The Adoption of Service Design Methods and Tools by Nordic Technology Startups
Gianelli (Zhiteneva), Ekaterina (2016)
Gianelli (Zhiteneva), Ekaterina
Laurea-ammattikorkeakoulu
2016
All rights reserved
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2016060812429
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2016060812429
Tiivistelmä
Today’s changing business environment together with an increased global competition creates high pressure for companies to create useful products and services at an increasing speed. Consumers demand intuitive and seamless experiences from the products and services they interact with. The relevance of service design as a contributor to service innovation has grown significantly. While service design is important to any business, to an early-stage tech- nology startup discovering the right business model it could be critical.
Service design can help early-stage technology startups secure venture capital. Many investors agree that technology startups with design expertise are more attractive to them as potential investment targets. Therefore, the general objective of this thesis is to expand the knowledge of service design methods and tools among technology startups (and especially first-time entrepreneurs) and to establish the link between the use of service design methods and tools and a successful fundraising process.
The theoretical part of this thesis examines value creation in contemporary business logics for service and addresses supplier-customer relationships to understand potential implications for an early-stage technology startup. Furthermore, the thesis explores the methodologies of lean startup and service design. While it is important for startups to generate good ideas, creation of customer value in a lean manner is crucial. Service design approach brings a hu- man focus to the development of services, helping startups see the big picture as customers see it. At the same time, it offers practical tools to design all the interactions between the customer and the business in a consistent way.
The empirical study conducted for this thesis explores seven technology startups, based out of the Nordic countries. The data gathered during the research using mainly qualitative methods (face-to-face interviews, observations, shadowing) has been used to understand the adoption of service design methods and tools by Nordic technology startups.
The study shows that the role of service design is not yet well understood by the first-time entrepreneurs. While many understand that good design is always helpful, they don’t yet see a clear link between the use of service design and successful fundraising process.
To create the awareness of service design among technology startups in the Nordics, the the- sis provides recommendations on how to adopt service design methods and tools in a startup. Additionally, this paper proposes further research topics relevant to integrating service design processes with business development practices.
Service design can help early-stage technology startups secure venture capital. Many investors agree that technology startups with design expertise are more attractive to them as potential investment targets. Therefore, the general objective of this thesis is to expand the knowledge of service design methods and tools among technology startups (and especially first-time entrepreneurs) and to establish the link between the use of service design methods and tools and a successful fundraising process.
The theoretical part of this thesis examines value creation in contemporary business logics for service and addresses supplier-customer relationships to understand potential implications for an early-stage technology startup. Furthermore, the thesis explores the methodologies of lean startup and service design. While it is important for startups to generate good ideas, creation of customer value in a lean manner is crucial. Service design approach brings a hu- man focus to the development of services, helping startups see the big picture as customers see it. At the same time, it offers practical tools to design all the interactions between the customer and the business in a consistent way.
The empirical study conducted for this thesis explores seven technology startups, based out of the Nordic countries. The data gathered during the research using mainly qualitative methods (face-to-face interviews, observations, shadowing) has been used to understand the adoption of service design methods and tools by Nordic technology startups.
The study shows that the role of service design is not yet well understood by the first-time entrepreneurs. While many understand that good design is always helpful, they don’t yet see a clear link between the use of service design and successful fundraising process.
To create the awareness of service design among technology startups in the Nordics, the the- sis provides recommendations on how to adopt service design methods and tools in a startup. Additionally, this paper proposes further research topics relevant to integrating service design processes with business development practices.