Proc. 29th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC), 2021
Achieving consistency of Last Planner® System (LPS) implementation is a persistent challenge for ... more Achieving consistency of Last Planner® System (LPS) implementation is a persistent challenge for owners, contractors, and practitioners alike. This research evaluated the application of all functions of LPS within an Engineering, Procurement, Construction Management and Validation (EPCMV) consultancy and sought to develop a Guideline and Implementation Health Check (IHC) to assist consistent LPS implementation across all company projects. The study adopted a mixed-methods approach utilising case study design and data collected from a literature review, project documentation review, purposeful semi-structured interviews, two pilot implementations, and a focus group workshop conducted within the case company and across two projects. Findings posit an implementation assessment tool (IHC) should be considered as an aid to sustaining consistent LPS implementation across projects. Construction should strive to standardise its processes (like the IHC introduction) and adopt a 'process improvement' view and mindset. The IHC highlights the critical components of the functions of LPS and allows project teams to check whether each is being utilised effectively. LPS and its functions constitutes a systematic process for construction planning however, best results will only accrue once all components are in place. While the IHC will ensure the physical infrastructure is in place, successful LPS implementation necessitates deeper consideration of how people think, communicate, engage, commit, and collaborate. Successful and sustainable LPS implementations must be founded on a desire and motivation to improve existing delivery processes and necessitate senior management commitment from all stakeholders.
While the relationship between entrepreneurship and economic development has a long lineage, the ... more While the relationship between entrepreneurship and economic development has a long lineage, the idea of developing rural entrepreneurial communities to mobilize local resources in order to support a competitive advantage has only received vary scant attention in the literature. This paper explores the opportunity for rural communities to become more innovative by uncovering the constituent variables that enable them to develop their entrepreneurial capacity and capability. This should facilitate the basis for the development of a model for rural entrepreneurial communities and thus make a significant contribution to both theory and practice.
This paper deals with collaborative user involvement in the early stages of the new product devel... more This paper deals with collaborative user involvement in the early stages of the new product development (NPD) process. The purpose of this paper is to describe the critical interaction episodes that occurred in a long-term relationship between a food manufacturer and its packaging technology partner in the development of a plastic film during the early stages of the NPD process. Utilizing an interpretative case study approach, the empirical evidence is based upon interviews, reflective practices, observation and documents. The paper will detail eight interaction episodes written in narrative and should provide valuable insight into the dynamics that occurs in close collaborative relationships. The findings showed that the cooperative interaction between the two companies went through alternating cycles of divergence and convergence to maintain and re-negotiate an already established belief structure of expected and accepted behaviour.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the service sector must consistently and continuousl... more Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the service sector must consistently and continuously innovate and adapt to ensure their survival (Gebauer et al., 2012). Achieving this depends on their service innovation capability, which describes the capacity to deploy resources to develop and improve services (Giannopoulou et al., 2011). Despite its significance, the literature lacks practical measurement or management tools, the omission of which ensure the economic benefits of service innovation will never be fully realised within Irish SMEs (Kohler et al., 2013). In an attempt to eliminate much of this ambiguity, this paper provides a substantial academic and practical contribution by rigorously developing the foundation of a staged model to measure its maturity. The proposed matrix extends existing maturity models through its application in the services sector and represents an important step towards understanding the evolution of the constituent dimensions of service innovation...
Construction unknowingly plans for poor levels of productivity with substantial waste, inefficien... more Construction unknowingly plans for poor levels of productivity with substantial waste, inefficiency, and rework stemming from a proliferation of non-value-adding activities embedded within traditional delivery processes. This approach negatively influences construction’s economic and environmental sustainability. Last Planner® System (LPS) is a key tool of Lean Construction (LC) and is lauded as a value-add process that prioritises flow efficiency by addressing workflow variability and waste elimination on construction projects. This research evaluates how the presence of a dedicated knowledgeable and competent LPS Facilitator, enabling a complete LPS implementation, contributes to improved construction flow, efficiency, and productivity. The study adopted a mixed-methods approach utilising case study design and data collected from a literature review, site observation diary, site documentation analysis, and semi-structured interviews. Limitations exist around small survey size, lac...
