Factors of successful client co-production in knowledge-intensive business services

Kybernetes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-164
Author(s):  
Malgorzata Zieba ◽  
Paweł Kończyński
Keyword(s):  
Production Process ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Successful Outcome ◽  
Business Services ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Knowledge Intensive Business Services ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Firm Cooperation ◽  
Knowledge Intensive

Purpose This paper aims to explore the topic of client co-production in knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS). The paper first sketches a theoretical background and reviews previous studies on factors affecting successful client co-production in such companies and then examines these factors via case study research among a small KIBS company and its five customers. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on an in-depth analysis of literature devoted to client co-production in KIBS firms and on the results of case studies analysis. The authors explore theoretically and empirically the perception of factors behind a successful client co-production process of a KIBS company from the point of view of both customers and service provider. The examination resulted in the clarification of what a successful client-KIBS firm cooperation should look like and what kind of actions KIBS firms should undertake to provide it. Findings As the analysis shows, to perceive client-KIBS firm cooperation as successful, customers desire on hand immediate effects that would justify and compensate their time and money investments (e.g. new clients or brand recognition) and on the other hand, some of them desire positive changes in longer-term, which tangible form is associated with the newly obtained knowledge and more importantly, freshly developed and written strategy. Among the factors that influence the co-production process one can list teamwork, trust, communication and knowledge flows. Research limitations/implications Research results are limited to one KIBS company operating in Poland and its five customers. As such, they are not conclusive for the whole KIBS sector. The findings of both literature review and case study analysis indicate that there are several outcomes that are expected from the point of view of a KIBS customer when selecting the service of a KIBS company. The paper examines important aspect of service co-production and provides practical guidelines how cooperation between KIBS firms and their customers should look like. Practical implications The paper examines the relationship between a client and a KIBS company and explores the factors influencing the successful outcome of this relation. The paper provides guidelines on how this type of relation should be handled by managers or owners of KIBS firms. Originality/value The paper contributes to the literature on KIBS firms, especially in the scarce area of practical mechanics of their cooperation with customers. The paper also suggests further research possibilities in this area.

Productivity dispersion in the Italian knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) industry: a multilevel analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Domenico Campisi ◽  
Paolo Mancuso ◽  
Stefano Luigi Mastrodonato ◽  
Donato Morea
Keyword(s):  
Multilevel Models ◽  
Geographic Location ◽  
Productivity Index ◽  
Data Envelopment ◽  
Business Services ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Knowledge Intensive Business Services ◽  
Multifactor Productivity ◽  
Knowledge Intensive ◽  
Business Sectors

PurposeThis paper aims to provide an analysis of the productivity evolution of a sample of 18,459 knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) firms operating in Italy over the period 2012–2018. The interaction between productivity heterogeneity firm localization and firm sector of business are also analyzed.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical setting is based on data envelopment analysis (DEA) to measure the multifactor productivity index (MPI) and on the multilevel models to investigate if the source of productivity heterogeneity among the Italian KIBS are due to the geographic location and/or to the specific business sectors in which firms operate. Data have been gathered from the AIDA database, which contains financial data of all Italian firms.FindingsThe empirical results show that MPI heterogeneity in the Italian KIBS firms' is sensitive to the regional context in which firms operate to the specific KIBS sector and above all at the interactions arising between region and sector.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to identify the source of productivity dispersion in the Italian KIBS.

Knowledge intensive business services: innovation and occupations

foresight ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 377-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Douglas Miles ◽  
Veronika Belousova ◽  
Nikolay Chichkanov
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Work Organisation ◽  
Business Services ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Knowledge Intensive Business Services ◽  
Knowledge Intensive ◽  
Innovation Patterns

