A framework with hybrid approach to analyse system requirements of smart PSS toward customer needs and co-creative value propositions

Abstract

Smart product-service system (PSS) has been transcending scope of traditional PSS and can be characterized as value co-creation business strategy. This article aims to propose a framework with hybrid approach to capture and evaluate conceptual factors of smart PSS in fuzzy front end. According to service logic that is one of value co-creation paradigms, conceptual factors can be divided into customer needs (CNs) as customer problems to be solved, co-creative value propositions (CVPs) as mutual benefits and system requirements (SRs) as abstract solutions, which just match with three spheres of customer, joint and provider in service logic, respectively. Particularly, CVPs on smart PSS are captured from various interactions in its sequence diagram. As means-end chain theory, three types of conceptual factors for smart PSS are formed into multi-hierarchy network structure, and they are evaluated through a hybrid approach integrating fuzzy DEMATEL, modified-ANP and fuzzy TOPSIS. As a result, SRs prioritization is derived to give support to conceptual design of smart PSS. Sensitivity analysis also is conducted to test reliability of SRs prioritization. Finally, an illustrative case study of smart fridge-service system (SFSS) is demonstrated along this proposed methodological framework.