Service innovation is an important component for service business through its applicability in development and accretion that promotes business operations. The service innovation process can be created and maintained through interaction between the actor and the customer, where mutual value is being created through collaboration. However, disruptive external forces that reconfigure businesses environment and changes behavior of customers can have an impact on the conditions for service processes, where the need for innovative solutions increases to continue to reach customer satisfaction. In addition, it may further impact the underlying processes of innovating services, not at least within the facility service sector since interacting and operating within customer’s sites. Therefore, the authors want to contribute with knowledge regarding how service innovation processes are being affected by disruptive external forces, investigated through a single case study. The empirical data has been collected through semi-structured, in-depth interviews with six respondents within a global market-leading provider of facility services where the study has addressed the Swedish market. The empirical findings acknowledged that a changed customer behavior imposed by disruptive external forces causes challenges and changes to the business environment of facility services. The collected data highlighted disruptive forces such as technological, environmental and, especially prominent, the pandemic as particularly influential to the processes of facility service innovation. Business environment in a reconfigured state has, among other, affected the parts of developing, testing, and implementing innovative solutions, thereby influencing the implementation process of service innovation. In conclusion, disruptive external forces imposed new areas of focus and requirements from customers, leading to customers becoming more involved in the process of facility service innovation. The case company has been required to adopt a form of Service-Dominated (S-D) logic on the approach of developing value propositions, implicating that the customers are taking an increased and active part in the facility service innovation process. In relation to a changing customer need imposed by disruptive external forces, psychological senses and perceptions have been distinguished to be a requirement of facility service innovation and have therefore constituted an active component of the innovation process.

<p>During several years influencing opinions has been working for a renewal of the Estate agents act. One of the matters that the Commission of Inquiry is handling is the question whether estate agents will be permitted to offer support services to their customers. In the light of the current investigation it has been my objective with this memorandum to describe the complexity about support services and also to what use these services could be for the consumers as well as to the estate agency branch. During my work with this memorandum I have identified two main theories. While one of the theories is emphasising customer orientation, the other theory is stating that there is a disadvantage with scattered services and that the service company should focus on its core business. When the theories were brought together with the empirics it became my opinion that estate agents should use these services to position themselves towards competitors. Above all it’s my opinion that for smaller estate agents support services can be of decisive importance for the future survival.</p> / <p>Under många år har opinionsbildare såsom Mäklarsamfundet arbetat för en förnyelse av Fastighetsmäklarlagen. Den 31 december 2007 skall utredningsarbetet kring den nya Fastighetsmäklarlagen vara klart och en av de frågor som utredningsgruppen avhandlar är huruvida fastighetsmäklare skall få förmedla kringtjänster till sina kunder eller ej. Mot bakgrund till det utredningsarbete som för närvarande förs kring den nya Fastighetsmäklarlagen har det varit mitt syfte med denna promemoria att beskriva komplexiteten om kringtjänsternas vara eller icke vara, och med vilken nytta tjänsten kan bidra med till konsumenterna och fastighetsmäklarbranschen. Jag har under mitt arbete stött på teorimotsättningar då den ena teorin förespråkar att det är kunden som är i fokus och bestämmer, menar den andra teorin att det är ej bra att ha en alltför spridd tjänst då tjänsteföretaget skall fokusera på kärntjänsten. När dessa teorier har sammanvävts med empirin anser jag att fastighetsmäklarföretagen kan använda sig av kringtjänsterna för att positionera sig gentemot sina konkurrenter och framförallt för mindre fastighetsbyråer kan det vara avgörande för hur de skall överleva i framtiden.</p>

During several years influencing opinions has been working for a renewal of the Estate agents act. One of the matters that the Commission of Inquiry is handling is the question whether estate agents will be permitted to offer support services to their customers. In the light of the current investigation it has been my objective with this memorandum to describe the complexity about support services and also to what use these services could be for the consumers as well as to the estate agency branch. During my work with this memorandum I have identified two main theories. While one of the theories is emphasising customer orientation, the other theory is stating that there is a disadvantage with scattered services and that the service company should focus on its core business. When the theories were brought together with the empirics it became my opinion that estate agents should use these services to position themselves towards competitors. Above all it’s my opinion that for smaller estate agents support services can be of decisive importance for the future survival. / Under många år har opinionsbildare såsom Mäklarsamfundet arbetat för en förnyelse av Fastighetsmäklarlagen. Den 31 december 2007 skall utredningsarbetet kring den nya Fastighetsmäklarlagen vara klart och en av de frågor som utredningsgruppen avhandlar är huruvida fastighetsmäklare skall få förmedla kringtjänster till sina kunder eller ej. Mot bakgrund till det utredningsarbete som för närvarande förs kring den nya Fastighetsmäklarlagen har det varit mitt syfte med denna promemoria att beskriva komplexiteten om kringtjänsternas vara eller icke vara, och med vilken nytta tjänsten kan bidra med till konsumenterna och fastighetsmäklarbranschen. Jag har under mitt arbete stött på teorimotsättningar då den ena teorin förespråkar att det är kunden som är i fokus och bestämmer, menar den andra teorin att det är ej bra att ha en alltför spridd tjänst då tjänsteföretaget skall fokusera på kärntjänsten. När dessa teorier har sammanvävts med empirin anser jag att fastighetsmäklarföretagen kan använda sig av kringtjänsterna för att positionera sig gentemot sina konkurrenter och framförallt för mindre fastighetsbyråer kan det vara avgörande för hur de skall överleva i framtiden.