Harri Laihonen

Measuring the productivity impacts of new ways of working

Purpose – “New ways of working” refers to non‐traditional work practices, settings and locations with information and communication technologies (ICT) to supplement or replace traditional ways of working. They are being deployed in knowledge work context in order to increase employees working motivation, job satisfaction and productivity. However, these benefits are not self‐evident. This paper aims to examine the task of measuring the expected benefits.Design/methodology/approach – This paper synthesizes the existing literature on measurement of knowledge work productivity and identifies some key prerequisites and restrictions that should be taken into account when measuring the impacts of organizational change.Findings – The paper proposes a measurement approach for evaluating the impacts of a new ways of working initiative in a knowledge work context.Originality/value – Previous literature has focused on studying whether facilities and ICT solutions are appropriate from the viewpoint of an individual k...

The role on intellectual capital in non-profit elderly care organizations

Purpose – The starting‐point of this paper is the observation that, while intellectual capital (IC) management seems to be a potential approach for non‐profit elderly care organizations, there is a lack of empirical evidence on how it could actually be applied. This paper aims to add to knowledge of this issue.Design/methodology/approach – This is an exploratory, qualitative case study including three case organizations. The case descriptions and analysis are based on interviews with managers of the case organizations.Findings – The study describes which intangible resources are highlighted in the operations of non‐profit elderly care organizations, the existing practices regarding the management of IC factors and the IC needs of management in these organizations.Research limitations/implications – The study focuses on Finnish non‐profits. The operations of the third sector may vary across countries.Practical implications – The elderly care sector is facing big challenges due to the changing age structure...

Knowledge flows in self‐organizing processes

Purpose – This article aims to point out the essential role of knowledge flows when studying new ways of organizing in a knowledge‐intensive service sector where organizations operate in rapidly changing markets. The purpose of this article is to analyze the concept of self‐organization and its basic characteristics from a knowledge flow point‐of‐view.Design/methodology/approach – A conceptual analysis and literature review are provided.Findings – The article offers a way to understand how self‐organization emerges from lower‐level or local interaction, i.e. knowledge flows. The results of earlier studies indicate that if experts working in customer interface are empowered to make independent decisions and to adjust their working according to the ongoing situation, i.e. to self‐organize, co‐operation with customers becomes more active.Originality/value – The article presents a new way of looking at self‐organization and its basic characteristics as managerial tools in knowledge‐intensive organizations. Th...

A contingency approach to performance measurement in service operations

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the contingency factors affecting performance measurement in the service context. The paper aims to review the literature on performance measurement and synthesize it to a framework that creates a basis for analyzing measurement practices in various kinds of service contexts.Design/methodology/approach – In order to obtain a fresh update to the existing knowledge on the topic, a systematic literature review was carried out. Around 8,000 articles published between 2005 and 2011 were reviewed and as a result 80 papers were chosen for a more detailed examination.Findings – The paper applies a fresh approach to performance measurement in services, increasing generalizability of case study findings. By analyzing a large set of studies, the study identifies contextual factors that affect performance measurement in service operations. The resulting framework acts as a foundation for further research on performance measurement in services.Practical implication...

Distinctive features of service performance measurement

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the distinctive features of service performance measurement. It also provides an overview of current status of performance measurement in three service sectors in Finland. Design/methodology/approach – The paper builds on two complementary empirical studies. In the first study, data were gathered through individual interviews in Finnish service organizations. In the second study, group interviews were held in order to enhance the understanding. The service sectors studied are knowledge-intensive, public and industrial services. There are two main units of analysis in the data set: an organization and service operations. Findings – The results show that the specific performance measurement characteristics are more apparent at service operations level. The findings reveal three distinctive features of service performance measurement. First, the contingency perspective stresses a need to consider the characteristics of different service contexts. Second, custom...

