How value is created through service has recently undergone massive changes. Centralized service provision with clear distinctions between service offerers and beneficiaries is increasingly being substituted by value creation within decentralized networks of distributed actors integrating digital resources. One of the drivers of this transformation is blockchain technology. Applying the lens of service-dominant logic and discussing examples of blockchain-based decentralized finance, we shed light on how properties of decentralized technology stimulate value creation in service ecosystems. With this conceptual research, we postulate five propositions of decentralized value creation along the axiomatic foundations of the service-dominant logic. We provide first definitions for decentralized service as well as decentralized service ecosystems. Thereby, we contribute with an extension of the service-dominant logic to the context of decentralized ecosystems. To our knowledge, this research is among the first to add to the growing literature on blockchain value creation from a service science perspective.
This paper describes the challenges of the maritime supply chain compared to land transport and discusses the new digital initiatives to simplify the processes and enable a better plan for the entire supply chain. First, the background is outlined with an example of the extensive admin processes in maritime transport compared to road transport, followed by a case example presenting the processes of a booking. The case study concludes that the lack of integration is costly in terms of both admin resources, as well as lost capacity on some ships and missing capacity on others. Finally, the evolution of new digital initiatives are discussed, both in general and in terms of competing “alliances” as seen in the airline industry. The paper concludes that the information exchange in the maritime industry has moved drastically in the last 3 years and that one initiative, TradeLens, seems to have gained a position as maritime standard despite a problematic start with many competing initiatives.