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Open Access
Article
Publication date: 23 September 2021

Janne Harkonen

The study aims to explore the benefits of service productisation to provide further understanding on the productisation concept as support for business processes and service

1826

Abstract

Purpose

The study aims to explore the benefits of service productisation to provide further understanding on the productisation concept as support for business processes and service management. The concept has been deficiently discussed regardless of the potential significance to the whole formed by service products, business processes, information technology (IT), people and data.

Design/methodology/approach

In the study, the exploratory empirical evidence is presented from 16 cases, 4 of which are from companies that are globally well-known.

Findings

The key findings of the paper include an overview of the benefits of service productisation and the relation to service offering, service processes and related resources. The concept links to the management of the whole formed by service products, business processes, IT, people and data. The noted benefits seem to be applicable to productisation of different service types, whilst some service characteristics may affect the specific emphasis.

Research limitations/implications

The limitations involve using secondary data, which, however, makes the cases less biased regarding the aims. Primary data are required to gain further insights into the phenomena and the identified benefits.

Practical implications

The findings provide support for issues that are commonly discussed by practitioners on a concept that is less studied by the scientific literature. Practitioners can work towards organisational efficiency and effectiveness by understanding the benefits of productisation. Understanding service productisation can support the effective management of business processes and work towards prosperity in the service business.

Originality/value

The study is the first one to analyse the benefits of service productisation by exploring the issue through multiple cases and attempting to identify aspects for further attention by the academic community.

Details

Business Process Management Journal, vol. 27 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-7154

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 22 February 2022

Solmaz Mansoori, Janne Harkonen and Harri Haapasalo

This study aims to facilitate consistency of information in building information modelling (BIM) and address the current BIM gaps through the perspectives of the productization

2245

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to facilitate consistency of information in building information modelling (BIM) and address the current BIM gaps through the perspectives of the productization concept and product structure (PS).

Design/methodology/approach

The study follows a conceptual research approach in conjunction with a single case study. First, the previous studies on BIM implementation, productization and PS are reviewed. Further, a case study is used to analyse the current state of productization in the construction sector and develop a functional PS for construction.

Findings

A Part-Phase-Elements Matrix is proposed as a construction-specific PS to facilitate consistency in information and to enhance BIM. The proposed matrix provides new avenues to facilitate consistent information exchange through the interconnection between conceptual PS and standard building objects library, and encourage collaborative communication between stakeholders.

Originality/value

This study explores the core of the productization concept and PS as means to facilitate consistency of information and thus address the current gaps in BIM. This as building projects progressively move towards systematic modular and prefabricated construction where the flow of reliable information about product and construction offerings becomes increasingly important.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 30 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 18 December 2023

Christian Grönroos

In servitization research, there has been a call to move further toward the development of business models based on a service approach. This article aims to answer this call by…

Abstract

Purpose

In servitization research, there has been a call to move further toward the development of business models based on a service approach. This article aims to answer this call by adopting service logic (SL) and developing strategies and organizational resources and processes to create a service-centric business model called servification, defined as the process of identifying and developing strategies and organizational resources and processes to create a business model based on SL.

Design/methodology/approach

This article is conceptual and extends servitization in the direction of service-centric business model innovation by drawing on and extending SL.

Findings

The article defines service as a higher-order concept according to SL and develops the concept of a helping strategy as the foundation for a service-based business model. Further, it develops a typology of organizational resources and processes that must be developed for the emergence of such a business model.

Research limitations/implications

Since this article is the first to conceptually develop servification, more both theoretical and empirical research is naturally required. The development of servification takes servitization in the direction of service-based business model innovation and also contributes to the research on SL.

Practical implications

Servification enables the development of service-centric strategies and organizational resources and processes and service-based business models.

Originality/value

This article is the first to adopt SL in studies of business model innovation.

