Chapter 7: Leveraging the Dialogical Nature of Service Blueprinting to Address Wicked Organizational Problems

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2014), 80% of U.S. workers are employed in a services industry and this figure is climbing. Therefore, identifying ways to positively influence service experiences has become more important than ever. A blend of design thinking and service science called service design is an emerging discipline that offers techniques for service providers to improve customer experiences (Patricio, Fisk, & Falco e Cunha, 2013). According to Stickdorn and Schneider (2011), service design is holistic, evidencing, sequencing, user-centered, and cocreative with all stakeholders who are involved in a particular service system taking part in the design process. One of the most commonly used service design techniques is service blueprinting which we define as an emergent relational process through which dialogical interactions lead to value-generating propositions and organizational practices.