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In this conceptual paper, we explore how individuals respond to a need to change when faced with the revelation of something undesirable about their social – and particularly organizational – context. Our focus is on reflexivity and reflexive practices, and we contribute to theoretical and practical debates in three ways. First, we identify a typology of reflexive practices involved in engaging with, or avoiding, a call to change. Second, we show how some example practices can be enacted in response to this call in each of the categories we describe. Third, we explain how particular reflexive competences are important in understanding how the process of enacting reflexive practices over time may evolve, through the accumulation and interpretation of experience. We also offer concluding suggestions for further research.

Resource integration has become an important concept in marketing literature. However, little is known about the systemic nature of resource integration and the ways the activities of resource integrators are coordinated and adjusted to each other. Therefore, we claim that institutions are the coordinating link that have impact on value cocreation efforts and are the reference base for customers’ value assessment. When conceptualizing the systemic nature of resource integration, we include the regulative, normative, and cognitive institutions and institutional logics. This article provides a framework and a structure for identifying and analyzing the influence of institutional logics on resource integration in service systems.                  

In this article, we explore the ways in which individuals deploy reflexive practices in order to avoid or engage with a call to change either oneself or the social context. We begin by developing a categorization of the modes of reflexive practice associated with avoidance or engagement. We go on to develop?through a relationally reflexive research process?three contributions that build on this. First, we build an understanding of what a repertoire of reflexive practices may include, and ?what is going on? in such reflexive practices. Second, we explain how reflexive practices can be mobilizing, thereby enabling shifts between avoidance and engagement modes, or fix action within a single mode. Third, we develop an understanding of the ways in which emotions and relationships influence how reflexive practices of either kind are deployed.

There is an increasing diversity both of project types and PM approaches, but decision tools and theory connecting the two are limited. To address this shortcoming, this paper reviews literature on alternative PM approaches, in the context of project contingency theory. Firstly, the paper identifies five selection factors seen within this literature: uncertainty, complexity, urgency, team empowerment and criticality. Secondly, the paper adapts project contingency theory to encompass these factors. Thirdly, these factors are used to develop a contingency framework based on project uncertainty and its consequences. Finally, the paper discusses the practical applications of the framework, such as its use for project process selection, tuning of processes, and project risk assessment.

Purpose – Over the past decade, scholars have used a market-as-practice approach to understand how markets are shaped by economic actors, which perform sets of interlinked market practices (Kjellberg and Helgesson, 2006, 2007). However, the more detailed translations of such actor-induced performativity such as market shaping, or market scripting (Storbacka and Nenonen, 2011), focus on commercial companies. In the light of recent discussions within the service-dominant logic field (Vargo and Lusch, 2016), we argue that this emphasis on companies provides an incomplete picture which needs to be complemented by the roles and activities of public actors. In contrast, within institutional work research (Lawrence et al., 2011; Zietsma and Lawrence, 2010), the role of public actors and the mechanisms of maintaining, creating, and disrupting institutions are better known, even though these studies have mostly focused on the changes taking place in the public institutions themselves. Regarding changes in market-related institutions, public actors have mostly been treated as mere objects of companies who engage in institutional work, rather than actors that actively participate in shaping the market (Alvarez et al., 2015; Sarasini, 2013). Consequently, our knowledge is limited about the market-shaping mechanisms of public actors. Thus, the purpose of this study is to explore the roles and activities of public actors in order to identify how they participate in market-shaping mechanisms.

Design/Methodology/approach – The study is based on multiple case studies which draw insight from different contexts (three industries, three countries). We used purposeful sampling to select the cases, and specifically included cases where public actors had active roles in maintaining, creating, and disrupting institutions.

Findings – The study delineates the various market-shaping mechanisms that public actors employ when influencing markets. These mechanisms are further classified to illuminate which ones are prevalent in different contexts of institutional work: maintaining, creating and disrupting markets.

Practical implications – The study provides guidance for regulators on how to best maintain, create and disrupt market systems. In addition to increasing understanding of the active role of regulators, we discuss how companies can invite public actors to the institutional work needed when shaping markets.

