Some views on the Future of Services Research
Alistair Sutcliffe
Visiting Professor,
UCL Interaction Centre,
University College,
London
CSR, Manchester, Nov 10th 2011
Presentation Outline
1. Service Science Paradigms- Rental-Access and the Domain
Theory
2. Modelling Service Systems- lessons from Complex Adaptive
Systems theory
3. Services and Customer Engagement- some ideas from User
Experience research
4. IT – Services research agenda
Theme 1
Frameworks and paradigms
• Design patterns for service systems
• Abstract models of service systems
• IT support
- IT as the core service ‘product’ e-services
- IT as facilitator for the design and running of service systems
Service SystemsConceptual Frameworks
IHIP (Kotler 2003, Pride and Ferrell 2003)
Intangibility,
Heterogeneity, (variability)
Inseparability,
Perishability,
Services are composed
and co- experienced
Provider- Consumer
relationship
Rental Access Model (Lovelock & Gummesson 2004)
Physical act on Person,
Physical act on Object,
Mental act on person,
Information Processing
Services are ‘rented’ and ‘experienced’
Services as transient acts
and resources
Access not ownership
An Abstract Model of Services ?
• Object Hiring Applications (Domain Theory, Sutcliffe 2002)
o
o
service/reso
urce
deliver
return
o
client
request
But some services
are consumed and not
returned
Supplierowner
•
Object Allocation- search & access control
- search and matching customer needs and service properties
- access control permissions
•
Accounting Object Transfer
- payment transactions, micro payments
•
Object Composition
- service aggregation (orchestration)
IT Opportunities ?
• Allocation- search and matching
- strong Computer science interest, but is there anything new ?
- data mining, intelligent search, constraint based search, ultimately
depends on semantic knowledge (acquisition bottleneck)
• Accounting- payment
- done deal…. micro payment systems, security etc.
• Composition
- orchestration, service composition @ run time
- strong computer science interest, but ultimately depends on standards
…..services field is moving too quickly for standards
- evolutionary computing optimisation for composition trade offs- loose coupling of service interfaces
Object Hiring Family
-design patterns ?
Object Hiring
Physical resource
rental
Rooms
Cars
Dress
Books
Virtual resource
rental
Computer games
Internet access
E-resources
Agent services
rental
Knowledge
services
Management
Design
Education
Analysis
Forecasting..
Physical
services
Health care
Hair dressing
Training- skills
IT Research Opportunities
Search
& matching
Social
recommenders
Billing &
Payment
Community
& Social
orchestration
Management
& creativity
support
Design &
Development
of E-services
Composition
& Orchestration
Loose
Coupling
Data
Exchange
Design
Methods
& support
tools
Theme 2
Applying Social Psychology to
Service Systems
• Service systems are socio-technical systems
• Services involve collaborations between people (small groups) and
organisations (small and large)
• The problem involves coordinating people and inter-organisational
relationships
• Small group theory (Arrow et al 2000) is appropriate for small scale service
collaborations
Small Group Model
Arrow et al (2000) Small groups as complex systems
Emergent properties:
cohesion-integrity
effectiveness- goals
manage conflict
satisfy members
process information
Global
dynamics
influences
Local
dynamics
Knowledge Skills Abilities
Values Beliefs Attitudes
Personal Cognitive Behavioural styles
Agents
Networks of Agents,
Tasks, Tools
Application to Service Systems
Quality criteria to assess viability of service alliances
•
cohesion-integrity- shared goals, coordination mechanisms ?
•
effectiveness- processes in place to achieve service delivery ?
•
manage conflict- trust and governance, negotiation procedures ?
•
satisfy members- cost –benefit analysis for all stakeholders, motivation
analysis- short and long term alliances
•
process information- IT support and coordination between partners
Design processes to support the above criteriaCSCW and CMC technology
Shared Awareness and coordination
Types of Group
mode of formation
external
organiser
no external
organiser
organisations
teams,
task forces,
crews
ad hoc
task groups
members
social clubs,
societies
social
friendships,
clans
goals
concocted groups
natural formation
Application to Service Systems
• Crews –set roles for each member/partner
-patterns for different service domains (see earlier Domain Theory)
• Group formation – external organiser
- service brokers, matching process
• Group formation- social process
- build on social media, configure service e-communities
- creativity support- facilitate exchange of service success stories
• Method support
- checklist for building service alliances
- management guidelines
Group Life Cycle
Formation
phase
New
members
Formation
Senescence
Review
phase
Organisation
Operation
Optimisation
Design
phase
Application to Service Systems
• Method support & management guidelines
• Formation phase
- partner selection
- motivation analysis- goal, learning, self esteem, altruism
- KSA analysis- Knowledge Skills Abilities
-VBA analysis- Shared Values
•Design Phase
- governance, trust of procedures ?