Details

Journal of Service Theory and Practice, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2055-6225

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 15 May 2019

Laura-Maija Hero and Eila Lindfors

Collaboration between universities and industry is increasingly perceived as a vehicle to enhance innovation. Educational institutions are encouraged to build partnerships and

14171

Abstract

Purpose

Collaboration between universities and industry is increasingly perceived as a vehicle to enhance innovation. Educational institutions are encouraged to build partnerships and multidisciplinary projects based around real-world open problems. Projects need to benefit student learning, not only the organisations looking for innovations. The context of this study is a multidisciplinary innovation project, as experienced by the students of an University of Applied Sciences in Finland. The purpose of this paper is to unfold students’ conceptions of the learning experience, to help teachers and curriculum designers to organise optimal conditions and processes, and support competence development. The research question was: How do students in higher professional education experience their learning in a multidisciplinary innovation project?

Design/methodology/approach

The study took a phenomenographic approach. The data were collected in the form of weekly diaries, maintained by the cultural management and social services students (n=74) in a mandatory multidisciplinary innovation project in professional higher education in Finland. The diary data were analysed using thematic inductive analysis.

Findings

The results of the study revealed that students’ understood the learning experience in relation to solvable conflicts and unusual situations they experienced during the project, while becoming aware of and claiming their collaborative agency and internalising phases of an innovation process. The competences as learning outcomes that students could name as developed related to content knowledge, different personal characteristics, social skills, emerging leadership skills, creativity, future orientation, social skills, technical, crafting and testing skills and innovation implementation-related skills, such as marketing, sales and entrepreneurship planning skills. However, future orientation and implementation planning skills showed more weakly than other variables in the data.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that curriculum design should enable networked, student-led and teacher supported pedagogical innovation processes that involve a whole path from future thinking and idea development through prototyping to implementation planning of the novel solution. Teachers promote deep comprehension of the innovation process, monitor and ease the pain of conflict if it threatens motivation, offer assessment tools and help in recognising gaps in individual competences and development needs, promote more future-oriented, concrete and implementable outcomes, and facilitate in bridging from innovation towards entrepreneurship planning.

Originality/value

The multidisciplinary innovation project described in this study provides a pedagogical way to connect higher education to the practises of society. These results provide encouraging findings for organising multidisciplinary project activities between education and working life. The paper, therefore, has significant value for teachers and entrepreneurship educators in designing curriculum and facilitating projects. The study promotes the dissemination of innovation development programmes in between education and work organisations also in other than technical and commercial fields.

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 27 September 2021

Michele Simoni, Annarita Sorrentino, Daniele Leone and Andrea Caporuscio

This study aims to provide an exploratory analysis of the role of virtual reality (VR) in the cruise context as a contribution to the limited literature on this topic. In…

3431

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to provide an exploratory analysis of the role of virtual reality (VR) in the cruise context as a contribution to the limited literature on this topic. In particular, the research investigates immersive VR as a critical touchpoint at the pre-purchase stage of the customer journey.

Design/methodology/approach

To achieve the research aims, the authors use a case study approach by analysing the “immersive configurator” (essentially a virtual catalogue) implemented by the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC).

Findings

Three innovative functions emerged from the study of the MSC’s virtual catalogue. First, it improves the customer experience and engagement through its interactivity. Second, it allows customization of the prospective cruise experience by selecting and changing types of ship, the level of service, the position of the cabin and much more. Third, it becomes a new digital marketing system endowed with large amounts of data.

Research limitations/implications

This study advances the current state of knowledge by presenting an empirical case study on the role of immersive VR at the pre-purchase stage of the customer journey. Second, it offers interesting implications for managers who want to take advantage of the opportunities offered by VR.

Originality/value

The present study analyses the pre-purchase stage in tourism marketing focused on the use of VR in the tourist experience at the time of service delivery. Second, it enriches the tourism literature by integrating supply-side and demand-side perspectives. Third, from a methodological point of view, this paper offers an in-depth qualitative study in a context where scholars have mostly applied quantitative methods.

