Institutional design for creating a sustainable society under dynamic environments

SHIRAHADA Laboratory
Professor：SHIRAHADA Kunio

E-mail：
［Research areas］
Service management
［Keywords］
Transformative Service Research, Service marketing, Social value, Future-oriented design approach

Skills and background we are looking for in prospective students

We welcome students who can think and explain with passion about "Why is it a problem?", "Why do you think such a problem will occur?"

What you can expect to learn in this laboratory

Our research focuses on the theme of "wellbeing-oriented service". We identify various wellbeing issues hidden in society, economy, and environment, and consider approaches to improve the situation from a service perspective. In this process, I think you can learn the theories of (i) knowledge management and organizational learning to transform knowledge in the field, (ii) social systems design in terms of marketing, and responsible innovation to promote a harmonious relationship between science and technology and society.

【Job category of graduates】 Systems consulting services, internet services, manufacturing, governmental personnel, academic researchers, etc.

Research outline

Fig.1 Value constellation of life

A matured service economy is now facing the stage of realizing a transformational service economy aiming at social, environmental better condition, and quality of life just rather than pursuit of economic efficiency.

Transformative Service Research (TSR) (Anderson et al., 2013) has been proposed as a domain of comprehensive service research including reflection on maturity of service economy. The TSR is focusing on Well-being for human beings. The main purpose is to (re)capture well-being through service activities.

TSR is defined as centers on creating uplifting changes and improvements in the well-being of individuals, communities, and ecosystems. I have proposed the following TSR specific analysis unit in Anderson et al.(2013)

(i) Service Provider: Service sector, specific organization, personal service provider, etc.
(ii) Consumer: individuals and groups as human beings, as well as ecosystems (eg Shirahada & Fisk (2011)).
　　They have various actors and practice interaction.
(iii) Macro environment: policies, culture, technology, economic environment, etc. affecting services and consumers.
(iv) Output: human Well-being related outputs such as accessibility as a service, reduction of vulnerability,
　　wellness, happiness, quality of life, maintenance of fairness, reduction of disparity

Generally, people, goods, information, and relationships exist as resources in the context of living spaces in society. We consciously and unconsciously integrate such resources on the basis of our own values and lifestyles to create value. Therefore, it can be said that people have a space for resources. This space can be called the “value constellation of life”, as shown in Fig.1, by employing the concept of value constellation in service design studies. This is our another unit of analysis.

Key publications

1. Quang, H. B. and Kunio, Shirahada. (2021) ‘Actor transformation in service: a process model for vulnerable consumers’, Journal of Service Theory and Practice. doi: 10.1108/JSTP-04-2020-0083.
2. Kunio Shirahada, Ho Quang Bach, and Alan Wilson. (2019). “Online Public Services Usage and the Elderly: Assessing Determinants of Technology Readiness in Japan and the UK,” Technology in Society, pp.1-9, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2019.02.001.
3. Tansakul, N., Suanmali, S. and Shirahada, K. (2018) ‘Conceptualizing a transformative supply chain for ecosystem well-being’, Service Industries Journal. doi: 10.1080/02642069.2018.1515204.