Empowered by information and communication technologies (ICT) analytics and smart technologies, t... more Empowered by information and communication technologies (ICT) analytics and smart technologies, the energy model landscape is changing with flexibility at the core of a new energy market design. In particular, multi-sided platforms (MSPs) has gained prominent attention as a business model that creates value by enabling direct interactions between several distinct groups of actors who need each other in order to deliver products to their customers. However, as MSPs are less familiar within the energy market, there has been little investigation in modelling this emerging and dynamic ecosystem. Utilising the business modelling methodology of value network analysis and the key informant technique, value flows were modelled within the context of a MSP to understand the creation, delivery and capture of value in a network of interdependent relationship, its networked position and the stakeholder interactions required for delivery of local flexibility. Supported by this analysis, this paper focuses on the LV area of the smart grid, and presents the Local Flexibility Market (LFM) as a Multi-Sided Plarform. In comparison to the traditional utility model, the complexity of this recharacterization of the industry ecosystem is significant. While it presents new opportunities for incumbent energy providers to collaborate and develop new products, the proposed LFM market design will also dramatically reshape the value model of the industry.
Despite the increasing importance attributed to the involvement of industrial users in the early ... more Despite the increasing importance attributed to the involvement of industrial users in the early stages of product development, little is known about the current state of practice. In this paper, the authors empirically assess the extent and intensity of involving users in these stages through the analysis of 572 telephone surveys and 50 postal questionnaires. Results indicate that the practice of involving users in predevelopment activities only occurs to a minimum extent and that intense customer involvement in certain stages has a positive impact on the performance of the process. Implications of these findings for managers are also discussed.
York, USA. Prof. Siegel also serves as President of the Technology Transfer Society, a non-profit... more York, USA. Prof. Siegel also serves as President of the Technology Transfer Society, a non-profit organization devoted to the interdisciplinary scholarly analysis of entrepreneurship and technology transfer from universities and federal laboratories to firms. He received his bachelor's degree in economics and his master's and doctoral degrees in business economics from Columbia University. After receiving his Ph.D., he was an Alfred P.
This paper deals with collaborative user involvement in the early stages of the new product devel... more This paper deals with collaborative user involvement in the early stages of the new product development (NPD) process. The purpose of this paper is to describe the critical interaction episodes that occurred in a long-term relationship between a food manufacturer and its packaging technology partner in the development of a plastic film during the early stages of the NPD process. Utilizing an interpretative case study approach, the empirical evidence is based upon interviews, reflective practices, observation and documents. The paper will detail eight interaction episodes written in narrative and should provide valuable insight into the dynamics that occurs in close collaborative relationships. The findings showed that the cooperative interaction between the two companies went through alternating cycles of divergence and convergence to maintain and renegotiate an already established belief structure of expected and accepted behaviour.
Prior to the current economic recession, the Irish government has been championing an innovation ... more Prior to the current economic recession, the Irish government has been championing an innovation agenda. However, national and European reports and metrics paint a mixed picture about Ireland's engagement in and outputs derived from innovation activities. Therefore, a critique of Irish innovation policy is timely and relevant given the renewed emphasis and restricted budgetary support afforded to create new enterprises, markets, export opportunities and employment growth. In short, where innovation policy traditionally focused on funding future opportunities and capacities, micro and macroeconomic forces now requires innovation policy to be responsive to current enterprise difficulties. Through incorporating innovation policy priorities, funding streams and key policy stakeholders we find that there is an imbalance in Irish innovation policy with a legacy of prioritising and funding 'hard' science and technology based innovations while ignoring 'softer' aspects of innovation i.e. service products, business models and customer/delivery interfaces at a similar level which can be implemented at all enterprise levels, incur less costs and operationalised in a more timely manner. This policy disparity has serious consequences for our progressive innovation ambitions around entrepreneurship, scaling indigenous enterprises, creating and sustaining SME's. The paper identifies that there is a paramount need to rethink innovation policy in order to reap the rewards of our previous and ongoing investments towards achieving our national innovation goals and ambitions. To conclude we provide a roadmap for rethinking this policy around widening innovation concepts, improving SMEs capacity to innovative and addressing the academic-industry applied research and collaboration gaps.
