Risto Rajala

• D.Sc.(Econ)
• Professor at Aalto University

Along with the growing popularity of game-based teaching, research on how to design serious games has gained momentum. While some prior work discusses the creation of learning experiences, the role of player emotions and their potential in enhancing learning has largely been overlooked. This paper discusses the design and development of Aalto Manuf...

Integrating corporate social responsibility (CSR) into a for-profit organization’s business activities is fraught with tensions. This paper reports a case study of a construction company, exploring how different tensions emerged to challenge company-level aspirations for strategic CSR integration. The study identifies three types of persistent CSR...

Open access article - paper available at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11747-020-00729-z This study explains how manufacturers tackle the critical managerial challenge of transforming a product-focused sales force to undertake solution selling. Through an application of configurational theory, the authors explain how individual and or...

Service performance is considered an essential determinant of successful business relationships. It affects the customer’s repurchase intentions and, therefore, the continuity of the relationship between the service provider and the customer. Yet, due to the complexity of B2B relationships, service performance is a multi-faceted issue. It includes...

The original article was published online with incorrect Table 3 layout. The correct table is shown below:

Purpose To investigate the effects of payor–provider integration on the operational performance of health service provision. The research explores whether integration governs agency problems and tilts the incentives of diverse actors toward more systematic outcomes. Design/methodology/approach A two stage multimethod case study of occupational hea...

Mobile instant messaging (MIM) services have entirely changed the communication landscape from where it was a decade ago. They have taken communication among humans to the next level. However, despite their massive popularity among masses, we do not know of specific reasons that drive continuous use of MIM apps (e.g., LINE, WhatsApp, and Snapchat)....

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify integrated solutions business as the first generation of servitized offerings and modular solution offerings as the second development phase in servitization of original equipment manufacturers. This study examines how the servitized manufacturer, Kone, moves from integrated solutions to modular solu...

The “like” feature is popularly utilized by online social media users for different reasons including socializing, giving feedback and giving or seeking attention as well as for pure affection. The “like” function is a gamified element of social networking sites used billions of times per day. Despite its widespread use in the social media space, l...

The study complements the dominant interpretations of positioning in marketing management research by introducing a relational perspective on positioning in the industrial markets. Instead of focusing on products, brand, or company image only, the study focuses on the exchange logic of the relationship. The study suggests that exchange logic of the...

It is predicted that in 2030, the energy consumption of the ICT sector will be 21% of the world's energy consumption, but will resources be enough to carry out all the digital technology development trends at the same time? Trends, such as the transition to the ecommerce, the transition of mobile services to the fifth-generation network, video stre...

Small firms must increasingly seek external funding to fuel their growth ambitions domestically and internationally. However, external funding comes with conditions and ownership claims signifying changes to the entrepreneur's status quo. At the same time, the current climate for entrepreneurship and the availability of funding tend to fluctuate be...

Shopping habits are changing with online stores and personalized selection gaining traction. We test a multifactor model of consumer behaviour in online retailing and allergy-free foods. Using survey data from 99 consumers in Canada, we investigate what drives consumer willingness to buy customized allergy-free cakes online. Our results show that t...

This paper identifies factors that influence the adoption of teleworking among public sector employees. Teleworking, also known as telecommuting, has been argued to be less prevalent in the public sector. First, we reviewed extant literature to distinguish between five types of factors that affect employee adoption or rejection of teleworking: soci...

Sustainability is a key driver of innovation for products, services, and business models. Sustainability innovations are aimed at improving the environmental, social, and economic performance of the innovated solution. Given the complexity of many sustainability challenges, leading innovators may seek to boost their innovation capacity by tapping i...

Abstract Purpose-To build a more comprehensive understanding of factors affecting the success of service contracting, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the influences of service complexity, contract structure and contracting process on the buyer-perceived supplier performance in business-to-business (B2B) services. Design/methodology/ap...

The relationship between loyalty, purchasing of virtual goods, and use behavior of mobile instant messaging (MIM) was examined. Two forms of loyalty, attitudinal and behavioral loyalty, were considered. The study tested the model where attitudinal loyalty, including electronic word of mouth and sense of belonging, led to behavioral loyalty, includi...

