Technical services based on IT solutions are becoming increasingly common in many manufacturing industries, but many questions still remain concerning for example, how it affects relationships, and how to create a profitable business models. The introduction of new technology can also be a challenge that must be addressed, especially if the company operates globally.
On March 9 we will start our open networked learning course Making Sense of Service Logic. The aim of the course is to introduce central concepts of service research, by applying them to different business and organizational contexts.
Researchers at CTF are currently testing Oculus Rift in CTF Consumer Lab. Oculus Rift is a technique used in the gaming world to maximize the game experience. Through special glasses the user can see different scenarios and the experience becomes more real, like being in the middle of a 3D movie.
- Within our consumer research we are conducting studies both in our lab and on-site in stores.
Ph. D student in Business Administration, how are your doctoral studies coming along?
- It is going well, thank you! My main focus is primarily on employee involvement in service innovation, but
from April last year I have also participated in the project “User-Oriented Innovation in primary care through innovation teams”. The aim of the project is to improve patients’ well-being as well as raise the level of innovation and reduce costs in primary care.
The Håkan Frisinger Foundation for Transportation Research awarded its 2014 scholarship to Professor Margareta Friman at Karlstad University.
Margareta Friman will receive the scholarship of SEK 250,000 for
combining behavioral science with transportation research, and thus
has increased understanding of the factors that influence the decisions and choices of transport people make.
The scholarship will be awarded by the Håkan Frisinger Foundation
at a seminar held on Apri
We welcome Kaisa Koskela-Huotari, new Ph D Student in Business Administration at CTF.
Kaisa will conduct her studies in the field of Transformative Service Research. Her main supervisor is
Professor Per Skålén.
… Ph D Student in Business Administration, what kind of research are you working on right now?
- My current research focuses on self-tracking and self-quantification practices.
Self-quantification is an increasingly popular movement that aims to monitor and measure human activities, with the help of technology, in order to allow people to get a better understanding of themselves and to enhance their mental, emotional and physical abilities.
On December 17th Jan Wallander and Tom Hedelius Foundation announced the recipients of this autumn’s scholarships. The Foundation promotes Postgraduate studies at foreign universities, and one of the recipients is Henrik öhlin, Ph D student at CTF.
Congratulations Henrik, you are one of the recipients of the scholarship!
- Thank you! I am both happy and proud to receive this scholarship.
CTF expands, and during the last two months we have three new colleagues. Here is a short presentation of our new Ph D Students.
Johan Högberg, Ph D Student in Psychology, will conduct his research within the field of Transformative Service Research with Professor Per Kristensson as main supervisor.
You are now back in Spain after spending four months at CTF. What were your expectations before you came here, and what have you achieved during your visit?
- My expectations before coming here were basically: learning new ways of working and presenting my research at an international level, deepening my dissertation research with the brilliant researchers of CTF, attending research courses, and trying to build partnerships for future research.
CTF’s efforts to develop groundbreaking theoretical knowledge has resulted in multidisciplinary research themes: Service Innovation, Service Management, and Service Experience. Based on these themes CTF is now developing a crosscutting theme on Transformative Service Research, TSR. It is a relatively new field in service research and is increasingly getting more attention in academia.
One year has passed since CTF was appointed "Excellent research group" at Karlstad University, and much has happened since then. Among other things, a new research area – Transformative Service Research – has been initiated along with new researchers and Ph.
On November 13-14, the IBS Conference, 3rd International Conference on Business Servitization, was held in Bilbao, Spain. Servitization, which was the theme of the conference, is what happens when manufacturing companies start focusing on services.
At the conference CTF was represented by researchers Nina Löfberg, Lars Witell and Maria åkesson.
In order to grow and to survive, a firm must create value with consumers in ways that both fit in with consumer demands and stand out from competitors. In a new doctoral thesis from CTF, Service Research Center at Karlstad University, Claes Högström describes different approaches to accomplishing this from a consumer experience perspective.
- In my dissertation I examine how value is created in the interactions between consumers and businesses.
We welcome Frida Skarin, new Ph D Student in Psychology at Samot. She will conduct her Ph D studies within the research area Transformative Service Research, and her supervisor is Associate Professor Lars E Olsson.
Frida Skarin has a Master's Degree in Applied Positive Psychology from University of East London. She has previously worked as a teacher in mental coaching and conflict management at the Swedish National Police Academy.
We welcome Alexandre Sukhov, new Ph. D student in Business Administration. He has an interest in the methodologies for service innovations, and is studying the impact of idea refinement and its implications in the idea assessment process. The purpose is to find ways of generating and selecting ideas that lead to an increased rate of product and service innovations.
Anne-Maria and Gustaf Ander Foundation for Media Research continues to support CTF, Service Research Center at Karlstad University. The research center will receive 1,3 million SEK for the period 2014-2017.
The money will be used to fund two Visiting Professorships during the next three years at CTF. The Visiting Professors are: Thorsten Gruber, Loughborough University, UK, and Stephen L.
During this fall, CTF will be holding webinars within service innovation. The first webinar will be held by Professor Per Kristensson who will talk about Service Logic on October 10th.
Good things always happen when influential open-minded and intelligent people meet; this is the simple underlying idea of forming an international network of service researchers.
The inaugural meeting was hosted in September by CTF.
The target audience for the event was mainly leading researchers from the different research centers around the globe and in the end there were 35 attendees from 13 countries.
- We feel that there are strength in numbers; if we are able to sta
Hello, Mikko Laamanen, Ph D Student at the Department of Marketing and the CERS Centre for Relationship Marketing and Service Management at Hanken School of Economics, Finland!
