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Network Effects to Foster Service Innovation: An Empirical Analysis of Actual Practices

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Advances in the Human Side of Service Engineering (AHFE 2021)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems ((LNNS,volume 266))

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Abstract

The strength of associated network effects is not only an expression of the platform’s initial success, but also a driving force for further growth and service innovation. However, many platform organizations struggle to create strong network effects to attract further platform participants. Therefore, organizations need to understand how to exploit the self-reinforcing character of different types of network effects and thus, to achieve a unique value proposition and deliver innovative solutions to their customers. The purpose of this work is to analyze how organizations can actively create and promote different types of network effects and thus, foster service innovation and enhance value propositions. To achieve the objectives set, we apply a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews involving seven platform organizations. Conducting this research, we identified four main categories that play a key role regarding the creation of network effects: (1) user attraction, (2) user retention, (3) monetization and (4) governance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. SIGNAL IDUNA Group, Neue RabenstraĂźe 15-19, 20354, Hamburg, Germany

    Benjamin Gregersen & Andreas Zolnowski

Authors
  1. Benjamin Gregersen
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  2. Andreas Zolnowski
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andreas Zolnowski .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Economics and Public Administration, London, UK

    Christine Leitner

  2. Fraunhofer IAO, Stuttgart, Baden-WĂĽrttemberg, Germany

    Walter Ganz

  3. California State University, Orange, CA, USA

    Debra Satterfield

  4. University of Naples Parthenope, Avellino, Italy

    Clara Bassano

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Gregersen, B., Zolnowski, A. (2021). Network Effects to Foster Service Innovation: An Empirical Analysis of Actual Practices. In: Leitner, C., Ganz, W., Satterfield, D., Bassano, C. (eds) Advances in the Human Side of Service Engineering. AHFE 2021. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 266. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80840-2_34

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80840-2_34

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-80839-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-80840-2

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

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