The ‘servicelization’ of societies: towards new paradigms in work organization

This article proposes an alternative to the theoretical framework for the approaches to phenomena of the servicelization of work in complex organizational contexts. In contradiction to the models which question the industrialization processes, theoretical paradigms are presented which highlight integration in the analyses of new concepts of work, such as co-production, the supremacy of the client/user, the evaluation of organizational performances and competence logic. Finally, a model of the service enterprise is presented with its alternative configurations in a proposal for empirical application, some of which is now being carried out in Portugal

L’actualité des rêves du commerce

Pour un économiste spécialisé dans l’analyse des activités tertiaires à l’époque contemporaine, la lecture d’un livre d’historien portant sur l’ambivalence des sentiments des milieux d’affaires français à l’égard des institutions et des règlements au cours de la période 1780-1860 peut sembler un exercice d’hygiène intellectuelle salutaire, mais bien éloigné de ses propres thématiques de recherche. Avec l’ouvrage de Jean-Pierre Hirsch il en va différemment. C’est que l’économiste, qui est en g..

La crise écologique exige une révolution de l’économie des services

Pour construire une économie écologique des services, il faut d’abord s’intéresser aux bilans écologiques complets de ces activités. Il apparaît alors que l’immatérialité parfois supposée des services est un mythe. Il pourrait bien en résulter des freins à l’expansion future des services dans l’emploi, dès lors que leurs externalités environnementales seraient internalisées et que l’agriculture et l’industrie seraient réorientées sur une voie non productiviste. Mais ces bilans et prospectives doivent être effectués à un niveau sectoriel plus fin que la trilogie traditionnelle.In order to build ecological economics of services, we need first to investigate the question of the environmental pressure that services exert and how to measure it. It appears that the alleged immateriality of services in largely a myth. Consequently, the trend towards increased service-sector employment could possibly be affected or even reversed, as far as environmental externalities are internalized and agriculture and manufacturing reoriented on a nonproductiviste way. But such an analysis ought to be carried out at a more detailed industry level than the traditional division in three sectors

Financial Constraints, Innovation Performance and Sectoral Disaggregation

How do the effects of financial constraints on innovation performance vary by sector and firm characteristics? This paper uses innovation survey data from 11 European countries to examine the heterogeneity of these effects. Our results suggest that the impact of direct measures of financial barriers differs in production and service sectors, and also by the firm's export orientation. In particular, financial constraints appear to have more pronounced negative effects in the production sector than in the service sector. Among different types of firms, the response to financial constraints seems to be stronger for non-exporters

An Integrative Design Framework for New Service Development

Service innovation is focused on customer value creation. At its core, customer-centric service innovation in an increasingly digital world is technology-enabled, human-centered, and process-oriented. This requires a cross-disciplinary, holistic approach to new service design and development (NSD). This paper proposes a new service strategy-aligned integrative design framework for NSD. It correlates the underlying theories and principles of disparate but interrelated aspects of service design thinking: service strategy, concept, design, experience and architecture into a coherent framework for NSD, consistent with the service brand value. Application of the framework to NSD is envisioned to be iterative and holistic, accentuated on continuous organizational and customer learning. The preliminary framework's efficacy is illustrated using a simplified telecom case example. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014

Understanding social innovation in services industries

This paper puts forward a framework for understanding the relationship between service industries and social innovation. These are two, previously disconnected research areas. The paper explores ways in which innovation in services is increasingly becoming one of social innovation (in terms of social goals, social means, social roles and multi-agent provision) and how social innovation can be understood from a service innovation perspective. A taxonomy is proposed based on the mix between innovation nature and the locus of co-production. The paper additionally puts forward a theoretical framework for understanding social innovation in services, where the co-creation of innovation is the result of an interaction of competences and preferences of multiple providers, users/citizens, and policy makers. This provides the basis for a discussion of key avenues for future research in theory, measurement, organisation, appropriation, performance measurement, and public policy

Service triads:a research agenda for buyer–supplier–customer triads in business services

Service triads, in which a buyer contracts with a supplier to deliver services directly to the buyer's customer, represent an emerging business model. This special issue is dedicated to this theme. To set the context, in this lead article, we first define service triads, both as a phenomenon and a research topic. We then provide a review of different strands of existing research and various theoretical frameworks that can inform our study of service triads. This culminates in an outline of a research agenda that can guide future study. As such, this paper not only introduces the articles in the special issue, but is also intended as a point of reference and motivation for further work on service triads, and on triads in general

Examining the impact of digital technologies on students’ Higher Education outcomes:The case of the Virtual Learning Environment and social media

Digital natives is a term used to describe current higher education (HE) students, whose lives are proliferated by digital technologies. To cater to the needs of this new generation of students, HE institutions increasingly adopt digital tools such as virtual learning environments (VLE) and social media (SM). Little is known, however, about the impact of these digital technologies on students’ HE outcomes. Drawing from service productivity theories, this study aims to address this gap. Through exploratory sequential mixed research methods, we identify five HE outcomes and reveal that Learning-Oriented Outcomes are the most important in HE even when digital technologies are not used; and these outcomes are further enhanced when students use VLE. Learning-Oriented Outcomes, however, are the least important when SM is used in HE; students tend to prioritise outcomes related to Knowledge Transfer instead. Our research findings derive theoretical and practical contributions and open up avenues for future research