The literature primarily focuses on two aspects of user involvement in the new product developmen... more The literature primarily focuses on two aspects of user involvement in the new product development process. Firstly, how new product development (NPD) relationships form and mature (Milson, Raj and Wilemon, 1996) and secondly the variables that impact on collaborative user involvement (Gruner and Homburg, 2000; Biemans, 1992). However, research on user participation is incomplete as little if any research has been devoted to determining how widespread or deeply embedded partnerships are in the NPD process. Additionally, managerial models for the involvement of users in the new product development process are scarce (Labahn and Krappel, 2000). The purpose of this exploratory investigation is to develop a conceptual model for the management of user involvement in the early stages of the NPD process.
While larger tourism enterprises benefit from a graduate management intake and continuing executi... more While larger tourism enterprises benefit from a graduate management intake and continuing executive development, the owner of the small tourism operation is limited in continuing education and professional development opportunities due to resource poverty, and lack of appropriate and available tertiary tourism education. This paper details a longitudinal research study comprised of several empirical phases in order to identify and detail the needs of all stakeholders. It documents the pedagogical and technological challenges faced by the faculty team in developing and implementing what is considered to be an innovative blended learning degree. This degree program was customised to meet the learning needs of the entrepreneur through centralising: student engagement, accessibility, relevance and flexibility. In order to meet these critical needs, the programme utilises a problem-based learning (PBL) approach and a blended learning platform. The student cohort are individuals who are m...
Generating absorbable and practical knowledge on the systematic development, design and testing o... more Generating absorbable and practical knowledge on the systematic development, design and testing of new and/or improved service offerings, processes and business models, i.e. service innovation, represents a timely and relevant growth area transcending European and Irish innovation, recovery and socio-economic strategies. However, research into the development and practice of service innovation vis-à-vis product innovation is a relatively emerging domain and as such, is at best characterised as emerging. The existing body of research knowledge, derived largely from product innovation, fails to provide concrete processes by which to embed service innovation at the firm-level which has significant implications in terms of industry awareness, deployment and impact. Reflective of this, Irish data emanating from the Community Innovation Survey indicates that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) report the least levels of engagement, expenditure and collaboration with academia in relation t...
Despite the increasing importance placed on the delivery of memorable experiences in the tourism ... more Despite the increasing importance placed on the delivery of memorable experiences in the tourism sector, there have been only limited attempts to comprehensively detail how experiences can be successfully conceptualised in practice. Based on a critical literature review of both experience and service concept development theory in conjunction with and the findings from case research, this paper will make a unique contribution to a very significant gap in experience design literature by presenting a conceptual model of the activities necessary for experience conceptualisation in a tourism context.
Internationally, the transformative potential and relevance of service innovation to all industry... more Internationally, the transformative potential and relevance of service innovation to all industry sectors and firm sizes has and continues to gain both policy and industry interest. However, in an Irish context, the legacy of prioritising a narrow product/technology conceptualisation of innovation continues to dominate the landscape (Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation 2006-2013). This is in spite of service innovation’s proven capacity to support the restructuring of existing businesses and the creation of new industrial structures, product/service offerings, channels to market, business models, global value chains and customer experiences (McKinsey, 2010; Expert Panel on Service Innovation, 2011; PWC, 2013). Indeed, despite the emerging international consensus of service innovation as a demonstrable engine for economic growth and transformation, Ireland’s engagement in and exploitation of the discipline is at an embryonic state. Hence, firstly, this paper will explore ...
