Services Science

Welfare service system productivity: the concept and its application

by Harri Laihonen

Vergleich von Metamodellen zur Repräsentation von Geschäftsmodellen im Service

by Martin Semmann

Co-authored with Andreas Zolnowski and Tilo Böhmann

Smart Metering of Cloud Services

by Shrisha Rao

6th Annual IEEE International Systems Conference (IEEE SysCon 2012), Vancouver, Canada, March 2012.

Smart metering, prevalent in the power grids, is a billing model in which consumers are charged variable rates for a... more Smart metering, prevalent in the power grids, is a billing model in which consumers are charged variable rates for a service consumed based on the load conditions of the system providing the service. In this paper we present a similar billing model for cloud services. We develop a model where the tariff is varied based on the load prevailing on the cloud infrastructure. We obtain a mapping between the load condition for a particular time period and the pricing. The pricing for every time period is published and it is the consumer’s discretion to continue using the service or to suspend usage. Based on historical data, the load on the cloud infrastructure is predicted using the autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) statistical model. Monitoring the cloud infrastructure is an essential component of any form of cloud metering and we rely on tools available off-the-shelf for the purpose. The pricing information obtained is used for billing the consumers. The bill amount is a function of pricing for a time interval and the corresponding utilization of compute resource. The calculated bill is produced to the consumer.

Laura Smith, Irene Ng & Roger Maull (2012): The three value proposition cycles of equipment-based service

by Laura Smith

Production Planning & Control, DOI:10.1080/09537287.2011.640055

This article contributes to the emerging discipline of service science through an empirical investigation of value... more This article contributes to the emerging discipline of service science through an empirical investigation of value propositions as connections between service systems. The starting point for our research is that service science is an interdisciplinary approach to the study, design and implementation of service systems, a service system being considered a dynamic configuration of resources (people, technology, organisations and shared information) that create and deliver value between the provider and the customer through service (IfM and IBM 2008). Specifically, this article investigates value propositions in the context of equipment-based service systems. Our qualitative findings identify three value proposition cycles: Recovery, Availability and Outcome. In so doing, showing that providers offer three distinct propositions of value with three different primary transformations. This research contributes to theory in service systems by identifying value propositions as multiple, simultaneous and iterative connections between provider and customer systems.

Ng, Irene C.L., Glenn Parry, Laura Smith and Roger Maull, (2010), Value Co-creation in Complex Engineering Service Systems: Conceptual Foundations

by Laura Smith

Forum on Markets and Marketing: Extending the Service Dominant Logic, 24-26 Sept, Cambridge

The Dynamics and Evolution of the Service Marketing Literature: 1993–-2003

by Olivier Furrer

Olivier Furrer and Pierre Sollberger
Service Business
Volume 1, Number 2, 2007, pp. 93-117

This article analyzes service research published in marketing journals between 1993 and 2003. Two levels of analysis... more This article analyzes service research published in marketing journals between 1993 and 2003. Two levels of analysis of the dynamics and evolution of the service marketing literature are distinguished: first, the dynamics of specific themes of the service marketing literature, and second, the structural evolution of these themes. Through a content analysis, we study the dynamics of individual themes in the service marketing literature as well as the relationships between these themes. Multiple correspondence analysis provides maps of themes and of the most frequent contributors, and a framework to track the structural dynamics and structural evolution of this literature over time. An evaluation of past predictions about the dynamics and evolution of service research is also provided with a discussion of its future.

The Relationships between Culture and Behavioral Intentions toward Services

by Olivier Furrer

Ben Shaw-Ching Liu, Olivier Furrer & D. Sudharshan
Journal of Service Research
Vol. 4, no. 2, November 2001, pp. 118-129

Some recent studies have shown that culture influences how consumers perceive service quality. Others have shown the... more Some recent studies have shown that culture influences how consumers perceive service quality. Others have shown the relationship between perceived service quality and behavioral intentions. In this article, the authors study how culture influences behavioral intentions toward services on the basis of services marketing and cross-cultural psychology literature. They tested and found that customers from cultures with lower individualism or higher uncertainty avoidance tend to have a higher intention to praise if they received superior service. On the other hand, the same groups tend not to switch, give negative word of mouth, or complain even if they received poor service quality. Customers from cultures with higher individualism or lower uncertainty avoidance tend to switch, engage in negative word of mouth, or complain if they received poor service quality. But they do not tend to praise when they received superior service. Managerial implications, contribution, and future research directions are also discussed.

