Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
  • Publication
    Open Innovation Networks and the Role of Intermediaries: An Agent-Based Simulation
    (Springer, 2016-08-23)
    This paper builds an agent-based simulation model that illustrates the dynamics of an open innovation (OI) network of firms in search of a technological development partnership. The model simulates an environment populated by innovation seekers and innovation providers. Each of these agents (firms) has half of the final product and has to decide whether to develop the rest internally or seek a partner that developed the other half of the product. Moreover, this paper explores the effects on the innovation network dynamics of the presence of intermediaries that act as brokers between innovation seekers and innovation providers. The results suggest that innovation providers are on average better off when they establish partnerships, especially when their number is limited and intermediaries are present in the market. The model shows that the presence of intermediaries makes the market more efficient by lowering costs of all firms in the network, whether they use an intermediary or not.
      474
  • Publication
    Framing innovation success, failure, and transformation: A systematic literature review
    Framing is a powerful tool shaping innovation success, failure, and transformation. However, innovation framing is not recognized as a unified domain of research and the extant literature is theoretically fragmented across diverse fields. Inconsistencies in definition and operationalization of constructs stall theoretical advancement of innovation framing theory and practice. Importantly, an understanding of the underlying mechanisms enabling framing to mediate innovation outcomes has been missing. Using a systematic literature review (SLR), we integrate diverse theoretical perspectives. Stemming from this, we develop a unified conceptual framework of innovation framing. In so doing we make three vital contributions to the field. First, we develop a typology of construct categories of innovation framing, defining these framing concepts and identifying their theoretical basis. Next, we emphasize the importance of key mechanisms (sensemaking, interpretive flexibility, consensus) in explaining innovation outcomes. Our third contribution identifies innovation stage-specific differences in the role of framing processes, frame types and characteristics, and the temporal elements of these. Finally, we discuss the implications of our research for innovation practitioners, while concluding with a detailed agenda for future innovation framing research.
      8
  • Publication
    Service operations: what's next?
    Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present exciting and innovative research questions in service operations that are aligned with eight key themes and related topics determined by the Journal of Service Management (JOSM) Service Operations Expert Research Panel. By offering a good number of such research questions, this paper provides a broad range of ideas to spur conceptual and empirical research related to service operations and encourage the continued creation of deep knowledge within the field, as well as collaborative research across disciplines that develops and incorporates insights from service operations. Design/methodology/approach Based on a Delphi study, described in the companion article, “Service Operations: What Have We Learned?,” the panel identified eight key research themes in service operations where leading-edge research is being done or has yet to be done (Victorino et al., 2018). In this paper, three or four topics within each theme are selected and multiple questions for each topic are proposed to guide research efforts. The topics and questions, while wide-ranging, are only representative of the many ongoing research opportunities related to service operations. Findings The field of service operations has many interesting research topics and questions that are largely unexplored. Furthermore, these research areas are not only increasingly integrative across multiple themes within operations but often transcend functional disciplines. This creates opportunities for ever more impactful research with a greater reach throughout the service system and suggests that service researchers, regardless of functional affiliation, can contribute to the ongoing conversation on the role of service operations in value creation. Originality/value Leveraging the collective knowledge of the JOSM Service Operations Expert Research Panel to expand on the research themes generated from the Delphi study, novel questions for future study are put forward. Recognizing that the number of potential research questions is virtually unlimited, summary questions by theme and topic are also provided. These questions represent a synopsis of the individual questions and can serve as a quick reference guide for researchers interested in pursuing new directions in conceptual and empirical research in service operations. This summary also serves as a framework to facilitate the formulation of additional research topics and questions.
    Scopus© Citations 73  553
  • Publication
    The effect of Service Improvisation Competence on Hotel Performance
    Purpose. The development of a Service Improvisation Competence (Serv-IC)—operationally defined as “the systemic ability of a service firm’s employees to deviate from established service delivery processes and routines to respond in a timely manner to unforeseen events using available resources” (Secchi, 2019, p. 1329)—has been proposed as an effective way to accommodate customer variability while increasing the quality of the service experience. However, empirical evidence of its impact on service performance is scant. This paper tests the effect of Serv-IC on performance in the hospitality industry. Design/methodology/approach. This paper develops a conceptual typology of service delivery systems (hereafter service typology is used interchangeably) in the hotel industry based on the experiential content of the service and the amount of standardization of service delivery routines. Then, using a survey of hotel managers, the effect of Serv-IC on hotel performance is estimated within each service group in the typology. Findings. Serv-IC is associated with increased occupancy in high-process-standardization and high-experience hotel operations but does not have a significant relationship with the average price per room. The results suggest that that managers could invest in Serv-IC to increase loyalty and positive word of mouth, but not to increase prices. Originality/value. This paper provides evidence of the effectiveness of developing a Service Improvisation Competence while also offering boundary conditions to its applicability. The proposed service typology disentangles the design of service processes from their execution, thereby shedding new light on the complex relationships among service design, employee behaviors, and business outcomes.
