Towards a Better Understanding of Smart Services - A Cross-Disciplinary Investigation

Abstract

Leveraging new technology to advance smart service is a key service research priority. Such technologies enable smart interactions that address customers’ needs in a more meaningful way. Thus, they have a profound effect not only on customer experience but also on streamlining future service offerings, business models and service ecosystems. However, while research is emerging, the concept of smart service is still vague, complicating its successful integration in business practice. This paper aims to characterize smart service through a comprehensive analysis of its theoretical and conceptual building blocks. A systematic literature review is conducted to reconcile the existing understanding of diverse disciplines. A comprehensive keyword-based search approach across 33 academic and three practitioner-oriented journals yielded 157 relevant articles (out of 13.022 articles). The contribution of this investigation is the cross-disciplinary overview of smart service with implications to a broader understanding of the role of smart service in individuals’ everyday lives.