The Service Research Center (CTF)

The Service Research Center (CTF) brought together researchers, alumni and partner organizations to celebrate its anniversary with reflections on the past and perspectives on the future.

From a small research group focusing on the emergence of the service economy to an internationally recognized research centre with significant impact on service research, innovation and value creation. As CTF at Karlstad University celebrates its 40th anniversary, it marks four decades of research that has followed and explained major societal changes.

Through close collaboration with businesses and the public sector, CTF has contributed new knowledge on everything from service quality and customer experiences to digitalization, AI and sustainable transformation.

PhD students from several European universities gathered at Karlstad University for a course on sustainable and digital service marketing and management. The course combines contemporary research perspectives with international collaboration, networking, and the development of participants’ own doctoral research projects.

The course Sustainable and Digital Service Marketing and Management: Theory and Research provides PhD students with advanced knowledge of theories, methods, and emerging perspectives in service marketing and service management. Particular emphasis is placed on sustainable services, digital transformation, service innovation, and circular business models, offering participants a current overview of service research with a focus on sustainability, digitalization, and systems transformation.

How can service research help address future challenges in AI, digitalisation, health, and the sustainability transition? On 22 October, the Service Research Center (CTF) at Karlstad University invites researchers, partners, alumni, and other interested guests to celebrate CTF's 40th anniversary and discuss the societal challenges of the future.

The anniversary event will offer reflections on four decades of research, perspectives from some of the people who have been part of the journey, and conversations about the issues shaping tomorrow's society.

40 years of research for a changing society

"When CTF was founded in 1986, service research was a relatively unexplored field. Early on, we recognised the need to understand the growing service economy and contribute new knowledge," says Bo Edvardsson, professor of Business Administration and one of CTF's founders.

– Without packaging, food waste would increase dramatically, say researchers Fredrik Wikström and Helén Williams at the Service Research Center (CTF) at Karlstad University.

29 September is International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste. As global interest in conserving resources continues to grow, researchers Fredrik Wikström and Helén Williams have now seen their book Stop Food Waste translated into English. Through the book, they aim to highlight the importance of viewing the entire product system, not just the food itself.

Many companies want to contribute to sustainable development, but their efforts often have limited impact.
– Many of the companies I studied focused, for example, on putting ‘recycled material’ on a package, says Kristin Caravelli-Svärd. Such an initiative is often very small in relation to the company’s actual impact.

In her dissertation, Un/sustainability: Why Business Sustainability Efforts Are Systemically Insufficient, Kristin Caravelli-Svärd, who recently earned her PhD in Business Administration at the School of Business and conducted research at the Service Research Center (CTF), demonstrates that many companies today actively address sustainability issues while environmental and social problems continue to worsen globally.

In an era marked by so-called polycrises, where climate change, energy challenges, economic uncertainty, and global conflicts influence and reinforce one another, societal resilience is becoming increasingly important. During A Sustainable Tomorrow, it was emphasized that resilience is not only about technology, stockpiles, and contingency plans.

Equally important is the ability of people and organizations to collaborate, share resources, and adapt their ways of working as circumstances change. The foundation of a resilient society is built in everyday life.