This article is based on an empirical study and describes an approach for managing customer expectations to achieve long‐term quality and customer satisfaction in professional services. Professional services are somewhat different from other types of services, and often so are customer expectations. This article describes three types of expectations typical in the professional services context: fuzzy, implicit, and unrealistic. These types of expectations may represent a dangerous pitfall for long‐lasting customer satisfaction. Managing expectations is important since service quality and satisfaction result from how well the actual service performance, in other words the service process and outcome, matches the expectations. Much can be done to achieve long‐lasting satisfaction with sophisticated expectations management. This article suggests that making fuzzy expectations precise, implicit expectations explicit, and unrealistic expectations realistic, facilitates long‐term quality and customer satisfaction. The expectations‐management approach introduced in this article is particularly important when the goal is to create long‐term customer relationships.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to increase the knowledge of brand building in software SMEs. Design/methodology/approach -The empirical method used is a multi-case study. Data were collected from 20 companies in the software industry through in-depth interviews. The data were analyzed using systematic coding and categorization of qualitative evidence. Findings -The study identified five special characteristics of brand building in software SMEs, relating to goals and perceived benefits of brand building; resources in brand building; external and internal cooperation in brand building; means and communication in brand building; and the process of product brand building and its connection to software product development.Research limitations/implications -The scientific contribution of this empirical study relates to two aspects of brand management: branding in software business and branding in SMEs. A vast amount of literature exists on "brands", "software business" and "SMEs", but there is very little on "branding in software business" or "branding in SMEs". Unarguably, there are two significant knowledge gaps in the literature, and they relate to branding in software and SME industries. Both theoretical and managerial knowledge is needed. This study corresponds to this need by increasing the knowledge of brand building in software SMEs with an empirical study. The present study is characterized by the general limitations of a case study. The results lack statistical reliability, they apply primarily in the case companies examined, and no direct generalizations should be made without further quantitative study. Practical implications -Directors of SMEs often think that branding is just for big companies, but small companies with limited resources can brand their products and services as well. However, the means of branding are often different. The present study encourages SMEs to systematically think of the potential advantages of branding for their business, and develop creative, targeted, and affordable approaches for brand building. Originality/value -The present empirical study makes an original contribution to the literature by increasing the knowledge of branding in the context of both SMEs and software business.

PurposeThe literature includes a vast amount of research on both innovation and business networks; however, the empirical knowledge of their intersection – innovation networks and their management – is still scarce. This empirical study aims at increasing the knowledge of management of innovation networks by mapping characteristics of management approaches of two case companies. These companies operate in the software business and develop their products in inter‐organizational networks. Special attention is paid to differences in the management approaches between the case companies.Design/methodology/approachThe present empirical article is based on analysis of two case companies representing very different and contrasting approaches to management of innovation networks. The empirical study is conducted among SMEs in the software business.FindingsAs a result of the analysis, several aspects of management of innovation networks are identified and their nature explained. These aspects are: duration of the network; rewards from the network; fundamental meaning of the network; the nature of the networked organization; planning, control, and trust; and hierarchies, authority, and coordination. These aspects are powerful in mapping and explaining the characteristics of innovation network management.Originality/valueVarious management practices are suggested and discussed in the context of each of the identified aspects of innovation network management.

What is the nature of the key account management (KAM) approach? Various themes have been discussed under the title “key account management”, however, the approach seems to lack coherence and clearly requires further conceptualization. Based on an extensive literature analysis, this article identifies and describes the basic elements of KAM and offers a definition of it. What kind of managerial practices facilitate KAM at the company and individual levels? Although paying customers in the business‐to‐business market are organizations, they are always represented by individuals. Thus, successful KAM requires appropriate handling at both the organizational and the individual levels. This paper describes the nature of company‐ and individual‐level customer benefits in business‐to‐business relationships. As a synthesis, this paper suggests a framework for KAM practices deploying the main elements of KAM and the company and individual levels of business‐to‐business relationships.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to develop a service logic oriented framework for business model development. “Service logic” covers the basic principles of the three contemporary customer value focused business logics: service-dominant logic, service logic and customer-dominant logic. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on an empirical qualitative research and deployed the focus group method. The data are generated in a series of interactive co-creative focus group workshops involving both practitioners and academics. Findings As the outcome, a new tool was developed, called Service Logic Business Model Canvas. The new canvas is a modified version of the original Business Model Canvas (Osterwalder and Pigneur, 2010). Research limitations/implications This study adopts service logic in business model thinking and increases knowledge on how to keep the customer needs in the centre of business model development. Practical implications The developed canvas makes the theory of service-dominant logic tangible and easily applicable in practice. It enables service innovation truly based on customer value by ensuring that the customer is in the centre of all the elements of a business model. It can function both as a rapid prototype of a new business model and as a communication tool that quickly illustrates the company’s current business model. It can also help in creating a customer-centred business culture. It is designed to be applied to each customer profile separately, thus enabling a deeper understanding of the customer logic of each relevant profile. Originality/value Earlier business model frameworks tend to be provider-centric and goods-dominant, and require further development and adaptation to service logic. This study adopts service logic in business model thinking. It embeds the true and deep customer understanding and customer value in each element of the business model, and contributes to both business model and service-dominant logic literature.