System service providers

Starting point of our work is the observation that more and more companies label themselves as system service providers and seem to provide complex services and solutions within a partner network. With the results of an explorative study conducted in the form of expert-interviews in two sectors we want to form and sharpen an understanding about complex services and companies acting as providers of such services. Our work is embedded in the ongoing discussion about the role and high need for a systematic service development and innovation management for services and also draws on the state of the art in literature. Our definition, findings and conclusions are presented as basis for further work in the area of complex service systems.