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Many organizations are embarking upon knowledge management initiatives to enhance their competitiveness. While there has been a significant amount of multidisciplinary research in this area, the evidence from surveys of practitioners indicate that a large proportion of company projects focus on the implementation of technology‐based solutions without consideration of the structural and contextual issues. Many academic authors have presented a variety of different models for knowledge management but have often failed to relate these to the requirements of practitioners. This paper presents a model of knowledge management derived from a synthesis of current literature. The model emphasizes the need for knowledge evaluation within a knowledge management approach and describes, using a case study, how this might be achieved.

Improvement of reverse supply chains requires accurate and timely information about the patterns of consumption. In the consumer context, the ways to generate and access such use-visibility data are in their infancy. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate how the Internet of Things (IoT) may be operationalised in the domestic setting to capture data on a consumer’s use of products and the implications for reverse supply chains.

This study uses an explorative case approach drawing on data from studies of six UK households. “Horizontal” data, which reveals patterns in consumers’ use processes, is generated by combining “vertical” data from multiple sources. Use processes in the homes are mapped using IDEF0 and illustrated with the data. The quantitative data are generated using wireless sensors in the home, and qualitative data are drawn from online calendars, social media, interviews and ethnography.

The study proposes four generic measurement categories for operationalising the concept of use-visibility: experience, consumption, interaction and depletion, which together address the use of different household resources. The explorative case demonstrates how these measures can be operationalised to achieve visibility of the context of use in the home. The potential of such use-visibility for reverse supply chains is discussed.

This explorative case study is based on an in-depth study of the bathroom which illustrates the application of use-visibility measures (UVMs) but provides a limited use context. Further research is needed from a wider set of homes and a wider set of use processes and contexts.

The case demonstrates the operationalisation of the combination of data from different sources and helps answer questions of “why?”, “how?”, “when?” and “how much?”, which can inform reverse supply chains. The four UVMs can be operationalised in a way that can contribute to supply chain visibility, providing accurate and timely information of consumption, optimising resource use and eliminating waste.

IDEF0 framework and case analysis is used to identify and validate four UVMs available through IoT data – that of experience, consumption, interaction and depletion. The UVMs characterise IoT data generated from a given process and inform the primary reverse flow in the future supply chain. They provide the basis for future data collection and development of theory around their effect on reverse supply chain efficiency.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how financial services (FS) organizations manage the customer experience. It aims to establish what practices are used, to articulate the role of the FS context in influencing the choice of practices, and to identify how these practices support experience co-creation from the perspective of the organization.

The authors adopt a multiple case study approach. In total, 23 cases provide a rich understanding of the phenomenon studied which permits grounding the findings on robust data.

The authors identify five practices that are consistently used by FS organizations to manage the customer experience. The findings suggest that four industry-specific characteristics affect the choice of these practices. The results also reveal how these practices support the co-creation of the customer experience.

The authors focus on the FS context only, do not examine the impact of the practices on performance, and do not explore experience co-creation from the perspective of the customer.

Adopting these practices can facilitate a more co-created customer experience, which in turn can provide FS organizations with a competitive differentiator.

The paper advances current knowledge by revealing five customer experience management practices that are specific to the FS context. Moreover, this is one of the first studies to explore experience co-creation from the perspective of the organization and to identify ways in which organizations can support customers in co-creating the experiences.

The objective of this work is to empirically investigate the design of a service delivery system that supports the provision of modular service logistics offerings.

An in-depth single-case study relying on interview data and extensive documentary evidence is carried out in the business-to-business (B2B) logistics sector. Three main analytical techniques are used to make sense of the qualitative data: thematic analysis, process mapping and the application of modular operators.

A modular service delivery system comprises three types of processes that collectively deliver modular offerings. The platform consists of core processes that enable the collection, transport and delivery of physical items for all offerings (modular and non-modular). Dedicated modular processes are mandatory and exclusive to individual modular offerings. Optional modular processes are shared across several modular offerings. Interfaces regulate physical (e.g. parcels or parts) and information (e.g. booking data) inputs provided by the customer in order to control the interdependencies within these different process types.

The identification of three process types and their interdependencies provides detailed insights into how managers can design modular logistics services that benefit from economies of scale and meet increasingly variable customer requirements. The importance of well-designed interfaces among the customers, the service offering and the service delivery system is highlighted.

This study extends previous modularity studies in service logistics. It is the first study to apply modular operators to determine the presence of modularity in the service delivery system and to establish the role of different process types in enabling modularity in the service delivery system.

