A framework for systemising services from an operations management perspective

Systemising services is of high importance as it provides a basic framework for using and comparing approaches within service management and engineering. However, existing approaches to systemise services remain limited with regard to their usefulness for operations management. We argue that a unified service theory that covers every aspect of characterising services is not helpful. Therefore, we propose a framework for classifying services from an operations management perspective. The framework defines services from an operations perspective as any business process with at least one activity that is characterised by potential active customer integration. It identifies three dimensions that contain the relevant characteristics of such services. The activities for producing such services production are described. The three elements are combined in a classification scheme to evaluate services and related methods, applications, and empirical results regarding their operations. Thus, methods and empirical results focusing on services within operations management can be classified, compared and generalised more easily.