Designing behavior change support systems in the context of knowledge documentation: development of theory and practical implementation

Although innovation and operating efficiently require creating, transferring, and applying knowledge, successful knowledge documentation remains a challenge for organizations. While knowledge management systems support knowledge management activities, the missing link to applying knowledge management relies on human actions and their behaviors. This dissertation extends prior design knowledge about designing Behavior Change Support Systems in the context of knowledge documentation by developing theory and showing practical implementation. Combining technical and psychological models within information systems frameworks based on the principles of abstraction, originality, justification, and benefit, this dissertation draws on design science to propose prescriptive knowledge, for example, in the form of design principles and a specific artifact

A Quantitative Model for Decomposing & Assessing the Value for the Customer

The research presented in this paper proposes a novel quantitative model for decomposing and assessing the Value for the Customer. The proposed approach builds on the different dimensions of the Value Network analysis proposed by Verna Allee having as background the concept of Value for the Customer proposed by Woodall. In this context, the Value for the Customer is modelled as a relationship established between the exchanged deliverables and a combination of tangible and intangible assets projected into their endogenous or exogenous dimensions. The Value Network Analysis of the deliverables exchange enables an in-depth understanding of this frontier and the implicit modelling of co-creation scenarios. The proposed Conceptual Model for Decomposing Value for the Customer combines several concepts: from the marketing area we have the concept of Value for the Customer; from the area of intellectual capital the concept of Value Network Analysis; from the collaborative networks area we have the perspective of the enterprise life cycle and the endogenous and exogenous perspectives; at last, the proposed model is supported by a mathematical formal description that stems from the area of Multi-Criteria Decision Making. The whole concept is illustrated in the context of a case study of an enterprise in the footwear industry (Pontechem). The merits of this approach seem evident from the contact with Pontechem as it provides a structured approach for the enterprises to assess the adequacy of their value proposition to the client/customer needs and how these relate to their endogenous and/or exogenous tangible or intangible assets. The proposed model, as a tool, may therefore be a useful instrument in supporting the commercialisation of new products and/or services

Product-Service Bundling in Manufacturing Firms

abstract: Most advanced economies have evolved into service economies with the majority of their activity and jobs being in the service sector. The manufacturing sector is also going through a similar shift towards services. Manufacturers are increasingly complementing their products with new services in order to satisfy a broader array of customer needs and increase the value of their offerings. This shift has offered significant opportunities to the sector and the success of major firms such as IBM, Caterpillar, and Rolls-Royce in competing through services has been remarkable. Despite the increased importance of services in the manufacturing sector, the academic literature is yet to investigate the many questions that arise under this new manufacturing paradigm. Perhaps for the same reason study of servitization is listed as a research priority in recent publications both in the field of service operations management and in the field services marketing. This dissertation covers three essays aimed at disentangling multiple aspects of the role of services in the manufacturing sector. The literature on the drivers and implications of transition towards services in manufacturing firms is limited. The three studies in this dissertation aim at shedding light on this issue. Specifically, the first essay looks at the innovation benefits of service transactions with customers. This paper demonstrate the value of services in getting manufacturers closer to customers and allowing them glean useful information from their service interactions. The second essay investigates the antecedents of service strategy adoption. We suggest that the extant diversification theory does not fully explain servitization and this phenomenon represents a unique type of diversification, which is likely driven by different factors. Through econometric analysis of financial data over a 27-year period, this study explores characteristics of product, firm resources, competition, and industry that encourage adoption of service strategies in manufacturing sector. Finally, the third essay takes a deeper dive and focuses on dealerships, as service centers, in the automobile industry. It investigates the role of dealerships in the success of automakers and explores dealership traits that are critical for market success of an automobile brand.Dissertation/ThesisDoctoral Dissertation Business Administration 201

Creativity and Leadership in Sales Management: A Comparative study of Private and Public sector Organization (Indian context)

