Konstadinos Kutsikos

A service portfolio model for value creation in networked enterprise systems

Service science research is increasingly focusing on modeling value co-creation. However, there are concerns about the practical use of service systems-driven approaches to value creation in actual business settings. In this paper, we focus on the provision of knowledge services by a service system, and present an innovative model for clustering and profiling the value cocreation capabilities of such a service system. We then describe how this model drives the development of a new service management framework for managing the development of knowledge services. Finally, we present our early experiences from a practical deployment of our research findings in the development of a service system that offers knowledge services to enterprises for enhancing their collaboration quotient when participating in virtual organizations.

Developing and managing digital service ecosystems: a service science viewpoint

– The need for modern enterprises to seamlessly interoperate poses significant challenges on their capabilities for engaging in multiple business networks. This paper considers a particular type of business network, namely, “service ecosystems”, and proposes architecture for enabling business firms to: control dissemination and usage of the resources they contribute to the ecosystem; and develop corresponding service offerings. , – A literature review informed our research work and contextualized the development of relevant research questions. The research questions were based on unstructured, creative techniques (e.g. brainstorming), combined with rigorous requirements specification for software tools developed as part of this research. Overall development was based on service science and enterprise interoperability research, distilled in four principles that provided the context and direction for this work. , – Three key components of the proposed architecture were developed: service map, which identifies the building blocks needed to construct a service ecosystem; interoperability model, as a decision-making mechanism for dynamic (re-) arrangement of a service map’s building blocks; and shared service infrastructure for the provision of support services to all ecosystem participants. , – This research has advanced current thinking in developing and managing service ecosystems. By adopting a service science viewpoint (service value co-creation, value-in-use), a holistic approach for building collaboration capabilities is described: at the enterprise level, it pertains to decision-making mechanisms for service provision; at the ecosystem level, it pertains to a software platform for managing common collaboration tasks.

A Service Classification Model for Value Co-creation in IT Outsourcing Services

Despite the abundance of IT outsourcing activities, many IT outsourcing service consumers are often unsatisfied. A commonly cited reason in the research literature is that IT outsourcing providers still struggle to define the right combinations of resources and capabilities that lead to successful service configurations. The latter is the focus of Service Science, a discipline that views organizations as dynamic service systems that integrate acquired resources with their own in order to create service offerings. By combining basic principles of Service Science, Resource-based Theory and Dynamic Capabilities Theory, we develop a conceptual framework for classifying IT outsourcing configurations (i.e. service offerings) in order to help IT outsourcing service providers make informed decisions on which capabilities to develop or improve for different client needs, which inevitably results in different value creation processes. The framework is presented as a 2 × 2 classification matrix of outsourcing configurations, along with details for one of these, by using the e3-value ontology. We conclude this paper by highlighting limitations of our approach and indicating future research directions.

Enabling Business Interoperability: A Service Co-Creation Viewpoint

As escalating business demands push beyond the technology limits and towards leveraging the business value of enterprise interoperability (EI), strategic usage and provision of EI solutions is no longer a matter of providing a fixed set of proprietary software applications. At the same time, however, the question for many service providers is how much value is there, beyond the conceptual benefits; in particular, how can interoperability contribute to companies’ competitiveness, in what areas, and how. This challenge motivated our research in which we explore the development of a practical framework that helps organizations: a) assess their maturity level for engaging in value co-creation opportunities, and b) select the right starting point for developing EI solutions. The significance of this work is three-fold. First, it combines theoretical concepts of EI and Resource Based Theory in order to offer a theoretically grounded framework. Second, it provides a practical framework for meticulously unfolding management and/or organizational challenges in the early phases of a service lifecycle for risk mitigation. Third, it is a first version of a design artefact that will be applied in a real-world context to evaluate its utility in further research. Towards this direction, and as a running example, we used a realistic scenario from the B2B IT outsourcing domain, depicted with the e3 ontology tool.

A systems-based complexity management framework for collaborative e-government services

The focus of this paper is to explore the issue of managing complexity in a collaborative environment of entities working together to deliver public e-services: how complex are the related information management issues how they can be resolved and mapped onto practical implementation frameworks and methodologies. To address these issues, we explore ‘lessons learnt’ within scientific disciplines that study interconnected entities. Systems science and its Viable System Model (VSM) can be used to model an ecosystem of collaborating organisations. VSM’s properties are analysed and used as the basis for developing our collaboration complexity management framework for e-government.

Experience-Driven Cultural Entrepreneurship: Business Models and Regional Development in the “World of Frederick II Hohenstaufen”

Due to the financial crisis across Europe, many heritage places (industrial buildings, religious settings, etc.) are facing functional redundancy. Innovative financing, business and governance models are needed to enable the reuse of such cultural assets and the creation of new cultural experiences; this is still a relatively unexplored area. In this chapter, we explore a business model innovation within experience-driven business ecosystems that focus on the adaptive reuse of cultural heritage. Our findings are based on a detailed case study of the World of Frederick II at the Castel Lagopesole in Italy, a cultural investment that has redefined quintessential aspects in the production and distribution of culture in the support of place development. The direct involvement of key stakeholders and residents has led to enhanced civic pride and entrepreneurial orientation and demonstrates how innovative business modeling and new skills applied to cultural communication can generate mindful visitors and contribute to the sustainable reuse of CH assets.

Business Transformation Through Service Science: A Path for Business Continuity

Globalization, technological change, economic crisis, and an increasing demand for specialization have led to new economic activities, new business models, and new value propositions. As enterprises try to react to these challenges, they realize that they need to transform through collaboration with other enterprises in business networks, in order to: (a) develop new value propositions, (b) reduce operating costs, and (c) engage in value innovation activities. In order to enable this transformation, we propose a Service Science approach to assist enterprises in developing collaborative value propositions.