- coordination processes, shared awareness ?
- monitoring performance
• Review Phase
- monitoring against targets
- negotiating change
- termination procedures (governance)
Transaction Cost theory
(Williamson 1980)
• Socio-Economic theory of markets and Inter-Organisational
Relationships
• Predicts governance in IORs according to the nature of
transactions
• Transactions categorised according to value and frequency
• Transaction costs are associated with managing the relationship
- governance
- coordination
- management
Key components of the theory
• Transactions rated for value & frequency- predicts
governance
– High coupling - capital goods or high-value assets
• High-level approval & control hierarchy
– Medium coupling – retail/wholesale products
• Less control but still for exceptional items
– Low coupling-routine purchase of supply/services
• Little scrutiny- market transactions
• Risks related to relationship type
17
Relationship Selection Model
Type of
Goods/
services
value
frequency
supply risk
supply cost
negotiaton
contract set up
workflow
coordination
18
maturity
of market
number of
suppliers
influences
determines
transaction
costs
Transaction
type
market
short term contract
long term contract
hierarchy
Governance
Trust
Procedure
Legal contacts
Applying TC theory to services
• High Value, low volume
- Architecture, Design, e.g. ARM microprocessors
ARM does have close relationships with its customers- chip manufacturers
but no take over (yet).
• Medium Value, and volume
- consultancy, e.g. Accenture
Relationship can be long lasting but no formal governance
• Low value, high volume
- hairdressing, personal care services
market style transactions
Conclusions- maybe TC theory is less applicable to Services – more specialised
so less advantage for vertical integration ?
Applying TC Theory to Services
•
Physical act on Person,
e.g. healthcare, lifestyle services, medium to low governance , short to
long term relationships
•
Physical act on Object
e.g. rental – hire services, medium to low governance, short term
relationships
•
Mental act on Person,
e.g. entertainment, education, low to medium governance,
•
Information Processing
e.g. marketing surveys, data analysis, low governance, transient goods
Conclusion: For services it is not only the nature of the transaction that counts
but also the duraction of the anticipated relationships (e.g. education alumni)
Theme 3.
Services and Customer Experience
Some motivation – Service Dominant Logic (Vargo & Lusch 2006, 2008)
• FP6 The customer is always a co-producer The customer is always a
cocreator of value.
• FP7 The enterprise can only make value propositions
• FP8 A service-centered view is customer oriented and relational
• FP9 Organizations exist to integrate and transform microspecialized
competences into complex services that are demanded in the marketplace
• FP10 Value is always uniquely and phenomenologically determined
Principles of CE (customer engagement)
(Roderick et al 2011)
•
FP1. CE reflects a psychological state, which occurs by virtue of interactive
customer experiences with a focal agent/object within specific service
relationships
•
FP2 CE states occur within a dynamic, iterative process of service relationships that
co-creates value
•
FP3 CE plays a central role within a nomological network of service relationships
•
FP4 CE is a multidimensional concept subject to a context- and/or stakeholderspecific expression of relevant cognitive, emotional, and behavioral dimensions
•
FP5 CE occurs within a specific set of situational conditions generating differing CE
levels
So are you much the wiser about CE ???
Applying Cognitive Theory
to CE
• Consumer attitudes and behaviour towards services involve judgement
and decision making
• So let’s apply psychological theory of human decision making, e.g.
- Klein (1980) Theory of Reasoned Action
- Payne et al (1993), Adaptive Decision Making
• These theories tell us that human judgement is
(a) influenced by context and the decision task
(b) goes through difference phases over time
(c) depends on the link between decision criteria and the context/task
Theory of UI quality judgement
(after Payne et al 1993, Adaptive Decision Maker)
Knowledge/
training
Culture
Users’
background
Strategies
Judgement Decision making
Process
Criteria
usability
content
aesthetics
reputation
customisation
Context
& task
Preference
Intentions
Behaviour
Criticality of decision
Hartman, Sutcliffe & de Angeli, 2008, Towards a theory of user judgment of aesthetics
and user interface quality. TOCHI15(4), 15-30.
