6 research outputs found
Project Management as a B2B Service in the automotive development process
The German automotive industry currently not only faces the effects of COVID-19 on the supply chain but also a disruption by new technologies and new competitors. In order to rise to these challenges, project management must be improved and partners along the supply chain must be integrated more tightly. One part in accomplishing this, is to provide an interorganizational project management service between all involved partners. In order to improve, we first have to understand the current implementation of project management services between the OEM and suppliers and examine what the different actors expect from these services. This working paper addresses this issue by conducting a literature review as well as interviews with project management experts in the automotive industry
Making sense of project value from a value-co-creation perspective: an exploratory conceptual framework
This paper proposes a conceptual framework to make sense of how project value is created in projects. We study the extant project management value creation literature using a value co-creation lens based on service-dominant (S-D) logic. We explore how project value is proposed, exchanged and then realized following a project life-cycle. This leads to the identification of an exploratory “value co-creation life-cycle” framework. This framework shows value as a whole transcends the limitation of measurable products value normally used to define the project value. In particular, it shows how operant resources (or actors) - typically referred to as stakeholders - within the project management system exchange services and integrate resources in order to co-create value. The exploratory framework, in turn, would enable future investigation of real projects with the view to unpacking the complex dynamic behavior of project value creation
Smart Service Innovation: Organization, Design, and Assessment
Background: The emergence of technologies such as the Internet of Things, big data, cloud computing, and wireless communication drives the digital transformation of the entire society. Organizations can exploit these potentials by offering new data-driven services with innovative value propositions, such as carsharing, remote equipment maintenance, and energy management services. These services result from value co-creation enabled by smart service systems, which are configurations of people, processes, and digital technologies. However, developing such systems was found to be challenging in practice. This is mainly due to the difficulties of managing complexity and uncertainty in the innovation process, as contributions of various actors from multiple disciplines must be coordinated. Previous research in service innovation and service systems engineering (SSE) has not shed sufficient light on the specifics of smart services, while research on smart service systems lacks empirical grounding.
Purpose: This thesis aims to advance the understanding of the systematic development of smart services in multi-actor settings by investigating how smart service innovation (SSI) is conducted in practice, particularly regarding the participating actors, roles they assume, and methods they apply for designing smart service systems. Furthermore, the existing set of methods is extended by new methods for the design-integrated assessment of smart services and service business models.
Approach: Empirical and design science methods were combined to address the research questions. To explore how SSI is conducted in practice, 25 interviews with experts from 13 organizations were conducted in two rounds. Building on service-dominant logic (SDL) as a theoretical foundation and a multi-level framework for SSI, the involvement of actors, their activities, employed means, and experienced challenges were collected. Additionally, a case study was used to evaluate the suitability of the Lifecycle Modelling Language to describe smart service systems. Design science methods were applied to determine a useful combination of service design methods and to build meta-models and tools for assessing smart services. They were evaluated using experiments and the talk aloud method.
Results: On the macro-level, service ecosystems consist of various actors that conduct service innovation through the reconfiguration of resources. Collaboration of these actors is facilitated on the meso-level within a project. The structure and dynamics of project configurations can be described through a set of roles, innovation patterns, and ecosystem states. Four main activities have been identified, which actors perform to reduce uncertainty in the project. To guide their work, actors apply a variety of means from different disciplines to develop and document work products. The approach of design-integrated business model assessment is enabled through a meta-model that links qualitative aspects of service architectures and business models with quantitative assessment information. The evaluation of two tool prototypes showed the feasibility and benefit of this approach.
