Vinit Parida

Inbound Open Innovation Activities in High-Tech SMEs: The Impact on Innovation Performance

Prior studies suggest that open innovation activities positively influence innovation outcomes in large firms. However, few studies have investigated the implications of small and medium‐sized enterprises’ (SMEs) adoption of open innovation. We address this research gap by investigating the effects of four inbound open innovation activities on innovation performance of SMEs. In doing so, we draw on data from 252 high‐tech SMEs. Our results reveal that different open innovation activities are beneficial for different innovation outcomes. For instance, technology sourcing is linked to radical innovation performance, whereas technology scouting is linked to incremental innovation performance. These findings hold several important theoretical and practical implications.

Mastering the Transition to Product-Service Provision: Insights into Business Models, Learning Activities, and Capabilities

OVERVIEW: Traditional manufacturing companies are increasingly offering industrial services in order to secure their position in the globally competitive environment. However, little is known about the extent and effect of this transition. Based on a large-scale survey of Finnish manufacturing companies, this study offers descriptive statistics for current industrial service offerings. Merely adding on simple services to a current product offering is shown to be negatively associated with financial performance. Rather, our statistical analysis suggests a thorough and comprehensive organizational transformation is required to generate significant financial value. In addition, qualitative data from globally recognized Swedish and Finnish frontrunner manufacturing companies offer insights into how these market leaders have successfully navigated the organizational challenges of such a transformation to offer successful industrial product-service systems. Based on the data, we outline four distinctive capabilities and associated key learning activities required to facilitate a successful transition toward becoming a high-value industrial product-service provider.

Risk management for product-service system operation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a product-service systems (PSS) risk management decision-making framework for PSS operation, which can enable global manufacturing companies to offer PSS successfully. Thus, the authors aim to contribute primarily to developing the PSS literature by integrating insights from the literatures on risk management and decision making. Design/methodology/approach – This study is based on an exploratory, single case study with a Swedish manufacturing company that has long-term experience with providing PSS. In total, the authors conducted 25 semi-structured interviews with diverse respondents from different functional units. Findings – The study’s main findings include identifying and proposing an interconnection between the operational risks associated with providing PSS, possible risk management responses, and decision criteria, all of which enable decision makers to select an appropriate risk management response. Research limitations/implications – The study c...

Understanding product-service system innovation capabilities development for manufacturing companies

Purpose – Manufacturing companies are increasingly making efforts to combine products and services into integrated offerings. However, the companies’ success in such transformation is linked with the presence of structured routines and processes, which the authors conceptualize as productservice systems (PSS) innovation capabilities. The purpose of this paper is to address the important question of how manufacturing companies can systematically build PSS innovation capabilities and does its presence or absence significantly influence PSS innovation. Design/methodology/approach – This study is based on longitudinal data from an aerospace company, which acts both as an OEM providing through-life services for aircraft engines, as well as a developer of innovative subsystem technologies. Data has been collected over three years (2009-2012) and constitutes 40 in-depth explorative and semi-structured interviews with diverse respondents. For analysis of the data, the authors have used constant comparison technique leading to identification of three high-order categories. In addition, the authors gain from observations and secondary data which enable to achieve data triangulation and data validity. Findings – The results objectively depict an overview of how the case company developed PSS innovation capabilities, though progression of routines over three early PSS development stages. More specifically, the authors find evidence for development of formalized routines related to customer interaction and innovative organizational climate during need phase, cross-functionality, and network partnering during solution-seeking phase, and competence and business case development during solution development phase. As these routines become more structured within the case company, they forge a path for PSS innovation capabilities development. Originality/value – This study provides two distinctive contributions to emerging PSS literature. First, the authors propose and explain how PSS innovation capabilities are developed. Although prior studies acknowledge the importance of possessing specialized PSS innovation capabilities, limited studies have reported empirically how they are developed. Second, through adopting a longitudinal perspective, the authors reveal key routines and actions that drive PSS innovation during different development stages. To the knowledge, no prior study has combined insights from PSS literature and resource-based view to objectively explain capabilities development process.

