@article{e4fe8bfe061b4f50a6fb4b99884aa557,
title = "Conflict by Design and Why Institutions Matter in Service Design: A Case of a German Creative Agency in China",
abstract = "This paper set out to advance our understanding of how to improve service design and service provider-customer relationships in business-to-business (B2B) environments. Drawing on the theoretical lenses of service design and institutional theory, we investigate how and why problems occur in B2B relationships between service co-creating actors in the professional service sector and propose how these problems can be avoided. The study takes place in an international setting and employs an in-depth single embedded case study of a relationship between a German creative agency and a German industrial client operating in China. Our work chronicles how the relationship between the agency and the client developed overtime eventually resulting in a breakdown. The findings captured in a framework highlight an array of contributing factors beyond the differences in adherence to Service-Dominant logic (S-D logic). Propositions are made on how a more stable and robust agency-client relationship can be built and the dark side of B2B relationships defeated. ",
keywords = "Case study, Dark side of business-to-business relationships, Institutions, Interface, Professional services, Service design",
author = "Sascha Struwe and Dmitrij Slepniov",
year = "2021",
doi = "10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.03.035",
language = "English",
volume = "130",
pages = "124--136",
journal = "Journal of Business Research",
issn = "0148-2963",
publisher = "Elsevier",
}