Service Innovation and Management

Service Innovation and Management is the discipline focused on the systematic creation, development, and implementation of new or significantly improved service offerings, processes, and business models. It involves managing the entire innovation lifecycle, from generating novel ideas and designing the customer experience to developing new delivery systems and scaling the service for the market. Distinct from product innovation due to the intangible, co-created, and perishable nature of services, this field emphasizes the strategic integration of people, technology, and information to enhance customer value, build loyalty, and secure a sustainable competitive advantage in an increasingly service-driven economy.

1. Foundations of Service Management
   1. The Nature of Services
      1. Defining a Service
         1. Essential Elements of Services
         2. Differences from Physical Goods
         3. Service as Process vs. Outcome
      2. The Goods-Services Continuum
         1. Pure Goods
         2. Hybrid Offerings
         3. Pure Services
         4. Positioning Services on the Continuum
      3. The Service-Dominant Logic
         1. Foundational Premises
         2. Value Co-creation Perspective
         3. Implications for Management
         4. Contrast with Goods-Dominant Logic
   2. Core Characteristics of Services
      1. Intangibility
         1. Challenges in Evaluation
         2. Strategies for Tangibilizing Services
         3. Impact on Marketing and Communication
      2. Heterogeneity
         1. Sources of Variability
         2. Managing Service Consistency
         3. Standardization vs. Customization Trade-offs
      3. Inseparability
         1. Customer Participation in Production
         2. Implications for Service Delivery
         3. Managing Customer-Provider Interactions
      4. Perishability
         1. Managing Supply and Demand
         2. Impact on Capacity Planning
         3. Revenue Management Strategies
   3. The Service Economy
      1. Evolution from Manufacturing to Service-Based Economies
         1. Historical Shifts in Economic Structure
         2. Drivers of Service Sector Growth
         3. Post-Industrial Society Characteristics
      2. Role of Services in Economic Development
         1. Contribution to GDP and Employment
         2. Services in Developed vs. Developing Economies
         3. Service Trade and Globalization
      3. The Experience Economy
         1. Staging Experiences vs. Delivering Services
         2. Customization and Personalization
         3. Transformation Economy Emergence
   4. The Service Encounter
      1. Moments of Truth
         1. Definition and Importance
         2. Managing Critical Incidents
         3. Service Encounter Evaluation
      2. The Service Triad
         1. Customer Role and Responsibilities
         2. Service Provider Role and Skills
         3. Service Organization Support Systems
         4. Interactions and Relationships
      3. Service Contact Classifications
         1. High-Contact Services
         2. Low-Contact Services
         3. Medium-Contact Services
         4. Implications for Design and Management