It’s a paradox. The technology that was meant to unite us, is actually separating us. The events during the last years – Brexit, Trump’s victory, the advancement of populism and polarisation across the world – are examples of phenomena that have at least partially been accelerated by technological developments, social platforms, and the exponential increase…
Did you know about Nordic Workshop on Relationship Dynamics – NoRD?
Have you thought about why relationships don’t last forever? Or, why some relationships don’t end even if they probably should? And, how come that it is so difficult to end or break free from many relationships? Relationships in general, and in particular how they come about and end, are indeed fascinating. They are challenging not…
Service innovation is not just creating new products or service – it is improved value cocreation with customers
How can novel value cocreation be enhanced in service innovations, and what are the different archetypes of service innovation? Our Journal of Service Research article presents the value-centric approach of service innovation, and how it combines the current archetypes of service innovation that are presented in literature (Open gold access). Service innovation is a key…
On the dilemma of combining service productivity and service innovation
After several years of working on it, I’m happy to inform that we just got our study about service productivity and service innovation accepted at Journal of Service Research (JSR)– with Jan Klein (Tilburg University), Henrikki Tikkanen (Aalto University), and Xueming Luo (Temple University). The final title for the study is, “The Dilemma of Service…
Love for endangered species: Finnish quality products
I have always loved products labelled “Made in Finland”. True or not, I have thought this way we can keep the Finnish society going as jobs stay in Finland, quality remains secured, and our environment is better off, thanks to the high environmental protection laws. But do the Finnish companies offer high quality made in…
Technology is not sufficient for success. Customer-focused business model innovations are desperately needed
A study from IMD in Switzerland confirms what we at CERS always have advocated. A firm that is truly customer-focussed and customer-driven performs better. Being truly customer-driven requires that top management does not only claim that being customer-focused is the top priority, but in reality nevertheless consider finance, technology, operations, and other business aspects equally…
Rage, rage against the dying of the light
There is a growing trend in the universities of Northern America that we should be weary of in Europe. North American, especially American, trends seem to wash to our shores with some delay and sometimes it seems there is little to do against the mcdonaldization of the world. Most of the trends we embrace, who…
It’s not the prize but the thrill, honey! Thoughts on organizing customer competitions on social media
Have you ever dreamt of winning these Finnair intercontinental flight tickets and eagerly filled in your e-mail address to participate in the draw? Maybe you even spent some minutes browsing their website to find out whether you would pick Osaka or Singapore for your imaginary prize trip. Or maybe a chance to get a branded…
Reaching out to the real world
I sometimes think about the role of marketing and service research in the larger academic context. What’s our purpose, and how should we orient ourselves towards ”the real world”? Recently I got a chance to reflect on this issue together with around 40 other young scholars from around the world, in the Let’s Talk About…
#Hanken brister?
Jag har avlagt ett nyårslöfte, jag med (#metoo). En del kanske frågar sig, varför det. På Hanken är ju allt så bra. Tyvärr är #DammenBrister (den Finlandssvenska listan på #metoo-incidenter) upprörande läsning för oss som jobbar med ungdomar. Det kan hända att Hanken finns med på den listan. Ifall man generaliserar förekommande det två grupper bland…