Service Science: The Foundations of Service Engineering and Management

Chapter 2

Definition of Service

Today's business environments are characterized with advanced communications, accelerated economic globalization, and increased automation and open source innovations. As we have witnessed, the resultant vibrant but also complex service provision has created higher quality and healthier lives around the world. For a service organization to stay competitive, however, the unceasingly intensified competition demands that the organization must keep improving the efficiency and cost-effectiveness in service management, engineering, and operations across its service organizational value chain.

Over the years, service is typically considered as an application of specialized knowledge, skills, and experiences performed for the benefit of another (Vargo and Lusch, (2004); Spohrer et al., (2007). Quite often, services to customers are regarded as being perishable, heterogeneous, and intangible, commonly provided for either individuals or businesses to create desirable values to satisfy their needs (Sampson and Froehle, (2006); Qiu et al., (2007). Hence, to find an appropriate definition of service in a broad sense to cover a variety of service areas seems difficult and challenging.

Service as a word in economics is mainly defined as an act of helpful activity, the supplying of transportation, communication, and utilities or commodities, or the providing of assistance, accommodation, or leisure activities. Although its meaning might vary with circumstances, ...