Innovation and Service Design in the New Organizational Landscape of Collaboration

The overall aim is to, with a focus on benefits for the entire transport system, develop further improve and test new and established methods, tools and working practices based on a service logic and which are adapted to contexts where innovation takes place in collaboration with others. The long-term aim is to strengthen the capacity for innovation in the entire transport sector. The project is led by Mikael Johnson, Senior Lecturer in Business Administration at the School of Business and the Service Research Center (CTF).

The project, which rests on an action research approach, is mainly carried out through two parallel, but still closely connected, sub-processes. The first sub-process is about following and supporting a number of in-going, specific development initiatives. The second consists of a tailored training and experience exchange program on innovation and service design for service leaders within the Swedish Transport Administration. During these networking meetings, service-based methods, tools, and approaches adapted to contexts, where innovation occurs with multiple actors, are further developed and tested.

-It is difficult to know, in advance, which methods that will be utilized in the development initiatives. It all depends on their individual requirements. But the coaching process could, for example, involve methods for environmental analysis, trend spotting, scenario techniques, impact analyses, idea generation methods like As easy as 536 or service design methods like user scenarios, experience mapping, service blueprints, and many more. We predict that there will be a wide range of needs and challenges. That several different analysis models will be used. Given the range of the initiatives, we predict that many different analysis models will be used. This is also the core idea with the knowledge transfer between service leaders, that is the idea with second sub-process of the project. There, we create an arena for broader experience exchange between the service leaders and build a common "bank" of experiences from using the various models and tools. We build a "larger common we" around innovation and service design.

Project Goals

  • Strengthened knowledge of open innovation management based on a service logic.
  • Increased understanding of intra- and inter-organizational collaboration based on a service logic.
  • Strengthen the innovation capacity of the transport system.
  • Enhance the ability of actors in the transport system to collaborate with each other.
  • Knowledge transfer and feedback about innovation collaboration and service design among involved actors and through scientific publications.