Minna Pikkarainen, Laura Kemppainen, Yueqiang Xu, Miia Jansson, Petri Ahokangas, Timo Koivumäki, He Hong Gu and Julius Francis Gomes
Covid has increased the usage of multisided digital platforms. For companies, this has become a business opportunity. Data usage on platforms requires that platform companies…
Abstract
Purpose
Covid has increased the usage of multisided digital platforms. For companies, this has become a business opportunity. Data usage on platforms requires that platform companies co-create services for common customers. In this case, the target is not to make the same value proposition but rather to use the resources such as data, knowledge, technology, or institutions in a complementary manner. Platforms are characterized as a combination of hardware and software including standards, interfaces, and rules making it possible for different ecosystem players to complement and interact in the ecosystem. Current ecosystems include several platforms that do not work without resource integration. The purpose of this study is to increase understanding what do we mean by resource complementarity in service ecosystems.
Design/methodology/approach
This study was done via an in-depth qualitative case study in which a health service ecosystem co-creating technological surgery innovation was used as a unit of analysis.
Findings
The authors’ findings suggest that key resource capabilities, to enable complementarity in service ecosystems, are motivation, knowledge, skills, data and complementary designed technology components.
Research limitations/implications
The authors’ study increases theoretical understanding of what does one mean by construct of resource complementarity.
Practical implications
From a managerial perspective, it is shown that organizations need to develop adaptive capabilities to utilize internal and external competencies and resources and enable co-creative processes within the service ecosystem.
Originality/value
Very few empirical studies in the marketing literature have focused on multi-sided digital platforms and their resource complementarity in the data-driven healthcare ecosystem settings.
Details
Keywords
Oluseyi Julius Adebowale and Justus Ngala Agumba
Small and medium-sized contractors are critical to micro and macroeconomic performance. These contractors in South Africa have long been confronted with the problem of business…
Abstract
Purpose
Small and medium-sized contractors are critical to micro and macroeconomic performance. These contractors in South Africa have long been confronted with the problem of business failure because of a plethora of factors, including poor productivity. The purpose of this study is to investigate salient issues undermining the productivity of small and medium-sized contractors in South Africa. This study proposes alternative possibilities to engender productivity improvement.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative data were collected using semi-structured interviews with 15 contractors in Gauteng Province, South Africa. The research data were analysed using content and causal layered analyses.
Findings
Challenges to contractors’ productivity were associated with inadequately skilled workers, management competence and political factors. Skills development, construction business and political factors were dominant stakeholders’ perceptions. Metaphors for construction labour productivity are presented and reconstructed as alternative directions for productivity improvement.
Practical implications
Contractors lose a substantial amount of South African Rand to poor productivity. Alternative directions provided in this study can be leveraged to increase profitability in construction organizations, enhance the social well-being of South Africans and ultimately improve the contribution of contractors to the South African economy.
Originality/value
The causal layered analysis (CLA) applied in this study is novel to construction labour productivity research. The four connected layers of CLA, which make a greater depth of inquiry possible, were explored to investigate labour productivity in construction organizations.