Experiencing networked transformative service: The Edenred case

The importance of services in contributing to the individual and collective well-being is growing in recognition. With the emergence of the transformative service research (TSR) paradigm scholars are increasingly highlighting the transformative role that services may play both at micro and macro-level. By integrating insights from the TSR literature with the network approach, this paper focuses on the networked nature of the transformative role of services. In order to investigate how organizations drive this change over time in a networked environment and the well-being outcomes, we analyze the evolution of the business model of Edenred, a leading global company, with expertise in delivering end-to-end solutions for rewards, compensations, incentives and loyalty programs to employees and the public in general. Results from our study show that we can identify stages in the evolution of the business model in a transformative fashion, each characterized by a specific driving force as well as patterns of value creation and value appropriation.