Small firms must increasingly seek external funding to fuel their growth ambitions domestically and internationally. However, external funding comes with conditions and ownership claims signifying changes to the entrepreneur’s status quo. At the same time, the current climate for entrepreneurship and the availability of funding tend to fluctuate be...

This study investigates how user innovation can be used as an engagement mechanism for crowdsourcing-based marketing initiatives. By building on an in-depth case study of a hamburger chain’s crowdsourcing initiative, we analyze key activities in customers’ value-creating processes, the crowdsourcer’s value-creating processes, and innovation encount...

Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify and discuss the role of intelligent materials in the emergence of new business models based on the Internet of Things (IoT). The study suggests new areas for further research to better understand the influences of material intelligence on the business models in industry-wide service ecosystems. Desi...

Collaboration with stakeholders has become a cornerstone of contemporary business; however, absolute collaboration is not trouble-free. The present study explores how and why firms engage and disengage external stakeholders in their value-creating activities in complex product systems over time. From the existing research on stakeholder management,...

This article explores the synchronized change of mindset and capability within a business network that is driven by the adoption and provision of smart services. The research is implemented as an empirical multi‐case study, and the primary data include interviews and observations in seven globally operating firms. The findings identify two categori...

This study explores how a game-based approach supports students’ learning in a graduate course on industrial service operations management. Aalto Manufacturing Game (AMG) has been played for several years as a part of an Industrial Management course to provide students with a realistic view of industrial services and asset management. The game illu...

This study identifies the dimensions that characterize complexity in servitization. The study performs a systematic review of the existing body of knowledge in the servitization literature to analyze the constitutive characteristics of complexity. Following the systematic search methodology, screening procedure, and content analysis, the sample of...

This article explores how disruptive technologies increase the intelligence of goods and revitalize business models in the circular economy. Applying the industrial ecology perspective, we discuss how intelligent goods can boost the sustainability of industrial ecosystems. North American and European cases highlight how business model innovators ut...

gration between the payer (i.e., an insurer) and the provider (i.e. a hospital) of health care services provides a promising method for implementing value-based health care as incentives and processes align among different stakeholders. However, such integration may also cause distrust and fear of poor quality among patients, and thus, decrease cus...

As technology evolves and the amount of available data increases across industries, companies race to develop their analytics capability. This research seeks to understand what constitutes the analytics capability, and how it should be developed in the context of a multinational corporation. For this end, we conduct an in-depth single-case study in...

Scholars have emphasized an urgent need to investigate the determinants of user intentions to share content on social networking sites (SNS). A growing share of the content in social media is visual − including Photos − which users can share by tagging. To improve the understanding of the determinants of social media users’ behavioral intention to...

Purpose The success and survival of any form of online community relies on the presence and active participation of its users. Hence, ensuring active user participation and retaining existing users is a key concern of the moderators of online communities. To address these challenges, the present study investigates the epistemic, emotional, and soc...

This study systematically reviews the existing research literature on product-service-systems (PSSs) to analyze the nature and characteristics of complexity in the PSS context. While mastering the PSS strategy can become a competitive advantage for manufacturing companies, moving to providing advanced services through PSSs increases the complexity...

Purpose The study improves the current understanding of business model innovation by outlining how business models unfold over time within supplier–client relationships in facilities management (FM) services. Design/methodology/approach This study of FM services in Denmark consists of an explorative case study and three case studies of facilitie...

The purpose of this study is to improve the current understanding of the ways a manufacturer can learn to leverage the benefits associated with modular solution designs in its transition to a solution provider. We find that a modular solution design acts as a key integration mechanism, allowing the provider to orchestrate actors in the supply netwo...

External financing is an important strategic decision in growth-oriented small firms. Although private venture capital has been shown to contribute to investee venture performance, results of public funding’s effects are ambiguous. Using a sample of 118 small international firms from Finland, we empirically investigated the links between entreprene...

Value-based pricing has the potential to improve differentiation, profitability, and value creation for industrial firms and their customers. However, while most of the pricing research considers the ways organizations set or get value-based prices, only few studies consider how individual managers influence the pricing process and what prevents th...

