Abstract
This paper provides a joint perspective of activity theory (AT) and
service-dominant logic (SDL) to understand the role of customer activity,
which has largely remained unexplored in investigating service ecosystems.
The research question is how user activities, as described in AT, can
be integrated into the theoretical framework for service systems provided
by SDL to explain users’ specific value creation in digital applications.
We use value creation to synthesise AT and SDL, integrating the focus
of AT on human activities and the service perspective of SDL. This
synthesised theory reveals dimensions of customer value: dematerialisation,
objectification, institutionalisation, modularisation and platformisation. These
dimensions are applied to voice assistants, as an example of a smart
application with significant user interaction. Hereby, the paper contributes to
research on customer experience of digital applications. It shows how the
service dimensions add value to digital applications and supports systematic
design of smart service systems.
service-dominant logic (SDL) to understand the role of customer activity,
which has largely remained unexplored in investigating service ecosystems.
The research question is how user activities, as described in AT, can
be integrated into the theoretical framework for service systems provided
by SDL to explain users’ specific value creation in digital applications.
We use value creation to synthesise AT and SDL, integrating the focus
of AT on human activities and the service perspective of SDL. This
synthesised theory reveals dimensions of customer value: dematerialisation,
objectification, institutionalisation, modularisation and platformisation. These
dimensions are applied to voice assistants, as an example of a smart
application with significant user interaction. Hereby, the paper contributes to
research on customer experience of digital applications. It shows how the
service dimensions add value to digital applications and supports systematic
design of smart service systems.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 2 |
| Pages (from-to) | 319-343 |
| Number of pages | 24 |
| Journal | International Journal of Web Engineering and Technology |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Early online date | 19 Jan 2323 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Accepted/In press - 29 Aug 2023 |
Keywords
- service-dominant logic; SDL; activity theory; value creation theory; digital technologies; digital applications; digital services; voice assistants; conceptual paper; theory synthesis