A systemic framework for supporting cross-disciplinary efforts in services research

Cross-disciplinary research programmes often entail an integrative goal, that is, to integrate theory and findings from the multiple disciplines involved in the research. Services research has been frequently described as existing in silos. Little has been put forwards towards remedying this beyond the view that one theoretical perspective could dominate the discipline. This paper presents a framework for systematically relating streams services research.Working from the view that services are consistently defined as activities, rather than objects or artefacts the concepts of the framework are drawn from Activity Modelling approaches (e.g. Task Analysis, Domain/Process modelling, and Soft Systems).We compare the framework against a range of approaches. We cover techniques (Service Blueprinting, Enterprise Imaging), and some Service Evaluation approaches; and theories/frameworks (the Service-Dominant Logic; Service Blueprinting; the IHIP characteristics (Intangibility, Heterogeneity, Inseparability, and Perishability); Product-Service Systems; and the Unified Service Theory).