Purpose The literature on knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) shows them to be major innovators; this is confirmed with recent data, which the authors use to examine the various types of innovation that KIBS undertake. The implications for employment and work in highly innovative industries are important topics for analysis, not least because we are in a period where dramatic claims are being made as to the implications of new technologies for professional occupations. Thus, this paper aims to address major debates and conclusions concerning innovation patterns in KIBS and the evolving structures of professional and other work in these industries. Design/methodology/approach This essay combines literature review with presentation and discussion of statistics that throw light on the patterns of innovation that characterise KIBS. The authors also consider data that concern trends in the organisation of work in these industries; while the focus is mainly on KIBS firms, they also pay some attention to KIBS-like work in other sectors. Even though KIBS are distinctive industries in modern economies, these analyses can be related to more general studies of, and forecasts about, changes in work organisation. Findings The authors show that innovation patterns and employment structures vary substantially across different types of KIBS, with the distinction between technological, professional and creative KIBS proving to be useful for capturing these differences. The authors are also able to demonstrate important long- and medium-term trends in the structure and activities of the KIBS industries. In particular, data clearly demonstrate the increasing share of professional as against associate and clerical workers in most KIBS. Evidence also suggests that polarisation trends across the economy are mirrored, and in some cases amplified, in KIBS. The future prospects for employment in KIBS, and for professional work in particular, are seen to involve multiple factors, which together may bring about substantial change. Research limitations/implications The study involves literature review and industry-level statistical analysis. Future work would benefit from firm-level analysis and validation and explication of results via consultation with practitioners and users of KIBS. Some puzzling variations across countries and sectors will need to be explored with national and sectoral experts. Practical implications Research into KIBS activities, and their future, should make more use of the extensive statistics on employment and other structural features of the industries that have become available in recent years. KIBS firms and practitioners will need to take account of the forces for change that are liable to restructure their activities. Originality/value The literature on KIBS has been concentrated on a rather narrow range of issues, while analysis of the current contributions and future development of the industries requires attention to a wider range of topics. This paper suggests how these topics may be investigated and their implications explored and presents results of enquiries along these lines.

Revealing business customers’ hidden value formation in service

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 1145-1159
Author(s):  
Tore Strandvik ◽  
Kristina Heinonen ◽  
Sanna Vollmer
Keyword(s):  
Service Provider ◽  
Customer Value ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Information And Communications Technology ◽  
Service Development ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Knowledge Intensive ◽  
Business Customers ◽  
Service Businesses

Purpose This paper aims to identify how, in contrast to a provider-oriented stance where customer value is conceptualised as being controlled by the provider, customer value is formed for business customers beyond what is visible to the provider. Design/methodology/approach This paper builds on the primacy of the customer. Customer-dominant logic (CDL) is used as the conceptual underpinning, meaning that the customer, rather than the service provider or the service system, is at the centre. A case study was conducted with seven key users from three customer companies of an information and communications technology (ICT) provider of in-house services. The study used a micro-social level focus by capturing customers’ experiences of those activities where value in use is formed. Findings The findings indicate that value formation is not related only to direct service interactions and furthermore substantially takes place beyond a service provider’s visibility line. Hence, value formation is in large part hidden for the service provider because it is embedded in customers’ activities and experiences. Research limitations/implications Although the study is limited to one case concerning ICT services, these findings may apply to other service businesses, in particular to knowledge-intensive outsourcing businesses. Practical implications Understanding a customer’s value formation from the customer’s point of view is the key to service development for any business service provider. Originality/value Applying a CDL approach, the authors deepen the understanding of customer value formation as it emerges in customer activities. The study provides detailed insight into business customers’ value formation processes. The study’s findings challenge the current emphasis on interactions and co-creation and instead demonstrate the importance of understanding customer logics and contexts.

scholarly journals PROCESOS DE INNOVACIÓN EN LA PRODUCCIÓN DE SOFTWARE EN ARGENTINA. UN ESTUDIO DE CASO

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hernán Alejandro Morero ◽  
Carina Borrastero ◽  
Jorge José Motta
Keyword(s):  
Work Organization ◽  
Innovation Process ◽  
It Services ◽  
Business Services ◽  
Knowledge Intensive Business Services ◽  
Developed Economies ◽  
Software Production ◽  
Innovation Surveys ◽  
Knowledge Intensive