Originality/value – The study contributes to the literature streams related to market shaping and institutional work. We provide novel insights on how public actors participate in market shaping by maintaining, creating and disrupting institutions.

Studies of servitization processes in product-based firms generally describe a transition process from basic, product-oriented services towards more advanced, process-oriented ones, eventually leading to the provision of integrated solutions. The concept of firms going through a service transition is frequently used in both academia and practice. However, using case study research based on longitudinal analysis of servitization and innovation processes in ten product-based firms, we question the generalizability of these established conceptualizations. Instead, we argue that servitization is not always about moving from less to more advanced services. A firm offering a wide range of services may nevertheless have fragmented service operations in a product-based business, an opaque service organization, and unsystematic service development, thereby constantly failing to meet sales targets and profitability expectations. The number and range of services offered should therefore not be a sole proxy of a firm’s servitization efforts. Furthermore, servitization is not only a matter of moving from less to more advanced services but also about utilizing the knowledge gained from the largest, most advanced service contracts and solutions; there is often an inherent potential in downsizing, standardizing, and formalizing elements of the most advanced services and solutions, and to make use of these when offering also less complex services in an efficient and effective manner.

Both academics and practitioners emphasize the importance for product firms of implementing service-led growth strategies. The service transition concept is well established, namely a unidirectional repositioning along a product-service continuum—from basic, product-oriented services towards more customized, process-oriented ones—ultimately leading to the provision of solutions. We challenge this service transition assumption and develop alternative ones regarding how product firms should pursue service-led growth. Using ‘problematization methodology’, and drawing on findings from thirteen system suppliers, we identify three service-led growth trajectories: (1) becoming an availability provider, which is the focus of most transition literature; (2) becoming a performance provider, which resembles project-based sales and implies an even greater differentiation of what customers are offered; and, (3) becoming an ‘industrializer’, which is about standardizing previously customized solutions to promote repeatability and scalability. Based on our critical inquiry, we develop two alternative assumptions: (a) firms need to constantly balance business expansion and standardization activities; and (b) manage the co-existence of different system supplier roles. Finally, we consider the implications for implementing service-led growth strategies of the alternative assumptions.

Viewing markets as socially constructed, and thus consciously reconstructable, systems opens up interesting avenues and possible new tools for strategists. Decisions regarding markets are no longer limited to market selection but markets themselves can be shaped for higher value creation, growth and profitability. In this paper we investigate what kind of capabilities firms need in order to drive the development of their markets. Based on an explorative case study of 21 firms from four countries, we identify 45 firm-level market-driving capabilities. These first-order capabilities are further categorized into six capability-sets: market visioning, value sensing and development, business model development, credibility building, championing change, and transformative leadership. These findings contribute to the emerging discussion on market-driving strategies by illuminating the "black box" between previously explored antecedents and outcomes of market-driving strategies.

