Arto Tolonen

Service productisation: systematising and defining an offering

Purpose The previous literature has indicated that the productisation of services may play a role in service management, although a certain level of obscurity still surrounds the concept. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to clarify the meaning of service productisation (SP) as well as to contribute to a greater understanding of the concept. Design/methodology/approach An inductive analysis was applied to 13 instances of activities related to the productisation of services, with secondary data being analysed to identify practices relevant to SP and to examine their significance. The analysis is guided by an extensive literature review. Findings SP has been found to play a role in systematising and tangibilising a service offering and its related processes as well as in formalising the processes and service offerings. The potential elements of SP have been identified and supporting evidence has been provided. The findings indicate that SP has a specific focus on the offering and its related processes, with the aim being to create a service product that can be sold, delivered and invoiced. SP may utilise various practices and techniques, and customer orientation also plays a significant role. A typology of SP has been created by reflecting on its commercial and technical aspects. Practical implications This study has important implications for the service industry as it provides a structure and key considerations for productising services. Originality/value This study is one of the first to seek evidence for the concept of SP from multiple instances of SP as well as an extensive literature base. The typology created provides a context for discussing SP as well as reflecting on its commercial and technical aspects.

Product development activities over technology life-cycles in different generations

This study aims to capture changes and priorities in product development activities over technology life-cycles. The product development activities are observed through the targets of performance maximising, cost reduction and customisation. Seven models of technology life-cycles are considered to keep track of technology changes over time by following patterns for product development activities. The empirical part of the study is based on analysing a high-tech infrastructure provider on four technology generations. This study depicts different trends of product development activities over technology life-cycles. Different technology generations can have positive and negative interactions which can be strategically beneficial. The managerial implications of this study include comprehensive insights of concurrent technology generations in the context of technology life-cycles which can be beneficial for companies product development planning.

Strategic alignment of product portfolio and supplier management

Product portfolio management (PPM) and supplier management (SM) are integrally linked through products, buy items and related suppliers. However, the connection and alignment between these important activities are not particularly highlighted in the extant literature. Hence, the main objective of this study is to clarify the challenges in connecting PPM and SM to illustrate how they can be aligned. This study recognises and links the roles of PPM and SM to analyse and manage the technical product portfolio, buy items and suppliers according to aligned strategic targets. PPM impacts the performance of SM by regularly renewing the product portfolio, and therefore allowing SM to manage only the buy items and related suppliers that create the highest strategic fit, maximised value and balance for the company. This study recognises the need to align PPM and SM to enhance competitiveness and to focus on the strategic and profitable products and associated suppliers.

Empirical Challenges in the Implementation of IT Portfolio Management: A Survey in Three Companies

The study explores the implementation challenges of Information Technology (IT) portfolio management in three companies. The portfolio approach to IT assets is significant for enabling organisations to make effective use of limited resources by prioritising IT initiatives and also for monitoring and evaluating their performance. In practice, the process facilitates the provision of necessary information for decision makers, allowing them to make rational decisions about IT investments. We found that there is a significant gap between IT portfolio management as discussed in the literature and its actual practice. The analysis showed that there was high flexibility when specifying IT projects, which caused companies to implement IT portfolios that were too broad. As a consequence, resources were not effectively utilised, and IT portfolio evaluations post implementation were rarely conducted. Our research contribution identifies important gaps to be filled in the literature and presents case studies related to IT portfolio management.