Journal of Service Science (2010) 2:81-110 DOI 10.1007/s12927-010-0004-0 G.R. Gangadharan (), corresponding author Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy e-mail: geeyaar@gmail.com Paul Oude Luttighuis Novay, Enschede, Netherlands e-mail:paul.oudeluttighuis@novay.nl BHive: A Reference Framework for Business-Driven Service Design and Management G.R. Gangadharan, Paul Oude Luttighuis Received: 21 March 2010 / Accepted: 10 June 2010 / Published: 30 June 2010 © The Society of Service Science and Springer 2010 ABSTRACT For business-driven service design and management, this paper outlines a reference frame- work called BHive that incorporates service, service contract, service architecture, and ser- vice portfolio life cycles, as well as service risk, service change, and service compliance management. BHive primarily serves as a map for identifying and positioning instruments for business-driven service design and management. BHive does not provide the level of detail and the sharpness of definitions that other frameworks do. However, BHive provides a level of holism that is not found in other frameworks. BHive can be perceived as a proposal to integrate existing frameworks in service design, management, and execution together with intra-organizational issues, inter-organizational issues, and functional and contractual aspects. KEYWORDS Service design and management, Service life cycle, Standards and frameworks, Software services.