Complexity and Emergence in Market Ecosystems

This book delves into the intricacies of transformative processes, focusing particularly on radical and disruptive changes that shape markets, social systems, organizations, cities, and service ecosystems. In a world characterized by turbulence, unpredictability, and complex challenges, managers and marketers are tasked with navigating change and driving progress. Drawing on frameworks, typologies, and insights from diverse theories―including complexity theory, emergence theory, and service-dominant logic―this book equips academics and practitioners with the tools to analyze, understand, and facilitate the transformation of their systems. Rooted in research and discussions from international academic events such as the Naples Forum on Service and the Forum of Markets and Marketing, this book offers invaluable guidance for those seeking to design sustainable transformations in today's dynamic landscape.

Francesco Polese is Full Professor of Business Management. He is the Director of the inter-departmental Research Center SIMAS (Innovation Systems and Sustainability Management) at the University of Salerno. He has been co-chair of the 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, and 2023 editions of the international conference “The Naples Forum on Service: Service-Dominant Logic, Service Science and Network Theory”. His main research interests are Viable Systems Approach, Service Research, and Emergence. He is member of the editorial board of several relevant journals in this area, such as Corporate Governance and Organizational Behavior Review, American Marketing Science Review, Frontiers in Medicine – section Translational Medicine, Journal of Service Theory and Practice, Service Science.

Stephen L. Vargo has been named among Clarivate’s “Highly Cited Researchers” in the Economics and Business category for nine consecutive years, meaning his publications have consistently ranked in the top 1% by citations for field and publication year in the Web of Science citation index. He is ranked No. 5 in career impact among marketing professors worldwide on the Stanford-Elsevier List. He has over 125 publications, including in the Journal of Marketing, the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, the Journal of Consumer Research, the Journal of Service Research, the Journal of Retailing and MIS Quarterly. He has been awarded the Shelby D. Hunt/Harold H. Maynard Award (twice), the AMA/Sheth Foundation Award for his contributions to marketing theory, and the Christopher Lovelock Career Contributions Award, among other recognitions. He serves as the AMS Review editor-in-chief, sits on the editorial/advisory boards for 15 other journals, and serves on the Academy of Marketing Science’s Board of Governors. He has published four books. He is the co-chair of the Forum on Markets and Marketing since its foundation in 2008. Before entering academics, Vargo had a career in entrepreneurial business and consulted for major national, regional and local corporations and governmental agencies. He joined OU from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, where he was a Shidler Distinguished Professor and professor of marketing. His research interests are marketing theory and marketing strategy.

Debora Sarno (Eng., Ph.D., PMP) is Associate Professor of Business Management with expertise in systems theories applied to marketing and management, particularly within service-dominant logic. She has Co-chaired the Doctoral Colloquium of the Naples Forum on Service in 2021 and 2023. Sarno has supervised numerous R&D and startup projects, co-founding two academic spin-offs. Her research appears in esteemed journals including the Journal of Business Research, the Journal of The Academy of Marketing Sciences, Marketing Theory, and Applied Energy, focusing on systems transitions.