Towards an integrated evaluation of human-centered service systems and corresponding business models: A systems theory perspective

The design of services and their corresponding business models (BMs) aims at a value creation for customers and service providers. Thus, the outcome is interrelated. However, both – the design service systems and BMs – are evaluated separately because they do not have a common theoretical foundation. Therefore, this design science research aims at the development of an evaluation scheme for the design of services and BMs. Building on a general systems theory, we conceptualize human-centered service systems (HCSSs) and their corresponding BMs as a coherent system. This conceptualization gives the possibility to provide concrete analytical levels that allow an integrated evaluation of this system. We apply this evaluation scheme in a care service context and show that the integrated evaluation allows a more concrete assessment of the combined design of HCSS and the corresponding BMs. With this evaluation scheme, we offer an operationalization of a summative evaluation for the design of HCSSs and BMs as an artifact. Also, this provides a new perspective on theory-rooted knowledge for designing and evaluating service systems. For practitioners, the evaluation results allow the coordination of the value proposition in the service systems and BMs.