Prior literature argues that business relationships provide firms with competitive advantage. However, there is a need for more empirical evidence on whether and how they influence the growth of small technology firms. Through a statistical analysis of 90 small technology firms in Finland, we explore whether the scope and scale of customer relation...

Prior literature argues that business relationships provide firms with competitive advantage. However, there is a need for more empirical evidence on whether and how they influence the growth of small technology firms. Through a statistical analysis of 90 small technology firms in Finland, we explore whether the scope and scale of customer relation...

We develop actionable design propositions for collaborative sales and operations planning (S&OP) based on the observation of contexts in which benefits are generated — or are absent — from retail information sharing. An information sharing pilot project in a real-life setting of two product manufacturers and one retailer was designed. The project r...

Purpose Information technology has been recognized as one of the keys to improved productivity in organizations. Yet, existing research has not paid sufficient attention to how information systems (ISs) influence the creative performance of individual users. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach This study draws on the...

Value proposition is a key concept in the research on service and in the practice of service management. Value propositions are described as tools to communicate and motivate a joint value creation opportunity among involved organizations and stakeholders. The future orientation and intangibility of service places value proposition as the key eleme...

Entrepreneurial small firms must design business models that leverage the resources of others to succeed in domestic and global markets. This study investigates the variance in business models of firms seeking to prosper through networking within an intensely competitive landscape. We use explorative quantitative methods to analyse the link between...

Small firms must design business models that leverage the resources of others to succeed in domestic and global markets. This study investigates the variance in business models of small firms seeking to prosper through networking within an intensely competitive landscape. We use explorative quantitative methods to analyse the link between networkin...

Abstract: Based on a sample of 3097 small firms, we investigated how Finnish entrepreneurs perceive the relationship between corporate ownership structure and growth orientation. In particular, we investigated the type of ownership that entrepreneurs would provide to different types of funders in exchange for investment. Our empirical results sugge...

Projects involve inter-organizational networks that are central to collaborative project-based value creation. Interest in value creation in the project lifecycle is mounting, and the front-end stage of projects is gaining increasing attention in the research literature. However, little is known about how network management activities facilitate va...

Service quality plays an important role in service providers’ success and survival in the competitive business environment. The relationship between customer-perceived service quality on customer repurchase intentions has been well demonstrated in B2C service contexts, but in-depth knowledge of this relationship in B2B service contexts remains scan...

This study analyzes the influences of contract design on the buyer-perceived supplier performance in global services. A research model is proposed and tested using survey data consisting of 144 purchasing professionals from 23 countries. The results indicate that three major contract dimensions and follow-up management of contract positively influe...

The co-creation of value and the coproduction of value proposition have attracted enormous interest in the B2B service and solutions research. To analyze this body of knowledge, we searched for published studies on co-creation and coproduction in top-tier journals in the areas of management, marketing, strategy, and operations. We selected 54 paper...

In the face of mounting public environmental and societal concerns, firms are incorporating sustainability into their business models. However, previous research has paid little attention to how companies can renew their business model to take better account of environmental sustainability at the organizational level in their business ecosystems. T...

Abstract: Based on a sample of 3097 small firms, we investigated how Finnish entrepreneurs perceive the relationship between corporate ownership structure and growth orientation. In particular, we investigated the type of ownership that entrepreneurs would provide to different types of funders in exchange for investment. Our empirical results sugge...

Recent research has emphasized the exponential increase in the online regret experience among online users. Such experience results in poor satisfaction, brand switching, and even service discontinuity. However, little prior research has investigated the relative influence of online platform characteristics and individual differences (such as demog...

This study applies technology adoption and strategic orientation theories to investigate the reseller adoption of smart microgrids (SMGs). These intelligent power generation solutions, operating on the Internet of Things (IoT) technology, rely on sustainable energy sources to supply small-scale loads. Using data from 100 power system resellers in N...

This paper examines how alliance capabilities augment firm performance through exploration and exploitation alliances. The results show that exploration alliances are driven by scanning and learning capabilities, whereas exploitation alliances are driven by scanning and coordination capabilities. Moreover, both exploration and exploitation alliance...

