Service designers, unite! Identifying shared concerns among multidisciplinary perspectives on service design

Service Design is a multidisciplinary approach that asks for further research to be better integrated. This article contributes to bridging this gap by identifying shared concerns among multidisciplinary perspectives on Service Design. A qualitative study involving six focus groups was conducted on international Service Design research centers. Results show the service system concept as an abstraction that supports integrating multidisciplinary perspectives and their contributions to Service Design, by identifying shared concerns across different levels: (a) at an individual-actor level, the shared concern of an actor-centered approach; (b) at an organizational service delivery system level, the shared focus on processes and interfaces; and (c) at network and ecosystem levels, the shared interest in designing for new constellations of actors and their connected roles. This article integrates different concepts and approaches to Service Design developed in dispersed areas, supporting dialogue, collaboration and theory building to advance Service Design as an interdisciplinary field.