Despite widespread acknowledgement of the importance of service innovations and the capabilities ... more Despite widespread acknowledgement of the importance of service innovations and the capabilities that enable them, there is a paucity of management frameworks that provide practical guidance to firms (Gryszkiewicz et al., 2013). Literature is often vague, fragmented, or employs diverse approaches and definitions, which has resulted in significant confusion and extensive knowledge gaps (Walsh et al., 2009; den Hertog et al., 2010). Drawing from relevant research this paper delineates service innovation capability as a higher order, multi-dimensional construct and proposes a unified framework for its management consisting of four dynamic capabilities. This conceptual model enhances collective understanding of the discipline and directs the attention of firms to behaviours most critical to the continuous creation of service innovations.
The Tourism Policy Review Group"s "Vision for Irish Tourism 2003-2012" identified that tourism is... more The Tourism Policy Review Group"s "Vision for Irish Tourism 2003-2012" identified that tourism is increasingly driven by more demanding customer requirements, emphasising the need for the Irish tourism industry to provide compelling tourist experiences. In parallel, there has been an emerging consensus in the experience and service development literature that it is not sufficient to invest money in the design of a service, the focus must be on the design and implementation of memorable personal experiences that meet or exceed the expectations of customers (Smith & Wheeler, 2002). However, despite the importance the literature ascribes to the experience concept there is an imbalance in existing work as the area of experiential tourism services has dealt primarily with the characteristics of experiences (Fitzsimmons and
This paper centralises the management of innovation in the early stages of the new product develo... more This paper centralises the management of innovation in the early stages of the new product development (NPD) process. The purpose of this paper is to describe the critical episodes that enabled an SME to successfully overcome the barriers to managing new product concepts from inception and, in so doing, presents implementable guidelines that can be used by SMEs to manage the delivery of creative and attractive new product concepts in the early stages of NPD. Action research was used to conduct a three-phase methodology involving a single case study. First, a diagnosis phase investigated the nature of innovation within the company. In the second phase, a series of iterative interventions by the researchers provided participants with both the theory and practice skills to manage innovation. The third phase involved an evaluation of the extent to which change in managing innovation in the company had occurred. The findings highlight a vast and sustained improvement in Dudley Europe"s innovation management of their early NPD stages.
Proc. 29th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC), 2021
Achieving consistency of Last Planner® System (LPS) implementation is a persistent challenge for ... more Achieving consistency of Last Planner® System (LPS) implementation is a persistent challenge for owners, contractors, and practitioners alike. This research evaluated the application of all functions of LPS within an Engineering, Procurement, Construction Management and Validation (EPCMV) consultancy and sought to develop a Guideline and Implementation Health Check (IHC) to assist consistent LPS implementation across all company projects. The study adopted a mixed-methods approach utilising case study design and data collected from a literature review, project documentation review, purposeful semi-structured interviews, two pilot implementations, and a focus group workshop conducted within the case company and across two projects. Findings posit an implementation assessment tool (IHC) should be considered as an aid to sustaining consistent LPS implementation across projects. Construction should strive to standardise its processes (like the IHC introduction) and adopt a 'process improvement' view and mindset. The IHC highlights the critical components of the functions of LPS and allows project teams to check whether each is being utilised effectively. LPS and its functions constitutes a systematic process for construction planning however, best results will only accrue once all components are in place. While the IHC will ensure the physical infrastructure is in place, successful LPS implementation necessitates deeper consideration of how people think, communicate, engage, commit, and collaborate. Successful and sustainable LPS implementations must be founded on a desire and motivation to improve existing delivery processes and necessitate senior management commitment from all stakeholders.
While the relationship between entrepreneurship and economic development has a long lineage, the ... more While the relationship between entrepreneurship and economic development has a long lineage, the idea of developing rural entrepreneurial communities to mobilize local resources in order to support a competitive advantage has only received vary scant attention in the literature. This paper explores the opportunity for rural communities to become more innovative by uncovering the constituent variables that enable them to develop their entrepreneurial capacity and capability. This should facilitate the basis for the development of a model for rural entrepreneurial communities and thus make a significant contribution to both theory and practice.
