Jukka Ojasalo

Management of innovation networks: a case study of different approaches

Purpose – The literature includes a vast amount of research on both innovation and business networks; however, the empirical knowledge of their intersection – innovation networks and their management – is still scarce. This empirical study aims at increasing the knowledge of management of innovation networks by mapping characteristics of management approaches of two case companies. These companies operate in the software business and develop their products in inter‐organizational networks. Special attention is paid to differences in the management approaches between the case companies.Design/methodology/approach – The present empirical article is based on analysis of two case companies representing very different and contrasting approaches to management of innovation networks. The empirical study is conducted among SMEs in the software business.Findings – As a result of the analysis, several aspects of management of innovation networks are identified and their nature explained. These aspects are: duration...

Key account management at company and individual levels in business‐to‐business relationships

What is the nature of the key account management (KAM) approach? Various themes have been discussed under the title “key account management”, however, the approach seems to lack coherence and clearly requires further conceptualization. Based on an extensive literature analysis, this article identifies and describes the basic elements of KAM and offers a definition of it. What kind of managerial practices facilitate KAM at the company and individual levels? Although paying customers in the business‐to‐business market are organizations, they are always represented by individuals. Thus, successful KAM requires appropriate handling at both the organizational and the individual levels. This paper describes the nature of company‐ and individual‐level customer benefits in business‐to‐business relationships. As a synthesis, this paper suggests a framework for KAM practices deploying the main elements of KAM and the company and individual levels of business‐to‐business relationships.

Brand building in software SMEs: an empirical study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to increase the knowledge of brand building in software SMEs.Design/methodology/approach – The empirical method used is a multi‐case study. Data were collected from 20 companies in the software industry through in‐depth interviews. The data were analyzed using systematic coding and categorization of qualitative evidence.Findings – The study identified five special characteristics of brand building in software SMEs, relating to goals and perceived benefits of brand building; resources in brand building; external and internal cooperation in brand building; means and communication in brand building; and the process of product brand building and its connection to software product development.Research limitations/implications – The scientific contribution of this empirical study relates to two aspects of brand management: branding in software business and branding in SMEs. A vast amount of literature exists on “brands”, “software business” and “SMEs”, but there is very li...

Loose coupling as an inhibitor of internal customer knowledge transfer: findings from an empirical study in B‐to‐B professional services

Purpose – The knowledge of inhibitors of internal customer knowledge transfer in b‐to‐b professional service organizations is still in its infancy. Previous literature on professional service organizations has focused on knowledge processes on a general level without paying closer attention to inhibitors of internal knowledge transfer. This study aims to contribute by increasing the knowledge of various inhibitors of customer‐related knowledge transfer and their influence on customer‐related knowledge utilization in collaborative customer relationships.Design/methodology/approach – The present empirical article is based on a case study of two professional service organizations in the field of business‐to‐business education and consultancy services. An in‐depth analysis of organizations developing collaborative relationships was conducted.Findings – This paper shows that internal fragmentation seems to be inherent in this type of organization, and may cause many problems in customer‐related knowledge trans...

What prevents effective utilisation of customer knowledge in professional B-to-B services? An empirical study

This article is based on a case study of a professional service organisation in the field of business-to-business education and consultancy services. This study contributes by increasing the knowledge of organisational inhibitors of customer knowledge utilisation in collaborative customer relationships by describing four organisational aspects inhibiting internal customer knowledge utilisation. The first is a professional service organisations dominant logic, which refers to a barrier between organisation and customer. The second relates to cultural characteristics, referring to barriers between individuals and groups. The third barrier is the organisational structure of the professional service firm and the fourth barrier relates to systems and administrative routines.

Customer preferences in mobile game pricing: a service design based case study

This article examines the service design of freemium game pricing. Freemium games are a type of game that is partially free to play, but its players are able to access various options by playing real money. The article increases knowledge of the usability of service design processes in the pricing of mobile games, as well as the understanding of central aspects of freemium pricing models from the perspective of user experience and customer value. Existing research shows that one major reason for failing freemium pricing models is the orientation for technology development, alongside poor content and too aggressive monetization, rather than customer experience. The article presents a process in which an alternative pricing model was developed for freemium games, through the use of service design workshops.

Responsibility and decision making transfer in public safety and security emergencies - A case study of school shootings

The purpose of this study is to increase the knowledge of responsibility and decision making transfer in public safety and security emergencies. The vast amount of literature dealing with emergencies includes surprisingly little empirically grounded knowledge of responsibility and decision making transfer in emergency management. The article is based on the case study method in the context of school shootings. The contribution of this article relates to the following findings. Firstly, most of the decision making in an emergency examined is ad hoc and situation driven. Secondly, effective operation requires that the on-scene-commanders of different authorities and organizations share the same on-scene-command post or the same situational awareness -preferably as real time as possible. Thirdly, the first authority (or the first law enforcement patrol etc.) reaching the scene in a time-critical emergency, usually have a paramount role in developing and implementing a solution to the situation. Several management approaches are suggested related to these three findings in order to make responsibility and decision making transfer more efficient and effective in emergency management.

Service Logic Business Model Canvas

Purpose The purpose of this study is to develop a service logic oriented framework for business model development. “Service logic” covers the basic principles of the three contemporary customer value focused business logics: service-dominant logic, service logic and customer-dominant logic. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on an empirical qualitative research and deployed the focus group method. The data are generated in a series of interactive co-creative focus group workshops involving both practitioners and academics. Findings As the outcome, a new tool was developed, called Service Logic Business Model Canvas. The new canvas is a modified version of the original Business Model Canvas (Osterwalder and Pigneur, 2010). Research limitations/implications This study adopts service logic in business model thinking and increases knowledge on how to keep the customer needs in the centre of business model development. Practical implications The developed canvas makes the theory of service-dominant logic tangible and easily applicable in practice. It enables service innovation truly based on customer value by ensuring that the customer is in the centre of all the elements of a business model. It can function both as a rapid prototype of a new business model and as a communication tool that quickly illustrates the company’s current business model. It can also help in creating a customer-centred business culture. It is designed to be applied to each customer profile separately, thus enabling a deeper understanding of the customer logic of each relevant profile. Originality/value Earlier business model frameworks tend to be provider-centric and goods-dominant, and require further development and adaptation to service logic. This study adopts service logic in business model thinking. It embeds the true and deep customer understanding and customer value in each element of the business model, and contributes to both business model and service-dominant logic literature.

Development Process of a Master's Degree Program in Security Management

The purpose of this article is to increase the knowledge of the development process of a masters degree program and its curriculum in security management. The earlier literature includes little knowledge of development of higher education in security management, particularly outside of the traditional security bodies such as military and police forces or public emergency services. There is a clear need for increasing the knowledge of this area. Furthermore, development process of curricula in general requires further examination. The present empirical article responds to these evident needs. This article is an actionresearch–based case study. It draws on the development process of a masters degree program that took 22 months, starting from the initiation of the project and ending up to the point when the first students began their studies in the program. This process is described and analyzed in the article in detail. The empirical findings are illustrated in terms of a phase model of development process of a masters degree program. This article contributes to the scientific literature, first, by increasing the knowledge of the development of higher education in security management. Second, it contributes by increasing the knowledge of the phases and activities of degree program and curriculum development in general.