Fragile Liaisons: Challenges in Cross-organizational Service Networks and the Role of Design

Abstract

This paper portrays cross-organizational collaboration in service networks as a new challenging context for service design. The paper reflects on the role of cross-organizational service networks in a Finnish municipality-initiated research and development project. The project sought to develop new practices for supporting independent living for the elderly involving diverse organizations across public, private and third sectors. The intent was to apply collaborative and customer-centred service development. For this paper, interviews were reviewed from 16 project participants to find out how they perceived cross-organizational collaboration and the role of service design in this project. From these findings, we identified barriers to collaborations that originated in tensions between different organizations and structural and situational barriers that sometimes could be traced to specific mindsets on an organizational level. Based on the insights from these interviews, we explain how service design may contribute to enhancing collaborative developments within and across cross-organizational service networks.

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