This paper deals with collaborative user involvement in the early stages of the new product devel... more This paper deals with collaborative user involvement in the early stages of the new product development (NPD) process. The purpose of this paper is to describe the critical interaction episodes that occurred in a long-term relationship between a food manufacturer and its packaging technology partner in the development of a plastic film during the early stages of the NPD process. Utilizing an interpretative case study approach, the empirical evidence is based upon interviews, reflective practices, observation and documents. The paper will detail eight interaction episodes written in narrative and should provide valuable insight into the dynamics that occurs in close collaborative relationships. The findings showed that the cooperative interaction between the two companies went through alternating cycles of divergence and convergence to maintain and re-negotiate an already established belief structure of expected and accepted behaviour.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the service sector must consistently and continuousl... more Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the service sector must consistently and continuously innovate and adapt to ensure their survival (Gebauer et al., 2012). Achieving this depends on their service innovation capability, which describes the capacity to deploy resources to develop and improve services (Giannopoulou et al., 2011). Despite its significance, the literature lacks practical measurement or management tools, the omission of which ensure the economic benefits of service innovation will never be fully realised within Irish SMEs (Kohler et al., 2013). In an attempt to eliminate much of this ambiguity, this paper provides a substantial academic and practical contribution by rigorously developing the foundation of a staged model to measure its maturity. The proposed matrix extends existing maturity models through its application in the services sector and represents an important step towards understanding the evolution of the constituent dimensions of service innovation...
Construction unknowingly plans for poor levels of productivity with substantial waste, inefficien... more Construction unknowingly plans for poor levels of productivity with substantial waste, inefficiency, and rework stemming from a proliferation of non-value-adding activities embedded within traditional delivery processes. This approach negatively influences construction’s economic and environmental sustainability. Last Planner® System (LPS) is a key tool of Lean Construction (LC) and is lauded as a value-add process that prioritises flow efficiency by addressing workflow variability and waste elimination on construction projects. This research evaluates how the presence of a dedicated knowledgeable and competent LPS Facilitator, enabling a complete LPS implementation, contributes to improved construction flow, efficiency, and productivity. The study adopted a mixed-methods approach utilising case study design and data collected from a literature review, site observation diary, site documentation analysis, and semi-structured interviews. Limitations exist around small survey size, lac...
Empowered by information and communication technologies (ICT) analytics and smart technologies, t... more Empowered by information and communication technologies (ICT) analytics and smart technologies, the energy model landscape is changing with flexibility at the core of a new energy market design. In particular, multi-sided platforms (MSPs) has gained prominent attention as a business model that creates value by enabling direct interactions between several distinct groups of actors who need each other in order to deliver products to their customers. However, as MSPs are less familiar within the energy market, there has been little investigation in modelling this emerging and dynamic ecosystem. Utilising the business modelling methodology of value network analysis and the key informant technique, value flows were modelled within the context of a MSP to understand the creation, delivery and capture of value in a network of interdependent relationship, its networked position and the stakeholder interactions required for delivery of local flexibility. Supported by this analysis, this paper focuses on the LV area of the smart grid, and presents the Local Flexibility Market (LFM) as a Multi-Sided Plarform. In comparison to the traditional utility model, the complexity of this recharacterization of the industry ecosystem is significant. While it presents new opportunities for incumbent energy providers to collaborate and develop new products, the proposed LFM market design will also dramatically reshape the value model of the industry.
Despite the increasing importance attributed to the involvement of industrial users in the early ... more Despite the increasing importance attributed to the involvement of industrial users in the early stages of product development, little is known about the current state of practice. In this paper, the authors empirically assess the extent and intensity of involving users in these stages through the analysis of 572 telephone surveys and 50 postal questionnaires. Results indicate that the practice of involving users in predevelopment activities only occurs to a minimum extent and that intense customer involvement in certain stages has a positive impact on the performance of the process. Implications of these findings for managers are also discussed.
York, USA. Prof. Siegel also serves as President of the Technology Transfer Society, a non-profit... more York, USA. Prof. Siegel also serves as President of the Technology Transfer Society, a non-profit organization devoted to the interdisciplinary scholarly analysis of entrepreneurship and technology transfer from universities and federal laboratories to firms. He received his bachelor's degree in economics and his master's and doctoral degrees in business economics from Columbia University. After receiving his Ph.D., he was an Alfred P.
