Lars Witell

Journal of Service Management (JOSM) p. 1-21 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/josm-10-2024-0436

Purpose This research examines the unique sustainability challenges posed by an aging population and how artificial intelligence (AI) may be used to nudge service organizations and older adults toward more sustainable behaviors. Design/methodology/approach A conceptual framework (“the AI service triangle”) is developed by describing how four primary actors (AI, managers, employees and customers) through smart nudging and learning can change their principles and practices toward more sustainable behavior. Based on the conceptual framework, a research agenda is proposed, and empirical illustrations are presented, connecting concepts such as smart nudging, hyper-personalization, learning and aging. Findings This research explores how older adults can be supported in making their behavior more sustainable through smart nudging, emphasizing those principles and practices that promote sustainable choices. It further suggests how managers and employees of service organizations can be nudged to change toward more sustainable service provision for older adults. It also highlights the challenges posed by the need for hyper-personalization of smart nudges, while adhering to ethical principles of privacy and transparency. Originality/value The authors adopt a systems approach, which is required to resolve major global challenges, such as those caused by an aging population. It integrates multiple levels of analysis – of service organizations (managers and employees), older adult customers and AI – into a conceptual framework that can assist policymakers and managers in making better decisions to address grand challenges.

Industrial Marketing Management 128 p. 87-87 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2025.05.001

Handbook of Service Experience p. 271-281 Doi: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781035300198.00029

Journal of Services Marketing 39(10) p. 33-33 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/jsm-07-2024-0353

Purpose Drawing on value cocreation, this study examines health-care customers’ perceptions of patient-centered care (PCC) in hospital and online primary care settings. This study aims to address how are the key principles of PCC related, how the relationships between key PCC principles and outcomes (subjective well-being and service satisfaction) vary depending on the channel providing the care (hospital/online primary care) and what differences are placed on the involvement of family and friends in these different settings by health-care customers. Design/methodology/approach This study comprises four samples of health-care customers (Sample 1 n = 272, Sample 2 n = 278, Sample 3 n = 275 and Sample 4 n = 297) totaling 1,122 respondents. This study models four key principles of PCC: service providers respecting health-care customers’ values, needs and preferences; collaborative resources of the multi-disciplinary care team; health-care customers actively collaborating with their own resources; and health-care customers involving family and friends, explicating which principles of PCC have positive effects on outcomes: subjective well-being and service satisfaction. Findings Findings confirm that health-care customers want to feel respected by service providers, use their own resources to actively collaborate in their care and have multi-disciplinary teams coordinating and integrating their care. However, contrary to prior findings, for online primary care, service providers respecting customers’ values needs and preferences do not translate into health-care customers actively collaborating with their own resources. Further, involving family and friends has mixed results for online primary care. In that setting, this study finds that involving family and friends only positively impacts service satisfaction, when care is provided using video and not voice only. Social implications By identifying which PCC principles influence the health-care customer experience most, this research shows policymakers where they should invest resources to achieve beneficial outcomes for health-care customers, service providers and society, thus advancing current thinking and practice. Originality/value This research provides a health-care customer perspective on PCC and shows how the resources of the health-care system can activate the health-care customer’s own resources. It further shows the role of technology in online care, where it alters how care is experienced by the health-care customer.

Springer Nature Switzerland Doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-76560-5

Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-025-01129-x

This research demonstrates the impact of unconditional business-to-consumer (B2C) gifts. It contributes to the literature by examining how an unconditional gift at the beginning of a shopping experience can influence both loyalty and transactional spending. The findings show that an unconditional gift creates feelings of gratitude, driving loyalty and transactional spending. At the same time, receiving such a gift can lead to a sense of obligation, prompting increased transactional spending to alleviate this feeling. To address the identified gaps in research on B2C gift giving and provide managers a clear path to successfully launch an unconditional gift-giving program, we conduct two firm-partnered field experiments, tracking the behaviors of customers after receipt of an unconditional gift. We then conduct five experimental studies to validate the theoretical process and examine three managerially relevant contingencies: value of the gift, new versus existing customers, and a promotional reward versus an unconditional gift. We find that even unconditional gifts with little monetary value provide benefits for a firm and the effects are robust across new and existing customers. Furthermore, we find that unconditional gifts create greater feelings of obligation than promotional rewards. Managers can use our findings to design unconditional gift-giving programs regarding when, what, and how unconditional gifts should be given to have the largest impact on customers.

Springer

This open access book investigates how digitalization and service infusion are changing service provision and the customer experience. It highlights the central role of service management and service innovation in making these changes not only appear in theory but also implementing them in business practice. At the beginning of the 21st century, many manufacturing firms struggled to exploit the financial potential of service businesses, a phenomenon described as the service paradox. While many manufacturing firms are still struggling with this paradox, several firms (both service and manufacturing firms) are simultaneously struggling with digitalization. This phenomenon can be viewed as the digitalization paradox, i.e., as a situation in which companies invest in digitalization but struggle to reach the expected revenue growth. By applying the lens of service innovation to digitalization and service infusion, the book showcases how firms can overcome the service and digitalization paradoxes, transform service provision, and improve the customer experience. It offers comprehensive coverage, blending literature reviews, conceptualizations, empirical illustrations, and case studies to offer a multifaceted perspective on corporate strategies, illuminating pathways to address the challenges posed by the service and digitalization paradoxes. Built on the latest research from the CTF – Service Research Center at Karlstad University, Sweden, this book offers a valuable resource for managers seeking practical strategies and approaches to enhance their understanding and implementation of service management and marketing principles. It will also appeal to academics with an interest in service management and marketing.

Edward Elgar Publishing Doi: https://www.elgaronline.com/edcollbook/book/9781035300198/9781035300198.xml

Humane Autonomous Technology: Re-thinking Experience with and in Intelligent Systems p. 233-246 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-66528-8

R&D Management Doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/radm.12648

The sharing economy, which is considered a better way of utilizing existing resources, is associated with positive effects not only on the financial aspects of sustainability but also on its environmental and social dimensions. But is this true? Previous research has typically discussed either the positive or negative aspects of the sharing business model in specific contexts. This study adopts a dual perspective regarding the sustainability of sharing business models by critically analyzing the relationship between sharing business models and sustainability. Building on the resource-based view of the firm and practice theory, the current research develops a conceptual framework for evaluating the sustainability of sharing business models at the level of the individual, the firm, and society. Our proposed dual-process model suggests that two competing processes contribute to sustainability. The study's conceptual model and propositions advance theory and provide a research agenda for future empirical studies. This research also provides valuable guidance to managers and policymakers regarding the sustainability of sharing business models, which can inform the business model innovation process.

