Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Managing Online User Co-creation in Service Innovation

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
The Handbook of Service Innovation

Abstract

In many economic sectors the users of existing products are the largest source of innovation, particularly so in the service industries. Users as an important source for innovations combined with the advent of web 2.0 have increased interest in online innovation tools. Nevertheless, the understanding of how to systematically generate, converse and exploit user and customer knowledge in the service development process remains limited. The purpose of the paper is to present a framework of capabilities and related management practices to the effective management of different types of online service innovation tools. The framework highlights the development of three types of service innovation capabilities and related processes: (a) online service exploration capability in order to find, direct and motivate users to contribute, (b) online service conversion capability in order to select, develop and appropriate users’ contributions, and (c) online service exploitation capability in order to transfer, integrate and combine users’ contributions into service offerings. In order to effectively utilize online service innovation tools a company need to develop these capabilities and related management practices. The framework and the management practices are built mainly on previous research on customer co-creation, user innovation and online innovation tools but also on case studies performed by the authors. The framework and management practices will be illustrated by a case study on a major telecom operator company’s use of an innovation web site in order to generate ideas, test and design prototypes of new mobile services.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 109.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Alam I (2002) An exploratory investigation of user involvement in new service development. J Acad Mark Sci 30(3):250–261

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • Bengtsson L, Ryzhkova N (2013) Managing a strategic source of innovation—online users. Int J Inf Manage 33(4):655–662

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cassiman B, Veugelers R (2006) In search of complementarity in the innovation strategy: internal R&D and external knowledge acquisition. Manage Sci 52:68–82

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen WM, Nelson RR, Walsch JP (2002) Links and impacts: the influence of public research on industrial R&D. Manage Sci 48(1):1–23

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • den Hertog P (2000) Knowledge intensive business services as co-producers of innovation. Int J Innov Manage 4(4):491–528

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • den Hertog P, van der Aa W, de Jong MW (2010) Capabilities for managing service innovation: towards a conceptual framework. J Serv Manage 21(4):490–514

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dodgson M, Gann D, Salter A (2006) The role of technology in the shift towards open innovation: the case of Procter & Gamble. R&D Manage 36:333–346

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eisenhardt KM, Martin JA (2000) Dynamic capabilities: what are they? Strateg Manage J 21(10–11):1105–1121

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Franz K (2005) Tinkering: consumers reinvent the early automobile. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Gangi PM, Wasko MM, Hooker RE (2010) Getting customers’ ideas to work you: Learning from Dell how to succeed with online user innovation communities. MIS Q Executive 9:213–228

    Google Scholar 

  • Helfat CE, Winter SG (2011) Untangling dynamic and operational capabilities: strategy for the (N)ever-changing world. Strat Manage J 32:1243–1250

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Kristensson P, Matthing J, Johansson N (2008) Key strategies for the successful involvement of customers in the co-creation of new technology-based services. Int J Serv Ind Manage 19(4):474–491

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lusch RF, Vargo SL, O’Brien M (2007) Competing through service: insights from service-dominant logic. J Retail 83(1):5–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Magnussen P, Matthing J, Kristensson P (2003) Managing user involvement in service innovation. J Serv Res 6(2):111–124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matthing J, Sanden B, Edvardsson B (2004) New service development: learning from and with customers. Int J Serv Ind Manage 15(5):479–498

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Michel S, Brown SW, Gallan AS (2008) Service logic innovations: how to innovate customers, not products. Calif Manage Rev 50(3):49–65

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Normann R (2002) Service management: strategy and leadership in service business, 3rd edn. Wiley, Chichester

    Google Scholar 

  • Normann R, Ramírez R (1993) From value chain to value constellation: designing interactive strategy. Harvard Bus Rev 71:65–77

    Google Scholar 

  • Ogawa S, Piller FT (2006) Reducing the risks of new product development. Sloan Manage Rev 47:65–72

    Google Scholar 

  • Oliveira P, von Hippel E (2011) Users as service innovators: the case of banking services. Res Policy 40:806–818

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ostrom AL, Bitner MJ, Brown SW, Burkhard KA, Goul M, Smith-DanielsV, Demirkan H, Rabinovich E (2010) Moving forward and making a difference: research priorities for the science of service. J Serv Res 13(1):4−36

    Google Scholar 

  • Piller FT, Walcher A (2006) Toolkits for idea competitions: a novel method to integrate users in new product development. R&D Manage 36:307–318

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prahalad CK, Ramaswamy V (2004) Co-creation experiences: the next practice in value creation. J Interact Mark 18:5–14

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prandelli E, Verona G, Raccagni D (2006) Diffusion of web-based product innovation. Calif Manage Rev 48:109–135

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryzhkova N (2012) Web-based customer innovation: a replication with extension. Innovation: management, Policy Practice 14(3):416–430

    Google Scholar 

  • Sawhney M, Verona G, Prandelli E (2005) Collaborating to compete: the internet as a platform for customer engagement in product innovation. J Interact Mark 19:4–17

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shah SK, Tripsas M (2007) The accidental entrepreneur: The emergent and collective process of user entrepreneurship. Strateg Entrepreneurship J 1:123–140

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Svensson P, Bengtsson L (2010) Users’ influence in social-service innovations: two swedish case studies. J Soc Entrepreneurship 1:190–212

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teece DJ (2007) Explicating dynamic capabilities: the nature and micro-foundations of (sustainable) enterprise performance. Strateg Manage J 28(13):1319–1350

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tether BS (2005) Do Services Innovate (Differently)? Insights from the European Innobarometer Survey. Ind Innov 12(2):153–184

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vargo SL, Lusch RF (2004) Evolving to a new dominant logic for marketing. J Mark 68:1–17

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • von Hippel E (1986) Lead users: A source of novel product concepts. Manage Sci 32:791–805

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • von Hippel E (2005) Democratizing innovation. MIT Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • von Hippel E, Katz R (2002) Shifting innovation to users via toolkits. Manage Sci 48:821–833

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Witell L, Kristensson P, Gustafsson A, Löfgren M (2011) Idea generation: customer co-creation versus traditional market research techniques. J Serv Manage 22(2):140–159

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Winter SG (2003) Understanding dynamic capabilities. Strateg Manage J 24(10):991−995

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Production Management, Faculty of Engineering, Lund University, Lund, Sweden

    Lars Bengtsson

  2. School of Management, Blekinge Institute of Technology, Karlskrona, Sweden

    Natalia Ryzhkova

Authors
  1. Lars Bengtsson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Natalia Ryzhkova
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lars Bengtsson .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. UTS Business School, University of Technology Sydney, Broadway, Australia

    Renu Agarwal

  2. University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia

    Willem Selen

  3. UTS Business School, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia

    Göran Roos

  4. UTS Business School, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    Roy Green

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 Springer-Verlag London

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Bengtsson, L., Ryzhkova, N. (2015). Managing Online User Co-creation in Service Innovation. In: Agarwal, R., Selen, W., Roos, G., Green, R. (eds) The Handbook of Service Innovation. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-6590-3_26

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-6590-3_26

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4471-6589-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4471-6590-3

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation