The innovation of meaning framework has been described as an innovation strategy aimed at changing the "reason why" people purchase and use a product. Research shows how companies can conceive new meanings to be embodied into new offerings, through the use of physical properties such as the color, shape, form. However, research is limited on how to embody new meanings into new services. The intangible and co-creative nature of services implies both difficulty in translating the meaning into specific characteristics, and the necessity to consider customers as an active part in the creation and experience of meaning. Thus, further developing the innovation of meaning framework toward the downstream phases of the process – the implementation into new services – requires a shift in thinking from a product- to a service-oriented logic. This thesis aims at filling the implementation gap by adopting a service-dominant logic perspective. To do so, I adopted a mixed-method approach combining quantitative and qualitative methods based on the research stage. This is due to the multifaceted nature of the phenomenon under study, which required confirmatory or exploratory studies based on the specific sub-topics. The work explores how companies can integrate different resources to guide the (co)creation of meanings and their experience by customers. This objective is achieved by investigating the primary resources that companies need to shape in designing a new service: the service concept, as a tool for internal alignment and scalability, and the service front-end, declined in its human and architectural components. The findings show different tools and processes that companies need to enact and control to allow for a proper embodiment of the new meaning into a new service solution. At the concept generation phase, the “Moment of Meaning” proved to be an effective concepting technique to favor alignment to and scalability of the new meaning. In the later development stages, results show that engaging the front-line employees in bringing the meaning to customers is a proactive and recursive process, and that how the different architectural elements in the new service effects the proposition of the new meaning. This work provides a fundamental contribution to the innovation of meaning framework by adapting it to a service economy and filling the implementation gap. Moreover, it contributes to the service literature by establishing an interesting and fruitful setting where to apply the service-dominant logic, going toward the development of mid-range theories. From a practical perspective, the work aims at generating actionable knowledge – in the form of tools and processes – that can be applied by managers pursuing an innovation of meaning.
L’innovazione di significato è una strategia di innovazione volta a cambiare il "perché" i consumatori acquistano e utilizzano un prodotto. La teoria indica come le aziende possano concepire nuovi significati e progettare soluzioni basate su di esse, esprimendo il nuovo significato attraverso l'uso di proprietà fisiche come il colore o la forma. Tuttavia, come incorporare nuovi significati in offerte di servizio è ancora inesplorato. La natura intangibile e co-creativa di un servizio implica sia la difficoltà di tradurre il significato in caratteristiche specifiche, sia la necessità di considerare i clienti come parte attiva nella creazione e nell'esperienza del significato. Per questo motivo, lo sviluppo del framework dell’innovazione di significato nelle fasi a valle del processo di sviluppo - l'implementazione in nuovi servizi - richiede un cambiamento di pensiero da una logica orientata al prodotto ad una orientata ai servizi. Questa tesi mira a colmare il gap relativo allo sviluppo di nuovi servizi tramite una strategia di innovazione di significato adottando la prospettiva della service-dominant logic. Vista la natura multiforme del fenomeno in esame, la ricerca è basata su un approccio metodologico misto, combinando studi qualitativi e quantitativi. La tesi analizza il modo in cui aziende di servizi retail possono integrare diverse risorse per guidare la (co)creazione e l’esperienza di significati da parte dei clienti. Per far questo, la tesi è focalizzata sulle risorse principali che vengono orchestrate da un’azienda retail al momento della progettazione di un nuovo servizio: il concept del nuovo servizio, come strumento di allineamento interno e scalabilità; e il front-end del servizio, declinato nelle sue componenti umane e architetturali. I risultati della tesi evidenziano diversi strumenti e processi che possono essere usati per garantire una corretta declinazione del nuovo significato in un nuovo servizio. Nella fase di generazione del concept, il “Moment of Meaning” è uno strumento particolarmente utile per favorire l'allineamento e la scalabilità del nuovo significato. Nelle fasi successive del processo di sviluppo, i risultati mostrano che coinvolgere il personale di front-end nel progettare soluzioni per portare il significato ai clienti è un processo proattivo e ricorsivo che può essere attivato e controllato dai manager. Allo stesso modo, la tesi mostra anche il modo in cui i diversi elementi architetturali del nuovo servizio influiscono sulla declinazione del nuovo significato nella soluzione. Questa tesi fornisce un contributo importante nel completamento del framework dell’innovazione di significato adattandolo al dominio dei servizi, e colmando il gap relativo all’implementazione di un nuovo significato in un nuovo servizio. Inoltre, la tesi mira a contribuire alla letteratura di service-dominant logic delineando un contesto applicativo potenzialmente interessante per lo sviluppo di nuove teorie basate sull’adozione di tale logica. In termini pratici, la tesi contribuisce a dare supporto ad aziende e manager impiegati in un processo di innovazione di significato fornendo nuovi strumenti e processi direttamente applicabili in un contesto aziendale.
Service innovation of meaning: a resource integration perspective
Artusi, Federico
2020/2021
Abstract
The innovation of meaning framework has been described as an innovation strategy aimed at changing the "reason why" people purchase and use a product. Research shows how companies can conceive new meanings to be embodied into new offerings, through the use of physical properties such as the color, shape, form. However, research is limited on how to embody new meanings into new services. The intangible and co-creative nature of services implies both difficulty in translating the meaning into specific characteristics, and the necessity to consider customers as an active part in the creation and experience of meaning. Thus, further developing the innovation of meaning framework toward the downstream phases of the process – the implementation into new services – requires a shift in thinking from a product- to a service-oriented logic. This thesis aims at filling the implementation gap by adopting a service-dominant logic perspective. To do so, I adopted a mixed-method approach combining quantitative and qualitative methods based on the research stage. This is due to the multifaceted nature of the phenomenon under study, which required confirmatory or exploratory studies based on the specific sub-topics. The work explores how companies can integrate different resources to guide the (co)creation of meanings and their experience by customers. This objective is achieved by investigating the primary resources that companies need to shape in designing a new service: the service concept, as a tool for internal alignment and scalability, and the service front-end, declined in its human and architectural components. The findings show different tools and processes that companies need to enact and control to allow for a proper embodiment of the new meaning into a new service solution. At the concept generation phase, the “Moment of Meaning” proved to be an effective concepting technique to favor alignment to and scalability of the new meaning. In the later development stages, results show that engaging the front-line employees in bringing the meaning to customers is a proactive and recursive process, and that how the different architectural elements in the new service effects the proposition of the new meaning. This work provides a fundamental contribution to the innovation of meaning framework by adapting it to a service economy and filling the implementation gap. Moreover, it contributes to the service literature by establishing an interesting and fruitful setting where to apply the service-dominant logic, going toward the development of mid-range theories. From a practical perspective, the work aims at generating actionable knowledge – in the form of tools and processes – that can be applied by managers pursuing an innovation of meaning.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/181895