Debating Innovation: Perspectives and Paradoxes of an Idealized Concept p. 203-219 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-16666-2_11

Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 67 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2022.102962

COVID-19 primarily spreads through close contact between humans and has affected retailing industries extremely hard. To manage the situation retailers have turned to service innovation to change their operations to make consumers feel safe while shopping. This research focuses on the role of service innovativeness in retailing firms during the COVID-19 pandemic through an empirical study of almost 6000 consumers of 28 retailing firms. The results suggested that retailers with high service innovativeness performed COVID-19 imposed innovations better to improve their relative attractiveness. For retailers with physical stores, changes to the servicescape and the offering were found to be the key antecedents of service innovativeness. The findings on COVID-19 imposed service innovations demonstrate the importance of service innovativeness in successfully changing retailing services to adjust to the restrictions from governments and safety needs of customers.

Journal of Services Marketing 36(9) p. 27-40 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/jsm-08-2017-0274

Purpose This study aims to describe social entrepreneurs' motivation during the social entrepreneurship process and identify different social entrepreneurs in terms of their social characteristics. Design/methodology/approach The descriptive research design uses a directed qualitative interpretative approach based on 17 cases of social entrepreneurs active in healthcare innovation hubs. Findings The study describes the social entrepreneurs in a service context. Based on their key motivational characteristics, the study identifies three types of social entrepreneur: discoverers, seekers, and rangers. The study finds that not all of the three types regulate high levels of motivation during the social entrepreneurship process. Research limitations/implications Depending on the type of social entrepreneur, the social entrepreneurship process requires different forms of support. In practice, the traditional R&D process deployed by innovation hubs is suitable for rangers; discoverers and seekers commonly regulate low levels of motivation when developing and introducing their social innovations to the market. Originality/value Most service research on social entrepreneurship focuses on the outcome; in contrast, this empirical study focuses on the individual entrepreneurs, their motivation and process. While previous research has treated motivation as an antecedent for engagement in the social mission of entrepreneurship, the present study investigates social entrepreneurs’ motivation in relation to the social entrepreneurship process, providing insights in the behavior of social entrepreneurs.

The Palgrave Handbook of Service Management p. 613-627

Australian Journal of Public Administration Doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8500.12570

Publicly funded national science agencies create value as innovation catalysts and through their scientific and research missions, they tackle wicked problems. Understanding how dynamic capabilities and business model innovation enable research-intensive organisations to seize the market in the mission is key to translating bold new science that has impact. We qualitatively explore how Australia's national science agency—the Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)—has pursued open innovation to support business model–dynamic capabilities in an evolving publicly funded landscape. We reflect on the value of open innovation initiatives that have allowed the CSIRO to ambidextrously pursue world-class science while achieving impact.

The Palgrave Handbook of Service Management p. 577-593 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91828-6_29577

Journal of Retailing 98(2) p. 294-314 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretai.2021.03.004

This study investigates how retailers can leverage their brand to shape customers’ satisfaction with service encounters. It develops and tests hypotheses about how brand, store, and consumer factors moderate customer responses to experience clues during retail service encounters. Six meta-regression analyses synthesize and compare results from 842 satisfaction equations describing customers’ encounters with a global retailer operating 400 stores in 32 countries. The results show how customers weigh their perceptions of service encounters differently depending on brand, store, and consumer factors. In markets where customers believe the retailer has high holistic brand quality, they place less weight on experience clues within the store. In markets where customers believe the retailer’s service brand promise, they place more weight on in-store experience clues. In markets where the retailer promises utilitarian value, customers weigh functional experience clues more heavily. In markets with an online purchasing channel, the effect of experience clues common to offline and online store environments is magnified, and unique clues are diminished. In addition, customers heavily weigh experience clues that fit their goals. In general, retail success factors include high brand quality (which makes customers more forgiving), a service brand promise that is mirrored in the store image (which makes customers attend to the experience clues aligned with them), and the careful monitoring and managing of retail touchpoints (to customize experience clues to each market). In this way, retailers can use customer-based strategies to effectively design and manage their global retail brand in different markets.

Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science (JGSMS) 31(3) p. 273-295 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/21639159.2021.1921606

This paper studies how customers of a global firm evaluate their experiences within and across 44 countries. It focuses on customers’ emotional, cognitive, sensory and behavioral responses to the catalog experience. It develops a theory-based model of satisfaction with the catalog experience as a function of experiential attributes and control variables. A second model captures how each experiential attribute’s contribution to the customer experience is influenced by market and customer characteristics. The models were operationalized using survey data from 366,185 customers who used the firm’s catalog across different trade areas in 44 countries, yielding 571 equations that describe satisfaction with the customer experience. Consistent with theoretical work on context-dependent judgments, nine contingency factors explain significant and substantial amounts of variation (30% on average) in the elasticities of the 12 experiential attributes. East and West can appear similar when market characteristics are similar – or when they are different. Emotional, cognitive, sensory, and behavioral responses to the customer experience systematically differ due to economic, demographic, technological, cultural and consumer characteristics. East and West especially differ in terms of responses to emotional and sensory experiences. Customer experience management can help to shape a strategy that resolves strategy differences between East and West.

Journal of Business Research Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.11.075

Whether they know it or not, firms interact with lying consumers on a daily basis. However, surprisingly little is known about consumer lying behavior and its role in service encounters. Based on two empirical studies of 2,976 consumer lies, the study sought to explore consumer lying behavior by developing and testing a comprehensive conceptual framework encompassing motives for lying, characteristics of the lie, and outcomes for consumers. Study 1 explores and details the components of the conceptual framework, and Study 2 further investigates and tests the relationships between the components of consumer lying behavior and the emotional, behavioral, and financial outcomes for consumers. The findings suggest new policies and how frontline employees might be trained and educated to address consumer lying behavior. The paper concludes by outlining an agenda for future research on lying behavior in service encounters.

Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 50(1) Doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-021-00808-9

This study investigated how touchpoints moderate the antecedents of customer satisfaction with service encounters by comparing online and in-store encounters. Construal level theory was used within the Touchpoint, Context, Qualities (TCQ) Framework (De Keyser et al., 2020) to integrate a comprehensive model of how touchpoints—websites or stores—influence the magnitude of customer responses to qualities of service encounters. A hierarchical linear model (HLM) was estimated using survey data describing the service encounters of 2.4 million customers with a global retailer. Online customers weighed cognitive and behavioral qualities more heavily than in-store customers, whereas they weighed emotional and sensorial qualities less heavily. Moreover, random effects in the HLM model indicated that each country and store would have unique clientele effects for specific qualities. Since each firm has limited resources, this research offers guidance on key qualities in designing satisfying service encounters for each touchpoint and how qualities should be standardized and customized in global omnichannel environments.

Industrial Marketing Management 91 p. 429-441 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2020.10.006

Equipment manufacturers are currently utilizing new digital technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence, or Big Data, for new digital offerings. However, these offerings seldom enhance revenue, because companies struggle with business model (BM) dynamics. By analyzing 27 companies through an explorative case-study approach, the authors consider how companies can successfully achieve revenue enhancement through digital offerings. The result is a threefold framework for revenue enhancement through digital offerings. First, this framework distinguishes between three phases of BM dynamics: 1) augmenting products through a “hardware plus” logic, 2) developing a portfolio of multiple logics for creating customer value, 3) integrating this portfolio through platform logic. Second, the framework emphasizes that three barriers, which we refer to as confidence, mixing, and collaboration barrier, limit the progress from Phases 1 to 3. Third, the framework reveals that each phase contains certain modifications of BM components. In the first phase, companies adapt their BM components slightly, so as to advance toward a “hardware plus” logic. In the second phase, companies embrace more radical BM innovations in order to convert services into an outcome-based BM and develop a new software subscription BM. In the third phase, companies modify BM components in order to integrate the BMs internally and to open them up for external collaboration partners.

Journal of Business Research 116 p. 420-430 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.08.050

Managing the customer experience has become a top priority for marketing managers and researchers. Research on customer experience management (CEM) has traditionally adopted a customer’s viewpoint. Few studies have explicitly embraced an organizational perspective, and existing research focuses mainly on business-to-consumer settings. The present study espouses the utility of CEM in business-to-business (B2B) settings on the grounds that interactions in B2B contexts are also “experienced”. It explains how B2B firms can design and manage the customer experience to influence the customer at different touchpoints. The paper develops a comprehensive framework that characterizes CEM in B2B. The paper articulates key challenges for B2B CEM; relationship expectations (mismatches in customer relationships, siloed customer experiences); actor interaction issues (mismatches across the customer’s journey, lack of touchpoint control); and temporal challenges (dynamics of the customer experience). The paper draws out the theoretical implications and develops managerial implications for B2B firms.

Creativity and Innovation Management 29(2) p. 303-323 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/caim.12383

While service design has been accepted as a human‐centered and cocreative approach to service innovation, its role in technology‐driven contexts, specifically technology startups, has been largely unexplored. Previous research suggests that technology startups tend to focus on technical aspects of innovation, neglecting the value cocreation potential of service innovation that service design can facilitate. Focusing on value propositions as the main mechanisms of service innovation, this study explores how service design facilitates service innovation in technology startups. This longitudinal study examines the opportunities and challenges of introducing service design for the purpose of service innovation in five technology startups over a period of 11 months. Results reveal how service design facilitates the creation of new value propositions that expand the previous technology‐driven focus towards a human‐centered and cocreative one. Additionally, findings suggest that there are two levels of how service design becomes embedded in technology startups that are contingent on their life cycle stage. This contributes to the service innovation literature that views innovation as development of new value propositions and describes the key role of service design. The study also discusses managerial implications of the findings for technology startups and service designers and provides directions for future research.

Journal of Service Management (JOSM) 31(5) p. 869-888 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/josm-11-2019-0334

Purpose This paper considers the question: what would happen if healthcare providers, like their counterparts in the hospitality industry, adopted the principles of customer experience management (CEM) in order to facilitate a more holistic and personalized patient experience? It proposes an alternative vision of the patient experience by adding to an emerging hospitality–healthcare literature base, this time focusing upon CEM. A hospitality-oriented patient experience (HOPE) framework is introduced, designed to enhance the patient experience across all the touchpoints of the healthcare journey. Design/methodology/approach This is a conceptual paper that draws upon three distinct literatures: hospitality literature; healthcare literature; and CEM literature. It utilizes this literature to develop a framework, the HOPE framework, designed to offer an alternative lens to understanding the patient experience. The paper utilizes descriptions of three unique patient experiences, one linked to chronic pain, a second to gastro issues and a third to orthopedic issues, to illustrate how adopting the principles of hospitality management, within a healthcare context, could promote an enhanced patient experience. Findings The main theoretical contribution is the development of the HOPE framework that brings together research on CEM with research on cocreative customer practices in health care. By selecting and connecting key ingredients of two separate research streams, this vision and paradigm provide an alternative lens into ways of addressing the key challenges in the implementation of person-centered care in healthcare services. The HOPE framework offers an actionable roadmap for healthcare organizations to realize greater understanding and to operationalize new ways of improving the patient experience. Originality/value This paper applies the principles of hospitality and CEM to the domain of health care. In so doing it adds value to a hospitality literature primarily focused upon extensive employee–customer relationships. To a healthcare literature seeking to more fully understand a person-centered care model typically delivered by a care team consisting of professionals and family/friends. And to a CEM literature in hospitality, which seeks to facilitate favorable employee–customer interactions. Connecting these separate literature streams enables an original conceptual framework, a HOPE framework, to be introduced.

The Routledge Handbook of Service Research Insights and Ideas p. 130-152 Doi: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351245234-6

This chapter synthesizes extant research on service innovation. It brings together literatures that are typically treated separately, identifying both shared and specific understandings of what service innovation is as well as its implications for theory and practice. It begins by reviewing common characteristics and models of service innovation. After departing in three distinct directions—assimilation, demarcation, and synthesis—it discusses the merits of a fivefold framework to encompass the multidimensional nature of service innovation. Next, following calls for theoretical integration, a typology based on four archetypes is reviewed, and an overarching value-centric view consistent with the synthesis perspective is exemplified. Finally, the chapter discusses why diverse perspectives, despite criticism, continue to exist in parallel. One reason may be that different perspectives emphasize different traits and characteristics of service innovations. Due to the challenges of assessing and managing service development in practice, and operationalization and measurement in research, this divergence is likely to continue in the future. Nonetheless, as service innovation becomes increasingly important across industries, a unifying framework provides both a practical and scientific contribution.

