Service Innovation: A Service-Dominant Logic Perspective

Abstract

In this article, we offer a broadened view of service innovation-one grounded in service-dominant logic-that transcends the tangible-intangible and producer-consumer divides that have plagued extant research in this area. Such a broadened conceptualization of service innovation emphasizes (1) innovation as a collaborative process occurring in an actor-to-actor (A2A) network, (2) service as the application of specialized competences for the benefit of another actor or the self and as the basis of all exchange, (3) the generativity unleashed by increasing resource liquefaction and resource density, and (4) resource integration as the fundamental way to innovate. Building on these core themes, we offer a tripartite framework of service innovation: (1) service ecosystems, as emergent A2A structures actors create and recreate through their effectual actions and which offer an organizing logic for the actors to exchange service and cocreate value; (2) service platforms, which enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of service exchange by liquefying resources and increasing resource density (facilitating easy access to appropriate resource bundles) and thereby serve as the venue for innovation; and (3) value cocreation, which views value as cocreated by the service offer(er) and the service beneficiary (e.g., customer) through resource integration and indicate the need for mechanisms to support the underlying roles and processes. In discussing these components, we consider the role of information technology-both as an operand resource and as an operant resource-and then examine the implications for research and practice in digitally enabled service innovation.

Value-In-Context with Service Innovation in the Digital Age: A Service-Dominant Logic Perspective

“…Although S-D logic is rooted in marketing, its scope is not limited to this specific field. Among others, the broadened view of S-D logic beyond marketing is adapted in current research on digitized service innovation [2,6]. In line with S-D logic, the purpose is to provide research a thinking framework that conceptualizes value creation and innovation from a service based perspective-here with focus on digitized service innovation.…”

“…The resulting digitized products are henceforth platforms for service provision where certain product functions exist outside the physical device in a product cloud. In this way, the traditional role of the service function is expanded and enables novel, platform-based and highly integrated offerings [4,5,6].…”

“…The convergence of physical products, digitalization, and service offerings heightens the need for a shift to service oriented thinking [6], as promoted by, e.g., Service-Dominant logic (S-D logic). The resulting increasingly complex service context presents a major challenge for service innovation research.…”

“…The generative capacity of digitized products (as service platforms) offers unanticipated opportunities for innovation that overstep the boundaries of the physical product [2]. Thus, understanding of innovation should focus on the value experienced by the customer rather than on the output delivered by a service provider [6].…”

“…Direct value-in-context equals S-D logic's understanding of value-in-context [e.g. 6,14,15]. The authors newly introduce the two other value-in-context components on the assumption that both are also decisive factors in customers' perceptions of value and so substantially contribute to service experience.…”