En las últimas dos décadas, la mayoría de los teóricos han definido la creatividad como el desarrollo de las ideas acerca de los productos, servicios, prácticas o procedimientos que son (a) nuevos y (b) potencialmente útiles para la organización (Amabile, 1996; Zhou&Shalley, 2003). La investigación sobre la creatividad de los empleados en ventas tenía una historia relativamente corta, pero aún en la última década algunas investigaciones empíricas en esta área han sido encontradas. Los investigadores habían hallado una variedad de factores contextuales y organizacionales que facilitan y dificultan el desempeño creativo en el lugar de trabajo (por ejemplo Amabile 1988, 1996, Amabile y Conti 1999, Lazenby y Herron 1996, Eisenberger y Armeli 1997, Eisenberger y Selbst 1994, George &Zhou 2001, 2002, Madagar, Oldham, y Pratt 2002, Shalley& Perry Smith-2001, Tierney y Farmer 2002, Zhou y Oldham, 2004). La base de la investigación de la creatividad comenzó entre finales de los años 1980 hasta mediados de 1990. La creatividad floreció primero a través de la obra seminal de Amabile (1983). Ella fue el primer investigador en proponer un marco teórico con apoyo empírico para comprender los conocimientos personales (por ejemplo, conocimiento y habilidades de dominio relevantes, habilidades creativas y estrategias pertinentes) y factores ambientales (por ejemplo --- contratado por recompensas) que podrían facilitar o inhibir empleado la creatividad

Intel's XL Permit: A Framework for Evaluation

The paper develops a framework to evaluate permits granted to firms under the Environmental Protection Agency's Project XL � with emphasis on the novel air permit granted to the Intel Corporation. We describe the permit, the process that created it, and the types of costs and benefits likely to arise from this type of "facility-specific" regulatory arrangement. Among other things, the paper describes the permit's impact on environmental quality, production costs, transaction costs, and Intel's strategic market position. The paper also considers how an estimate of the costs and benefits � both to Intel and society � might be estimated. While facility-specific regulation typically conjures images of production cost savings as processes are re-engineered and low-cost abatement strategies pursued, the Intel case highlights perhaps a more important source of benefit: flexibility in the form of streamlined permitting. Flexibility in this form allows for accelerated product introductions, with potentially significant benefits to the firm and possibly to society.

Kohti vihreämpää maailmaa : kulttuurierojen ymmärtäminen kestävän kulutuksen edistämisen väylänä

