發展一個服務導向的商業模式：以臺大醫院電子健康為例 - 政大學術集成

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(1)國立政治大學資訊管理學系. 碩士學位論文指導教授:張欣綠博士. 立. 政治大. ‧ 國. 學. 發展一個服務導向的商業模式：. ‧. sit. y. Nat. 以臺大醫院電子健康為例. n. er. io. Developing a Business Model in the Service v an Example Context: Usinga l NTUH E-Healthnas i Ch engchi U. 研究生：詹蕙如中華民國一百零二年七月.

(2) 謝辭兩年的光陰，終於完成了這篇論文，一路走來要感謝的人十分的多。首先，是我的指導教授張欣綠老師，老師真的給我很多的建議與指導，不論於論文或者於研究所生涯，我都從老師身上得到很多。特別感謝計畫主持人賴飛羆教授，因為賴教授的幫助，得到了許多的資源可以運用，讓這篇論文的實用性更為紮實。口試委員蔡瑞煌教授亦給予了許多寶貴的建議，使得最後的成果可以更為豐碩。另外，我的 Lab 夥伴、學弟妹、同學以及助教們，也從中給了我許多的協助與相互鼓勵，實在非常感謝。當然，最為重要的，便是我的父母，總是在我身後不遺餘力地支持著我，謝謝您們。一篇論文的完成，中間有許多的困難，也夾雜著許多研究所的回憶，值得細細回味。短短兩年，得到很多，學到很多，不論在學習上、思考上或處事上等，都感覺自己獲得了一點提升，或許還是有一些未臻完美之處，但期待或多或少，可以給予往後的相關研究者一點參考。. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. I. i n U. v.

(3) 摘要電子健康的創新為人們的健康與福祉，帶來了許多的貢獻，然而在日益發展的同時，電子健康亦面臨了許多的挑戰，使得普及化非常困難。本研究綜合了相關的現存文獻，包括了商業模式和服務理論，希望建置出一個服務導向的商業模式，並以此來支持電子健康服務，使電子健康此項目得以永續經營。本研究所提出之營運模式架構由五大支柱、十一個組件以及三個越來越具體的決策層次所組成，以幫助組織針對每一個決策領域做出適當的決策，最後發展出適合的營運模式另外，本研究的數據與資料來自臺灣最大的醫院之一，國立臺灣大學附設醫院，希望將本研究框架應用在此，以幫助臺大醫院成功地建置與提供電子健康服務。總歸出結論，本研究致力於建立一個服務導向的商業模式，並將此研究模型的方法應用在臺大醫院的電子健康服務，期待研究成果可為國內和世界各地的醫療保健產業提供新的前景。. 立. 政治大. 關鍵詞：商業模式、服務、電子健康、醫療保健. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. II. i n U. v.

(4) Abstract. Electronic health (e-health) innovations have contributed to the welfare of many, but they have also presented several developmental challenges. This study synthesizes the extant literature regarding business models and service theories and seeks to develop a business model in the service context that can support e-health services to maintain sustainable operations. The business model framework is composed of five pillars, eleven components and three increasingly specific levels to help organizations make decisions for each decision area to finally capture an appropriate business model. In addition, by utilizing data from the National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH), which is one of the largest hospitals in Taiwan, this research framework can be applied to help NTUH to successfully deploy e-health services. In sum, this study is dedicated to establishing a business model for services and applying the business model approach to NTUH e-heath, which will contribute to providing new prospects for domestic and worldwide e-health.. 立. 政治大. ‧ 國. 學. Key words: Business model, Services, E-health, Healthcare. ‧. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. III. i n U. v.

(5) CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION ............................................................................. 1 CHAPTER 2 - LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................. 3 2.1 The business model ....................................................................................... 3 2.2 Service design.............................................................................................. 11 2.2.1. Service strategy triad ....................................................................... 11 2.2.2. Service process ................................................................................ 13 2.2.3. Service encounter ............................................................................ 13 CHAPTER 3 - RESEARCH FRAMEWORK ........................................................ 16 3.1 The five pillars............................................................................................. 17 3.2 The eleven components as decision areas ................................................... 18 3.3 The three levels of decision making ............................................................ 23. 立. 政治大. ‧ 國. 學. CHAPTER 4 - THE PROCESS OF ANALYSIS .................................................... 26 4.1 Case background: NTUH e-health services ................................................ 26 4.2 Data collection ............................................................................................. 27. ‧. CHAPTER 5 - CASE ANALYSIS ............................................................................ 33 5.1 Industry Analysis ......................................................................................... 33 5.1.1. Service Position ............................................................................... 39 5.1.1.1. Organization .................................................................................... 39 5.1.1.2. Customer Segments ......................................................................... 40 5.1.2. Service Offering .............................................................................. 40 5.1.2.1. Service Proposition .......................................................................... 40 5.1.3. Front End- Delivery Process ........................................................... 41 5.1.3.1. Service Encounter ............................................................................ 41 5.1.3.2. Service Delivery .............................................................................. 42 5.1.4. Back end - Supporting Process ........................................................ 43 5.1.4.1. Key Resources ................................................................................. 43 5.1.4.2. Key Activities .................................................................................. 43 5.1.4.3. Key Partners .................................................................................... 44 5.1.5. Value ................................................................................................ 45 5.1.5.1. Financial Value ................................................................................ 45 5.1.5.2. Customer Value ............................................................................... 45. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 5.1.5.3. Operating Value............................................................................... 46 5.2 Case Analysis .............................................................................................. 46 5.2.1. Organization .................................................................................... 46. IV.

(6) 5.2.2. 5.2.3. 5.2.4. 5.2.5.. Customer Segments ......................................................................... 48 Service Proposition .......................................................................... 50 Service Encounter ............................................................................ 58 Service Delivery .............................................................................. 60. 5.2.6. 5.2.7. 5.2.8. 5.2.9. 5.2.10. 5.2.11.. Key Resources ................................................................................. 61 Key Activities .................................................................................. 67 Key Partners .................................................................................... 69 Financial Value ................................................................................ 71 Customer Value................................................................................ 73 Operating Value ............................................................................... 73. CHAPTER 6 - DISCUSSION ................................................................................... 75 CHAPTER 7 - CONCLUSION ................................................................................ 80 REFERENCE ........................................................................................................... 83 Appendix A - The Interview Questions ................................................................. 92 Appendix B - The Questionnaire............................................................................ 95 Appendix C - The decision area: Organization..................................................... 97 Appendix D - The decision area: Customer Segments ....................................... 100 Appendix E - The decision area: Service Proposition ........................................ 102 Appendix F - The decision area: Service Encounter .......................................... 105. 立. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. The decision area: Service Delivery ............................................. 108 The decision area: Key Resources ................................................ 110 The decision area: Key Activities.................................................. 114 The decision area: Key Partners .................................................. 120 The decision area: Financial Value ............................................... 127 The decision area: Customer Value .............................................. 129 The decision area: Operating Value ............................................. 130. n. al. er. io. sit. y. Nat. Appendix G Appendix H Appendix I Appendix J Appendix K Appendix L Appendix M -. 政治大. Ch. engchi. V. i n U. v.

