Risto Rajala

Professor

T307 Dept. Industrial Engineering and Management

Professor

I am interested in management challenges related to technology firms’ service operations. My colleagues and I study the system-level changes linked with the transformation of technology industries toward service-based value creation.

Our current research focuses on services supporting the sustainability of industrial operations, management of complex service systems, digital transformation of technology industries, and business models of the circular economy.

Our past projects have investigated the management of product-service hybridity in the construction business, payor-provider integration of healthcare services, and the effects of modularity on industrial solution providers’ ambidextrous performance.

I hold a Ph.D. in Information Systems Science and I currently serve as a professor of Service Engineering and Management.

Specialties:

Service Engineering and Management
Information Systems
Innovation Management
Organizational and Strategic Change
Technology Entrepreneurship

Full researcher profile

https://research.aalto.fi/...

Puhelinnumero

+358403538140

Osaamisalueet

Management of Service Systems, Development of Digital Services, Service Innovation and Business Models, Kiertotalous, 113 Computer and information sciences, 512 Business and management, 222 Other engineering and technologies, 119 Other natural sciences, Industrial management

Palkinnot

IJOPM 2020 Best Paper Award

International Journal of Operations and Production Management, Best Article of the Year 2020

Award or honor granted for a specific work Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Jul 2021

Award for a High-grade PhD Thesis

Given by the Strategic Management Society of Finland

Award or honor granted for a specific work Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Jan 2011

Dissertation of the Year Award

HSE Foundation

Award or honor granted for a specific work Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Jan 2010

The Best Research Team of Helsinki School of Economics

Researcher and team coordinator

Award or honor granted for a specific work Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Jan 2008

Yrjö and Senja Koivunen Award for a supervised Thesis

M.Sc. Thesis

Award or honor granted for a specific work Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Jan 2016

Best Academic Paper Award

Award winning paper: Powering sustainable innovations: Strategies for collaborating with deviant partners by Jouni Juntunen, Minna Halme, Angelina Korsunova and Risto Rajala

Award or honor granted for a specific work Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Jul 2016

Yrjö and Senja Koivunen Award for a supervised Thesis

B.Sc. Thesis

Award or honor granted for a specific work School Common, BIZ Jan 2015

Julkaisut

Crafting a Memorable Learning Experience

Mikael Öhman, Müge Tetik, Risto Rajala, Jan Holmström 2023 Advances in Production Management Systems. Production Management Systems for Responsible Manufacturing, Service, and Logistics Futures

From transactional to a devoted relationship – toward performance-based service system governance

Ilmari Veijola, Esko Hakanen, Risto Rajala 2022 Proceedings of the 55th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, January 3-7, 2022

Attitudinal and Behavioral Loyalty Toward Virtual Goods

Puneet Kaur, Amandeep Dhir, Sufen Chen, Risto Rajala 2021 Journal of Computer Information Systems

Engaging a product-focused sales force in solution selling

Anna Salonen, Harri Terho, Eva Böhm, Ari Virtanen, Risto Rajala 2021 JOURNAL OF THE ACADEMY OF MARKETING SCIENCE

The Effects of Competence-Based, Expressive and Collaborative Service Performance on the B2B Service Relationship

Wenting Zou, Saara Brax, Risto Rajala 2021 Technology Innovation Management Review

Continued Use of Mobile Instant Messaging Apps

Amandeep Dhir, Puneet Kaur, Risto Rajala 2020 Social Science Computer Review

Digital transformation: The interplay of explorative and exploitative capability development

Shan Gao, Esko Hakanen, Risto Rajala 2020 Proceedings of the 53rd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences

Revisiting the unholy alliance of health-care operations: Payor–provider integration of occupational health services

Antti Peltokorpi, Juri Matinheikki, Jere Lehtinen, Risto Rajala 2020 International Journal of Operations & Production Management

