Technological Applications and Advancements in Service Science, Management, and Engineering
This paper applies the service blueprinting method as a tool that can produce a systematic descri... more This paper applies the service blueprinting method as a tool that can produce a systematic description and analysis of an industrial outsourcing service process. The key objective is to characterise critical incidents and potential failure situations from the service provider's perspective. The main benefit of the service blueprinting technique is that it makes the service provision process, failure situations, and relevant actors systematically visible. In this regard, it facilitates more detailed analysis and reveals opportunities for service improvements in the context of industrial outsourcing services. Suggested improvements can facilitate service process improvements that strengthen businesses competitiveness in the marketplace. The analysis also yields more specific suggestions for improvements.
ABSTRACT This paper presents an analytical review of innovation literature identifying its main a... more ABSTRACT This paper presents an analytical review of innovation literature identifying its main approaches to customers' and users' roles in new service development. With increasing activity in the field, the methods and techniques have become plentiful. The key aim is to organise existing knowledge and develop systematic thinking in the area. We first present a framework for customer-and user-driven innovation, which provides a structure for the subsequent literature review. We then elaborate identified three key approaches to customers' and users' roles in new service development. These are: Building deep customer understanding; Involving customers as participants in new service development activities; and, Making use of user-generated content and innovations. These three approaches are exemplified by several methods and techniques. The discussion also highlights the importance of careful consideration of the desired role of customers or users in new service development. These issues are focal, especially in terms of allocation of power and responsibilities between in-house development staff and customers or users.
International Journal of Technology Marketing, 2013
This survey of 379 firms in Finland demonstrates that firms commonly innovate their process softw... more This survey of 379 firms in Finland demonstrates that firms commonly innovate their process software, equipment and services for in-house use. The key focus of this study is the transfer of user innovations. 35% of the user innovations in our sample were shared with some other company. User innovations were primarily shared with firms that provided support to the innovation process, and with which the innovator had a prior cooperative relationship. The study further examines the diffusion of user innovations from another, complementary angle: we asked whether firms systematically aim to identify user innovations that are created by their customers. Only a fraction of firms had any systematic programme in use, while the great majority followed user innovations randomly. Finally, the firms reported many different kinds of obstacles to making use of user innovations, which we classified under six thematic categories.
Statistics Finland added questions to the Finnish Community Innovation Survey (CIS) for 2010 on t... more Statistics Finland added questions to the Finnish Community Innovation Survey (CIS) for 2010 on the importance of user innovation. For firms engaged in innovation activity during the three year period, 2008-2010, 30 per cent reported that user modified products were of high or medium importance to them. For user developed products the figure was 13 per cent. These firms, compared with those that did not rank user innovation as highly, had a higher propensity to produce new to the market product innovations and they were more active in producing product innovations by themselves, by collaborating with others, by adapting and adopting products from other firms, and by using products from other firms. The results for user modified and user developed products were found to be consistent with responses to a standard CIS question on whether the product innovation of the firm was done by adapting products developed by others, but the results were not sufficient to say that responses to this question were a consequence, principally, of user innovation. The wider implications of the findings are discussed along with the need for confirmation of the findings in other countries. Both Portugal and Switzerland have incorporated the Finnish CIS 2010 questions into their CIS 2012 and have added additional questions which may show that existing CIS data provide information on the presence of user innovation.
There has been a growing recognition in recent years of the importance of growth and productivity... more There has been a growing recognition in recent years of the importance of growth and productivity increases in service sectors and that service firms are innovative. Despite this acknowledgement, our understanding of innovation and, importantly, the design of innovation policy measures, are still primarily based on the analysis of manufacturing firms. There is thus a need for more knowledge about the particularity of innovation activities in services, and on the implications of increasingly blurred boundaries between manufacturing and services.
Expert services A wide variety of techno-economic, environmental and forestry-related services ma... more Expert services A wide variety of techno-economic, environmental and forestry-related services mainly supplied by: engineering firms and Forest industry consultants, equipment suppliers and their contractors, universities and research institutes. ICT-services Process control and automation, business management systems and global infrastructure mainly sourced from: IT-equipment suppliers, software developers, software service firms, and telecommunication operators. Marketing, logistics and customer interface related services Solutions selling, integrated systems and marketing services mainly supplied by: research institutes, consultants, a wide variety of experts providing specific knowledge for projects requiring cross disciplinary knowledge, experts from customer firms. New business venturing Business incubation and new business venturing type of services provided mainly by: innovation units, inventors, SMEs, business development experts, legal experts (patenting), financing experts and researchers. 3.3.2 The development process of POM-concept 3.3.2.1 The emergence of an idea of compact wet-end system in 1980's 3.3.2.2 The development process from the idea to prototype in 1992-95 3.3.3 The commercialisation of POM-concept 1996 3.3.4 The role of KISAs during the innovation process 4 Summary and discussion 4.1 Forenel cluster faces a global challenge 4.2 KISA role in the renewal of the Forenel cluster 4.3 Evolving changes in value chain and business models 4.3.1 The strategic role of upstream-and downstream services (KISA) 4.3.2 Integration of internal and external KISA 4.3.3 Outsourcing and the use of external KISA 4.4 Innovations and R&D 4.4.1 Supplier driven technological innovations 4.4.2 Increasing importance of user-based innovation 4.5 Policy related issues 4.5.1 Supply of KISA 4.5.2 Demand for KISA
Technological Applications and Advancements in Service Science, Management, and Engineering
This paper applies the service blueprinting method as a tool that can produce a systematic descri... more This paper applies the service blueprinting method as a tool that can produce a systematic description and analysis of an industrial outsourcing service process. The key objective is to characterise critical incidents and potential failure situations from the service provider's perspective. The main benefit of the service blueprinting technique is that it makes the service provision process, failure situations, and relevant actors systematically visible. In this regard, it facilitates more detailed analysis and reveals opportunities for service improvements in the context of industrial outsourcing services. Suggested improvements can facilitate service process improvements that strengthen businesses competitiveness in the marketplace. The analysis also yields more specific suggestions for improvements.