Journal of Service Management (JOSM) 32(3) Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-09-2019-0297

People are responsible for their wellbeing, yet whether they take ownership of their own or even others' wellbeing might vary from actor to actor. Such psychological ownership (PO) influences the dynamics of how wellbeing is co-created, particularly amongst actors, and ultimately determines actors' subjective wellbeing. The paper's research objective pertains to explicating the concept of the co-creation of wellbeing and conceptualizing the dynamics inherent to the co-creation of wellbeing with consideration of the influences of all involved actors from a PO perspective. To provide a new conceptualization and framework for the dynamics of wellbeing co-creation, this research synthesizes wellbeing, PO and value co-creation literature. Four healthcare cases serve to illustrate the effects of engaged actors' PO on the co-creation of wellbeing. The derived conceptual framework of dynamic co-creation of wellbeing suggests four main propositions: (1) the focal actor's wellbeing state is the intangible target of the focal actor's and other engaged actors' PO, transformed throughout the process of wellbeing co-creation, (2) PO over the focal actor's wellbeing state is subject to the three interrelated routes of exercising control, investing in the target, and intimately knowing the target, which determine the instigation of wellbeing co-creation, (3) the level of PO over the focal actor's wellbeing state can vary, influence and be influenced by the extent of wellbeing co-creation, (4) the co-creation of wellbeing, evoked by PO, is founded on resource integration, which influences the resources–challenges equilibrium of focal actor and of all other engaged actors, affecting individual subjective wellbeing. This article provides a novel conceptual framework that can shed new light on the co-creation of wellbeing in service research. Through the introduction of PO the transformation of lives and wellbeing can be better understood.

Journal of Services Marketing 34(1) p. 1-7 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/JSM-11-2019-0443

The purpose of this study is to highlight the role of qualitative research in service research. This study discusses what qualitative research is, what role it has in service research and what interest, rigor, relevance and richness mean for qualitative service research. Design/methodology/approach This study examines the most common qualitative research methods and discusses interest, rigor, relevance and richness as key characteristics of qualitative research. The manuscripts in the special issue are introduced and categorized based on their contributions to service research. Findings The findings suggest that the amount of research using qualitative research methods has remained stable over the last 30 years. An increased focus on transparency and traceability is important for improving the perceived rigor of qualitative service research. Originality/value This special issue is the first issue that is explicitly devoted to the qualitative research methodology in service research. In particular, the issue seeks to contribute to a better use and application of qualitative research methodology.

Journal of Service Research 23(2) p. 111-115 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1094670520908929

Service innovations challenge existing offerings and business models, shape existing markets, and create new ones. Over the last decade, service research has shown increasing interest in the concept of innovation and should by now have reached maturity and created a strong theoretical basis. However, there is no coherent theoretical framework that captures all the facets of service innovation, and to move service innovation research forward, we must revisit the key assumptions of what an innovation is. To enable this, the present article addresses three fundamental questions about service innovation: (1) What is it and what is it not? (2) What do we know and what do we not know? and (3) What do we need to know to advance service research? By doing so, this article offers an updated and comprehensive definition of service innovation and provides a research agenda to suggest a path forward.

Total Quality Management and Business Excellence 32(7-8) p. 886-897 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/14783363.2019.1643713

This study explores the various roles of quality departments and investigates whether their roles have different influence on business results. Based on a survey of quality managers in 211 Swedish organisations, the analysis identifies four roles of quality departments: firefighters, auditors, process improvers, and orchestrators. The roles vary in their predominant adoption of Quality Management practices ranging from a narrow scope focusing on quality management systems to a broader scope, based on multiple practices. An analysis was performed to identify how each of the identified roles influences business results. The results show that quality departments with a broad focus, combining both explorative and exploitative quality practices, contribute the most to business results.

Journal of Business Research 98 p. 328-338 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.02.019

Service innovation is a key driver of service infusion for manufacturers. Although service innovation is widely researched for service firms, it is less explored for service infusion in manufacturers. Existing research about service infusion considers developing customer knowledge in sales and service delivery, but there is scarce research about how manufacturers develop customer knowledge during new service development (NSD). This study investigates customer knowledge development within manufacturers and considers how it differs between the development of incremental and radical service innovations. A study was undertaken with 239 European manufacturers which revealed multiple drivers of customer knowledge development, service innovation performance, and firm performance. Developing incremental service innovations are more successful when customers participate in NSD teams while developing radical service innovations leads manufacturers to higher firm performance.

Service Innovation for Sustainable Business: Stimulating, Realizing and Capturing the Value from Service Innovation p. 135-162 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1142/9789813273382_0008

Journal of Service Management (JOSM) 31(4) p. 839-859 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/josm-12-2017-0350

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to improve the understanding of green service. In particular, the focus is on identifying homopathic and heteropathic resource integration processes that preserve or increase the resourceness of the natural ecosystem. Design/methodology/approach Through an extensive multiple case study involving ten service providers from diverse sectors based on a substantial number of interviews, detailed accounts of green service are provided. Findings Six resource integration processes were identified: reducing, recirculating, recycling, redistributing, reframing and renewing. While four of these processes are based on homopathic resource integration, both reframing and renewing are based on heteropathic resource integration. While homopathic processes historically constitute a green service by mitigating the impact of consumption on the environment, heteropathic resource integration increases the resourceness of the natural ecosystem through emergent processes and the (re)creation of natural resources. Research limitations/implications The present study breaks away from the paradigm that “green service” is about reducing the negative environmental impact of existing services, toward providing a green service that expands biological diversity and other natural resources. Originality/value Transformative service research on environmental sustainability is still in its infancy. The present study contributes through conceptualizing green service, redefining existing resource integration processes (reducing, recirculating, recycling) and identifying new resource integration processes (redistributing, reframing, renewing).

