Self-organizing Service Ecosystems: Exploring a New Concept for Service Science

Abstract

The rapid advancements on digital technologies have positioned digital transformation as a central topic of interest to information systems (IS) researchers. However, our understanding of the nature, extent and dynamics of digital service ecosystems remains limited. This short paper contributes to IS and service science research by introducing the conceptualization of self-organizing service ecosystem as an analytical lens for understanding digital transformative phenomena in service ecosystems. To achieve this, we draw on the most recent narrative of value co-creation from service-dominant logic and on key definitions from the theory of self-organization. This paper also discusses future research directions emphasizing on the role and impact of technology in self-organizing service ecosystems.