Innovation in services has arisen to be a hot topic of today and being innovative serve as a key in staying competitive in most business settings, the service sector is no exception.Although important, service innovation is difficult to measure and the service perspective has been noticeably absent in traditional approaches where innovation measurement has tended to focus mainly on products and production related systems. These measurement indicators fail to capture the diversity and intricacy of innovation processes emerging in service firms, where innovation rarely requires R&D. Until now, a coherent instrument or tool for measuring innovation in a service company has not existed resulting in that research studies on service innovation lag behind those of product innovation. The need for an innovation measurement instrument is obvious as it would not only assist companies in understanding their current innovation practices or capabilities, but would also help clarify what the organization need to focus on to maximize its success. With basis in aforementioned, this study sets out to extend the knowledge regarding factors affecting innovation within the service sector. As a result, a developed and tested questionnaire, suitable for measuring innovation within a service firm is provided and a managerial and theoretical contribution has been made.

Organizations that want to maintain a good innovation capability can seek knowledge both within and outside its boundaries. Opening up innovation processes, through so-called open innovation, allows organizations to combine internal and external knowledge sources in order to include previously excluded perspectives to the innovation process. This study examines how knowledge is created and transferred when conducting open innovation through crowdsourcing. It is done based on Nonaka’s (1991; 1994) theory of how knowledge is created through conversion processes, where implicit knowledge can be converted into explicit knowledge and vice versa. How the crowdsourcing process can generate knowledge transfer is analyzed with the support of Nonaka’s theory and a number of empirically based illustrations. The gathered empirics primarily consist of interviews conducted at companies working with different crowdsourcing platforms. The paper clarifies how the crowdsourcing process gives support for knowledge transfer according to Nonaka’s conversion processes, and that additional knowledge transfer is made possible through the collaborative nature of crowdsourcing. The analysis also shows that extensive planning for how crowdsourcing initiatives should be handled is required in order for them to strengthen the organization’s innovation capability. / Organisationer som vill upprätthålla en god innovationsförmåga kan söka kunskap både inom och utom dess gränser. Att öppna sina innovationsprocesser, genom s.k. öppen innovation, innebär att organisationer kombinerar interna och externa kunskapskällor för att inkludera tidigare uteslutna perspektiv till innovationsprocessen. I studien undersöks hur kunskap skapas och överförs vid öppen innovation genom crowdsourcing. Det görs med utgångspunkt från Nonakas (1991; 1994) teori om hur kunskap skapas genom omvandlingsprocesser, där tyst kunskap kan omvandlas till explicit kunskap och vice versa. Med stöd av Nonakas teori och ett flertal empiriskt baserade illustrationer analyseras hur crowdsourcingprocessen kan generera kunskapsöverföring. Den insamlade empirin består främst av intervjuer som genomförts på företag som arbetar med olika crowdsourcingplattformar. Uppsatsen tydliggör hur crowdsourcingprocessen ger möjlighet till kunskapsöverföring enligt Nonakas omvandlingsprocesser, och att ytterligare kunskapsöverföring möjliggörs med hjälp av crowdsourcingens kollaborativa karaktär. Analysen visar även att det krävs genomgående planering för hur crowdsourcinginitiativ ska hanteras för att de ska stärka organisationens innovationsförmåga.

The effects consumer-driven innovation can have on an industry can be difficult to quantify. In this thesis I seek to highlight their existence and underscore their influence by observing the historical impact of numerous innovations on modern technology and society. Using the photography industry as a case study, I will show how successful companies leverage consumers to increase profits and technological development. Companies unable or unwilling to adapt will struggle to maintain profits and become insignificant in the market place. It is also important to consider the enablement of customers by these manufacturers. Advancements in the primary industry as well as supporting industries can lead to variability in market growth and often stimulate societal changes. As consumer innovators progress towards production, it is increasingly important that manufacturers adapt and redefine their market presence. Consumers are a powerful force and represent more than financial capital. My research shows that creative companies can harness consumer energy and find opportunities in the intellectual capital of the crowd. / text

Med innovationer kan företag som samarbeta med externa partners öka sina prestationer, intäkter och påskynda sina innovationsprocesser. Innovation med sociala plattformar är ett verktyg som har förmågan att förbättra befintliga produkter samt skapa nya lösningar och produkter. Denna uppsats hade som syfte att undersöka hur ett arbetssätt inom öppen innovation benämnt innovation med sociala plattformar kan tillämpas i en textil innovationsprocess. I följande kvalitativa studie utgjorde uppsatsens primärdata av insamlad data från ett nätverksforum och semi-strukturerade intervjuer med företag som jobbat med projekt om öppen innovation. Vi genomförde en undersökning om produkten löparbyxor via en plattform där medlemmar diskuterade sina individuella erfarenheter av löparbyxor. I uppsatsens teori förklaras begreppen öppen innovation, innovation med sociala plattformar och användarinnovation. Parallellt med undersökningen utfördes semi-strukturerade telefonintervjuer med fyra företag som jobbar med öppen innovation. Vi har sedan i empirin framförallt koncentrerat på innovation med sociala plattformar. Innovation med sociala plattformar har visats vara betydelsefulla inom en mängd olika branscher som till exempel sport- och friluftsindustrin, och genom denna studie har konsumenterna bidragit med värdefull information som kan användas i en textil innovationsprocess. Med hjälp av inlägg som skrevs av användare i forum, kom vi fram till en modell som urskiljer tre olika varianter av användarinnovation som uppstod i forumet: kompletterande innovationer, utvidgade innovationer och existerande innovationer. Studien resulterade i en innovationsmodell som förklarar att öppen innovation inte bara kan leda till en produktutveckling utan även en marknadsföring och idégenerering, men även att en idégenerering kan leda till en produktutveckling och en marknadsundersökning kan leda till produktutveckling. Genom studien drogs även slutsatser om att innovation med sociala plattformar kräver gemenskap, kunskap, förtroende, motivation, tydliga riktlinjer och tid.

