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Chapter 3
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-5884-4.ch003
Co-Creation of Innovations in
ICT-Based Service Encounters
ABSTRACT
Innovations in services often emanate from service encounters (i.e. the touch points between the service
producers and the customers). Two diferent types of service encounters are dealt with: face-to-face and
ICT-based service encounters. The aim of the chapter is to examine the specifc conditions for innovations
from ICT-based service encounters. The service encounter research tradition is mostly concerned with
customer satisfaction. The perspective of the present chapter is on innovations in the service encounter.
The specifc contribution of the chapter is to establish a conceptual foundation for innovations in ICT-
based service encounters.
INTRODUCTION
When customers meet service producers in a face-
to-face service encounter, the possibility exists for
co-creation of innovations of service products and
processes. When the service encounter is mediated
via the Web, important properties are changed
since the direct face-to-face contact is replaced
with keyboards, graphical interfaces, cameras,
microphones, etc. The assumption of this paper
is, therefore, that the conditions for co-creation of
innovations in service encounters also are changed.
The aim of the paper is to discuss this hypothesis
and, thereby, improve the theoretical understand-
ing of the processes of co-creation of innovations
in ICT-based service encounters.
Jannick Kirk Sørensen
Aalborg University – Copenhagen, Denmark
Anders Henten
Aalborg University – Copenhagen, Denmark