Foresight in services: possibilities and special challenges

Service sectors have been only loosely linked to foresight projects considered essential for wiring up innovation systems. This article examines possibilities and methodological challenges in the foresight of services on the basis of a study conducted in Finland in knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS). It also provides empirical results about the future trends in KIBS. The most central of these are the growing emphasis on a consultative way of working and broad service solutions, the tightening linkages to clients' strategies, the blurring of sectoral boundaries and the diversification of the forms of internationalisation.     

Making bottom-up and top-down processes meet in public innovation

Innovations in an organisation derive from multiple sources. In the public sector, users and the policy sphere provide important but often unconnected impulses for innovation. These impulses are transmitted to the organisation by grassroots employees who interact with users and managers who implement policy requirements. The paper examines the actors and activities that coordinate bottom-up and top-down initiatives and promote their development into innovations. It creates a theoretical framework that combines the views of employee-driven innovation and strategic reflexivity and supplements them with an analysis of coordination in innovation processes. The functioning of this framework is illustrated in the context of children's day care services. The results highlight the central role of middle managers and provide new knowledge regarding their ‘bridging’ activities in innovation. The adjustment of bottom-up and top-down processes requires the personal involvement of managers, and the creation of communication arenas, networks and mediating tools.     

Weak signals: Ansoff today

This paper examines the concept of weak signals: its basic idea presented by Igor Ansoff and its later developments. We argue that recent futures studies have essentially deepened the analysis of this concept, which originally lacked an accurate definition. Placing weak signals in the general context of futures research has provided the concept with a theoretical point of attachment and linked it with other futures concepts – such as strong signals and trends. Recent studies have also increased the applicability of the concept of weak signals, specifying ways in which signals can be identified, collected and interpreted. Consequently, a number of empirical examples of the analysis of weak signals are nowadays available. In the present paper, we summarize and evaluate both theoretical contributions and managerial implications of these new approaches. While emphasizing the advancements of research, we also want to point out that Ansoff not only was a pioneer in the field, but developed many ideas that are still applicable today. We conclude our paper by suggesting directions for the further development of weak signals research.     

Product quality and value from consumer perspective—An application to wooden products

Product quality as perceived by consumers is studied with the use of empirical survey data on wooden flooring/panelling materials and on wooden furniture markets in Finland. The results indicate that consumers’ quality perceptions are consistent for the two product categories. Perceived product quality may be understood as a hierarchical structure, which consists of tangible and intangible dimensions, and is fairly consistent for different products. The most abstract dimensions are reflected in more specific sub-dimensions and product attributes. For consumers, the quality of the tangible product is more important than the quality of the product intangibles in the case of wooden products. Perceived product value is determined as customers’ judgement of the relationship between perceived product quality and price. It was also observed to be a two-dimensional structure with tangible and intangible dimensions. The observed dimensions of perceived product quality and value were logically linked.     

Integration of planning and execution in service innovation

The purpose of this article is to elaborate two activities included in innovation: planning and execution. We use four dimensions – decision making, organization, process, and external interaction – as the analytical framework. Building on five empirical case studies in the Finnish residential sector, the article identifies various approaches to integrating planning and execution during the development process. Furthermore, the article identifies four integrative mechanisms that relate to each of the four analytical dimensions. The key proposition is that the integration between planning and execution is the driving force for innovation, and that the locus of this integration is the practical engagement of actors with specific aims, problems, and means at hand related to the emerging solution. Finally, the article identifies the availability of, or access to, service-provision resources and the customer interface as a key enabler of this integration.     

Emergence of innovations in services

Along with the ‘servicisation’ of society, innovation in services has become a topical issue. However, analytical and detailed discussion about the nature of service innovations and their emergence is only beginning. This article aims to contribute to this discussion through a theoretical analysis supplemented with findings from two empirical case studies. The theories examined are multi-disciplinary including general service theories, general innovation theories and theories linked to new service development and innovation management. The empirical studies have been carried out in Finland in the fields of real estate and construction services and of knowledge-intensive business services.     

Organizing customer-oriented service business in manufacturing

This study examines the organization of service business in manufacturing. Earlier literature has emphasized the positive effects of a separate service unit. Our comparative case study indicates that a separate unit as such does not guarantee success in service business. An essential issue is how customer interaction and the continuous flow of customer information have been secured. Sales personnel have often been regarded as the main actor in the creation of customer intelligence. Based on our study we argue that attention should also be paid to field technicians and other operative personnel as a channel for customer information.