Forskningen inom projektet ”Kundupplevelse i förändring” har gettoss en djupgående förståelse för hur digitalisering, sociala robotar ochförändrad social närvaro omformar handeln och påverkar kundupplevelsen.Digitala innovationer som e-handel, självbetjäning och appar har förbättrat bekvämligheten ocheffektiviteten för många kunder. Samtidigt har de sociala inslagen i handeln minskat, vilket bådekunder och anställda upplever som en förlust. Kunder söker alltmer efter interaktioner som kännspersonliga och meningsfulla, medan anställda rapporterar att minskad kontakt med kunderpåverkar deras motivation i arbetet negativt.

Purpose

This study aims to investigate service modularization in a manufacturing firm, identifies service modularization processes and examines how these processes change the service module characteristics.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is based on a longitudinal case study (2008-2017) of a manufacturing firm. The development of six service modules was analyzed using data from interviews with key informants, informal meetings and internal documentation.

Findings

This study suggests five service modularization processes, and that service module characteristics, such as standardization and interconnectedness, change in different ways depending on the service modularization processes used. It further identifies two service modularization routes that each combine the service modularization processes in unique ways with replication as a key process to improve both standardization and customization.

Practical implications

This study elaborates a framework for service modularization, which can serve as a guideline for developing service modules. It also highlights the differences between product and service modularization, suggesting that the role of service module characteristics such as standardization and customization is specific for services.

Originality/value

This longitudinal case study (2008-2017) provides empirical evidence on service modularization and extends existing knowledge on service modularization processes and how they influence service module characteristics.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to study the antecedents of service innovation success in the knowledge-intensive business services context, especially why the participation of frontline employees and multiple organizational units is not enough for succeeding in knowledge-intensive service productization. Design/methodology/approach - A multiple-case study of two polar cases with longitudinal data, participant observation, and key personnel interviews. Findings - Case evidence indicates that frontline employee participation and cross-unit collaboration are not sufficient antecedents for successful service productization. Instead, to facilitate employee knowledge sharing, managers need to align the project goals with the goals of participating employees, and promote trust among the project workgroup. Moreover, to enable effective cross-unit collaboration, managers need to facilitate the establishment of common vocabulary for productization work and services, and to resolve any emerging conflicts between participating organizational units. Practical implications - The findings indicate the importance of enabling knowledge sharing and cross-unit collaboration for service productization. The identified antecedents translate to practical strategies for achieving these. The results also highlight the importance of bottom-up service innovation, and the management of service innovation on the group level. Originality/value - The study indicates that common antecedents for successful service innovation may not be sufficient in the knowledge-intensive context, calling into question the assumptions about individual and group behavior in service innovation, and suggesting the importance of multi-level perspective on service innovation.