International service research - Status quo, developments, and consequences for the emerging services science

Abstract

In recent years the term services science has been talked about in the context of a need for a new branch of science. Services science seems to be something totally new. This strong demand for the establishment of services science appears to be the result of a perceived science deficit, an expression of the conviction that no specific service-oriented science exists. Therefore, in order to assess the potential of the proclaimed new science, there are two different tasks that need to be fulfilled. Firstly, we need to specify exactly what kind of science deficit exits. Secondly, we need a precise definition of the meaning of services science. Only then will it be possible to answer the question of whether services science is able to resolve this deficit. Both tasks are difficult. They cannot be managed by a single person. They require extensive discussion within the scientific community and its partners from the business world. To stimulate this discussion, the following five propositions are presented, some of which are intentionally controversial. © 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.