Towards a service system ontology for service science

Service Science is a new interdisciplinary approach to the study, design, implementation, and innovation of service systems. However due to the variety in service research, there is no consensus yet about the theoretical foundation of this domain. In this paper we clarify the service systems worldview proposed by Service Science researchers Spohrer and Kwan by investigating its foundational concepts from the perspective of established service theories and frameworks. By mapping the proposed service system concepts on the selected service theories and frameworks, we investigate their theoretical foundations, examine their proposed definitions and possible conflicting interpretations, discover their likely relationships and general structure, and identify a number of issues that need further discussion and elaboration. This analysis is visualised in a multi-view conceptual model (in the form of a UML class diagram) which we regard as a first step towards an explicitly and formally defined service system ontology

An Interdisciplinary Perspective on Education Service Systems

Part 3: Finance and Service ScienceInternational audienceThe increased complexity in education systems has given rise to a number of intersecting trends and calling for a discipline to integrate across academic silos. As the concept of service innovation advances more rapidly into education services; industry, government, and academy are awakened to the concept of embedding services innovation. This theoretical paper offers an integrated framework for education systems (IFES) covering two intersecting dimensions where service innovation and service science can take place. As an effort to contribute in the area of service innovation and service sciences, an interdisciplinary approach is applied, interconnecting an array of competences across the different stakeholders. It is hypothesized that to increase productivity in education industries, interconnecting knowledge and resources from diverse areas and across different stakeholders through the co-lineation of four dimensions: (1) information, communications and technology; (2) skills and tools; (3) people and attitudes; (4) systems, processes and management; are essential to creating service innovation. This paper contributes a perspective of interconnectivity balanced with harmony that are crucial for effective productivity and service innovation by adopting a service science approach

Towards a Process Model for Service Systems

Service Science is a new interdisciplinary approach to the study, design, implementation. and innovation of service systems. However due to the variety in service research, there is no consensus yet about the theoretical foundation of this domain. As a basis for a common understanding of service systems and their interactions, Service Science researchers Spohrer and Kwan proposed the service systems worldview. The ISPAR model was presented as a part of this service systems worldview as a tool for identifying ten possible interaction episodes, i.e., the sequences of activities that are undertaken by two interacting service system entities. In this paper we evaluate the use of the ISPAR model as a process model for service systems. We identify the shortcomings of the ISPAR model and propose possible improvements. This analysis leads to the development of a new service process model which is demonstrated through tree different examples

On Viable Service Systems: Developing a Modeling Framework for Analysis of Viability in Service Systems

This paper explores the contribution of systems modeling to the design and analysis of viability in service systems. We apply a modeling framework called SEAM (Systemic Enterprise Architecture Method) to gain an understanding of how a service system maintains its identity and remains viable in its environment. SEAM embodies theoretical insights from systems science and organizational cybernetics, in particular the viable system model of Stafford Beer. We illustrate the applicability of the framework by modeling the design of viability in a service system

Hamline law review

Service delivery optimization has an important impact on organizational profitability, where changes in allocation of resources (e.g. humans, equipment and materials) to services increases profit. Simulation and optimization techniques generally suffer from three main drawbacks; firstly, the limited knowledge and skill of researchers in modeling social complexities. Secondly, having assumed that a fairly realistic model of the problem is simulated, finding optimal solutions requires an exhaustive search that is almost impossible in problems with a large search space. Thirdly, mathematical optimization techniques often require the acquisition of knowledge in a central unit, which is problematic e.g. for privacy reasons. This article introduces a new technique, which combines Agent Based Modeling (ABM) and Distribution Constraint Optimization (DCOP) to overcome these difficulties. Our empirical results present a successful model for finding optimized resourced allocation settings in comparison with two different ABM simulated models on a sample of a real-life service delivery problem</p