Portuguese Journal ofSocial Science Volume 4 0iumber 2. Q Intellect Ltd 2005. Article. English language. doi: 1O.13Hh/pjss.4.2.h3/l The 'servicelization' of societies: towards new paradigms in work organization PauIo Percira de AImeida ISCTE Abstract This article proposes an alternative to the tlJeoreticalframework j(Jr the approaelles to phenomena of the servicelization of work in cOlnplex or[JanizatiOlwl contexts. III contradiction to the models whic/l question the iIHlustrialization processes. theoret- ical paradigms are presented which /li[J/zli[J/It inte[Jration in the analyses of new concepts of work. suell as co-production. tile supremacy of the climt! user, the eval- uation of or[Janizational performances and competence logic. Finally. a model of the service enterprise is presented with its alternative conn[Jurations in a proposal for empirical application. some of which is IIOW bein[J carried out in Portu[Jal. On the emergence of the servicelization concept We propose using "servicelization" as an alternative concept to that of "tertiarization". On one hand this highlights the distinction from the "industrialization" concept and. on the other hand. it draws attention to the transversal phenomenon of the "service logic" in the organization of a considerable. and growing. number of contemporary work activities. We make the distinction between the "service" concept and the "services" concept. linking "services" to the classification of economic activities (and. as we shall argue. of a strictly economic nature) and. simultaneously, defend the postulate that the "service" runs through most forms of con- temporary work. In fact. and in response to the emergent rise in service consumption. we believe it is plausible to discuss the emergence of what is considered to be an ideal service enterprise model. This thesis also intends to show clearly that the "service logic"] concept has three main charac- teristics. namely: the structuring of the service enterprise so as to strengthen the con- struction of the set of relevant and updated information on client- users. which should then be mobilized to identify their specificities: the organization of work activities so that they contribute to the co- production of answers adapted to the clients' "problems"; and pressure to reconstruct production technologies and relational logistics in service co-production processes and with the self-teaching of compe- tences. PJSS 4 (2) 63-79 © Intellect Lld 200S 63 Keywords Servicelization Sociology of Work Complex organiza- tional contexts Net-economy Service Enterprise Co-production Table 2 or this article - with regard to the research alternatives on the service en terprise - is a proposal on how to make this concept empirically operational,