Developing Global Service Innovation Capabilities: How Global Manufacturers Address the Challenges of Market Heterogeneity

OVERVIEW: As multinational manufacturing companies pursue service innovation toward global markets, their back-end development units—headquarters R&D—face immense challenges due to market heterogeneity. Our extensive studies of 13 leading multinational companies in service innovation have identified, analyzed, and ranked challenges to reveal the key steps to building necessary capabilities. Based on our analysis, we inductively identified four competencies in global service innovation capabilities (developing customer insights, integrating global knowledge, creating global service offerings, and building a digitalization capability) and the activities associated with them. Global service innovation requires companies to develop capabilities that support increased relationship intensity and interaction between headquarters R&D and local units, customers, and service partners. In developing these capabilities, the headquarters units progressively learn to collaborate, integrate, and orchestrate processes and activities across and within regional front-end units, customers, and service partners.

Functional Products: Business Model Elements

The paper explores business model elements that are vital when offering customers Functional Products. Based on in-depth empirical studies at four manufacturing corporations, a number of Functional Product business model elements are identified and discussed. The identified business model elements for Functional Products are found to have special requirements as compared to well-established generic business models. The results, including both academic and industrial contributions, can be used by corporations as input when modeling Functional Product business models on their own or together with customers, business partners or suppliers. Finally, factors and challenges that need to be addressed when modelling Functional Product business in corporations are further discussed.

Interactive Effects of Network Capability, ICT Capability, and Financial Slack on Technology‐Based Small Firm Innovation Performance

This study examines the influence of network capability (the ability to use external relationships), information and communications technology () capability (the ability to strategically use for business purposes), and financial slack (unused and uncommitted financial resources) on the innovation performance of small firms. This extends the current resource‐based view and small firm innovation management literatures by proposing the direct and interactive effects of organizational capabilities and financial slack. The results of regression analysis based on survey data from technology‐based wedish small firms show that the three‐way interaction involving network capability, capability, and financial slack influences innovation performance.

Exploring the effects of network configurations on entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance: an empirical study of new ventures and small firms

Prior studies have suggested that networks are important for new ventures and small firms as a provider of access to entrepreneurial opportunities and as a tool to increase firm performance. Although the strategic value of networks on a general level is undisputed, one major shortcoming of prior studies has been to evaluate the effects of specific network configurations. Moreover, small firms have all too often been treated as a homogeneous group, expected to reveal similar needs and patterns of behavior. The purpose of this explorative study was therefore to examine the effects of different network configurations on entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and performance for two categories of small firms new ventures and established small firms. The results were achieved by using empirical data from two independent samples of new ventures (n 171) and small firms (n 291) and show that network relationships have quite different effects in the two samples. While networking is overall positively linked to EO and performance for small firms, no positive effect from networking is evidenced for new ventures’ EO and performance. For both samples, we found a strong link between EO and performance. This paper concludes with a discussion on the results and suggestions for future research.

The performance impact of industrial services and service orientation on manufacturing companies

Purpose – Product-manufacturing firms are increasingly positioning themselves as providers of industrial services and solutions. Despite the increasing conceptual interest in industrial services, empirical evidence about the factors that mediate the relationships between industrial services and firm performance remains limited. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between industrial service offerings, service orientation and firm sales and profit performance. Design/methodology/approach – The study uses data from 115 manufacturing firms and adopts a structural equation modeling technique to test a set of hypotheses on service offerings, service orientation and company sales and profit performance. Findings – The results underline the importance of implementing service orientation in employees’ behavior, recruitment, training, and assessment. Service orientation is demonstrated as an essential mediator for the relationship between service offerings, revenues, and profits. The result...

Analysis of the industrial product-service systems (IPS2) literature: A systematic review

Successful industrial goods-delivering companies are always looking for ways to develop and grow their business. A strong present trend is to expand the traditionally tangible offering by integrating intangible offerings i.e. services. In academia the term industrial product-service systems (IPS2) are being used to describe this paradigm shift. However, a systematic review of the IPS2 literature is lacking. In this paper publications regarding IPS2 are systematically reviewed. The result of our review has been categorized under five themes that we found characterizes IPS2: delivery, processes, value creation networks, knowledge management, and business models. Based on our findings a discussion is made and future research directions are identified.