Generalising
One of the logic tests I try to apply to ideas is ‘how generalisable is it?’. It’s kind of an academic/intellectual question, as often one of the ways to show the merit of research is how widely applicable is it outside of the area it was conducted in.
I thought about this when reading Jason Knight’s product to service scale. I ask myself what products and services don’t fit. Does the idea apply to government products and educational services, for example? What have others said about similar topics, does this agree or offer a different perspective?
In this case, it seems clear that the four definitions on the product to service scale are only applicable to a small range of commercial organisations. But, the idea that how an organisation talks about the people it serves (customers, clients, patients, etc.) reveals something about how they structure the offer they provide for them, is really interesting. That needs more thought.