Digital service flexibility: a conceptual framework and roadmap for digital business transformation
本文提出数字服务灵活性的三个维度（核心、交易、客户），构建理论框架，并通过医院病房案例展示如何指导服务企业的数字转型。
Due to the growing need to continually generate customer value, firms must be flexible to address changing business environments and customer expectations. Although research has examined Information Technology (IT) flexibility, the nuances of IT flexibility in services have received limited attention. This study uses a three-stage roadmap to build digital service flexibility. First, using prior research on services and IT flexibility, we articulate three dimensions for digital services flexibility (DSF): core DSF, transaction DSF, and customer DSF. Second, we propose a theoretical customer-service value framework as a blueprint for service firms to align their strategies along these three DSF dimensions using four propositions. Third, for DSF to be applied in practice, we discuss contextual and situational embeddedness to support digital transformation for services. We use a practical application of DSF using a multi-year case study that aligns service innovations inside and outside a patient room in a hospital setting. The main contributions of this study lie in a) conceptualizing digital service flexibility and identifying its three dimensions, b) proposing a conceptual framework highlighting how firms can use DSF in alignment with their business strategy, and c) illustrating how the concept of DSF applies in a hospital setting.