Defining the Smartness of Data-Driven PSS in Decision-Making

This paper presents a working definition of smart PSS, emphasising the relevance of data-driven decisions. First, we identify some literature gaps, then we analyse the papers presented at the Smart Services Summit 2022 to shed light on the characteristics a smart PSS should have to enable more effective business decisions. In doing this, we specifically explore who are the purposes and beneficiaries of data-driven decisions in smart PSS. We develop a novel definition that incorporates 6 characteristics: enabling technologies, ecosystem view, value-in-context, customisation, future orientation, and digital communication. We provide a detailed discussion of how each characteristic can affect the smartness of a digital and data-driven product-service offering. Next, we use two real cases to validate this working definition. In the end, we discuss the similarities and differences between the two cases to identify the contribution of this research, its limits and research avenues.