Special section on the role of information technology in service delivery

Much of the radical transformation of the world economy from an industrial, manufacturing-oriented economy to a post-industrial, service-oriented one comes from the application of information technology (IT) to service delivery (Rai and Sambamurthy 2006). IT has contributed – and continues to contribute – to increased efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery. ITalso reduces the cost of service and creates additional service-related revenues for firms. Furthermore, IT enables the development of new services. Each of these effects that result from the use of IT in service delivery have the potential to add value for customers and create competitive advantage for firms. Service, and the development and delivery of services, has been studied in several fields, including marketing, operations management, economics, and information systems (Rai and Sambamurthy 2006). Researchers have provided extensive reviews of service, defining it as a capability or capabilities that one economic entity provides to other entities as part of the value-creation process (Vargo and Lusch 2004). This process of service creation and delivery can be simple and routine, or can be complex and innovative. Regardless of the characteristics of the service being provided, the needs of many service providers can be addressed by advanced IT (Jorgenson 2001). The contribution of IT to service delivery is particularly apparent in web services, computing services, business intelligence services, and information technology infrastructure. And for the consumer, IT-enabled service delivery can be seen in fields as diverse as healthcare, travel, retailing, media, and entertainment. Service-oriented IT is thus helping to determine the directions in which numerous industries and the world economy in general – will grow and develop in the future. The depth and the diffusion of technology is helping to accelerate the application and use of knowledge in ways unimagined only a decade ago. The main purpose of this special section is to examine the role of IT in delivering service. It provides a venue in which new opportunities, challenges, and solutions are introduced to researchers. This special section has taken a broad view of service, centering on how service entities utilize IT to create value for individuals, firms, collectives, and/or ecosystems. Foregoing research has considered contexts for service delivery such as healthcare, financial services, education, social services, and government programs at various levels. Several of these contexts appear here. Speaking generally, this special section focuses on the role of IT in the delivery of services, cost-effective service delivery, IT enabled service design and development, facilitating service delivery through IT processes and practices, and the investigation and implications of value co-creation for IT-based service delivery in service innovations. * Jaeki Song [email protected]