The Service Research Center (CTF)

This year, the Service Research Center (CTF) at Karlstad University celebrates its 40th anniversary. The milestone will be marked throughout the year, including during the Customer Innovation Day and at a jubilee event in October.

CTF was founded in the mid-1980s. At that time, the service sector was growing rapidly, while knowledge about how service organisations are managed, developed and create value was limited. A group of researchers at Karlstad University therefore took the initiative to build a research environment focused on services, in close collaboration with businesses and regional partners. Professor Bo Edvardsson was one of those who laid the foundations for the centre.

Amie Gustafsson, PhD-student in Business Administration at Karlstad Business School and researcher at the Service Research Center (CTF), has been awarded the APA Doctoral Research Award by the American Phygital Association.

The prize is international and recognizes promising doctoral students who contribute to advancing the understanding of phygital science, a field focused on how the physical and digital worlds merge, and how this convergence affects both individuals and organizations. According to the jury’s motivation, Amie Gustafsson receives the award for her rigorous research, innovative thinking, and for providing a significant scientific contribution to the field.

How can reuse become both profitable and sustainable? What role can social robots play in the services and welfare systems of the future? How do we address challenges in working life, health, digitalisation and the climate transition? These questions are at the heart of Value-Creating Conversations – a seminar series created by CTF in collaboration with The Hamrin Foundation.

“Research creates real value only when it benefits society. Through Value-Creating Conversations, we share research-based knowledge beyond academia while also gaining a deeper understanding of the challenges faced in practice. It is a fantastic combination where research takes its place where it is needed most,” says Professor Per Kristensson, Director of CTF.

The seminar series has offered a new way of strengthening dialogue between academia, industry and the public sector, providing fresh perspectives on how current issues and complex societal challenges can be addressed.

Small spontaneous gifts with no expectations of something in return can influence both purchasing behavior and customer relationships in powerful ways. Amie Gustafsson, PhD in Business Administration at Karlstad Business School and researcher at the Service Research Center (CTF), has had her work published in the prestigious Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science.

Amie Gustafsson, what might such a gift consist of, and when is it given to the consumer?

– It’s about small, unexpected gifts that are given without requiring anything in return. It might be a free accessory with a purchase, an extra product in the delivery, a gift when the customer walks into the store, or something included with their first online order. The important thing is that it’s not perceived as a reward that needs to be earned. We tested this with, for example, packages of coffee and chocolate.

In the Bruksort 2.0 initiative, Hagfors Municipality, local businesses, and residents collaborated to strengthen attractiveness, mobility, and innovation. The work was based on co‑creation, where residents’ shared stories about the future were used to formulate future visions. The final report is now complete.

The project resulted in the Hagfors Model—a model that captures the power of place and shows how stories, trust, and creativity can become drivers of sustainable development. Through co‑created poems, sculptures, and narratives about the future, residents themselves have given shape and expression to what future transitions may mean in an industrial town.

Friday, 9 January, marks Quitters Day – the day when most New Year’s resolutions have already fallen apart. According to Per Kristensson, professor of Psychology at Karlstad University, these failures rarely stem from a lack of ability.

– We don’t fail because we are weak, but because we don’t change the situation we’re in, he says. Our surroundings often play a bigger role than our personal abilities.

Behavioural research shows that people tend to overestimate the importance of motivation and underestimate how strongly everyday circumstances influence our decisions.

– We often think New Year’s resolutions are about motivation and personal abilities. But research shows that the situation is just as important. You could say that we’re trying to renovate our lives without having the scaffolding in place, says Per Kristensson.