Propuesta de un modelo metodológico para el diseño de servicios innovadores en pymesestudio de caso en una pyme del sector servicios

Abstract

? ABSTRACT At the beginning of the twenty-first century, we find two views that coexist in the field of business strategy. On the one hand, a deterministic view (1) based on competition (companies competing in sectors under pre-set conditions with previously established rules). On the other, a reconstructionist view (2), which argues that the forces that change the structure of the sector can come from the system itself. For the reconstructionist view, companies must generate new demand and create new spaces in the market. On the reconstructionist stage, design-thinking methodologies and tools have emerged as the main way of creating innovative businesses. The integration of both views is necessary and is part of an emerging debate. On the one hand, design-thinking methods and tools are based on a deep understanding of the customer/user to generate an innovative supply, constituting a powerful tool for generating ideas. On the other, classic strategy tools analyse the context of the company and sector to make decisions according to the competitive environment. The thesis explores and proposes a methodological model for designing innovative services in SMEs and it arises from the combination of design-thinking methodologies and tools with their business strategy counterparts. It aims to develop a specific method for the design of innovative services in small- and medium-sized enterprises, a toolkit for SMEs that allows them to innovate their service in a clear, simple and structured manner. The specific objectives of the work include: (1) exploring the capacity of the methodological model for generating innovative services; (2) exploring the suitability of integration in a methodological model of two areas of expertise (business strategy and design thinking); (3) exploring the specificity of the proposed methodological model, designed around its application to specific strategic circumstances of SMEs in the services sector; (4) exploring the suitability of the methodological model to become a simple tool that is easy to use for SMEs in the services sector; and (5) describing the application of the methodological model in a real situation. The methodology selected for the research work is the case study. First of all, the thesis proposes a methodological model for the design of innovative services in SMEs that is then applied in a real company. The results have confirmed that, in the case under analysis, the proposed methodological model has shown: (1) its capacity for generating the design of a differentiated service for the company; (2) the suitability of the integration of two areas of expertise (business strategy and design thinking), resulting in a combined methodology that takes advantage of and complements the benefits of the two integrated views; (3) their specificity for application in SMEs in the services sector; and (4) a detailed description of the application of the proposed methodological model in a real situation. The results do not show that the methodological model is a simple tool that is easy to use for small businesses to design innovative services. The main difficulties encountered during its application included: (1) absence in the SME of a structured method for innovating in its services; (2) conflict in the management of SMEs between the traditional business and the new business; (3) lack of strategic vision in the small business; and (4) unavailability of resources. The findings highlight the complexity of the studied phenomenon, for which there is no widely developed theoretical framework. The results offer various possibilities for new avenues of experimental, exploratory and descriptive research.