This paper deals with collaborative user involvement in the early stages of the new product devel... more This paper deals with collaborative user involvement in the early stages of the new product development (NPD) process. The purpose of this paper is to describe the critical interaction episodes that occurred in a long-term relationship between a food manufacturer and its packaging technology partner in the development of a plastic film during the early stages of the NPD process. Utilizing an interpretative case study approach, the empirical evidence is based upon interviews, reflective practices, observation and documents. The paper will detail eight interaction episodes written in narrative and should provide valuable insight into the dynamics that occurs in close collaborative relationships. The findings showed that the cooperative interaction between the two companies went through alternating cycles of divergence and convergence to maintain and renegotiate an already established belief structure of expected and accepted behaviour.
Prior to the current economic recession, the Irish government has been championing an innovation ... more Prior to the current economic recession, the Irish government has been championing an innovation agenda. However, national and European reports and metrics paint a mixed picture about Ireland's engagement in and outputs derived from innovation activities. Therefore, a critique of Irish innovation policy is timely and relevant given the renewed emphasis and restricted budgetary support afforded to create new enterprises, markets, export opportunities and employment growth. In short, where innovation policy traditionally focused on funding future opportunities and capacities, micro and macroeconomic forces now requires innovation policy to be responsive to current enterprise difficulties. Through incorporating innovation policy priorities, funding streams and key policy stakeholders we find that there is an imbalance in Irish innovation policy with a legacy of prioritising and funding 'hard' science and technology based innovations while ignoring 'softer' aspects of innovation i.e. service products, business models and customer/delivery interfaces at a similar level which can be implemented at all enterprise levels, incur less costs and operationalised in a more timely manner. This policy disparity has serious consequences for our progressive innovation ambitions around entrepreneurship, scaling indigenous enterprises, creating and sustaining SME's. The paper identifies that there is a paramount need to rethink innovation policy in order to reap the rewards of our previous and ongoing investments towards achieving our national innovation goals and ambitions. To conclude we provide a roadmap for rethinking this policy around widening innovation concepts, improving SMEs capacity to innovative and addressing the academic-industry applied research and collaboration gaps.
The literature primarily focuses on two aspects of user involvement in the new product developmen... more The literature primarily focuses on two aspects of user involvement in the new product development process. Firstly, how new product development (NPD) relationships form and mature (Milson, Raj and Wilemon, 1996) and secondly the variables that impact on collaborative user involvement (Gruner and Homburg, 2000; Biemans, 1992). However, research on user participation is incomplete as little if any research has been devoted to determining how widespread or deeply embedded partnerships are in the NPD process. Additionally, managerial models for the involvement of users in the new product development process are scarce (Labahn and Krappel, 2000). The purpose of this exploratory investigation is to develop a conceptual model for the management of user involvement in the early stages of the NPD process.
While larger tourism enterprises benefit from a graduate management intake and continuing executi... more While larger tourism enterprises benefit from a graduate management intake and continuing executive development, the owner of the small tourism operation is limited in continuing education and professional development opportunities due to resource poverty, and lack of appropriate and available tertiary tourism education. This paper details a longitudinal research study comprised of several empirical phases in order to identify and detail the needs of all stakeholders. It documents the pedagogical and technological challenges faced by the faculty team in developing and implementing what is considered to be an innovative blended learning degree. This degree program was customised to meet the learning needs of the entrepreneur through centralising: student engagement, accessibility, relevance and flexibility. In order to meet these critical needs, the programme utilises a problem-based learning (PBL) approach and a blended learning platform. The student cohort are individuals who are m...
