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1 – 10 of 45
Article
Publication date: 17 August 2012

Elina Sillanpää and Juha‐Matti Junnonen

The purpose is to clarify the concept of service innovation in the context of FM service and to map the factors that are critical for service innovations in the FM service sector…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose is to clarify the concept of service innovation in the context of FM service and to map the factors that are critical for service innovations in the FM service sector. The research questions are: how can service innovations be classified in the FM service sector and what are the factors that create requirements and barriers to the service innovations in the FM service sector?

Design/methodology/approach

The nature of this study is qualitative. The data were gathered from two specialist workshops and from semi‐structured interviews. The people interviewed worked for the largest service provider companies in Finland and their customers.

Findings

Results yielded by this study comprise the classification of service innovations and the factors that create requirements and barriers for the service innovations in the FM service sector.

Research limitations/implications

This study focuses on examining the innovation process and its development and on developing innovation activity in large‐scale service provider companies in Finland.

Practical implications

This study promotes innovation activity in the FM service sector. It helps a service provider to minimize the barriers of service innovation and maximize the related requirements.

Originality/value

This study promotes innovation activity in the FM service sector. It helps a service provider to minimize the barriers of service innovation and maximize the related requirements.

Article
Publication date: 25 February 2020

Holger Schiele

In industrial procurement, the concept of supplier satisfaction has gained increasing attention. Satisfied suppliers have been found to provide better prices, more innovations and…

Abstract

Purpose

In industrial procurement, the concept of supplier satisfaction has gained increasing attention. Satisfied suppliers have been found to provide better prices, more innovations and priority in bottleneck situations. This paper aims to analyses in how far the concept of supplier satisfaction can be transferred to the public procurement domain.

Design/methodology/approach

Two large quantitative data sets are compared, one from a sample of suppliers evaluating their industrial clients, the other from a public customer being evaluated by its suppliers.

Findings

The same criteria which explain supplier satisfaction with its customer, which are relevant in the private and industrial case also hold true for the public case, namely, growth opportunity, profitability, relational behaviour and operative excellence are important criteria for distinction. Only relational behaviour by the customer scored significantly higher in the public sample, indicating that this is more an influencing factor for public organisations.

Research limitations/implications

Showing the relevance of supplier satisfaction also for the public domain paves the way to further research better understanding how to measure satisfaction and how to increase suppliers’ satisfaction.

Practical implications

Buying organisations are asked to apply a form of “upstream marketing”, in which they actively try to promote their organisation with their suppliers and increase its attractiveness. This is a new way to get access to better services from suppliers.

Social implications

Analysing supplier satisfaction, on the one hand, allows to improve public purchasing acts, which generate social benefits in better using public money. On the other hand, caring for the well-being of suppliers is per se contributing to a socially more desirable world.

Originality/value

Supplier satisfaction is a new concept in the public procurement domain. This is the first paper to introduce this approach.

Details

Journal of Public Procurement, vol. 20 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1535-0118

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 August 2012

Markku Heimbürger and Perttu Dietrich

The focus in the facility service business has traditionally been on operative level outcomes such as customer satisfaction and technical quality. These measures do not support…

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Abstract

Purpose

The focus in the facility service business has traditionally been on operative level outcomes such as customer satisfaction and technical quality. These measures do not support business relationship management and co‐creative development. The article aims to propose a comprehensive theoretical framework to evaluate, develop, monitor and manage the collaborative business relation from both customer and service provider perspectives to co‐create mutual value.

Design/methodology/approach

The theoretical framework for collaboration performance measurement is developed through empirical study of seven dyadic facility service procurement cases. Empirical study included 62 interviews of managers involved in relationship management on strategic, tactical and operative levels in both customer and service provider organizations.

Findings

The empirical study resulted following 13 measurement areas that indicate the collaboration performance in facility service procurement relation: customer benefits, supplier benefits, collaboration efficiency, operational fluency, conflicts recovery, flexibility and adaptability, execution capability, trust, actor incentive alignment, goal alignment and shared vision, strategic integrity, learning and development capability and uncertainty management. The article focuses on presenting the measurement areas of relational collaboration performance and discusses on their implications to performance measurement and management. Through this article the aim is to induce discussion on collaboration performance measurement and management, and challenge the colleague researchers and practitioners in the industry to comment and complement the proposed framework.

Research limitations/implications

The results of the study introduce a new concept of collaboration performance and provide valuable and novel insight on related elements. The theoretical framework derived in this study is based on empirical data from facility services business and its suitability to a wider organizational context is not tested empirically in this study.

Practical implications

The framework identified provides to both practitioners and researchers with an expanded viewpoint to measure and manage collaboration performance from both the service provider and customer sides.

Originality/value

The article proposes a new concept of collaboration performance and comprehensive theoretical framework for collaboration performance measurement and management.