(7) TABLE CONTENTS Table 1. Chesbrough and Rosenbloom (2002) business model components ............... 4. Table 2 Table 3 Table 4 Table 5 Table 6 Table 7 Table 8 Table 9 Table 10 Table 11 Table 12. Hamel’s (2000) business model components................................................. 4 Afuah and Tucci (2001) business model components ................................... 6 Applegate (2001) business model components .............................................. 6 Mitchell and Coles (2003) business model components ................................ 7 Osterwalder et al. (2005) business model components .................................. 7 Michael et al.(2005) business model components ......................................... 9 The classification of business model components ....................................... 10 The five pillars and eleven components ....................................................... 22 The basic questions in the foundation level ............................................... 24 The case study list ...................................................................................... 28 The interview list ....................................................................................... 29. 立. 政治大. ‧ 國. ‧. A comparison of e-health business models ................................................ 35 Four types of telemedical data transfer and analysis ................................. 43 Characteristics of the users in the project .................................................. 49 The users’ need for e-health services ......................................................... 52 The priority and feasibility of e-health services......................................... 54 Users’ entering channels ............................................................................ 60 User needs and the feasibility of the e-health platform ............................. 63 Improvement suggestions for the platform ................................................ 66 User attitudes toward service charges ........................................................ 72 The charge mechanism of other hospitals .................................................. 72 Assessment of the NTUH e-health business model ................................... 75. n. al. er. io. sit. y. Nat. Table 17 Table 18 Table 19 Table 20 Table 21 Table 22 Table 23 Table 24 Table 25 Table 26 Table 27. 學. Table 13 The interview schedule .............................................................................. 30 Table 14 An analysis example of the component: Organization .............................. 30 Table 15 Validity and reliability tests........................................................................ 31 Table 16 Overview of the e-health industry .............................................................. 33. Ch. engchi. VI. i n U. v.

(8) FIGURE CONTENTS Figure 1. Hamel’s (2000) business model concept ...................................................... 4. Figure 2 Osterwalder et al. (2005) business model canvas ......................................... 7 Figure 3 Roth and Menor (2003) the service strategy triad ...................................... 11 Figure 4 Bateson (1985) the service encounter triad ................................................ 14 Figure 5 The business model framework .................................................................. 16 Figure 6 Three levels of decision making ................................................................. 17 Figure 7 The pillars on hierarchical perspectives ..................................................... 18 Figure 8 The research roadmap................................................................................. 26 Figure 9 The Continuous, Integrated Personalized Healthcare Platform framework .............................................................................................................................. 27 Figure 10 The general application process ............................................................... 42 Figure 11 The framework of partnership in e-health ................................................ 44. 立. The relationships among patients, case managers and physicians ........... 59 The care process in the NTUH Telehealth Center.................................... 61 The framework of the platform ................................................................ 62 The integration architecture of the case management information system. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. Figure 12 Figure 13 Figure 14 Figure 15. 政治大. .............................................................................................................................. 62. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. VII. i n U. v.

(9) CHAPTER 1 -. INTRODUCTION. Electronic health (e-health) has been developed to achieve universal coverage and improve the quality of healthcare (Piotti and Macome, 2007). The advancement of information and communication technologies (ICT) has provided healthcare institutions with different ways to deliver service and communicate with the healthcare community and end-users. These developments have provided a range of benefits, including an improvement in the quality of patient care, increased access to providers, and the reduction of unnecessary costs to the public (Karl et al., 2006; Botha, 2010). Many developing countries are investing in e-health (Fleming, 2010), and Taiwan is also actively developing many pilot projects that aim to support the sustainable operation of e-health services. There are many challenges to the development of e-health services in Taiwan. There are too many industries that involve e-health services, such as service providers, platform developers and device providers, to integrate them effectively within a single commercial operation. Other challenges relate to law, operating fees, and a delegation of responsibility among stakeholders. Furthermore, most of the pilot projects that have been undertaken have had to depend on grants from the government or have tended to fail because of financial difficulties.. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. al. er. io. sit. y. Nat. A business model can provide solutions to the challenges that are inherent in the deployment of e-health innovations (Amit and Zott, 2001; Broens et al., 2007). A business model refers to the method by which a firm will achieve profitability and create a sustainable competitive advantage over time through an interrelated set of decision variables in the areas of venture strategy, configuration, markets and economics (Morris et al, 2007). Hence, with a business model approach, Mun et al. (2005) researched teleradiology; Barker et al. (2005) analyzed the Arizona Telemedicine Program; and Botha (2010) determined sustainable business models for e-health in Sub-Saharan Africa. While past research has used business models that were defined by the perspective of products, few studies have considered service-oriented business models. The business model construct builds upon the value chain concept (Porter, 1985), which focuses on a set of logistics, activities and operations; therefore, the business models perspective has generally focused primarily on the product concept, leaving little room for service. Product-concept-based business models, which focus on production activities (Morris et al, 2007), do not seem to suit to healthcare institutions that specialize in e-health service through back-end support and front-end deliv-. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. ery processes. Because of these limitations, service-oriented business models need to be developed.. 1.

(10) The National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH)1 is a top teaching hospital in Taiwan, concentrating on medical, teaching, research, service, medical care policies and social reforms in Taiwan. As a leader in the healthcare area, NTUH also develops new prospects for ICT and innovative e-health services; nevertheless, because of the above-described problems, NTUH has encountered difficulties in the successful deployment of e-health services. To address the limitations of the traditional business model, a service-oriented business model must be developed that can fit into a service organization’s particular mode of functioning. Such a model would help healthcare organizations to operate more sustainably, and the NTUH would be able to define its own business model that would support the permanent offering of e-health services. Consequently, the aim of this study is to determine a sustainable business model for NTUH’s e-health services and provide a better prospect for healthcare institutes in general. The key objectives of this study are (a) to establish a business model in the service context, (b) to apply the business model approach to e-health, and (c) to develop a successful business model for NTUH’s e-health services.. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. 1. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. http://www.ntuh.gov.tw/en/about/about_us/Prospective.aspx [Accessed on January 11th, 2013] 2.

