Purple rinses and pseudo escofferian menus : the problem with training restaurants

Just as training restaurants seemed to be on their way out for good, Matthew Alexander reports that they are enjoying a new lease of life as a much-needed contributor to institutional income, with a new commercial edge and in one case a research mission

Solution selling and value co-creation : different forms and contexts

Creating customer solutions is said to embody the new service-dominant logic (Sharma, Iyer, & Evanschitzky, 2008; Tuli, Kohli, & Bharadwaj, 2007); the elaboration of solutions is likely to result from a value co-creation process involving actors from both the supply network and the customer network (Cova & Salle, 2007). Value co-creation addresses the growing importance of customer involvement in an organization; service-dominant logic states that the customer is always a co-creator of value (Vargo & Lusch, 2008) but the extent to which customers co-create value and facilitate the creation of solutions in a range of Business-to-Business and Business-to-Consumer contexts is, as yet, undetermined. This conceptual, exploratory research investigates value co-creation through a set of four encounters between firm, customer, and other networks based on a solution selling model(Tuli, et al., 2007). Using a pre-determined sample of service firms a set of expert ratings was gathered to analyze the level of value co-creation during the encounters. The results of the ratings suggest that firms create solutions and co-create in different ways during the 4 stages of the encounter process. A series of semi-structured interviews suggested that firms would benefit from a greater understanding of the forms of value co-creation, and the contexts where they can best be applied to a solution selling model. The research concludes by suggesting a conceptual framework for analyzing value co-creation in service firms and its potential impact on firm activity and performance

Challenges to Developing Professional Skills in Undergraduate Chemical Engineers at a Minority Serving University

Undergraduate engineering students at a minority serving institution present unique challenges for professional skill development. Students in the Chemical Process Design II and III course sequence in chemical engineering at Texas A&M University-Kingsville are introduced repeatedly to the importance of communication skills, and the topics of professional engineering licensure and life-long learning. A fraction of these students have English as their second language, and development of oral and written communication skills to the level of fluency expected of engineers in the United States is challenging. The students are tested in their oral communication skills through delivery of six group-format project presentations in the two course sequence. The course sequence also requires significant written communication exercises, particularly in the second course which is a writing intensive course. The overall performance of those students with English as a second language is reasonably strong once the instructor’s grading expectations are realized and the students avail themselves of outside assistance, such as provided by the University Writing Center. The undergraduate student’s development of a sense of the importance of life-long learning is also challenging for the instructor to instill. An open-ended technical problem requiring solution as part of a senior design project is an opportunity for the instructor to use coaching methods to guide students to their own independent solution, thus reinforcing self-learning outside of the instructor-led paradigm. Instilling an interest for professional registration is also difficult to accomplish, in particular because the fraction of chemical engineers that become registered in their career is far less than in other engineering disciplines such as civil engineering. The approaches used to accomplish instruction of these important professional skills at a minority-serving institution are presented.Cockrell School of Engineerin

ScotRail and Adopt A Station: the indirect benefits of community involvement in public transport spaces

In recent years the customer role has evolved from a passive recipient of services to a proactive cocreator in the activities of an organisation Customers are increasingly viewed as a resource with firms increasing collaboration to increase benefits to both parties. Cocreation activity can offer improved predictability and quality in the exchange for the firm and feelings of self-efficacy, enjoyment and psychological benefits for customers. Research exploring cocreation focuses mainly on direct relationships between a firm and it’s customers and the benefits accrued therein. Little attention has explored the extent to which collaborative activities might have an indirect effect on parties not directly involved in the process. This paper is based on a doctoral study which measured how value cocreation within a public transport setting can offer both direct and indirect benefits to users

Exploring value co-creation within networks : actor-to-actor service provision within a public transport service system

Purpose: This study explores how value co-creation occurs at a network level in a service system comprising representatives of business, consumer, and community actors. The research centres on the following questions: 1) what kind of operand and operant resources are contributed and integrated in the value co-creation process? 2) What value-in-use is experienced by actors? 3) What factors facilitate service-system functionality and value cocreation? Drawing on service-dominant logic, IMP literature and a qualitative case study the paper provides new insights into value co-creation at a network/system-level. Methodology: A case study approach is employed to examine a unique partnership between a public transport provider and community groups who are invited to ‘adopt’ railway stations in Scotland. The ‘adopt a station’ scheme allows community users to utilize unused space within the station free of charge in order to provide services or facility improvements to benefit the community. The case represents a service-system where value co-creation occurs within Actor to Actor interactions in the interplay of C-to-C, B-to-C and B-to-B context, involving consumers, members of the community, rail staff and governmental organisations. Findings: The study describes resource contribution and integration involving a range of actors. In the Adopt a Station case, organizational actors contributed principally operand (financial and physical) resources, and the community actors and rail operator become in themselves the operant resources that integrate resources, promote the network and build relationships through their drive and passion to make the adopt project a success. The provision of resources was motivated by the value-in-use each actor anticipates gaining from involvement in the service-system. Four critical prerequisites for value co-creation within the service-system were identified: the provision of access and nature of that access; the level of ownership taken by adopters; user empowerment, and an increased level of support from other actors in the service-system. Contribution: The study of value creation within service systems comprising of relationships between a range of actors (both business and consumer) represents an interesting research gap in both S-D logic and IMP literature. This paper addresses calls for research to increase understanding of value co-creation at the service system and network level. The paper contributes by illustrating a) resources contributed and integrated at network-level and b) the value-in-use experienced by multiple actors c) the prerequisites for successful value co-creation. We suggest that firms should explore the potential for engaging versatile stakeholders and their networks of relationships around a common cause and make use of organically emerging service systems

Exploring co-creation networks : creating balanced centricity within a public transport service

This presentation looks at exploring co-creation networks and creating balanced centricity within a public transport servic