Journal of Services Marketing 33(1) p. 73-87 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/jsm-10-2018-0285

Purpose This study aims to investigate service modularization in a manufacturing firm, identifies service modularization processes and examines how these processes change the service module characteristics. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on a longitudinal case study (2008-2017) of a manufacturing firm. The development of six service modules was analyzed using data from interviews with key informants, informal meetings and internal documentation. Findings This study suggests five service modularization processes, and that service module characteristics, such as standardization and interconnectedness, change in different ways depending on the service modularization processes used. It further identifies two service modularization routes that each combine the service modularization processes in unique ways with replication as a key process to improve both standardization and customization. Practical implications This study elaborates a framework for service modularization, which can serve as a guideline for developing service modules. It also highlights the differences between product and service modularization, suggesting that the role of service module characteristics such as standardization and customization is specific for services. Originality/value This longitudinal case study (2008-2017) provides empirical evidence on service modularization and extends existing knowledge on service modularization processes and how they influence service module characteristics.

European Journal of Marketing 53(7) Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-10-2017-0723

When using a service, customers often develop their own solutions by integrating resources to solve problems and co-create value. Drawing on innovation and creativity literature, this paper aims to investigate the influence of place (the service setting and the customer setting) on customer creativity in a health-care context.

Journal of Service Management (JOSM) 29(5) p. 776-808 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/josm-04-2018-0113

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore innovations in customer experience at the intersection of the digital, physical and social realms. It explicitly considers experiences involving new technology-enabled services, such as digital twins and automated social presence (i.e. virtual assistants and service robots). Design/methodology/approach Future customer experiences are conceptualized within a three-dimensional space – low to high digital density, low to high physical complexity and low to high social presence – yielding eight octants. Findings The conceptual framework identifies eight “dualities,” or specific challenges connected with integrating digital, physical and social realms that challenge organizations to create superior customer experiences in both business-to-business and business-to-consumer markets. The eight dualities are opposing strategic options that organizations must reconcile when co-creating customer experiences under different conditions. Research limitations/implications A review of theory demonstrates that little research has been conducted at the intersection of the digital, physical and social realms. Most studies focus on one realm, with occasional reference to another. This paper suggests an agenda for future research and gives examples of fruitful ways to study connections among the three realms rather than in a single realm. Practical implications This paper provides guidance for managers in designing and managing customer experiences that the authors believe will need to be addressed by the year 2050. Social implications This paper discusses important societal issues, such as individual and societal needs for privacy, security and transparency. It sets out potential avenues for service innovation in these areas. Originality/value The conceptual framework integrates knowledge about customer experiences in digital, physical and social realms in a new way, with insights for future service research, managers and public policy makers.

International Journal of Operations & Production Management 38(4) p. 1144-1164 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/ijopm-06-2016-0328

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of back-office (BO) service capability and front-office (FO) service capability, and how firm age influences the impact of these service capabilities on small and medium size enterprise (SME) performance. Design/methodology/approach Based on the prior literature on servitization and firm operational capabilities, hypotheses were developed on the impact of service capabilities on firm performance. These hypotheses were tested using a survey and externally sourced financial data on 224 SMEs in the software industry. Findings FO service capability has a positive impact on firm performance of SMEs. The effect of BO service capability was weaker and partly contrary to expectations, showing a negative effect on firm performance for young SMEs. As hypothesized, the impact of both BO and FO service capability is moderated by firm age. Young SMEs benefit more from FO service capability. For older SMEs, BO service capability becomes increasingly more important. Practical implications As different capabilities lead to different outcomes, SMEs need to carefully consider which service capabilities to invest in. As the relative importance of capabilities changes over time, SMEs need to be ready to change their strategic focus over time toward BO capabilities to attain optimal outcomes. Originality/value The findings suggest that factors such as industry, firm size, and firm age affect the optimal servitization path, and that current understanding of servitization does not necessarily apply to all servitized firms. The study also provides further evidence of the impact of service capabilities on firm performance.

Journal of Services Marketing 32(2) p. 101-112 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/JSM-04-2016-0161

Purpose – Open service innovation is an emergent new service development practice, where knowledge on how to organize development work is scarce. The purpose of the present research is to identify and describe relevant archetypes of open service innovation. The study views an archetype as an organizing template that includes the competence of participants, organizing co-creation among participants and ties between participants. In particular, the study’s interest lies in how open service innovation archetypes are used for incremental and radical service innovation. Design/methodology/approach – For the research, a nested case study was performed, in which an industrial firm with nine open service innovation groups was identified. Forty-five interviews were conducted with participants. For each case, first a within-case analysis was performed, and how to perform open service innovation in practice was described. Then, a cross-case analysis identifying similarities and differences between the open service innovation groups was performed. On the basis of the cross-case analysis, three archetypes for open service innovation were identified. Findings – The nested case study identified three archetypes for open service innovation: internal group development, satellite team Development and rocket team development. This study shows that different archetypes are used for incremental and radical service innovation and that a firm can have multiple open service innovation groups using different archetypes. Practical implications – This study provides suggestions on how firms can organize for open service innovation. The identified archetypes can guide managers to set up, develop or be part of open service innovation groups. Originality/value – This paper uses open service innovation as a mid-range theory to extend existing research on new service development in networks or service ecosystems. In particular, it shows how open service innovation can be organized to develop both incremental and radical service innovations.

A Research Agenda for Service Innovation p. 85-102 Doi: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781786433459.00009

Journal of Service Research 20(3) p. 275-291 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1094670517706160

Manufacturers across many industries use service infusion to address the changing customer demands and improve their competitive position. However, understanding the drivers of successful service infusion is a complex process. Using business model and configuration theories, this study conceptualizes and analyzes the interplay of different driver domains for suppliers, customers, and their business relationships. In particular, we analyze how service offering, service pricing, service capabilities, and the service infusion process interact in affecting service infusion success and failure. 137 interviews relating to 25 business relationships are analyzed via configuration analysis, particularly fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). Results show that different equifinal configurations exist (i.e., different ways to succeed with service infusion). We also find that “more is not always better.” For example, service infusion success can be achieved without fully developed service capabilities. In addition, successful configurations are often very similar to those leading to failure. A dyadic analysis demonstrates that customer service capabilities are overall more important than those of suppliers. From these findings, we derive priorities for future research. In particular, our study points toward the need to better understand the interplay between service infusion drivers. Second, we advocate the augmentation of research perspectives in service infusion by taking into account the supplier, customer, and dyadic perspectives. Lastly, the importance of understanding drivers of service infusion failure is highlighted. For managers, our study shows the importance of relational audits as a starting point to deciding on how to infuse services in a business relationship.