El objetivo general del trabajo es analizar en profundidad los procesos de innovación y desarrollo de capacidades en una firma de software y servicios informáticos (SSI) de Argentina. En función de ello se indaga sobre el proceso de innovación en dicha actividad; el papel de las competencias técnicas y organizacionales en este proceso; las particularidades de la organización del trabajo y su influencia en el desarrollo de capacidades y resultados de innovación; las vinculaciones y su incidencia en la propensión a innovar y capacidades de la firma. Se seleccionó una empresa de software dinámica de la ciudad de Córdoba y se estudiaron de modo cualitativo y comparativo dos proyectos tecnológicos innovadores. El marco teórico de referencia está basado centralmente en la nueva literatura sobre Economía del Conocimiento, en particular, en antecedentes de investigación sobre un tipo especial de servicios que en las últimas décadas ha generado un interés creciente: Knowledge Intensive Business Services (KIBS), caracterizados por producir insumos inmateriales intensivos en conocimiento para los procesos de negocio en otras organizaciones que dependen fuertemente del conocimiento profesional. Entre ellos, el sector de SSI es uno de los más innovadores en países desarrollados y también en algunas economías emergentes. En este contexto, cobra relevancia un estudio que profundice en la naturaleza misma del proceso innovador en empresas de SSI. Ello puede generar aportes significativos al diseño de instrumentos de medición de la innovación que se encuentran en diversos estadios de desarrollo y prueba.AbstractThe objective of the paper is to analyze the innovation and capacity building process in the software production in Argentina, throw a deep unique case study. The dimensions taken into account are the innovation process itself and the role of technical and organizational capacities; the particularities of the work organization of the firm and their relation on the innovation results and the competences building; and the influences of linkages over the firm’s innovative propensity. As a case study, a dynamic software firm from Córdoba city (Argentina) was selected, and were studied form a qualitative approach two innovative technological projects from the firm. The theoretical roots of the study are in innovation and knowledge economics, and in the Knowledge Intensive Business Services (KIBS) literature. KIBS are characterized by produce intangibles knowledge-intensive which require high levels of qualified staff and usually low levels of capital goods. Within the KIBS sectors, the software and related IT services sector is one of the most innovative in developed economies and in some catching-up economies as well. In this background, a study of the nature of the innovation process in the software sector is highly relevant, as a contribution to the design of specific innovation surveys to the sector, that are actually in diverse stages of development and testing.  

scholarly journals The drug logistics process: an innovative experience

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 214-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberta Pinna ◽  
Pier Paolo Carrus ◽  
Fabiana Marras
Keyword(s):  
Distribution System ◽  
Distribution Systems ◽  
Drug Distribution ◽  
Care Quality ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Unit Dose ◽  
Logistics Process

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the latest innovations in the drug distribution processes of hospital companies, which are currently dealing with high inventory and storage costs and fragmented organizational responsibilities. Design/methodology/approach – The literature review and the in-depth analysis of a case study support the understanding of the unit dose drug distribution system and the subsequent definition of the practical implications for hospital companies. Findings – Starting from the insights offered by the case study, the analysis shows that the unit dose system allows hospitals to improve the patient care quality and reduce costs. Research limitations/implications – The limitations of the research are those related to the theoretical and exploratory nature of the study, but from a practical point of view, the work provides important indications to the management of healthcare companies, which have to innovate their drug distribution systems. Originality/value – This paper analyzes a new and highly topical issue and provides several insights for the competitive development of a fundamental sector.

scholarly journals Evolving value propositions in knowledge-intensive business services

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (8) ◽  
pp. 1153-1164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eija-Liisa Heikka ◽  
Satu Nätti
Keyword(s):  
Customer Relationships ◽  
Customer Relationship ◽  
Value Proposition ◽  
Business Services ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Knowledge Intensive Business Services ◽  
Comprehensive Picture ◽  
Value Propositions ◽  
Knowledge Intensive ◽  
Context Specific

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore what value dimensions and related value components are highlighted in the value proposition of knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS), both at the relationship and project levels, how value propositions can differ between new and established customer relationships, and finally what is characteristic to the evolution of value proposition in the KIBS context. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a comparative, qualitative multiple case study method. Findings The aim is to offer a comprehensive picture of the variety of value components in KIBS relationships, likewise, how the nature and composition of value proposition changes as a relationship evolves from conducting a single project toward a more established customer relationship. Individual experts seem to possess a crucial role in that development. Originality/value This study contributes theoretically by providing insights into the current literature on core dimensions and components of value propositions in this specific context, and differences there can be between new and established customer relationships. The study also offers much-needed, context-specific knowledge of knowledge-intensive services for managers. Empirically, these findings reflect the perspectives of both the service provider and four of its customers, ensuring a multi-sided description of the phenomenon.

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