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Service design as an innovation approach in technology startups: a longitudinal multiple case study
Linköping University, Department of Computer and Information Science, Human-Centered systems. Linköping University, Faculty of Science & Engineering.
Univ Porto, Portugal.
Linköping University, Department of Computer and Information Science, Human-Centered systems. Linköping University, Faculty of Science & Engineering.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-2529-4303
Linköping University, Department of Management and Engineering, Business Administration. Linköping University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Karlstad Univ, Sweden.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-6589-8662
2020 (English)In: Creativity and Innovation Management, ISSN 0963-1690, E-ISSN 1467-8691, Vol. 29, no 2, p. 303-323Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

While service design has been accepted as a human-centered and cocreative approach to service innovation, its role in technology-driven contexts, specifically technology startups, has been largely unexplored. Previous research suggests that technology startups tend to focus on technical aspects of innovation, neglecting the value cocreation potential of service innovation that service design can facilitate. Focusing on value propositions as the main mechanisms of service innovation, this study explores how service design facilitates service innovation in technology startups. This longitudinal study examines the opportunities and challenges of introducing service design for the purpose of service innovation in five technology startups over a period of 11 months. Results reveal how service design facilitates the creation of new value propositions that expand the previous technology-driven focus towards a human-centered and cocreative one. Additionally, findings suggest that there are two levels of how service design becomes embedded in technology startups that are contingent on their life cycle stage. This contributes to the service innovation literature that views innovation as development of new value propositions and describes the key role of service design. The study also discusses managerial implications of the findings for technology startups and service designers and provides directions for future research.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
WILEY , 2020. Vol. 29, no 2, p. 303-323
Keywords [en]
service design; service innovation; technology startups; value proposition
National Category
Business Administration Design
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-166096DOI: 10.1111/caim.12383ISI: 000532923100009OAI: oai:DiVA.org:liu-166096DiVA, id: diva2:1437100
Projects
SDIN, Service Design for Innovation
Funder
EU, Horizon 2020Available from: 2020-06-08 Created: 2020-06-08 Last updated: 2025-02-25
In thesis
1. Innovating Innovation: Understanding the Role of Service Design in Service Innovation
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Innovating Innovation: Understanding the Role of Service Design in Service Innovation
2022 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

Organizations across industries and sectors are seeking novel ways to innovate that can address the complex environments in which they operate. The complexity is reflected in an increasing focus on service innovation as the main growth trajectory, which entails ongoing infusion of technology into creating service offerings focused on customer experience. This creates specific challenges related to systemic and value-based dimensions of service that require organization-wide efforts in understanding and managing service innovation. Thus, in their bid to address service innovation challenges, organizations have been adopting service design as a new approach to service innovation, hoping to stir creativity by infusing the innovation process with actor-centric, systemic, and value-driven perspectives. Service design has been established in both research and practice as a human-centered, collaborative, and interdisciplinary approach that can facilitate service innovation by combining design knowledge and practices with a service perspective. However, the intersection of service design and service innovation is still in theoretical and conceptual development, making it unclear how service design might facilitate service innovation. To address this challenge, this thesis brings these two multifaceted concepts together. It employs a value-centric perspective on service innovation to articulate how service design addresses different elements of service innovation. The contributions of this thesis are based on conceptual and empirical work. The conceptual work explores the building blocks of service innovation informed by service-dominant logic and explicates meaning as a mechanism of new value creation. The empirical work uses a qualitative approach to investigate how service design facilitates service innovation. First it looks at service design projects and how they lead to service innovation through the development of new value propositions. Second it looks at service design as embedded practices that support organizational capabilities for sustained service innovation. This thesis articulates the role of service design as creative exploration and ongoing transformation and provides a conceptual integration of service and design perspectives to understand new value cocreation. Although service designers and managers are eager to implement service design in their innovation processes, they face challenges related to different, but interrelated aspects of service innovation. This research contributes with comprehensive findings that can support their decisions. 

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Linköping: Linköping University Electronic Press, 2022. p. 73
Series
Linköping Studies in Science and Technology. Dissertations, ISSN 0345-7524 ; 2248
National Category
Information Systems, Social aspects Design
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-187142 (URN)10.3384/9789179294250 (DOI)9789179294243 (ISBN)9789179294250 (ISBN)
Public defence
2022-09-16, TEMCAS, Temahuset, Campus Valla, Linköping, 13:15
Opponent
Supervisors
Available from: 2022-08-05 Created: 2022-08-05 Last updated: 2026-04-28Bibliographically approved

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