Mid Sweden University

Customer value is of importance to all businesses in the search for competitive advantage. To learn about what customers truly appreciate, measuring can be a vital source of information towards an understanding of what creates customer value. Commercial experiences are claimed to be an offering of their own, separate from goods and services. The existing tools and models for measuring customer value do not focus on the elements pointed out as vital for commercial experiences. A case study was performed on customers participating in a high-impact commercial experience to understand what is valuable to the customer. The results were used todevelop an approach to measuring customer value specifically for commercial experiences. In the study, questionnaires were designed to find out about custom erexpectations before the experience compared with customer satisfaction after theexperience in search for important factors of customer value. The study achieved a high score indicating a high level of received customer value, reinforcing the selected measurement variables. The approach proposes the development of a measuring tool consisting of 22 elements along with the WOW-impact specificallyadapted for measuring customer value in commercial experiences. This is one way of expressing the created experiential quality.

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study management processes within successful societal entrepreneurship to further understand the role of management in customer value creation.

Design/methodology/approach

Management in three successful societal entrepreneurship initiatives has been studied. Data have been collected through interviews, direct observation, participant observation and documentation. Management tasks, activities and behaviours have been identified and analysed from a system view.

Findings

The result presents essential management processes important for societal customer value creation, their input, output and main focus. Some management processes are inter-related and are sometimes part of another management process. The management seems driven by “need”, “opportunity”, “interest” and “demand”, when creating societal customer value. From a system perspective, management has an indirect role in societal customer value creation and is important for possibilities to create societal customer value. Both the initiative and the surroundings have been found to be of importance to the management’s scope for contributing to societal customer value creation.

Originality/value

The study provides the possibility to understand and learn from management, the management processes and their role in societal customer value creation. Thereby, it describes how to successfully provide customer value to society and work with societal, environmental and sustainability issues.

Purpose

Given the current growing challenges regarding sustainability, the need for massive engagement, creative solutions, and large scale change is evident. The challenges are e.g. clearly elaborated in the 17 sustainable development goals recently proposed by the United Nations. In facing these global challenges on a regional level, there is an urgent need for spreading and advancing best practice on how to involve the various citizens of a region in collectively co-designing, driving, and realizing a more sustainable region and future for all.

An initiative that currently is up and running, engaging hundreds of people annually, continuously evolving, and showing promising results of such abilities is Sustainable Cleveland 2019 (“Sustainable Cleveland”, 2016). Starting in 2009, it is a 10-year initiative that engages and invites everyone in the region around Cleveland to work together to design and develop a thriving and resilient Cleveland that leverages its wealth of assets to build economic, social and environmental well-being for all. Since the start, results from the initiative show enhancements of both economic as well as social, cultural, and environmental development of Cleveland and the surrounding region. The initiative is interesting for many reasons, one being the change management approach of Appreciative Inquiry (AI), a promising research based approach from Case Western Reserve University (which is located in the region), which was applied at a large scale and in close collaboration with representatives from the cultural and creative sectors. It is an approach that actively enables, engages, and invites people in co-designing and self-organizing for realizing a more sustainable future in what might be described as an “appreciative social movement” (Boland, 2013). The approach relies on  a process that actively explores citizens’ appreciative perspectives on the best of what is, their dreams and hopes for the future, and how they see that this future can be designed and realized.  At the heart of the initiative is a thoughtfully designed AI large group summit, annually gathering hundreds of participants from all parts of society in a process of co-creation during two days. Interestingly, the application of AI has also been generally observed to provide the fastest, most consistent, and transformative results when focusing on sustainability (Cooperrider & Fry, 2012). Furthermore, the initiative is organized around annual celebration topics as a means to create a common focus within the region on one specific sustainability challenge such as “Clean water”, “Vital Neighborhoods” or “Zero Waste. The term itself, “Celebration Topics”, reflects how the initiative consistently and deliberately applies an “Appreciative Eye”, as described by Cooperrider & Srivastva (1987).  

The purpose of this paper is to identify and contribute insights concerning the strengths of the Sustainable Cleveland 2019 initiative, with a special focus on how it uses the cultural and creative sectors as resources and drivers for sustainable regional development. The cultural and creative sectors refer in this paper to the performing arts and the seven creative fields especially highlighted by UNESCO – Crafts and Folk Arts, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts, and Music.

