A Framework of Foreseen and Unforeseen Harms in Transformative Service Systems

Abstract

Transformative service systems (TSSs) are designed to uplift human well-being. Yet, paradoxically, by necessity and in design, TSSs can also generate unintended harms for system actors. Our conceptual paper builds on recent service literature, as well as that on unintended consequences from a range of fields, to advance an integrative framework of harms in TSSs. Through the enabling theory of the doctrine of double effect, our framework organizes harms in the transformative service context, identifying that unintended harms can be both foreseen and unforeseen. Additionally, we find that the mechanism underlying these harms is system emergence. Emergence arises from the relative complexity of the service system and the relative dynamism of the issue the TSS aims to address. Our framework demonstrates that greater service system complexity increases the likelihood of foreseen harms, while greater relative dynamism increases the likelihood of unforeseen harms arising. Furthermore, we show how these two factors combine to promulgate the emergence of harms. We find that in instances where harm arises, greater service system adaption is required to mitigate such harms. However, some TSS harms are an inevitable and unfortunate secondary outcome of doing good, and these harms necessitate acknowledgment and acceptance by service designers.

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