Proposition for an enhanced service business model by developing service communities

摘要

In servitized economy, it is necessary for technology industry to introduce service concept into their business model. This paper aims to propose a framework of sustainable service business model by developing a service community as a social infrastructure. As a result of building close relationships between customer and service provider, the both parties begin to form a community involving other customers or stakeholders such as local community, natural resources or related organizations. We conducted three advanced cases of supermarket, public service, and NPO activity to identify how customer communities are developed and what the main drivers to promote the community building are. The paper finally proposes how the service value is co-created among the community members. Major actors for the community could be curator, follower and promoter, and the each actor has specific role in the process of forming a core group in the community. And the group would be sustainable when it contains economical routine to earn constant economic result. Understanding such framework will be the key to establish a community that will be an essential infrastructure for sustainable growth of service business model. We also refer to the technological factors such as internet virtual community, or social media.