Supporting Service Innovation through Knowledge Management
Practical Insights & Case Studies

On a beautiful day in March a crowd mixed from the SKMF community, Knowledge Board authors and professionals interested in service innovation met in Rüschlikon overlooking the lake of Zurich.

How can a company sustain innovations in service industry? This question stood at the outset of this event and also the book that was launched during the event.

In markets, which are saturated and highly competitive, companies strive to find a balance between ideas generated with the help of customers and that spark of creativity, which is unique to geniuses working on their own. 

Knowledge Management methods play a crucial role nowadays on the journey to find the right balance between customer input and original creativity. These new methods show how companies can get off the beaten track and try out new ways. During the SKMF Spring event we explored these avenues.

Web-based Open Innovation -„What‘s Your Strategy for Creating Knowledge, Products, and Services with Online Communities?“

Prof. Dr. Andrea Back, Hochschule St. Gallen

Collaboration of a multitude of minds within the Web 2.0 framework has brought in the last few years a new wave of innovative opportunities. Be it Amazon, Wikipedia or other environments where individuals profit from the input and ideas from all others, Andrea Back showed how the DNA of the Web is developing further.

Digital products, but also physical products can benefit from the new paradigma. The strategies for physical products can benefit from the experiences gained in the digital world. In instances where these two world meet new innovations can arise. Andreas Back showed in here lecture several practical examples how this can work.

How Wiki’s, Blog’s & Co. help to drive Service Innovation @ Atizo 

Christian Hirsig, Betriebsökonom FH, Geschäftsführer, Co-Founder, atizo

Atizo’s innovation process has been presented by Christian Hirsig. Starting with the need of thinking outside of the box, he demonstrated how the Atizo community can develop new ideas helped by the technological Web 2.0 support.

User innovation can be generated by unprecented motivation which can rarely be created within the own companies walls. In times of an economical slowdown there are specially new Lowcostmodels needed to drive innovation.” (Prof. Dr. Georg von Krogh, ETH Zürich). Christian Hirsig showed what options, but also what risks open innovation offer to companies.