Consumers may enjoy the pleasure of preventing environmental degradation by purchasing environmentally friendly products. However, sustainable consumption is complex type of decision-making, and “greening” the consumption patterns of consumers is not straightforward. There are many motives that consumers may have for buying environmentally friendly products. In view of that, this dissertation examines individual vs collective culturally congruent motives for sustainable consumption. The first essay of this dissertation examines the role of horizontal and vertical individualism vs collectivism cultural values (H/V IND-COL) in the relationship between green branding and consumers’ green behavioral intentions (e.g. word-of-mouth intentions, the willingness to pay a premium, and purchase intentions). Consumers’ intentions to purchase green products differ with respect to their cultural backgrounds. The second essay explores how H/V IND-COL cultural values are reflected in consumers’ organic food choice motivations and product perceptions when viewed through the lens of life goals. Consumers’ cultural values and life goals both converge and diverge regarding their organic food-product choices. The third essay examines the role of regulatory focus as a personal motivational construct in determining consumers’ sustainable product-consumption experience in H/V IND-COL cultures. This third essay demonstrates that H/V IND-COL values influence consumers’ prevention-focused and promotion-focused environmental behavior. The fourth essay examines if environmental responsibility as a personal motivational construct mediates the effects of H/V IND-COL cultural values on consumers’ environmental attitudes and purchase intentions. Environmental responsibility not only influences consumers’ environmental behavior but also plays a mediating role between H/V IND-COL cultural values and environmental behavior. The findings of this dissertation contribute to existing research on cross-cultural sustainable consumption, specifically to the research examining individual vs collective cultural motives of sustainable consumption. The results indicate significant differences between consumers’ sustainable consumption choices in countries whose cultures could be broadly described as “individualistic” and “collectivistic.” The results of this dissertation have the potential to help companies tailor culturally congruent green marketing and advertising strategies.Ostaessaan ympäristöystävällisiä tuotteita kuluttajat voivat kokea mielihyvää voidessaan vaikuttaa ympäristön pilaantumisen torjumiseen. Kestävä kulutus on kuitenkin luonteeltaan monimutkaista päätöksentekoa ja kuluttajien kulutusmallien "vihertyminen" ei ole suoraviivaista. Kuluttajilla voi olla useita motiiveja ostaessaan ympäristöystävällisiä tuotteita. Tämä huomioiden esillä oleva väitöskirja tarkastelee individualistiseen vs. kollektiiviseen kulttuuriin pohjautuvia kestävän kulutuksen motiiveja. Väitöskirjan ensimmäinen essee kohdistuu horisontaalisen ja vertikaalisen individualistisen kulttuurin arvoihin vs. kollektiivisen kulttuurin arvoihin (lyhennettynä H/V IND-COL) tuotteiden vihreän brändäämisen ja kuluttajien vihreiden kulutusaikomusten suhteen (suusanallinen viestintä, ostaminen, lisähinnan maksaminen). Kuluttajien vihreiden tuotteiden ostoaikomukset eroavat kulttuuritaustan myötä. Toinen essee tarkastelee sitä, kuinka H/V IND-COL -kulttuurin arvot heijastuvat kuluttajien luomuruoan valintamotiiveihin ja tuotekokemuksiin tarkasteltuna elämää ohjaavien peruspäämäärien näkökulmasta. Kuluttajien kulttuuriperusteiset arvot ja elämän peruspäämäärät sekä yhdentyvät että eriytyvät luomuruokatuotteiden valinnoissa. Kolmannessa esseessä tutkitaan itsesäätelyn kohdentumisen (regulatory focus) roolia henkilökohtaisena motiivirakenteena, kun määritetään kuluttajien kestävää tuote-kulutuskokemusta H/V IND-COL -kulttuureissa. Kolmas essee osoittaa, että H/V IND-COL -arvot vaikuttavat kuluttajien välttämis- ja lähestymislähtöiseen ympäristöä koskevaan käyttäytymiseen. Neljäs essee tarkastelee, onko ympäristövastuun kokemisella henkilökohtaisena motiivirakenteena merkitystä siihen, kuinka H/V IND-COL -kulttuurin arvot vaikuttavat kuluttajien ympäristöasenteisiin ja ostoaikomuksiin. Koettu ympäristövastuu ei vain vaikuta kuluttajien ympäristöä koskevaan käyttäytymiseen, vaan toimii myös säätelevässä roolissa H/V IND-COL- ja ympäristöllisen käyttäytymisen välisessä suhteessa. Tämän väitöskirjan tulokset tuovat oman osuuteensa monikulttuurista kestävää kuluttamista koskevaan tutkimukseen, erityisesti koskien tutkimusta individualistisen vs. kollektiivisen kulttuuriin nojaavista kestävän kulutuksen motiiveista. Tulokset osoittavat merkittäviä eroja kestävissä kulutusvalinnoissa niissä maissa, joiden kulttuuria voidaan laajasti kuvata "individualistiseksi" ja "kollektiiviseksi". Tämän väitöskirjan tulokset voivat auttaa yrityksiä räätälöimään kulttuurin huomioivaa vihreää markkinointia ja mainontaa koskevia strategioita.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Negotiators at Work: Three Essays on Employee Negotiation Skill Development and Exhibition

The need to negotiate is pervasive, but the ability to do so effectively is not so commonplace and is an often assumed or taken-for-granted skill. Despite the fact that people negotiate something nearly every day, be it in their personal or professional lives, very few people undergo formal negotiation skill training. In fact, most people overestimate their negotiating abilities, primarily because they never receive feedback on their skills. Consequently, this overestimation of negotiating ability often leads people to unknowingly negotiate suboptimal agreements. In other words, they can do better. In an organizational setting, many employees have to negotiate as a normal and customary part of their job; however, unlike other essential skills, such as technical skills or general communication skills, negotiation skills are not as widely taught and are frequently assumed to be mastered. Furthermore, organizations will place great emphasis on the outcomes of employee negotiations rather than the skills that lead to those outcomes. Similarly, scholarly research on negotiation seems to mimic this focus, where there are many studies related to negotiation outcomes and even general tactics (e.g., making the first offer, setting target and resistance points, etc.) prescribed to obtain outcomes. However, there is a large gap in understanding how people acquire and why they exhibit particular negotiation skills. Furthermore, the relationship between specific negotiation skills and specific negotiated outcomes has been inferred or tested indirectly in previous research. Studies in this dissertation directly examine if acquiring a particular negotiation skill set does lead to particular negotiated outcomes. This dissertation aims to set forth an initial framework for employee negotiation skill development and test key relationships to support the idea that not everyone acquires the same set of negotiation skills or are effective in every negotiation situation. This overall argument will be presented via three essays, the first proposes a theoretical framework and the second and third empirically test relationships set forth in the theory paper