Completed projects
ESCAPE - Embedding Service in customer Contexts, Activities, Practices and Experiences
Service Logic and
Value-in-use are in the international discussion currently being proposed as a new marketing and management perspective - not just for service companies, but for any company. This new perspective has brought with it a strong focus on customer activities and experiences. Consequently, there is now a need for new
models,
maps and
measures to translate the perspective into business practice. The purpose of the ESCAPE project is to do this.
The value-in-use approach means moving away from the traditional views of value as something that is produced exclusively by the provider. Instead of looking at how the customer can be involved in the activities of the provider, the project focuses on understanding how services fit into customers' own activities and contexts, and how value is created there.
The project was funded by Tekes and carried out in cooperation with the CTF Service Research Center at Karlstad University and the CIC center at Stockholm School of Economics. The project began in the fall of 2008 and was completed in 2011.
Researchers at Hanken: Professor Tore Strandvik, project coordinator Kristina Heinonen (PhD), researchers Jan Sten (PhD) and Jacob Mickelsson (MsC)
StratMark program
StratMark is a joint research program between Hanken School of Economics and Helsinki School of Economics that aims at enhancing the role and understanding of marketing within the Finnish business community. The project is initiated by Amer and funded by
Tekes,
Amer Sports,
Componenta,
Finnvera,
Konecranes,
Sinebrychoff,
Suunto and
MARK.
Researchers at Hanken: Professor Tore Strandvik, Robert Wendelin (PhD) and Pekka Helle (MSc)
For more information, see www.stratmark.fi or contact anne.rindell[at]hanken.fi
The Role of Customer Information in Service Innovation
Service innovation is important and even vital for the company's prosperity and future existence. Since the early 1970s research has consistently found that one of the top key factors to a successful new service is information about customer needs and wants, i.e. customer information. As a result, research and practice has focused on numerous methods that "best" capture this valuable customer information. However, the actual use of the acquired information in the development process has not been investigated to the same extent. In fact, the actual use is a black box and a missing link between the acquisition of customer information and the performance of the new service. Many companies do acquire customer information, but do not use it in their innovation work, and many companies do not even do a proper job of involving the customer in the first place.
This research project will open up the black box of use and aims at identifying obstacles and facilitators that influence use of customer information in service innovation. The focus on the factors that influence use will also generate insights on the potential difficulties of acquiring actionable customer information from business customers and end consumers. To increase the awareness of these factors is an essential first step in order to manage them and to steer the innovation work in a customer oriented direction. Hence, the goal is to create knowledge that can give guidance in practice and that can develop theory on the role of customer information in service innovation.
The CInSIn project is part of the SERVE program on Service innovation and is funded by TEKES and four international companies.
Supervising professor: Christian Grönroos
Project leader and researcher: Catharina von Koskull
Project researcher: Anu Helkkula
BeSeL II - From Traditional Manufacturing to a Knowledge Based Service Business
The project aimed at developing a service-centric business model for manufacturing firms by creating a business process and earnings logic that is geared towards mutual value creation on business markets.
The overall objective of this project was to develop conceptual models of how manufacturing firms may be able to regain a competitive advantage by expanding their knowledge base to include cooperative customer relationships, service-based value-creation and -capture, as well as cooperative behaviors required to exploit the potential inherent in the relationship.
Members in the research consortium: Marketing/CERS/Hanken, VTT, BIT Research and LTT Research as research associate organization. Several industry fore-runner companies participate as corporate research members. The project was funded by
Tekes (Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation) within the Serve - Innovative Services Technology Programme 2006-2010.
More information about the project can be found here.
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Aapo - Asiakasarvopohjainen liiketoiminta
The Aapo project was a conjoint Tekes-project between the Univeristy of Tampere, Hanken and four companies.
The change in the business environment has caused a need for service businesses to renew themselves. The challenges relate to consumer communities changing preferences faster than companies are able to react to. Electronic distribution channels causing pressure on traditional service providers. Also the creation of trustworthy purchase environments in the internet surrounding is a considerable challenge.
In order to be able to tackle these challenges following themes were studied:
- The multitude of customer roles and its effects on the service industry business
- The cooperation between customer and service provider in regard to value creation and development of service innovations.
- Conceptualizing the logic of value creation in a customer-centric service-industry.
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DESIRE - Creating innovations through market-oriented service design
The project was concerned with innovations and knowledge creation in the service industry, and the applicability of a market-oriented design process to this sector. The purpose was to unfold, depict and enhance innovation processes in selected case companies. Design and service innovation models were combined to identify potential new service innovation models.
The project "DESIRE - Creating innovations through market-oriented service design" started in September 2007 and lasted until the end of 2009.
DESIRE 2009 - Final report [pdf] 566k
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BIG Research Programme 2007-2009
BIG was an international research programme at Hanken in co-operation with Emory University, Atlanta. The project was funded by
Tekes.
Its aim was generating growth and competitiveness through improved value generation of new business models.
Order the book "Titans of Branding" here. For more information, contact Research Director, DE Kirsti Lindberg-Repo.
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VALU: Tools for Identifying User Needs and Values in Designing Successful Technology Products
The aims of the VALU project were 1) to gain a thorough picture of user values and needs and 2) to develop a tools and practices to utilize that knowledge in designing successful technology products within consumer product and service development industry. The project was carried out as a collaboration between the Centre for Relationship Marketing and Service Management (CERS) at Hanken and the Unit of Human-Centered Technology at Tampere University of Technology, as well as six industrial partners. The project started in the beginning of 2007 and finished in the beginning of 2009.
Project leader: Minna Pihlström
Researchers at Hanken: Anu Helkkula and Maria Berglund
More information:
http://webhotel.tut.fi/projects/uservalues/