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Smart service systems are upon us. Fuelled by unprecedented advances in connectivity, sensors, data storage and computation (Beverungen et al. 2019), smart service systems are value-cocreating configurations of people, technologies, organisations and information, which are capable of independent learning, adaptation and decision making (National Science Foundation 2014, p. 5). The smart service that such systems are capable of rendering is pre-emptive in its behaviour, adaptive to customer needs and contexts, thereby exceeding traditional offerings with respect to both perceived customer value and provider efficiency (Allmendinger and Lombreglia 2005). Smart service systems have emerged in contexts as diverse as manufacturing, logistics, mobility, healthcare and private living. For example, digitally connected aircraft engines report status data in real time, enabling predictive maintenance and pay-per-use business models. Cars analyse driving behaviour based on sensor data, schedule workshop appointments and provide optimised ecofeedback to drivers. Public trash bins equipped with sensors track the volume and kinds of garbage to help calculate the type and number of collection vehicles to be dispatched and the time of the collections, thus increasing efficiencies of operation and cost savings. Wearable systems monitor people’s health status and support their personalised treatment.

Smart service systems are a prime example to illustrate the growing convergence and reinforcement of two key developments of our time: digital transformation (Matt et al. 2016) and servitisation (Vandermerwe and Rada 1988; Baines et al. 2009 …