Francesco Polese

B2B is not an island

Purpose - With B2B (business-to-business) and new developments in marketing as the springboard, to emphasize the necessity of heeding complexity and context by addressing marketing as a coherent, relational system. Methodology/approach - Conceptual analysis based on new developments in marketing, network theory, and case study research; and the thesis that any company or marketing situation directly or indirectly embraces both B2B and B2C (business-to-consumer) issues. Findings - First, recent marketing theory points to the need for a network and systems approach to marketing and to changing roles between suppliers and customers. Two of these developments, many-to-many marketing as a broadening of relationship marketing (RM) and CRM (customer relationship management), and the service dominant logic (S-D logic) stress C2B (consumer-to-business) and C2C (customer-to-customer) interaction, exposing the customer’s active role. Second, a practitioner contribution, the cross-disciplinary IBM servicescience program, is enrolling academic research and education in the development of more functional and seamless service systems that work in real settings. Third, the conventional divide in goods and services marketing is conceptually dissolved in favor of supplier-customer interaction leading to value propositions and the co-creation of value. Research implications - B2B, B2C/C2B and C2C aspects are part of an integrated, complex context. Case study research and network theory allow researchers to let complexity and context to come forward. Network theory should be used in all marketing and not only on B2B. Definitions, categories and concepts in use need to be constantly evaluated as to validity and relevance for contemporary and future marketing. The conventional economic sectors(manufacturing, services, agriculture) are supplier-centric whereas marketing prescribes customer-centricity; consequently they should not be used in marketing. By focusing on continuous theory generation, an open source code and mass collaboration, “testing” and critiquing theory is superfluous; instead generate better theory to replace previous theory. Treat marketing as an aspect of all company activities; in a network every node and link can potentially affect any other part of a network. Practical implications - For marketers to better overview complexity and context of their specific marketing situations, to systematically observe relational phenomena and the customer’s role, and as a consequence better foresee opportunities and avoid mistakes in their marketing planning. Originality/value - In the light of new research and conceptualization, the article offers a network view which is only marginally represented in research and education in marketing. With bigger and more global systems and growing dependency on software and the Internet, the need to address integrated systems becomes urgent. In the new logic of service and value creation, marketing categories are being dissolved and the reductionism and linearity of Western science are being challenged in favor of a broader network approach. The dependency between B2B and B2C has been noted before but we go further and treat these as perspectives of a grander marketing context and not as independent categories. The analysis of B and C combinations displays the broadened role of customers in value networks. Goods and services are intertwined and can only be understood and handled in a unified context.

Toward a Service (Eco)Systems Perspective on Value Creation

This article discusses how the core concepts of service-dominant logic — service-for-service exchange, value co-creation, value propositions, resource integration, and highly collaborative relationships — point to a generic actor conceptualization in which all actors engaged in exchange (e.g., firms, customers, etc.) are viewed as service providing, value-creating enterprises. In other words, all social and economic actors are essentially doing the same thing: creating value for themselves and others through reciprocal resource integration and service provision. The authors suggest that this generic actor-to-actor (A2A) orientation, in turn, points toward the dynamic and systemic nature of social and economic exchange. To account for the complexity, indeterminacy, and viability of these dynamic systems, they highlight the importance of general systems theory, complexity theory, and the viable systems approach and propose that cross-disciplinary scholarly efforts are necessary in order to develop models and frameworks that can simplify the complexity of social and economic exchange in meaningful ways and ultimately inform practice and public policy.

Linking the viable system and many‐to‐many network approaches to service‐dominant logic and service science

The purpose of this paper is to combine service science (service science, management and engineering, and SSME) and service dominant (S-D) logic contributions with the network and systems-based theories of many-to-many marketing proposed by Gummesson and the viable system approach (VSA), proposed by Italian researchers and highly diffused in Italy during the 2000s. This paper is a conceptual analysis based on recent developments in service science, S-D logic and network/systems theory. Being grounded in network theory, systems thinking and value co-creation, many-to-many marketing is found to be particularly supportive to both service science and S-D logic. It is also found that VSA, being broad, interdisciplinary and based on systems theory and resource-based theory, and with strong influences from biology, sociology and mechanics, is a key to the interpretation of complex phenomena. Both many-to-many and VSA embrace the whole and the general while still considering the detail and its contextual dependency. Both theories are highly suitable for analysing and designing service systems. The paper helps practitioners to better manage service and to enable efficient behaviour within multiple contexts with multiple actors and optimising inter-systemic relations.