Journal of Service Management (JOSM) 28(2) p. 329-347 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/josm-11-2015-0370

Purpose The extant new service development (NSD) literature tends to assume that the key practices for NSD identified in one context apply for all services, and has failed to sufficiently consider differences in NSD between service types. The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of NSD across different service types. Design/methodology/approach An extensive, cross-sectoral survey was conducted in seven countries. Data from 1,333 NSD projects were analyzed to empirically derive a service typology and examine if and how different types of services vary in terms of NSD resources, practices, methods, and results. Findings Based on six service characteristics, the study identifies four service types: routine-intensive, technology-intensive, contact-intensive, and knowledge-intensive services. The study also identifies specific NSD resources, practices, methods, and results that are prevalent across the service typology. The evidence indicates that the use of advanced practices and methods differs dramatically between service types. Practical implications The paper enables practitioners to expand their current understanding on NSD by providing insights into the variability of NSD across service types. The results suggest that either service-type-specific models or a configurable model for NSD should be developed. Originality/value This study provides one of the first empirically derived service typologies for NSD. The study demonstrates that NSD resources, practices, methods, and results differ across service types, thereby challenging the “one size fits all” assumption evident in current NSD research.

Journal of Service Management (JOSM) 28(1) p. 2-33 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/josm-01-2016-0018

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to synthesize findings from health care research with those in service research to identify key conceptualizations of the changing role of the health care customer, to identify gaps in theory, and to propose a compelling research agenda. Design/methodology/approach This study combines a meta-narrative review of health care research, and a systematic review of service research, using thematic analysis to identify key practice approaches and the changing role of the health care customer. Findings The review reveals different conceptualizations of the customer role within the ten key practice approaches, and identifies an increased activation of the role of the health care customer over time. This change implies a re-orientation, that is, moving away from the health care professional setting the agenda, prescribing and delivering treatment where the customer merely complies with orders, to the customer actively contributing and co-creating value with service providers and other actors in the ecosystem to the extent the health care customer desires. Originality/value This study not only identifies key practice approaches by synthesizing findings from health care research with those in service research, it also identifies how the role of the health care customer is changing and highlights effects of the changing role across the practice approaches. A research agenda to guide future health care service research is also provided.

Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 34 p. 319-325 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2016.07.008

Retailers are the gatekeepers between consumers and eco-friendly products. As such, they can influence green shopping behavior. The results of an eye-tracking experiment show that retailers can attract consumers’ visual attention and increase the green premium through various practices such as providing relevant information, orienting consumers inside the store, and offering an eco-friendly product assortment. Managerial implications are to use green-colored price tags to signal eco-friendly products, while avoiding greenwashing practices that can distract consumers from finding the eco-friendly products they look for.

Journal of Business Research 70 p. 55-66 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.07.006

Drawing on three studies using data from six separate samples of 1151 health care customers, the authors investigate cocreative customer practices, modeling the effects of customer value cocreation practices on well-being. Results highlight that while positive interactions with medical staff (doctors) lead to increased well-being through engaging in coproducing treatment options, interactions with friends and family and their associated cocreated activities have an even greater positive effect on well-being. Furthermore, several other customer-directed activities have positive indirect effects. Interestingly, activities requiring change can have a negative effect on well-being, except in psychological illnesses, where the opposite is true. The authors conclude with theoretical and managerial implications, highlighting that if interactions and activities with medical professionals are supplemented with customer-directed activities, the positive effect on well-being is significantly enhanced.

Industrial Marketing Management 67(Nov) p. 106-121 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2017.08.002

Journal of Business Research 69(8) p. 2964-2971 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.02.029

Drawing on service-dominant logic and institutional theory, this paper examines innovation as a process that unfolds through changes in the institutional arrangements that govern resource integration practices in service ecosystems. Four cases are used to illustrate the interdependent patterns of breaking, making and maintaining the institutionalized rules of resource integration occurring on multiple levels of institutional context. Such institutional work allows actors to cocreate value in novel and useful ways by a) including new actors, b) redefining roles of involved actors and c) reframing resources within service ecosystems. Our findings show that while the efforts of breaking and making the institutionalized rules are required for such changes to occur, at the same time, institutional maintenance is also important for these changes to institutionalize, that is, to become an integral part of the institutional structure coordinating value cocreation.

Journal of Service Management (JOSM) 27(1) p. 30-36 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/josm-04-2015-0115

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the nature of context and its implications for theory and research in service. Design/methodology/approach – This is a conceptual paper based on exploring existing research and theory related to context in service research. Findings – The characteristics of service make context both important and challenging, there is great contextual diversity in service research as reflected, for example in ecosystems made up of multiple contextual variables. There is a need to identify the context-specific nature of middle range theory and the contextual logic of general theory. The authors explore the challenges of context for service theory and how we might learn from theory in a particular context and test or adapt it in other contexts. Originality/value – The findings of this paper are of value to researchers seeking to develop and justify theory in service research (general, middle range or theory in use).

Journal of Business Research 69(8) p. 2863-2872 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.12.055

Research on service innovation appears in several research disciplines, with important contributions in marketing, management, and operations research. Although the concept is widely used, few research papers have explicitly defined service innovation. This dearth of research is the motivation for the present study. Through a systematic review of 1301 articles on service innovation appearing in academic journals between 1979 and 2014, this article examines research defining service innovation. The study identifies the key characteristics within 84 definitions of service innovation in different perspectives (assimilation, demarcation and synthesis) and shows how the meaning of the concept is changing. The review suggests that the large variety in definitions limits and hinders knowledge development of service innovation.

Journal of Business Research 69(7) p. 2401-2408 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.01.009

Service innovation acts as society’s engine of renewal and provides the necessary catalyst for the service sector’s economic growth. Despite service innovation’s importance, the concept remains fuzzy and poorly defined. Building on an extensive and systematic review of 1,046 academic articles, this research investigates and explores how service innovation is defined and used in research. Results identify four unique service innovation categorizations emphasizing the following traits: (1) degree of change, (2) type of change, (3) newness, and (4) means of provision. The results show that most research focuses inward and views service innovation as something (only) new to the firm. Interestingly, service innovation categorizations appear to neglect both customer value and financial performance.

