---
_id: '65476'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: Service research has evolved into an interdisciplinary research field that
bridges diverse disciplines, including information systems (IS) and marketing.
Nearly two decades ago, the service system concept was introduced as a foundational
abstraction in service research, drawing on ideas from the service-dominant logic
(S-D logic) of marketing. Despite its widespread adoption in service research,
particularly in the IS discipline, the service system concept lacks a solid theoretical
foundation. This has resulted in conceptual ambiguity and overlap with related
constructs, such as service ecosystems. Moreover, it has largely remained a static
analytical lens, insufficiently capturing dynamic service phenomena, including
value co-creation and co-destruction, as well as the emergence of institutional
arrangements. To address these limitations, we propose Luhmann’s systems theory
(LST) as a robust framework for conceptualizing service systems as autopoietic
(self-creating) systems, in which communication serves as the fundamental mechanism
that drives value co-creation. We derive five theoretical propositions from this
re-conceptualization that clarify conceptual ambiguity and allow researchers to
explore dynamic service phenomena in greater depth. Given LST’s general approach,
our conceptualization provides a theoretically grounded, interdisciplinary foundation
for advancing service research.
article_number: '37'
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Daniel
full_name: Beverungen, Daniel
last_name: Beverungen
- first_name: Jens
full_name: Poeppelbuss, Jens
last_name: Poeppelbuss
- first_name: Simon
full_name: Hemmrich, Simon
last_name: Hemmrich
- first_name: Taskeen
full_name: Iqbal, Taskeen
last_name: Iqbal
citation:
ama: Beverungen D, Poeppelbuss J, Hemmrich S, Iqbal T. Service through communication—Conceptualizing
service systems with Luhmann’s systems theory. Electronic Markets. 2026;36(1).
doi:10.1007/s12525-026-00889-w
apa: Beverungen, D., Poeppelbuss, J., Hemmrich, S., & Iqbal, T. (2026). Service
through communication—Conceptualizing service systems with Luhmann’s systems theory.
Electronic Markets, 36(1), Article 37. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12525-026-00889-w
bibtex: '@article{Beverungen_Poeppelbuss_Hemmrich_Iqbal_2026, title={Service through
communication—Conceptualizing service systems with Luhmann’s systems theory},
volume={36}, DOI={10.1007/s12525-026-00889-w},
number={137}, journal={Electronic Markets}, publisher={Springer Science and Business
Media LLC}, author={Beverungen, Daniel and Poeppelbuss, Jens and Hemmrich, Simon
and Iqbal, Taskeen}, year={2026} }'
chicago: Beverungen, Daniel, Jens Poeppelbuss, Simon Hemmrich, and Taskeen Iqbal.
“Service through Communication—Conceptualizing Service Systems with Luhmann’s
Systems Theory.” Electronic Markets 36, no. 1 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12525-026-00889-w.
ieee: 'D. Beverungen, J. Poeppelbuss, S. Hemmrich, and T. Iqbal, “Service through
communication—Conceptualizing service systems with Luhmann’s systems theory,”
Electronic Markets, vol. 36, no. 1, Art. no. 37, 2026, doi: 10.1007/s12525-026-00889-w.'
mla: Beverungen, Daniel, et al. “Service through Communication—Conceptualizing Service
Systems with Luhmann’s Systems Theory.” Electronic Markets, vol. 36, no.
1, 37, Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2026, doi:10.1007/s12525-026-00889-w.
short: D. Beverungen, J. Poeppelbuss, S. Hemmrich, T. Iqbal, Electronic Markets
36 (2026).
date_created: 2026-04-21T13:13:02Z
date_updated: 2026-04-21T13:18:35Z
ddc:
- '380'
department:
- _id: '195'
- _id: '534'
doi: 10.1007/s12525-026-00889-w
file:
- access_level: closed
content_type: application/pdf
creator: dabe
date_created: 2026-04-21T13:14:30Z
date_updated: 2026-04-21T13:14:30Z
file_id: '65477'
file_name: Service is Communication - EM Paper.pdf
file_size: 2793039
relation: main_file
success: 1
file_date_updated: 2026-04-21T13:14:30Z
has_accepted_license: '1'
intvolume: ' 36'
issue: '1'
jel:
- L80
keyword:
- Service system
- Service ecosystem
- Systems theory
- Service research
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
url: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12525-026-00889-w.pdf
oa: '1'
project:
- _id: '1250'
name: 'SHAPE : Gestaltung von Dienstleistungsentwicklungsprozessen und lnnovationspartnerschaften
mit Unternehmen'
publication: Electronic Markets
publication_identifier:
issn:
- 1019-6781
- 1422-8890
publication_status: published
publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
quality_controlled: '1'
status: public
title: Service through communication—Conceptualizing service systems with Luhmann’s
systems theory
type: journal_article
user_id: '59677'
volume: 36
year: '2026'
...