ABSTRACT This paper presents an analytical review of innovation literature identifying its main a... more ABSTRACT This paper presents an analytical review of innovation literature identifying its main approaches to customers' and users' roles in new service development. With increasing activity in the field, the methods and techniques have become plentiful. The key aim is to organise existing knowledge and develop systematic thinking in the area. We first present a framework for customer-and user-driven innovation, which provides a structure for the subsequent literature review. We then elaborate identified three key approaches to customers' and users' roles in new service development. These are: Building deep customer understanding; Involving customers as participants in new service development activities; and, Making use of user-generated content and innovations. These three approaches are exemplified by several methods and techniques. The discussion also highlights the importance of careful consideration of the desired role of customers or users in new service development. These issues are focal, especially in terms of allocation of power and responsibilities between in-house development staff and customers or users.
International Journal of Technology Marketing, 2013
This survey of 379 firms in Finland demonstrates that firms commonly innovate their process softw... more This survey of 379 firms in Finland demonstrates that firms commonly innovate their process software, equipment and services for in-house use. The key focus of this study is the transfer of user innovations. 35% of the user innovations in our sample were shared with some other company. User innovations were primarily shared with firms that provided support to the innovation process, and with which the innovator had a prior cooperative relationship. The study further examines the diffusion of user innovations from another, complementary angle: we asked whether firms systematically aim to identify user innovations that are created by their customers. Only a fraction of firms had any systematic programme in use, while the great majority followed user innovations randomly. Finally, the firms reported many different kinds of obstacles to making use of user innovations, which we classified under six thematic categories.
Statistics Finland added questions to the Finnish Community Innovation Survey (CIS) for 2010 on t... more Statistics Finland added questions to the Finnish Community Innovation Survey (CIS) for 2010 on the importance of user innovation. For firms engaged in innovation activity during the three year period, 2008-2010, 30 per cent reported that user modified products were of high or medium importance to them. For user developed products the figure was 13 per cent. These firms, compared with those that did not rank user innovation as highly, had a higher propensity to produce new to the market product innovations and they were more active in producing product innovations by themselves, by collaborating with others, by adapting and adopting products from other firms, and by using products from other firms. The results for user modified and user developed products were found to be consistent with responses to a standard CIS question on whether the product innovation of the firm was done by adapting products developed by others, but the results were not sufficient to say that responses to this question were a consequence, principally, of user innovation. The wider implications of the findings are discussed along with the need for confirmation of the findings in other countries. Both Portugal and Switzerland have incorporated the Finnish CIS 2010 questions into their CIS 2012 and have added additional questions which may show that existing CIS data provide information on the presence of user innovation.
There has been a growing recognition in recent years of the importance of growth and productivity... more There has been a growing recognition in recent years of the importance of growth and productivity increases in service sectors and that service firms are innovative. Despite this acknowledgement, our understanding of innovation and, importantly, the design of innovation policy measures, are still primarily based on the analysis of manufacturing firms. There is thus a need for more knowledge about the particularity of innovation activities in services, and on the implications of increasingly blurred boundaries between manufacturing and services.
Expert services A wide variety of techno-economic, environmental and forestry-related services ma... more Expert services A wide variety of techno-economic, environmental and forestry-related services mainly supplied by: engineering firms and Forest industry consultants, equipment suppliers and their contractors, universities and research institutes. ICT-services Process control and automation, business management systems and global infrastructure mainly sourced from: IT-equipment suppliers, software developers, software service firms, and telecommunication operators. Marketing, logistics and customer interface related services Solutions selling, integrated systems and marketing services mainly supplied by: research institutes, consultants, a wide variety of experts providing specific knowledge for projects requiring cross disciplinary knowledge, experts from customer firms. New business venturing Business incubation and new business venturing type of services provided mainly by: innovation units, inventors, SMEs, business development experts, legal experts (patenting), financing experts and researchers. 3.3.2 The development process of POM-concept 3.3.2.1 The emergence of an idea of compact wet-end system in 1980's 3.3.2.2 The development process from the idea to prototype in 1992-95 3.3.3 The commercialisation of POM-concept 1996 3.3.4 The role of KISAs during the innovation process 4 Summary and discussion 4.1 Forenel cluster faces a global challenge 4.2 KISA role in the renewal of the Forenel cluster 4.3 Evolving changes in value chain and business models 4.3.1 The strategic role of upstream-and downstream services (KISA) 4.3.2 Integration of internal and external KISA 4.3.3 Outsourcing and the use of external KISA 4.4 Innovations and R&D 4.4.1 Supplier driven technological innovations 4.4.2 Increasing importance of user-based innovation 4.5 Policy related issues 4.5.1 Supply of KISA 4.5.2 Demand for KISA
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Papers by Dr J. Kuusisto