While many organizational actors, including firms, governments, universities, and non-profit organizations may have an impact on the innovative capacity of the firms with which they engage, we have little knowledge of their relative importance. The literature on innovation intermediaries reports on the impact of specific types of organizations, but has not considered the relative importance of different types of organizations. While the studies using Community Innovation Survey (CIS) data are able to consider relative effects, data on the nature of those effects are limited. In the interests of a better understanding of the relative nature and degree of the innovation enabling contributions of a range of organizational actors, I conduct a comparative examination of the contributions of firms, governments, universities, industry associations, and research institutes. Using survey data from a sample of 499 firms, I identify the actors that are most strongly associated with each of ten innovation intermediation activities.

Stuttgart, Univ., Diss., 2004.

Cette thèse en trois essais s’appuie sur la recherche en cognition créatrice (« creative cognition ») (e.g., Finke, Ward, et Smith, 1992; Ward, 1998), avec pour objectif d’étudier la possibilité pour les entreprises d’engendrer plus efficacement de nouvelles idées créatives en s’appropriant les (nouveaux) outils et stratégies de marketing. Le premier essai résume les nombreuses études ayant trait à la créativité et propose un nouveau cadre, basé sur l’offre et la demande en matière de créativité dans le marketing, qui se veut un support pratique à la prise de décisions. Les essais 2 et 3 se penchent sur les études empiriques touchant à l’efficacité de deux types de modèles participatifs (« crowdsourcing »), dont le but est de solliciter un apport créatif de la part des consommateurs. Le second essai s’intéresse aux effets de la présentation d’un prototype de produit à un panel d’individus, en combinaison avec l’objectif du concept, sur les processus de génération d’idées et les résultats qui en découlent. Le troisième essai offre une perspective socio-cognitive des initiatives participatives, en examinant les effets conjoints du caractère novateur et de la notation d’idées soumises par d’autres communautés participatives sur la capacité subséquente d’une personne à générer de nouvelles idées. / Creativity is one of the cornerstones of marketing. Due to technological advances, companies have more tools and resources at their disposal for enhancing creativity. Drawing on creative cognition research, this dissertation aims to investigate how companies can maximize creativity with (new) marketing tools, techniques, and strategies. Essay 1 summarizes the vast body of research on creativity and proposes a novel framework that aims to guide managerial decision-making in practice by linking the demand and supply of creativity in marketing. Essay 2 and Essay 3 concern empirical studies on the effectiveness of two types of crowdsourcing practices that aim to solicit creative input from consumers. Essay 2 investigates the effects of the provision of a product prototype to individuals, in combination with the design goal, on idea generation processes and outcomes. Essay 3 proposes a socio-cognitive perspective on crowdsourcing initiatives by examining the joint effects of the novelty and ratings of ideas posted by others in crowdsourcing communities on a person’s subsequent idea generation performance.

Ce travail se propose d'étudier les échanges d'expérience entre villes et les interactions d'acteurs gravitant autour de la transformation du cadre urbain, à partir du cas de l'ingénierie sanitaire. Ce domaine d'intervention, développé à partir de la fin du XIXe siècle, visant à assurer la distribution d'une eau pure et l'épuration des déchets produits par l'organisme urbain, a provoqué de nombreux phénomènes de circulation des savoirs et de l'information, entre techniciens municipaux, élus, spécialistes nationaux, administrateurs et inventeurs ou entrepreneurs, se rencontrant par toutes sortes de réseaux.L'étude fine des procédures de prise de décision, depuis la collecte de la documentation jusqu'aux inaugurations de nouveaux équipements édilitaires, laisse apercevoir le chemin complexe par lequel la modernité technique s'est implantée en ville. L'attitude de l'Etat français à l'égard des enjeux hygiéniques a évolué, mais globalement, les cadres de l'intervention ne sont guère modifiés tout au long de la première moitié du XXe siècle. Enfin, ces circulations d'information permettent de mettre en lumière une diffusion des innovations originale, qui s'opère de façon horizontale et peu hiérarchisée au sein du réseau des villes françaises. L'aspect transnational des échanges techniques est un autre caractère marquant de ce phénomène, qui montre la capacité des gouvernements locaux à mettre en place des dispositifs techniques dans le contexte d'une expertise et d'une intervention étatique relativement discrètes. / The aim of this thesis is to study the exchange of knowledge between cities and the interactions between the forces interested in the transformation of the urban environment, using the case of sanitary engineering as a starting point. This field which was intended to provide pure water to city dwellers, as well as purifying waste, rose at the end of the nineteenth century thanks to numerous phenomena of knowledge and data circulation, among different networks linking municipal engineers and officials, sanitary inspectors, national experts and inventors.A careful study of the decision-making processes, from the documentation phase to the opening ceremonies of new facilities, enables us to perceive the complex path through which modern technology penetrated cities. In France, although the attitude of the State towards hygiene issues evolved, the general frame of the intervention of public authorities remained stable during the first half of the 20th century.The circulation of information and knowledge about sanitary engineering highlights an interesting process of innovation diffusion, which worked inside the French urban network without any strong hierarchical pattern but in a rather horizontal way. A transnational dimension appears in this process which underlines the ability of local governments to implement technological facilities in a context of relatively weak State expertise and intervention.

