SERVICE TYPOLOGIES: A STATE OF THE ART SURVEY

Services comprise an ever-expanding source of employment in the world's economies and are of significant interest to both academicians and practitioners. In this study, historical perspectives from which to view service typologies are provided and four decades of service typologies are chronicled. The interest in services demonstrated by academicians is tracked over time as are the purposes for which typologies have been developed. A unified schematic representation of services is developed in which the common themes underlying service typology development are identified from both a macro and micro level. Based on this study, areas for future research are identified.     

Toward a Typology of Buyer–Supplier Relationships: A Study of the Computer Industry*

Buyer–supplier relationship typologies are useful analytical tools for purchasing managers in managing exchange relationships with suppliers and monitoring their purchasing portfolios. Existing buyer–supplier relationship typologies are mainly focused on either relational contents or power‐dependence and have limited empirical support for their performance implications. In this study, we developed an alternative buyer–supplier relationship typology that integrates both relational content and power‐dependence dimensions, resulting in four generic relationship types: market, power, autonomous‐link, and constrained‐link relationships. We then performed a longitudinal exploratory investigation of eight leading firms in the U.S. computer industry to explore the performance implications of the typology, using a combinatorial qualitative approach that leverages the strengths of case study research, content analysis, and quasi‐experimental design. The results suggest three theoretical propositions. First, the association between the type of buyer–supplier relationships and buyer firm performance varies such that constrained‐link relationships are superior in terms of operational efficiency while autonomous‐link relationships are superior in terms of product innovation. Second, the positive association between buyer–supplier relational contents (i.e., relationalism) and buyer firm operational efficiency is strengthened as the suppliers' dependence on the buyer firm increases. And finally, the positive association between buyer–supplier relationalism and buyer firm product innovation is weakened as the suppliers' dependence on the buyer firm increases.     

市场导向、创新与企业表现的关系——基于中国服务业的实证研究

市场导向的采用可以产生良好的企业表现等命题已被广泛接受,然而,二者之间具体关系的实证分析尚还不足,尤其是中国服务业中二者的具体关系研究几乎空白。本文以中国服务业企业为研究对象,提出了市场导向、创新与企业表现关系的假设模型,根据570个服务企业样本数据,利用回归分析及结构方程模型进行了检验,发现中国服务业中市场导向是通过创新的介入与递推而对企业表现发挥作用的。因此,中国服务业企业在市场导向的应用过程中要注意对创新活动的支持,这样才能充分发挥市场导向的作用。     

市场导向对组织创造力的非线性作用机理——组织二元结构文化与创业导向的影响研究

在我国加快实施创新驱动发展战略中,如何提升企业组织创造力以促使企业创新变得至关重要。企业战略是影响组织创造力和创新的重要情境因素。市场导向和创业导向是新兴经济体国家的企业发展的战略核心。然而,现有研究对市场导向与企业创造性产出之间关系的观点却不一致。创业导向如何影响市场导向对组织创造力的作用也尚未得到关注和研究。本研究以145家企业的979份高层管理人员与核心员工的套问卷数据为样本,研究发现：市场导向对组织创造力产生倒U型影响,且倒U型影响通过二元结构文化（一致性文化与适应性文化）的不同传导机制而产生,即：一致性文化在市场导向与组织创造力之间正向中介效应随市场导向的增强而减弱,并在高度市场导向时转变为负向中介效应,而适应性文化在市场导向和组织创造力之间发挥部分中介效应。研究还发现：市场导向对组织创造力的倒U型影响受创业导向的调节作用,即：当创业导向较高时,市场导向对组织创造力的积极影响随市场导向的增强而逐渐增强,反之,则逐渐减弱。研究结论为提升企业组织创造力提供新的思路和理论参考。     

