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This paper aims to assess the effects of explicit partner brand mentions (as opposed to a mere partnership mention) in communications by brand allies on consumers’ purchase intention and willingness to pay for an innovation, as mediated by the perceived relational embeddedness of the allies and their respective perceived corporate credibility. In Study 1, the authors investigate the effects of (reciprocal) explicit brand mentions by both allies (as opposed to by a single ally) and further test whether explicit brand mentions moderate spillover effects from the ally. In Study 2, the authors investigate the effect of reciprocity of explicit brand mentions and whether this is moderated by a company’s experience.

The authors conduct two online experiments. Study 1 (N = 216) is a four-level between-subjects experiment (single communication by Partner A with explicit brand mention, single communication by Partner B with explicit brand mention, explicit brand mentions by both allies and mere partnership mention by both allies) where participants judge a social alliance related to a new tablet. Study 2 (N = 376) builds upon these findings in a 4 (explicit brand mentions by both allies; mere partnership mention by both allies; explicit brand mention by Partner A, mere partnership mention by Partner B; explicit brand mention by partner B, mere partnership mention by Partner A) × 2 (Partner A experience: established vs startup) between-subjects experimental design for a co-created battery.

Spillover effects from one ally to the other are stronger with explicit brand mentions than with a mere partnership mention. There is no added value of two allies communicating over one, provided that both partners explicitly mention their partner brand. However, when allies do communicate separately, it is crucial that an explicit brand mention is reciprocated. This effect is explained by an increase in the perceived relational embeddedness of the partners, which in turn positively influences their corporate credibility. This effect does not differ depending on a company’s experience.

This research is one of the first to study effects of how a brand alliance is communicated and extends previous studies on the effects of communication about brand and co-creation alliances by demonstrating that communications moderate spillover effects, that brand mention reciprocity is crucial, and by introducing the concept of perceived relational embeddedness.

Mobile service innovations are crucial for the long‐term success of companies operating in turbulent and uncertain environments. These innovations need to be introduced at a rapid pace while at the same time companies have to absorb market information during the new mobile service development. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to construct a conceptual framework on the critical antecedents of project learning and time‐to‐market during new mobile service development. An extensive case study research involving four innovation projects was performed in a leading Dutch telecommunications company. With respect to project learning, our research findings indicate the crucial influence of a flexible decision architecture, project team memory, a high information awareness and a good fit between information requirements and capabilities. Both innovative and coordinative communication are required throughout the service innovation process. With regard to time‐to‐market, our research results point to the essential impact of project complexity, top management support, information power of suppliers and technological synergy. Finally, a medium level of project learning is the ideal condition for a fast time‐to‐market during mobile service innovation.

Service companies in high tech sectors frequently implement decentralized decision architectures in their innovation processes to improve responsiveness under extremely dynamic and uncertain business conditions. As a corollary to the empowerment of decision makers at the product management level, the success of new service development projects depends increasingly on individual managers’ information processing and decision‐making performance. This article investigates antecedents of decision‐making effectiveness in high tech NSD projects, and report on a case study performed in the mobile telecommunication services industry. NSD managers’ unique task conditions are articulated, and antecedents and moderators of effective decision making are identified in a study of four innovation projects. A theoretical framework integrates the findings. The study reveals the crucial role of decision makers’ flexible use of various cognitive strategies, their proactive attitude, and their capability to mentally represent various interfaces between service, customer, technology and firm. Managerial implications and suggestions for further research are provided.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework investigating patterns of online health communities. In particular, the study draws on coordination theory to identify four community configurations. Their distinct features determine communities’ capacity to internalize and externalize knowledge, which ultimately determines their value creation in a service context.

The authors apply qualitative and quantitative techniques to detect similarities and differences in a sample of 50 online health communities. A categorical principal component analysis combined with cluster analysis reveals four distinct community configurations.

The analysis reveals differences in the degrees of cognitive and affective value creation, the types of community activities, the involved patients, professionals, and other stakeholders; and the levels of data disclosure by community members. Four community configurations emerge: basic information provider, advanced patient knowledge aggregator, systematic networked innovator, and uncomplicated idea sharer.

The findings show that communities can be categorized along two knowledge creation dimensions: knowledge externalization and knowledge internalization. While, previous research remained inconclusive regarding the synergistic or conflicting nature of cognitive and affective value creation, the findings demonstrate that cognitive value creation is an enabler for affective value creation. The emerging configurations offer a classification scheme for online communities and a basis for interpreting findings of future services research in the context of online health communities.

This research combines coordination theory with healthcare, service, and knowledge creation literature to provide a fine-grained picture of the components of online health communities. Thereby, inherent trade-offs and conflicts that characterize the components of coordination theory are investigated.

This paper reports on a case study research regarding the development of capabilities from a multidimensional social capital perspective. Case study research together with a multi-disciplinary literature study are the platform for further theory development on the related questions: “How do organisations build capabilities?” and “What are the antecedents of the development of capabilities?.” We start by describing the theoretical origin of our research problem by focusing on a triangle: (1) the resource-based view; (2) the network approach; and (3) the social capital approach. Following this literature study, we discuss the case study research design that was developed within an industrial company (B2B). We next present the findings and refine our initial tentative conceptual framework.

Reports the findings of an exploratory case study research on the contribution of internal and external communication to the commercial success of financial service innovations. An extensive case study research involving four innovation projects was conducted within a leading Belgian bank. The desk research and the 32 in‐depth interviews with senior managers and project leaders served as a platform for theory development. A propositional framework was developed that offers a contingency perspective regarding the role of communication during the different stages of the service innovation process. While many of the existing studies in the field have exclusively focused on external communication, the effectiveness of internal communication is a critical success factor. Furthermore, path dependency effects were created in the project life‐cycle of the financial service innovation projects. Finally, the findings suggest that the effectiveness of internal and external communication depends on the level of intangibility, heterogeneity, simultaneity and perishability of the new service offering.

Firms can (and often do) learn from each other. Benchmarking has become an accepted and increasingly widely practiced initiative for interfirm learning. Benchmarking specific capabilities and processes in one firm against another can help both firms’ managers identify strategic gaps in their capabilities and processes. More detailed forms of benchmarking may even suggest specific ways in which capabilities and processes can be improved. However, extracting significant learning from benchmarking with another company – while not unnecessarily revealing important sources of competitive advantage – requires a careful, balanced approach to managing a benchmarking process. In their paper “Limitations and challenges of benchmarking: A competence-based perspective,” Jörg Freiling and Sybille Huth develop a competence-based framework for managing benchmarking. While agreeing with the important potential benefits that benchmarking can bring to competence building, the authors point out a number of threats to a firm that may arise in a benchmarking process. In particular, the authors suggest that careful attention be paid to managing isolating mechanisms during benchmarking. Isolating mechanisms may bring a benefit by protecting strategic capabilities and processes from unintended discovery and imitation by either firm, while at the same time obscuring intended observations of each firm’s capabilities and processes that may defeat the basic intent of the benchmarking exercise. Careful management of isolating mechanisms should help assure that both parties to a benchmarking process will successfully navigate the three crucial steps identified by the authors in an effective benchmarking process: recognition, assimilation, and exploitation of new “best practices.”