With the constant changes in society, the way companies market themselves has changed and customer engagement, relationships and transparency has become a more important factor. Significantly in how businesses should conduct their business to create as much value as possible. And through this ever-changing environment in which retail exists, flexibility and the need for responsiveness is key where co-creational strategies can help a long way in opening up companies to reach, create and maintain good relationships through communication. The qualitative research method of a case study with semi-structured interviews was conducted to gather empirical findings for this study. The interviews were conducted with five employees of a family owned retail business to obtain a full perspective and understanding of their work towards customer engagement and co-creation. The authors of this thesis have adopted a deductive approach in this thesis. The thesis conclusion shows several reasons why co-creation strategies could amplify engagement and how the company needs to be aware and acknowledge their customers, to further build relationships. Findings indicate that a more structured approach is needed for their social media communication platforms. Moreover, it is important to note that this research is conducted from the companies’ perspective. Lastly, it is important to recognize the dynamics and reputation of the family business, as local status and size influence the overall experience and view of the company.

With our project, we are focusing on the Rohingya refugee issue. In 2017 thousands of people had to cross the borders of Myanmar due to mass genocide triggered by ethnic cleansing and around 800,000 of them flee to Bangladesh as refugees. Whereas, Bangladesh has 2 million informal settlers of its own known as internally displaced people (IDPs) who have been displaced due to extreme climatic conditions. So, we are dealing with the issue of how refugees can coexist in a country where there are already thousands homeless.  Currently, the government has built a settlement for 100,000 people on a newly emerged island, Bhashan Char in the Bay of Bengal. Thousands of Rohingya refugees are already being relocated there. However, with the predicted sea-level rise not only the island but the majority of the coastal area of Bangladesh might go underwater. Our project is an attempt to imagine a resilient community, where both refugees and Bangladeshi people will be able to coexist in Bhashan Char, build empathy for each other, and be connected with the surroundings. Simultaneously, be able to co-develop preparedness for future changes connected to sea-level rise using local potential.  Hence, the aim of our project is to establish conditions of co-existence for the refugees and IDPs of Bangladesh where they can co-create resilient communities in connection with the local context and the changing environment.

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Yes / With the arrival of the service economy, businesses across different sectors have to rely increasingly on service design, with its focus on the viewpoints of customers and their experiences. Existing frameworks for evaluating customer experience tend to neglect the connection between customer experience and value co-creation, which is critical for enhancing the performance of service design. The aim of this conceptual paper is, therefore, to develop a customer experience evaluation framework that is coherently integrated with the value co-creation construct. It is achieved by intersecting the most relevant insights from prior approaches to evaluating customer experiences with a theoretical interpretation of service value as value in the experience that is always co-created and uniquely determined by the customer's personal lived and imagined experiences. The proposed framework is original in its theorizing of the evaluation process as a transformation from a customer experience evaluation to a synchronized evaluation of value in the experience and value co-creation throughout and beyond the service process. The framework proposes to utilize it in both major service redesign and on-the-spot service improvements, which are extremely relevant to businesses operating in highly competitive environments. The proposed framework is designed to guide future empirical evaluations, accommodate new theoretical extensions, and inform practical applications to design service offerings as unique and preferred experiences for customers.

This research presents a co-developing service innovation imagery system that considers the service innovation imagery can be designed and created with their customers and appropriate collaborators in co-creation network. Default imagery reasoned by analyzing SMEs information, interaction pattern and cultural behavior so as to represent current status quo of the service to co-develop toward service innovation. In addition, we use metaphor statement as the representation of different kinds of user value (i.e., emotional, social-cultural environmental value) so as to build a knowledge based imagery bank for the co-developing process. The mechanism of the open group support system facilitates the interactions between different interpreters that derive and imply a set of value, such as emotional, social-cultural-environmental dimensional consumption values for the SME’s customers. In this research, our main goal is to propose an IT-based systematic approach for SMEs to co-developing their service innovation imagery with other actors and interpreters. The co-developing journey would facilitate SMEs to derive the service innovation imagery for service innovation.

