scholarly journals Morphogenetic Service Ecosystems: An emergentist analysis of the mechanisms of service ecosystem transformation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Hamish Simmonds
Keyword(s):  
Service Providers ◽  
Theoretical Work ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Process Time ◽  
Service Research ◽  
Service Ecosystems ◽  
Dimensional Complexity ◽  
Service Ecosystem

<p>The service ecosystem concept is becoming an influential unit of analysis and set of assumptions describing a systemic, processual and institutional view of service and exchange. This thesis critiques this set of assumptions and the resulting construction of service ecosystems. The critique forms the first of a three-stage approach to metatheorising underpinning this thesis. At the core of this critique is the issue of conflation, which is aligned with the sociological frameworks and underlying assumptions informing this literature. Conflation collapses the multi-levelled and dimensional complexity of the structure of service ecosystems and leaves it devoid of its cumulative organising and effects played out across time.  Following the critique, the thesis pursues two objectives. Firstly, a conceptualisation is developed which offers an overarching lens, connecting a critical realist and emergentist social ontology to an analytical framework and a process of theorising built on reconceptualising the constitution of service ecosystems. Secondly, the thesis undertakes an empirical study to actualise this lens, aiming to develop new theoretical insight and sources of explanation of how service ecosystems’ experience change and stability in developing through time. The thesis undertakes an embedded case study of ICT and digital reform in the New Zealand public sector and the enterprise services market, representing government agencies and service providers as a service ecosystem. The intensive case study provides an exploratory and illustrative setting in which to apply the metatheoretical and analytical framework and offers empirically informed mechanisms as theoretical propositions regarding the changing nature of the service ecosystem.  The findings reveal four key mechanisms; compression, modes of alignment, ecotonal coupling and refraction. These mechanisms provide insight into the changing composition of the structure of the service ecosystem, the relationships of compatibility, tensions and complementarity between structures, the generative nature of emerging boundaries, and the role of history and layered organisation in shaping the trajectory of the service ecosystem. These mechanisms, informed by the overarching lens, contribute to overcoming conflation by establishing emergent relationality and a processual intertwining of being and becoming. These become the basis of multi-levelled, multi-dimensional complexity and cumulative organising. These foundations then allow the reconceptualising of change, coevolution and boundaries as important structural features. Finally, the under-theorised roles of stability and change, history, process, time and space are informed by these findings. Subsequently, this thesis contributes to: the need for further interconnected metatheoretical and midrange theoretical work investigating how service ecosystems adapt and evolve; the call to strengthen the metatheoretical and critical orientations and foundations of theories in marketing and service research; the critique of sociological frameworks and their theory-laden answers to the constitution of the social world and the terms on which it is to be researched and explained.</p>

scholarly journals Morphogenetic Service Ecosystems: An emergentist analysis of the mechanisms of service ecosystem transformation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Hamish Simmonds
Keyword(s):  
Service Providers ◽  
Theoretical Work ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Process Time ◽  
Service Research ◽  
Service Ecosystems ◽  
Dimensional Complexity ◽  
Service Ecosystem

