Abstract
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to report a new kind of workshop process which aims at co‐creation across disciplines in a service research network. The case concerns Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) and took place from January to May, 2009.
Design/methodology/approach
– Both foresight and organizational learning methods are combined in the process. During workshops, researchers and management are enabled to co‐create interdisciplinary service research proposals and a service research strategy for VTT. The workshops are designed to facilitate a dialogue between users of the research and potential collaborators (universities, funding agencies and societal actors). This initiative reflects the current global service science discourse based on a renewal of service management through service‐dominant logic and network thinking.
Findings
– Although the need for co‐creation across disciplines and together with the customer has often been stated in service research, methods enabling such a way of acting have rarely been tested and achieved. This method worked as a concrete way for managing future‐oriented networking across organizational borders as a basis for continuous learning and innovation.
Research limitations/implications
– The new approach to service science and the methods used in the VTT network are applicable in research practice.
Practical implications
– The development process presented in this paper is an embryo for a new kind of research culture that fosters learning in networks as well as the shared and transparent planning of project proposals.
Originality/value
– By creating the service science and business network and a process of learning by foresighting and evaluating our ideas on a concrete case are applied. This is believed to be the first time that methods of foresight and organizational learning have been combined. Furthermore, the process builds a research strategy both from below and above and together with customers and other collaborators thus establishing a network of co‐creation.
– The purpose of this paper is to report a new kind of workshop process which aims at co‐creation across disciplines in a service research network. The case concerns Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) and took place from January to May, 2009.
Design/methodology/approach
– Both foresight and organizational learning methods are combined in the process. During workshops, researchers and management are enabled to co‐create interdisciplinary service research proposals and a service research strategy for VTT. The workshops are designed to facilitate a dialogue between users of the research and potential collaborators (universities, funding agencies and societal actors). This initiative reflects the current global service science discourse based on a renewal of service management through service‐dominant logic and network thinking.
Findings
– Although the need for co‐creation across disciplines and together with the customer has often been stated in service research, methods enabling such a way of acting have rarely been tested and achieved. This method worked as a concrete way for managing future‐oriented networking across organizational borders as a basis for continuous learning and innovation.
Research limitations/implications
– The new approach to service science and the methods used in the VTT network are applicable in research practice.
Practical implications
– The development process presented in this paper is an embryo for a new kind of research culture that fosters learning in networks as well as the shared and transparent planning of project proposals.
Originality/value
– By creating the service science and business network and a process of learning by foresighting and evaluating our ideas on a concrete case are applied. This is believed to be the first time that methods of foresight and organizational learning have been combined. Furthermore, the process builds a research strategy both from below and above and together with customers and other collaborators thus establishing a network of co‐creation.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 128-145 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| Journal | International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences |
| Volume | 2 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2010 |
| MoE publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |
| Event | 2009 Naples Forum on Services: Service-Dominant Logic, Service Science, and NetworkTheory - Naples, Italy Duration: 16 Jun 2009 → 19 Jun 2009 |