What a boost! Rarely has it been so much fun to meet people again, as in March when the corona restrictions finally lifted. We had a planning conference in Sunne, and the energy when we could finally interact in the same physical space again, was almost palpable.
Since then, our organisation has reached new heights.
...Professor of Energy and Environmental Technology. Your research on packaging and food waste is currently gaining much international attention. What is this research about?
– Yes, that’s correct! My colleague Helén Williams and I have written an article based on our research on packaging and food waste. We wrote it on behalf of an Australian organisation, 360info.
Hello Klas and welcome to CTF and Karlstad University! Can you tell us about your background and your research?
– Thank you! I have a PhD from Technology Management and Economics at Chalmers University of Technology. For several years, I have also had various positions within the automotive industry as well as the space industry. In recent years I have worked at Volvo, with research and development work connected to products and services for the aftermarket.
Bo Edvardsson, professor at Karlstad Business Service Research Center (CTF), and Bård Tronvoll, professor at CTF and Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, are the editors for the newly published Palgrave Handbook of Service Management.
- The book provides a unique and current overview of service management research, says Bo Edvardsson.
Johan Netz is senior lecturer in Business Administration and an active researcher and teacher. On 1 July, he will take over as head of department at Karlstad Business School.
– It will be an exciting, fun and interesting challenge, says Johan Netz. Karlstad Business School is a good organisation full of expertise and opportunities.
Johan Netz is currently the programme director for the Industrial Engineering and Management programme at Karlstad Business School.
Why are discussions of whether you had to wait alone in your friends’ room while they ate dinner with their families, pushing away discussions about more important issues in the internet? Charlotte Bäccman, senior lecturer in Psychology, explains.
A war is being fought in Ukraine, Sweden are approximately 100 days away from an election, climate change is an enormous challenge and the energy prices are skyrocketing.
Coaching via text messages can contribute to healthier habits and a better sense of well-being. This is shown in a study where researchers at CTF, Service Research Center at Karlstad University, together with Friskvården i Värmland, have examined how digital services can complement physical meetings and facilitate behavioural change.
Changing your habits to a healthier way of life is not easy.
Service design has become a widely utilized method for service innovation in the private and public sector. But what is it about, and does it add to the previously known methods of service development and innovation?
To understand service design and what makes it unique, we inspected what service design encompasses. This task proved to be an almost devastating task because there are virtually hundreds of design tools and methods.
Jakob Trischler has been promoted to associate professor in Business Administration at Karlstad University. His research revolves around user involvement in innovation activities – how citizens can be an innovation source in sustainability transitions.
Congratulations to the promotion, Jakob! Can you tell us about your research?
– Thank you! My research looks at issues around user involvement in innovation activities.
... What research area will you conduct research in and what will you focus on?
- I will conduct research in the organizational psychology field focusing on the individual in organizational change. It is a well-known fact that organizational change often entails major challenges for employees within an organization, and that many difficulties linked to different change initiatives often can be traced back to psychological or psychosocial factors in the individual.
At the end of March, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) hosted the webinar Dark Commercial Patterns: Experiences and Tools for Education and Business Guidance. Agnieszka Kitowska, postdoctoral researcher in Computer Science, was one of the speakers.
What barriers do consumers face on the digital market place, and how can these be counteracted? In a project with the Swedish Consumer Agency, researchers at CTF, Service Research Center at Karlstad University, have examined this issue.
Our day-to-day activities increasingly depend on digital technologies as we use online services in various contexts of our lives. We use social media and messaging applications to strengthen our social relationships. We use online-based tools for work, entertainment, health and well-being, as well as shopping.
The majority of those technological interactions require us to accept the Terms and Conditions (T&Cs) before we can proceed with using the service.
We are happy to welcome Professor Helen Perks. She has been appointed Visiting Professor at CTF for three years. Her research centers on relationships and networks in service and product innovation.
"I am very delighted for this opportunity to work with colleagues at CTF, continuing a long relationship with the Centre.
What drives, limits and enables growth in people in the music industry outside the big cities? What is the role of social media? What is the importance of having a network when the physical arenas close down? And how can you create value in an ecosystem of different players? These are some of the questions included in the research project MECO.
MECO has looked at what is needed in order to stimulate, educate and develop the industry in a sustainable and inclusive way.
… you were the project manager for one of the subprojects within the now completed Interregg project "Response". Can you tell us about the project?
- Yes, that’s right. Together with Nicklas Salomonson at the University of Borås, I have studied how travellers with different forms of disability experience mobility services.
Welcome back Federico Artusi! In 2019, you were a visiting PhD student at CTF and Karlstad Business School. Now you are back to teach and conduct research. How does if feel and what have you been doing since last time?
- Thank you, it is wonderful to be back! I feel very excited, and thanks to my previous visit I am a bit familar with the place and the people here. During my previous stay I was finalizing my PhD studies.
One of the most significant transformations from analogue to digital has occurred during the pandemic to reduce the spread of the Covid-19 virus. More and more tasks are becoming digitalized, from daily work assignments to communicating with external parties. This rapid transformation has pushed organizations and individuals to develop their overall digital competence rapidly.
This blog post presents an ongoing study on measuring digital competence.