Integrating CSR with business strategy: A tension management perspective

Jaakko Siltaloppi, Risto Rajala, Henri Hietala 2020 Journal of Business Ethics

Seeking 'strategy' in business intelligence literature: Theorizing BI as part of strategy research

Yassine Talaoui, Marko Kohtamäki, Risto Rajala 2020 Technology Innovation Management Review

Rationale for “Liking” on Social Networking Sites

Amandeep Dhir, Ashraf Khalil, Puneet Kaur, Risto Rajala 2019 Social Science Computer Review

Digital Transformation in Asset-intensive Businesses: Lessons Learned from the Metals and Mining Industry

Shan Gao, Esko Hakanen, Pekka Töytäri, Risto Rajala 2019 Proceedings of the 52nd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS)

Understanding the aspirations of Finnish entrepreneurs and venture capitalists

Diane A. Isabelle, Mika Westerlund, Risto Rajala, Seppo Leminen 2019 International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business

Strategies for Integrating Stakeholders into Sustainability Innovation

Jouni Juntunen, Minna Halme, Angelina Korsunova-Tsaruk, Risto Rajala 2019 Journal of Product Innovation Management

Stakeholder management in complex product systems

Jere Lehtinen, Kirsi Aaltonen, Risto Rajala 2019 Industrial Marketing Management

A transition from goods-dominant to service-dominant exchange logic in a B2B relationship

Hannu Makkonen, Mervi Saarikorpi, Risto Rajala 2019 Industrial Marketing Management

Increasing the adoption of teleworking in the public sector

Saswat Mohalik, Mika Westerlund, Risto Rajala, Hanna Timonen 2019 Proceedings of ISPIM Connects Ottawa, Innovation for Local and Global Impact - 7-10 April 2019 - Ottawa, Canada

The next phase in servitization

Risto Rajala, Saara A. Brax, Ari Virtanen, Anna Salonen 2019 International Journal of Operations and Production Management

Is the Digital Future Sustainable?

Timo Seppälä, Juri Mattila, Risto Rajala 2019

The influences of contract structure, contracting process, and service complexity on supplier performance

Wenting Zou, Saara Brax, Mervi Vuori, Risto Rajala 2019 International Journal of Operations and Production Management

Exploring the Dynamics of Developing the Analytics Capability

Ilari Alen, Mikael Öhman, Riikka Kaipia, Risto Rajala 2018

Why do young people tag photos on social networking sites? Explaining user intentions

Amandeep Dhir, Puneet Kaur, Risto Rajala 2018 International Journal of Information Management

Material intelligence as a driver for value creation in IoT-enabled business ecosystems

Esko Hakanen, Risto Rajala 2018 Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing

Why people use online social media brand communities

Puneet Kaur, Amandeep Dhir, Risto Rajala, Yogesh Dwivedi 2018 Online Information Review

The evolution of facility management business models in supplier-client relationships

Giulia Nardelli, Risto Rajala 2018 Journal of Facilities Management

Harnessing user innovation for social media marketing

Darius Pacauskas, Risto Rajala, Mika Westerlund, Matti Mäntymäki 2018 International Journal of Information Management

How can the integration of a payer and a provider create value in health care?

Antti Peltokorpi, Juri Matinheikki, Risto Rajala, Jere Lehtinen, Tomi Malmström 2018

How Do Intelligent Goods Shape Closed-Loop Systems?

Risto Rajala, Esko Hakanen, Juri Mattila, Timo Seppälä, Mika Westerlund 2018 California Management Review

Engaging a product-oriented salesforce in solution sales

Anna Salonen, Harri Terho, Eva Böhm, Risto Rajala, Ari Virtanen 2018

Leveraging the benefits of modularity in the provision of integrated solutions: A strategic learning perspective

Anna Salonen, Risto Rajala, Ari Virtanen 2018 Industrial Marketing Management

Game-based learning in an Industrial Service Operations Management Course

Müge Tetik, Mikael Öhman, Risto Rajala, Jan Holmström 2018 4th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd’18)

