From Theory to Practice: Understanding Value- Creation in Service Companies

Abstract

Objective: existing literature is fragmented and fails to provide a holistic and comprehensive understanding of how value is created, particularly in the face of contemporary challenges and within the service sector. This article aims to offer a structured overview of current literature and facilitate a theoretical understanding of value creation. Methods: adopting a multi-method approach, a systematic literature review (SLR) of 184 articles was conducted, combined with qualitative analyses of empirical data obtained from in-depth interviews with three entrepreneurs. Results: this article identifies six distinct valuecreation logics: (1) performance-driven, (2) knowledge-driven, (3) predictability-driven, (4) customer-driven, (5) positioning-driven, and (6) quality-driven. The results demonstrate that value creation in service companies is a multifaceted process, requiring a balance between internal capabilities and external market dynamics. Conclusions: this study does not seek to exhaust all possible perspectives on value creation; instead, it offers a structured synthesis of six interrelated value-creation logics derived from the literature and illustrated through exploratory interviews with entrepreneurs in the service sector.