Giulia Nardelli

Innovation dialectics: an extended process perspective on innovation in services

ABSTRACT Services are characterised by the involvement of customers and other interest groups in the innovation process. The aim of this study is to understand how and why, in the service context, tensions and potential conflicts between heterogeneous interest groups unfold during processes of innovation. The empirical field in which the investigation was set is facility services, a type of business-to-business support services. The findings were extracted from a longitudinal, in-depth case study of a Danish, multi-national organisation over 13 years, complemented with an explorative study in the Danish facility service context. The findings suggest that tensions and conflicts between heterogeneous interest groups are an intrinsic element of innovation processes in services, and that emphasising them might actually support a clearer understanding of processes of innovation in services. The outcome of the analysis is a process model, which proposes innovation dialectics as one of the driving mechanisms of innovation in services.

The Interactions between Information and Communication Technologies and Innovation in Services: A Conceptual Typology

Recent literature reveals the increasingly important role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) within innovation in services. This paper aims at outlining how scholars have conceptualized and defined the relationship between ICT and innovation in services so far, by analysing the fragmented body of knowledge available on the topic, to strengthen the research area as field of study and support its progress. The results of the literature review were derived through a concept-centric analysis of the existing research on ICT and innovation in services. The outcome of the literature review is a conceptual typology that organizes and summarizes the body of knowledge on ICT and innovation in services, and reveals the critical knowledge gaps along with an agenda for future research. The main contribution of this work resides in having organized existing literature on the relationship between ICT and innovation in services into a conceptual typology. The conceptual typology outlines the three main aspects of the link between ICT and innovation in services: the integration of organizational and innovation processes; the cooperation among internal and external agents; and the self-reinforcing innovation mechanism that characterizes ICT as a product.

The Complex Relationship between ICT and Innovation in Services: A Literature Review

Recent literature reveals the increasingly important role of ICT within innovation in services. The heterogeneity of existing literature on the topic makes it harder to identify the main problem areas and to spot the critical knowledge gaps when planning and executing research on ICT and innovation in services. This paper aims at outlining how scholars have investigated the relationship between ICT and innovation in services so far, by analyzing the fragmented body of knowledge available on the topic, to strengthen the problem area as field of study and support its progress. The results of the literature review were derived through a concept-centric analysis of the existing research on ICT and innovation in services. The outcome of the literature review is a conceptual typology that organizes and summarizes the body of knowledge on ICT and innovation in services, and reveals the critical knowledge gaps along with an agenda for future research.

Facilities management innovation in public-private collaborations: Danish ESCO projects

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to investigate how facilities management (FM) units navigate Energy Service Company (ESCO) collaborations, here defined as examples of public collaborative innovation within the context of FM. The driving motivation is to inform and inspire internal FM units of local institutions on how to navigate and manage collaboration of different, intra- and inter-organisational actors throughout ESCO projects. Design/methodology/approach – A deductive research methodology was applied based on the first ten ESCO projects in Danish municipalities between 2008 and 2012. Findings – A model of FM roles in FM public innovation is proposed. The internal FM unit coordinates between clients and end users by acting as translator and demonstrator and collaborates with the ESCO company to implement the energy renovation (FM processor). Research limitations/implications – The data were collected from a limited sample of ESCO collaborations in Denmark. Future research should thus investig...

Implementing Tele Presence Robots in Distance Work: Experiences and Effects on Work

As companies move toward globalization, companies use distance work to accomplish work more effectively and efficiently. A telepresence robot (TPR) is a mobile remote presence device that allows a two-way communication and interaction between a distance manager and the employees. The objective of the study was to improve the understanding of how distance workers and managers experience the use of TPR in the daily management and in which tasks the TPR is suitable to ensure employee well-being and thus performance. The data collection included three phases – before, during and after the implementation of the TPR, where we conducted 25 semi-structured individual and group interviews, on-site observations of the TPR in use and research notes. The distance manager (user) controlled the TPR from a distant site when using it in the home office. The managers were able to create a sense of proximity and via the camera feature, enable eye-contact, which the managers considered essential and beneficial for assessing the employee’s feelings and well-being. The majority of the users had a positive experience regarding the TPR basic functionalities´ utilization. In all three cases the participants, both managers and employees, agreed that the TPR is most useful in planned project meetings. On the other hand, the lack of trust, problems with the technology, privacy issues and intrusive emotions affected the use of the TPR in a negative way in some cases. The TPR was not suitable for meetings where people needed to share physical documents or important meetings, i.e. private talks or decisions meetings.

The evolution of facility management business models in supplier-client relationships

Purpose The study improves the current understanding of business model innovation by outlining how business models unfold over time within supplier–client relationships in facilities management (FM) services. Design/methodology/approach This study of FM services in Denmark consists of an explorative case study and three case studies of facilities management clients. Both phases, related and overlapping, involved collection and analysis of in-depth, semi-structured interviews and archive data. Findings Findings shows that business model innovation entails interorganisational collaboration across different phases of the innovation process. The research demonstrates that external orientation within FM service ecosystems involves both a reaction to changes in the external environment and the proactive involvement of stakeholders throughout business model innovation. Research limitations/implications The selection of business model innovation processes was limited to the Danish context. The sample, although he...

MANAGING INNOVATION PROCESSES THROUGH VALUE CO-CREATION: A PROCESS CASE FROM BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS SERVICE PRACTISE

Value co-creation is a specific type of collaboration that is considered to be an innovative and interactive process between end users and organizations; it aims to increase the value of a product or service. This study investigates how a network of stakeholders collaborating to manage innovation openly co-creates value over time; it contributes to the existing literature on value co-creation by taking the perspective of the network as a whole. The study follows a case in which value co-creation unfolds over time across a network of stakeholders within the business-to-business facility service context. The in-depth longitudinal investigation of a network composed of a corporate customer and its external facility service providers revealed that a network of stakeholders co-creates value over time by (i) offering an adaptable structure for the network to organize innovation activities and establish support routines, (ii) facilitating interactions to support stakeholder relation development and (iii) allowing participants to achieve self-empowerment. Therefore, stakeholder value co-creation entails the combination of single value co-creation activities and overarching network progressions that allow for learning and inter-organizational trust among stakeholders.