Innovation capabilities in services: a multi-cases approach

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 490-507 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Marques Daniel ◽  
Mauricio Pozzebon de Lima ◽  
Ângela Maria Ferrari Dambros

Purpose Considering the importance of services and innovation for the modern economy and the peculiarities that differentiate services from tangible goods, the purpose of this paper is to better understand how, based on the capabilities approach, innovation takes place in services. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative multi-case study was conducted in five instances of innovation in the fitness market, using a semi-structured questionnaire as devised in Zawislak et al. (2014). Findings The results show that the traditional capabilities framework is limited in explaining service innovation, as there are many levels of intangibility and non-linearity in service provision. Cases show that it is not possible to think of capabilities linearly in the service context. The authors propose that capabilities overlap, and the results show that this is a more accurate way of describing service dynamics. An alternative framework is suggested based on field findings, and a set of propositions are made for future research. Originality/value For many years, services were perceived as non-innovative, complementary activities, geared mainly towards the production of goods. The value of this study is to investigate a topic (innovation) that is widely studied in the industrial sector in a service context, contributing to a largely unexplored field.

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 405-413
Author(s):  
Ruth Tsuria

Purpose This paper aims to argue for the importance of considering religious and cultural background as informing participant's access and attitudes towards digital media. Design/methodology/approach The paper takes a socio-cultural theoretical approach. In terms of methodology, it refers to case studies based on discourse analysis of online content. Findings The paper argues that the online discourse in the case studies presented discourages women from using digital media for their own empowerment. Research limitations/implications Some limitation include that this research focuses only on a case study from Judaism. Future research should examine how other religious traditions impact internet access and uses. Originality/value The paper's contribution is in its novel inclusion of religion as an element of the digital divide.


2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (8) ◽  
pp. 19-21
Author(s):  
Abdul Mannan Khan ◽  
Mehnaz Siddiqui

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine users’ attitude toward the implementation of information technology (IT) on the library of Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS). The paper also aims to explore the hindrances and recommendations for IT-enabled services and find out the present status of automation in the library of SGPGIMS. Design/methodology/approach – A well-structured questionnaire was designed to collect the data for the present study. A thorough survey of the literature was done to examine the findings of the earlier relevant studies. Findings – The results of the survey provide the important information regarding the state-of-the-art of the users of mentioned library. It also finds the barriers due to which overall implication of IT is being delayed. The findings of the study bequeath measures to eradicate the barriers and get the fully automated medical library. Originality/value – The study will have important implications on policymakers, librarians and other higher authorities of SGPGIMS to improve the IT status of their library. It evaluates the users need and points out the measures which can improve the IT status of these libraries.


2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 665-674 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosa Caiazza

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the differences and relations between Italy and Egypt and to identify main risks and opportunities for Italian firms that aim to operate in Egypt. Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents a qualitative analysis realized through some semi-structured questionnaire and a case study. Findings – High cultural difference, legal uncertainty and administrative instability are main problems in internationalization process of Italian firms in Egypt. Despite these problems, Italian firms still invest in Egypt because of economic opportunities and possible interactions. Originality/value – While interest towards Southern Mediterranean countries is increasing, there is little written on this topic. This article aims to fill the gap in literature on internationalization in emerging markets.


2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 619-651 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kotaiba Aal ◽  
Laura Di Pietro ◽  
Bo Edvardsson ◽  
Maria Francesca Renzi ◽  
Roberta Guglielmetti Mugion

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to extend the understanding of innovation in service ecosystems by focussing on the role of values resonance in relation to the integration of brands, service systems and experience rooms. Design/methodology/approach – An empirical, explorative case study of an innovative service system is carried out using a narrative approach and presented in the form of a saga. Findings – Insights gleaned from the empirical study are used for conceptual developments. Analysis of the empirical case study is presented as four lessons linked to values, brands, service systems and experience rooms. Originality/value – The paper extends a conceptual framework of innovative resource integration in service ecosystems. The paper also contributes four propositions to inform theory: values resonance is a basis for service innovation, the innovative integration of brands based on values resonance can foster innovation, the integration of resources across service system boundaries grounded in values resonance can enable innovation and the integration of experience rooms into a coherent servicescape based on values resonance can support novel forms of resource integration and value co-creation efforts in service ecosystems.