(11) CHAPTER 2 -. LITERATURE REVIEW. Because of the above-stated problems and needs, a business model for services must be established. First, we will establish what a business model is and how to use it; then we will introduce questions of service design and determine how to develop a business model in the service context. Therefore, our literature review is composed of two parts; the first section will address the standard business model, and the second section will explore the possibility of developing new designs for a service-oriented business model. 2.1 The business model There is no general definition of the term “business model.” Stewart and Zhao (2000) describe the business model as “a statement of how a firm makes money and sustains its profit stream over time.” Slywotsky (1996) refers to “the totality of how a company selects its customers, differentiates its offerings, defines the tasks which ones it performs itself or outsources, configures its resources, goes to market, creates utility for customers and captures profits.” Morris et al. (2007) propose that “a business model is a concise representation of how an interrelated set of decision variables. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. al. er. io. sit. y. Nat. in the areas of venture strategy, architecture, and economics are addressed to create a sustainable competitive advantage in defined markets.” To summarize, a business model can be described as a method by which a firm can determine a successful strategy.. i n U. v. In addition to the definition of a business model, many authors have gone further to define of the components that are contained in a business model. Components, also referred to as the elements, building blocks, functions or attributes of a business model, are the individual aspects of a business model that help managers to better understand and describe the make-up and operation of a firm (Osterwalder, 2004). Next, we will review some representative business models, study their frameworks, components and features, and extract the supporting concepts of these models.. Ch. engchi. Timmer (1998) indicates that a business model needs to illustrate the organizational architecture of issues regarding product, service, and information flows, with a description of the various business actors and their roles, the potential benefits for these actors as well as the revenue sources, and finally the necessity of providing a marketing strategy to accomplish a business mission. Chesbrough and Rosenbloom (2002) propose that a business model is composed of six main functions. These functions are the value proposition, target markets, in3.

(12) ternal value chain structure, cost structure and profit model, value network, and competitive strategy. See Table 1. Table 1. Chesbrough and Rosenbloom (2002) business model components. Function. Description. Value proposition. The first step is to define a potential value proposition, which is “what form of products or services should be offered,” or from the customers’ viewpoint, “what problems need solving?”. Target markets. The definition of the value proposition is based on the idea of a target market. Different markets have diverse properties. A firm needs to identify its target market and develop its value proposition in consideration of its customers’ needs.. Internal value chain structure. A firm must construct a value chain within the firm. This value chain has two aims: to create value for its customers and to obtain value. The value depends on a balance between customers, suppliers, and competitors.. Cost structure and profit model. A firm should determine which mechanisms to use, such as its customers’ method of payment, customer costs, and how to create value that is shared between customers, businesses, and suppliers.. ‧ 國. This function describes a firm’s position within the value network, in-. ‧. cluding the identification of complementors and competitors. The final function of a business model is to help a firm determine what type of competitive strategy it should use.. io. sit. y. Nat. Competitive strategy. 學. Value network. 立. 政治大. n. al. er. Hamel (2000) presents a business model that consists of four main elements, which are connected by three “bridges” and divided into different sub-elements. The business model illustrates a view of the overall structure of a firm. See Figure 1 and Table 2.. Ch. engchi. Customer Benefits. i n U. v. Configuration. Company Boundaries. Customer Interface. Core Strategy. Strategic Resources. Value Network. Fulfillment & Support Information & Insight Relationship Dynamics Pricing Structure. Business Mission Product/Market Scope Basis for Differentiation. Core Competencies Strategic Assets Core Processes. Suppliers Partners Coalitions. Efficient / Unique / Fit / Profit Boosters. Figure 1 Table 2 Element. Hamel’s (2000) business model concept. Hamel’s (2000) business model components. Sub-element. Description. 4.

(13) Strategic resources. Product/market scope. Defines a firm’s product/market scope.. Basis for differentiation. Outlines the qualities of a firm that make it different or better than its competitors.. Core competencies. Describes a firm’s knowledge base, skills and unique capabilities.. Strategic assets. Refers to a firm’s key assets, such as infrastructure, brands and patents.. Core processes. Outlines what a firm actually does to accomplish its business.. Fulfillment & support. Refers to the way in which a firm reaches its customers (e.g., channels).. 政治大 Defines the knowledge that is collected from and. 立. Information & insight. used to analyze customer behavior.. 學. Customer interface. Captures a firm’s overall goals.. Relationship dynamics. Refers to the interaction between a firm and its customers.. Pricing Structure. y. Nat. sit. n. al. Coalitions. Refers to a firm’s partners that its business, reduce risk, or acquire resources.. er. io. Partners. how it bills them.. Represents a firm’s partners that typically supply the critical components for a final product or solution.. Suppliers Value network. Explains what a firm charges its customers for and. ‧. ‧ 國. Core strategy. Business mission. Ch. i n U. v. Represents the alliances between non-competitors to reach a strategic purposes.. engchi. Bridge. Description. Configuration. The link between a firm’s core strategy and its strategic resources, referring to the unique way in which strategic resources are combined to support the core strategy.. Customer benefits. The connection between a firm’s core strategy and its customer interface, defining the benefits that are offered to the customers.. Company boundaries. The bridge between a firm’s strategic resources and its value network, referring to the decisions that are made about a firm’s activities and outsourced activities. 5.

(14) Afuah and Tucci (2001) indicate that a business model should answer some questions, including what product or service to offer customers, which customers to target, how to price the product or service, who pays for it, what strategies to adopt, how to provide the target level of value, and how to sustain a firm’s competitive advantage. See Table 3. Table 3. Afuah and Tucci (2001) business model components. Component. Questions. Customer value. What can a firm offer customers that is distinctive or better than competitors?. Scope. Which customers benefit from a firm’s product or service and what range of products or services bring value?. Pricing. How does a firm determine the price of a product or service that it offers?. source. What activities does a firm perform to generate value and when, and how are those activities are connected?. 學. Connected activities. 政治大 tomers will pay for a product or service and under what conditions, and what are the立 margins in a given market, and what drives that market? Where does a firm’s revenue comes from, what is the amount that cus-. ‧ 國. Revenue. What are a firm’s capabilities, which capability gaps does a firm need to. ‧. Nat. fill, and how are these capabilities distinctive or better than those of other firms or difficult to imitate?. y. Capabilities. Sustainability. How does a firm continue to stay economically viable, how does a firm make it difficult for other firms to imitate it, and how does a firm sustain its competitive advantage?. n. al. er. sit. How do a firm’s organizational structure, systems, people, and environment best suit the connected components?. io. Implementation. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Applegate (2001) presents a business model framework that consists of three basic components regarding concept, value and capabilities. Additionally, the components contain some second-order conceptions. See Table 4. Table 4. Applegate (2001) business model components. Component. Description. Concept. Concept refers to products and services offered, market opportunities, a strategy to capture dominant market share, an evolutionary business strategy, and competitive dynamics.. Capabilities. Capabilities are performed within an organization’s structure and culture, infrastructure model, operating model, marketing and sales model, management model, and development model that is built by personnel and. 6.

