The services science agenda is essentially a trans-disciplinary one, borne of the network economy. Promises and expectations for technology to deliver flexibility, customisation and responsiveness of service provision within this context give rise to a number of challenges for the IT profession. However, profound challenges also exist with regard to the requisite capabilities for strategising, organising and managing the transformation of organisations so that they are able to effectively leverage emergent technological capabilities for viable, sustainable futures in the network economy. Delivering the Services Science value proposition rests on the co-evolution of requisite business intelligence, business transformation and technological capabilities.
This paper takes the view that the challenges and opportunities inherent in the dynamics of the network economy are different in kind from those that we have met in the past, and may necessitate a paradigm shift for researchers, practitioners and educators. It sets out the case for drawing on Complexity Science to conceptualise the research and human resource development agenda for addressing the challenges that confront us.
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Merali, Y. (2008). Complexity and the Services Science Agenda. In: Hefley, B., Murphy, W. (eds) Service Science, Management and Engineering Education for the 21st Century. Service Science: Research and Innovations in the Service Economy. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-76578-5_43
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