Smart services serve customers and their individual, continuously changing needs; information and communications technology enables such services. The interactions between customers and service providers form the basis for co-created value. A growing interest in smart services has been reported in the literature in recent years. However, a categorization of the literature and relevant research fields is still missing. This article presents a structured literature search in which 109 relevant publications were identified. The publications are clustered in 13 topics and across five phases of the lifecycle of a smart service. The status quo is analyzed, and a heat map is created that graphically shows the research intensity in various dimensions. The results show that there is diverse knowledge related to the various topics associated with smart services. One finding suggests that economic aspects such as new business models or pricing strategies are rarely considered in the literature. Additionally, the customer plays a minor role in IS publications. Machine learning and knowledge management are identified as promising fields that should be the focus of further research and practical applications. Concrete ideas for future research are presented and discussed and will contribute to academic knowledge. Addressing the identified research gaps can help practitioners successfully provide smart services.
Predictive maintenance (PdM) is an important application of the Internet of Things (IoT) discussed in many companies, especially in the manufacturing industry. PdM uses data, usually sensor data, to optimize maintenance activities. We develop a taxonomy to classify PdM business models that enables a comparison and analysis of such models. We use our taxonomy to classify the business models of 113 companies. Based on this classification, we identify six archetypes using cluster analysis and discuss the results. The “hardware development”, “analytics provider”, and “all-in-one” archetypes are the most frequently represented in the study sample. For cluster analysis, we use a visualization technique that involves an autoencoder. The results of our analysis will help practitioners assess their own business models and those of other companies. Business models can be better differentiated by considering the different levels of IoT architecture, which is also an important implication for further research.
Services play an important role in the manufacturing industry. A shift in emphasis from selling physical products to offering product-service systems is perceived. Detailed knowledge of machines, components and subcomponents in whole plants must be provided. Installed base management contributes to this and enables services in manufacturing to maintain high machine availability and reduce downtimes. Installed base management assists in data structuring and management. By combining installed base data with sensor data, a digital twin of the installed base results. Following the action design research approach, an integrated installed base management system for manufacturing is presented and implemented in practice. An engineering and manufacturing company is involved in the research process and ensures practical relevance. Requirements are not only deduced from the literature but also identified in focus group discussions. A detailed test run with real data is performed for evaluation purpose using a demonstration machine. To enable a generalization, design principles for the development and implementation of such an integrated installed base management system are created.
KeywordsInstalled base management • Integrated installed base management system • Digital twin • Action design research (ADR)
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