<p>The service ecosystem concept is becoming an influential unit of analysis and set of assumptions describing a systemic, processual and institutional view of service and exchange. This thesis critiques this set of assumptions and the resulting construction of service ecosystems. The critique forms the first of a three-stage approach to metatheorising underpinning this thesis. At the core of this critique is the issue of conflation, which is aligned with the sociological frameworks and underlying assumptions informing this literature. Conflation collapses the multi-levelled and dimensional complexity of the structure of service ecosystems and leaves it devoid of its cumulative organising and effects played out across time.  Following the critique, the thesis pursues two objectives. Firstly, a conceptualisation is developed which offers an overarching lens, connecting a critical realist and emergentist social ontology to an analytical framework and a process of theorising built on reconceptualising the constitution of service ecosystems. Secondly, the thesis undertakes an empirical study to actualise this lens, aiming to develop new theoretical insight and sources of explanation of how service ecosystems’ experience change and stability in developing through time. The thesis undertakes an embedded case study of ICT and digital reform in the New Zealand public sector and the enterprise services market, representing government agencies and service providers as a service ecosystem. The intensive case study provides an exploratory and illustrative setting in which to apply the metatheoretical and analytical framework and offers empirically informed mechanisms as theoretical propositions regarding the changing nature of the service ecosystem.  The findings reveal four key mechanisms; compression, modes of alignment, ecotonal coupling and refraction. These mechanisms provide insight into the changing composition of the structure of the service ecosystem, the relationships of compatibility, tensions and complementarity between structures, the generative nature of emerging boundaries, and the role of history and layered organisation in shaping the trajectory of the service ecosystem. These mechanisms, informed by the overarching lens, contribute to overcoming conflation by establishing emergent relationality and a processual intertwining of being and becoming. These become the basis of multi-levelled, multi-dimensional complexity and cumulative organising. These foundations then allow the reconceptualising of change, coevolution and boundaries as important structural features. Finally, the under-theorised roles of stability and change, history, process, time and space are informed by these findings. Subsequently, this thesis contributes to: the need for further interconnected metatheoretical and midrange theoretical work investigating how service ecosystems adapt and evolve; the call to strengthen the metatheoretical and critical orientations and foundations of theories in marketing and service research; the critique of sociological frameworks and their theory-laden answers to the constitution of the social world and the terms on which it is to be researched and explained.</p>

Harmonious homegoings: alleviating consumer vulnerability through service fluidity and compassion

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Courtney Nations Azzari ◽  
Natalie A. Mitchell ◽  
Charlene A. Dadzie
Keyword(s):  
Service Providers ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Service Industries ◽  
The Body ◽  
Service Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Consumer Vulnerability ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Service Ecosystem

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of service flexibility in addressing consumer vulnerability for chronically-traumatized consumers within the funerary context. Design/methodology/approach Using phenomenological philosophy and a grounded approach, data was collected and analyzed through 12 depth interviews with funeral service providers, coupled with observations and photographs of three second-line funeral processionals. Findings Study results include the following three primary roles of service providers in supporting chronically-traumatized consumers: the role of service fluidity in addressing trauma, mitigating vulnerability via service providers as community members and alleviating suffering through compassionate service. Service flexibility and value co-creation efforts were executed through an expansive service ecosystem of vendors. Practical implications When consumers experience vulnerability that demands reliance upon service industries, service providers can intentionally implement fluidity and agility in service design, adopt understanding and altruistic practices, and operate with empathy and compassion to orchestrate mutually-beneficial service outcomes. Social implications Rooted in transformative service research, providers are advised to consider modifying services to improve well-being and mitigate vulnerability for chronically-traumatized consumers via fluidity, community and compassion. Originality/value This study contributes originality to the body of service marketing literature by illustrating how service providers alleviate vulnerability for chronically-traumatized consumers through three adaptive service strategies.

A perspective on value co-creation processes in eSports service ecosystems

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Reinhard E. Kunz ◽  
Alexander Roth ◽  
James P. Santomier
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Interactions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
World Championship ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
A Value ◽  
Service Ecosystems ◽  
Service Ecosystem ◽  
League Of Legends ◽  
Multiple Actors