Originality / Value: The results reported in this thesis advance the understanding of smart service innovation. They contribute to evidence-based knowledge on service systems engineering and its embedding in service ecosystems. Specifically, the consideration of actors, roles, activities, and methods can enhance existing reference process models. Furthermore, the support of activities in such processes through suitable methods can stimulate discussions on how methods from different disciplines can be applied and combined for developing the various aspects of smart service systems. The underlying results help practitioners to better organize and conduct SSI projects. As potential roles in a service ecosystem depend on organizational capabilities, the presented results can support the analysis of ex¬ternal dependencies and develop strategies for building up internal competencies.:Abstract iii
Content Overview iv
List of Abbreviations viii
List of Tables x
List of Figures xii
PART A - SYNOPSIS 1
1 Introduction 2
1.1 Motivation 2
1.2 Research Objectives and Research Questions 4
1.3 Thesis Structure 6
2 Research Background 7
2.1 Smart Service Systems 7
2.2 Service-Dominant Logic 8
2.3 Service Innovation in Ecosystems 11
2.4 Systematic Development of Smart Service Systems 13
3 Research Approach 21
3.1 Research Strategy 21
3.2 Applied Research Methods 22
4 Summary of Findings 26
4.1 Overview of Research Results 26
4.2 Organizational Setup of Multi-Actor Smart Service Innovation 27
4.3 Conducting Smart Service Innovation Projects 32
4.4 Approaches for the Design-integrated Assessment of Smart Services 39
5 Discussion 44
5.1 Contributions 44
5.2 Limitations 46
5.3 Managerial Implications 47
5.4 Directions for Future Research 48
6 Conclusion 54
References 55
PART B - PUBLICATIONS 68
7 It Takes More than Two to Tango: Identifying Roles and Patterns in Multi-Actor Smart Service Innovation 69
7.1 Introduction 69
7.2 Research Background 72
7.3 Methodology 76
7.4 Results 79
7.5 Discussion 90
7.6 Conclusions and Outlook 96
7.7 References 97
8 Iterative Uncertainty Reduction in Multi-Actor Smart Service Innovation 100
8.1 Introduction 100
8.2 Research Background 103
8.3 Research Approach 109
8.4 Findings 113
8.5 Discussion 127
8.6 Conclusions and Outlook 131
8.7 References 133
9 How to Tame the Tiger – Exploring the Means, Ends, and Challenges in Smart Service Systems Engineering 139
9.1 Introduction 139
9.2 Research Background 140
9.3 Methodology 143
9.4 Results 145
9.5 Discussion and Conclusions 151
9.6 References 153
10 Combining Methods for the Design of Digital Services in Practice: Experiences from a Predictive Costing Service 156
10.1 Introduction 156
10.2 Conceptual Foundation 157
10.3 Preparing the Action Design Research Project 158
10.4 Application and Evaluation of Methods 160
10.5 Discussion and Formalization of Learning 167
10.6 Conclusion 169
10.7 References 170
11 Modelling of a Smart Service for Consumables Replenishment: A Life Cycle Perspective 171
11.1 Introduction 171
11.2 Life Cycles of Smart Services 173
11.3 Case Study 178
11.4 Discussion of the Modelling Approach 185
11.5 Conclusion and Outlook 187
11.6 References 188
12 Design-integrated Financial Assessment of Smart Services 192
12.1 Introduction 192
12.2 Problem Analysis 195
12.3 Meta-Model Design 200
12.4 Application of the Meta-Model in a Tool Prototype 204
12.5 Evaluation 206
12.6 Discussion 208
12.7 Conclusions 209
12.8 References 211
13 Towards a Cost-Benefit-Analysis of Data-Driven Business Models 215
13.1 Introduction 215
13.2 Conceptual Foundation 216
13.3 Methodology 218
13.4 Case Analysis 220
13.5 A Cost-Benefit-Analysis Model for DDBM 222
13.6 Conclusion and Outlook 225
13.7 References 226
14 Enabling Design-integrated Assessment of Service Business Models Through Factor Refinement 228
14.1 Introduction 228
14.2 Related Work 229
14.3 Research Goal and Method 230
14.4 Solution Design 231
14.5 Demonstration 234
14.6 Discussion 235
14.7 Conclusion 236
14.8 References 23
The Impact of Organizational Identity on Resource Integration in B2B Service Ecosystems
Purpose – Project business represents a large part of the business-to-business
sector. The qualitative and quantitative scope of many project networks requires
that several supplier firms participate in their development and delivery.
Consequently, such project networks are characterized by a great heterogeneity
with respect to the participating firms building a service ecosystem. This raises
the question of how resource integration for value co-creation can be shaped
successfully for all partners, not least because many projects are characterized
by sometimes dramatic failures with respect to costs, duration, and scope.
Specifically, the different organizational identities provide institutional frames of
reference to the resource-integrating actors. As the organizational identities are
typically not harmonious with each other, at least partial misalignments of the
institutional arrangements that shape the resource integration processes may
emerge, leading to imperfect value co-creation or even value co-destruction.
The purpose of this thesis is to conceptualize and to empirically investigate the
impact of organizational identity as an institutional context on resource integration
in B2B service ecosystems.
Design/methodology/approach – The thesis makes use of interpretive
phenomenology in conjunction with a qualitative case study approach to access
the lived experience of actors of different professional service firms who have
experienced changes in resource integration into a single B2B service
ecosystem.
Findings – A conceptualization of organizational identity as institutional context
for resource integration is developed and empirically investigated. The findings
show a strong impact on the firms’ organizational identities and the actors’
resource integration experience and evaluation. Moreover, it is also very likely
that if unmanaged, an at least partial misalignment of the institutional
arrangements of multi-organizational B2B service ecosystems would represent a
normal and also stable conditio