Services Science Journey: Foundations, Progress, and Challenges

With the explosive growth of services in economies worldwide comes the growing recognition of a need for trans-disciplinary research, new business models, and innovative degree programs to propel innovation in services. This paper paints a picture of the history as well as new initiatives at Arizona State University that are aimed at addressing these needs. Building on over twenty years of research that is anchored in ASU's Center for Services Leadership in the W. P. Carey School of Business, we are currently embarking on a Services Science Initiative to enlarge our successes beyond the business disciplines and to engage a broader academic community. This paper shares our current vision of where we are headed as well as some of the challenges to overcome and resources needed to move forward. Authored by senior faculty across several disciplines, this paper symbolizes our conviction that cross-disciplinary efforts of this magnitude require the energy and commitment of senior faculty as well as partnerships with business and government.