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The purpose of this paper is to explore servitization in the context of the service supply chain, particularly the effects of the relationship between the subsystem supplier and the end user on the supplier's as well as on the supply chain's ability to provide industrial services. In addition, it aims to present a solution to overcome the challenges of lack of this relationship.

A case study incorporating an explorative design science approach identifies a theoretically novel and practically relevant problem in the field of service supply chain management. The study combines empirical data collection; systematic conceptualization of means and ends; evaluation of proposed solutions in iterative‐ and action‐oriented cycles; and theoretical explanation of the observed phenomena and outcomes.

By establishing a triadic operational model with an integrator and end user, the subsystem supplier can servitize within a supply chain in which the end user relationship is controlled by the integrator. This enables the combining of critical service provision capabilities: supplier's maintenance‐related capabilities and integrator's end user access.

Further research is needed to determine the importance of managing the transition to subsystem suppliers in different types of industrial service supply chains. Because these observations and proposals are based on a single case study, the authors cannot draw conclusions as to how they apply to manufacturers in different problem situations.

The paper presents a decision‐making procedure that describes how a subsystem supplier opting for cooperation in the service supply chain can formulate a coherent set of triadic operational models with intermediaries and end users.

The paper shows how servitization takes place on supply chain level.

The purpose of this study is to explore the use of shared services by end-users and why this may conflict with the use as intended by the shared service center (SSC) management.

By applying structuration theory, this empirical study draws on qualitative data obtained from semi-structured interviews with managers and end-users of an SSC. This SSC is part of a Dutch subsidiary of a multinational corporation that produces professional electronics for the defense and security market.

We find two main types of shared services usage by end-users which were not intended by the SSC management: avoidance and window-dressing. These forms of unintended usage were the result of contradictions in social structures related to the centralization and decentralization models as appropriated by end-users and management.

Our findings show that the benefits of shared services depends on how well contradictions in managers’ and end-users’ interpretive schemes, resources, and norms associated with centralization and decentralization models are resolved.

A popular argument in existing studies is that the benefit of shared services follows from the design of the SSC’s organizational structure. These studies overlook the fact that shared services are not always used as their designers intended and, therefore, that success depends on how the SSC’s organizational structure is appropriated by end-users. As such, the originality of this study is our focus on the way shared services are used by their end-users in order to explain why SSCs succeed or fail in reaping their promised benefits.

Supply chain management and business networks have gained increased attention in services settings. The purpose of this research is to investigate the impact of external purchased services by a service provider on the satisfaction of downstream supply chain members, i.e. end‐users. The focus is on transaction‐specific satisfaction as it provides in‐depth information on specific satisfaction elements.

To test the propositions, one business service provider purchasing a service from an external supplier is selected. Data are collected by sending a web survey to the business service provider's customers. partial least squares (PLS) is used to analyze the data as transaction‐specific satisfaction is considered as a formative construct.

PLS analyses indicate that the elements determining satisfaction with the external supplier and those determining satisfaction with the business service provider differ. Moreover, transaction‐specific satisfaction of end‐users with the external supplier's service is positively related to transaction‐specific satisfaction of end‐users with the service provider's service. Furthermore, the strength of that relationship is influenced by the importance attached to the external supplier's service by the end‐users.

First, the position of the customer in the supply chain influences how the service delivery is evaluated. Second, the relevance of service supply chains and business networks are confirmed. The relationship between supplier and provider and between provider and end‐user are interconnected. The strength of that relationship interconnectedness is influenced by importance attached to the purchased service. Future research is needed to extend the findings of this study to other services settings.

The results of the paper indicate that service providers should pay more attention to services purchased from external suppliers and to those suppliers' selection and evaluation, even when these services are considered less strategically valuable.

Increasingly, services that were the preserve of the “traditional” library are being made more available to the end‐user. Many information suppliers are specifically targeting end‐users and offering them direct document access, retrieval and delivery. Where does this leave the information service? This paper outlines some recent developments in end‐user document supply and discusses advantages and disadvantages from both the user’s and the information professional’s point of view, relating in particular to the situation in the author’s own library. A number of services offering end‐user document supply are described. The changing role of the information professional in response to new developments is discussed and a compromise solution proposed whereby new technologies can be harnessed for end‐user benefit while at the same time still employing the added‐value that an information service can offer.

According to European Union Open Internet Regulation, commercial practices of internet access service providers (IASP) should not restrict end-users’ choice regarding services, applications or contents. This paper aims to analyze the effects of Zero Rating (ZR) on freedom of choice translating this regulatory criterion into a formal expression: providing a ZR offer on a content or application provider (CAP) restricts end-users’ choice if it reduces the volume or provision of others usages.

The analysis is made in two steps. First, the authors assess the direct effect of introducing zero rating on non-ZR usages, all other things equal. Second, the paper studies the knock-on effect of ZR on IASP offers and the supply of CAP.

