<p>This dissertation is about new service development. In the past, little attention has been paid to the front-line-employees' involvement in the service development. The aim of this dissertation is therefore to describe and analyze the front-line-employees' envolvement and contribution to the service development process and to identify what, specifically, the front-line-employees contribute to the new service. Three research questions are formulated. The first deals with when and how the front-line-employees participate in the service development process. The second investigates the contributions of front-line-employees to the new service and the third research question builds on the results from the previous two and focuses on how to manage effective new service development.</p><p>This study is a qualitative case study. It is retrospective and has been conducted through an empirical and theory driven formation of factors. The case company is a Swedish bank where four service development projects were the subject of the study.</p><p>This study shows that from a management perspective, implementation and the launch of the service can be performed in a more efficient way when the employees are involved. The result has also suggest that the internal efficiency can be increased further if the front-line-employees' resistance to change is considered. This dissertation's first theoretical contribution is a new model of the service development process. The new model is divided into five phases including a neew integration phase. The integration phase should be introduced during the project design phase and in two parallel ways: partially within the project and partially outside the project. Second, this dissertation provides a new quality factor, namely <i>relationship building</i>. Third, a detailed, description and analysis is supplied of how employees participate in and contribute to the service development process. Somewhat surprisingly, the study shows that the employees are often involved too late in the development project and are not given enough time to contribute. The front-line-employees would probably contribute more, both to the development projects and to the new service, if their involvement was organized differently form what is shown in this study.</p>

This dissertation is about new service development. In the past, little attention has been paid to the front-line-employees' involvement in the service development. The aim of this dissertation is therefore to describe and analyze the front-line-employees' envolvement and contribution to the service development process and to identify what, specifically, the front-line-employees contribute to the new service. Three research questions are formulated. The first deals with when and how the front-line-employees participate in the service development process. The second investigates the contributions of front-line-employees to the new service and the third research question builds on the results from the previous two and focuses on how to manage effective new service development. This study is a qualitative case study. It is retrospective and has been conducted through an empirical and theory driven formation of factors. The case company is a Swedish bank where four service development projects were the subject of the study. This study shows that from a management perspective, implementation and the launch of the service can be performed in a more efficient way when the employees are involved. The result has also suggest that the internal efficiency can be increased further if the front-line-employees' resistance to change is considered. This dissertation's first theoretical contribution is a new model of the service development process. The new model is divided into five phases including a neew integration phase. The integration phase should be introduced during the project design phase and in two parallel ways: partially within the project and partially outside the project. Second, this dissertation provides a new quality factor, namely relationship building. Third, a detailed, description and analysis is supplied of how employees participate in and contribute to the service development process. Somewhat surprisingly, the study shows that the employees are often involved too late in the development project and are not given enough time to contribute. The front-line-employees would probably contribute more, both to the development projects and to the new service, if their involvement was organized differently form what is shown in this study.