(15) partners.. Value is generated from a business model, including financial perforValue. mance, benefits returned to stakeholders and to the firm, brand and reputation, and market share.. Mitchell and Coles (2003) suggest that a business model consists of seven main components that give an enterprise the ability to provide products or services to customers and end-users. See Table 5. Table 5. Mitchell and Coles (2003) business model components. Component Description All stakeholders that a firm meets and affects (e.g., customers, partners, and business actors). 政治大 Product or service offerings, and the advantages and disadvantages of those 立 offerings for stakeholders. Who What. The proper time to affect stakeholders. Where. The places that firm delivers value to and affects. Why. The reasons for stakeholder participation in a firm’s business. How. The way in which a firm provides value. How much. The prices and all of the costs that customers spend for products or services. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. When. sit. y. Nat. n. al. er. io. Osterwalder et al. (2005) developed a business model framework that is composed of nine building blocks; based on their properties, these components can be classified into four pillars. See Figure 2 and Table 6. As opposed to other models, Osterwalder et al.’s business model emphasizes that links among the components and the properties of the components. Infrastructure. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Offer Key Activities. Key Partners. Customer Customer Relationships. Value Proposition Key Resources. Customer Segments Channels. Finance Cost Structures. Revenue Streams. Figure 2 Osterwalder et al. (2005) business model canvas Table 6. Osterwalder et al. (2005) business model components. 7.

(16) Pillar. Description. Offering. The value propositions, described as a bundle of products or services that a firm offers to its customers. Customer. Identifies who purchases products or services from a firm, how the products/services are delivered, and how relationships can be built with them. Infrastructure. How a firm employs its resources to perform activities, and with whom a firm cooperates to bring value to its business model. Finance. The costs that result from the other components and revenues that are generated through customers to sustain a firm’s business model.. Pillar. Component. Offer. Value proposition. Description 治 a bundle of products or services 政 An overall view of 大. 立. ‧ 國. 學. that a firm offers to solve its customer problems and to satisfy customer needs.. Customer segments. ‧. A means of communicating with and reaching cus-. Channels. tomers to deliver value propositions.. Nat. n. Infrastructure. Key resources. sit. io. al. Key activities. Describes the type of links that a firm establishes and maintains with customer segments.. y. Customer relationships. Describes the arrangement of activities that a firm must perform to make its business model work.. er. Customer. Defines one or more of several customer segments to whom the firm wants to offer value propositions.. v i n C hRefers to the assetsUthat are required to offer and deengchi. liver other components by executing certain activities to create value for customers.. Partner network. A cooperative relationship between two or more firms that outsource certain activities or acquire certain resources.. Cost structure. The representation in currency of all of the methods that are employed in a business model.. Finance Revenue streams. Refers to a variety of revenue flows that are generated from customer segments to whom a firm offers value.. Michael et al. (2005) introduce a six-component framework for characterizing a business model. These components are applied at three different levels. The business. 8.

(17) model introduces three levels that reflect the different managerial purposes of a model; different decisions are made at each level. See Table 7. Table 7. Michael et al.(2005) business model components. Component. Description. Offering. How do we create value?. Market. Who do we create value for?. Internal capability. What is our source of competence?. Competitive strategy. How do we competitively position ourselves?. Economic. How do we make money?. Personal/investor. What are our time, scope, and size ambitions?. Level. Description. Foundation level. Defining generic decisions to identify the universal business models. Proprietary level. 學. ‧ 國. Rules level. 政治大 Creating unique combinations to gain marketplace advantage 立 Establishing guiding principles to execute the business models ‧. After reviewing the extant literature, we conclude that these business model components, according to their similar natures, can be divided into eleven categories, including an organization, customers, service proposition, relationships, channels, resources, activities, partners, finance, customer value, and benefits (see Table 8). From. Nat. y. sit. n. al. er. io. the classifications, we can determine what general components form a business model. In addition, we adopt the concept of pillars, which are the basis of a business model and contain the essential issues that a firm needs to address (Osterwalder et al., 2005) as well as three increasingly specific levels of decision making, which can help a firm to make a series of decisions to fulfill its business model (Michael et al., 2005). A general and integrative business model framework is presented.. Ch. engchi. 9. i n U. v.

(18) Table 8 The classification of business model components Source customers. service proposition. relationships. Timmers (1998) target markets. value proposition. Afuah & sustainability Tucci (2001). product/ service scope. Osterwalder et al. (2005). Michael et al.(2005). personal/ investor, competitive strategy. who. what. customer segments. value proposition. market. offering. product/service/information flow architecture. 政治internal 大 value chain structure. information & insight; fulfillment & support. strategic assets; core competencies. core processes. capabilities. implementation; connected activities. people. infrastructure, operating, management, development model. al. marketing and sales model. n. why, when. products and services offered. io. Mitchell & Coles(2003). organization structure & culture, market evolutionary opportunities business strategy; competitive dynamics. Nat. Applegate (2001). market scope. marketing strategy. partners. finance. business actors & roles. revenue sources. value network. cost structure and profit model. suppliers; partners; coalitions. pricing structure. ‧. product scope. relationship dynamics. activities. 學. business mission; Hamel (2000) basic for market scope differentiation. 立. resources. price; revenue. Ch. engchi. i n U. customer relationships. key resources. channels. internal capability 10. key activities. benefits actor benefits. customer value. partners. financial performance. who. how much. what. partner network. cost structure; revenue streams. v. how, where. customer value. market share; benefits returned to stakeholders and the firm; brand and reputation. y. competitive strategy. ‧ 國. Chesbrough &Rosenbaum (2002). channels. sit. organization. er. category. Components. economic.

(19) 2.2 Service design To shape a business model in the service context, using a general business model as a foundation, we can determine how to design a service-oriented business model. Service design is an important issue because it helps a service organization to move from a strategic to an operational level (Roth and Menor, 2003). Additionally, Ponsignon et al. (2007) suggest analyzing and designing service systems from a process-centric perspective. On the other hand, Shostack (1982; 1984; 1987) indicates that it is necessary for service design to integrate the customer’s viewpoint into a model. Based on the above-described context, we will consider service design from the perspectives of strategy, process and customers. Therefore, in the following section, we will review the service strategy triad that is based on strategic concepts, a service process that focuses on process-thinking, and a service encounter that includes the perspective of customer experience.. 立. 政治大. 2.2.1. Service strategy triad. ‧ 國. 學. ‧. To address the design, the delivery, and the evaluation of services as well as transposing a company’s strategy to an operational level, Roth and Menor (2003) present a service strategy triad. The triad consists of target markets, service concepts,. Target Market. n. al. Who are the right customers?. Ch. engchi. er. io. sit. y. Nat. and a service delivery system, which shows an integrated way to consider service design (see Figure 3). The service strategy triad is valuable because it helps a service organization to implement the strategy of the service design.. i n U. v. Service Encounter What happens when services and customers meet and interact? Service Concept. Service Delivery System Design Choices. What is the service or product bundle offered?. Figure 3. How will services be delivered?. Roth and Menor (2003) the service strategy triad. The three elements can be explained as follows: . Target Market: Identifying a firm’s target market and satisfying its needs and expectations is of great importance for service design (Goldstein et al., 2002; Gouillart and Sturdivant, 1994; Roth and Menor, 2003). For service 11.

