Eric Stevens

Managing the new service development process: towards a systemic model

Purpose – When compared with the field of new product development, research on new services has seen fewer developments and offers less comprehensive insights. This paper tries to fill this gap by providing empirical findings from two qualitative longitudinal case studies of new service development. Knowledge on the management issues for developing new bank offerings efficiently is limited. Furthermore, recent research suggests that organisational learning can contribute greatly to the success of innovation projects. The aims of this paper are to provide a detailed description of the development process of a new financial product and to identify learning actions that may contribute to its effectiveness.Design/methodology/approach – The paper reports findings from a qualitative, longitudinal case study of a well‐known French bank, and of a retailer. The research focuses on the description of the process, the organisational issues involved and the decision making during the development process.Findings – Th...

New service development through the lens of organisational learning: evidence from longitudinal case studies

Abstract The paper examines the interest and limits of an organisational learning (OL) model for better understanding the new service development process. Based on the literature linking new service development and OL, the opportunity to use Crossan et al.s [Acad. Manage. Rev. 24 (1999) 3.] 4I multilevel learning model in studying new service development process is discussed. In order to test the interest and limits of the model, a longitudinal and comparative case study methodology is described, using two cases of new service development process, the restructuring of the nonfood department of a supermarket and the launch of a new retail bank service package. The empirical findings support the overall interest of the 4I OL model, since several actions and loops of learning were observed, such as intuition, interpretation, integration and institutionalisation. These exploratory results encourage further research to study new service development through an OL lens and provide managers with insights for facilitating learning during the new service development process.

Learning during developing and implementing new bank offerings

Purpose – Knowledge of the management issues for developing new bank offerings efficiently is limited. Furthermore, recent research suggests that organisational learning can contribute greatly to the success of innovation projects. The aims of this paper are to provide a detailed description of the development process of a new financial product and to identify learning actions that may contribute to its effectiveness.Design/methodology/approach – Reports findings from a qualitative, longitudinal case study of a well‐known French bank.Findings – The results revealed an informal development process consisting of a sequence of issues to solve and decisions to make.Research limitations/implications – Though observations fit with the theoretical model, the findings cannot be generalized due to the use of a qualitative methodology. Thus, selecting a development project that brings variance to the scope and degree of innovativeness could enrich the observed learning mechanisms. Second, as services are very heter...

Contribution of virtual teams to learning and knowledge generation in innovation-related projects

Virtual Teams (VTs), consisting of participants from many geographically distant subunits, or even belonging to many organisations and communicating mainly through ICT, are used for the purpose of sharing development costs and shortening the time to market. The paper analyses how a VT may facilitate or prevent learning, knowledge generation, and ideation processes in New Product/Service Development (NP/SD). First, the definition of VTs as a specific form of organisation is discussed. Then a review of what has been written about this kind of organisation is given, to provide a better understanding of how this organisational form may impact the NP/SD process. Given the fact that few studies have been produced on the topic, the main research areas requiring further investigations are identified. Managerial recommendations are offered as a conclusion.

Learning strategies, behaviours and outputs during the service innovation process

Recent research suggests that organisational learning (OL) can contribute greatly to the success of service innovation projects. The article aims at providing insights on: a) learning behaviours used by the actors during the different stages of an innovation process; b) the outputs of these learning behaviours; c) the way these learning behaviours and outputs contribute to the efficiency of the innovation process. It reports findings from a longitudinal case study in retailing. Multiple learning strategies are identified that enhance the effectiveness of the process. Implications for service companies to encourage learning during innovation and opportunities for further research are discussed.