Service Startups and Creative Communities: Two Sides of the Same Coin?

Abstract

Abstract Service Startups and Creative Communities can be seen as two sides of the same coin. They are both organizations that adopt service dominant logic to create innovative services. These service models are a double-edged sword as they can facilitate the transition towards sustainability or they can support an unjust, neoliberal ‘gig economy’ that commodifies work and further elongates social inequalities. Understanding the similarities and differences of these organizations reveals a wider issue: the conflict of values between eco-modernist and radical approaches to sustainability. Reviewing the two antithetical positions of this spectrum would allow designers to make informed design choices. Finally, such a review provides a philosophical springboard for further debates in the field of design.