Sustainable Development in Organizations. Studies on Innovative Practices p. 93-108 Doi: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781784716899.00012

Production planning & control (Print) 26(14-15) p. 1188-1197 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/09537287.2015.1033491

When manufacturing firms increase the share of service revenues, managing service provision becomes challenging. This study extends previous research on servitisation in individual firms by analysing the challenges service provision creates in a value network. The challenges are identified both within the firms and in the business relationships in the value network. In addition, the paper identifies and describes service manoeuvres firms use to address challenges resulting from servitisation. This case study of a value network is based on interviews carried out at 13 firms in the automotive industry, including suppliers, original equipment manufacturers and consultancies. The research shows that service manoeuvres, such as new types of resource integration and value constellations, are used to overcome challenges in the value network.

Journal of Services Marketing 29(6/7) p. 425-429 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/JSM-02-2015-0103

Purpose –The purpose of this essay is to encourage the reader to think differently about service related issues, and to strive to conduct service research that makes a transformational impact on individuals, organizations, and society. The authors suggest that service researchers are in an excellent position to develop research that matters by making stronger connections with theory, and elevating purely applied research to research that is higher in both practical relevance and methodological rigor. Design/methodology/approach – This paper takes a conceptual approach, connecting pertinent literature with new ideas highlighted in this special issue. Findings – This essay proposes that service researchers look beyond traditional service applications, take a multi-disciplinary approach to problem solving, and make greater strides towards connecting theory and practice. The authors propose a Model of Rigorous and Relevant Research, and call for fresh thinking across a wide range of research areas, including: enhancing the customer experience, crafting innovation, integrating technology, and measuring service outcomes. Originality/value – The originality of this essay lies in its focus on revitalizing the discussion on relevance and rigor as a path forward for service research. Additionally, this essay offers new insights on core management aspects of service provision that provide a solid platform for future work in service research.

Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship 19(3) p. 35-49 Doi: https://doi.org/10.9774/GLEAF.3709.2014.ju.00004

Manufacturing firms develop and introduce service innovations to achieve a competitive advantage and differentiate their market offerings. The installed base of products becomes a platform for selling services hence improve their corporate revenues. Previous research has supported a number of hypotheses about how new product development (NPD) and new service development (NSD) should be performed – but do these findings for NPD and NSD hold for NSD in manufacturing firms? The hypotheses about NSD in manufacturing firms that were tested in this study concern the role of the NSD strategy, how to use resources, how to organize, and the development process to use. A survey was performed on 785 NSD projects, including both manufacturing and service firms. The paper provides five propositions about NSD in manufacturing firms concerning how to succeed with service innovation.

Journal of Services Marketing 29(6/7) p. 436-441 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/JSM-01-2015-0051

Servitization in Industry p. 151-164 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-06935-7_9

The journal of business & industrial marketing 29(2) p. 123-131 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/JBIM-04-2012-0074

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of innovation modes in understanding challenges of integrated NSD and NPD, and the use of structured NSD processes in manufacturing firms. Design/methodology/approach – The research is based on a two-stage multiple case study. The first stage is an interview study of 17 key informants representing manufacturing firms in the machine industry. The second stage is an in-depth study of three service innovations at three manufacturing firms based on 16 interviews with key informants. Findings – The results of the study show that NSD processes are often more structured if the service is developed separately from the product. The fact that different innovation modes benefit from varying degrees of structure in the development process means that integrated service development can be challenging. Furthermore, service innovations often follow a trajectory of innovation modes before succeeding in the market. Some innovation modes occur within the NSD process, while others occur outside the process. One success factor for NSD is the fit between the innovation modes and the NSD process, rather than the NSD process per se. Originality/value – This research uses innovation modes to explain why NSD in manufacturing firms is often performed on an ad hoc basis, and how service innovations go through a trajectory of innovation modes. In this way, the study contributes to theory development of service innovation, and specifically service innovations in manufacturing firms.

European Journal of Marketing 48(9/10) p. 1709-1730 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-03-2011-0119

Purpose – This study aims to investigate how customer information obtained at different phases of a new product development (NPD) process influences profits from new offerings. Design/methodology/approach – A survey was conducted in the context of NPD in goods and services. A unique database was constructed that merged key informant survey responses with financial data for 244 firms. This database was used to replicate and extend previous research by posing a number of hypotheses regarding the role of obtaining customer information in NPD. Findings – The results show that obtaining customer information during NPD influences the profits from new offerings, which vary depending on the phase of the NPD process. The financial rewards from obtaining customer information for goods are highest in the early phases of the NPD process and decline in later phases. The financial rewards for services, on the other hand, are high in the early and late phases of the NPD process. Research limitations/implications – The research is based on a survey combined with objective financial data, that is, a combination of different data sources. The research would have benefitted from longer data series and a higher response rate. Originality/value – This study replicates and extends previous research by testing the role of obtaining customer information in both manufacturing and service firms by combining survey data with objective financial data.

Journal of Service Management (JOSM) 25(4) p. 556-571 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-01-2014-0025

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the literature on customer orientation by developing and empirically testing a model that attempts to explain the elements that constitute customer orientation and that, in turn, influence customer satisfaction. In particular, this study focuses on how service firms design, collect, analyse and use customer-satisfaction data to improve service performance. This study has the following three research objectives: to understand the process and, as a consequence, the phases of customer orientation; to investigate the relationships between the different phases of customer orientation and customer satisfaction; and to examine activities in the different phases of customer orientation that result in higher customer satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach – This study, combining quantitative and qualitative research, is based on a cross-sectional survey of 320 service firms and a multiple case study of 20 organisational units at a large service firm in the European telecom industry. Findings – The results show that customer orientation consists of a process that includes three phases: strategy, measurement and analysis and implementation. Contrary to previous research, implementation has the strongest influence on customer satisfaction. In turn, customer satisfaction influences financial results. In-depth interviews with managers provided insights into the specific activities that are key for turning customer-satisfaction measurements into action. Originality/value – This research contributes to the literature on customer orientation by developing and empirically testing a model that attempts to explain what constitutes customer orientation and, in turn, influences customer satisfaction and financial results. Given the large amount of research on customer satisfaction, studies on how service firms collect and use customer-satisfaction data in practice are scarce.