In the short term, zero rating does not restrict end-users’ choice increasing both ZR and non-ZR usages. In the long term, in the case of pure ZR, IASPs may adapt their offer to support ZR costs impacting negatively other usages. However, in practice, these effects are compensated or diluted by competitive forces or if the ZR traffic is small relatively to the data allowance. In the case of SD, the CAP covers the cost which prevents cross-subsidies and protects freedom of choice if SD is open to all CAPs.

The economic literature on zero rating is scarce and assesses this practice from the general economic criterion of social or consumer welfare. This paper is the first one to use economic analysis to analyze whether Zero Rating is compatible with the EU regulatory criterion of freedom of choice.

The purpose of this paper is to derive a measure for the performance of human resource shared service providers (HR SSPs) and then to develop a theoretical framework that conceptualises their performance.

This conceptual paper starts from the HR shared services argument and integrates this with the knowledge‐based view of the firm and the concept of intellectual capital.

The authors recommend measuring HR SSP performance as HR value, referring to the ratio between use value and exchange value, that together reflect both transactional and transformational HR value. They argue that transactional HR value directly flows from the organisational capital in HR SSPs, whereas human and social capitals enable them to leverage their organisational capital for HR value creation. The authors argue that the human capital of HR SSPs has a direct effect on transformational HR value creation, while their social and organisational capitals positively moderate this relationship.

The suggested measure paves the way for operationalising and measuring the performance of HR shared services providers. This paper offers testable propositions for the relationships between intellectual capital and the performance of HR shared service providers. These contributions could assist future research to move beyond the descriptive nature that characterises the existing literature.

The purpose of this paper is to derive a measure for the performance of human resource shared service providers (HR SSPs) and then to develop a theoretical framework that conceptualises their performance.

This conceptual paper starts from the HR shared services argument and integrates this with the knowledge‐based view of the firm and the concept of intellectual capital.

The authors recommend measuring HR SSP performance as HR value, referring to the ratio between use value and exchange value, that together reflect both transactional and transformational HR value. They argue that transactional HR value directly flows from the organisational capital in HR SSPs, whereas human and social capitals enable them to leverage their organisational capital for HR value creation. They argue that the human capital of HR SSPs has a direct effect on transformational HR value creation, while their social and organisational capitals positively moderate this relationship.

The suggested measure paves the way for operationalising and measuring the performance of HR shared services providers. The paper offers testable propositions for the relationships between intellectual capital and the performance of HR shared service providers. These contributions could assist future research to move beyond the descriptive nature that characterises the existing literature.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how technological and strategic developments enable new billing processes for mobile content services.

Interviews with practitioners are used as input for designing different archetypical role division models for billing and process models. The potential of these process models to reshape the mobile industry is evaluated on three criteria: convenience for the end‐user; potential resource barriers; and the fit with strategic interests of the actors involved.

Both technological advances and the introduction of new roles and strategies in the mobile domain enable the emergence of alternative billing methods. While network operator‐centric models remain relevant in the short term, in the longer term they will co‐exist with other models in which the customer transaction is owned by the content aggregator, the content provider, the ISP or the payment provider.

The research demonstrates the relevance of analysis at the process level in assessing the feasibility of new role division models at the value creation level.

The emergence of alternative billing providers is expected to change the power balance in the value network and assist in opening up the “walled garden”.

The analysis extends beyond existing discussions on billing in the mobile industry, which typically focus on the value network level, as the process level and the related resources are included. Moreover, the empirical data from the interviews with practitioners at various organizations provide new insights into the feasibility of these models in practice.

Mobile computing enables end‐users to create small services on their mobiles and share valuable and context‐aware information with others. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a platform for end‐user generated mobile services – so‐called microservices.

As a key component the authors present a microservice description language for user‐driven mobile service creation and platform‐independent service execution and rendering. The paper also gives insight into the authors' visual authoring tool. The chosen design approach is evaluated in two phases: an intermediate evaluation with a small hands‐on trial and an online survey; and a final laboratory test with 24 test users in total.

The paper provides empirical insights about the methods and motivations of end‐users creating small mobile services. The main purposes of service creation would be mostly to exchange information, stay in contact, and just for fun (on the basis of non‐commercial use). The evaluations also indicate the visual drag and drop approach of putting service blocks together as being the most favored in terms of user satisfaction.

The concepts and findings introduced in this paper will help in designing mobile service authoring environments, which is appealing to software communities/vendors and mobile network operators. The presented platform is, to the authors' knowledge, the first designed and implemented infrastructure enabling end‐user mobile service creation.

A year‐long study of free end‐user access to the Medline database (using the Grateful Med software) was undertaken in 1993. Twenty bio‐scientists from two UK universities were surveyed at the beginning and end of the year. Responses were viewed in the light of independent factors affecting user attitude and behaviour, such as familiarity with information technology and a perceived need for bibliographic data. Those concerning quality of data or the capability of the software were relatively few and these were assigned less importance than practical considerations such as the location of the PC linking the user to Medline and the quality of network connections. Most users used Grateful Med in a simplistic way—not venturing beyond keyword searching—although deficiencies in coverage or recall were protected against by recourse to other end‐user systems. Librarian‐mediated online and CDROM services have been superseded—for this group of users—by desktop end‐user services.