(20) companies, creating a service that matches or exceeds customer expectations is the overarching purpose of the design activity (Slack et al., 2004). Additionally, some researchers suggest that service providers can segment their customers into groups that are based on their characteristics so they can serve them in personal ways (Pine and Gilmore, 1999; Sampson and Froehle 2006). On one hand, a firm should promote customer satisfaction (Dabholkar and Overby, 2005), maintain customer retention (Cronin and Taylor, 1992), and obtain loyal customers (Reichheld and Sasser, 1990). On the other hand, a firm needs to acquire new customers (Brown, 2000; Hart et al., 1990). By designing its service model properly, a firm can ensure that both its service outcome and its process of service delivery are perceived as being of good quality by customers and consequently maintain a competitive edge in the marketplace (Mohr and Bitner, 1995; Shostack, 1984; Verma et al., 2002). . 立. 政治大. Service Concept: A service can be defined as an outcome, the what, and, as. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. a process, the how (Ponsignon et al., 2007). The service concept represents the outcome, which refers to that which is received by customers (Lovelock and Wirtz, 2004). A description of a service can contain a portfolio of core and supporting elements, its features as well as benefits and the value it. n. al. er. io. sit. y. Nat. provides for customers (Roth and Menor, 2003; Heskett, 1987; Scheuing and Johnson, 1989). It can be tangible or intangible (Goldstein et al., 2002). A service concept is also known as a service offering, service package, and service or product bundle (Roth and Menor, 2003). Before developing a service outcome, a firm should first decide on its marketing orientation (Cook et al., 1999), which is a critical factor for success. . Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Service Delivery System: In terms of service, a service delivery system can be defined as a process that emphasizes how the service outcome is received by a customer (Ponsignon et al., 2007; Goldstein et al., 2002). A service delivery system should be seen from a holistic perspective, as a whole business process in a service context (Ponsignon et al., 2007). The service delivery system consists of multiple, interdependent service processes (Johnston and Clark, 2001) and constitutes a hierarchically organized process architecture (Ponsignon et al., 2007) that involves people, technology, facilities, layout, and processes (Heskett,1987) and thereby generates a service outcome. A service delivery system connects a service strategy with its execution and the customers’ perceived value in their service encounters (Ponsignon et al., 2007).. 12.

(21) 2.2.2. Service process In Gummesson’s (1994) opinion, process-thinking is at the core of service delivery. Ponsignon et al. (2007) consider that a holistic view of service delivery processes can help in the design of service systems and that a systems-approach is advised for combining sub-processes to form a core business process as a service system, which is also part of a wider system in the organization. A service delivery system, as a whole business process in a service context, is therefore proposed to account for the end-to-end nature of service processes, to transcend functional boundaries and to recognize the process architecture that is inherent in service systems (Ponsignon et al., 2007). With regard to service process design, a service blueprint has gained widespread support (Kim and Kim, 2001; Lynch and Cross, 1995; Shieff and Brodie, 1995). A service blueprint is an enhanced flowchart that depicts all of the steps, flows, and roles of a service company’s employees, customers and the organizations that are involved as well as all of the interactions that occur in the process of service delivery (Zeithaml et al., 2006). The advantage of a service blueprint is that it emphasizes the relationships between processes instead of focusing on specific, isolated elements (Shostack, 1987).. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. al. er. io. sit. y. Nat. A service process plays the role of ‘delivery’ to ensure that the expected service outcome is received by the customer (Goldstein et al., 2002) and leaves the customer either satisfied or dissatisfied with the service experience (Mayer et al., 2003). In the service process, the service organization produces and delivers the service to customers through a sequence of activities and steps and through the flows and interactions between those activities and resources (Slack et al., 2004).. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. From a concept that is rooted in customer contact theory, a service process can be broken down into the front-office and the back-office (Ponsignon et al., 2007). The front-office or the front-end of the delivery process, where the customers are, involves service operations management, while the back-office or the back-end, where processes are executed without directly involving the customers, focuses on using manufacturing techniques and concepts (Sampson and Froehle 2006; McLaughlin et al., 1991; Chase, 1978). The main purpose of establishing these two sections is to distinguish the differences and links between customer experiences in the front-end as well as the activities and related supporting processes in the back-end. 2.2.3. Service encounter A service encounter occurs between a service provider and a customer in a ser-. 13.

(22) vice delivery system. Through service encounters, service providers contact their customers, meet their needs and expectations, and create service experiences for them. Bateson (1985) views the service encounter as a triad that is formed by the interacting interests of a service organization, its contact personnel, and a customer. It is mutually beneficial for the three parties to work together to create an efficient service and to achieve a service experience that is perceived by customers as positive (Elnaghi et al., 2008; Cook et al., 2002) (see Figure 4). Service Organization Efficiency versus Autonomy. Contact Personnel. 立. Efficiency versus Satisfaction. 政治大 Perceived Control. Customer. ‧ 國. 學. Figure 4 Bateson (1985) the service encounter triad. ‧. The service encounter triad displays the relationships between the three parties and can suggest if there are sources of conflict (Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons, 2001).. n. al. er. io. sit. y. Nat. As a result, services need to be approached in an integrated way: an organization’s system, employee competencies, behavior and feelings, and customers’ needs and preferences should all balanced; a service organization requires efficiency to remain economically viable; contact personnel need to be flexible and empowered to make decisions; customers need to receive satisfactory and effective service (van Looy et al., 1998; Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons, 2001). The three elements can be explained as follows: . Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Service Organization: A service organization takes control over service processes and better manages customer encounters (Elnaghi et al., 2008). A service firm establishes its culture and physical surroundings to support the service encounter and to encourage their employees to focus on delivering exceptional service (Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons, 2001). Based on the above-described context, we identify that a service organization involves: (a) culture, which is a system of orientations that are shared by an organization’s members and that can be distinguished from those of other organizations (Hoy et al., 1991) and (b) empowerment, which enables contact personnel to be motivated, competent, committed, and well-trained to make decisions; a successful service organization invests in its contact personnel by supporting them through technology, considering their recruitment and 14.