The context of value co-creation is increasingly conceptualized as service systems (Maglio et al., 2009; Ng et al., 2009) or service ecosystems (Lusch and Vargo, 2014; Akaka and Vargo, 2015). Service ecosystems are akin to natural ecosystems in their ability to emerge and go through profound changes over time (Mars et al., 2012; Lusch et al., 2016). However, service ecosystems differ in that they are influenced by actor-created institutions and institutional arrangements (Vargo and Lusch, 2016). Or, as Mars et al. (2012: 277) suggest: actors in service ecosystems "create strategies and structures (e.g., institutions)" and thus "organizations can design and master-plan systems and networks". Therefore, service-dominant logic acknowledges that actors can influence how service ecosystems evolve by affecting the institutional arrangements. Institutional work (Lawrence and Suddaby, 2006) has investigated how actors can influence institutions surrounding them (Battilana et al., 2009; Garud et al., 2007). However, Phillips and Tracey (2007) argue that more research is needed about the capabilities actors need to conduct institutional work successfully. The connection between capabilities and actors' ability to influence institutional arrangement and, thus, service ecosystems has been highlighted in the dynamic capabilities discourse. Recently Teece (2011: 75) argues that the "coordinating and resource-allocating activities performed by managers shape markets as much as markets shape business", and Teece (2016: 211) suggests that "dynamic capabilities help enable an enterprise to [?] build and renew resources, assets [?] that lie both within and beyond its boundaries, reconfiguring them as needed to innovate and respond to (or bring about) changes in the market" [emphasis added]. Therefore, our research question is: what capabilities do firms use to shape service ecosystems? The paper investigates this question using grounded theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967), building on a multi-national sample of 82 interviewees from 21 companies, who have successfully shaped their service ecosystem. Informed by Gioia et al. (2013), we categorized the data into informant-centric first order constructs (a total of 57), theory-centric second order themes (a total of 16), and overarching aggregate dimensions (a total of 5). The aggregated dimensions are grouped into two distinct capability categories: inducing capabilities, which and are directly responsible for inducing a change in the service ecosystem (second order themes: influencing sales items, price and pricing, customers and use, competing providers, matching methods, supply network, representations, norms), and augmenting capabilities, which enable, enhance or moderate the shaping efforts (second order themes: value creation orientation, systemic thinking, market visioning, business model development, partnering, credibility building, championing change). Our analysis suggests that inducing capabilities are context-specific, whereas augmenting capabilities are more generic in nature. As a conclusion we develop a conceptual model describing how inducing and augmenting capabilities relate to overall change in service ecosystems and to each other.

An increased focus on servitization involves ambidextrous challenges – firms need to manage explorative and exploitative service activities simultaneously. Whereas existing literature emphasises the need for organisational separation of service activities, fewer studies address the challenges around managing and organising for different types of service offerings. This paper integrates servitization research with more general management theories on ambidexterity and draws on a longitudinal case study of an industrial manufacturer managing servitization processes. As such, this paper identifies important elements of organisational separation and integration. More specifically, we identify challenges related to the integration of explorative and exploitative service activities, and identify challenges related to the following dimensions: (1) goal setting, (2) timing, (3) tensions, (4) endurance, and (5) magnitude of the integrated units. Furthermore, we discusss servitization as a dynamic process and identify different service activities which were separated, combined, separated again, and finally integrated in the focal firm.

Using a business model perspective, we identify four continuums relevant for industrial firms making solution business model innovations: customer embeddedness, offering integratedness, operational adaptiveness, and organizational networkedness. Using these continuums, we explore the opportunities and challenges related to solution business models in two different business logics of particular importance in an industrial context: installed-base (IB) and input-to-process (I2P). The paper draws on eight independent research projects, spanning an eleven-year period, involving a total of 52 multinational enterprises. The findings show that the nature and importance of the continuums differ between the I2P and IB business logics. IB firms can almost naturally transition towards solutions, usually through increasing customer embeddedness and offering integratedness, and then by addressing issues around the other continuums. For I2P firms, the changes needed are less transitional. Rather they have to completely change their mental models and address the development needs on all continuums simultaneously.

Using a business model perspective, we identify four continua that are of specific relevance for industrial firms transforming toward solution business models: customer embeddedness, offering integratedness, operational adaptiveness, and organizational networkedness. Using these continua, we explore the opportunities and challenges related to solution business model development in two different business logics that are of particular importance in an industrial context: 'installed-base' (IB) and 'input-to-process' (I2P). The paper draws on eight independent research projects, spanning an eleven-year period, involving a total of 52 multinational enterprises. The findings show that the nature and importance of the continua differ between the I2P and IB business logics. IB firms can almost naturally transition toward solutions, usually through increasing customer embeddedness and offering integratedness, and then by addressing issues around the other continua. For I2P firms, the changes needed are less transitional. Rather, they have to completely change their mental models and address the development needs on all continua simultaneously.

