The beginning of value co-creation: understanding dynamics, efforts and betterment

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 1145-1166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Chen ◽  
Shirley Ou Yang ◽  
Cheryl Leo
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Diagnostic Value ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Content Type ◽  
A Value ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
Current Value ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand the beginning of value co-creation by uncovering the roles, efforts, and desired outcomes of employees and how they affect employees’ responses to their firm’s co-creation initiatives. Design/methodology/approach This study applies a single case study to explore micro-level processes at the beginning of value co-creation informed by a case about how a Taiwanese firm moved from a conventional to a co-creative business model. Findings The case study findings affirm nine subthemes that underlie three key themes: co-creation dynamics, efforts, and betterment. The authors provide a value co-creation framework that is informed by nine subthemes derived from interview data. Research limitations/implications Current literature on understanding value co-creation processes focuses on formalized co-creation processes which produce diverse and contextually dependent findings. The authors contribute to current value co-creation literature by offering convergent insights into the interplay of dynamics, efforts, and betterment experienced by employees transitioning to a value co-creation process. Practical implications The authors offer a diagnostic value co-creation checklist and propose three benefits of using the checklist, which can help managers mitigate the uncertainty that arises during the transition from a conventional to a co-creation firm. Originality/value The study responds to calls for research to investigate where and when the co-creation of value emerges, value co-creation behavior from employees’ point of view, and employees’ roles in the co-creation of value.

scholarly journals Conflict as it happens

2018 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Virpi-Liisa Kykyri ◽  
Risto Puutio
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Nonverbal Behaviors ◽  
Organizational Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
Interactional Patterns ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeAlthough emotions are relevant for conflicted interactions, the role of emotions in organizational conflicts has remained understudied. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to this by looking at the role of nonverbal affective elements in conversations.Design/methodology/approachBringing together organizational “becoming” and embodiment approaches, the study focused on a conflict which emerged during a multi-actor consulting conversation. The episode in question was analyzed via a detailed, micro-level discursive method which focused specifically on the participants’ use of prosodic and nonverbal behaviors.FindingsChanges in prosody were found to have an important role in how the conflict between a consultant and an employee client emerged and was handled. Nonverbal and prosodic means had a central role in creating legitimate space for the employees’ feelings: they helped to validate the feelings and thus led the interlocutors to act in a more constructive manner in their handling of the conflicted situation.Research limitations/implicationsFindings are based on a single case study. Multi-modal analysis proved effective in capturing the relevant interactions in a comprehensive manner.Practical implicationsConversational “traps” may be observed by becoming alert to interactional patterns involving repeated chains of actions. A nonverbal response, validating the interlocutor as someone who is entitled to her/his feelings, can be sufficient in providing emotional help in consultancy.Social implicationsNonverbal elements of interactions are important in handling delicate issues in conflicts.Originality/valueTo the authors’ knowledge, no previous organizational research has provided a detailed description of a conflicted interaction “as it happened” between clients and a consultant.

“Wag the Dog” initiatives and the corporate immune system

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-127
Author(s):  
Roger Schweizer ◽  
Katarina Lagerström
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Emerging Market ◽  
Content Type ◽  
A Value ◽  
Initiative Process ◽  
Subsidiary Managers ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to contribute to the subsidiary initiative literature by studying the interaction between a headquarters and its subsidiary during an initiative process that has the potential to “wag the corporate dog” that is, for the global corporation’s promising subsidiary initiative in a strategically important emerging market to question the corporation’s prevailing schemata. Design/methodology/approach The longitudinal single case study draws on evidence from the Indian subsidiary of Swedish Volvo Bus and its efforts to introduce a value product in India. Findings The study argues that wag the dog initiatives provoke the corporate immune system independent of the initiative’s potential and the subsidiary’s autonomy and legitimacy. If the idea behind the wag the dog initiative is perceived as strategically important for the multinational corporation, then the corporate immune system tries to engulf – most likely unsuccessfully – the idea within the prevailing schemata. Failed attempts to engulf the initiative weaken the corporate immune system temporarily, thereby opening the organization to revitalization of the original initiative. Resistance, even though weakened, from the corporate immune system continues to exist. Practical implications Subsidiary managers need to avoid having their headquarters perceive an initiative as a wag the dog initiative by balancing their need to sell persistently the initiative with avoiding negative attention. Originality/value This study is a pioneer in explaining how the corporate immune system reacts towards wag the dog initiatives taken from subsidiaries in large emerging markets.

