Title: Service blueprinting and process-chain-network: an ontological comparison

Authors: Yahya Kazemzadeh; Simon K. Milton; Lester W. Johnson

Addresses: Department of Computing and Information Systems, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia ' Department of Computing and Information Systems, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia ' Melbourne Business School, The University of Melbourne, 200 Leicester St., Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia; Department of Management and Marketing, Charles Sturt University, Panorama Avenue, Bathurst NSW 2795, Australia

Abstract: Recently, Sampson (2012b) has introduced a new way to visualise service delivery processes which he calls process-chain-network (PCN) analysis. Since the 1980s, service marketers and managers have been using service blueprinting to visualise a service delivery process. We ask 'How well does PCN represent the concepts present in service blueprinting?' To answer this question, we examine the similarities and differences between service blueprinting and PCN using a recognised method of ontological comparison. We have found PCN supports some but not all of the concepts in service blueprinting. The outcome is important because knowing the shortcomings of PCN compared with service blueprinting will allow modellers to exercise care when using PCN diagrams to represent service processes.

Keywords: service blueprinting; process chain network; PCN; ontology; visualisation; service delivery; modelling.

DOI: 10.1504/IJQRS.2015.069775

International Journal of Qualitative Research in Services, 2015 Vol.2 No.1, pp.1 - 12

Received: 12 Sep 2013
Accepted: 19 Apr 2014
Published online: 11 Jun 2015 *

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