With varying degrees of success, a number of firms in the capital goods sector are experimenting with different ‘integrated solutions’ initiatives. Integrated solutions include product innovations which enable increased process control that allows the optimisation of the customers’ processes, as well as business innovations which change the firms’ business models and customer approach. It is not always easy to develop and commercialise these new offerings, especially for firms that have traditionally focused on developing and selling products. Integrated solutions challenge these firms to shift the focus from physical products, spare parts and support services to emphasis on delivery of performance optimisation and productivity.

This thesis is a compilation of five papers and five supporting chapters that discuss and analyse the challenges with developing and commercialising integrated solutions in the capital goods sector. The research builds on case studies of firms experimenting with integrated-solution offerings. The firms produce complex, expensive industrial machinery to customers in the process and manufacturing industries. The main case is based on a five-year, in-depth longitudinal study of Alfa Laval, and more specifically of the developments within the wastewater industry. Other case studies include ITT Flygt and Atlas Copco.

The thesis shows that the development and commercialisation of integrated solutions represent a multifaceted, iterative and complex process for the firms under study, who need to combine product, service and business innovations, create new business structures, and create new relationships with customers and possible partners. Consequently, the development of integrated solutions is not confined to or explained by one theoretical field in this thesis, but is linked to innovation, service and network perspectives.

The thesis also shows that the three activities of innovating, organising and building relationships are dependent on changing market structures, customer demands and business cycles. Therefore it becomes important to manage the coexistence of different types of offerings, such as products, services and integrated solutions.

This paper introduces the three interrelated design catalysts of curiosity, creativity and courage, and explores how they actuate market sense-making activities in design practice. Drawing on the interplay between action and meaning dimensions in design practice and service-marketing theory, it specifically investigates when desirability, rather than feasibility or viability, is the locus of innovation activities. Thus, the following three aspects of market sense-making in design practice are identified: (a) curiosity catalyses empathy and the deep understanding of markets, which are seen as socially constructed of individual (value-in-use) and connected (value-in-context) experiences; (b) creativity catalyses ‘logical leaps’ with regard to understanding the opportunities for creating future markets; and (c) courage catalyses learning through iterations, which reduce cognitive bias with regard to market assumptions, thereby reducing cognitive bias in both curiosity- and creativity-driven activities.

An increasing number of companies in the capital goods industry are turning towards new strategies where the focus is to add value for customers by providing integrated solutions (combining products and services), instead of selling components, spare parts and support services. These new strategies represent moves in the value chain and create a need for new business models as well as new competencies.

In this paper, the fairly new concept of integrated solutions is explored in the context of a privatised industry. The findings are based on empirical case studies carried out at two companies supplying products and services to the UK wastewater industry. In the UK, both water companies and their suppliers are influenced by economic and environmental regulations, an increased focus on cost, and outsourcing. On one hand, the two manufacturers have increased their competence with respect to system integration and operational services – competencies for supplying integrated solutions. On the other hand, a fragmented and vertically structured market with a multitude of different actors increases the distance between the water companies and the manufacturers. In addition, the division of the industry into a capital and operational side complicates the coordination between new sales and services.

Manufacturing companies in the capital goods industry face opportunities and challenges to their traditionally used business model for selling products, spare parts and services. They are encountering increasing pressure to provide their customers with broader, more tailored solutions. With these integrated solutions, as they are referred to in this thesis, companies are combining services with products to address their customers' business needs, and focus on the delivery of performance.

The objective of this thesis is to address this fairly new concept of integrated solutions using Alfa Laval as a study case in a wastewater industry setting. The business and organisational implications of the move towards integrated solutions have been explored and the move characterised in the context of innovation literature. The thesis comprises five supporting chapters and four empirical papers. The first of these four papers explores and identifies incentives and new competence requirements for providing integrated solutions. The second paper highlights the influence that external elements such as changes in market structure have on providing integrated solutions. The third paper explores internal processes at Alfa Laval supporting a move towards integrated solutions. The fourth and final paper describes the development and launch of a self-optimising control system for the dewatering process, which is licensed out to customers, hence challenging Alfa Laval's traditional way of doing business.

