We often hear about the importance of a strong brand. But how does a brand really affect the customer's experience of a service? Results in a new study show how customers’ experiences in service encounters are affected differently by the characteristics of a brand, store and consumer factors.
Rarely has our research on behavior change, service development, ecosystems and public services been as current, relevant and applicable as during this past year. The pandemic has significantly affected our lives and changed many behaviors with consequences for companies and the public sector, and for society and individuals as well. As one of Sweden's largest research centers, it is important to reflect on this.
We are pleased to welcome Christina Öberg, professor of marketing, to CTF and Karlstad Business School, where she is active in research and teaching.
Christina started her new position at Karlstad University on January 1, and has been working full time since June 1. She is currently also a Visiting Professor at Leeds University in England and associated with the research institute Ratio.
"I am happy to be a part of CTF and Karlstad Business School at Karlstad University.
Innovation, transformation and sustainable development during changing times marked by the pandemic were in focus at CTF´s Service Innovation Day 2021 where the participants listened to presentations from Vinnova, Ikea, Systembolaget and Ica Maxi on how they work with these issues.
Per Pettersson, professor of sociology of religion at CTF, is retiring after 26 years as researcher and research leader focusing religious and social change with a service perspective. As senior professor he looks forward to meeting research colleagues around the world as soon as the corona pandemic slows down.
Per has an academic background in theology at Uppsala University, and was ordained as priest in the Church of Sweden 1979.
Today, the Swedish Innovation Index 2020 is released, and Ikea is - for the third year in a row – ranked as Sweden's most innovative company. Systembolaget has advanced the most in innovation capacity.
At least since the start of the Covid19 pandemic digitalization has reached most of us. By now we are all familiar with using digital platforms to meet and socialize. However, digitalization is much more than changing the way we connect and communicate; it also changes how information is gathered, analysed and used for decision making processes.
The EU have created definitions and pilot projects based on smart villages – a concept that has emerged to shift the focus on development from cities to rural areas and small towns. Interest from community stakeholders is immense.
In the last decades, smart cities have increasingly been hailed as an urban development ideal and a solution to current and future environmental and climate-related challenges.
Agnieszka Kitkowska is a new postdoctoral researcher at CTF where she is studying online privacy and decision-making, and barriers that consumers face during digital transactions.
What is your background and what brought you to CTF?"I have a multidisciplinary background with one master's degree in art and one in computing. Last year, I successfully defended my Ph.D. in Computer Science.
We have now published our annual report for 2020. In the report, we summarize the past year and share highlights of our research and collaboration with partners from academia, business and the public sector.
2020 was a different and challenging year marked by the corona pandemic. Despite the challenges with restrictions and new routines, we managed to perform at a continuously high level and drive research forward.
Mia Larson’s research is in the borderlands between organization and marketing and her focus has been on tourism, events and sustainable development for a long time. Today, her focus is on digital services and personal integrity, and she was recently promoted to professor of Business Administration at Karlstad University.
Mia's current research focuses on digital services and personal integrity.
From the perspective that life after the coronavirus never fully will be the same, and we will not go back to “business as usual”, the COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the urgent need to rethink the human ecosystem. The relationship between humanity and nature, and, more specifically, the service ecosystem. While it is clear that the crisis will contribute to a transformation of the world as we know it, dare we hope that it can be transformed into one that is more inclusive and sustainable?
To achieve better effects in healthcare, new technological innovations should be implemented alongside structural changes.
We often associate the word “innovation” with the roll-out of a new product, the success or failure of which is determined by market forces.
.. after more than 20 years in working life, you are now taking on a new challenge as an industrial PhD student. How does it feel, and what will your research focus on?
"I have wished for an opportunity to connect my practical experiences with research for a long time, and I am very happy for the opportunity to work as an industrial PhD student at Karlstad Business School, and CTF, in the coming years. My research will focus on entrepreneurship.
That is the question Sara Davoudi has looked into in her doctoral thesis, “What happened with the leviathan of the Public Sector? The challenges of vertical coordination in regional public organizations and its effect on public value”.
Sara Davoudi, PhD in Business Administration, tell us about your research.
- My research is about vertical coordination, which is best described as the communication between public sector actors and the challenges associated with that.
Robots, drones and intelligent systems interacting with humans were some of the topics raised during the WASP-HS graduate school's winter conference. One of the participants was Petter Falk, PhD student at CTF.
WASP-HS funds a large number of PhD students to give them the best possible start towards becoming the AI researchers of tomorrow.
