Abstract
Currently, in order to remain competitive companies are adopting customer centered strategies and consequently customer relationship management is gaining increasing importance. In this context, customer retention deserves particular attention. This paper proposes a model for partial churn detection in the retail grocery sector that includes as a predictor the similarity of the products' first purchase sequence with churner and non-churner sequences. The sequence of first purchase events is modeled using Markov for discrimination. Two classification techniques are used in the empirical study: logistic regression and random forests. A real sample of approximately 95,000 new customers is analyzed taken from the data warehouse of a European retailing company. The empirical results reveal the relevance of the inclusion of a products' sequence likelihood in partial churn prediction models, as well as the supremacy of logistic regression when compared with random forests.

Abstract
Regulators of electricity distribution networks have typically applied Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to cross-section data for benchmarking purposes. However, the use of panel data to analyse the impact of regulatory policies on productivity change over time is less frequent. The main purpose of this paper is to construct a Malmquist productivity index to examine the recent productivity change experienced by Norwegian distribution companies between 2004 and 2007. The Malmquist index is decomposed in order to explore the sources of productivity change, and to identify the innovator companies that pushed the frontier forward each year. The input and output variables considered are those used by the Norwegian regulator. In order to reflect appropriately the exogenous conditions where the companies operate, the efficiency model used in this paper incorporates geography variables as outputs of the DEA model. Unlike the model used by the regulator, we included virtual weight restrictions in the DEA formulation to correct the biases in the DEA results that may be associated to a judicious choice of weights by some of the companies. Journal of the Operational Research Society (2012) 63, 982-990. doi: 10.1057/jors.2011.82 Published online 26 October 2011

Abstract
A good relationship between companies and customers is a crucial factor of competitiveness. Market segmentation is a key issue for companies to develop and maintain loyal relationships with customers as well as to promote the increase of company sales. This paper proposes a method for market segmentation in retailing based on customers' lifestyle, supported by information extracted from a large transactional database. A set of typical shopping baskets are mined from the database, using a variable clustering algorithm, and these are used to infer customers lifestyle. Customers are assigned to a lifestyle segment based on their purchases history. This study is done in collaboration with an European retailing company.

Abstract
The education of professional engineers has been mainly oriented towards the requirements of industry, although many graduates will start and end up working in service organizations. Services always involve interaction, either directly between people or using machines. Most services now require the use of technology, including self service machines, Internet and mobile equipments and may involve complex social and organizational issues. Although engineering programs have evolved in order to accommodate changes in the economy, new proposals must be taken into new graduate and postgraduate education. This paper proposes MESG1, a Master program in Services Engineering and Management compatible with the Bologna European framework. It is still a program to educate professional engineers, in the sense that graduates will be prepared to Conceive, Design, Implement and Operate (CDIO) complex value-added engineering systems. But MESG has a strong emphasis on: (i) understanding the innovative technologies now required for service provision, (ii) understanding the functional and the experience requirements of people using services, and (iii) management of the service CDIO process and understanding its value. Knowledge and experience about people and about business, in social-organizational environments, are important components in the advanced education of service engineers and managers.

Abstract
This paper provides a review of the literature on applications of the Driving forces, Pressure, State, Impact, Response (DPSIR) framework to fisheries. The interpretation given to each DPSIR category differs in existing studies, and as a result the indicators used to support fisheries management also vary considerably. This impairs comparisons concerning the state of different fishery systems, and does not provide a common base of knowledge concerning potential management measures that can be adopted in a given context. This paper clarifies the interpretation of each DPSIR category and proposes a set of indicators that can be applied in fishery contexts. The set of indicators proposed is also classified according to sustainability dimensions. It is argued that organising the indicators according to the DPSIR framework and sustainability dimensions (ecologic, economic, social and governance) is a positive contribution to serve as a guideline for future applications to adopt standardized indicators and improve fisheries management.

Abstract
This research evaluates the performance of water supply utilities operating at the retail level in Portugal concerning asset management practices. The study's main innovative feature is identifying peers and targets to guide improvements in the sector. Reliable data collected by the regulatory authority for water and waste services in Portugal (ERSAR) are employed to design two composite indicators reflecting different dimensions of asset management: operational conditions and management systems. Based on the Data Envelopment Analysis technique, the Benefit-of-the-Doubt model is employed in robust and conditional formulations. The role of the context on utilities' performance is also investigated. The results show that the direct management model is unfavourable concerning developing structured management systems, whilst urban environments favour managerial advancement. Rural and semi-urban environments favour goodoperational results in infrastructures. The pool of peers obtained for each utility and the quantification of targets based on the observed achievements by those peers facilitates the search for industry best practices and promotes continuous improvement. Given the high heterogeneity in asset management performance within the sector, the utility-specific target-setting approach illustrated in this paper can support a regulatory policy review for determining more realistic goals.