Paavo Ritala

Coopetition Strategy – When is it Successful? Empirical Evidence on Innovation and Market Performance

Coopetition (collaboration between competing firms) has been viewed as a potentially beneficial but also a risky relationship for a firm. Earlier literature provides inconclusive evidence in terms of the effects of a firms coopetition strategy on innovation and market performance, suggesting both positive and negative implications. Some of this variation could be attributed to the fact that coopetition is successful only in certain types of business environment. In order to take the research further, this study examines the effect of a coopetition strategy on the firms innovation and market performance, focusing on the moderating effects of market uncertainty, network externalities and competitive intensity. The results from a cross‐industry survey of 209 Finnish firms provide novel evidence on the conditions under which coopetition is successful and when it is not.

Intellectual capital in service‐ and product‐oriented companies

Purpose – As service companies are occupying an increasingly significant place as drivers of economic growth, there is a pressing need to understand their peculiarities in order to facilitate their effective management and governance. One important area in which this kind of understanding is lacking is intellectual capital (IC) and knowledge management. Although intellectual capital has become the key value driver for all types of organizations, there is a lack of systematic research on whether there are fundamental differences in the IC of service‐oriented versus product‐oriented companies. In an attempt to bridge this gap the paper aims to examine the main differences in IC stocks, creation, management and protection mechanisms between service‐oriented and product‐oriented companies.Design/methodology/approach – The analysis is based on empirical evidence collected from 418 respondents representing HR and R&D functions in 335 Finnish companies.Findings – The results demonstrate that service‐oriented com...

The interaction of intellectual capital assets and knowledge management practices in organizational value creation

Purpose – Organizational performance is increasingly grounded on knowledge-related issues. The two key academic discussions addressing knowledge in organizations are the intellectual capital (IC) and knowledge management (KM) literatures. However, there are very few earlier studies systematically combining these approaches and demonstrating how IC assets and their management mechanisms might interact in organizational value creation. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to develop and argue a theoretical model depicting the connections between IC, KM practices and organizational performance outcomes. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on IC and KM literatures to build a theoretical model on how intellectual asset assets and their management practices interact in producing organizational performance. Several conceptual models and related discussion on the interaction of IC and KM practices are put forth. Findings – Organizational value creation is based on both static (IC assets) and dynamic ...

Coopetition for radical innovation: technology, market and business-model perspectives

Coopetition (collaboration between competing firms) is used in many contemporary industries to achieve various innovation-related benefits. However, there is still a lack of consensus in the existing literature as to whether it is beneficial in the case of radical innovations or whether it only supports incremental improvements due to the similarity of knowledge bases among competitors. We address this issue in an empirical study based on a cross-industrial survey in Finnish markets. The study focuses on three types of technological coopetition and on their effect on the technological, market and business-model radicalness of the firms’ innovations. The results show that coopetition is negatively related to technological radicalness and positively related to business-model radicalness. The implications are that coopetition is likely to benefit incremental technological development over time and to promote the emergence of radical business-model innovations as competitors seek to differentiate their offerings.

Tug of war in innovation - coopetitive service development

Innovative new services are increasingly being developed in close collaboration between different organisations. As part of this development, competing firms have started collaborating with each other. These firms face new challenges arising from the service context and the existence of competitive tensions. We present an explorative case study of Finnish mobile TV service development with a focus on inter-firm coopetition (simultaneous competition and cooperation). Our results carry implications in terms of the nature, the challenges and opportunities involved, and of the management of coopetitive service development.

INNOVATION ORCHESTRATION CAPABILITY — DEFINING THE ORGANIZATIONAL AND INDIVIDUAL LEVEL DETERMINANTS

This paper explores orchestration capability as a concept defining the firms ability to purposefully build and manage innovation networks. Due to the lack of empirical research on the subject as well as the focus on the organizational level in earlier studies, we approach the issue from a multi-level perspective. By utilizing expert panel discussions and an in-depth case study in an innovation network, we show that orchestration capability consists of both organizational and individual level determinants. Distinct capabilities and skills are identified and illustrated. Furthermore, we identify mechanisms suggesting that the two levels are interconnected in several ways.

Protection for profiting from collaborative service innovation

Purpose – Profiting from service innovations can be challenging. It is not only a question of pricing and marketing the services appropriately, but also of keeping competitors from imitating them. The purpose of this paper is to discuss how service innovation differs from technology/product innovation in terms of protection, and how this shows in collaborative innovation activities.Design/methodology/approach – The paper offers a literature review combining discussion related to service research and strategic management. Empirical evidence is provided in the form of a multifaceted case study illustrating some of the aspects of collaborative service innovation.Findings – The results indicate that characteristics separating service innovations from product or process innovations influence the efficacy of protection. This, in turn, may make or break the subsequent value appropriation. Furthermore, as service innovation typically includes collaborative activities, there is another twist to protection: compani...

Coordination in innovation‐generating business networks – the case of Finnish Mobile TV development

Purpose – In this study the authors seek to discuss and empirically analyze coordination mechanisms in innovation‐generating business networks. Their aim is to explore how these coordination mechanisms, as well as the roles of actors, evolve during the development of such networks.Design/methodology/approach – The paper analyses an in‐depth single case study on the development of Finnish Mobile TV in an innovation‐generating business network comprising a heterogeneous range of actors.Findings – The findings suggest that coordination of innovation‐generating business networks combines “management” and “orchestration”, both of which have their distinct roles throughout the development of the network. The latter is used throughout the case in question to communicate vision and build social capital, and the former to coordinate phases closer to commercialization.Research limitations/implications – The study provides novel evidence in explicating how network coordination mechanisms of management and orchestrat...

The new meaning of customer value: a systemic perspective

Purpose – Today, as services and products are becoming increasingly intertwined and the competition increasingly global, delivering customer value is not as simple as it used to be. In this article, we suggest that in contemporary business environment customer value is often systemic by nature. This means that managers need to assess their firms offering through systems‐thinking perspective in order to find out what are the most effective ways to create value for the customer.Design/methodology/approach – Evidence of systemic customer value is provided in the form of illustrative examples from Apples and Googles offerings. Furthermore, we utilize a quality function deployment (QFD) tool to provide an example of modeling of the systemic value attributes.Findings – This paper illustrates how such systemic customer value in the firms offering can be modeled. This enables the tracking down of the functions that produce the most value in terms of meeting various customer needs. A firm that understands the ...

On uncertainty in supply chain risk management

– The concept of uncertainty is a relevant yet little understood area within supply chain risk management. Risk is often associated with uncertainty, but in reality uncertainty is a much more elaborate concept and deserves more in-depth scrutiny. To bridge this gap, the purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual framework for assessing the levels and nature of uncertainty in this context. , – The aim of the study is to link established theories of uncertainty to the management of risk in supply chains, to gain a holistic understanding of its levels and nature. The proposed conceptual model concerns the role of certainty and uncertainty in this context. Illustrative examples show the applicability of the model. , – The study describes in detail a way of analysing the levels and nature of uncertainty in supply chains. Such analysis could provide crucial information enabling more efficient and effective implementation of supply chain risk management. , – The study enhances understanding of the nature of the uncertainties faced in supply chains. Thus it should be possible to improve existing measures and analyses of risk, which could increase the efficiency and effectiveness of supply chain and logistics management. , – The proposed conceptual framework of uncertainty types in the supply chain context is novel, and therefore could enhance understanding of uncertainty and risk in supply and logistics management and make it easier to categorise, as well as initiate further research in the field.