Services, e-Services and e-Service Innovations - combination of theoretical and practical knowledge

Abstract

The starting point of this article is the earlier service definition by Lehtinen (1984). By the aid of this and other service definitions we examine current definitions of e-services and the most common service characteristics. Thereafter, we study empirically the nature of chosen eservices; bank services, insurance services, financial advice services, hotel booking services, flight and railway ticket services, packaged tour services, real estate services and food takeaway services. Some of these e-services act as core services and some as supplementary services. We limit our study to cover only e-services provided on screen and leave other processes connected to e-services outside the scope of the study. On the basis of the theoretical considerations and empirical analysis we propose new e-service definition and tackle with issues that are essential in new e-service innovations. At the end of the article we discuss the importance of interaction and trust in electronic environment and suggest several viewpoints for future research.