94% of executives have an innovation problem

Let's Fix That!

value | innovation | enterprise
Innovation Essentials
What is Innovation?
Understanding Service
Making S-D logic Approachable

All Journeys

Future Articles
All
Books
Papers
Web Articles

References

Welcome to the Library

Hello. Why don’t you pull up one of those nice comfy chairs. Go on, settle yourself down in front of the crackling fire, with a good cup of tea (or coffee, or something stronger, the choice is yours).

This is my virtual library where I list the books and articles that have sparked my interest and thoughts. I’m not intending to give a detailed review of these books. Rather, just to highlight points of interest.

If you’re looking for the list of references, then you should try here.

I hope you find the items in the library as interesting and thought inspiring as I have! If you’ve got any comments or suggestions of other books and articles, please let me know!

The Four Service Marketing Myths

Vargo, S., Lush, R. (2004)

Posted on
Last Updated
   
Research Paper
Early Thoughts
Abstract: Marketing was originally built on a goods-centered, manufacturing-based model of economic exchange developed during the Industrial Revolution. Since its beginning, marketing has been broadening its perspective to include the exchange of more than manufactured goods. The subdiscipline of service marketing has emerged to address much of this broadened perspective, but it is built on the same goods and manufacturing-based model. The influence of this model is evident in the prototypical characteristics that have been identified as distinguishing services from goods—intangibility, inseparability, heterogeneity, and perishability. The authors argue that these characteristics (a) do not distinguish services from goods, (b) only have meaning from a manufacturing perspective, and (c) imply inappropriate normative strategies. They suggest that advances made by service scholars can provide a foundation for a more service-dominant view of all exchange from which more appropriate normative strategies can be developed for all of marketing.


A discussion on why intangible, heterogeneous, inseperable, and perishability of services is not a bad thing.
Reading time <1 min
Read Review
The Marketing Mix Revisited: Towards the 21st Century Marketing

Constantinides, E (2016)

Posted on
Last Updated
   
Research Paper
Abstract: The paper assesses the current standing of the 4Ps Marketing Mix framework as the dominant marketing management paradigm and identifies market developments, environmental changes, and trends, as well as changing academic attitudes likely to affect the future of the Mix as theoretical concept and also the favourite management tool of marketing practitioners. It reviews the criticism on the 4P’s emanating from five “traditional” marketing areas - Consumer Marketing, Relationship Marketing, Services Marketing, Retail Marketing, Industrial Marketing - and the emerging field of Electronic Marketing. The paper identifies two main limitations of the Marketing Mix as management tool, common in all examined domains, namely the model’s internal orientation and lack of personalisation. It also identifies several area-specific limitations and underlines the need for further research on the issue. The weaknesses identified in the study seem to support the frequently expressed suggestion that marketing scholars should focus their efforts in formulating the conceptual foundations and marketing methodologies that better address the needs of today’s and tomorrow’s marketer.


Great summary of the different types of extensions/replacements of the 4P Marketing Mix that have been proposed including the original authors rationales.
Reading time <1 min
Read Review
The Measurement of Entrepreneurial Orientation

Covin, J., Wales, W. (2012)

Posted on
Last Updated
   
Research Paper
Abstract: This article explores how the concept of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) has been portrayed and assessed in prior research. The challenges and decision criteria associated with formative versus reflective measurement approaches are reviewed. It is argued that, as a latent construct, EO exists apart from its measures and that researchers are free to choose whichever measurement approach best serves their research purposes, recognizing that unidimensional versus multidimensional EO measurement models are consistent with fundamentally different conceptualizations of the EO construct. Recommendations are offered regarding potentially appropriate formative and reflective measures of EO.