Generating absorbable and practical knowledge on the systematic development, design and testing o... more Generating absorbable and practical knowledge on the systematic development, design and testing of new and/or improved service offerings, processes and business models, i.e. service innovation, represents a timely and relevant growth area transcending European and Irish innovation, recovery and socio-economic strategies. However, research into the development and practice of service innovation vis-à-vis product innovation is a relatively emerging domain and as such, is at best characterised as emerging. The existing body of research knowledge, derived largely from product innovation, fails to provide concrete processes by which to embed service innovation at the firm-level which has significant implications in terms of industry awareness, deployment and impact. Reflective of this, Irish data emanating from the Community Innovation Survey indicates that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) report the least levels of engagement, expenditure and collaboration with academia in relation t...
Despite the increasing importance placed on the delivery of memorable experiences in the tourism ... more Despite the increasing importance placed on the delivery of memorable experiences in the tourism sector, there have been only limited attempts to comprehensively detail how experiences can be successfully conceptualised in practice. Based on a critical literature review of both experience and service concept development theory in conjunction with and the findings from case research, this paper will make a unique contribution to a very significant gap in experience design literature by presenting a conceptual model of the activities necessary for experience conceptualisation in a tourism context.
Internationally, the transformative potential and relevance of service innovation to all industry... more Internationally, the transformative potential and relevance of service innovation to all industry sectors and firm sizes has and continues to gain both policy and industry interest. However, in an Irish context, the legacy of prioritising a narrow product/technology conceptualisation of innovation continues to dominate the landscape (Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation 2006-2013). This is in spite of service innovation’s proven capacity to support the restructuring of existing businesses and the creation of new industrial structures, product/service offerings, channels to market, business models, global value chains and customer experiences (McKinsey, 2010; Expert Panel on Service Innovation, 2011; PWC, 2013). Indeed, despite the emerging international consensus of service innovation as a demonstrable engine for economic growth and transformation, Ireland’s engagement in and exploitation of the discipline is at an embryonic state. Hence, firstly, this paper will explore ...
Despite widespread acknowledgement of the importance of service innovations and the capabilities ... more Despite widespread acknowledgement of the importance of service innovations and the capabilities that enable them, there is a paucity of management frameworks that provide practical guidance to firms (Gryszkiewicz et al., 2013). Literature is often vague, fragmented, or employs diverse approaches and definitions, which has resulted in significant confusion and extensive knowledge gaps (Walsh et al., 2009; den Hertog et al., 2010). Drawing from relevant research this paper delineates service innovation capability as a higher order, multi-dimensional construct and proposes a unified framework for its management consisting of four dynamic capabilities. This conceptual model enhances collective understanding of the discipline and directs the attention of firms to behaviours most critical to the continuous creation of service innovations.
The Tourism Policy Review Group"s "Vision for Irish Tourism 2003-2012" identified that tourism is... more The Tourism Policy Review Group"s "Vision for Irish Tourism 2003-2012" identified that tourism is increasingly driven by more demanding customer requirements, emphasising the need for the Irish tourism industry to provide compelling tourist experiences. In parallel, there has been an emerging consensus in the experience and service development literature that it is not sufficient to invest money in the design of a service, the focus must be on the design and implementation of memorable personal experiences that meet or exceed the expectations of customers (Smith & Wheeler, 2002). However, despite the importance the literature ascribes to the experience concept there is an imbalance in existing work as the area of experiential tourism services has dealt primarily with the characteristics of experiences (Fitzsimmons and
This paper centralises the management of innovation in the early stages of the new product develo... more This paper centralises the management of innovation in the early stages of the new product development (NPD) process. The purpose of this paper is to describe the critical episodes that enabled an SME to successfully overcome the barriers to managing new product concepts from inception and, in so doing, presents implementable guidelines that can be used by SMEs to manage the delivery of creative and attractive new product concepts in the early stages of NPD. Action research was used to conduct a three-phase methodology involving a single case study. First, a diagnosis phase investigated the nature of innovation within the company. In the second phase, a series of iterative interventions by the researchers provided participants with both the theory and practice skills to manage innovation. The third phase involved an evaluation of the extent to which change in managing innovation in the company had occurred. The findings highlight a vast and sustained improvement in Dudley Europe"s innovation management of their early NPD stages.
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Papers by Patrick Lynch