Unmasking conflict in vertical coopetition

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anni Rajala ◽  
Annika Tidström
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Manufacturing Sector ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Multiple Levels ◽  
A Company ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
And Task

Purpose The purpose of this study is to increase understanding about vertical coopetition from the perspective of interrelated conflict episodes on multiple levels. Design/methodology/approach The empirical part is based on a qualitative single case study of a coopetitive buyer-supplier relationship in the manufacturing sector. Findings Conflicts in vertical coopetition evolve from being merely functional and task-related to becoming dysfunctional and relationship-related, as the level of competition increases. The nature of conflict episodes influences the development of vertical coopetition, and therefore, the interrelatedness of conflict episodes is important to acknowledge. Practical implications Although a conflict is considered functional within a company, it may still be dysfunctional as far as the coopetitive relationship with the buyer or seller is concerned. Competition may trigger conflicts related to protecting own technology and knowledge, which may lead to termination of the cooperation, therefore coopetition should be managed in a way that balance sharing and protecting important knowledge to get advantages of coopetition. Originality/value The findings enhance prior research on vertical coopetition by offering new perspectives on causes of conflicts, their management, outcomes and types. The value of taking a multilevel approach lies in the ability to show how conflicts occur and influence other conflicts through the interrelatedness of conflict elements on different levels.

scholarly journals Purchasing’s tasks at the interface between internal and external networks

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 159-171
Author(s):  
Steffen Muxoll Bastholm ◽  
Kristin B. Munksgaard
Keyword(s):  
User Interface ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Relationship Management ◽  
Single Case Study ◽  
Design Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Case Study Design ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The strategic importance of the purchasing function increases, as its task become more dynamic in various interfaces with different suppliers. Changes in these customer–supplier interfaces pose specific challenges. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the purchasing function handles the interplay of interface changes. Design/methodology/approach This study applies a qualitative single case study design. Data are collected through observations and interviews conducted before, during and after a concrete change of interface taking place between a buying firm and its suppliers and customers. Findings Three main findings are identified to redefine the tasks of the purchasing function. The first concerns the new ways of defining the purchasing tasks. The main issue is to balance tasks with the simultaneous changes influencing other interfaces and relationships. The second is the division and alignment of tasks in intra- and inter-organizational networks with regards to who decides and coordinates what. Third, the inter-connected performance relates to how other actors perform their tasks. For the purchasing function, managing supplier interfaces influences and is influenced by how the firm simultaneously manages its user interface. Practical implications For management, a new way to evaluate the performance of the purchasing function is needed by including relationship management and interactive capabilities. Originality/value This study contributes with new insights into how managing the dynamics of changing interfaces requires interactively defined purchasing tasks, division and alignment of tasks and inter-connected performance vis-à-vis others in the wider network setting.

Learning crisis unit through post-crisis: characteristics and mechanisms

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 198-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hela Chebbi ◽  
Aline Pereira Pündrich
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Learning Cycle ◽  
Learning Mechanisms ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Effective Learning ◽  
Oil Company ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Mixed Framework

Purpose – This paper aims to identify the characteristics that a crisis unit should have to achieve effective learning after crisis. Literature has identified many relations between learning organizations and crisis; yet, there is a dearth of research on specific studies about crisis units and their post-crisis learning features. Thus, this paper aims to fill such a gap by giving some practical answers to this question: How can the crisis unit reduce defensiveness phase and extend openness and forgetfulness while learning after the crisis? Design/methodology/approach – This research mobilizes a framework composed by three theoretical grids: the post-crisis learning cycle (Kovoor-Misra and Nathan, 2000); the characteristics of a learning organization (Senge, 1990); and the mechanisms of crisis learning (Mitki and Herstein, 2011). A qualitative investigation is conducted to study a crisis within an oil company (PON). Findings – This paper shows that the duration of the learning cycle depends not only on the organization context but also on the characteristics of the crisis unit. Along with the cognitive, structural and procedural mechanisms, which contributed differently in each phase, the mixed framework allowed operationalizing Senge’s dimensions. Research limitations/implications – The elaboration of a single case study could be considered as a limitation, although it allows a deeper analysis of events within the organization. Practical implications – This paper pinpoints the characteristics that organizations should have as well as the learning mechanisms they should use during each phase of the post-crisis learning cycle. Originality/value – This paper analyzes crisis units as learning structures, which has not been seen yet in known literature.