Submitted by Nadir Basilio (nadirsb@uninove.br) on 2016-07-01T15:10:10Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Oseias do Prado Soares.pdf: 1156909 bytes, checksum: 3f99816c62af42b08668882932bbd98d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-01T15:10:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Oseias do Prado Soares.pdf: 1156909 bytes, checksum: 3f99816c62af42b08668882932bbd98d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-26 / With the competition today, companies looking for tools that can leverage your revenues and improve your performance, especially in the automotive sector which has a fierce contest for market share. Technological innovations are a way out for those companies wishing to compete in a position of equality, but to generate technological innovation need to understand tools for its development. The co-creation of value is one such tool. This work has the objective to analyze if the co-creation of value drives the development of technological innovations and influence positively the financial/economic and operational performance in the automotive industries. To complete this study research methodology adopted was a semi-structured questionnaire with confirmatory survey based on data obtained through structural equation modeling software (Smart PLS). Data analysis was conducted on the basis of quantitative and qualitative data, analyze the hypotheses developed after review of the existing literature. The results show that the use of the practices of the co-creation of value drives the development of technological innovations in the automotive industry. It was also possible to conclude that the use of the co-creation of value as a strategy in the development of technological innovations do not influence positively the financial/economic performance, and positively influence the operational performance in the automotive industries. The research contributes, as advanced at the point where the search terms found in the existing literature were conducted in different sectors of the automotive industry, and in developed countries. This research allowed view the co-creation used as strategy in the development of technological innovations in the Brazilian automotive industrial park. / Com a concorrência na atualidade generalizada, as empresas buscam por ferramentas que possam alavancar o seu faturamento e melhorar o seu desempenho, principalmente no setor automotivo que tem uma disputa acirrada por participação de mercado. As inovações tecnológicas são uma saída para essas empresas que desejam competir em posição de igualdade, porém para gerar inovações tecnológicas é preciso compreender ferramentas para o seu desenvolvimento. A cocriação de valor surge como uma dessas ferramentas. Este trabalho tem o objetivo analisar se a cocriação de valor impulsiona o desenvolvimento de inovações tecnológicas e influência positivamente os desempenhos financeiro/econômico e operacional nas indústrias do setor automotivo brasileiro. Para realização deste estudo a metodologia de pesquisa adotada foi uma survey confirmatória com questionário semiestruturado com base em dados obtidos por meio do software de modelagem de equações estruturais (Smart PLS). A análise dos dados foi conduzida com base em dados quantitativos e qualitativos, o que permitiu analisar as hipóteses desenvolvidas após a revisão da literatura existente. Os resultados apontam que a utilização das práticas da cocriação de valor impulsiona o desenvolvimento de inovações tecnológicas no setor automotivo Brasileiro. Também foi possível concluir que a utilização da cocriação de valor como estratégia no desenvolvimento de inovações tecnológicas não influência positivamente o desempenho financeiro/econômico, e influência positivamente o desempenho operacional nas indústrias do setor automotivo brasileiro. A pesquisa contribui, pois avançou no ponto em que as pesquisas encontradas na literatura existente foram realizadas em setores distintos do automotivo, e em países de desenvolvidos. Esta pesquisa permitiu visualizar a cocriação utilizada como estratégia no desenvolvimento de inovações tecnológicas no parque industrial automotivo Brasileiro.

