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Product/service systems (PSSs) are increasingly found in markets, and more resources are being invested in PSS design. Despite the substantial research into PSS design, the current literature exhibits an incomplete understanding of it as a cognitive activity. This article demonstrates that the methods used to analyze product designers’ cognitive behavior can be used to produce comparable and commensurable results when analyzing PSS designers. It also generates empirical grounding for the development of hypotheses based on a cognitive study of a PSS design session in a laboratory environment using protocol analysis. This study is a part of a larger project comparing PSS design with product design. The results, which are based on the function–behavior–structure coding scheme, show that PSS design, when coded using this scheme, can be quantitatively compared with product design. Five hypotheses were developed based on the results of the study of this design session concerning where and how designers expend their cognitive design effort. These hypotheses can be used to design experiments that test them and provide the grounding for a fuller understanding of PSS design.

Background. Knowledge sharing among the members of an organization is crucial for enhancing the organization’s performance. However, knowing how to motivate and direct members to effectively and efficiently share their relevant private knowledge concerning the organization’s activities is not entirely a straightforward matter. Aim. This study aims to propose a gamified approach not only for motivating truthful sharing and collective evaluation of knowledge among the members of an organization but also for properly directing those actions so as to maximize the usefulness of the shared knowledge. A case study is also conducted to understand how the proposed approach works in a live business scenario. Method. A prediction market game on a binary event on whether the specified activity will be completed successfully is devised. The game utilizes an original comment aggregation and evaluation system through which relevant knowledge can be shared verbally and evaluated collectively by the players themselves. Players’ behavior is driven toward a desirable direction with the associated incentive framework realized by three game scores. Results. The proposed gamified approach was implemented as a web application and verified with a laboratory experiment. The game was also played by four participants who deliberated on an actual sales proposal in a real company. It was observed that the various valuable knowledge elements that were successfully collected from the participants could be utilized for refining the sales proposal. Conclusions. The game induced motivation through gamification, and some of the designed game scores worked in directing the players’ behavior as desired. The players learned from others’ comments, which brought about a snowball effect and enriched collective knowledge. Future research directions include how to transform this knowledge into an easy-to-comprehend representation.

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