基于东方管理的服务创新与服务利润链实证研究:以通信服务业为例

创新已经成为国内通信服务企业的竞争利器,探讨创新影响企业内部运作、外部顾客满意度和企业绩效的路径和模式.本文以河南省新联通为例,运用调查研究方法和案例研究方法,探讨基于东方管理的服务创新与员工满意、顾客满意和绩效之间的关系.本文得到如下结论:(1)基于东方管理思想的"内部服务创新-员工满意-顾客满意-企业绩效"的服务利润链路径得到验证,但强度较弱,这表明东方管理思想和服务创新理论在国内通信服务企业的应用是有效的,但其作用有待提升;(2)内部和外部服务创新通过直接和间接两条路径影响企业绩效;(3)内部创新影响路径(内部服务创新→员工满意→顾客满意→企业绩效)的强度小于外部创新影响路径(外部服务创新→顾客满意→企业绩效)的强度,表明针对员工的内部服务创新还未成为当前国内通信服务企业创新的重点;(4)除了创新对绩效的间接影响外,内部服务创新和外部服务创新会直接影响企业绩效,这表明国内通信服务企业的创新可能仍倾向于绩效导向,而非顾客导向,即表现出行为短期化.     

The financial structure of innovative SMEs in Germany

In politics and business the special role of innovative businesses whose research and development activities expedite technological progress has received steady attention. Especially small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) have initiated promising innovation projects. However, when analysing these projects our research must take into account that SMEs cannot be viewed as a homogeneous business category. Moreover, financing their innovations, SMEs are subject to unique issues. To shed light on these problems, this study will develop an index measuring degrees of innovation. It allows the 171 sample companies to be categorised into three groups: non-innovative, moderately innovative or highly innovative. A multinomial logistic regression is used to examine the quality of this typology. In addition, group-specific differences in the financing mix are demonstrated. Finally, from a theoretical point of view, the implications of the pecking order theory are basically validated. On the other hand, the concept of the financial growth cycle does not deliver satisfactory results.     

旅游企业员工服务导向意识的前置因素与后果研究

作者在27个宾馆、餐馆、旅行社进行了一次实证研究,探讨服务导向概念的组成成分与员工服务导向的影响因素和作用。数据分析结果表明,营销导向、情感密集和负责精神是服务导向概念的组成成分,企业的支持、员工的心理受权和工作满意感都是影响员工的服务导向的重要因素,员工的服务导向意识对员工工作行为和旅游企业的外部效率有直接或间接的影响。     

Experience,Service Operations Strategy,and Services as Destinations: Foundations and Exploratory Investigation

This paper explores the customer experience paradigm as it pertains to service operations strategy and design. First, we operationally define and discuss the concept of customer experience. In this context, we propose a reframing of the strategic role of operations strategy as one of choreographing experience‐centric services. We then introduce the concept of services as destinations as an emerging business model for classifying experiential service strategies. Our conceptual typology of experience‐based strategies uses two dimensions: (1) the depth of use of experience as a source of value creation, ranging from brand experience to the services as a destinations business model, and (2) the degree of integration of experience internally within the firm. Using this conceptual typology, we develop five propositions and use multiple cases to illustrate firms' use of these experience strategies. Laying the groundwork for future research, we highlight insights from the qualitative, multiple‐case data as they pertain to service operations strategy and the business model that employs services as destinations. A number of questions for further research are suggested.     

我国制造型企业市场导向和创新导向对新产品绩效影响的实证研究

本研究基于我国227家制造型企业的问卷调查数据,实证考察了市场导向和创新导向对新产品开发绩效的影响,以及创新导向和环境变动在市场导向和新产品绩效关系中的调节作用。结果显示:(1)本研究的概念模型整体拟合度优于西方常用模型;(2)市场导向和创新导向对制造型企业新产品开发绩效的影响显著为正,且均高于以前文献研究的一般水平;(3)创新导向和技术变化对于市场导向和新产品绩效的关系起到正向调节作用;(4)市场变化和竞争强度的调节作用不显著。研究结果对于制造型企业改善产品创新绩效具有重要的启示意义。     

A Business Model Innovation Typology

An effective business model is the core enabler of any company's performance. Business model innovation is not only becoming more and more important due to increasing and globalizing competition, but also an enormous challenge, both theoretically and practically. Although many managers are eager to consider more disruptive changes to their business model, they often do not know how to articulate their existing or desired business model and, even less so, understand the possibilities for innovating it. One of the steps toward developing more theoretical insight and practical guidelines is the identification of types and the development of a typology of business model innovations. Ten retrospective case studies of business model innovations undertaken by two industrial companies provide the empirical basis for this article. We analyzed the characteristics of these innovations as well as their success rates. The findings suggest that there are indeed various business model innovation types, each with its own characteristics and challenges.     

