Vivek K. Velamuri

Product Service Systems As A Driver For Business Model Innovation: Lessons Learned From The Manufacturing Industry

Firms increasingly rely on business model innovation as a means to face challenges of a world in transition. We identify the conscious integration of products and services, i.e., product service systems, as a valuable strategy to radically innovate product-focused business models. Applying an exploratory multiple case study approach, we uncover five distinct kinds of services that specifically help firms to innovate their business model. These are (1) business consulting, (2) comprehensive services, (3) educational services, (4) financing services, and (5) information management services. The influence of these services on three components of business model innovation (value propositions, value chain architectures, and revenue streams) is discussed. In total, our study emphasizes that integrating specific services with products is an important driver for business model innovations.

Open evaluation of new product concepts at the front end of innovation: objectives and contingency factors

The proliferation of innovation contests has fostered community-based idea evaluation as an alternative to expert juries to filter and select new product concepts at the fuzzy front end of corporate R&D innovation. We refer to this phenomenon as open evaluation, as all registered participants can engage in jury activities like voting, rating, and commenting. While previous research on innovation contests and user engagement includes participant-based evaluation, the investigative focus so far has not been on this phenomenon. Access to jury activities in open evaluation practice contradicts innovation theory, which recommends careful selection procedures to establish expert juries for assessing new product concepts. Additionally, little is known about contingency factors that influence the performance and acceptance of open evaluations results. To address these two questions on the objectives and contingency factors for open evaluation of new product concepts, this study applies exploratory multiple-case research of open evaluation in nine innovation contests. Data collection encompassed expert interviews and complementary sources of evidence. Results indicate that firms pursue six distinct objectives to support participant-based generation and selection of new concepts. In addition, eight contingency factors influence the performance of open evaluation and the acceptance of its results. Finally, results showed open evaluation output to efficiently complement jury decisions in filtering and selecting ideas for new product development.

Hybrid value creation

Systematic Literature Review.- Hybrid Value Creation.- Empirical Study.- The Four Clusters of Hybrid Value Creation. The Cluster of Embedded products.- The Cluster of Solutions.

On the importance of boundary objects for virtual collaboration: a review of the literature

ABSTRACT In this paper, we explore the phenomenon of boundary objects in the process of virtual collaboration. Virtual collaboration is an interactive act that interconnects jointly and voluntarily collaborating individuals that are electronically linked. We regard them as virtual communities (VCs). VCs are characterised by its aim to conduce to shared understanding through an effective use of boundary objects. Artefacts that serve two or more VC members to establish collaboration are seen as boundary objects. The study at hand uses the socio-technical systems theory as a framework to categorise extant research. It draws on the concept of Carlile’s three tiers of boundary objects (syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic) to further sub-categorise scholarly publications between 2004 and 2014. This leads to an in-depth analysis on the use of boundary objects, its effect on the collaboration process as well as a first research agenda for subsequent endeavours in the field of boundary objects and virtual collaboration.

Hybrid Value Creation as Innovation Strategy

Why would a sports apparel company have a strategic partnership with an electronics company? Weren’t strategic partnerships supposed to make sense when they were based along the vertical value chain? A tie up between a tire manufacturer and an automobile company is clear to comprehend but what about the tie up we mentioned previously? Is it a brilliant move or another sham of a strategic partnership like Virgin Cola the famously flopped drink introduced 1994 by Virgin Group in conjunction with Cott, a Canadian company specialized in bottling own-label drinks?

Exploring the design elements of open evaluation

Purpose Firms increasingly integrate a wide range of actors in the early ideation and concept creation phases of innovation processes leading to the collection of a large number of ideas. This creates the challenge of filtering the most promising ideas from a large number of submissions. The use of external stakeholders into the evaluation and selection of submissions (i.e. open evaluation (OE)) might be a viable alternative. The purpose of this paper is to provide a state-of-the-art analysis on how such OE systems are designed and structured. Design/methodology/approach Since OE is a new phenomenon, an exploratory qualitative research approach is adopted. In all, 122 instances of OE in 90 innovation contest cases are examined for their design elements. Findings This research reveals that OE systems are configured in many different ways. In total, 32 design elements and their respective parameters are identified and described along the six socio-technical system components of an OE system. This study allows for a comprehensive understanding of what OE is and what factors need to be taken into consideration when designing an OE system. Practical implications Scholars and professionals may draw insights on what design choices to make when implementing OE. Originality/value The comprehensive analysis performed in this study contributes to research on open and user innovation by examining the concept of OE. In particular, it extends knowledge on design elements of OE systems.

Key contextual Success Factors for Employee innovative Behavior - a Study in a foreign Manufacturing Subsidiary in China

Abstract Employee innovative behavior has been recognized as a key enabler for competitiveness in China. As more and more foreign multinational companies (MNCs) are setting up innovation activities in China, fostering employee innovative behavior is playing an increasingly central role in their development strategies. However, while there is an abundance of literature on contextual success factors to foster employee innovative behavior set in Western contexts, there has been little attention on the impact of culture-specifics in China. Also, there has been limited effort to determine the relative importance of the factors and define which ones are key. We address these gaps by conducting a Delphi study set in a foreign manufacturing subsidiary in China. Among a list of 24 success factors identified in extant literature, our results reveal reward and pay, cross-functional cooperation and company innovation strategy as the three most important factors to foster employee innovative behavior in China. We discuss these factors as to why they play a vital role for Chinese employees and finally we provide practical suggestions for implementing them. These include the set up of transparent guidelines for rewards, enhancing cross-functional cooperation and setting aligned goals among different functions.

The introduction of a competing business model: the case of eBay

In todays highly competitive business environment, the reasons for companies to engage in business model innovation (BMI) are manifold. The pressure on firms to innovate their business models results in either an adaptation of the incumbent business model, or the introduction of a new competing business model. Based on extant theory, we found that the reasons for a firm to engage in BMI can be clustered into three categories: 1) increased profitability; 2) improved strategic positioning; 3) customer attraction. By conducting an exploratory single case study approach, we confirmed these categories by identifying the distinct reasons for eBay to introduce a competing business model. We then highlight the impacts on the focal firm as a result of the new business model. We find that the introduction of a competing business model can create novel sources of value for the company and its customers. In total, the study emphasises that when firms launch competing business models, intended and unintended consequences can be both positive and negative.

CHANGING INNOVATION ROLES OF FOREIGN SUBSIDIARIES FROM THE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY IN CHINA

Based on the observation of higher internationalisation of innovation activities of multinational companies towards emerging markets, this paper aims to provide insights on how foreign subsidiaries from the manufacturing industry are changing their innovation roles in China. Based on in-depth expert interviews conducted from the subsidiary perspective in China, this paper affirms that foreign subsidiaries are moving towards higher innovative activities. The study contributes to extant literature by revealing three characteristics, namely innovation capabilities, organisational structures, and interaction with the headquarters that differentiate subsidiaries’ innovation roles with regard to their geography and magnitude of innovation. This study illustrates how these distinctive characteristics and their underlying elements advance as subsidiaries move towards greater innovation roles and discusses implications for managerial practice.

Conclusion of the Review

This review brings together scattered research on the phenomenon of combining products and services into one document. It reveals that research on joint offerings of product and services has grown considerably in the last few years. However, the research body continues to be fragmented into different streams, which has understandably hampered academic exchange between researchers to an extent. Research published in the last two to three years has rectified this problem at least to some degree, as researchers from different strands are interchanging and using more than one term in a publication.