PurposeElectronic Sports (eSports) is an emerging sector of the sports and entertainment industry experiencing an accelerated increase in consumer and sponsor demand. This paper aims to study selected cases of eSports service ecosystems, to identify similarities and differences and to understand the different roles, relationships and multiple interactions of actors involved in value co-creation processes.Design/methodology/approachThis empirical paper follows the service-dominant logic to highlight value creation. Based on the sport value framework, an organizing logic for the actors in sports-related ecosystems to exchange service and co-create value, the authors apply the conceptualization of an eSports service ecosystem framework in which actors create value through their interactions. A case study approach was applied to qualitatively describe two cases of value co-creation by multiple actors during three eSports events. Case study 1a is the 2019 League of Legends World Championship Finals in Paris. Case study 1b is the 2020 League of Legends World Championship Finals in Shanghai. Case study 2 is the BLAST Premier Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Global Final 2020, which was entirely virtual.FindingsThe outcome is an empirically investigated conceptual framework of multiple actors co-creating value within a service ecosystem in eSports. The insights of the cases explain how actors interact with each other and co-create value during events in eSports ecosystems. The cases illustrate interactions in the context of eSports where the actors are connected within ecosystems. This enables further development of a value co-creation concept and a better understanding of value co-creation in eSports.Originality/valueThis study contributes to research by explicating a theoretically grounded framework for eSports service ecosystems based on empirical evidence. This research extends the scope of value co-creation beyond the firm–customer dyad to a service ecosystem in eSports, demonstrating the dynamic interactions of multiple actors.

Struggling with agency problems in open innovation ecosystem: corporate policies in innovation hub

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 881-898 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Cristina Longo ◽  
Sonia Caterina Giaccone
Keyword(s):  
Agency Theory ◽  
Agency Problems ◽  
The Other ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Process Data ◽  
Corporate Policies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Ecosystems ◽  
Service Ecosystem

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss the topic of agency problems in service ecosystem for innovation. It specifically explores the corporate policies aimed at encouraging collaboration, so as to prevent opportunistic behaviors within the innovation hub, where service exchange is central for innovation creation. Design/methodology/approach The authors apply the agency theory framework to the hub as a service ecosystem in order to understand how it would be possible to address agency problems between the firm (principal) and the other actors of the hub (agents), involved in peer-to-peer interactions. The research explores the case study of a high-tech leading company, which is a pioneer in the use of the hub for supporting its innovation process. Data are collected through semi-structured interviews to some key informants of the Hub Program regarding structure and organization; participation; incentives and monitoring. Findings In service ecosystems, corporate policies are based on commitment, psycho-social incentives and social control may encourage collaboration among the actors, thus contributing to align their own interests to the hub’s innovation common goals. Research limitations/implications Given the exploratory nature of the research, the paper is based on a single case study. Thus, it is not possible to either generalize the results or evaluate any statistical correlation. Practical implications The paper provides a wider awareness about the benefits and risks related to service ecosystems for innovation, and advise both managers and practitioners about appropriate corporate policies to better address the agency problems. Originality/value This study enhances the literature on service ecosystems, highlighting the importance of corporate policies in preventing opportunistic behavior of actors in order to ensure the value co-creation process. It also extends the agency theory application to informal and not-hierarchical contexts. Besides, it suggests practitioners a way to reconcile the different interests of the firm and the other hub’s participants.

Evaluating the outcomes of service ecosystems

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 834-846 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudio Baccarani ◽  
Fabio Cassia
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Resource Integration ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Ecosystems ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Service Ecosystem ◽  
Complex Relationships

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand how the resource integration processes that occur within service ecosystems affect both the well-being of the entire ecosystem and the well-being of specific focal actors (i.e. customers) in the ecosystem. Specifically, this paper considered cases in which customers’ well-being results from simultaneous participation in a multiplicity of service ecosystems. Design/methodology/approach An illustrative example, taken from the tourism context, was used to develop a conceptual framework (of which customers were the focal actors) to evaluate service ecosystem outcomes. Findings The results showed that the well-being of focal actors (i.e. customers) should be evaluated by considering the outcomes that arise in the interlocking service ecosystems in which the customers simultaneously participate. Further, in relation to these interlocking service ecosystems, high levels of well-being within a single ecosystem did not necessarily cause focal actors to experience high levels of well-being. Research limitations/implications To ensure the creation of positive customer experiences, the co-creating actors (e.g. the service providers) must first identify each of the interlocking service ecosystems in which customers simultaneously participate and then establish interactions with other relevant actors. Originality/value By considering the complex relationships between the well-being of a service ecosystem as a whole and the well-being of specific focal actors (e.g. customers) in an ecosystem, this study advances knowledge about evaluations on the performance of service ecosystems.