Article
Publication date: 26 April 2011

Peter Kenning, Vivian Hartleb and Helmut Schneider

This paper aims to add insights on consumers' price knowledge in food retailing using a theory‐based multi‐method approach.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to add insights on consumers' price knowledge in food retailing using a theory‐based multi‐method approach.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper provides data from one questionnaire and two experimental studies. The aim of the first study was to address price recall. To do so, data were collected on the accuracy of grocery‐shopper price knowledge for 20 carefully selected products. Using the mall intercept method, three trained interviewers queried 300 randomly selected people in the store, but prior to shopping. After a period of four weeks the subjects were contacted by phone and asked whether they would like to participate in a second two‐step experiment. A total of 105 of the original 300 shoppers agreed to take part in the second study, in which a recognition task in terms of a computer experiment was accomplished with and without financial incentives.

Findings

The results of these studies confirmed the authors' expectations, based on theoretical considerations that: the level of price recall is lower than the level of price recognition; incentives have no influence on price‐knowledge in the recognition task; and price‐knowledge for private labels is significantly higher in the recall, as well as in the recognition task. Moreover, in regression analyses it was found that there was no significant influence of age, gender, price‐consciousness, duration of customership, and shopping transactions per week on price recall and/or price recognition.

Research limitations/implications

The findings are limited with respect to branch, time period, and culture.

Originality/value

This paper is the first using a multi‐method approach to measure price‐recall and price‐recognition in food retailing. Moreover, it adds evidence concerning the differences of price‐knowledge due to the nature of the brand. Finally, it is shown that incentives and certain demographics have no influence on price‐knowledge.

Details

International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, vol. 39 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-0552

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 November 2011

Sari Mäkinen and Pekka Henttonen

All organisations may not have the same motivations for investing in records management. For some organisations the benefits of records management are more important than for

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Abstract

Purpose

All organisations may not have the same motivations for investing in records management. For some organisations the benefits of records management are more important than for others. It can be hypothesised that an organisation with a “natural” motivation for records management controls records processes more thoroughly than an organisation without a similar motivation. However, it is not understood how organisational context affects records management. In this paper the aim is to examine what motivations there are for an organisation to invest in records management especially in a mobile working environment.

Design/methodology/approach

Aspects explored were ISO standards, and record users in three different organisations. The empirical data were gathered by interviews with 25 respondents and qualitative analysis of the ISO 15489 standard content. Results from the interviews were compared with the ISO standard. For this purpose, quantitative analysis was used to identify and categorise motivations given in the standard.

Findings

Respondents highlighted information‐based and work‐process related ISO motivations. In general, internal motivations were emphasised and cultural‐societal goals were practically not mentioned at all. For mobile users records management is a tool to manage information and support their own and colleagues' work processes. The organisation's function affects the nature of the records produced, and this has an impact on users' attitude towards and knowledge of records management.

Originality/value

Analysis of motivations in the ISO 15489‐1 standard gives a new perspective to organisational records management. The motivations complement the picture given by studies of records usage in organisations.

Details

Records Management Journal, vol. 21 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0956-5698

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 June 2023

Lamiae Benhayoun, Marie-Anne Le-Dain, Tarik Saikouk, Holger Schiele and Richard Calvi

Buying firms involve suppliers early in New Product Development (NPD) projects to benefit from their capabilities. The authors investigate the joint impact on project performance…

Abstract

Purpose

Buying firms involve suppliers early in New Product Development (NPD) projects to benefit from their capabilities. The authors investigate the joint impact on project performance improvement, of the social capital established throughout the project, and the strategic preferred buyer/supplier statuses awarded prior to the project, from the buyer's perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors propose a conceptual model underlining the complementary contribution to project performance of social capital dimensions and of preferred partners' statuses resulting from social exchange expectations. The model is analyzed with Partial Least Squares using 80 responses of purchasers and R&D managers involved in collaborative NPD projects with suppliers.

Findings

The relational capital built during the project has a positive central role, with a direct impact on NPD project performance and mediating effects through cognitive and structural capitals. The preferred partners' statuses have strong direct impacts on performance, and mediating effects that do not completely supplant the social capital's contribution.

Practical implications

The implications for the efficient management of supplier involvement are twofold. First, the authors encourage strategic investments of buying firms to acquire preferred buyer's status and to support preferred supplier programs. Second, the authors alert them on the importance of establishing trust and shared cognition during the project.

Originality/value

This study captures NPD project performance from the social angle of buyer–supplier relationship management. It demonstrates the complementarity of relationship management at the strategic and operational levels, before and during the project unfolding.

Details

The International Journal of Logistics Management, vol. 35 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-4093

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 April 2012

Irinja Mäenpää

This paper aims to examine the extent of and key determinants for bank and insurance provider selection and usage by business customers from the small to medium‐sized enterprise…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the extent of and key determinants for bank and insurance provider selection and usage by business customers from the small to medium‐sized enterprise (SME) segment, thereby aiming to increase understanding of the drivers of customers' cross‐buying behaviour across these financial service sectors.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi‐structured interviews were carried out with key decision makers from 22 SMEs within one country. Content analysis was employed to analyse the data.

Findings

Empirical findings suggest use of multiple banks as the norm among SMEs, whereas insurances are dominantly purchased from a single provider. As SME customers appear to prefer using separate, independent providers for their banking and insurance services, absence of customer loyalty programs, unfavourable pricing of the total offering and image conflicts were identified as main factors limiting the willingness to cross‐buy across these financial services sectors.

