Title: Introduction to service system governance

Authors: Jennifer J. Shauger

Addresses: Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic, P.O. Box 1376, Norfolk, VA 23501, USA

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to introduce service system governance by exploring systems theory-based service systems. With the growing emphasis on services, and as globalisation has connected the world economically, technically, and socially, increasing emphasis has been placed on delivering customer solutions through the combined products and services offered by globally integrated enterprises. Service-dominant logic (S-D logic) and service science (SS) separately define service, but according to both, the concept of service system is central. First, the paper reviews recent developments in service theory. S-D logic and SS are explored with particular emphasis on the common feature of their concept of service system and how it can be described as a complex system. This is followed by an exploration of systems theory to understand service systems from this perspective. Through this exploration, governance of a service system is introduced. The paper concludes with implications of using systems theory as a theoretical lens to view service system governance.

Keywords: service systems; complex systems; service system governance; systems thinking; systems theory; service-dominant logic; service science; complexity.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSSE.2016.076128

International Journal of System of Systems Engineering, 2016 Vol.7 No.1/2/3, pp.189 - 206

Received: 20 Apr 2015
Accepted: 06 Aug 2015
Published online: 26 Apr 2016 *

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