---
_id: '61309'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: "Service ecosystems reshape service innovation by enabling value co-creation
among diverse actors. However, small and medium-sized enterprises and public organizations
face significant challenges navigating and leveraging these ecosystems due to
resource constraints, knowledge gaps, and partnership difficulties. While digital
innovation hubs have been introduced as potential intermediaries to foster innovation,
existing models primarily focus on individual solutions and networking rather
than orchestrating service innovation. This study investigates the design of a
digital service innovation hub as an orchestrating entity that facilitates service
innovation within ecosystems. Under the design science research paradigm, we analyze
the challenges faced by small and medium-sized enterprises and public organizations
and derive design requirements for these hubs. Based on 17 expert interviews and
focus group validations, we define the problem\r\nspace and provide a requirements
catalog for designing digital service innovation hubs as a step towards providing
holistic support for service innovation initiatives."
author:
- first_name: Jannika Marie
full_name: Schäfer, Jannika Marie
id: '74374'
last_name: Schäfer
- first_name: Jonas
full_name: Liebschner, Jonas
last_name: Liebschner
- first_name: Polina
full_name: Rajko, Polina
last_name: Rajko
- first_name: Henrik
full_name: Cohnen, Henrik
last_name: Cohnen
- first_name: Nina
full_name: Lugmair, Nina
last_name: Lugmair
- first_name: Daniel
full_name: Heinz, Daniel
last_name: Heinz
citation:
ama: 'Schäfer JM, Liebschner J, Rajko P, Cohnen H, Lugmair N, Heinz D. Designing
Digital Service Innovation Hubs: An Ecosystem Perspective on the Challenges and
Requirements of SMEs and the Public Sector. In: Proceedings of the 20th International
Conference on Wirtschaftsinformatik (WI 2025). Association for Information
Systems (AIS); 2025.'
apa: 'Schäfer, J. M., Liebschner, J., Rajko, P., Cohnen, H., Lugmair, N., &
Heinz, D. (2025). Designing Digital Service Innovation Hubs: An Ecosystem Perspective
on the Challenges and Requirements of SMEs and the Public Sector. Proceedings
of the 20th International Conference on Wirtschaftsinformatik (WI 2025). 20th
International Conference on Wirtschaftsinformatik (WI 2025), Münster, Germany.'
bibtex: '@inproceedings{Schäfer_Liebschner_Rajko_Cohnen_Lugmair_Heinz_2025, place={Münster,
Germany}, title={Designing Digital Service Innovation Hubs: An Ecosystem Perspective
on the Challenges and Requirements of SMEs and the Public Sector}, booktitle={Proceedings
of the 20th International Conference on Wirtschaftsinformatik (WI 2025)}, publisher={Association
for Information Systems (AIS)}, author={Schäfer, Jannika Marie and Liebschner,
Jonas and Rajko, Polina and Cohnen, Henrik and Lugmair, Nina and Heinz, Daniel},
year={2025} }'
chicago: 'Schäfer, Jannika Marie, Jonas Liebschner, Polina Rajko, Henrik Cohnen,
Nina Lugmair, and Daniel Heinz. “Designing Digital Service Innovation Hubs: An
Ecosystem Perspective on the Challenges and Requirements of SMEs and the Public
Sector.” In Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Wirtschaftsinformatik
(WI 2025). Münster, Germany: Association for Information Systems (AIS), 2025.'
ieee: 'J. M. Schäfer, J. Liebschner, P. Rajko, H. Cohnen, N. Lugmair, and D. Heinz,
“Designing Digital Service Innovation Hubs: An Ecosystem Perspective on the Challenges
and Requirements of SMEs and the Public Sector,” presented at the 20th International
Conference on Wirtschaftsinformatik (WI 2025), Münster, Germany, 2025.'
mla: 'Schäfer, Jannika Marie, et al. “Designing Digital Service Innovation Hubs:
An Ecosystem Perspective on the Challenges and Requirements of SMEs and the Public
Sector.” Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Wirtschaftsinformatik
(WI 2025), Association for Information Systems (AIS), 2025.'
short: 'J.M. Schäfer, J. Liebschner, P. Rajko, H. Cohnen, N. Lugmair, D. Heinz,
in: Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Wirtschaftsinformatik
(WI 2025), Association for Information Systems (AIS), Münster, Germany, 2025.'