Service ecosystems: insights from a wedding

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (12) ◽  
pp. 1395-1410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudio Damacena ◽  
Serje Schmidt ◽  
Ioná Plein Bolzan Gauze
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Research Strategy ◽  
Rite Of Passage ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Potential Value ◽  
Service Ecosystems ◽  
Service Ecosystem

Purpose This study aims to analyze the context of experience within a service ecosystem to understand how the different actors at a specific event, namely, a wedding, interact and contribute to co-create value. Design/methodology/approach A case study was used as a research strategy. Content analysis was used to analyze the data with the aid of NVIVO software. Findings The results indicate the importance of interaction between different actors for co-creation to occur as it does not occur in isolation and is generated for and with all the audiences of an event. In addition, during the exchange encounter, the presence of guests and the network of suppliers influenced social interaction and the perception of value. Originality/value Studies indicate a need for empirical research based on different contexts of service ecosystems. This study addresses the co-creation of events in an area different from those investigated to date: a wedding. In this rite of passage, the experience is highly involving and interactive, contains different audiences and potential value generation for all those involved.

Equilibrating resources and challenges during crises: a framework for service ecosystem well-being

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 1107-1129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jörg Finsterwalder ◽  
Volker G. Kuppelwieser
Keyword(s):  
Research Agenda ◽  
Service Industry ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Service Industries ◽  
Service Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Ecosystems ◽  
Individual Actor ◽  
Service Ecosystem ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThis article explores the impact of crises, such as the coronavirus pandemic, on service industries, service customers, and the service research community. It contextualizes pandemics in the realm of disasters and crises, and how they influence actors' well-being across the different levels of the service ecosystem. The paper introduces a resources–challenges equilibrium (RCE) framework across system levels to facilitate service ecosystem well-being and outlines a research agenda for service scholars.Design/methodology/approachLiterature on disasters, crises, service and well-being is synthesized to embed the COVID-19 pandemic in these bodies of work. The material is then distilled to introduce the novel RCE framework for service ecosystems, and points of departure for researchers are developed.FindingsA service ecosystems view of well-being co-creation entails a dynamic interplay of actors' challenges faced and resource pools available at the different system levels.Research limitations/implicationsService scholars are called to action to conduct timely and relevant research on pandemics and other crises, that affect service industry, service customers, and society at large. This conceptual paper focuses on service industries and service research and therefore excludes other industries and research domains.Practical implicationsManagers of service businesses as well as heads of governmental agencies and policy makers require an understanding of the interdependence of the different system levels and the challenges faced versus the resources available to each individual actor as well as to communities and organizations.Social implicationsDisasters can change the social as well as the service-related fabric of society and industry. New behaviors have to be learned and new processes put in place for society to maintain well-being and for service industry's survival.Originality/valueThis paper fuses the coronavirus pandemic with service and well-being research, introduces a resources-challenges equilibrium framework for service ecosystem well-being and outlines a research agenda.

scholarly journals Service Innovations in Health Care Service Ecosystem: A Case Study

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Vincenza Ciasullo ◽  
Silvia Cosimato
Keyword(s):  
Healthcare Service ◽  
Care Service ◽  
Health Care Service ◽  
Service Innovation ◽  
Service Research ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Service Ecosystems ◽  
Service Ecosystem