(23) training and to link compensation to their performance (Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons, 2001). . Contact Personnel: The importance of contact personnel and other employees cannot be underestimated in any successful service organizations, and managers should be concerned with the quality of the organization’s climate and culture (Elnaghi et al., 2008). Contact personnel are on the front line of the service process by meeting and interacting with customers. Hence, a service firm should focus its resources on selecting and training its contact personnel (Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons, 2001).. . Customer: Each interaction between a service provider and its customers is crucial (Carlzon, 1987). It is a chance to influence the customer’s perceptions of service quality (Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons, 2001), and it is imperative to consider customer perceptions when designing a service encounter (Chase and Dasu, 2001). Customers participate in the service delivery process and play a part in coproduction (Solomon et al., 1985). As a partial employee, customers experience service operations through service encounters with contact personnel (Dean, 2004). They have to learn the ap-. 立. 政治大. ‧ 國. 學. ‧. propriate behaviors for the situation, follow a script that has been defined by. io. sit. y. Nat. the organization and experience the benefits that are inherent in the particular design of the service that is being offered (Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons, 2001; Solomon et al., 1985).. n. al. er. In conclusion, a service organization offers customers services through a series of service processes that can be divided into the organization’s back-end and the front-end. The back-end of the service process is designed to support services that are offered by the front-end, and the front-end is engaged in the process of delivering services to customers. Furthermore, the delivery process contains service encounter and service delivery. Service delivery is the way in which services are received by customers, and on the basis of service delivery, a service provider is able to establish service encounters with each customer segment. An important issue in the service encounter is how the three parties, including an organization, its contact personnel and customers, work together to create service experiences. From this issue, we also recognize the importance of organization and empowerment. The organization represents a distinctive identity and guides the development of the business model, and empow-. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. erment describes how to empower personnel to support and offer services. From this issue, we also recognize the importance of organization. The organization represents a distinctive identity and guides the development of the business model.. 15.

(24) CHAPTER 3 -. RESEARCH FRAMEWORK. A good business model should be simple but comprehensive (Mitchell and Coles, 2003), and it should describe the rationale of how a firm creates, delivers and captures values (Osterwalder et al., 2005). We have conducted a comprehensive review in the area of business model components and derived eleven general components from the extant literature to form an integrative business model (See Table 8). Additionally, we have integrated the service concept into the business model, including the service strategy triad, service process, and service encounter. Further, the pillars offer a rough categorization of the components based on their characteristics to provide a rudimentary description of the business model (Osterwalder et al., 2005). In conclusion, for the construction of a business model in the service context, we propose a framework that illustrates a general and integrative business model and contains service perspectives. The business model framework is composed of five pillars and eleven components (see Figure 5). Our model conveys what a firm should consider, do and obtain when preparing a business blueprint. The details regarding the pillars and components of the business model are discussed in the section 3.1 and 3.2. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. io. n. al. Customer Segments. Service Offering. Ch. eService ngchi. sit. y. Nat. Organization. er. Service Position. i n U. v. Propositions Back end - Supporting Process. Front end - Delivery Process Service Delivery. Key Resources. Service Encounter Value. Customer Value Figure 5. Key Partners. Key Activities. Financial Value. Operating Value. The business model framework 16.

(25) It is also important for a framework to be applicable to firms in general and capable of satisfying the needs of an individual firm (Mitchell and Coles, 2003). As a result, we adopt the three increasingly specific levels to help firms make decisions for each component that represents a basic decision area (see Figure 6). We will introduce the three levels in section 3.3.. Figure 6 3.1 The five pillars. Three levels of decision making. 政治大. We have been influenced by business model ontology (Osterwalder, 2004) and the literature on service process, and we consider that a business model is built on the basis of five pillars, which include the five essential issues that a firm has to address. First, a service organization needs to identify its position in the context of its surroundings. Next, a service organization should be concerned about what services it offers, how to deliver its services in the front-end, and what type of support should be. 立. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. y. sit. n. al. er. Service Position Service position is on the top of a business model and plays an important role in shaping services’ overall direction. It is the most basic consideration when a firm develops its business model. The discussions in this area include issues of organization and customer segments.. io. . Nat. offered to improve service in the back-end. The last issue addresses a firm’s value for its customers. The five pillars are as follows:. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. . Service Offering A service offering is a service package, more specifically, it is a bundle of products and services that a firm offers to its markets.. . Delivery Process (Front-end) Delivery process is the front-end of a firm’s service processes and is described as being “where the customers are.” A firm that is devoted to delivering services and creating service experiences for its customers focuses on delivery process. In the delivery process, a firm should identify how to deliver services to them and how to interact with and satisfy them.. . Supporting Process (Back-end) 17.

(26) A supporting process is the back-end of service process and is defined as “where processes that do not directly involve customers are carried out.” A firm configures its business activities that are associated with offering services through supporting processes. In the supporting process, a firm considers what resources are needed, what activities are performed, and with whom they need to cooperate to bring value to its business model. . Value To achieve a business model’s sustainability, a firm obtains financial value to sustain its business, it creates customer value to retain them, and it obtains operating value to sustain its business.. Mitchell and Coles (2003) conclude that, from a hierarchy perspective, a business model conveys more comprehensive concepts from the economic to the operational to the strategic levels. In our business model, each pillar emphasizes hierarchical perspectives. Value, at the foundation of a business model, represents the economic level, which concerns the value generation that is required to sustain the busi-. 立. 政治大. ‧ 國. 學. ‧. ness. The middle of the business model includes the supporting process, service offering and delivery process, which refers to the operational level. On this level, the focus is on creating and delivering value. Service position is at the top of the business model, and it represents a firm’s strategy to shape its overall direction (see Figure 7).. Nat. Service Offering. n. al. er. io. sit. y. Service Position. Figure 7. Ch. Front end Delivery Process. iv. Back end Supporting Process. n U engchi Value. The pillars on hierarchical perspectives. Moreover, in Osterwalder’s (2004) opinion, the pillars are a rough categorization, and the interrelated components are the core of the business model. Therefore, we will introduce the eleven components in the next section. 3.2 The eleven components as decision areas As mentioned above, components are the core of a business model. Each one of them is viewed as a decision area, but there are interrelated relationships among them. There are components that correspond to each pillar: the service position includes organization and customer segments; the delivery process contains service delivery and 18.

(27) service encounter; service offering represents service proposition; the supporting process comprises key resources, key activities and key partners; and, finally, value consists of financial, customer and operating values. Therefore, the eleven components in our business model are as follows: . Organization Organization describes a firm’s structure, systems, environment, culture, missions, objectives, goals, differentiation, advantages, strategies, challenges and problems, which is a decision area for a firm. An organizational structure, its systems, and environment create the best fit for its connected components (Afuah and Tucci, 2001). Culture involves the shared orientations that hold a firm together and give it a distinctive identity that distinguishes it from others (Hoy et al., 1991; Mintzberg, 1989). A business mission captures a firm’s vision from an overall viewpoint (Hamel, 2001). In addition, the time, scope and size of a firm’s investment also need to be addressed (Michael et al., 2005), including a firm’s objectives, long-term, medium-term and short-term goals. Strategy helps a firm to position itself in the industry and to distinguish itself from its competitors. It is defined as the way in which a firm forms methods of sustaining its competitive advantage (Afuah and Tucci, 2001). A firm retains its advantageous position by com-. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. al. er. io. sit. y. Nat. peting differently or better than other firms (Hamel, 2001) and strives to maintain its advantages with evolutionary business strategies (Applegate, 2001). Moreover, a firm also should consider challenges and problems facing the development of services.. Ch. i n U. v. . Customer Segments Before developing a service proposition, identifying the right market for a firm is of great importance. Different markets have diverse characteristics, and therefore a firm should segment its customers and provide appropriate services for each segment (Chesbrough and Rosenbaum, 2002). Additionally, after gaining an understanding of who its target markets are, a firm’s purpose is to match or exceed the market’s needs and expectations (Slack et al., 2004), to manage customer retention, and to acquire new customers. The question of how to satisfy customers is addressed in the service encounter description below.. . Service Proposition After it has determined its market’s demands, a firm develops service propositions to satisfy its customers’ expectations. From the customers’ viewpoint, a service proposition emphasizes the services that an organization can. engchi. 19.