Handbook of Service Marketing Research p. 346-369 Doi: https://doi.org/10.4337/9780857938855.00025

Ist Workshop on Service Innovation Research. conference papers p. 37-42

Aracne editrice

Journal of Service Management (JOSM) 24(1) p. 25-44 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/09564231311304170

Purpose – The aim of this study is to investigate the role of key strategic factors in new service development (NSD). In particular, the role of service development strategy, a formalised development process, integrated development teams and customer co‐creation were investigated and the results were compared with managers' beliefs. Design/methodology/approach – The study used a sample of more than 500 service development projects to test a NSD conceptual model. Regression analysis was used to test the relative importance of the key strategic factors, and the results were compared with managers' beliefs. Findings – The results show that managers believe that customer co‐creation is most important in order to succeed with NSD. However, contrary to management belief, a service development strategy is the “missing link” in improving NSD performance. In addition, the research highlighted an interaction effect between integrated development teams and customer co‐creation, which means that project managers should focus on individual competencies on the development team and how they interact with customers throughout the NSD process. Originality/value – For a long time, NSD has failed to receive the attention it deserves, not just in practice but also in service research. This study shows that the number of new services put on the market and then withdrawn because of low sales remains as high as 43 per cent. This paper contributes knowledge on how to reduce the number of failures in NSD by pointing out the key strategic factors that influence NSD performance.

Industrial Marketing Management 42(1) p. 18-30 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2012.11.004

Manufacturing firms have always delivered services, by supplying spare parts, installing equipment, training employees, or performing maintenance. In competitive markets though, firms seek new ways to differentiate their business, including an increased focus on service, often referred to as service infusion. Of the studies that seek to understand this phenomenon, most focus on large multinational firms; little is known about service infusion in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This study adopts an explorative approach to investigate how SMEs construct new value constellations that enable value creation through services. The findings, based on in-depth interviews with key informants from 13 SMEs, suggest that there is no predefined transition process for service infusion in SMEs, which seldom have the resources to build new organizational units or create new specialties. Instead, they differentiate themselves through new value constellations within business networks. The heterogeneity of service offerings and business networks means those value constellations take many forms.

Den svenska tjänstesektorn p. 345-360

Journal of Service Management (JOSM) 23(3) p. 311-327 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/09564231211248426

Purpose – Customer co-creation is becoming increasingly popular among companies, and intensive communication with customers is generally seen as a determinant of the success of a new service or product. This study analyzes customer co-creation based on four dimensions of communication – frequency, direction, modality, and content – in order to understand the value of customer co-creation in service innovation. One of the key aims of the study was to investigate whether all dimensions of customer co-creation have an effect on product and market success, and if the effect depends on the degree of innovativeness of a development project. Design/methodology/approach – The authors conducted a study including 334 managers with experience in new service and product development to examine how development projects applied customer co-creation in terms of communication in order to address future customer needs. Data was analyzed using PLS (partial least squares). The first analysis was performed with a sub-sample of 207 development projects regarding incremental innovations. A subsequent analysis was performed with a sub-sample of 77 development projects on radical innovations. Findings – Three of the four dimensions of customer co-creation (frequency, direction, and content) have a positive and equally significant effect on product success when developing incremental innovations. For radical innovations, frequency has a positive effect and content has a negative significant effect on product success. These findings suggest that co-creation and innovation can be combined, but that the choice of methods for co-creation differs depending on whether incremental or radical innovations are developed. Originality/value –Despite a general consensus that co-creation with customers is beneficial, there is a lack of agreement regarding how and why. The present article addresses this shortcoming and shows that co-creation is largely about communicating with customers in order to understand their future needs. On the other hand, a company working on radical innovations may wish to limit customer input that is too concrete or solution based.

Journal of Service Management (JOSM) 22(2) p. 140-159 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/09564231111124190

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand the differences between proactive and reactive market research techniques during the development of new market offerings. The study focused on the financial and innovative performance of traditional market research techniques, such as focus groups and in‐depth interviews, in comparison to more co‐creation‐oriented techniques that are designed to capture customers' value‐in‐use. Design/methodology/approach The study was a two‐stage process. Study I, an empirical investigation of 195 development projects in European companies, examined how these companies use different market research techniques and how this relates to the profit margins of new products and services. Study II designed an experiment with 50 users of a consumer good and evaluated the contribution of different market research techniques, based on the degree of originality and customer value. Findings Significant differences were found, in terms of both content and originality, between the technique based on customer co‐creation and the two traditional market research techniques (Study II). These findings can help to explain why the relationship between the use of market research techniques and profit margin (Study I) is stronger for co‐creation techniques than it is for traditional market research techniques. Originality/value Despite empirical evidence that the application of market research techniques based on co‐creation can lead to original ideas, there is a lack of valid studies regarding how co‐creation techniques perform in relation to more traditional methods of collaboration with customers.

Journal of Business Research 64(12) p. 1270-1280 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2011.01.015

This paper examines the relationship among the complexity of customer needs, customer centricity, innovativeness, service differentiation, and business performance within the context of companies that have made a service transition from pure goods providers to service providers. A survey of 332 manufacturing companies provides the basis for the empirical investigation. One key finding is that a strong emphasis on service differentiation can lead to a manufacturing firm’s strategies for customer centricity being less sensitive to increasingly complex customer needs, which can increase a firm’s payoff for customer centricity. In contrast, the payoff from innovativeness appears to be higher if the firm focuses its resources on either product or service innovation; that is, a dual focus does not work well. This paper discusses the implications of these findings for researchers and managers

Journal of Service Research 13(2) p. 198-215 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1094670509353933

A new trend seems to be emerging for multinational manufacturing companies to make a strategic reorientation into becoming service providers. For some companies, such as Kone and IBM, the revenues from services are 50% or more of their total sales. Despite the increasing interest in exploring various aspects of the service part of the business in manufacturing companies, existing research has not focused on the interdependencies between different service strategies and organizational designs. This article studies different service strategies in manufacturing companies and highlights the organizational design necessary for implementing each service strategy. The service strategies explored are aftersales service providers, customer support service providers, outsourcing partners, and development partners. Each service strategy is supported by organizational design factors related to the service orientation of corporate culture, the service orientation of human resource management, and the service orientation of organizational structures. This research concludes that a specific strategy-structure configuration is needed in order to succeed with a chosen service strategy.

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21th Annual Frontiers in Service Conference

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