Viable Service Systems and Decision Making in Service Management

This paper addresses decision making in the management of complex service systems, highlighting the contribution of the viable systems approach as an interpretative and governance methodology based on systems thinking. In the last few decades, business management has undergone significant changes due to rapid developments in markets. New competitive strategies and technologies have stimulated global discussion about business models and tools (Ghoshal, 2005). The role of relationships has become increasingly relevant in businesses, and researchers as well as industries are shifting their focus to a service-oriented approach, moving from a paradigm of product to one of service (IfM-IBM Cambridge SSME Report, 2008).

Key Dimensions of Service Systems in Value-Creating Networks

The aim of this chapter is to identify the key dimensions of service systems and to describe how they interact in the process of value co-creation. The four key dimensions identified in the analysis are: customers; people (including employees and other stakeholders); information; and technology. The chapter also characterises the value-creation process in service systems as consisting of three related stages: value proposition; acceptance; and fulfilment. The main conclusion of the chapter is that the four key dimensions interact at all three stages in a network of relationships that co-create value through the integration of resources. In details, the interactions between the key dimensions shape two kinds of nets: (i) a social network; (ii) a technological network. These nets are the basis for a greater value-creating network aimed at increasing stakeholder value. Conclusions have practical implications for managers and theoretical implications for researchers.

S-D Logic Research Directions and Opportunities: The Perspective of Systems, Complexity and Engineering

The need for a systems approach to modelling and understanding service is now well established (Barile, 2009; Barile and Polese, 2009; Golinelli, 2010; Ng et.al.,2011a). Following the construction of Maglio et al. (2009), we view a service system as a network of agents and interactions that integrate resources for value co-creation.To date, several disciplines have broached the systems view of service and the engineering of service systems. However, the agents of the system are usually people whose activities may not easily be controlled by predictable processes and yet are critical aspects of the value-creating system (Ng et al., 2011b). There is need for a new combinative paradigm, such as third-generation activity theory, in which two or more activity systems come into contact, to explore dialogue, exchanging perspectives of multiple actors, resulting in networks or groups of activity systems that are constantly interacting (Marken, 2006; Nardi, 1996; Oliveros et al., 2010).

The Contribution of VSA and SDL Perspectives to Strategic Thinking in Emerging Economies

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to reflect upon strategic marketing in emerging economies (EEs). It tries to answer the research question: what new business models are enabled by the Viable Systems Approach (VSA) and Service-Dominant Logic (SDL) perspectives? Design/methodology/approach – The paper is developed by integrating two well-established perspectives – VSA and SDL – and applying them to inclusive businesses.Findings – The integration of these perspectives allows the authors to recognize a convergence toward business models that seem to be consistent with the principles of inclusive capitalism. The authors claim that by shifting between a reductionist/static and a holistic/dynamic view, these perspectives can be integrated, thus revealing an interesting contribution to the understanding of inclusive business. Specifically, they contribute by highlighting how the economic and social dimensions are intertwined and by highlighting that the management-thinking perspective, which has dominated in recent decades, should shift toward a more inclusive vision.Research limitations/implications – The paper represents an attempt to address an inclusive capitalism perspective in the context of marketing. Nevertheless, the conceptual reasoning developed in the paper should be further supported by empirical research carried out in the context of EEs.Practical implications – The paper has relevant managerial implications that suggest a rethinking of the business model to market with EEs.Originality/value – The paper contributes to the research on inclusive capitalism by linking it to well-grounded conceptual approaches to business that recapture a harmonious relationship between the economy and society.

