Research implications

In this section we discuss the research implications that derive from the research outcomes. To clarify the implications and the issues that emerge, we refer to the research implications of each research outcome separately.

Research implications of the three-domain framework for the study of service systems

The three-domain framework provides an interdisciplinary approach for the study of service systems that integrates the technological, the business and the value/

usage aspects of service systems. We suggest the concept of service integrates human activities on the side of the user, business models, technologies and the natural and virtual environments, with which people interact and which form the service context. Hence, the study of service systems needs relate the computing/ digital world of services to the real/ physical world of services for businesses and for the individuals. In accordance with this premise, the framework suggests expanding the scope of research in service information systems beyond the technological infrastructures and computing operations to include also aspects about the service offering and its usage and value in the real world. The framework promotes, therefore, value-driven and user-oriented approaches in service research in information systems and can signify alternatives or can inspire novelties in the interactions between service users, providers and technologies.

The framework highlights the need for the alignment of technical, business and service architectures. A particular research implication is related to the extension of SOA (in section 3.3 we discussed the potential extension of the OASIS SOA Reference Architecture Foundations) with concepts of the Business and the User Domains about the service offering, the service usage and the service value. The incorporation of the business and the user’s concerns in the analysis

of service systems would enable better understanding of the use of technologies and services and better approximation of their value.

The thesis distinguishes the concept of service value as the underlying concept of service phenomena in the technological, the business and the user domain and as the baseline for the integration of the different concerns about the development, the provision and the usage of service. Hence, it advances the value perspective in the study, the analysis and design of service systems.

Technologies and business operations contribute to the creation of value by supporting the development and provision of service and facilitating the service usage. Their value potential is included in the value proposition of the service offering to the user. Therefore, value is created in a dynamic and progressive way along the phases of service development, provision and usage, through the direct or indirect interaction of technologies, service providers and service users.

These interactions can explain the co-creation of value as a fundamental concept in service research in information systems.

Service value is approached as value-in-use, that is as value that is created/actualized when the service is used by the user. Hence the value perspective corresponds to the development of usage-oriented and user-driven approaches in the analysis and design of services systems. This issue was further analyzed in the development of the User-Service-Technology method and the research implications are discussed next.

Research implications of the conceptual models of service value

The proposed conceptual models of service value can contribute to the interdisciplinary study and engineering of service systems. They can be useful tools for the better understanding of the value aspects of service systems and the introduction of value related concepts in the analysis and design of service systems. Hence, they can support bridging at a conceptual level the knowledge gap between the business and the technological aspects of service systems, which is a major obstacle for the development of interdisciplinary approaches in service research.

As mentioned in the introductory chapter and analyzed in the state of the art, the literature of information systems regards in general the concept of value as a business concern, which means the efforts to integrate value concepts in system architectures are uncommon or suffer from certain shortcomings. In addition, service value is characterized by a substantial complexity with concern to the underlying concepts, roles and processes. As a result, certain value-related concepts have been introduced inconsistently and rather ineffectively in service research in information systems.

The first conceptual model provides a global view on service ecosystems and supports the better understanding of service systems as value configuration structures. The second conceptual model emphasizes on the user’s perspective on service systems and can support the development of user-oriented approaches in service systems analysis and design. We should notice the conceptual models include concepts from the service management literature only, which allows to be adjusted to or merged with any other system engineering approach, in order to introduce value concepts in service engineering projects.

Research implications of the categorization of customer participation in joint value activities

The proposed categorization examines the role of the customer in the service processes and portrays the general types of customer participation in joint value activities. It analyzes their characteristics, explains their relationships and interprets the roles of the customer and the provider. The areas (design, production, innovation) and the types (customization, personalization, self-service, do-it-yourself, feedback and open innovation) of customer participation in joint value activities span a great range of the opportunities for customer participation, they are important research topics in the literature and provide many opportunities for service and business model innovations.

The categorization provides theoretical and practical implications for the role of the customer in the development of the business offering and in shaping its value potential. The theoretical implications are related to the better understanding of customer participation in joint value activities for the development of the business offering and the clarification of the characteristics of the types of customer participation we typically find in the literature. We suggest all the types of co-production activities require the direct interaction and collaboration between the customer and the provider and represent joint value activities. The categorization also sheds light on co-production as a value activity that addresses directly the relationship between the customer and the provider and, hence, is full of managerial implications.

From a practical point of view, the discussion about customer participation in joint value activities moves away from the theoretical sphere and abstract conceptualizations about service value and value co-creation and receives concrete and practical meaning with the different types of customer participation.

The categorization contributes to the improved awareness of the mechanisms of customer participation and can provide strategic insights for boosting customer participation in business practices. Practitioners can be supported in deciding about customer participation by examining the characteristics of the different approaches, choosing the area of customer participation in the business processes (design, production and innovation) and determining who will have the direction and control in the joint value activities.

Implication for future research can consider the extension of the framework to different domain or with additional areas of joint value creating activities. For instance, one can investigate joint value creating activities in online environments and with concern to ICT-enabled services, either in a dyadic relationship between the customer and the provider, or in multilateral relationships in online communities.

Research implications of the User-Service-Technology method for service analysis and design

The User-Service-Technology method proposes the user perspective in the analysis and design of mobile services, which emphasizes on what the user is doing with mobile services in his life practices. Hence, the attention is on the user, his intentions, behavior and context. The emphasis is on the use of service and the resulting service value, rather than on the processes and the technologies of the provider or the service exchanges, such as in other methods

for service analysis and design. The user’s perspective suggests the discussion about service use and service value can be even more important and insightful for service innovations than the discussion about service systems and technologies.

As service is embedded in life practices, the scope of service analysis and design needs to be extended beyond the ‘line of visibility’ and the direct interaction between the user and the provider, which is the focal point of other methods. In addition, users do not always use and experience service according to how it is designed by the providers. What’s more, in real life situations services are combined with other services that are used concurrently or are related to other services that were used in the recent past or will be used in the near future. Hence, service value can be affected by personal preferences and situations, contextual parameters and other services, which means the provider does not determine it and, therefore, it is not simply a matter of service design.

Taking all these into account, we suggest service analysis and design should be initiated by examining service usage in the User Domain – and then proceed to the analysis of business processes and technologies.

The analysis in the User Domain in order to understand service usage and service value is a major research challenge currently (e.g. the ‘user, usage and utility’ research agenda suggested by Brenner et al. (2014)). Analytical methods are still missing for this. The User-Service-Technology method makes a step in this direction. We should notice tracking technologies can support the automated capture of service usage in the daily practices of the user and data analytics methods can support the identification of service usage patterns at individual and collective level analysis and the modeling of human behaviors. In addition, service value for the user is rather enigmatic and therefore difficult to be precisely described, analyzed and assessed; however, it is extremely useful to be taken into account, even as an approximation, in order to gain better understanding of the customer logic in service usage and learn from it.

The User-Service-Technology method features on mobile services because they enable ubiquitous service provision and propel the ‘digitization of life’. Mobile services have unique characteristics related to the mobility, localization, context-awareness, smartness and personalization. With such unique and dynamic characteristics, mobile services have the potential to provide increased value and inspire innovations, such as new types of value (e.g. location-aware services), new ways for value configuration (e.g. real-time interaction with friends and other users who share the same context), rich experiences (e.g.

context-aware services that adapt to the situation of the user) and opportunities for more added value (e.g. receiving service any time and especially at the moment it is needed).