conference:
end_date: 17.09.2025
location: Münster, Germany
name: 20th International Conference on Wirtschaftsinformatik (WI 2025)
start_date: 14.09.2025
date_created: 2025-09-16T13:44:53Z
date_updated: 2025-09-16T13:46:05Z
department:
- _id: '195'
jel:
- M15
keyword:
- service innovation
- ecosystem
- innovation hubs
- SMEs
- public sector
language:
- iso: eng
place: Münster, Germany
project:
- _id: '1250'
name: 'SHAPE : Gestaltung von Dienstleistungsentwicklungsprozessen und lnnovationspartnerschaften
mit Unternehmen'
publication: Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Wirtschaftsinformatik
(WI 2025)
publication_status: published
publisher: Association for Information Systems (AIS)
status: public
title: 'Designing Digital Service Innovation Hubs: An Ecosystem Perspective on the
Challenges and Requirements of SMEs and the Public Sector'
type: conference
user_id: '74374'
year: '2025'
...
---
_id: '21727'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: 'Platform-based business models underlie the success of many of today’s largest,
fastest-growing, and most disruptive companies. Despite the success of prominent
examples, such as Uber and Airbnb, creating a profitable platform ecosystem presents
a key challenge for many companies across all industries. Although research provides
knowledge about platforms’ different value drivers (e.g., network effects), companies
that seek to transform their current business model into a platform-based one
lack an artifact to reduce knowledge boundaries, collaborate effectively, and
cope with the complexities and dynamics of platform ecosystems. We address this
challenge by developing two artifacts and combining research from variability
modeling, business model dependencies, and system dynamics. This paper presents
a design science research approach to develop the platform ecosystem modeling
language and the platform ecosystem development tool that support researcher and
practitioner by visualizing and simulating platform ecosystems. '
author:
- first_name: Christian
full_name: Vorbohle, Christian
id: '29951'
last_name: Vorbohle
- first_name: Sebastian
full_name: Gottschalk, Sebastian
id: '47208'
last_name: Gottschalk
citation:
ama: 'Vorbohle C, Gottschalk S. Towards Visualizing and Simulating Business Models
in Dynamic Platform Ecosystems . In: Proceedings of the 29th European Conference
on Information Systems (ECIS). AIS.'
apa: 'Vorbohle, C., & Gottschalk, S. (n.d.). Towards Visualizing and Simulating
Business Models in Dynamic Platform Ecosystems . In Proceedings of the 29th
European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS). Virtual Conference/Workshop:
AIS.'
bibtex: '@inproceedings{Vorbohle_Gottschalk, title={Towards Visualizing and Simulating
Business Models in Dynamic Platform Ecosystems }, booktitle={Proceedings of the
29th European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS)}, publisher={AIS}, author={Vorbohle,
Christian and Gottschalk, Sebastian} }'
chicago: Vorbohle, Christian, and Sebastian Gottschalk. “Towards Visualizing and
Simulating Business Models in Dynamic Platform Ecosystems .” In Proceedings
of the 29th European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS). AIS, n.d.
ieee: C. Vorbohle and S. Gottschalk, “Towards Visualizing and Simulating Business
Models in Dynamic Platform Ecosystems ,” in Proceedings of the 29th European
Conference on Information Systems (ECIS), Virtual Conference/Workshop.
mla: Vorbohle, Christian, and Sebastian Gottschalk. “Towards Visualizing and Simulating
Business Models in Dynamic Platform Ecosystems .” Proceedings of the 29th European
Conference on Information Systems (ECIS), AIS.
short: 'C. Vorbohle, S. Gottschalk, in: Proceedings of the 29th European Conference
on Information Systems (ECIS), AIS, n.d.'
conference:
location: Virtual Conference/Workshop
name: 29th European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS)
date_created: 2021-04-23T13:38:54Z
date_updated: 2022-01-06T06:55:12Z
department:
- _id: '66'
- _id: '534'
- _id: '276'
keyword:
- Platform Ecosystems
- Platform Ecosystem Modeling Language
- Platform Ecosystem Development Tool
- Business Models
- Design Science
language:
- iso: eng
project:
- _id: '1'
name: SFB 901
- _id: '4'
name: SFB 901 - Project Area C
- _id: '17'
name: SFB 901 - Subproject C5
publication: Proceedings of the 29th European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS)
publication_status: accepted
publisher: AIS
status: public
title: 'Towards Visualizing and Simulating Business Models in Dynamic Platform Ecosystems '
type: conference
user_id: '47208'
year: '2021'
...