Approach

The paper is based on a case study conducted by the eight authors. Data has mainly been collected by participant observations and interviews with participants and organizers before, during, and after the Sustainable Cleveland summit in September 2015. The initial analysis was conducted during a follow up workshop in October 2015 and was preceded by structured individual reflections. Based on the workshop results, a secondary analysis was conducted where the strengths relating to the cultural and creative sectors were picked out and grouped into themes.  

Findings

As a result, several strengths were identified. During the secondary analysis, those strengths were grouped into three themes as presented below.

1. Making the core process of Sustainable Cleveland 2019 more engaging and fruitful:

One of the most obvious related strengths is the way the initiative uses practices from the cultural and creative sectors to increase the engagement in, and output of, the core processes. Many of the methods used within the initiative, such as for visioning, creating new ideas, and playfully prototype as a way to explore new ideas, have its roots in the cultural and creative sectors. One example is the practice of “rapid prototyping”, brought in from the design studio IDEO.

2. Nurturing a reverence for the environment, raising awareness, and inspiring action:

Another strength that relates to using the cultural and creative sectors as resources and drivers for sustainable regional development is the initiative’s close collaboration with local institutions of e.g. theater and music for putting focus on, engaging in, and elaborating the understanding of the annual celebration topics. On example is the short plays “Fire on the Water”, given by the Cleveland Public Theatre during the year of 2015 when the celebration topic was “Clean Water”. This activity focused on issues of sustainability in fun, intimate and personal ways. The work focused on how the environment can shape identity and celebrate the remarkable recovery of Cleveland’s waterways. Another example is the play “Air Waves”, given in 2014, weaving sustainability themes into a story of loss, reckoning, forgiveness and honeybees. Generally, the cultural and creative sectors are very much used as resources to nurture a reverence for the environment and raise awareness about critical issues related to sustainability. More about how the Cleveland Public Theatre, Tri-C, and Inlet Dance Theatre have been using the performing arts to raise consciousness and inspire action around water can be seen in a video produced by the initiative (“New video: How performing arts advance sustainability”, 2016).

3. The cultural and creative sectors themselves are the focus of sustainability action:

Finally, the cultural and creative sectors themselves are also the focus for sustainable development and action. Obviously, challenges such as decreasing waste, avoiding toxic substances, and lowering energy consumption are relevant also within these sectors themselves. Gastronomy, in terms of “Local Food”, was furthermore chosen as the overall celebration topic of the initiative in 2012 which made this an area for considerable sustainable development actions. As a result, several accomplishments were, and are continuously, achieved related to gastronomy within the initiative (“Local Foods”, 2016).

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study management processes within successful Societal Entrepreneurship in order to further understand the role of management in customer value creation.

Design/methodology/approach - management in three successful societal entrepreneurship initiatives that deliver societal value have been studied. Data have been collected through interviews, direct observation, participant observation and documentation. Management tasks, activities and behaviours have been identified and analysed to identify management processes and their input, output, main focus, drivers and relationship. The role of management in societal value creation has been analysed from a system view.

Findings - The result presents essential management processes important for societal customer value creation, their input, output and main focus. Some management processes are inter-related and are sometimes part of another management process.  The management seem driven by ‘need’, ‘opportunity’, ‘interest’, and ‘demand’ when creating societal customer value. From a system perspective, management have an indirect role in societal customer value creation and are important for possibilities to create societal customer value. Both the initiative and the surroundings have been found to be of importance to the management’s scope for contributing to societal customer value creation.

Originality/value – Studying successful societal entrepreneurial management and its role in customer value creation provides the possibility to understand and learn from management, its processes and role in societal customer value creation and how to successfully provide customer value to society and work with societal, environmental and sustainability issues.

Article Classification: Case study

In Quality Management and Total Quality Management (TQM) customer focus and customer value creation is of importance and in organisations it is of high priority. Quality Management has had an internal focus when it comes to customer value creation but in the 21st century there is a need for an outward orientation and to go beyond the organisational borders. Also an increasing interest in social, societal and environmental issues can be seen, for instance by customers, organisations, quality awards and within the quality area. An area that considers these issues is the societal entrepreneurial sector.

The purpose of this thesis has been to contribute to the knowledge and understanding about customer value creation from a system view. Additionally the purpose has been to contribute to the development of Quality Management. In order to fulfil the purpose, case studies have been performed. Cases within the societal entrepreneurial area have been studied and seven studies have been performed. Data have been collected through interviews, direct observations, participating observations and documents. All data have been collected empirically except in one study where a literature case study was used. The data were analysed through tools such as process mapping, attribute value mapping and rich picture process maps combined with analytical methods for case study research. The research journey started out from TQM and an internal perspective on customer value creation. As the studies went on, the system borders became wider as other areas important to customer value creation were identified: the customer value creating system went from an internal perspective to include an external perspective. 