Knowledge-intensity as an organisational characteristic

The sector of knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) has a central role in modern economies. However, there are no explicit and generally acknowledged criteria for characterising KIBS or other knowledge-intensive organisations. In addition, the concept of knowledge-intensity has no significant managerial use. This paper aims to widen the existing understanding about the concept of knowledge-intensity and take a step towards its operational application and managerial usefulness. Methodologically, two steps are carried out. First, a conceptual study based on intellectual capital literature and literature on knowledge-intensive firms is carried out. Second, an interview study (n=8) is carried out to empirically examine the role of knowledge assets in selected KIBS organisations. This paper contributes by tackling the vagueness of the concept of knowledge-intensity: the paper demonstrates that there are different types of ‘knowledge-intensity profiles’ among KIBS companies and that knowledge assets can be used as an analytical framework to identify the sources of value creation.

Measuring performance of a service system – from organizations to customer-perceived performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the implications of the networked and open nature of the service business on performance measurement. The literature has acknowledged that the value of service is increasingly produced by service systems, but solutions for measuring the performance of a service system are still lacking. Design/methodology/approach – The paper constructs a conceptual framework for capturing performance of a service system by combining ideas from the service management and performance measurement literatures. This framework is then applied in two service systems, one from the public sector and one from the private sector. Two different service systems provide complementary views on the phenomenon of service system performance and call for distinctive measurement solutions. In both cases, interviews, series of workshops and an analysis of documentation of the prevailing measurement systems were conducted when applying the framework. Findings – The results indicate that th...

Knowledge-based value creation: grasping the intangibility of service operations in Finland

This study aims to provide insights on the mechanisms of knowledge-based value creation in the context of a modern service economy. A particular focus of this paper is the concept of intangibility and its role in service operations. Intangibility is a key characteristic of services. However, a lack of in-depth understanding of the issue persists. This paper explores the intangibility of services through the concepts and models developed by the intellectual capital research stream. The aim is to construct a framework to account for intangibility as a characteristic of service, using a literature review and case studies in ten Finnish organisations. As a result, this article provides new knowledge about the service providers and customers intangible resources, intangible output elements and the transformation of intangible resources into other resources and, finally, into customer value.

Managing regional development: a knowledge perspective

This paper focuses on the knowledge aspects of the management of regional development. The applicability of four interrelated but distinct disciplines of knowledge-based management - information management, business intelligence, knowledge management and intellectual capital management - are examined in relation to the practical managerial needs of regional planning and development. The conceptual part of this paper syntheses the wide knowledge-based management research field and provides an interpretation of its potential contribution to the regional development context. The empirical section mirrors the conceptual discussion against the practical needs of the regional development network of Tampere Region (Finland). The results suggest that there is a need for conceptual understanding of the role of knowledge in regional development, a need for ICT tools to manage the large quantities of knowledge and also a need for managerial, more human-oriented practices. Different managerial disciplines provide potential solutions for those needs.

Knowledge management practices in healthcare services

– The purpose of the study is to develop understanding about the role of information and knowledge in healthcare processes and thereby create a basis for practices that would better support the actual service provision. This paper seeks to model and analyze the service processes of two case settings: laboratory and radiology units of a Finnish regional healthcare system., – The main actors, their knowledge needs, current knowledge practices and bottlenecks in knowledge flows were recognized. The paper combines conceptual analysis and empirical findings. The empirical data were collected in the autumn of 2010 and consist of 32 thematic interviews in two units of a healthcare organization in Finland. The themes of the interviews are related to current knowledge practices and processes., – The paper exemplifies an approach that provides a systematic basis for analyzing different aspects of knowledge management in healthcare processes. The approach provides valuable insights for analyzing knowledge‐based foundations of health services and it is expected that this analysis helps elaborate the practical knowledge processes of healthcare organizations., – The paper approaches health information management from the viewpoint of knowledge management discourse and highlights the importance of knowledge‐based value creation. Instead of mere information transfer or delivery the paper emphasizes the knowledge‐in‐use perspective. Despite the essential role of knowledge assets, the development efforts have mainly concentrated on solving local problems with context specific technical solutions.