{"id":14766,"date":"2025-05-29T03:29:36","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T07:29:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.servsig.org\/wordpress\/?p=14766"},"modified":"2025-11-25T07:39:40","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T12:39:40","slug":"cfp-josm-firm-innovativeness-from-the-customers-point-of-view","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.servsig.org\/wordpress\/2025\/05\/cfp-josm-firm-innovativeness-from-the-customers-point-of-view\/","title":{"rendered":"CfP JOSM &#8220;Firm Innovativeness from the Customer&#8217;s Point of View&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-medium\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.servsig.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/JOSM-e1658681636292.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/www.servsig.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/JOSM-e1658681636292-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6369\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.servsig.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/JOSM-e1658681636292-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.servsig.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/JOSM-e1658681636292-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.servsig.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/JOSM-e1658681636292-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.servsig.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/JOSM-e1658681636292-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.servsig.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/JOSM-e1658681636292.jpg 1597w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Call for papers for a Special Issue of the <em>Journal of Service Management<\/em> (JOSM)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Firm Innovativeness from the Customer&#8217;s Point of View<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Guest-Editors: Werner H. Kunz, Tor W. Andreassen, Kristina Heinonen<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Full Paper Submission New Deadline: January 31, 2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the competitive landscape intensifies and customer preferences evolve at a rapid pace, firms face growing pressure to introduce innovative offerings that resonate with diverse demographic and psychographic segments. Many organizations measure innovativeness primarily through internal metrics (e.g., R&amp;D expenditures, patent counts). Yet, <strong>innovation success ultimately hinges on how customers perceive a firm\u2019s ability to innovate.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This special issue aims to explore and advance the understanding of firm innovativeness from a customer-centric perspective, focusing on how customers of different ages perceive, evaluate, and react to firms\u2019 innovation efforts. Perceived Firm Innovativeness (PFI) is defined as \u201cconsumer&#8217;s perception of an enduring firm capability that results in novel, creative, and impactful ideas and solutions for the market.\u201d (Kunz et al. 2011). The firm may be classified as a private company, a public organization, or any other type of enterprise that lies within this spectrum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The issue seeks to address the gap between firm-driven innovation strategies and customer-perceived value and image of the firm, offering new insights into how firms can align their innovation activities with customer expectations to achieve competitive advantage. By integrating diverse theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches, the special issue will focus on this aim by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Investigating Customer Perceptions (e.g., studies that explore the antecedents of perceived firm innovativeness).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Understanding Behavioral Impacts (e.g., consequences of perceived firm innovativeness on customer behaviors).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Segment-Specific Insights (e.g., customer perceptions of innovativeness across demographic and psychographic segments).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Managerial and Societal Implications (e.g., aligning innovation strategies with customer preferences and addressing broader societal trends).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Researchers may (but are not required) to consider three global trends: Increased use of technology and AI, an aging population, and the growth in professional\/complex services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By fostering a multidisciplinary dialogue, the special issue will contribute to both academic scholarship and practical applications, advancing innovation management strategies rooted in customer insights. It makes a novel contribution by shifting the focus of innovation research from firm-centric metrics to a customer-centric perspective, emphasizing the critical role of customer perceptions in defining and evaluating firm innovativeness. The issue addresses critical gaps in the innovation literature by emphasizing the often-overlooked customer perspective and provides a foundation for rethinking how firms approach innovation in increasingly customer-driven markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Topics of Interest<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This special issue aims to contribute to the new research field of customer-perceived firm innovativeness and its impact on customer behavior and firm performance. Submissions can be conceptual or empirical (quantitative or qualitative) in nature. Submissions focused on varied service environments are welcome (health, education, banking, tourism and hospitality, etc.). We welcome submissions that offer novel methodologies and interdisciplinary approaches. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>What are the key antecedents of perceived firm innovativeness?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How do specific factors, such as product attributes, customer experiences, and marketing communication, influence customer judgments about a company\u2019s ability to innovate?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How does perceived firm innovativeness shape customer loyalty and satisfaction?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In what ways does perceived innovativeness encourage customer engagement, including co-creation and advocacy behaviors?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How do perceptions of firm innovativeness vary across demographic segments, such as aging consumers and younger, digitally engaged customers?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What psychographic factors influence the evaluation of firm innovativeness, and how do they interact with demographic characteristics?