Valtteri Kaartemo

Customer participation management

Purpose – Management of customer participation (CP) in service production and delivery is of critical concern for service managers, as CP can result in various positive but also negative outcomes. However, an integrated understanding on how service providers can manage CP is still missing. The purpose of this paper is to gather and synthesize the extant knowledge on the constituents of CP management into a comprehensive framework, and to offer an extensive agenda for future research. Design/methodology/approach – A systematic literature review of existing research is conducted. A total of 181 journal articles are analyzed in five steps: attaining basic understanding, coding, categorization, comparison, and further analysis. Findings – The authors provide identification and categorizations of the customer inputs, their antecedents, the management approaches, and the outcomes of CP. To date, CP management has been addressed from three distinct perspectives: human resource management that treats customers as...

A Service-Ecosystem Perspective on Value Creation: Implications for International Business

In international business (IB), value is generally considered as something that is created in a global value chain (Gereffi et al. 2005). Conventional views suggest that companies engage in exchange with other companies across different countries in a somewhat sequential manner (e.g. from raw materials, to production, to wholesalers, to retailers), and value is added along the way (Funk et al. 2010; Kumaraswamy et al. 2012). Nevertheless, there is not much discussion on how value is created or derived throughout these interactions. Instead, in line with neoclassical economics, it is generally assumed that value is created through firms’ participation in value chains and, ultimately, ‘consumed,’ or destroyed, by individual customers.

Concept analysis and development of international service

Abstract This article analyses and develops the concept of international service based on a review of 407 articles published in high-ranking international business and service research journals. The review confirms that usage of the key concept of international service is ambiguous, and a new definition is proposed, characterising international service as a value co-creation process between two or more resource-integrating actors that do not share influential institutional arrangements because of national borders. This new definition clarifies conceptual differences between international service, international activity and intercultural (cross-cultural) service, and between international product and service. The revised definition also highlights the existence of differences other than cultural variation and how differing institutional arrangements may in part be an effect of national borders. The study advances theory development in this research domain by providing a conceptually sound definition of international service, potentially eliminating some of the conceptual confusion that has until now posed challenges for the operationalisation of key concepts in the field. The new definition can also be expected to enhance collaboration between international business and service researchers.

Creation and Shaping of the Global Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Market

Abstract Purpose This chapter seeks to place the Paris agreement on anthropogenic greenhouse gases (COP21) in a wider picture on how the global solar photovoltaic (PV) market has been created and shaped over decades. The chapter discusses the role of solar PV actors, as well as other actors in the market-shaping process. The aim is to show how the COP21 can be interpreted in a wider historical perspective. Design/methodology/approach The chapter builds on expert interviews conducted after the COP21, as well as secondary data on historical studies on evolution of solar energy markets in various countries. Findings Although scientists and entrepreneurs have been important in creating and shaping the global solar PV market, it is noted that other actors have also had an influence on the market development. Particularly, politicians are seen as playing a crucial role through legislation and funding. Unfortunately for the solar PV market, support has fluctuated over time. The COP21 provides a clear pathway for positive support, and it is expected to bind governments for pro-solar politics even during low prices of fossil fuels and economic downturn. Practical implications The chapter provides an overview of what has happened in the history of global solar PV market. It gives reasoning as to why the COP21 is important in securing support for the solar PV market. Thus, it can provide reasoning as to why the COP21 can make a difference. Originality/value This is the first academic study that portrays the COP21 against historical evolution of the global solar PV market.

The potential of network pictures for international alliance and network research

International alliance and network research has largely focused on finding one-dimensional correlation between alliance/network characteristics and internationalization variables. This has resulted in a dearth of holistic studies to increase our understanding on co-evolving network processes and structures. In this chapter, we discuss the limitations of the research domain, and assess how network pictures could advance international business (IB) network research. The notion of network pictures builds on and encapsulates wide areas of literature with regard to sensemaking, cognition, and mental maps, with an aim to further understanding on the dynamics between individual network actors, their intentions and actions, and the structural and processual elements of their surrounding business networks. In particular, we focus on how network pictures could advance IB network research in terms of managerial sensemaking, multi-level research and temporal dimension. This consideration provides a basis from which to outline a systematic, general research framework for international alliance and network studies, linking together the (cultural, national, organizational, and network) context, network pictures and networking activities underpinning the international network development. We describe the possibilities for utilizing the broad network picture framework in various IB-related studies, that is, we discuss the potential use of network pictures in further international alliance and network research.

