Abstract:
This dissertation presents a systematic review of the literature about the distinctive
characteristics of services, often studied in terms of the similarities and differences
when compared to goods, and about the classifications that scholars have developed
to improve the understanding and management of services. Both topics have
characterized the service management literature since its emergence.
Academics have extensively used four attributes to argue that services are uniquely
different from goods, as well as for arguing that the differences are not meaningful:
inseparability of production and consumption, heterogeneity, intangibility, and
perishability. Arguments according to different functional and theoretical perspectives
and different levels of analysis are reviewed. Ultimately, it is argued that a
goods/services dichotomy is irrelevant, and that research should focus on the
distinctive features of a generic product/service.
Management scholars have always used classifications to foster the understanding
organizations at both academic and managerial levels. Most of the typologies regarding
the management of services, either from a marketing or an operations management
perspective, are descriptive, and only a few attempt to prescribe design and
management. Classifications make use of theoretical rationales with different degrees
of robustness, and utilize a large variety of dimensions to type organizations.
The development of both topics has been eminently conceptual; empirical research
supporting the major tenets is scarce.
The systematic character of the review means that an explicit effort is made to provide
transparency and traceability to the researcher's decisions and criteria. A review
methodology relatively new to management research is used, and it proves to be
highly valuable. The fit between the research project characteristics and the
operationalization of the systematic review principles is pointed out as a contribution to
the development of this methodology for management research.