Developing networked landscaping services

Abstract

The paper aims to empirically ground an adapted analytic framework for understanding how to develop landscaping services. This is based on revealing the nature of the network role and processes involved in landscaping services. Landscaping is often part of an overall construction project and has a project form of organisation. A case study of a landscaping firm reveals examples of challenges in planning this form of service operation. Contingency theory is applied to reveal relationship interdependency in a network setting. This provides reasoning on how to interact to produce landscaping services. As a service, landscaping mainly is carried out through pooling resources and varying degrees of intense interaction-rooted reciprocal interdependency while customer relationships entail project-related services. This involves degrees of predominantly pooled and reciprocal interdependency. Supplies to customers need to be negotiated to the degree that production is not standardised. Supplies are, however, a combination of goods and services. This entails purchasing needs to deal with different logistics of supply. A conceptual model is developed that depicts landscaping as networked service production influenced by interdependency and carried out in what is conceptually modelled as a short supply chain.