Reading time <1 min
Read Review
The service-dominant logic and a hierarchy of operant resources: developing masterful operant resources and implications for marketing strategy

Madhavaram, S., Hunt, S.D. (2008)

Posted on
Last Updated
   
Research Paper
Abstract: Marketing’s evolution toward a new dominant logic requires the focus of marketing to be on the intangible, dynamic, operant resources that are at the heart of competitive advantage and performance. First, building on resource-advantage theory's notion of basic resources and higher-order resources, this article proposes a hierarchy of basic, composite, and interconnected operant resources. Second, reviewing research on business strategy and marketing strategy, several resources that correspond to the proposed hierarchy are identified and discussed. Third, the notion of developing masterful operant resources is introduced. Fourth, based on the proposed hierarchy and the notion of masterful operant resources, some exemplars of potential research avenues for marketing strategy are provided. Finally, the article concludes with the discussion of implications for marketing practitioners, researchers and educators. In sum, this article extends and elaborates the concept of operant resources in the service-dominant logic of marketing.


Hierarchy of operant resources: basic, composite, and interconnected. Used on https://solvinnov.com/operant-resources-are-the-fundamental-source-of-strategic-benefit/
Reading time <1 min
Read Review
The Value Proposition Concept in Marketing: How Customers Perceive the Value Delivered by Firms

Hassan, A. (2012)

Posted on
Last Updated
   
Research Paper
Abstract: Loyal customers are the key factor of success in all organizations. They spend money, they recommend to others and they repeat buy from the same organization, as long as it delivers consistent value. Creating and delivering value where it is needed is not an easy job for a marketing planner. This study seeks to provide strong understanding of the concept of the value proposition from the academic perspective, as regards the actual understanding of what customers perceive about the organizations. This study took place in Southampton in the United Kingdom, on customers of four main supermarkets to identify the way they shop, the value they seek and the value they actually obtain from each supermarket. The method used for this study was qualitative with a use of mini-depth interviews as the approach of collecting and analyzing the data. The results indicated that the value proposition is a widely used concept, but there is no specific definition of it. Value can be created through more than one element, such as price, quality and location. Companies therefore are responsible for setting the value they seek to deliver based on their strategies and their shareholders' values. They are responsible for communicating them and managing the change occurring in the market. Marketing provides marketing strategies and tactics that are aligned with the overall strategies of the organization, to help deliver the best value to customers. Interview results showed that customers perceive different type of values mainly depends on their age, marital status, home location, and shop prices. Some supermarkets communicate their values clearly and some do not. Some of them provide more than one element of value and others tend to focus on just one, such as Waitrose focusing on quality. The findings provided some strategic recommendations on both sides to help improve the value proposition to end customers. This includes corporate and marketing strategic considerations and the need to identify and fulfill customers' expectations. Creating competitive advantage will finally lead to customers' loyalty and generate profits.


Defines value proposition.  
Reading time <1 min
Read Review
Towards innovation measurement in the software industry

Edisona, H., bin Alia, N., Torkar, R. (2013)

Posted on
Last Updated
   
Research Paper
Early Thoughts
Abstract: In today’s highly competitive business environments with shortened product and technology life cycle, it is critical for software industry to continuously innovate. This goal can be achieved by developing a better understanding and control of the activities and determinants of innovation. Innovation measurement initiatives assess innovation capability, output and performance to help develop such an understanding. This study explores various aspects relevant to innovation measurement ranging from definitions, measurement frameworks and metrics that have been proposed in literature and used in practice. A systematic literature review followed by an online questionnaire and interviews with practitioners and academics were employed to identify a comprehensive definition of innovation that can be used in software industry. The metrics for the evaluation of determinants, inputs, outputs and performance were also aggregated and categorised. Based on these findings, a conceptual model of the key measurable elements of innovation was constructed from the findings of the systematic review. The model was further refined after feedback from academia and industry through interviews.


Defines Novelty of innovation as follows: ” New to the firm: The minimum level of novelty of innovation is that it must be new to firm. It is defined as the adoption of an idea, practice or behaviour whether a system, policy, program, device, process, product, technology or administrative practice that is new to the […]
Reading time <1 min
Read Review