The thesis links Alfa Laval's move towards integrated solutions with its capabilities in the areas of system integration, operational services, partnering and organisational competence, and its approach to customers. It also shows that Alfa Laval's move towards integrated solutions encompasses products, services, performance and organisational innovations.

Purpose: This paper aims to provide a better understanding of the innovation challenges firms face when developing and commercialising solutions in the capital goods sector; challenges related to the interdependencies between the supplier/innovator and the customers, as well as the solution’s impact on their competencies and activities.

Design/methodology/approach: This paper draws upon the emerging body of literature on solutions and established frameworks within innovation management literature. It explores a real-time longitudinal case study of “Alpha” (an international specialist in centrifugal separation, heat exchange and fluid handling), including an R&D project, the project’s transformation into an internal corporate venture and the years of the venture up until its integration into the corporate.

Findings: This paper characterises solutions as involving product and business innovation. By clarifying the differences between how the solution affects the customers and the suppliers, the use of the proposed framework develops a deeper understanding of the obstacles and difficulties involved in solution innovation.

Research limitations/implications: Although some customers were interviewed in this study, a more in-depth study of the customers and the actors within the business network would provide further insight into solution innovations. Merging the two discussions on co-creation and role of users in innovation could provide an avenue for fruitful research within this area.

Practical implications: This paper provides a framework for deconstructing solution innovation, enabling detailed comparison between the innovation’s impact on both suppliers’ and customer’s competencies. Such a tool is helpful for increased understanding of how to facilitate internal and external acceptance for a disruptive and radical business innovation.

Originality/value: This paper links the development and commercialisation of solutions with established innovation frameworks. Understanding solutions as technology-driven business innovations provides a multifaceted and complex perspective on solutions and contributes to better understanding of radical business innovations. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

For an increasing number of firms in the capital goods industry, combinations of products and services, so called integrated solutions, are becoming part of their future growth strategies. By analysing three case studies, the article highlights the variety of such solutions and some important implications for the involved companies. The analysis suggests that companies need an extended set of competences to succeed in providing integrated solutions, amounting to a balance of technical and integration competence with market/business, consulting and partnering competences. This implies a move from product-focus to customer-centric orientation and focus on optimisation of user processes. From a research perspective the paper underlines the importance of integrating studies of product and service innovation, two fields that so far have been studied separately.

Firms that have traditionally focused on selling products, spare parts and services face difficulties with increasing competition and declining margins. They are therefore turning to new strategies where products and services are integrated into so-called integrated solutions. Research on the challenges this presents is sparse, but there is evidence that internal factors as well as external relationships play an important role. In this paper we investigate the relationships within the business network in order to uncover some of the complex issues related to integrated solutions, including how and to what extent these relationships facilitate or impede the development of integrated solutions. Two case studies of one more and one less successful initiative within the same firm are used to illustrate challenges and possible success factors for the development of integrated solutions in the capital goods industry.

The paper identifies the following six factors as important when developing integrated solutions: the strength of the relationships between the different actors involved, the firm's position in the network, the firm's network horizon, the solution's impact on existing internal activities, the solution's impact on customers' core processes, and external determinants. It shows that inter- and intra-firm relationships can both enable and obstruct the development of integrated solutions. For the firms involved in the development of integrated solutions, it becomes crucial to manage this duality.

Although advanced services, or so called integrated solutions, have increasingly received attention in the literature, no coherent body of literature exists, and the relational dimensions and consequences of integrated solutions are not explored in detail. Based on the emerging literature, we develop a framework identifying four different categories of integrated solutions: rental, maintenance, operational and performance offerings. We also compare and contrast the service- and the goods-centered logics with the logic of integrated solutions, and thereby show how the reciprocal interdependencies increase between customers and suppliers. We explore these interdependencies further in three case studies of firms experimenting with integrated solutions, and identify dependencies related to process knowledge, process optimization, and process operations. The paper shows that rather than moving along a linear continuum from goods to services, firms developing integrated solutions need to balance elements of both goods- and service-logics, as well as manage the increased customer–supplier interdependencies that integrated solutions entail.