Platform as a Social Contract: An Analytical Framework for Studying Social Dynamics in Online Platforms

In addition to formal terms of service and contracts between platform owners, users, and other stakeholders, there can be seen an implicit social contract taking place in online platforms, and influencing the social dynamics, such as trust, expectations, and perceived social justice, taking place within platforms, and driving their growth and success in the background. This paper examines the nature of that social contract, to better understand the complex social dynamics taking place in online platforms. To accomplish that objective, we draw from classic Enlightenment thinkers, e.g., Rousseau, Locke, and Hobbes, to analyze key aspects of social contracts, which we define as the alignment of stakeholder interests, stakeholder support, economic and social justice, and transparency of expectations. As our main contribution, we develop a conceptual framework for the analysis of platforms based on social contract theory, the Platforms as a Social Contract framework. The applicability of the framework is illustrated through a case analysis of YouTube, a popular online content platform. The rich understanding provided by the social contract perspective, embodied in our framework, entails many potential advantages to platform owners, including understanding user motivations and reactions so that effective platform governance with maintaining a sustainable solution to the chicken-and-egg problem becomes possible. While individual platforms may come and go, each faces the same fundamental social dynamics that can be explained and understood by applying the social contract framework presented in this research. This research shows how the framework can be used for analysis of online platforms, as well as suggests future research avenues for developing deeper understanding of platforms as a social contract.

A Systematic Review of Artificial Intelligence and Robots in Value Co-creation: Current Status and Future Research Avenues

Abstract As artificial intelligence (AI) and robots are increasingly taking place in practical service solutions, it is necessary to understand technology in value co-creation. We conducted a systematic literature review on the topic to advance theoretical analysis of AI and robots in value co-creation. By systematically reviewing 61 AI and robotics articles, which have been published in top marketing and service research journals, we identified four themes in literature, namely, generic field advancement, supporting service providers, enabling resource integration between service providers and beneficiaries, and supporting beneficiaries’ well-being. With the identification of the first set of literature on AI and robots in value co-creation, we push forward an important sub-field of value co-creation literature. In addition, to advance the field, we suggest building on actor–network theory and science and technology studies to understand the agency of technology in value co-creation. Considering that technology has agency, it opens new interesting research avenues around shopping bots and human-to-non-human frontline interaction that are likely to influence resource integration, customer engagement and value co-creation in the future. We also encourage our colleagues to conduct postphenomenological research to be better geared for analysing how technology (including AI and robots) mediates the individual experience of value.

Making Sense of Network Dynamics through Network Picturing

The future structure and paths of development of dynamic business networks are fundamentally unknowable. The managerial challenge is to influence the development within a business network crossing organizational boundaries. Practical tools are needed to map out how actors’ network strategies actually come into being while organizations continuously interact with each other. The described cases explore sense-making processes between the involved network actors and utilize network pictures as a boundary-spanning tool for strategic management. First, network picturing was utilized by a multinational company to identify the needs of actors in its network and to develop their value propositions under various network scenarios. Second, an SME’s (Small and medium-sized enterprise)most important connections were identified with network picturing to enable the company to drive changes in the network. The broader network perspectives depicted were the end users’ network pictures from different customer segments. In both cases, network picturing resulted in the identification of new relevant network actors and the requirements for building connections to them.

Translation Mechanisms of International Market Shaping: The Transformation of the St. Petersburg Bread Market from 1997–2007

ABSTRACT There is a need to understand how indigenous markets transform following foreign entry. We refer to this transformation as international market shaping—the progression of a set of cross-border activities that contribute to changes in economic exchange. Building on the markets-as-practice literature and an explorative longitudinal single-case study conducted in the St. Petersburg bread market (1997–2007), we study international market-shaping mechanisms that translate a foreign company’s idea of a market into market practices. We contribute to the literature by identifying four translation mechanisms of international market shaping: advice, demonstration, requirements, and management mobility.