(28) offer to solve their problems and match their needs (Chesbrough and Rosenbaum, 2002). The service proposition is considered to be service package, a bundle of services or products, service offerings, or service outcomes (Roth and Menor, 2003; Lovelock and Wirtz, 2004). . Service Encounter A service provider contacts and interacts with its customers, matches their needs and expectations, and creates excellent experiences for them in the service encounter. The service encounter plays a critical role in the delivering process because it balances the relationships among a service organization, its contact personnel and its customers. To ensure that services are positively perceived by customers, an organization is responsible for taking control over the service encounter (Elnaghi et al., 2008); contact personnel, in the front line of the service process, are dedicated to meeting customers’ needs (Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons, 2001); customers, who also participate in the service coproduction, must interact with contact personnel, and follow a script that is defined by the organization (Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons, 2001; Solomon et al.,1985).. 立. ‧ 國. 學. Service Delivery. ‧. . 政治大. n. al. er. io. sit. y. Nat. A service organization offers customer service through the service delivery system. Service delivery refers to “how” and “where” service delivery and affects stakeholders (Mitchell and Coles, 2003). It is a means of reaching customers to deliver services, including the process of awareness, evaluation, contact, delivery, and after services (Osterwalder et al., 2005). In addition, through the execution of service delivery, an organization is capable of collecting information from customers and analyzing customer behavior (Hamel, 2001) as well as establishing service encounters with its customers. . Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Key Resources A firm requires key resources to support the deployment of other components and use them to execute certain activities to create value for its customers (Osterwalder et al., 2005). Resources, which can be tangible and intangible, include two categories: assets and competencies. Assets refer to certain basic or strategic resources, such as infrastructure, technology, brands and patents (Hamel, 2001). Competencies refer to a firm’s capabilities that are distinctive or better than those of other firms, such as knowledge or unique skills (Afuah and Tucci, 2001). Resources have four type, containing physical, intellectual, human and financial resources (Osterwalder et al., 2005). 20.

(29) . Key Activities A service organization needs to perform a number of key activities to support the services that it offers. The service organization’s management and operating of activities make its entire business model work (Osterwalder et al., 2005). This decision area concerns those activities in which a firm actually engages and how the firm connects the activities to accomplish its business aims (Hamel, 2001; Afuah and Tucci, 2001). According the past literatures, activities contain production (or operating systems), platform and network, R&D (or technology, creative or innovative capability, intellectual), problem solving (or offering service), selling (or marketing, packaging), information management and mining, financial transactions and arbitrage, supply chain management, networking and resource leveraging, recruitment and training, etc. Key Partners Cooperating with key partners completes the part of a business model that a firm lacks or in which it demonstrates deficiencies. The cooperative relationship among firms is built up due to certain activities that are outsourced or based on certain resources that have been acquired outside of the firm (Osterwalder et al., 2005). Consequently, a description of a firm’s various. 立. 學. ‧. ‧ 國. . 政治大. n. al. er. io. sit. y. Nat. business partners and their roles is necessary (Timmers, 1998). Suppliers supply a firm’s critical complements; partners optimize a firm’s business, reduce risk, or acquire resources; alliances between non-competitors can help a firm to fulfill certain strategic purposes (Hamel, 2000).. Ch. i n U. v. . Financial Value Financial value comes from the balance between a revenue model and cost structure. It is an economic decision area, which focuses on how much a firm earns. The revenue model explains a variety of revenue flows that are generated from a firm’s customers (Osterwalder et al., 2005). Cost structure represents a firm’s expenses for the services that are included in its business model (Mitchell and Coles, 2003). Consequently, a firm should decide on its mechanisms, such as how much customers need to pay, the level of margins in each of its markets, and how to generate a system of profit between customers, businesses, and partners (Chesbrough and Rosenbaum, 2002).. . Customer Value When providing customers with services in use or after use, a firm delivers value to its customers and helps them in various ways, a process that is defined as customer value. We consider customer value to be either tangible. engchi. 21.

(30) or intangible. Quality is tangible because it can be measured, such as a customers’ physical fitness. Satisfaction is intangible, and it is used to judge whether customers are satisfied with services. As a result, customer value, including quality and satisfaction, is important because it can assist a firm in measuring customer acceptance and the benefits that it provides for its customers. . Operating Value When developing a business model, operating value is generated from practicing experiences or business benefits to help a firm and its stakeholders. For example, a firm can cultivate its management performance to decrease time cost or to reduce mistakes. In Applegate (2001)’s opinion, in addition to increasing the market share, offering markets services also help a firm and its stakeholders to develop brands, reputation and benefits. It can be viewed form the perspectives of management and personnel.. 立. 政治大. ‧ 國. 學. In conclusion, our business model framework is composed of five pillars and eleven components. Here is the overview of the business model. See Table 9. Table 9. ‧. Definition. sit. al. n. Customer Segments. Organization represents a distinctive identity and holds the employees together. It describes the structure, systems, environment, culture, missions, objectives, goals, differentiation, advantages, strategies, challenges and problems.. io. Organization. y. Nat. Service Position. er. Component. The five pillars and eleven components. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Customer segments are served in different ways by identifying their diverse characteristics and needs. Service Offering. Service Proposition. Service proposition is what services a firm provides for customers to match their needs. Front End- Delivery Process. Service Encounter. Service encounter takes place when services and customers meet and interact. It describes relationships among the organization, contact personnel and customers.. Service Delivery. Service delivery is a means of how a firm delivers services to customers, containing awareness, evaluation, contact, delivery, and after services. Back End- Supporting Process. 22.