While many organizational actors, including firms, governments, universities, and non-profit organizations may have an impact on the innovative capacity of the firms with which they engage, we have little knowledge of their relative importance. The literature on innovation intermediaries reports on the impact of specific types of organizations, but has not considered the relative importance of different types of organizations. While the studies using Community Innovation Survey (CIS) data are able to consider relative effects, data on the nature of those effects are limited. In the interests of a better understanding of the relative nature and degree of the innovation enabling contributions of a range of organizational actors, I conduct a comparative examination of the contributions of firms, governments, universities, industry associations, and research institutes. Using survey data from a sample of 499 firms, I identify the actors that are most strongly associated with each of ten innovation intermediation activities.

En partant de la problématique posée par l'insertion des dispositifs d'enseignement et de formation basés sur les Technologies de l'Information et de la Communication, nous avons, au cours de ce travail de recherche, voulu comprendre les raisons et les motifs favorisant ou s'opposant à l'efficacité de ces dispositifs. Nous avons posé l'hypothèse que la complexité du dispositif peut être appréhendée et comprise en le divisant en sous-systèmes, appelés aussi axes. A partir de ce découpage du dispositif en systèmes élémentaires, ou axes, s'inscrivant dans les dimensions sociologique, pédagogique, technologique et organisationnelle, nous avons déterminé les Effets Attendus Spécifiques de chacun de ces axes dans une situation d'insertion optimale. En nous référant à ces critères, nous avons ensuite mené des enquêtes auprès des acteurs d'un dispositif en place : les enseignants, les apprenants et les dirigeants de cette l'institution.Ces enquêtes de terrain ont révélé des incertitudes et des attentes ressenties par les acteurs plutôt que des freins ou des résistances. L'analyse des résultats montre que la réussite de l'insertion repose d'abord sur les 3 acteurs, l'institution, les enseignants, les apprenants et sur les relations qu'ils entretiennent et les réponses qu'ils s'apportent mutuellement. Nous avons également pu relever que les dimensions organisationnelle et sociologique sont primordiales, du fait des rôles joués ou attendus de la part de ces différents acteurs, et qu'elles constituent les prérequis aux actions et aux réponses à donner dans les dimensions pédagogique et technologique.Enfin, nous avons pu mettre en évidence les interdépendances entre ces sous-systèmes, chaque axe pouvant favoriser ou pénaliser les Effets Attendus Spécifiques des autres axes, ce qui oblige le concepteur à considérer ces sous-ensembles de manière globale dans sa démarche d'insertion du dispositif. / Considering the issues inherent in the establishment of an ICT teaching or training program, the aim of our research is to understand the reasons and the rational advanced for or against the effectiveness of using ICT's in teaching and training environments. Our hypothesis is that the complexity of such a system can be apprehended and understood if it is divided into sub-systems, also called axes.These axes, defined against sociological, pedagogical, technological and organizational backgrounds helped us determine the "Specific Expected Effects" (Effets Attendus Spécifiques) and the criteria associated with each axis in a situation of optimal use. Using these criteria we then conducted a survey among ICT system users: teachers, learners and managers of a French engineering school.These field surveys showed that users had a feeling of uncertainty and expectancy rather than attitudes of rejection or resistance. Our study indicates that the success of the system depends primarily on the three partners involved, the institution, the teachers, and the learners as well as on their relationship and their answers to respective questions. We also noticed that the organizational and sociological dimensions were fundamental due to the roles the different groups involved played or were expected to play. These first two dimensions are also prerequisite to any actions or answers given in the pedagogical or technological dimension.Finally, we were able to prove the interdependencies among the axes. Each axis can have either a negative or a positive effect on the Specific Expected Effects of the other axes. This requires the developer of any such system to consider the axes in their entirety when establishing an ICT teaching programme.Keywords : Information and Communication Technologies in Education, ICTE, e-learning, innovation