The shift towards Smart Manufacturing Systems has led to the digital transformation era, leveraging various technologies to drive enhanced productivity and production efficiency. In addition, the digitalization of the manufacturing industry makes extensive use of industrial information systems to support technical and business operations throughout a product’s lifecycle. However, evidence highlights the financial and environmental costs incurred by creating and maintaining digital models, which threaten an organization’s sustainability. Therefore, in this thesis, it is believed that alternative revenue sources emerging from monetizing repurposed knowledge embedded into digital models will serve as enablers to sustainability while promoting industrial innovation through collaborative ecosystems of partners where the focus is on the mutual exchange of value. This thesis emphasizes the process planning task entirely, and it aims to investigate two main areas, the former involving a bibliographic analysis of business models associated with the servitization of the manufacturing industry within value co-creation environments, along with their corresponding technical enablers and requirements, while the latter focusing on identifying the stages in which company knowledge and expertise is embedded into digital models. A series of case studies in collaboration with a major Swedish manufacturing company revealed process planning experts’ workflows, challenges, and opportunities to improve the company’s current services. The analysis and comparison of the two use cases indicated two discrete types of process planning workflows that are assumed to apply in different production systems. Furthermore, an attempt has been made to correlate process planning to business modeling by suggesting several conceptual digital products and services that can enhance the company’s existing offerings’ functionality. The corresponding value propositions of the proposed digital offerings have been formulated. The proposed conceptual digital offerings have been validated together with the involved organization. At this stage, further improvements and validation are needed to justify the feasibility of the proposed business model framework and digital offerings. However, further developments and compliance of industrial information system providers with information standards can potentially enable business innovation through collaboration in the manufacturing industry. / Skiftet mot Smarta tillverkningssystem är en del av den digitala omvandling, där olika teknologier utnyttjas för att öka produktivitet och effektivitet inom produktion. Digitaliseringen av tillverkningsindustrin leder dessutom till en omfattande användning av industriella informationssystem för att stödja tekniska och affärsmässiga operationer genom en produkts hela livscykel. Dock innebär skapande och underhåll av digitala modeller ekonomiska och miljömässiga kostnader, vilket kan hota en organisations hållbarhet. Därför studeras i denna avhandling de möjliga alternativa inkomstkällor som uppstår från att generera intäkter av den kunskap som finns inbäddad i digitala modeller. Tanken är att detta kommer att fungera som en möjliggörare för hållbarhet samtidigt som de främjar industriell innovation genom industriella ekosystem av partners där fokus ligger på ömsesidigt värdeutbyte. Den här avhandlingen betonar helt och hållet uppgiften med processplanering och syftar till att undersöka två huvudområden; det första innefattar en bibliografisk analys av affärsmodeller associerade med tjänstefieringen av tillverkningsindustrin inom miljöer för sam-skapande av värde, tillsammans med motsvarande tekniska möjliggörare och krav, medan det andra fokuserar på att identifiera de skeden där företagskunskap och expertis är inbäddade i digitala modeller. En serie fallstudier i samarbete med ett stort svenskt tillverkningsföretag visade processplaneringsexperts arbetsflöden, utmaningar och möjligheter att förbättra företagets nuvarande tjänster. Analysen och jämförelsen av de två användningsfallen indikerade två distinkta typer av arbetsflöden för processplanering som antas tillämpas i olika produktionssystem. Dessutom har ett försök gjorts att korrelera processplanering med affärsmodellering genom att föreslå flera konceptuella digitala produkter och tjänster som kan förbättra funktionaliteten i företagets befintliga erbjudanden. Värdepropositionerna för de föreslagna digitala erbjudandena har formulerats. Dessa konceptuella digitala erbjudanden har validerats tillsammans med den studerade organisationen. Nu behövs ytterligare förbättring och validering för att motivera genomförbarheten av det föreslagna affärsmodellsramverket och de digitala erbjudandena. Vidare kan informationsstandarder som underlättar informationsutbyte, och efterlevnad av dessa hos leverantörer av industriella informationssystem, potentiellt möjliggöra affärsinnovation genom ökat samarbete inom tillverkningsindustrin.

Co-creation is nowadays a booming activity implemented by companies in order to be closer to their customers and to fulfil their needs. By using co-creation, a company involves their customers in the process of creation aiming to get ideas and insights that allow the company to launch a new product or to improve an existing product. Nevertheless, most of the companies think that implementing a co-creation process is a question of methodology. Companies believe that by building on a formalized method and by using a step-by-step implementation, the co-creation will be successful. The truth speaks something else. Recently, researchers started to pop-up trying to highlight how the co-creation is a complex process arising the likelihood of having a value co- destruction rather than a value co-creation as a result of the process. Further, in 2015, a study states the importance of studying and understanding the negative consequences of value co-creation. For these reasons, the purpose of our thesis is to understand the downsides of co-creation during new product development and their effects on the relationship between the company and the customers. Our research question is: What are the downsides of the co-creation process and their effects on the relationship between the company and customers during new product development? In order to answer this question, we conducted a qualitative study to collect our primary data using an in-depth semi-structured interviews. Data have been collected from eleven participants involved in the co-creation field. From experts of co-creation to designers and researchers, we wanted to have a practitioner point of view rather than from a customer perspective. Indeed, the objectives of conducting these interviews were to gain a focus understanding and a comprehensive perception of the individuals using, implementing, researching on, or consulting about the co-creation process. From the data collected, we analysed our interviews using a thematic network analysis approach. From then, we tested and discussed our empirical results and our concepts from our theoretical frame of references. Through the analysis of the interviews data, we are able to state that there are four main downsides of the co-creation process during new product development: misbehaviour of the company, mismanagement of the environment, miscommunication and mismanagement of the process. The effects of these downsides will affect: the company, the product, the customer satisfaction, trust and commitment and the emotions. Further, we are capable to confirm the importance of the variables of trust, commitment and customer satisfaction in the management of a relationship. Finally, we compromise the idea of customer self-blaming, and the term of “failure”. Indeed, our analysis shows that the responsibility of co-creation belongs to the company that owns the project. Hence, the customer will not blame themselves or feel guilty in case of unsuccessful outcomes. Interestingly, our analysis debates about the use of the term failure to express unexpected negative outcomes from the process. We conclude that a mismanaged co-creation can be perceived as a learning process rather than a failure per se, leading us to confirm that we cannot consider the co-creation outcome as a failure.