(31) Key Resources. Key resources are what resources a firm requires to support other components and offer services, containing physical, intellectual, human and financial resources.. Key Activities. Key activities refer to what a firm actually performs to make the business model work, including production, platform or network, R&D, problem solving, selling, information management, financial transactions, supply chain management, networking and resource leveraging, recruitment and training, etc.. Key Partners. Key partners are the cooperative firms which acquire some resources or outsource some activities. Value. Customer Value. 治政大customers gain from the service Customer value is defined as what value 立 use, including satisfaction and quality. in use or after 學. Operating Value. Financial value generates from the balance between revenues from customers as well as costs from other components.. ‧ 國. Financial Value. ‧. Operating value comes from the process of practicing the business model, and it brings benefits to a firm and stakeholders. It can be viewed form the perspectives of management and personnel.. 3.3 The three levels of decision making. y. Nat. sit. n. al. er. io. We adopt the three levels of decision making, which is proposed by Mitchell and Coles (2003). The three levels include the foundation, proprietary, and rules levels. These levels reflect a firm’s increasingly specific managerial purposes. Three levels not only ensure general decisions in the industry, but they also can support the development of distinctive decisions that fit a firm’s individual characteristics.. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Accordingly, we present our whole business model framework, which combines three levels of decision making with eleven components. At each level, eleven components, as basic decision areas, will be considered. Finally, through a process of decision making, an organization will define its own business model. The details of the three levels are explained as follows: . Foundation Level At the first level, a service organization should make general decisions in the industry. These types of decisions can be made by answering some basic questions or addressing certain generic decisions that must be made by all organizations, such as what type of business they plan to conduct. The foundation level tries to find universal models as well as general compari-. 23.

(32) sons across firms. We address some basic questions to provide references for each component. See Table 10. Table 10 The basic questions in the foundation level Component. Consideration. Organization.         . What are a firm’s structure, environment, culture, and mission? What characteristics does a firm have? What does a firm focus on most? How is a firm different from its competitors? What advantages does a firm have? Which of a firm’s advantages are the most important? What are a firm’s strategies? How costly are these strategies? What value do these strategies bring?. . Who do a firm provides services for?. What type of service encounter is ideal for customer segments? Which services have an established firm? How costly are these service encounters? How to integrate them with the rest of the business model? What should a firm do in a service encounter? Who are the contact personnel? Who are the most important contact personnel in the service? What should contact personnel do in the service encounter? What should customers do in the service encounter?. sit. n. al. er. io. Service Encounter. y. Nat.         . What problems does a firm solve for customers? What needs does a firm satisfy for customers? What services does a firm deliver to customers? What services does a firm offer to each customer segment?. ‧.    . 學. Service Proposition. . ‧ 國. Customer Segments. 政治大 Who立 are a firm’s most important customer segments?. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Service Delivery.      . Through which service delivery do customers want to be reached? How does a firm currently reach its customers? What are the best modes by which to reach customers? Which of these modes are most cost-efficient? How to integrate service deliveries? How to integrate service deliveries with customer routines?. Key Resources.  . What resources do other components require? Which component is the most important?. Key Activities.  . What activities do other components require? Which of those activities is most important? 24.

(33) Key Partners. Financial Value.    . How to invest in employees? How to use IT to enable employees? What elements are critical for recruitment and training? How much to pay for performance?.  . What abilities or knowledge should employees have? Which abilities or knowledge are the most important?.   . Who are our key partners? What resources does a firm acquire from partners? Which activities do partners perform?.     . For what service propositions are customers willing to pay? For what services do customers currently pay? How are customers currently paying? How would customers prefer to pay? How much does each revenue stream contribute to overall revenues?. 政治大 What are the most important costs that are inherent in our business 立 model components?.  . What types of satisfaction and quality do a firm’s services provide for its customers? How to evaluate customer satisfaction and quality of experience of a. ‧. Customer Value. 學. ‧ 國. .  . What operating value can a firm receive? Which type of operating value is most important?. sit. n. al. er. io. Operating Value. y. Nat. . firm’s services? What is the most important aspect of service that is provided to a firm’s customers?. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. . Proprietary Level At the second level, a service organization hopes to reach its marketplace advantage by developing unique combinations among decision areas. In each of the eleven decision areas, by discerning what can make a firm different or superior, a firm can determine its market position. The proprietary level mandates that a firm needs to customize its own business model.. . Rules Level At the last level, a service organization is supposed to establish specific guidelines and methods of execution to allow its business model to run. Some disciplines, regulations, operations, execution, guidelines or manuals should be drawn up to provide regulations of range, limits, or indicators. The rules level plays a role in guiding a firm’s principles and leading to the execution of decisions that are made at the foundation and proprietary levels.. 25.

(34) CHAPTER 4 - THE PROCESS OF ANALYSIS The business model framework consists of five base pillars, eleven components considered to be decision areas, and three increasing levels of decision making. By adopting this framework, we hope to help NTUH successfully deploy e-health services. We use the case study methodology for our two-part research framework. The first part takes place on the foundation level to identify general decisions about e-health services in the healthcare industry. In this part, we search for related representative cases of e-health services in Taiwan and analyze their common properties and distinguishing features. The second part includes the proprietary and rules level that helped develop competitive NTUH e-health services. In this part, we determine the advantages and differences of NTUH and then propose some feasible ideas for e-health services that present a good fit for NTUH. Then, we evaluate these ideas through interviews, questionnaires, analysis and reports. After making a series of decisions, the business model for NTUH e-health services will be drawn up. See Figure 8.. 政治大. 立. ‧ 國. 學. Business model framework. ‧. Five pillars and eleven components Three levels of decision making. sit. y. Nat. al. Foundation level. er. io. Industry analysis. e-health services and analyze them. Ch. v. Define general decisions of e-health services in. n. Search for related representative cases of. i n U. the healthcare industry. engchi. Case analysis: NTUH e-health services. Proprietary and rules level. Collect data from NTUH and determine its. Evaluate the feasibility of unique decisions. advantages and differences. through interviews, questionnaires and reports. The business model for NTUH e-health services. Figure 8 The research roadmap 4.1 Case background: NTUH e-health services NTUH is a top teaching hospital, and it is well known not only domestically but 26.

(35) also internationally. It focuses on teaching, research, educational systems, diagnostic and treatment techniques, as well as innovative research and development. NTUH contributes to the development of medical treatment and plays a leading role in the healthcare industry. E-health service is an emerging and important area in the medical field, and it also attracts the investment of healthcare organizations. NTUH always pursues innovation and advancement to promote human health, and it consequently has sought to develop e-health services. NTUH is currently developing a project in hopes of developing a sustainable e-health services operation. The project seeks to construct a continuous, integrated personalized healthcare platform. Through the platform, each patient acquires e-health services at home, obtains immediate and continual care and consultation from case managers, and receives medical care and treatment in case of emergency situations. In addition, the mobile platform allows patients to receive e-health services regardless of time and location (see Figure 9). The goal of the project is to improve patients’ physiological condition and their quality of life, to promote favorable medical outcomes for NTUH, to help people lead healthy lives and to demonstrate a successful case for the healthcare industry in Taiwan.. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Figure 9 The Continuous, Integrated Personalized Healthcare Platform framework 4.2 Data collection We collected data from interviews, questionnaires, related extant literature, industry reports, final reports of pilot projects, and newspaper and magazine reports. The first part of the study is to execute an industry analysis through searching for. 27.