With support from the Ander Foundation, the Service Research Center (CTF) is happy to welcome Cristina Mele, professor of Service Innovation at the University of Naples Federico II, as visiting professor. Her research focuses on innovation and the adoption of smart technologies.
Cristina Mele is a professor of Service Innovation and the coordinator of the PhD programme on Management at the Department of Economics, Management and Institutions at the University of Naples Federico II. Her main research interests are innovation and smart technologies, customer journeys, value creation, markets, and service ecosystems.
– My research projects deal with innovation prompted by the adoption of smart technologies, particularly sensing technology, chatbots, and social robots in education and healthcare contexts, says Cristina Mele. Most of my studies adopt a constructivist view, emphasising the active role of actors in constructing their understanding of the world. The practice-based approach delves into the service practices as an interpretive, qualitative methodology.
– My current research focuses on the role of technology smartness in service practices impacting actors’ service journey, value co-creation, actors’ well-being and service ecosystems. My recent interest is in a tech-based ecology for service ecosystems, in which value co-creation is enacted by smart technology through intra-actions between actors, resources, and contexts. In this new ecology, I’m interested in the effect of smart technologies (e.g., social robots) on actors' well-being.
Cristina, what do you hope to contribute to CTF?
– I hope to participate in current debates, projects and write joint articles, and support doctoral students and scholar with my academic expertise. I wish to contribute to specific methodologies, theories, frameworks, or emerging trends in service research. It’s an absolute privilege to be an Ander visiting professor. I hope to stay current with the latest developments, increase my understanding of service research, and contribute to an ongoing debate by conceptualising fresh frameworks with implications for scholars and practitioners.
Cristina Mele is well acquainted with CTF and Karlstad University. She has co-authored several articles with CTF’s colleagues. Her first visit was in 2013 to participate in the 13th International Research Symposium on Service Excellence in Management (QUIS) which was organised by CTF.
– For me, CTF is one of the most excellent service research centres worldwide; great scholars, a vibrant atmosphere, and cutting-edge research. Being appointed as a visiting professor is a special honour because its co-founder, Evert Gummesson, was my mentor and a close friend.
Cristina Mele has about 300 publications. She has appeared in several leading international journals and is one of the co-chairs of The Naples Forum on Service and is on the editorial Review Board of the Journal of Service Theory and Practice and The AMS Review. She is an ISSIP ambassador (International Society of Service Innovation Professionals) and is a member of the Steering Committee of Federica Web Learning - University Centre for Innovation, Experimentation and Dissemination of Multimedia Didactics, and a member of the Scientific Committee of the Research Center for International Marketing & Sales Communication (CIMASC), at IULM University. She is a promoter of the Italian National Blockchain Observatory (IBNO) and of the HAICU Lab (Human-Centered AI+ by/for Colleges and Universities) within the U7+ Alliance. She has had several international recognitions for her scholarly activities and was named to the World's Top 2% Scientists of Stanford University in 2023.
– Cristina Mele will contribute to CTF with her expertise in service innovation and technology-based services, and she will also contribute by sharing her experience in publishing high-quality service research and with her excellent ability to translate theoretical models into practice, says Per Skålén, professor in Business Administration at CTF. Cristina, with her extensive network of service researchers and practitioners in combination with her energetic personality, will contribute to strengthen CTF as a leading service research center.
The visiting professorship is financed by the Anne-Marie and Gustaf Ander Foundation for Media Research for three years.
