Employees’ agency in the formalisation of knowledge-intensive business service processes

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify and explain how different kinds of knowledge-intensive business service processes (KIBS processes) can be formalised without excessively limiting employees’ agency, and thus flexibility in value creation. Previous research acknowledges the need to balance flexibility and formalisation but does not investigate how employees achieve this balance in various types of KIBS processes. Design/methodology/approach This paper employs a qualitative multiple-case study approach to compare employees’ agency in six successful formalisation projects targeting different types of KIBS processes in three firms. Through a systematic mapping of employees’ agency across the cases, this study reveals alternative patterns of formalisation that enable agency. Findings The findings reveal notable differences in employees’ agency in the studied cases. When KIBS processes were scale intensive and/or the culture-favoured conformity, formalisation projects were centrally organised, and employees obeyed codified process templates, even though some agency remained. When KIBS processes were smaller scale and/or the culture-favoured freedom, employees conducted formalisation projects autonomously and retained higher levels of agency in formalised KIBS processes. Practical implications Firms and business units providing KIBS should choose their formalisation approaches locally based on the scalability of the KIBS process, their employees’ skill levels, knowledge bases and culture. Choosing the right approach enables flexibility while striving for efficient processes. Originality/value Previous studies suggest that formalisation benefits only some KIBS, but this comparative approach shows that a variety of KIBS processes benefit from formalisation if the formalisation approach is tailored to the context. Alternative patterns of formalisation are revealed to guide further empirical research on the topic.

Designing, writing-up and reviewing case study research: an equifinality perspective

“…Process design Examine the way in which modularization can manifest itself in a specific context, such as the design of services (Avlonitis and Hsuan, 2017) or specialized hospital services (Silander et al, 2017) Investigate how formalization/standardization are shaped by specific phenomena, such as employee agency (Tuominen and Martinsuo, 2018) and franchisee experiences (Kellner, 2017) 3…”

“…More transparency about why and how cases are selected and an in-depth description of these cases may contribute to more rigors in case study research. Moreover, researchers can even detail the impact of their case selection choices on the research, thereby showing reflexivity (Corlett and Mavin, 2018) (Beltagui, 2018) Explore how the interplay between capabilities and mindset can shape innovation over time (Töytäri et al, 2018) Value co-creation Examine how customer participation can influence the perceived value outcomes of multiple actors in networks (Mustak, 2019) Explore how expectations of relationship value are formed and how they evolve over time (Lyons and Brennan, 2019) Servitization Examine the way in which uncertainty types can manifest themselves (Kreye, 2018) Explore how servitization can influence the interface between customers and product-service systems (Resta et al, 2017) Actor engagement Examine how to maintain stakeholder engagement over time ( Jonas et al, 2018) Explore the nature of engagement dispositions and their role in the engagement process (Li et al, 2017) (continued ) Well-being Understand how participation of vulnerable customers in value co-creation can influence value outcomes experienced by the group or society Process design Explore the design of interfaces according to the different stages of the service concept (Avlonitis and Hsuan, 2017) Analyze how formalization projects can influence the level of employee agency over time (Tuominen and Martinsuo, 2018) Outsourcing Explore the role of design teams in different organizational arrangements through a semiotic lens (Oshri et al, 2018) Investigate different ways in which firm/customer activity transfers manifest themselves (Rouquet et al, 2017) Service triad Explore how buyers attempt to synchronize various service components to create a comprehensive service offering for its customers (Broekhuis and Scholten, 2018) Service networks and ecosystems Examine how the meta-space of a service ecosystem can influence different types of innovation (Chandler et...…”

“…Case study research adopt a replication logic, but the exact criteria are often unclear (see Tuominen and Martinsuo, 2018;Wang et al, 2018;Lehrer et al, 2018 for exceptions). In some situations, researchers engage in "casing," which implies that information is gathered about a number of cases and subsequently researchers select the cases that best fit with research objectives (four studies).…”

The role of information systems and knowledge codification for service provision strategies

“…This makes the case “ of secondary interest, it plays a supportive role, and it facilitates our understanding ” (Stake, 2000, p. 437). Like other service-focused studies (Tuominen and Martinsuo, 2019; Pohjosenperä et al , 2019; De Blok et al , 2013), this study used cases to test a theoretical model's propositions . This has been achieved using 2 sub-cases possessing different characteristics (Pekkarinen and Ulkuniemi, 2008).…”

“…In this study, we used stratified purposeful sampling as described by Patton (2014), in conjunction with snowball sampling as used by Tuominen and Martinsuo (2019). A sample of employees across all levels (managers, shift leaders, knowledge workers and novice participants) provided viewpoints across the three case sites (Table 2).…”