The Relationships between Culture and Service Quality Perceptions: Basis for Cross-Cultural Market Segmentation and Resource Allocation

by Olivier Furrer

Olivier Furrer, Ben Shaw-Ching Liu and D. Sudharshan
Journal of Service Research
Vol 2, No. 4, 2000, pp. 355-371

The authors argue that perceptions of service quality vary across cultural groups, as defined by each culture’s... more The authors argue that perceptions of service quality vary across cultural groups, as defined by each culture’s position on Hofstede’s dimensions. They explicitly map the relationship between service quality perceptions and cultural dimension positions and draw the implications for international service market segmentation. They also test the hypotheses constituting their theoretical analysis. They show that the importance of SERVQUAL dimensions is correlated with Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. They also used the correlation coefficients to compute a Cultural Service Quality Index that could be used to segment international service markets and allocate resources across segments.

Badinelli, Ralph, Gerard Briscoe, Ian Leslie, Roger Maull, Irene C L Ng, Chris Voss, (2012), " Value Creating Service Systems: A Transdisciplinary Research Agenda", 21st Annual Frontiers in Service Conference, Washington DC, June

by Irene C L Ng

Towards an Ontological Foundation for Services Science

by Nicola Guarino

Ferrario R., Guarino N. 2009. Towards an Ontological Foundation for Services Sience. In Domingue, J., Fensel, D., and Traverso, P.: First Future Internet Symposium, Vienna, Austria, September 28-30, 2008: Revised Selected Papers. Springer Verlag, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Vol. 5468, pp. 152-169

Most of the efforts conducted on services nowadays are focusing on aspects related to data and control flow, often... more Most of the efforts conducted on services nowadays are focusing on aspects related to data and control flow, often disregarding the main goal of the future Internet of services, namely to allow the smooth interaction of people and computers with services in the actual world. Our main claim is that it is crucial, to achieve such goal, to build a global service framework able to account for complex processes involving people and computers, which however have always people at their ends. That’s why in this paper we mostly emphasize the role of social and business-oriented services, whose consideration is needed to evaluate the global quality of e-services in relation to their ultimate social benefits, taking the overall impact on the organizational structure into account. Along these lines, the contribution of this proposal is a first concrete step towards a unified, rigorous and principled ontology centred on the notion of service availability, which results in useful distinctions between service, service content, service delivery and service process. Services are modelled by means of a layered set of interrelated events, with their own participants as well as temporal and spatial locations.

Ng, Irene C.L. and Sai Nudurupati, (2010) “Outcome-Based Service Contracts In the Defence Industry – Mitigating the Challenges,” Journal of Service Management, Vol. 21, No. 5, pp. 656-674

by Irene C L Ng

Purpose – This case study aims to explore the risks and challenges associated with the implementation of outcome-based... more Purpose – This case study aims to explore the risks and challenges associated with the implementation of outcome-based contracts (OBCs) in maintenance, repair and overhaul services in the defence industry. It also aims to identify ways to address and reduce them.
Design/methodology/approach – The case study approach was used to capture the dynamics of OBCs in B2B service delivery. The challenges and risks were explored using qualitative approaches such as in-depth interviews, and findings were abstracted through grounded theory. The factors
identified from the above findings were structured in a survey and validated using simple descriptive statistics.
Findings – This study identified the challenges and risks of implementing OBCs, which include complexity and unpredictability of costs, dependability on customer in delivering the service and cultural change from traditional setting. Although the survey results revealed 11 factors that could mitigate these challenges and risks, the most important factors are mutual expectations, teamwork,shared information and materials as well as the firm’s access to customer resources.
Practical implications – This study’s results have practical implications for businesses implementing OBCs in the B2B arena. Ensuring the presence of these factors, identified from this
study, in OBC delivery would overcome most of the challenges and risks faced.
Originality/value – Although research has been done on OBCs, many are conceptual or theoretical studies. This study is an empirical research into the challenges and risks of OBCs and the factors that could mitigate them; this advances knowledge in this domain.

Ng, Irene C.L., Roger Maull and Nick Yip, (2009) “Outcome-based Contracts as a driver for Systems thinking and Service-Dominant Logic in Service Science: Evidence from the Defence industry”, European Management Journal, Vol. 27, No. 6, pp377-387

by Irene C L Ng

Two outcome-based defence contracts are studied in the attempt to better understand the provision of services in... more Two outcome-based defence contracts are studied in the attempt to better understand the provision of services in maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) environment that is
contracted on the outcome of the equipment, rather than the provision of equipment. The nature of the contract changes the dynamics of the delivery, bringing complex issues such
as customer behaviours and involvement to the forefront, with both customer and firm focused on value co-creation and co-production, rather than each party’s contractual obligation. We uncover four areas that are crucial in the understanding of value coproduction in service delivery and analysed them through a systems approach combined with the application of the service-dominant logic, both considered as the theoretical underpinnings of service science.

Business modeling for services: Current state and research perspectives

by Andreas Zolnowski

Co-authored with Tilo Böhmann

This paper reviews business model literature from the perspective of extant business modeling approaches in order to... more This paper reviews business model literature from the perspective of extant business modeling approaches in order to discover research gaps and to outline perspectives which show the possible development of business model modeling. Due to the growing importance of services for many companies and the resulting transformation of product based business models to service based business models, the paper focuses on the link between business models and services. Thus the paper identifies how the business model construct can provide support for the analysis and design of service business models. The contribution ends with a brief discussion of missing service-related aspects.

UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT OF REMOTE SERVICE TECHNOLOGY ON SERVICE BUSINESS MODELS IN MANUFACTURING: FROM IMPROVING AFTER- …

by Andreas Zolnowski

Co-authored with Tilo Böhmann

We explore the use of remote service technology in manufacturing. The study provides insights into the impact of... more We explore the use of remote service technology in manufacturing. The study provides insights into the impact of information technology use on the service business models in German-based manufacturing companies. For these companies, services become increasingly important to compete in global markets. Our study traces how the use of IT, specifically remote service technology, enables innovation in service business models. The study is exploratory, being based on expert interviews with case companies and industry representatives. The study contributes by providing a systematic account of the link between the use of remote service technology and business model innovation.

Metamodels for Representing Service Business Models

by Andreas Zolnowski

Co-authored with Martin Semmann and Tilo Böhmann

Service is a key business for a growing amount of companies. Especially in highly competitive markets, companies can... more Service is a key business for a growing amount of companies. Especially in highly competitive markets, companies can secure their revenue generation and turnover through services. The ongoing change in present companies is associated with the change of existing and emergence of new business models. Especially the co-creation, as a key characteristic of services, and its impact on the business logic should be represented in the business model in a comprehensive way. This paper contributes to this field of research by assessing proposed business model extensions for services to evaluate the state of the art business model representations. For this reason the state of the art was considered and examined by defining comparison criteria and analyzing different approaches.

Introducing a Co-Creation Perspective to Service Business Models

by Andreas Zolnowski

Co-authored with Martin Semmann and Tilo Böhmann

Due to the growing importance of services for many companies and the resulting transformation of product based... more Due to the growing importance of services for many companies and the resulting transformation of product based business models to service based business models, the paper focuses on the link between business models and services. For this purpose the business model canvas of Osterwalder is adapted to address the shortcoming relating to co-creation of extant business models.

Part 1: “Modern Platforms” and “Service Science:” New Ways of Understanding “Platform” Mechanisms, Interests, and Outcomes

by Andrew Karpie

Draft Only (link to PDF available on web site post above)

I have suggested that Service Science offers a perspective and conceptual framework that can illuminate and enhance... more I have suggested that Service Science offers a perspective and conceptual framework that can illuminate and enhance our understanding of “modern platforms.” I have further suggested that what we observe today in the real world (and refer to as “modern platforms)” are “artificial” constructs or entities which consist of certain protocols, mechanisms, rules, regulations, etc. that define and govern interactions among “service systems” (organizations and individuals) within “value-creation networks.” I believe that, in this context, there is much, much more that we can study, learn, and understand about what we are calling “platforms,” how they can arise, how they can function, and how they may spawn different outcomes overall in aggregate across a realized “value-creation network” as well as for the different, specific, networked “service systems.”

Platform “Language Games” Is Clearly Defining and Classifying What We Are Studying A Serious Or Trivial Pursuit For The Research Community?

by Andrew Karpie

Draft Only (link to PDF available on web site post above)

Paper identifies a potential issue of lax "lexical hygiene" in economic/management science research of... more Paper identifies a potential issue of lax "lexical hygiene" in economic/management science research of "platforms." Suggests the possible usefulness of a taxonomic approach, takes an illustrative "first cut," and points to some possibly useful directions in "platform" research, including adoption of service-dominant logic perspective.

Ng, Irene C.L., Ralph Badinelli, Primiano Dinauta, Sue Halliday, Helge Löbler and Francesco Polese, (2012) “S-D Logic: Research Directions and Opportunities: The perspective of Systems, Complexity and Engineering,” Marketing Theory, forthcoming

by Irene C L Ng

Smith, Laura, Irene CL Ng and Roger Maull, (2012) “The Three Value Cycles of Equipment Based Service,” Production, Planning and Control, forthcoming

by Irene C L Ng

This paper contributes to the emerging discipline of service science through an empirical investigation of value... more This paper contributes to the emerging discipline of service science through an empirical investigation of value propositions as connections between service systems. The starting point for our research is that service science is an interdisciplinary approach to the study, design, and implementation of service systems, a service system being considered a dynamic configuration of resources (people, technology, organisations and shared information) that create and deliver value between the provider and the customer through service (IfM and IBM, 2008). Specifically, this paper investigates value propositions in the context of equipment-based service systems. Our qualitative findings identify three value proposition cycles; Recovery, Availability and Outcome. In so doing, showing that provider’s offer three distinct propositions of value with three different primary transformations. This research contributes to theory in service systems by identifying value propositions as multiple, simultaneous and iterative connections between provider and customer systems.