2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger W. Hutt

Purpose – The paper aims to increase the understanding of reputational-risk management by examining company responses to potentially reputation-damaging incidents. Design/methodology/approach – Incidents with potential for damaging Starbucks Corporation’s reputation were described and summarized as were the company’s responses to those incidents. Findings – It was observed that the complexity of resolving a reputation-damaging incident was inversely related to its closeness to the company’s core business. Also, the longevity of incidents suggests the persistent influence of past events. Research limitations/implications – Limitations are that findings are not generalizable beyond this case study and that the bulk of the information collected pertained to one of the five incidents examined. Potential hypotheses for future research are suggested. Practical implications – Findings provide reference points and a context for managers responding to reputation-damaging incidents. Originality/value – The paper illustrates how reputation-damaging incidents can be complex and difficult to resolve the more removed they are from the company’s core business.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ludi Price ◽  
Lyn Robinson

PurposeThis article describes the third part of a three-stage study investigating the information behaviour of fans and fan communities, the first stage of which is described in the study by Price and Robinson (2017).Design/methodology/approachUsing tag analysis as a method, a comparative case study was undertaken to explore three aspects of fan information behaviour: information gatekeeping; classifying and tagging and entrepreneurship and economic activity. The case studies took place on three sites used by fans–Tumblr, Archive of Our Own (AO3) and Etsy. Supplementary semi-structured interviews with site users were used to augment the findings with qualitative data.FindingsThese showed that fans used tags in a variety of ways quite apart from classification purposes. These included tags being used on Tumblr as meta-commentary and a means of dialogue between users, as well as expressors of emotion and affect towards posts. On AO3 in particular, fans had developed a practice called “tag wrangling” to mitigate the inherent “messiness” of tagging. Evidence was also found of a “hybrid market economy” on Etsy fan stores. From the study findings, a taxonomy of fan-related tags was developed.Research limitations/implicationsFindings are limited to the tagging practices on only three sites used by fans during Spring 2016, and further research on other similar sites are recommended. Longitudinal studies of these sites would be beneficial in understanding how or whether tagging practices change over time. Testing of the fan-tag taxonomy developed in this paper is also recommended.Originality/valueThis research develops a method for using tag analysis to describe information behaviour. It also develops a fan-tag taxonomy, which may be used in future research on the tagging practices of fans, which heretofore have been a little-studied section of serious leisure information users.


2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (2) ◽  
pp. 255-268
Author(s):  
Miroslava Bavorova ◽  
Diana Traikova ◽  
Juliane Doms

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that influence consumers’ shopping behaviour from farm shops. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Data were gathered in 2015 and 2016 via a quantitative written survey of 135 pedestrians in a structured questionnaire in Naumburg, East Germany. The authors use the variance-based, partial least squares subfamily of structural equation models for the analysis, allowing the authors to investigate the causes of the formation of attitudes, social norms and perceived behavioural control (PBC) related to buying from farm shops. Findings Seen through the TPB prism, the most powerful explanatory construct in the model is PBC. This is followed by favourable attitudes towards buying at the farm gate. Interestingly, the injunctive norms construct is not significant, while the descriptive norms construct is. This means that the observed behaviour of relevant peers is more strongly linked to buying at the farm gate than what significant others want respondents to do. Originality/value Farm shops are one of the innovative distribution channels used by farmers to sell regional products directly to consumers. Studies that analyse the factors that have an effect on consumer behaviour when buying food from farm shops are very scarce. This paper fills this gap and the findings have implications for communications to consumers and labelling.