The findings contribute to earlier research findings and give a comprehensive and simplified picture of a complex phenomenon and an opportunity to understand customer value creation from a system view. This thesis provides an overall map of the customer value creating system. Additionally it contributes to the development of Quality Management by expanding the view on customer value creation to include both an internal and an external oriented perspective. It also contributes by suggesting a fifth step in the quality management movement ´System Quality Management´ that considers social, societal and environmental factors through continuous improvement before, during and after value creation for customers. Further it contributes with a developed view on customers and the concept of customer value creation.

The overall map provided includes three areas.

1. Growth and development of societal entrepreneurial initiatives. The result shows important components for the creation of societal value based on the growth and development of societal entrepreneurial initiatives. Included are the processes, input and output important for societal value creation from unidentified needs until societal value can be delivered, management process and support process fields.

2.  Customer value creation in the customer sphere.  Customer value has been found to be created beyond the use or purchase of a product or service. Value has also been found to be created for those that are not in direct contact with an initiative or its product or service. Customer value has been found to spread into society like ripples in a complex system of value creation. And Value Ripple Logic has been developed to describe this phenomenon.

3. Management role in customer value creation. The management’s role in value creation has been found to be of importance in the creation of customer value in an indirect way through interaction with the surroundings and the initiative.  Factors and behaviours have been found which are connected to the leaders and their essential management processes along with their input and output.

    

The findings presented in this thesis have considerable potential for development. Further studies need to be done within the area concerning how customer value is created and to achieve an even more comprehensive picture of the customer value creating system and the suggested fifth step. The results presented in this thesis are a contribution to the knowledge and understanding about customer value creation from a system view and the development of the Quality Management.

Both science and those active within the societal entrepreneurship area need further knowledge and understanding about the phenomenon. By identifying and mapping out processes within societal entrepreneurship, opportunities to create knowledge and understanding are created. The purpose of this study has been to empirically study processes within societal entrepreneurship initiatives and compare them with a theoretical process map. The purpose has also been to confirm and develop this map. Three cases of societal entrepreneurship have been studied. Several data sources have been used to find activities and tasks within the initiatives. These have then been analysed using the process map. The empirical studies have confirmed and developed the theoretical process map that shows how societal value is crated within societal entrepreneurship. A process map of the societal entrepreneurship area that seems to cover general principles is presented.

Abstract

Many unsuccessful implementations of QM initiatives can be contributed to the facts that tools and methods have been in focus and the systemic management philosophy have been overlooked. With a main focus on tools important intents and nuances are missed and a focus on values and culture should be equally emphasized. There is a strong connection between organizational culture, values and behaviors and to make values understandable there is a need to translate them into behaviors. Any QM initiative is difficult to implement if the focus is only on the hard quality side, i.e. tools and methods so there is a need to take into consideration the soft side, i.e. people and culture. There is a need to understand what the values mean to an organization and also to connect the values to the creation of customer value.

Purpose - the purpose of this paper is to present a developed and tested systemic method for identifying those specific values that support the higher purpose of an organization, discovering what they mean for that organization and then activating them, in order to enhance the ability to identify and create customer value.

Methodology/approach – Through literature studies of the concept Lean, TQM, organizational culture creation and customer value creation a method has been developed, tested and evaluated.

Findings – A method to understand and live by an organization’s values has been developed and tested, a method that provides opportunities to identify and activate what specific values mean to an organization to enhance its ability to identify and create customer value. The developed method can aid the organization in its work to live by and connects values with working methods, tools and the customer value propositions of an organization.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to study successful leaders in societal entrepreneurships from a Quality Management perspective. The underlying purpose is to identify factors and leadership behaviours that contribute to the successful creation of customer value.Methodology: The research started with a literature review focusing on leadership within Quality Management. Two successful societal entrepreneurs were then studied to identify factors and behaviours that contribute to value creation. The identified factors and behaviours were then compared with each other.Findings: The results presented in this paper describe the leadership behaviours and factors of successful societal entrepreneurs that have been showed to create customer value. The results show that leaders need to focus on factors and behaviours connected to their co-workers, their organizations, their surroundings and their customers; but they also have to be aware of how they are and act to be able to successfully create customer value.Value of paper: By learning from societal entrepreneurs and their leadership behaviours, leaders within Quality Management could learn to increase customer value and be more adaptable to future demands.