scholarly journals Value creation logics and internationalization of service firms

2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 557-575 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter D. Ørberg Jensen ◽  
Bent Petersen

Purpose – While mainstream theories in international business and management are foundedeither explicitly or implicitly on studies of manufacturing firms, prior attempts to develop theoryon the internationalization of service firms are sparse and have yet to establish solid andcomprehensive frameworks. The thrust of this study is that value creation logics, a constructoriginally developed by Stabell and Fjeldstad (1998) can assist us in better understanding why and how service firms internationalize. The authors extend this construct and propose that the internationalization of service firms must be based on a thorough understanding of the fundamental nature of these firms. Design/methodology/approach – Theoretical study. Findings – The authors put forward propositions concerning the pace of internationalization and the default foreign operation modes in service firms. Research limitations/implications – The use of value creation logics can be a useful complement to the conventional approaches to the study of service firms’ internationalization. However, the fact that most firms encompass more than one value creation logic complicates the use of firm databases and industry statistics. Practical implications – The authors suggest that managers in service firms should consider primarily the nature of the value creation logic(s) in their firms when deciding and designing an internationalization strategy. Originality/value – The study presents a novel theoretical approach and a set of propositions on service firm internationalization founded on the specific characteristics of the service activities.

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 455-471
Author(s):  
Jorge Cruz-Cárdenas ◽  
Jorge Guadalupe-Lanas ◽  
Ekaterina Zabelina ◽  
Andrés Palacio-Fierro ◽  
Margarita Velín-Fárez ◽  
...  

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand in-depth how consumers create value in their lives using WhatsApp, the leading mobile instant messaging (MIM) application. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts the perspective of customer-dominant logic (CDL) and uses a qualitative multimethod design involving 3 focus groups and 25 subsequent in-depth interviews. The research setting was Ecuador, a Latin American country. Findings Analysis and interpretation of the participants’ stories made it possible to identify and understand the creation of four types of value: maintaining and strengthening relationships; improving role performance; emotional support; and entertainment and fun. In addition, the present study proposes a conceptual model of consumer value creation as it applies to MIM. Practical implications Understanding the way consumers create value in their lives using MIM is important not only for organizations that offer MIM applications, but also for those companies that develop other applications for mobile phones or for those who wish to use MIM as an electronic word-of-mouth vehicle. Originality/value The current study is one of the first to address the topic of consumer behavior in the use of technologies from the perspective of CDL; this perspective enables an integrated qualitative vision of value creation in which the consumer is the protagonist.


2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 16-22
Author(s):  
Brian Leavy

Purpose With the growing importance of services in the overall economy, it is surprising that the notion of service firms investing in systematic and dedicated innovation activities has taken so long to materialize. This is now set to change as service firms undertake the kind of research, design and development disciplines which for more than a century have been mainstays of modern manufacturing. Design/methodology/approach S&L interviews the well-known former editor of Harvard Business Review Thomas A. Stewart and his co-author, former BloombergBusinessweek.com editor Patricia O’Connell, in their latest book, Woo, Wow and Win: Service Design, Strategy and the Art of Customer Delight (Harper Business, 2016). They believe we are on the cusp of a “design revolution” in services. Findings The central thesis of their book is that services “should be designed with as much care as products are” and they include service “delivery” in that premise. Practical implications Service design principles offer powerful new ways to address the three basic strategy questions: What do we sell? To whom? And how do we win? Originality/value Service design helps you understand how to configure a set of activities, behaviors and touchpoints–a journey–that allows you to serve that customer well.


2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denitsa Blagoeva Hazarbassanova

Purpose The purpose of the research is to put to a test the belief that the idiosyncratic internationalisation process of Internet firms is homogeneous. The research question is thus, “How does the value creation logic of Internet firms influence their internationalisation process?”. Design/methodology/approach The authors answer this question using three cases illustrating the internationalisation process of three pure play digital service firms, each falling into one value creation logic. Findings Each case company had a different approach to internationalisation, explained by a different theory. The firms differed in what their motivation was to internationalise, how they dealt with their liability of foreignness and how they learnt to internationalise. The differences were consistent with the specificities of their value creation. The contribution of this paper is to take the first steps towards linking the way firms create value with their internationalisation. What theory best explains the internationalization of IFs seems contingent on what firms do. Practical implications The message to practitioners is that international strategy not only can but also needs to be different across firms. It needs to be tailored to the concrete way a firm endeavours to generate and capture value. “One strategy fits most” is unlikely to succeed, because different value propositions demand different approaches to realising them. Originality/value In extant literature, IFs have been treated as one group, albeit distinct from “offline” firms. This paper proposes that the value creation process of IFs causes them to differ from each other, just as much as they differ from traditional firms.