顾客-企业交互对服务创新的影响:基于组织学习的视角

基于组织学习的视角,提出了解释顾客与服务创新关系的理论框架,分析了顾客-企业交互通过影响组织向顾客学习的动机和行为,进而影响服务创新绩效的路径。对陕西、广东和江苏3个省份的122家服务企业进行问卷调查,实证分析发现：①顾客一企业交互的3个维度,即合作生产、顾客接触和服务定制,与组织向顾客学习之间显著正相关;②这种正向关系受到创新氛围调节影响,创新氛围越强,越容易发挥顾客-企业交互对于组织学习的促进作用;③组织向顾客学习对服务创新绩效有显著的正向影响。     

Critical research and entrepreneurship: A cross-disciplinary conceptual typology

Critical perspectives of entrepreneurship have gained increasing traction over the last two decades. The transformative potential of critical research resides in challenging some of entrepreneurship research's epistemological, ontological and theoretical assumptions, with a view to offering a range of alternatives. Critical research in entrepreneurship has remained fragmented, however, due to its heterogeneous theoretical lineages and compartmentalized and niche interests. Addressing this situation, our objective is to intensify the space of critique in entrepreneurship research by offering a theoretically informed typology that delineates different manifestations of ‘criticalness’. Our overarching contribution is to advance a typology distinguishing four ideal types of critical entrepreneurship research based on evaluative emphases (referred to as ‘valence’) and the meta-theoretical assumptions informing its critical operation (called ‘paradigmatic orientation’). By demonstrating the variegated political, ethical and ideological interests and preoccupations that critical studies serve within different management sub-disciplines, the typology provides a conceptual vocabulary for making sense of and synthesizing critical perspectives across scholarly boundaries. Also, it helps to reposition understandings of critique as gestures of negativity by stimulating a greater appreciation of the generative potential of critique and the theoretical and philosophical possibilities that this can bring to our scholarly community.     

INNOVATION STRATEGY AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE IN MANUFACTURING COMPANIES: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY

An innovation strategy for the manufacturing function covers four areas: a firm's desired innovation leadership orientation (i.e., being a leader versus being a follower), its level of emphasis on process and product innovation, its use of internal and external sources of innovations, and its intensity of investment in innovation. We examine two models of the association between manufacturing companies' innovation strategy and their financial performance. The first examines the variations in company financial performance as a function of the simultaneous effect of the dimensions of innovation strategy. The second is a sequential model that suggests a causal sequence among the dimensions of innovation strategy that may lead to higher performance. We used data from a sample of 149 manufacturing companies to test the models. The results (1) support the importance of innovation strategy as a determinant of company financial performance, (2) suggest that both models are appropriate for examining the associations between the dimensions of innovation strategy and company performance, and (3) show that the sequential model provides additional insights into the indirect contribution of the individual dimensions of innovation strategy to company performance. Finally, we discuss the implications of these results for managers.     

What help do you need for your fashion shopping? A typology of curated fashion shoppers based on shopping motivations

With the increasing digitalization of traditional retailing, omnichannel retailing has become a growing global phenomenon. The result is the emergence of a new type of shopper who expects a seamless shopping experience across digital and physical channels. As a hybrid between offline and online, the retail innovation curated retailing combines the advantages of these channels, particularly in the fashion and apparel industry. In curated fashion retailing, stylists assist consumers in their online shopping by providing product recommendations tailor-made to their personal preferences. Because consumer demands differ and most curated retailers still struggle with commercial and market performance, a thorough understanding of these shopper segments is vital for retailers. Therefore, this research develops a typology based on shopping motivations for adopting curated retailing in fashion and apparel. Applying cluster analysis to survey data from a main sample of 388 German consumers, four segments are identified: store-oriented online customizers, fashion-conscious changers, choice support seekers and independent apathetics. Using chi-square analysis and analysis of variance, the segments are profiled in terms of their demographic characteristics and actual purchase data. A validation sample consisting of 218 consumers in four European countries provides evidence for the predictive power of the study's results. This study extends the shopping motivation literature to the context of curated retailing and enhances knowledge about online shopper typologies in consulting-intensive retail sectors. The paper concludes with managerial recommendations.     

