IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/journl/hal-03144270.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

A critical analysis of service ecosystems research: rethinking its premises to move forward

Author

Listed:
  • Mekhail Mustak
  • Loïc Plé

    (LEM - Lille économie management - UMR 9221 - UA - Université d'Artois - UCL - Université catholique de Lille - Université de Lille - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to examine the development of service ecosystems literature and its four premises as follows: the characterization of service ecosystems as loosely coupled systems, the existence of shared institutional arrangements among actors, the occurrence of resource-integrating interactions among actors and value co-creation as the stated purpose of service ecosystems. Design/methodology/approach With a systematic literature review, the paper identifies and analyzes 98 articles on service ecosystems. An examination and a cross-check of the central elements of the articles reveal gaps and limitations in the analysis of service ecosystems. These results lead to the formulation of four propositions and suggestions for further research. Findings The four premises of service ecosystems are constrained by overly optimistic perceptions that prevent theoretical advancements. These premises overlook possible tight coupling; power asymmetries; divergent interpretations of institutions and institutional arrangements; divergent interpretations of actors' resource-integrating actions, intentions and abilities; and the co-destruction of value. Four propositions are formulated to address these challenges. Research limitations/implications The shortcomings reflect the systematic literature review, which only covers a specific area of the extant knowledge base, namely, English-language articles published in peer-reviewed international journals. Originality/value This study extensively and critically investigates the premises of service ecosystems for the first time, proposing a more holistic, dynamic and realistic understanding of them. In so doing, it paves the way for renewed conceptualizations of service ecosystems.

Suggested Citation

  • Mekhail Mustak & Loïc Plé, 2020. "A critical analysis of service ecosystems research: rethinking its premises to move forward," Post-Print hal-03144270, HAL.
  • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03144270
    DOI: 10.1108/JSM-02-2019-0084
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    To our knowledge, this item is not available for download. To find whether it is available, there are three options:
    1. Check below whether another version of this item is available online.
    2. Check on the provider's web page whether it is in fact available.
    3. Perform a search for a similarly titled item that would be available.

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Reyes-Menendez, Ana & Clemente-Mediavilla, Jorge & Villagra, Nuria, 2023. "Understanding STI and SDG with artificial intelligence: A review and research agenda for entrepreneurial action," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    2. McColl-Kennedy, Janet R. & Cheung, Lilliemay & Coote, Leonard V., 2020. "Tensions and trade-offs in multi-actor service ecosystems," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 655-666.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03144270. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: CCSD (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.