2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 19-21

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings This research paper highlights how circular economy business models focus on the regenerative value creation inherent in reusing resources and waste. Circular startup transformations see founders moving out of sustainability-focused mindsets and into taking specific action to construct innovative circular business models. The purpose-led founders combined environmental and economic goals to produce scalable engines capable of inspiring and educating customers and larger companies on the beauty of reusing waste. Solving universal problems at their business model design stage allowed the Polish startups – for example, EcoBean who make renewable energy coffee briquettes from coffee waste – to offer value to international customers. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.


2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 201-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine M. Van Winkle ◽  
Amanda Cairns ◽  
Kelly J. MacKay ◽  
Elizabeth A. Halpenny

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand mobile device (MD) use in a festival context. Festivals offer a range of opportunities and activities to use a MD making this context ideal for understanding digital experiences during leisure. The guiding research question asked how do festival attendees use MDs at festivals. The Typology of Human Capability (THC) provided a framework to enhance the understanding of digital experiences at festivals. Design/methodology/approach This research involved six festival case studies where semi-structured interviews were conducted with attendees on-site. Interview questions focused on how festival attendees used MDs during the festival. Data were analyzed using directed content analysis guided by the THC. Findings On-site interviews with 168 attendees revealed that data support the THC dimensions and constructs (sensing, linking, organizing and performing). This typology advances the understanding of the range of digital customer experiences currently available at festivals. Research limitations/implications The addition of context to the THC is recommended to enhance its utility in application. As a limited number of festivals were included, the specific findings may not apply to all festivals but the implications are relevant to a range of festivals. Practical implications Operational definitions of the THC constructs within the festival setting were identified and provide opportunities for developing digital experience offerings. Originality/value This study provided the first comprehensive examination of MD use in festival contexts and in so doing offered data in support of Korn and Pine’s (2011) THC. The findings reveal opportunities for modifying the THC to increase its applicability in a range of settings.


2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 128-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judy Zolkiewski

Purpose This paper aims to debate the challenges related to balancing relevance and ranking in management research. Design/methodology/approach This is a commentary on and review of challenges faced by twenty-first century management academics. Findings There is a chasm between managerial relevance and current managerial research; however, with academic buy-in, there are ways in which the chasm can be crossed. Research limitations/implications The implications of this are wide reaching for management researchers. They are challenged to consider different methodologies, strategies and dissemination avenues for their research. Practical implications Researchers need to consider not only collaboration with practitioners, as they pursue solutions to managerial problems, but also more inter-disciplinary research that addresses the wicked problems of management in practice. Social implications Solving the challenge of managerial relevance of business research has the potential to allow the contribution of business academia to be fully appreciated by practitioners. Originality/value The value of this thought-piece is that it challenges business and management academics to challenge the status quo and fight to make their research relevant to and valued by the business world.


2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 104-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina Heinonen ◽  
Tore Strandvik ◽  
Päivi Voima

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to extend current discussions of value creation and propose a customer dominant value perspective. The point of origin in a customer‐dominant marketing logic (C‐D logic) is the customer, rather than the service provider, interaction or the system. The focus is shifted from the company's service processes involving the customer, to the customer's multi‐contextual value formation, involving the company.Design/methodology/approachValue formation is contrasted to earlier views on the company's role in value creation in a conceptual analysis focusing on five central aspects. Implications of the proposed characteristics of value formation compared to earlier approaches are put forward.FindingsThe paper highlights earlier hidden aspects on the role of a service for the customer. It is proposed that value is not always an active process of creation; instead, value is embedded and formed in the highly dynamic and multi‐contextual reality and life of the customer. This leads to a need to look beyond the line of visibility focused on visible customer‐company interactions, to the invisible and mental life of the customer. From this follows a need to extend the temporal scope, from exchange and use even further to accumulated experiences in the customer's life and ecosystem.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper is conceptual. It discusses and presents a customer‐dominant value perspective and suggests implications for empirical research and practice.Practical implicationsAwareness of the mechanism of the customer value formation process provides companies with new insight on the service strategy, service design and new service innovations.Originality/valueThe paper contributes by extending the value construct through a new customer dominant value perspective, recognizing value as multi‐contextual and dynamic based on customers' life and ecosystem. The findings mark out new avenues for future research.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lino Markfort ◽  
Alexander Arzt ◽  
Philipp Kögler ◽  
Sven Jung ◽  
Heiko Gebauer ◽  
...  