Le développement des technologies de l'information permet aux entreprises et aux consommateurs de travailler ensemble pour développer des innovations. Les entreprises s'appuient sur ce mouvement de co-création en ligne à travers des plateformes de génération d'idées. Les mécanismes sous-jacents des interactions utilisateurs/entreprises deviennent un sujet majeur au niveau théorique et pratique. Ce travail doctoral vise à mieux comprendre les déterminants des innovations co-créées par desconsommateurs. Dans un premier article, nous étudions les acteurs qui contribuent aux innovations externes, et principalement les lead-users dans un contexte de crowdsourcing afin de proposer une typologie de ces consommateurs spécifiques. Deuxièmement, nous explorons en profondeur la notion de performance de l'outil et identifions que ces outils, tels que les plateformes d’idéation et les logiciels open source, doivent regrouper certaines conditions pour augmenter la capacité innovantedes entreprises. Enfin, nous nous concentrons sur l'ensemble du processus de création d’innovations et proposons un modèle théorique basé sur les théories de la résolution de problèmes et les need-solution pairs. Les résultats obtenus dans ce travail doctoral permettent de contribuer à la littérature traitant du crowdsourcing et de l’innovation utilisateurs mais également de répondre à des questions managériales sur la recherche virtuelle d’innovations. Le recours à ces trois niveaux d'analyse (acteurs, outils et méthodes) est essentiel aux entreprises pour intégrer une vision globale de l’environnement extérieur et le succès d’une stratégie d’innovation ouverte. Les trois articles de ce travail permettent d’aider les entreprises à augmenter leur niveau de co-création avec des lead-users. Cette recherche offre également une meilleure compréhension de la conception des outils technologiques pour maximiser l’échange et la création d’idées innovantes par les consommateurs. Le modèle théoriqueproposé permet d’optimiser la recherche de solutions innovantes par le biais d’un processus adapté de formulation du problème. / Advance in information technology allows companies and customers working together to developinnovations. Firms widely rely on this online co-creation movement through idea generation toolkitsand the underlying mechanisms of user-firms interactions become a challenging topic to investigatefor both theory and practice. Across three articles, we aim to better understand user innovationsdeterminants. In the first article proposition, we build on lead user literature to investigate the actorscontributing to external innovations. Second, we explore the notion of tool performance as mean tofacilitate innovation. We identify that online tools, such as ideation platform and Open SourceSoftware need to aggregate several conditions leading to promote innovative outputs. Finally, wefocus on the overall process allowing firms to entirely externalize the idea generation process andmethods to improve this process. We propose a theoretical model built on problem-solving and needsolution pairs theories. Overall, the findings extend both user innovation and crowdsourcing literatureand provide practical implications for virtual search for innovations. The investigations of three levelof analysis: actors, tools and methods is critical. The three articles of our thesis could help firms toincrease interactions with expert users. This research could also provide better understanding on howto design ideation toolkits to maximize innovative context. Finally, our theoretical model might helpfirms to optimize the search for innovative solutions via an adapted process for problem formulation.

Title: Social Media – And customer interaction in smaller firms Seminar date: 2011-06-10 Course: Information Logistics, D-level. Authors: Marie Stenhammar and Ulrika Carlsson Advisor: Jaime Campos Key words: Social Media, Web 2.0, Co-creation, Viral marketing, Word of Mouth, smaller firms Purpose: This paper aims to describe the relevance of social media to smaller firms, the challenges and opportunities they face and what strategies they use, in the interaction with their customers. Methodology: The study is qualitative in nature and has an abductive approach. The empirical material consists of in-depth interviews with chosen companies and Internet observations. Theoretical perspectives: Social Media, Web 2.0, Co-creation, Viral marketing, Word of Mouth Empirical foundation: The study takes its empirical base from in-depth interviews with representatives from the small companies and internet observations connected to these. Conclusions: Smaller companies have great interest in social media. They preferably use Facebook, blogs, YouTube and Twitter. Their strategy is mainly to be very active and update their social media regularly. The opinion of the companies is that social media offer several possibilities such as stronger relationships with customers and the ability to collect information about the market.