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02:05
Managers in professional services and their concept of
managerial leadership
Holmberg, Ingalill; Tyrstrup, Mats
Center for Advanced Studies in Leadership, Stockholm School
of Economics, Stockholm, Sweden
Services provided by knowledge-intensive organizations
(KIOs) are increasingly important to western economies
(Castells 1996). In order to stay competitive, companies
need to provide excellent coaching of co-workers as well as
professional and personal development (Majeed 2009). The
expectations on KIOs to innovate are extremely high (Hipp &
Grupp 2005) as is the pressure to run their operations smooth
and efficiently (Gadrey & Gallouj, 2002). The in-depth work
which characterizes knowledge-intensive production makes
it a true challenge to simultaneously meet the high standards
in both areas. One reason emanates from the fact that it is
difficult to single out activities concerned with improvement
from production (Strambach 2008). The evident implication is
that everyday work has to serve as vehicle also for change and
development. Thus, two questions surface: What conditions
facilitate for people in KIOs to simultaneously be engaged in
production efficiency and vital renewal and improvement? And
what is required in terms of leadership to uphold the balance
between these two requirements? In this conceptual paper,
examples from KIOs are used to illustrate some challenges
facing leaders in KIOs in terms of being able to promote
change and development. According to collaborative research
undertaken with KIOs, it seems as role-expectations concerned
with leadership as well as followership are important. Lateral
communication seems to matter and so does organizational
members attitudes towards organizational boundaries.
Hierarchical division of work and the degree to which people
engages in informal contacts are also important. In general,
though, the organizational ability to shift between modes of
exploration and modes of exploitation seems to be extremely
important. Whereas division of work has long been regarded
as the primary organizing principle in organizations, the
challenges in KIOs seem to stem primarily from issues of
integration and a need of integrative perspectives. Thus, the
aiming of this paper is to outline the contours of the integrative
leadership, and the activities necessary for coming to grips with
different kinds of organizational “gaps” and barriers (Tyrstrup,
2007, Crosby & Bryson 2010).
02:06
Standardization and innovation - the Janus-face of service
innovation
Linse, Charlotta; Hallin, Anette
The Royal Institute of Technology, Department of Industrial
Economics and Management, Stockholm, Sweden
Innovation is commonly understood as the result of the
development of something new and better; often a new
technology, a new product or service, or a new method.
How innovation comes about is a key question for many
businesses today, so also for service companies. For costefficiency
reasons, many companies work with standardizing
their processes and projects which raises the question if there
is room for innovation after having standardized the workprocedures.
In organization theories, the relationship between innovation
and standardization is depicted as two opposing logics and
hence problematic, but there is still a lack for empirical studies
of how companies perceive this relationship and how they deal
with it.
Our paper presents the result of a comparative, qualitative
study of two professional service companies. The results
show that despite the fear that standardization may be
counterproductive for individual creativity and the creation
and development of new ideas, standardization is perceived as
a means for service innovation. Hence, standardization and
innovation can be understood as a Janus-face, rather than
opposites.
The paper thus argues that the tension as depicted in
organization theories between innovation and standardization
is theoretical rather than empirical, but also points to the need
of further studies in order to understand the role of the Janusface
in various service companies.
02:07
International service marketing strategies -Standardization
versus adaptation in Eastern Europe
Nilvander, Frida; Hyder, Akmal
Högskolan i Gävle, Gävle, Sweden
Purpose of the paper - This study aims to describe
international marketing strategies of a service firm, focusing
on standardization and adaptation. It is no longer enough
to recognize that standardization/adaptation matter in
international business, but it is required to explore why they
exist and how they can be implemented so that an effective
marketing strategy can be developed. To go into the depth of
the study, areas of standardization versus adaptation have been
identified and examined in terms of four contents.
Literature addressed - For over 40 years academicians
and practitioners have debated on standardization versus
adaptation of international marketing strategy. Despite
the intense research and managerial interest in the topic,
recent articles indicate that the topic of strategy adaptation/
standardization remains clouded and unresolved among
international business academies and practitioners.
Research method - Considering the complexity of
standardization/adaptation dilemma in developing international
service marketing strategy, a case study on a Swedish firm
operating in Lithuania is conducted. Semi-structured interviews
and a set of open ended questions have been used for data
collection. Analysis of the data is carried out focusing on the
contents of standardization/adaption and how they influence
on the development and implementation of the marketing
strategy in a culturally distant market.
Research findings - Findings of the current study offer several
insights in how the Swedish company has chosen path between
the two extremes - adaptation and standardization. This study
suggests that the service offering and its development should
be standardized while market related adaptations such as
promotion can be based on local culture and practices if the
cultural differences are of major importance. Main contribution
- This study makes two major contributions: One is of
conceptual character where external and internal antecedents
are linked with the contents of standardization and adaptation
to develop an international marketing strategy for a culturally
distant country. The other is the case study that focuses on the
detail areas of contents and how they are implemented in terms
of standardization and adaptation.
Keywords - Services marketing, marketing mix content, brand
content, service concept content, marketing strategy, cultural
differences, buyer-supplier relationshi
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