Toward integration of products and services: Taxonomy and typology

Integration of products and services has been receiving increased attention from both practice and academia, but there is no common systematic framework that can accommodate various concepts. In response, this paper first defines an umbrella term, “integrated product–service” (IPS), that encompasses all related concepts. An extensive literature review is conducted, allowing the production of a taxonomy of IPS, called the IPS dichotomy. As a typology of IPS, the IPS cube, comprising eight cells, is also proposed along with practical examples. This paper is expected to lay a foundation for further advances in the field of integration of products and services.     

Exploring the Structure of Attitudes Toward Genetically Modified Food

Although it is often thought that the British public is opposed to genetically modified (GM) food, recent qualitative work suggests that most people are ambivalent about GM food and crops. In this article we explore the structure of attitudes in order to examine whether attitudinal ambivalence can be captured by more quantitative methods. Based on the finding that the perceived risks and benefits of GM food can be treated as independent dimensions, we propose a four-way typology of attitudes, consisting of a positive, negative, indifferent, and ambivalent group. This study showed that the differences between the four groups could best be described by three main dimensions: (1) a general evaluative dimension, (2) an involvement dimension, and (3) an attitudinal certainty dimension. While these different attitudinal dimensions have generally been studied in isolation, we argue that they should be studied collectively.     

Internal and External Social Capital for Radical Product Innovation: Do They Always Work Well Together?

We examine the role of internal and external relational social capital (SC) as determinants of radical product innovation (RPI). By analysing both sides of SC, we provide interesting insights on their relative influence and their interaction effect on this type of innovation. Besides, traditional assumptions on SC and innovation are questioned. In our empirical study using a sample of 142 manufacturing and service companies we found that, of the two types of SC analysed, internal SC is the most relevant predictor of RPI in relation to either technological or market dimensions. The influence of external SC is not as strong as the internal one. Regarding their interaction effect, external SC reduces the positive effect of internal SC on the market dimension of RPI. Interesting implications arise for practitioners, who should pay special attention to the higher impact of internal SC on RPI and the need to carefully manage the difficulties that emerge when it is combined with external SC.     

汽车模具制造能力演化路径与能力构筑竞争:北京比亚迪模具案例

以北京比亚迪模具为案例研究对象,探讨中国汽车模具企业能力演化路径,能力构筑竞争的原因、过程与特征。通过对该企业的观察研究,发现模具制造能力演化经历3个阶段:创生静态能力阶段、发展改善能力阶段、保持复制能力阶段。吸收能力的层次不同深刻影响了企业能力演化路径。组织内外部、显隐性知识2个维度的应用与探索的双元能力将影响企业吸收能力的层次。从理论上探讨了吸收能力的双元性与企业能力演化路径、能力构筑竞争之间的相互关系。在实践方面,指出中国模具制造能力停留在复制能力阶段,缺乏自主创新能力的根本原因在于企业重视学习组织内外部的显性知识,不重视隐性知识的积累以及隐性知识的显性化。吸收能力的非双元性制约着中国企业自主创新能力的发展。     

基于轨迹和波动的新生网商成长模式及特征研究

新生网商是网络零售市场的重要经济主体,研究其成长模式及特征有助于揭示电子商务环境下新生企业成长的内在机制。本文依据Penrose企业成长理论及新生网商成长特点的相关研究,提出以成长轨迹（具有路径依赖特征）和成长波动的二维框架对成长模式进行识别,并针对新生网商成长不连续特征提出相对扩张指标来描述其时序轨迹。对电子商务平台上5582家新生网商的相对扩张轨迹进行时序k-means聚类发现,新生网商存在三类典型成长轨迹（加速/匀速/减速）,同时对成长波动划分高/低水平,从而在二维矩阵框架下得到六类成长模式的网商。分析表明网商成长模式与其所经营的产品类型、初始主营类目、从属主营类目和类目转换次数具有统计显著的相关性,其中初始主营类目对成长模式的影响最大;"珠宝手表"类目中减速/低波动模式的新生网商占比远高于其他类目,"服装"类目中匀速/高波动模式的新生网商占比高于其他类目。同时,不同成长模式的网商在销售绩效及信誉等级指标上存在统计显著差异,其中,加速/高波动的新生网商与其他类别网商之间的销售绩效差异最大,加速/低波动的网商与其他成长模式网商的信誉等级差异最大。本文为电子商务平台评价新生网商成长过程和提供个性化服务提供了理论基础。