通过虚拟现实来提高预购体验:洞悉游轮产业摘要

研究目的

以邮轮产业为背景, 鉴于少量的相关文献, 本研究对虚拟现实提供了初步研究。 本论文以侵入式虚拟现实作为顾客购买前关键体验点进行了探索。

研究设计/方法/途径

为实现研究目的, 本论文运用了案例研究发来分析地中海航运公司MSC目前使用的“侵入式配置程序” (尤其作为虚拟目录)。

研究结果

通过对MSC虚拟目录的研究, 我们发现了其三大创新功能。第一, 可有效的通过互动来提高顾客体验和参与。第二, 可允许对预期的游轮体验通过选择游轮种类, 服务等级, 船舱的位置等, 来进行量身定制。第三, 基于大量数据积累, 可作为数字营销系统。

理论贡献

通过实证案例研究, 本论文对侵入式虚拟现实在顾客预购体验中的研究文献进行了有效推进。其二, 本研究为期望运用虚拟现实的从业人员提供了新颖的实践知识。

研究原创性/价值

本研究在聚焦在虚拟现实技术运用在旅游营销中的前期游客体验。第二, 本研究整合了供给和需求两方面的视角。第三, 从研究方法的角度, 本研究在普遍运用定量研究的领域提供了深入的定性研究。

Details

Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, vol. 13 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-9880

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 27 February 2024

Oscar F. Bustinza, Luis M. Molina Fernandez and Marlene Mendoza Macías

Machine learning (ML) analytical tools are increasingly being considered as an alternative quantitative methodology in management research. This paper proposes a new approach for…

Abstract

Purpose

Machine learning (ML) analytical tools are increasingly being considered as an alternative quantitative methodology in management research. This paper proposes a new approach for uncovering the antecedents behind product and product–service innovation (PSI).

Design/methodology/approach

The ML approach is novel in the field of innovation antecedents at the country level. A sample of the Equatorian National Survey on Technology and Innovation, consisting of more than 6,000 firms, is used to rank the antecedents of innovation.

Findings

The analysis reveals that the antecedents of product and PSI are distinct, yet rooted in the principles of open innovation and competitive priorities.

Research limitations/implications

The analysis is based on a sample of Equatorian firms with the objective of showing how ML techniques are suitable for testing the antecedents of innovation in any other context.

Originality/value

The novel ML approach, in contrast to traditional quantitative analysis of the topic, can consider the full set of antecedent interactions to each of the innovations analyzed.

Details

Journal of Enterprise Information Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-0398

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 21 May 2021

Ville Eloranta, Marco Ardolino and Nicola Saccani

This study aims to enhance the theoretical foundations of servitization research by establishing a theoretical connection with complexity management. The authors develop a…

4280

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to enhance the theoretical foundations of servitization research by establishing a theoretical connection with complexity management. The authors develop a conceptual framework to describe complexity management mechanisms in servitization and digital platforms' specific role in allowing synergies between complexity reduction and absorption mechanisms.

Design/methodology/approach

A theory adaptation approach is used. Theory adaptation introduces new perspectives and conceptualization to the domain theory (servitization, with a focus on the role of digital platforms) by informing it with a method theory (complexity management).

Findings

This study provides four key contributions to the servitization literature: (1) connecting the servitization and complexity-management terminologies, (2) identifying and classifying complexity-management mechanisms in servitization, (3) conceptualizing digital platforms' role in servitization complexity management and (4) recognizing digital platforms' complexity-management synergies.

Originality/value

This study highlights that by using digital platforms in servitization and understanding the platform approach more thoroughly, companies can gain new capabilities and opportunities to manage and leverage complexity.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 41 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 18 March 2021

Ernesto Tavoletti, Niloofar Kazemargi, Corrado Cerruti, Cecilia Grieco and Andrea Appolloni

This paper contains an exploratory analysis of the business model innovations (BMIs) that management consulting firms (MCFs) undertake to remain competitive during digital…

18656

Abstract

Purpose

This paper contains an exploratory analysis of the business model innovations (BMIs) that management consulting firms (MCFs) undertake to remain competitive during digital transformation.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses data from a longitudinal multiple case study of the European practices of major global MCFs to provide an overview of how they reconfigure their business model (BM) to gain competitive advantages. It maps BMIs in MCFs through value creation innovation, value proposition innovation and value capturing innovation.

