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This paper describes a modelling process the objective of which was to make the highly abstract concept of core competence practical. The aim is to identify competences through the use of a service-process model by analyzing what they reflect – the service quality. Core competence is defined, and a conceptual model is presented. Competences are classified on three levels in a corporate setting and the connections drawn to service quality. Empirical evidence is provided by a case in the health-care sector in which competences are identified through the use of the service-process model in high-performance, professional services. The service-process model in surgical medical services is presented. Critical elements in the service-quality experience are identified and core competences are identified based on service quality as a reflection of them and their management.

The purpose of this study is to describe and analyse the quality of a professional surgical service process, and to reveal the main elements that constitute excellence in the experience of the surgical service of a private hospital. First, a theoretical framework for the surgical service process is created. Second, empirical research is conducted through a mail survey of surgical patients in a private hospital. A total of 240 questionnaires were delivered and the response rate was 83 per cent. Third, the underlying quality dimensions in the surgical service process are constructed using factor analysis. Finally, the main elements of excellence in a surgical service experience are revealed by utilising discriminant analysis. Empirical results indicate that, in private surgical services, the surgical procedure itself is the single most important element, but that it must be supplemented by quality dimensions in both output and process throughout the whole surgical service process.

The growing interest in food safety has led to food‐testing services becoming an issue of increasing importance. The demand for outsourced food‐testing services is growing. One of the results of these developments has been the internationalisation of such firms. This paper analyses the internationalisation of food‐testing services in the light of developments in the Nordic food‐testing market. The focus is on the external elements. These include development of the market to allow food‐testing firms to overcome problems and exploit opportunities arising from the fundamental changes in the nature of the market. The adopted internationalisation strategies of the Nordic food‐testing companies are studied. The key driver for internationalisation of firms is growth. Successful firms also need to maintain high levels of quality, speed of delivery, and competitive pricing.

In their paper “Fractals, stories, and the development of coherence in strategic logic,” Janice Black, Frances Fabian, and Kim Hinrichs explore key communication dynamics that drive the emergence of a coherent strategic logic in an organization. Using a longitudinal study of a non-profit organization in the health and caring industry, the authors use “fractals” as a metaphor for organizational processes that help to crystallize a clear, coherent, and well understood statement of an organization’s strategic logic. Their study also suggests how the mathematical rules that govern the iterative generation of fractals in nature can be applied to develop a “mathematics of social systems.” The authors’ analysis of strategy processes in the subject organization shows how the use of storytelling through internal organizational publications can contribute substantially to the emergence of a coherent strategic logic and supporting value system within an organization.