Citation
(2014), "2013 Awards for Excellence", Managing Service Quality: An International Journal, Vol. 24 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/MSQ-01-2014-001
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
2013 Awards for Excellence
Article Type: 2013 Awards for Excellence From: Managing Service Quality, Volume 24, Issue 1.
The following article was selected for this year's Outstanding Paper Award for Managing Service Quality
“Using a business game concept to enhance servitization: a longitudinal case study”
Teemu Laine, Jari Paranko, Petri Suomala
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the potential benefits of a business game on customers' business in enhancing servitization. The concept is proposed to be helpful in the phases of defining the servitization initiative and gaining shared understanding about it at a manufacturer.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a longitudinal case study at a manufacturer (2003-2008), with a focus on the business game concept on customers' business. The researchers and approximately 140 company representatives contributed to both early and later phases of the development of the concept.
Findings – The business game concept appeared to serve the purpose of generating and sharing ideas about the customers' business and the desired role of the OEM in it, as a potential outcome of servitization. The concept synthesizes the previously fragmented customer awareness across the business units and provides useful information for various stakeholders. The presence of personnel across the different business units and from a key customer company in the game events enabled new types of discussion related to the servitization initiative.
Research limitations/implications – The concept presented in this paper represents a potential tool for enhancing a servitization initiative. Due to the limitations of the case, the findings are tentative and primarily transferable to contexts where a manufacturer provides machinery for industrial production. Moreover, the ability of the concept to capture real-life customer values is critical for success and thus should be carefully examined.
Originality/value – The case study enables an in-depth view of the phenomena under examination. Moreover, due to the researchers' interventions in developing and using the concept, they observed actual processes of overcoming the challenges of servitization.
This article originally appeared in Volume 22 No 2, 2012, Managing Service Quality
The following articles were selected for this year's Highly Commended Award
“Self-service technology complaint channel choice: exploring consumers' motives”
Nichola Robertson
This article originally appeared in Volume 22 Number 2, 2012, Managing Service Quality
“Service environment, provider mood, and provider customer interaction”
Kendra Fowler, Eileen Bridges
This article originally appeared in Volume 22 Number 2, 2012, Managing Service Quality
“Organizational adoption of new service development tools”
Dayu Jin, Kah-Hin Chai, Kay-Chuan Tan
This article originally appeared in Volume 22 Number 3, 2012, Managing Service Quality
Outstanding Reviewers
Dr Laszlo Sajtos
Dr Tim Jones