Findings

There is a shift in value proposition from solely giving advice or supporting information technology (IT) implementation to providing end-to-end digital solutions. To materialize value propositions, MCFs acquire new knowledge and digital assets through talent scouting, and mergers and acquisitions (M&As). MCFs rely heavily on complementary knowledge and capabilities of actors within ecosystems; thus, they focus on expanding, creating their ecosystems and adopting platforms' configuration and characteristics.

Research limitations/implications

Inductively, the authors reached an analytical generalization through six propositions and a theoretical frame that embeds propositions in the previous literature. Future research should test them across the overall management consulting industry.

Practical implications

MCFs are recognized as drivers of innovation and BMIs in most client firms. However, MCFs are rarely analyzed with respect to their BMIs. Understanding how MCFs innovate their business models (BMs) to provide digital transformation (DT) consulting services is relevant for delivering management innovation across industries.

Originality/value

This is the first exploratory study on BMI inside global MCFs during DT.

Details

European Journal of Innovation Management, vol. 25 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1460-1060

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 15 May 2023

Kai Hänninen, Jouni Juntunen and Harri Haapasalo

The purpose of this study is to describe latent classes explaining the innovation logic in the Finnish construction companies. Innovativeness is a driver of competitive…

16128

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to describe latent classes explaining the innovation logic in the Finnish construction companies. Innovativeness is a driver of competitive performance and vital to the long-term success of any organisation and company.

Design/methodology/approach

Using finite mixture structural equation modelling (FMSEM), the authors have classified innovation logic into latent classes. The method analyses and recognises classes for companies that have similar logic in innovation activities based on the collected data.

Findings

Through FMSEM analysis, the authors have identified three latent classes that explain the innovation logic in the Finnish construction companies – LC1: the internal innovators; LC2: the non-innovation-oriented introverts; and LC3: the innovation-oriented extroverts. These three latent classes clearly capture the perceptions within the industry as well as the different characteristics and variables.

Research limitations/implications

The presented latent classes explain innovation logic but is limited to analysing Finnish companies. Also, the research is quantitative by nature and does not increase the understanding in the same manner as qualitative research might capture on more specific aspects.

Practical implications

This paper presents starting points for construction industry companies to intensify innovation activities. It may also indicate more fundamental changes for the structure of construction industry organisations, especially by enabling innovation friendly culture.

Originality/value

This study describes innovation logic in Finnish construction companies through three models (LC1–LC3) by using quantitative data analysed with the FMSEM method. The fundamental innovation challenges in the Finnish construction companies are clarified via the identified latent classes.

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 19 April 2023

Mira Timperi, Kirsi Kokkonen, Lea Hannola and Kalle Elfvengren

Digital twins (DTs) and other data-based solutions are gaining an increasing foothold in manufacturing business, whereas a mere physical product is often insufficient to satisfy…

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Abstract

Purpose

Digital twins (DTs) and other data-based solutions are gaining an increasing foothold in manufacturing business, whereas a mere physical product is often insufficient to satisfy all customers’ expectations. As a result, companies are seeking novel ways of value creation, and one exciting opportunity is the use of DTs in new business creation, where they can offer diverse possibilities for innovative businesses. This paper aims to examine the impacts and challenges of DTs on new business creation in the manufacturing industry.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a qualitative research approach, which combined semistructured interviews and an iterative Delphi study as research methods. The participants for the interviews and Delphi study were from different sectors and roles in the manufacturing industry. Altogether, 10 interviewees from eight companies took part in the interviews, and the expert panel of the Delphi method contained 12 professionals.

Findings

The results of the study indicated that DT can significantly impact the business models of manufacturing companies. DT can enhance operations, offer cost savings and business growth and allow stakeholders to focus on core competencies while developing their businesses. Several challenges for leveraging DT were identified, such as data ownership, resource allocation, internal bureaucracy and the difficulty of demonstrating the actual value of data-based services to potential customers.

Originality/value

This paper provides a structured expert-led assessment of the potential impacts of DT utilization in the creation of new business opportunities.

Details

Measuring Business Excellence, vol. 27 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1368-3047

Keywords

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