Value co-creation: using a viable systems approach to draw implications from organizational theories

Scope of the paper is improving our understanding of ‘value co-creation’, one of the cornerstones of the Service-Dominant (S-D) logic, which is focused on the undertaking of specific human interactive forms; to accomplish this goals the paper analyzes several organization theories’ insights, and specifically configuration theory, structuration theory, effectuation theory and governance theory. These organizational theories, indeed, can be used to explain the nature of human collaboration within dyadic and/or network-based interactions. Specifically, by adopting a particular systems theory perspective known as the ‘viable systems approach’ this paper purports to integrate these theoretical perspectives, and thus provides insight into the nature of interactions required in the value co-creation process. The paper starts by addressing the literature-based shift from ‘value creation’ to ‘value co-creation,’ and the conceptual complexity associated with the co-creation process. Next, the four organizational theories (i.e., configuration theory, structuration theory, effectuation theory, and governance theory), which examine specific issues of collaboration are briefly discussed. Third, the paper’s interpretative lens, the ‘viable systems approach,’ is introduced and linked to the four organizational theories for the purpose of deriving implications for value co-creation. Finally, the paper closes with a short conclusion. Moreover, a glossary of key terms used in the paper is provided in the Appendix.

Il rapporto impresa-territorio tra efficienza locale, efficacia di contesto e sostenibilità ambientale

Obiettivo del paper : Il paper propone un modello di rappresentazione del territorio come sistema dinamico di relazioni intersoggettive capace di garantire non solo l’efficienza dei processi interni all’organizzazione sviluppata, ma anche risultati efficaci nel contesto complessivo e un impatto sostenibile nell’ambiente piu esteso. Metodologia : Il contributo e sviluppato sulla base dell’Approccio Sistemico Vitale (ASV) sia come metodologia di indagine dei fenomeni sociali sia come metodologia di governo delle organizzazioni. Risultati : Attraverso l’impiego di concetti quali ‘rilevanza’, ‘consonanza’ e ‘risonanza’, l’approccio proposto conduce alla rappresentazione di un sistema territoriale vitale, capace di sopravvivere nel proprio contesto creando valore per i sovrasistemi di riferimento e determinando le condizioni per un equilibrio sostenibile. Limiti della ricerca : Il paper offre un framework teorico-concettuale che potra essere oggetto di studio e di ulteriori sviluppi anche attraverso l’analisi di casi reali e verifiche empiriche. Implicazioni pratiche : Lo schema generale proposto e adottabile, congiuntamente ai modelli manageriali consolidati, tanto dall’attore istituzionale, che vede il territorio nel suo complesso come sistema vitale, quanto dall’attore imprenditoriale, che vede nel territorio un fertile contesto di azione dal quale trarre e al quale offrire opportunita di sviluppo in un intreccio armonico di finalita e in un’ottica condivisa di sostenibilita. Originalita del lavoro : L’originalita del paper risiede nel proporre un modello di sintesi per uno sviluppo sinergico del territorio che catalizzi istanze aziendali, di contesto e ambientali, promuovendo la sostenibilita nei rapporti impresa-territorio. Parole chiave: rapporto impresa-territorio; approccio sistemico vitale; efficienza; efficacia; sostenibilita

Decision-Making in Smart Service Systems: A Viable Systems Approach Contribution to Service Science Advances

In contemporary dynamic markets, approaches to management based on systems theory have assumed increasing relevance, leading firms to valorise a holistic optic to challenge environmental changes. In particular, Viable Systems Approach (v S a) symbolizes the aforementioned holistic view of enterprises, introducing some innovative concepts that renovate traditional managerial paradigms in terms of decision-making. Simultaneously, in the field of service research, Service Science can be interpreted as an all-encompassing framework investigating the efficiency of firms, which are in turn intended as service systems; there are numerous points of convergence between Service Science research stream and the v S a. Therefore, this paper aims to combine the two, highlighting the common features, in order to propose insights for an integrated and shared macro level conceptualization of service systems and smart service systems. The main goal is to demonstrate the opportunities for capturing emerging contributes to Service Science advances. This can be achieved by fostering different views and paradigms, such as the v S a, thus avoiding a possible “missed call” from the existing worldwide Service Science research community.