Publications

With our publications we cover the most diverse research areas that arise in the field of man, task and technology. In addition to traditional Business Information Systems topics such as knowledge management and business process management, you will also find articles on current topics such as blended learning, cloud computing or smart grids. Use this overview to get an impression of the range and possibilities of research in Business Information Systems at the University of Duisburg-Essen.

Type of Publication: Article in Collected Edition

Uncovering Unexpected Actors in an Educational Service Ecosystem

Author(s):
Rothe, Hannes; Gersch, Martin
Title of Anthology:
1. Jahrestagung der Wissenschaftlichen Kommission Dienstleistungsmanagement (WK DLM)
Location(s):
Rostock, Germany
Publication Date:
2016
Citation:
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Abstract

A crucial factor of improving IT-based services lies within the boundaries of understanding its usage. This is especially true for highly integrated services, like educational service (Shostack 1982), as value co-creation is based upon usage processes (Prahalad and Ramaswamy 2004; Vargo and Lusch 2004). Usage can be assumed as a process of (autonomous) resource integration between several actors. Therefore, Lusch and Vargo (2014) draw on relatively self-contained, and self-adjusting systems” (p. 161), they call service ecosystems. Self-containment and self-adjustment are a result of inherent self-supporting and loosely-coupled actors, who mainly share two things: (1) a will to co-create value, and (2) institutional logics, like rules and standards, which mediate their actors coupling. As each actor in a service ecosystem chooses on its own, which resources it integrates into value-co-creation, the number and type of actors become may become less pre-determined and less expectable for focal service suppliers. We choose to take a traditional supplier-perspective and ask: How do resource-integrating users autonomously – and therefore unexpectedly – integrate actors into value co-creation processes?