    Scopus© Citations 4  428
  • Publication
    Are you ready for the sustainable, biocircular economy?
    With the effects of the climate crisis becoming more extreme, and in view of the urgent need to achieve sustainable development goals, managers, companies, and entire industries must embrace the sustainable, biocircular economy, enabling all stakeholders as well as our planet to thrive in this inevitable future. This article clarifies the emerging concept of sustainable biocircularity by showcasing best-practice applications, with examples from policymakers, civil society organizations (CSOs), companies, and others working together to bring vital transformational change. We present five guiding EARTH principles (ecology, authenticity, resilience, transformation, and holism) to help ensure the transition to a sustainable, biocircular economy benefits organizations and society at minimal cost to the environment. We next introduce the five stages required to develop a successful transition to sustainable biocircularity. Here we highlight how an integrated, systems-based STOP (skills, technologies, opportunities, and problems) road map can enable organizations to conduct strategic analysis and decision-making across each of the five stages, thus helping to achieve that transition. We demonstrate how the guiding principles, the five stages, and the road map are intertwined and stress that companies must understand and embrace each of these in order to thrive in this new environment. Finally, we provide a biowashing checklist to help ensure this transition is truly sustainable, just, and authentic.
    Scopus© Citations 4  19
  • Publication
    Customer participation risk management: conceptual model and managerial assessment tool
    Purpose: Customer Participation (CP) has received considerable interest in the service literature as a way to improve the customer experience and reduce service providers’ costs. While its benefits are not in question, there is a paucity of research on potential pitfalls. This paper provides a conceptual foundation to address this gap and develops a comprehensive model of the risks of customer participation in service delivery, integrating research from the marketing, operations and supply chain management, strategy, and information technology fields. Design/methodology/approach: The model is derived deductively by integrating insights from research in marketing, operations and supply chain management, strategy, and information technology. Findings: This paper identifies three categories of potential risks of CP (i.e., market, operational, and service network) and discusses ways that firms can mitigate these risks. Building on the model, it develops a CP risk assessment tool that managers can use when evaluating increases in CP. Research limitations/implications: The conceptual model proposed in this paper can serve as a robust basis for future research in customer participation, particularly in such areas as sharing economy services, service delivery networks, and experiential services. The risk assessment tool offers clear guidelines for managers who are considering an increase in customer participation in their service. Originality/value: This is the first attempt to conceptually define customer participation risk and develop a comprehensive model of its drivers and strategies to mitigate it. This paper develops a straightforward method for managers to evaluate CP risk.
    Scopus© Citations 9  655
  • Publication
    Advancing a typology of open innovation
    Interest in the concept of open innovation (OI) has increased during recent years; yet, this line of inquiry remains limited due to the lack of a more comprehensive conceptual framework. As a first step toward a unifying framework, we provide a critical review of previous research on the conceptualization, antecedents, and consequences of OI. We then offer a typology describing four OI strategies: (i) innovation seeker, (ii) innovation provider, (iii) intermediary, and (iv) open innovator, which emerge through unique combinations of sources of innovation, firm attributes, and mechanisms of inter-organizational exchange, and produce varying outcomes. Finally, we discuss our typology's implications for theory and practice, and advance potential research avenues.
      1075Scopus© Citations 78
  • Publication
    Service operations: what have we learned?
    The purpose of this paper is to identify research themes in service operations that have great potential for exciting and innovative conceptual and empirical work. To frame these research themes, the paper provides a systematic literature review of operations articles published in the Journal of Service Management (JOSM). The thorough review of published work in JOSM and proposed research themes are presented in hopes that they will inspire impactful research on service operations. These themes are further developed in a companion paper, “Service operations: what’s next?” (Field et al., 2018). Design/methodology/approach The JOSM Service Operations Expert Research Panel conducted a Delphi study to generate research themes where leading-edge research on service operations is being done or has yet to be done. Nearly 700 articles published in JOSM from its inception through 2016 were reviewed and classified by discipline focus. The subset of service operations articles was then further categorized according to the eight identified research themes plus an additional category that primarily represented traditional manufacturing approaches applied in service settings. Findings From the Delphi study, the following key themes emerged: service supply networks, evaluating and measuring service operations performance, understanding customer and employee behavior in service operations, managing servitization, managing knowledge-based service contexts, managing participation roles and responsibilities in service operations, addressing society’s challenges through service operations, and the operational implications of the sharing economy. Based on the literature review, approximately 20 percent of the published work in JOSM is operations focused, with earlier articles predominantly applying traditional manufacturing approaches in service settings. However, the percentage of these traditional types of articles has been steadily decreasing, suggesting a trend toward dedicated research frameworks and themes that are unique to the design and management of services operations. Originality/value The paper presents key research themes for advancing conceptual and empirical research on service operations. Additionally, a review of the past and current landscape of operations articles published in JOSM offers an understanding of the scholarly conversation so far and sets a foundation from which to build future research.
    Scopus© Citations 30  521