PurposeThe emergence of Internet of Things (IoT) platforms in product companies opens up new data-driven business opportunities. This paper looks at the emergence of these IoT platforms from a business-model perspective.Design/methodology/approachThe study applies a mixed method with two research studies: Study I–a cluster analysis based on a quantitative survey, and Study II–case studies based on qualitative interviews.FindingsThe findings reveal that there is no gradual shift in a company's business model, but in fact three distinct and sequential patterns of business model innovations: (1) platform skimming, (2) platform revenue generation and (3) platform orchestration.Research limitations/implicationsThe results are subject to the typical limitations of both quantitative and qualitative studies.Practical implicationsThe results provide guidance to managers on how to modify the components of the business model (value proposition, value creation and/or delivery and profit equation) in order to enable platforms to advance.Social implicationsAs IoT platforms continue to advance, product companies achieve better performance in terms of productivity and profitability, and more easily secure competitive advantages and jobs.Originality/valueThe paper makes three original contributions: (1) it is the first quantitative study on IoT platforms in product companies, (2) identifies three patterns of business model innovations and (3) offers a first process perspective for understanding the sequence of these patterns as IoT platforms advance.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 825-838
Author(s):  
Barry Ardley ◽  
Eleanor McIntosh ◽  
John McManus

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to examine the extent of value co-creation activity that exists in online brand communities. The approach was to use elements of practice theory to analyse the member-to-member Adult Fans of Lego (AFOL) communityDesign/methodology/approachThe method adopted was netnography based on a study of eight LEGO Facebook groups. The study involved the collection of data in the form of text and images. Over a period of several months, the interactions between the AFOL ‘MEMBERS’ was examined and analysed.FindingsUsing the characteristics of brand communities established by Muniz and O'Guinn as an investigative framework, the research established that there exists a range of co-creation practices in the AFOL communities revolving around engagement procedures and understandings.Practical implicationsA range of strategies is revealed into how co-creation is established and maintained in an online community having key implications for the management of business processes.Originality/valueWith limited previous research on member-to-member brand communities using practice theory, this paper demonstrates that customer skills and knowledge are now a central aspect of value creation, demonstrating a shift away from the firm as the sole provider of worth.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Irshad Ali ◽  
Sumit Lodhia ◽  
Anil K. Narayan

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the use of legitimacy strategies via the usage of photographic disclosures in sustainability reporting as an attempt towards creating value. Design/methodology/approach This study used visual content analysis to identify disclosure trends and value creation themes from sustainability-related photographs in the annual and sustainability reports of Fonterra Co-operative Group over a ten-year period. The findings were interpreted using legitimacy theory. Findings The findings show a significant increase in the usage of photographs to legitimise and reinforce the organisation’s sustainability messages. The photographs are dominated by images signalling to stakeholders’ positive sustainability messages, as a systematic method for managing stakeholder expectations to maintain, gain and even repair legitimacy. A majority of photographs have supporting textual narrative, which could be construed as an attempt by the company to make their sustainability messages explicit and provide greater legitimacy of activities and performance with the ultimate aim of enhancing organisational value. Research limitations/implications This study contributes towards an in-depth understanding of attempts at seeking legitimacy and creating organisational value through the systematic usage of photographic disclosures in sustainability reporting. Practical implications This study has the potential to inform stakeholders on linkages between sustainability photographs, value creation and legitimacy. It can help inform and assist report preparers, designers and users on the potential of photographs as a substantive medium to manage legitimacy in sustainability reporting. Originality/value This paper adds to the scant literature on the growing use of photographs as a value adding apparatus in sustainability reporting. This paper also extends the applicability of legitimacy theory to visual disclosure and suggests that legitimacy can be systematically sought to create value.


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