Components of User Experience
• UX in the wide
-Experience throughout the Product life cycle
-Initial contact (aesthetics)
-Use (functionality, content)
-Customisation
-Support
• UX in the small (interaction, engagement)
-Presence- user as interactor
-Immersion in the interactive world
-Flow and engagement in the interactive world
-Social presence
Engagement and AttractivenessManchester framework:
Usability
Content
services
High level
impression
Reputation
Trust
Customisability
Cost
Interactive
experience
Aesthetics
Design
Quality
Engagement
Benefit
Need /
Specificity
Flow
Interaction
Customer experience
- short term
Emotional
reaction
Behavioural
response
Reflection
Initial encounter
Service trial
Service acceptance
Value perception
Brand
Appearance
Value appreciation
Utility
Motivational satisfaction
Value assessment
Adaptation
Customisation
Ownership
Life span of Customer experience
- longer term
Initial
Experience
Value perception
Brand
Appearance
Aesthetics
Interaction
QoS
Mid term
Experience
Late
Experience
Value appreciation
Motivational satisfaction
Utility
Interaction
Value growth
Learning
Adaptation
Customisation
Ownership
Trust
Quality of Service Relationship
CE- Implications for Service Marketing
• Value proposition- need to select the criteria appropriate for the service
- Physical act on Person- interaction, flow - experience
- Physical act on Object- utility, value
- Mental act on Person- interaction, flow - experience
- Information Processing- utility, value
•
Evolution of the value proposition will vary with type of service
- acts on person will need to change and adapt more than acts on objects
•
Value proposition has to overcome the hump of indifference
Value reward & motivation
Learning-adoption effort
Implications for Services Marketing-2
• Value proposition needs the promise of change for long term relationships
• Rate of change and customisation is a delicate balance
Value reward
change/ learning effort
Design
co-creation effort
Change points
• For longer term CE
- relationships {trust} is important as well as the service {experience}
- co creation in experience
- co creation in design more involvement but more cost
Service research Priorities
(from Ostrom et al 2010)
1. Fostering Service Infusion and Growth,
2. Improving Well-Being through Transformative Service
3. Creating and Maintaining a Service Culture- CAS Small group theory
4. Stimulating Service
5. Innovation, Enhancing Service Design, and Optimizing Service-Domain Patterns,
Transaction cost theory, Small group theory
6. Networks and Value Chains. Domain Patterns, Small group theory
7. Effectively Branding and Selling Services, User Experience JDM theory
8. Enhancing the Service Experience through Cocreation, User Experience JDM
theory
9. Measuring and Optimizing the Value of Service. User Experience JDM theory
Services Research Priorities- IT
1. Building business models for new service technologies (e.g., smart services, cloud
computing)Domain patterns
2. Accelerating adoption and acceptance of new, service oriented technologies
User Experience JDM theory
3. Capturing and delivering service-oriented information for real-time decision makingSelf adaptive systems and requirements monitoring
4. Enabling and accelerating mobile commerce and productivity for consumers and
employees
Self adaptive systems and requirements monitoring
5. Enhancing online privacy and security of information and assets to protect service
consumers, employees, companies, and society
6. Using the service system paradigm to drive innovation
7. Enabling agility and integration through service oriented architecture and service
platform.
Domain patterns
Conclusions
• Services Science or SSME (misnomer!) is an applied, multi disciplinary field
(see Maglio 2003 and others}
• It is therefore very similar to Human Computer Interaction
- as a design discipline
- draws on other foundational disciplines (psychology, sociology, computer
science, management science)
• It differs by being a composite of
- marketing, organisational design, & management
• To mature Service Systems Science needs
(a) to be grounded in, and apply, more basic theory
(b) apply knowledge from related disciplines rather than re-inventing the
wheel.
Any questions ?
and some references for the curious
Lovelock CH, Gummesson E (2004) Whither services marketing? In search of a new paradigm and
fresh perspectives. Journal of Service Research 7(1):20-41.
Lovelock CH, Wirtz J (2007) Services marketing: People, technology, strategy (6th edition).
Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River.
Lusch RF, Vargo SL (2006) The service-dominant logic of marketing: Dialog, debate, and directions.
M.E. Sharpe, Armonk.
Vargo SL, Lusch RF (2008) Service-dominant logic: Continuing the evolution. Journal of the
Academy of Marketing Science 36(1):1-10.
Amy L. Ostrom, Mary Jo Bitner, Stephen W. Brown, et al (2010), Moving Forward and Making a
Difference: Research Priorities for the Science of Service. Journal of Service Research 2010
13: 4
Sutcliffe, A. G. (2002). The Domain Theory: Patterns for knowledge and software reuse. Mahwah
NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Sutcliffe, A. G. (2009). Designing for user engagement: aesthetic and attractive user interfaces. In
Carroll, J.M. (Ed), Synthesis lectures on human centered informatics. San Rafael CA: Morgan
Claypool.
Sutcliffe, A. G., & Lammont, N. (2002). The Planet method for designing relationships in B2B ecommerce. Proceedings: Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, Hawaii 7-10
January 2002, (pp. 2739-2748). Los Alamitos CA: IEEE Computer Society Press.
Sutcliffe, A. G., & Lammont, N. (2001). Business and IT requirements for B2B e-commerce.
International Journal of New Product Development & Innovation Management (Dec/Jan),
353-370.
Selecting appropriate relationships
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