2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 467-495 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kari Nyland ◽  
Charlotte Morland ◽  
John Burns

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore two hospital departments, one of which is laterally dependent on the other to function, but which are subject to distinct vertical managerial controls. This complexity in vertical–lateral relations generates tension amongst the hospital’s senior managers and a perception of coordination difficulties. However, this paper shows how the interplay between managerial and non-managerial controls, plus important employee “work”, moderates tension and facilitates day-to-day lateral coordination at the patient-facing level. Design/methodology/approach This is a case-study, relying mostly on the findings of semi-structured interviews. Theoretically, the paper draws from previous insights on inter-organisational relations (but informing the focus on intra-organisational coordination) and an “institutional work” perspective. Findings Consistent with much extant literature, this paper reveals how non-managerial controls help to moderate tensions that could emerge from the coercive use of managerial controls. However, the authors also show a maintained influence and flexibility in the managerial controls at patient-facing levels, as new circumstances unfold. Research limitations/implications The findings of this paper could generalise neither all laterally dependent spaces in hospitals nor patterns across different hospitals. The authors recommend future research into the dynamics and interaction of managerial and non-managerial controls in other complex settings, plus focus on the purposeful work of influential agents. Originality/value The paper has two primary contributions: extending our knowledge of the interplay between managerial and non-managerial controls inside complex organisations, where non-managerial controls reinforce rather than displace managerial controls, and highlighting that it is seldom just controls per se which “matter”, but also agents’ purposeful actions that facilitate coordination in complex organisations.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pontus Wadström

PurposeThis paper expands theory on strategists by investigating how non-executive strategy professionals in multi-business firms strategize. In focus is the strategizing of two groups of non-executive strategy professionals: a corporate strategy team and eleven business strategists employed in each of the incorporated units.Design/methodology/approachA case study design was employed to explore privileged accessed data to gain first-hand in-depth qualities of strategists' work. The design was characterized by phenomenon driven immersed participatory insider research with retrospective reflection and theorizing. Data includes strategies, interview data, calendars, meeting minutes, workshop material and observational field notes.FindingsNon-executive strategy professionals in multi-business firms are either employed at the corporate center or in the peripheral businesses. Based on this location and their individual experiences they assume an exclusive content or an inclusive process strategizing orientation. In practice, the groups strategize tightly together.Research limitations/implicationsCase studies are useful in explorative research providing thick descriptions. While empirically rich, the results of this study are limited by the context of one single case. Future research is encouraged to confirm, contradict and refine the results presented.Practical implicationsThe insights from this study can help organizations regarding how to employ strategy professionals in multi-business firms.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to a recognized need to explore strategists' work. In contrary to the majority of existing research, focusing on senior management and/or strategy formulation, this paper highlighted non-executive strategy professionals' strategizing.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Rolando ◽  
Franca Beccaria ◽  
Susanna Ronconi

Purpose Spanning almost 30 years, Italy’s experience with take-home-naloxone (THN) provides an interesting case study on the international scene because of its specific history, regulation and trends in overdose (OD) rates. Accordingly, this study aims to contribute to the evidence base for THN and its delivery in a different setting. Design/methodology/approach The study focuses on service providers’ perceptions of the benefits, risks and barriers associated with THN provision. Data was collected using a mixed-methods approach as follows: an online structured questionnaire (no. of respondents = 63) and two focus groups (no. of total participants = 18). Findings Findings show that service providers believe the benefits of THN far outweigh the risks and accrue to services, as well as users. The study also suggests that the barriers in Italy are mostly ideological and political, and illustrates how resistance to administering THN can re-emerge when ODs are no longer a social emergency. Furthermore, the study found that health and social workers have different attitudes which are also reflected at the level of public and private services, thereby shaping slightly different models of THN supply. Originality/value The study suggests that barriers associated to THN are more ideological and political rather than concrete, which explains why, even where it seems long established, can easily re-emerge once ODs are no longer a social emergency.


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