Informal learning spaces (ILS) in university libraries and their campuses

2016 ◽  
Vol 117 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 49-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Cunningham ◽  
Graham Walton
Keyword(s):  
Informal Learning ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
University Libraries ◽  
Learning Spaces ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – This paper aims to explore at Loughborough University (UK) how informal learning spaces (ILS) are used by students in the Library and elsewhere on campus. Focus includes learning activities undertaken by students, reasons why the ILS is chosen, suggestions on how they can be improved and how technologies are used. Comparison will be drawn between how students use Library ILS and other ILS. Design/methodology/approach – Case study based at Loughborough University and its Library. Semi-structured interviews were held with 265 students in various ILS spaces across campus. Findings – Similarities and differences are present in the way students use Library ILS compared with other ILS campus spaces. These include impact of campus geography and individual academic levels of students. Research limitations/implications – This is a single case study and the results can only relate to Loughborough University. There may be some lessons and themes that are relevant to other universities. The number of interviewees is relatively small. Practical implications – Highlights the need for cooperation between various university stakeholders to strategically and operationally manage different ILS on campus. Originality/value – This is one of the very few studies that investigate together the range of ILS including the Library in a comparative approach.

Maddi Faith in conversation with Jerome Carson

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-16
Author(s):  
Maddi Faith ◽  
Jerome Carson
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a profile of Maddi Faith. Design/methodology/approach In this single case study, Maddi gives a short background and the origins of her mental health issues and is then interviewed by Jerome. Findings Maddi tells the authors how her problems developed in her childhood and of the journey she has been on since. Research limitations/implications Single case studies provide a single perspective. Yet are they of any less value than a commentary by an academic? On the contrary, many offer unique insights into how the authors provide services for people with mental health problems, and of better ways to help them. Practical implications Maddi raises the issue of “falling between services”, with the result that the individual concerned does not receive the help they need. Social implications The persistent stigma of mental health problems is an issue that will need to be addressed for decades if it is to be overcome. Personal witness is vital in tackling this issue. Maddi has already done a lot to address this through her work at University. Originality/value The Trust the second author worked for, for many years used to have a staff “Made a Difference” award. Maddi surely deserves such an award for her own efforts to develop our understanding of the realities of mental health problems.

How non-executive strategy professionals in multi-business firms strategize

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pontus Wadström
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Corporate Strategy ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Strategy Formulation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Case Study Design ◽  
Field Notes ◽  
Practical Implications

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.

scholarly journals How do R&D employees use their social networks to acquire user information?

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 919-936 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl Wadell ◽  
Jennie Björk ◽  
Mats Magnusson
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Mixed Method ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Medical Technology ◽  
Single Case ◽  
New Products ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cost Efficient ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – This article aims to investigate how R&D employees use their social networks to acquire user information and how this information is used in the development of new products. Design/methodology/approach – A single case study was conducted within a business unit at a multinational medical technology company. Data were collected through a mixed method. Findings – The results show that many R&D employees lack social networks through which they can acquire information about the users’ needs. However, some R&D employees establish cost-efficient relationships to people with a direct experience of using the company’s products. These relationships are established over time and are often used in a rather informal way to acquire user information. Moreover, the results show how R&D employees are purposefully complementing these relationships with more occasional interactions with people who hold direct and indirect use experiences. Research limitations/implications – As with most single-case studies, it will be important to replicate this investigation in other contexts to clarify the generalizability of the findings. Practical implications – The article shows how important it is that management provides R&D employees with opportunities to establish, nurture and utilize relationships conducive to information about the users’ needs. The article provides some advice on how this can be accomplished. Originality/value – This is one of the first articles that clearly explain how R&D employees use their social networks to acquire user information for the development of new products.

The project-space model: enhancing sensemaking

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 185-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bronte van der Hoorn ◽  
Stephen Jonathan Whitty
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
Project Managers ◽  
Project Teams ◽  
Framework Analysis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Space Model ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose the project-space model as positively influencing sensemaking in the project context. There is currently minimal discussion of the tools used by project managers, teams and stakeholders to build their map of the project terrain or to make sense of a project’s status. However, such sensemaking is critical to ongoing decision making and aligning action in any project. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses framework analysis to examine the results of a completed action research case study that utilised a tool: the project-space model. Three frameworks are then utilised as an investigative lens to examine how the project-space model influenced sensemaking. Findings The project-space model is found to enhance sensemaking within the case study. Specifically, its visual nature, the focus it brings to the plurality of experience and the need for plausibility rather than precision in understanding. Research limitations/implications The findings are based on a single case study. Further studies could be undertaken to confirm extensibility. Practical implications The project-space model is identified as having a favourable impact on sensemaking in the case study project. There is a need to consider what other tools are currently used or could be used by project teams to enhance sensemaking. Originality/value Empirical, contextualised case study research highlighting the value of the project-space model as a sensemaking tool. Contribution to evidence on the efficacy of the project-space model as a useful tool for project managers.

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