Science of service systems, service sector, service economy 13
As Service Science, Management and Engineering (SSME) has been developing, I’ve noticed a refinement of language. Rather than just abbreviating the long clause to service science, I’m now careful to use the phrase of a science of service systems, following Spohrer, Maglio et. al (2007). There’s a clear definition of service system in the final April 2008 revision of the report by the University of Cambridge Institute for Manufacturing.
What is a service system?
A service system can be defined as a dynamic configuration of resources (people, technology, organisations and shared information) that creates and delivers value between the provider and the customer through service. In many cases, a service system is a complex system in that configurations of resources interact in a non-linear way. Primary interactions take place at the interface between the provider and the customer. However, with the advent of ICT, customer-to-customer and supplier-to-supplier interactions have also become prevalent. These complex interactions create a system whose behaviour is difficult to explain and predict. [p. 6]
I’ve been sorting through the significance of this service system orientation, and have reached the following personal points-of-view.
- 1. The definition of a service system as a system is earnest
- 2. A service system creating and delivering value emphasizes a value constellation perspective over a value chain perspective
- 3. Research into service systems is muddled in the ideas of coproduction and (value) cocreation
- 4. A service system creates value with an offering as a platform for co-production
- 5. The constraints on service systems are changed with advances in technology
- 6. The (new) service economy is not the same as the service sector
Each of these points-of-view require some elaboration. (If the content that follow isn’t detailed enough, there are footnotes, too!)