The purpose of this paper is to provide further insight into operations management of the product-service (P-S) transition, known as servitization, and the resulting product service system (PSS) offerings. In exploring the P-S transition, this paper adopts a service-dominant (S-D) logic view of value creation, using it as a lens through which to explore value propositions of the P-S transition and their operations design.

This paper presents an in-depth case study of an original equipment manufacturer of durable capital equipment who, over the last five years, has expanded its offerings to include use- and result-orientated PSS. The research design uses a multi-method approach; employing 28 in-depth qualitative interviews with customers and employees and analysis of texts, documents and secondary data including five years of enterprise resource planning (ERP), call centre and contract data.

The paper identifies ten generic P-S attributes that are abstracted into four nested value propositions: asset value proposition; recovery value proposition; availability value proposition; and outcome value proposition. In examining the operations design for delivery of these value propositions, it is found that the role and importance of contextual variety increases as the organisation moves through the value propositions. Interdependencies amongst the value propositions and differences in operational design for each value proposition are also found.

The paper investigates PSS through a S-D logic mindset. First, the paper considers value propositions of PSS not according to “product” or “service” but in terms of how resources (both material and human) are optimally designed to co-create customer value. Second, a value co-creation system of nested value propositions is illustrated. In so doing, the findings have a number of implications for literature on both PSS and S-D logic. In addition, the research adds to the PSS literature through the identification and consideration of the concept of contextual use variety.

The paper demonstrates the complexity of the transition from product to service. Specifically, service cannot be seen as a bolt-on extra to their product offering; complexity caused by interactions and changes to the core offering require a systems perspective and consideration of both firm and customer skills and resources.

This paper extends existing literature on the P-S transition and its implications for operations management. Notably, it takes an S-D logic perspective of value creation and in so doing highlights the importance and role of contextual use variety in the P-S transition. It also provides further empirical evidence that the P-S transition cannot be treated as discrete stages but is evolutionary and requires a complex systems perspective.

The purpose of this paper is to present a visualisation of the firm's offering from a service‐dominant logic (S‐DLogic) perspective. The case of Rolls‐Royce is presented as an avenue through which to explore an alternative view of the firm's value proposition, a visualisation informed by S‐DLogic that could aid organisations in their transition from goods‐dominant logic (G‐DLogic) to S‐DLogic.

Through integration of an operations management approach in process mapping and design and simulation with choice modelling in business‐to‐business marketing, this paper operationalises some of the key aspects of S‐DLogic, most notably focusing on the constructs of value and resources. This is explored through a single case; Rolls‐Royce which provides access to a rich source of internal and customer data.

The study finds that the S‐DLogic visualisation of the firm's value proposition in equipment‐based service consists of its contribution to 11 value‐creating activities towards value‐in‐use. The visualisation depicts both the highest possible bundle of benefits for the customer along with the resources and their costs associated with delivering those bundles. When brought together these enable the identification of the optimal bundle of value‐creating activities from both customer and firms' perspective.

This paper provides empirical evidence of the difference between a G‐DLogic and S‐DLogic view of the firm's value proposition. In doing so, extending existing literature on S‐DLogic by contributing to a methodological and empirical gap. Notably, it makes abstract concepts of S‐DLogic concrete, providing a pathway for future empirical work and begins the process of systematising a methodology in S‐DLogic.

Investigates the current literature surrounding business process re‐engineering (BPR). Defines BPR and distinguishes between re‐engineering and other change programmes. Sets out a general approach to BPR and outlines the results from the application of this approach to the bank. This analysis of results includes an assessment of the applicability of the ICAM definition method, IDEF₀, in helping companies implement BPR programmes.

The paper seeks to evaluate the drivers of customer satisfaction (CS), specifically exploring the impact of business process management (BPM) on service quality and CS.

A longitudinal case study uses quantitative and qualitative data to test six propositions derived from current literature.

Analysis confirms the role of staff satisfaction and service quality as key drivers of CS, suggested in the service profit chain, but proposes a more complex set of relationships. Technical service quality (TSQ) is found to play a critical role in determining CS and a strong causal link is found between TSQ and BPM.

Findings are based on a single case, in a fast‐changing sector.

Findings suggest that managers should focus on TSQ as a priority. End‐to‐end BPM is identified as a key enabler of TSQ.

The research challenges the adequacy of the service profit chain and the emphasis on soft factors evident in much of the existing marketing and service operations literature. In examining the drivers of CS, this research offers an alternative perspective which places BPM at the centre of the debate.