Improvisation as a Prerequisite for the Dynamic Interplay of Production and Service in PSS: Insights of an Organizational Design Principle and a Game-based Learning Approach

Abstract

The concept of improvisation is discussed in management literature as a promising mechanism and design principle for an organization's capacity for learning, adaptability and innovation. However, a specific form of improvisation for coping with the duality of production and service has not yet been applied to the servitization of manufacturing or PSS. This paper introduces a specific form of semi-structured improvisational learning related to PSS-oriented organizations. It introduces an organizational design principle of desired and accepted improvisational actions for highly individualized customer solutions. This semi-structured form of improvisational learning separates PSS from manufacturing-oriented organizations, where improvisation is rather a phenomenon of resistive actions that trigger undesired deviations. By emphasizing the increasing importance of improvisation and improvisational learning as a desirable and acceptable principle of action, it is argued that this rather paradigmatic shift demands specific capabilities from individual actors in PSS. These individual capabilities are summarized in this paper as learning-oriented capabilities that unfold a dynamic balance of generative and adaptive learning activities in PSS. As this specific pattern of individual capabilities is less cultivated in pure manufacturing, a game-based training and learning approach is introduced which is designed to accompany individual actors during the servitization process. The game-based learning scenario focuses on the development of individual improvisational capabilities as a mediating force in the dynamic triangle of customer, production and service. In conclusion, the literature review of this paper contributes to the scientific community by framing the servitization of manufacturing with the concept of improvisation as a coping strategy for the dynamics and ambiguity in PSS. Furthermore, a training and development approach is specified that aims at equipping individual actors with capabilities of improvisation and improvisational learning as prerequisites for the operation of highly individualized PSS. This training approach is also intended to be applicable for practitioners.

Organizational improvisation capability of schools: A study of scale adaptation and level determination

“…On the other hand, adaptation, innovation, learning, and flexibility are the outcomes or processes associated with improvisation in literature (Cunha et al 1999;Leybourne et al 2014;Moorman & Miner, 1998;Süße, 2015). Firstly, adaptation is a much broader and general concept than improvisation.…”

“…al. 2014;Moorman & Miner, 1998;Süße, 2015). Buna göre uyum, doğaçlamadan çok daha geniş ve genel bir kavramdır.…”

Organizing the Integration Demands Across PSS Life Cycles: Towards a Specific form of Improvisation for Creating Customer-specific Solutions

“…Thus, improvisation gains increasing awareness in the PSS research community especially when it comes to requirements that demand routines of ad hoc and complex problem-solving in PSS, e.g. in order to address highly individualized customer needs which become more fluid [12]. To summarize, it can be stated that improvisation is discussed as a mechanism that keeps ambiguous environments in constructive synch in order to not only sustain in turbulent situations, but also to recognize and utilize new opportunities for innovation and competitive advantages during problem-solving [15,27].…”

“…This conceptualization points towards improvisation, which can be understood as an action-oriented concept of ad hoc problem-solving. Recent contributions in the field of PSS refer to improvisation as a promising approach, but remain rather silent about its specific configuration for integrated problem-solving contexts, such as PSS [12]. It can be stated that despite its increasing relevance for highly ambiguous and dynamic environments, it still remains an open research question whether organizational improvisation shows higher relevance in the context of integrated solution offerings and, thus, can be an organizational coping mechanism to meet integration demands in PSS.…”

Let's Play: The Use of Improv Games in Change Management Training

“…In this present work the authors demonstrate how Improv games can be added to an existing set of training strategies and used to increase participants' capability to deliberate and develop their own systemic change management action plan. This paper is based on the concept of Improvisation (Improv) games as a promising mechanism and design principle for enhancing an organization's capacity for learning and adaptability (Süße, 2015). The research explores how Improv games can be used to create a mindset conducive to change, facilitate ideation and guide discussions on how to bring about systemic change.…”