Den Hertog: capabilities for managing service innovation: towards a conceptual framework

17 important questions on Den Hertog: capabilities for managing service innovation: towards a conceptual framework

Describe the design, methodology and approach of the research of Den Hertog:

Their theoretical paper offers a conceptual framework for managing service innovation by proposing six dynamic service innovation capabilities. This framework builds on and is integrated with a model of service innovation that covers the possible dimensions where service innovation can take place.

Describe the main finding of the research of Den Hertog:

The 6 dynamic service innovation capabilities identified are: 1) signaling user needs and technological options, 2)conceptualising, 3) (un)bundling, 4) co-producing and orchestrating (arrangeren), 5) scaling and stretching, and 6) learning and adapting.

What is the practical implication of the research of Den Hertog?

Those involved in managing service innovations are offered a framework for systematically assessing dynamic service innovation capabilities.
>The main contribution of this papers is that it links a service perspective to a dynamic capabilities view of the fim by proposing a set of 6 dynamic service innovation capabilities.
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The second dimensions of Den Hertog is the new customer interaction. explain this:

This is the new customer interaction and the role customers play in the variation of value. This interaction process between provider and client is an important source of innovation.

Explain the third dimension of Den Hertog: the new value system of set of new business partners:

Its about actors involved in jointly co-producing a service innovation. New services are incresingly realised through combinations of service functions provided by a coalition of providers, both parties in the value chain, and actors in the wider value network.

Explain the fifth dimension of Den Hertog: the new delivery system: personnel, organization, culture?

Appropriate mangement and organization are needed to allow service wokers to perform new jobs properly, and to develop and offer innovative services. New services may require new organizational structures; (inter)personal capabilities or team skills.

Explain the sixth dimension of Den Hertog: new service delivery system: technological?

This dimension pinpoints the observation that ICTs have enabled numerous service innovations.

Service innovators should not only be able to successfully launch a service innovation once, but should also be able to introduce and exploit service innovations repeatedly. This allows them to adapt to their changing environment and stay competitive sustainably. How does the research contributes to this thought? (Den Hertog)

The combined RBV/Dynamic Capabilities View approach offers a promising starting point for identifying and analysing in more detail what we have coined dynamic service capabilities. These capabilities serve to deepen the theoretical understanding of managing service innovation.

Explain the first capability of Den Hertog: "Signalling user needs and technological options"?

Singalling user needs is the capability to empathically understand users and sense their (potential) needs well in advance by interacting intensively with (potential) clients.
Signal technological option, because they provide opportunities to adapt and innovate the service portfolio (new ways of interacting with clients etc.)
> This can be managed by a new business development unit as an active, though still rather open process.

Explain the second capability of Den Hertog:"conceptualising"?

Service innovations has a conceptual nature which makes it difficult for a customer to assess beforehand what will be experienced and what will be delivered. Conceptualising, designing, prototyping or testing the more fuzzy innovations is a specific capability that is therefore expected to be less tangible and codified.
> This process is in hands of a multidisciplinary project team to bring an idea to life

Explain the third capability of Den Hertog:"(Un-)bundling capability"

Many new services are:
1. Newly bundled, enriched, blended (f.e. service combinations 'one stop shopping' and the possibility to customize it)
2. Or unbundled, stripped down to the bare essential (f.e. law firm specialized in divorces)

Explain the fourth capability of Den Hertog:"Co-producing and orchestrating"?

This implies that the core service provider has to co-design and co-produce a service innovation with other suppliers and manage alliances. Customers will be often involved in this processes. Service innovators are expected to be able to orchestrate alliances and networks.

Explain the fifth capability of Den Hertog: "Scaling and stretching"

Capability to scale and stretch service innovation is the key. Scaling is mostly about diffusion. To be able to diffuse a new service concept, it needs to be described and transplanted in other parts of the firm. The stretching capability means that a company needs to stretch the core service offering. The stretching of service activities needs to be consistent with overall firm strategy and theeds to be logical for clients.

Explain the sixth capability of Den Hertog:"learning and adopting"?

This is the capability to deliberately learn from the way service innovation is managed currently and subsequently adapt the overall service innovation process (what have we learned from before? etc.)

This research started with the basic understanding that successful service innovators are those service firms and organizations that have introduced innovative service experiences and service solutions repeatedly. What did Den Hertog develop regarding service innovation?

A conceptual framework, for strategically managing service innovation by proposing 6 dynamic service innovation capabilities. This framework builds on and is integrated with the 6 dimensions model of service innovation.

Den Hertog hypothesizes that successful service innovators outperform their competitors in at least some of the dynamic capabilities. How that so?

They are expected to have developed idiosyncratic (eigenaardig) and therefore hard to replicate firm-specific mixes of dynamic service innovation capabilities. They have developed a higher order of capability: the capability to reflect on the whole process of managing service innovation, drive lessons from it and use these in new rounds of managing service innovation.

Mention the 6 forms and dimensions of the scope of service innovation according to Den Hertog?

1 New service concepts: Amazon
2 New interaction format/new functions of the customer: IKEA
3 New delivery system (technology): google
4 New delivery system (organization, people): SWA
5 New partners: TomTom&Vodafone
6 New revenue models: metro news paper

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