Towards a common framework for knowledge co-creation: opportunities for collaboration between Service Science and Sustainability Science

Purpose - Sustainability and Sustainable Development should be the top priorities of a Smarter Planet. On the basis of this statement, our aim is to highlight opportunities of knowledge co-creation that derive from the integration of the research efforts of two communities of scientists, scholars and professionals, recognized worldwide that share a common vision of a smarter and more sustainable planet: Service Science and Sustainability Science. Design/Methodology/approach - By adopting a systems thinking view, and specifically the Viable Systems Approach (VSA), the paper analyses the scientific positioning of Service Science and Sustainability Science, and, through a Service-Dominant Logic co-creation approach, seeks commonalities that can highlight opportunities of fruitful scientific collaboration. Findings - The paper evidences significant convergence in the views and scientific positioning of Service Science and Sustainability Science, clarifying why the two communities should collaborate by integrating knowledge resources and sharing advances. By promoting a boundary crossing interaction and creating interface connections within and between the two scientific communities, gaps can be removed and relevant bridging elements explored and exploited in a shared effort targeted to realizing a smarter and more sustainable world. The common inter- and transdisciplinary as well as solution-oriented research approach appears a key methodological element of convergence for developing a shared framework of reference coherently. A “3Pillars”Knowledge Co-creation Framework for Service & Sustainability Science integrates the findings of our 3-step interpretative pathway, into a consistent whole, a key to creating convergence in multidisciplinary knowledge co-creation contexts. This framework proposes an original vision of sustainability which integrates the Triple Helix and the Triple Bottom Line models into a co-creation framework to support knowledge design and creation processes through which University-Industry-Government collaboration, necessary to address the challenge of a smarter and sustainable world, can be tried, tested and further developed. Research implications - The paper opens up new research pathways launching a Science-led call for collaboration that overcomes the traditional divide between knowledge domains and communities fostering a shared effort to address the challenges of sustainability within a smarter planet and to put into practice interdisciplinary collaboration in order to develop a common framework for Service and Sustainability Sciences. Practical implications - The paper provides insights for rethinking research, development and management approaches as well as education programs by placing sustainability at the center of the scientific, governmental and business agendas. It also sheds light on the criticalities and barriers of mutual learning systems. Originality/value - The paper develops an original analytical approach that integrates the Triple Helix and the Triple Bottom Line models into a coherent co-creation framework for sustainability in which Service Science and Sustainability Science play key roles by integrating their knowledge resources.