The creation and provision of value is an integral part of competitive service business. Yet, customer-perceived value remains imprecisely understood. In addition, previous research does not provide a conceptualization of value that supports its assessment in the industrial service context. To address these limitations, this study explores how cust...

Internationalization is particularly challenging for small firms with limited resources. They need to create business models that leverage the resources of others in order to succeed in global markets. This study investigates the types of business models based on networking that small firms utilize for international expansion. We use explorative qu...

This research focuses on the evolution and adoption of rapid production. We investigate the ways novel rapid production technology offers competitive advantage to companies, and argue that benefiting from this technology requires significant changes in business beyond manufacturing. The study is centered on core areas that need to be addressed when...

From the Guest Editors As a key enabler of business operations, technology drives service innovation and provision in the contemporary business landscape. Digitalization has facilitated the emergence of information-intensive service processes and the increasing connectivity of actors in a variety of service systems. Moreover, technologies have grea...

In their effort to differentiate themselves from cost-driven rivals, many industrial companies are beginning to serve their customers through value-based offerings. Such companies often engage actively in collaborative value creation with their customers. To capture a fair share of the value created, they need to adopt a value-based pricing approac...

Creating superior customer value is central to a company's success in competitive markets. In their quest to increase customer-perceived value, many industrial companies are moving toward customer value-focused sales management. Research-based knowledge of how to manage customer value-based sales operations remains sparse, however, with most of the...

Research on hybrid organizations combining multiple institutional logics has gained currency in organization theory. Yet, existing studies offer limited insights into the diversity of hybrid forms, particularly ignoring the influence of framing, or the construction of the schemata of interpretation, by managers promoting hybrid organizational forms...

This study builds on insights from 49 sustainability leaders in the U.S. by examining green innovation from the game perspective. It explores how corporate sustainability can advance environmentally friendly innovations, and what managerial roles and activities are required to enable the transformation. It identifies four green innovation games cha...

There is a mounting interest towards crowdsourcing among service innovators. Crowdsourcing appears as a promising approach to innovation with large groups of customers, users, and other stakeholders. However, service innovators lack a clear roadmap on the ways to benefit from the contributions of external collaborators. We put forward a single case...

Academics and business practitioners are intrigued by the factors that foster continued user engagement in virtual worlds (VWs). It is unclear how, and to what extent, existing theories can explain their continued use. As young people constitute the majority of VW users, understanding the reasons for their continued use intentions is important. Tak...

Organizational information technology (IT) needs are served through increasingly complex configurations of people, technologies, organizations, and shared information. Ideally, an organizational IT service is valuable for both the providers and users of systems and solutions. However, mutually beneficial outcomes may be difficult to achieve within...

Firms are increasingly greening their business models due to the mounting public environmental concerns and as a result of customers’ growing appreciation of sustainability. Although there is a substantial body of literature on sustainability at the societal level, prior research has paid little attention to the process through which a company can...

This study explores how the use of crowdsourcing in service innovation puts the tenets of the service-dominant logic (S-DL) into action. The study argues that crowdsourcing exemplifies two central phenomena in the S-DL framework: value co-creation and resource integration. An analysis of them from the service innovation point of view is followed by...

This study aims at discovering how companies collect and use the knowledge resident in online user communities for innovation. In particular, it focuses on the ways companies can utilise crowdsourcing to acquire knowledge from the users. We use a single case study design to explore users’ motives and behaviors in crowdsourcing. Moreover, we investi...

Purpose This paper seeks to explore how market orientation facilitates the strategic flexibility of business models grounded in open innovation. The authors suggest that the new paradigm of open innovation may impact a firm's adaptability and responsiveness under conditions of environmental flux. However, extending innovation capacity by opening th...

Our analysis of data from 179 software firms reveals how they react to industry-wide shifts including increasing service-intensity, changing technologies and the growing openness of innovation. Firms' strategic responses to these shifts explain a significant amount of their business model performance. Service orientation is connected with "customer...

The emergence of F/LOSS (free/libre open source software) has triggered several changes in the software industry. F/LOSS has been cited as an archetypal form of open innovation; it consists of the convergence and collaboration of like-minded parties. An increasing number of software firms have taken upon this approach to link outsiders into their s...