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What novel methodologies can be employed to study customer perceptions of innovativeness, and how do they address existing gaps?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How can theoretical frameworks be developed to integrate customer-centric and firm-centric perspectives on innovation?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What actionable strategies can managers adopt to align innovation activities with evolving customer preferences?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How can firms leverage customer perceptions of innovativeness to address broader societal trends, such as sustainability and inclusivity?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How can innovation cater to traditionally underserved segments, including aging populations?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How do customers perceive sustainability-oriented innovations, and how do these perceptions influence responsible production and consumption?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What role do partnerships between academics, businesses, and policymakers play in addressing challenges related to customer-centric innovation?&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In what ways do perceived firm innovativeness initiatives address broader societal trends such as inclusion, sustainability, and responsible consumption?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Specific research questions that are of interest may be found (among others) in these articles:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Andreassen, T. W. (2024). Commentary: Perceiving Innovation: Unveiling the Impact on Market Performance.&nbsp;<em>Journal of Service Research<\/em>,&nbsp;<em>27<\/em>(4), 497-500.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Heinonen, K. and Strandvik, T. (2021), Reframing service innovation: COVID-19 as catalyst for imposed service innovation, <em>Journal of Service Management<\/em>, 32 (1), 101-112<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Keiningham, Timothy, Lerzan Aksoy, Alexander Buoye, An Yan, Forrest V. Morgeson, Gina Woodall, and Bart Larivi\u00e8re (2023), &#8220;Customer Perceptions of Firm Innovativeness and Market Performance: A Nation-Level, Longitudinal, Cross-Industry Examination,&#8221; <em>Journal of Service Research<\/em>, 0 (June), 1-15.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Kunz, W. H. (2024). Commentary: Company Innovativeness: A Radically New Perspective on an Old Concept.&nbsp;<em>Journal of Service Research<\/em>,&nbsp;<em>27<\/em>(4), 494-496.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Kunz, Werner H., Bernd Schmitt, and Anton Meyer (2011), &#8220;How does perceived firm innovativeness affect the consumer?,&#8221; <em>Journal of Business Research<\/em>, 64 (8), 816-22.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Kurtmollaiev, Seidali, Line Lervik-Olsen, and Tor W. Andreassen (2022), &#8220;Competing through innovation: Let the customer judge!,&#8221; <em>Journal of Business Research<\/em>, 153, 87-101.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>van Riel, Allard C. R., Tor W. Andreassen, Line Lervik-Olsen, Lu Zhang, Sunil Mithas, and Kristina Heinonen (2021), &#8220;A customer-centric five actor model for sustainability and service innovation,&#8221; <em>Journal of Business Research<\/em>, 136, 389-401.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Submission<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All manuscripts submitted must not have been published, accepted for publication, or be currently under consideration elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Authors should submit their full papers to the Guest Editors of this JOSM special section on \u2018<strong>Firm Innovativeness from the Customer Point of View\u2019 <\/strong>through the ScholarOne online submission system. They should be made to the special section identified on the journal submission site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Manuscripts should be submitted in accordance with the author guidelines available on the journal home page at<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com\/products\/journals\/author_guidelines.htm?id=josm\">http:\/\/www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com\/products\/journals\/author_guidelines.htm?id=josm<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Full Paper Submission Deadline: <\/strong>December 1, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Expected Publication<\/strong>: Volume 38, 2027<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Please direct any further inquiries to the editors listed below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Guest Editor Contact Details<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dr. Werner H. Kunz<br \/><\/strong>Digital Media Lab<br \/>University of Massachusetts Boston<br \/><a href=\"mailto:Werner.Kunz@umb.edu\">Werner.Kunz@umb.edu<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dr. Tor W. Andreassen<\/strong><br \/>The Norwegian School of Economics<br \/><a href=\"mailto:Tor.andreassen@nhh.no\">Tor.andreassen@nhh.no<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dr. Kristina Heinonen<\/strong><br \/>Hanken School of Economics, Finland<br \/>Norwegian School of Economics, Norway<br \/><a href=\"mailto:Kristina.heinonen@hanken.fi\">Kristina.heinonen@hanken.fi<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Call for papers for a Special Issue of the Journal of Service Management (JOSM) Firm Innovativeness from the Customer&#8217;s Point of View Guest-Editors: Werner H. Kunz, Tor W. Andreassen, Kristina Heinonen Full Paper Submission New Deadline: January 31, 2026 As the competitive landscape intensifies and customer preferences evolve at a rapid pace, firms face growing [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6369,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.servsig.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14766"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.servsig.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.servsig.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.servsig.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.servsig.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14766"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.servsig.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14766\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15187,"href":"https:\/\/www.servsig.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14766\/revisions\/15187"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.servsig.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.servsig.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.servsig.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.servsig.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}