A Flexibility Perspective on Services : A Critical Review and Reconceptualization

The concept of flexibility has received substantial interest among academic scholarsover many years, particularly focusing on manufacturing related issues. Given an increasedturbulence in many markets, the interest seems well justified. However, the literature issurprisingly devoid of analysis of flexibility in service settings, or how flexibility and servicesare interrelated. The purpose here is therefore to offer a critical analysis of the literature and toconceptualize the interrelationship between flexibility and services. As such, this papercontributes with a novel perspective on services and may serve as a starting point for thedevelopment of a more formal flexibility-perspective on services.