Service research sees itself as an interdisciplinary and integrative field of research in which academics from different disciplines come together and conduct joint research on topics such as service innovation, the digitalization of services, service ecosystems or transformative services. In addition to service research in the narrower sense, the professional backgrounds and the research interests of the academics in this area also include service topics at the interface with, for example, marketing, business informatics, technology and innovation management, operations management, organization, public services, production and logistics within business administration, as well as engineering, computer science and psychology. 

Different approaches to services and service research also result from different domain focuses, such as services for private end customers, industrial services, healthcare services, tourism, or sport. The interdisciplinary academic exchange between university lecturers in the field of service management and the promotion of early-career researchers are at the center of the Commission's work.

The founding of the VHB's area Service Management was unanimously approved by the VHB's Annual General Meeting on June 29, 2015. All members of the VHB who are involved in service research are invited to join the Commission and actively participate in the Commission's work.