Foundations of Service Research and Service-Dominant Logic

This chapter discusses the central arguments of service-dominant logic (S-D logic) and their implications to the development of the forest sector and forest sciences. The chapter starts from a short summary of earlier studies that have promoted an integrated analysis of different economic sectors and fostered the perspective of customers and users. Then we examine S-D logic as a further advancement of these studies and point out that S-D logic is not a traditional service theory, but a theory of value co-creation in actor systems. We analyze the contextual and experiential nature of value creation and the central role of the integration of resources. More practically oriented constructs—value propositions and business models, and ecosystems and institutions—are also included. Together these analyses create a basis for the application of S-D logic in the forest sector, which we discuss in the end of the chapter. In the current development stage of this sector, there is need for understanding, not only services as add-ons to material products (servitization), but first and foremost the co-creation of value between different stakeholders, among which users play a crucial role. From the academic viewpoint, the systemic and multi-level perspective included in S-D logic is well in line with the emerging view of forest sciences as an integral part of the research into sustainability and ecological thinking.