading services marketing textbooks.   In recognition of his excellence in research and teaching, Professor Wirtz has received over 50 awards, including the Christopher Lovelock Career Contributions to the Services Discipline Award in 2019 (the highest recognition of the American Marketing Association service community), the Academy of Marketing Science 2012 Outstanding Marketing Teacher Award (the highest recognition of teaching excellence of AMS globally), and the prestigious, top university-level Outstanding Educator Award at NUS. Download his recent work from JochenWirtz.com and follow his work on ResearchGate (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jochen_Wirtz) and LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jochenwirtz).