Research limitations/implications

This qualitative research is focused on the financial industry within one country and bound to smaller business customers, limiting the generalisability of the findings.

Practical implications

The results imply that in order to succeed in cross‐selling bank and insurance services in the SME segment, financial service providers should improve their cross‐selling concepts by creating customer loyalty programs that would reward customer companies according to the use of multiple products in their total portfolio.

Originality/value

This study is the first to describe the customer perceived drivers of cross‐buying bank and insurance services from the same service provider in the business‐to‐business context.

Details

International Journal of Bank Marketing, vol. 30 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-2323

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 November 2016

Esa Viitamo, Seppo Luoto and Timo Seppälä

This paper aims to contribute to the scholarly debate on the origins and nature of industrial servitization. By resorting to contract manufacturing (CM) as an empirical case, it…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to contribute to the scholarly debate on the origins and nature of industrial servitization. By resorting to contract manufacturing (CM) as an empirical case, it is posited that any product-service solution that a manufacturing firm is capable of delivering on a competitive basis mirrors its goals in value creation and capture, positioning within its value networks and the pool of assets and competences it holds.

Design/methodology/approach

To support this argument, a comparative case study of two CM firms that represent polar cases in the industry was conducted. The primary data were collected through participatory methodology, observations and semi-structured interviews of company representatives. The business experiences of an industry practitioner provided a distinct contribution to the content analysis and modelling.

Findings

It was concluded that servitization becomes endogenous as contract manufacturers aim for higher profitability through the insource of customer activities and hence extend their offering downstream in the supply chain. The findings suggest that the way out of the servitization trap is a shift toward original design and manufacturing business, where high value-adding modules are insourced and integrated into replicable solutions for various types of customers and market segments.

Research limitations/implications

The generalization of the conclusion is constrained by the limited focus on two cases only. More industry and company data are therefore required to further validate this argument. Particularly valuable will be the data on the intermediate business models between the two polar cases.

Originality/value

Building on contested business practices, this paper outlines the logic of competitive strategy in CM on the basis of specific characteristics and implications of the various business concepts. In this case, the principal drivers of servitization are the acquisition of supporting capabilities and insourcing of customer activities. The case study method integrates theory with academic observation and managerial experiences.

Details

Strategic Outsourcing: An International Journal, vol. 9 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8297

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 August 2013

Tuuli Jylhä and Seppo Junnila

The aim of the research is to address why facility management (FM) processes do not support customer value creation.

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Abstract

Purpose

The aim of the research is to address why facility management (FM) processes do not support customer value creation.

Design/methodology/approach

An in‐depth analysis of the value creation process in the industry was analysed with 15 interviews and a workshop based around a case process. The study considers the current value creation processes against the theory of lean management.

Findings

The lack of literature shows that the overall value creation process has been neglected. The case findings indicate that the FM process does not support comprehensive customer value creation. The FM process has been structured based on agreements, not on value creation. A lot of effort has aimed to improve the value adding FM process, but not to minimise the unavoidable non‐value adding, i.e. waste activities, from the process.

Research limitations/implications

The study is conducted in a globally operating organisation in Finland and, due to similarities, the results could also be applied in other countries to bring new insight and direction to value creation.

Practical implications

The methods and practices of lean management can be used by FM organisations to gain better understanding of their own value creation processes.

Originality/value

This paper offers an eye‐opener for researchers and FM companies on the possibilities that lean management may offer.

Article
Publication date: 7 November 2016

Niels J. Pulles, Jasper Veldman and Holger Schiele

This paper examines the competition between buying firms for the supplier’s competitive resources. The purpose of this paper is to examine how indirect capabilities – the ability…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper examines the competition between buying firms for the supplier’s competitive resources. The purpose of this paper is to examine how indirect capabilities – the ability to access external resources – can help in obtaining preferential resource allocation from suppliers.

Design/methodology/approach

Partial least squares structural equation modeling is used to analyze data of 163 buying firms that assess preferential resource allocation from suppliers.

Findings

Two indirect capabilities (a buying firm’s selection capability and relational capability) positively influence the firm’s competitive advantage. These relations are significantly mediated by preferential resource allocation of suppliers. The impact of preferential resource allocation appeared stronger for manufacturing firms than for service firms.

Research limitations/implications

This study’s data set represents the buyer’s assessment of suppliers’ resource allocation. Future research should aim for dyadic data for further validation. In addition, due to sample size limitations, this study’s data does not allow sector segmentation. A larger study that provides insights into segmentation is suggested for future research.

Practical implications

The results inform managers about the relevance of the competition for supplier resources with rival firms that share suppliers, and the influence of this competition on firm competitiveness. Managers should not only focus on the supplier itself, but also on the capabilities of the supply chain management (SCM) function to recognize and integrate the supplier resources.

Originality/value

This study adds to the extended resource-based view literature by integrating the notion of supplier resource competition. In addition, the study shows the importance of indirect capabilities for obtaining preferential resource allocation from suppliers. Finally, the authors show the importance of separating between service and manufacturing when examining SCM practices.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 36 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

Keywords

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