SERVICE SUPPLY CHAINS: INTRODUCING THE SPECIAL TOPTC FORITM

摘要

This article introduces the Special Topic Forum (STF) on Service Supply Chains (SSC). A fundamental purpose of the STF is to more clearly define the field of SSC research and to provide conceptual foundations, as well as empirical observations. A review of SSC literature shows three perspectives of SSC research that correspond to the source-make-deliver processes from the well-known supply chain operations reference (SCOR) model. The STF contains articles that assume each of the three SSC perspectives: sourcing of services, making services, and services involved in product delivery. A fourth paper introduces a newer perspective in which the customer is the center of a network of interrelated service providers. This STF can serve as a springboard for future SSC research.