In service economy, scholars and practitioners focus on the development and the appliance of innovative services. The importance of service innovation is rising in many sectors and among different organizations. Several disciplines (e.g. marketing, management, operations research, etc.) focus on this innovation, a concept widely used, but with different definitions. In this paper, service innovation has been analyzed according to SD Logic and a service ecosystem perspective. Literature still call for a deeper understanding of how new or renewed resources&rsquo; combination affect the shaping of service ecosystems. To contribute to fill this gap, the study explores the practices that different actors, internal and external to a healthcare service ecosystem, enact to co-create value in novel ways that is service innovation. The paper is structured as follows. In the next section, the main academic contributions on service research have been reviewed, focusing on healthcare service innovation. Follows, the research method and the discussion of research findings. Finally, theoretical and managerial implications have been detailed and an agenda for future research suggested. The paper offers interesting insights to develop new or renewed practices that foster the reshaping and maintaining of a healthcare service ecosystem. Some recommendations are included to support managers in the development of service innovation strategies.

The role of technology and institutions in tourism service ecosystems

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 811-833 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio Barile ◽  
Maria Vincenza Ciasullo ◽  
Orlando Troisi ◽  
Debora Sarno
Keyword(s):  
Tourism Destination ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Tourism Management ◽  
Service Ecosystems ◽  
Service Ecosystem ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Tourism Service ◽  
New Institutions

Purpose Given the growing attention on service ecosystem and the role played by technology and institutions in shaping of actors’ relations and interactions, the purpose of this paper is to examine a tourism environment with the lens of service ecosystem in order to derive a deeper understanding on the underlying mechanisms. Design/methodology/approach A mixed methodology was used. First, literature review based on service ecosystems framework was conducted to critically analyze the roles of technology and institutions to shape a tourism service ecosystem. Then a case study was conducted. Findings Two main findings are described: the role and the characteristics of physical and virtual engagement touchpoints in the emergence of a tourism service ecosystems; and the relationship between technology and institutions in the resource integration. In particular, the authors conclude that institutions can shape the usage of technology which, in turn, can enable and imply the emergence of new institutions, continually adjusting the system of the tourism service ecosystem. Practical implications The analysis contributes to deepening the knowledge about value co-creation processes and engagement expedients in tourism destination, explaining the role of institutions and technology in helping actors to integrate resources and exchange services. The study can also be useful for practitioners in search for powerful tool to increase the competitiveness of a tourism destination. Originality/value The study is one of the first attempts to conceptualize and operationalize a tourism destination in a service ecosystem framework. In this way it contribute to enhance scientific knowledge in a tourism management literature.

scholarly journals Stakeholder engagement in intra- and inter-organizational innovation

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 399-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia M. Jonas ◽  
Julian Boha ◽  
David Sörhammar ◽  
Kathrin M. Moeslein
Keyword(s):  
Stakeholder Engagement ◽  
Organizational Innovation ◽  
Longitudinal Case Study ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Innovation Activities ◽  
Service Ecosystems ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Service Ecosystem ◽  
Over Time

Purpose To further extend the understanding of multidimensional engagement of stakeholders embedded in service systems, the purpose of this paper is to explore the antecedents that constitute stakeholder engagement in inter-organizational service ecosystems where stakeholders co-create innovations over time. Design/methodology/approach An explorative, longitudinal case study design is employed to analyze stakeholders’ engagement in co-innovation in an inter-organizational service system in an engineering context. Findings The study identifies eight antecedents for stakeholder engagement in innovation in the context of a B2B environment. Building on related engagement research, the empirical data show how stakeholder engagement is influenced at both individual and organizational levels by the antecedents friendship, common experiences, self-representation, trust, a common goal, resource dependency, level in the hierarchy, institutional arrangements, and local proximity. Originality/value The paper extends current understanding of engagement and illuminates stakeholder engagement on a micro level, addressing four key issues for stakeholder engagement in a service ecosystem. How can stakeholder engagement be maintained over time? Does stakeholder engagement at specific hierarchical levels enhance or hinder inter-organizational co-innovation? Is strong engagement necessary for innovation activities? Are the different engagement antecedents linked?

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document