Aligning the Mindset and Capabilities within a Business Network for Successful Adoption of Smart Services

Pekka Töytäri, Taija Turunen, Maximilian Klein, Ville Eloranta, Sebastian Biehl, Risto Rajala 2018 Journal of Product Innovation Management

Complexity and its dimensions in the servitization literature

Wenting Zou, Saara Brax, Risto Rajala 2018 Proceedings of the Spring Servitization Conference

Complexity in Product-Service Systems

Wenting Zou, Saara A. Brax, Risto Rajala 2018 Procedia CIRP

Dynamics of product-organization interactions over the project lifecycle

Karlos Artto, Juri Matinheikki, Virpi Turkulainen, Jere Lehtinen, Risto Rajala 2017 The 8th International Project Business Workshop, June 8 – 10, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ.

Product-organization interdependence in project organizing

Karlos Artto, Jere Lehtinen, Juri Matinheikki, Antti Peltokorpi, Risto Rajala 2017 The 8th International Project Business Workshop, June 8 – 10, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ.

Material Intelligence: Cross-Organizational Collaboration Driven by Detailed Material Data

Esko Hakanen, Ville Eloranta, Pekka Töytäri, Risto Rajala, Taija Turunen 2017 Proceedings of the 50th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences

Information Sharing in Sales and Operations Planning: Contextualized Solutions and Mechanisms

Riikka Kaipia, Jan Holmström, Johanna Småros, Risto Rajala 2017 Journal of Operations Management

STRATEGIC PRACTICES OF STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT IN MEGAPROJECTS

Jere Lehtinen, Kirsi Aaltonen, Risto Rajala 2017 15th Engineering Project Organization Conference with 5th International Megaprojects Workshop, Stanford Sierra Camp, California, June 5-7, 2017

Strategic Practices of Stakeholder Management in Megaprojects: A Micro-process and Network Perspective

Jere Lehtinen, Kirsi Aaltonen, Risto Rajala 2017 The International Research Network on Organising by Projects (IRNOP) conference, Boston, MA, 11-14 June, 2017

From the profit of one toward benefitting many – Crafting a vision of shared value creation

Juri Matinheikki, Risto Rajala, Antti Peltokorpi 2017 Journal of Cleaner Production

Information system users’ creativity

Darius Pacauskas, Risto Rajala 2017 Information Technology and People

Ecosystems approach in the management of megaprojects

Antti Peltokorpi, Jere Lehtinen, Karlos Artto, Risto Rajala 2017 15th Engineering Project Organization Conference with 5th International Megaprojects Workshop, Stanford Sierra Camp, California, June 5-7, 2017

Megaprojects as ecosystems - how can they be managed?

Antti Peltokorpi, Jere Lehtinen, Karlos Artto, Risto Rajala 2017 The International Research Network on Organising by Projects (IRNOP) conference, Boston, MA, 11-14 June, 2017

Managing identity tensions during strategic change

Jaakko Siltaloppi, Risto Rajala 2017 European Group of Organization Studies (EGOS) conference, 2017, Copenhagen

Barriers to implementing value-based pricing in industrial markets: A micro-foundations perspective

Pekka Töytäri, Joona Keränen, Risto Rajala 2017 Journal of Business Research

Exploring the Interplay of Mindset and Abilities at Multiple Organizational Interfaces

Pekka Töytäri, Taija Turunen, Maximillian Klein, Ville Eloranta, Sebastian Biehl, Risto Rajala 2017 Academy of Management Proceedings

Do relationships facilitate growth in small technology firms?

Mika Westerlund, Risto Rajala, Seppo Leminen, Diane A. Isabelle 2017 International Journal of Technoentrepreneurship

Networks, business models, and competitiveness in small Finnish firms

Mika Westerlund, Diane A. Isabelle, Risto Rajala, Seppo Leminen 2017 International Journal of Business and Globalisation

Product-organization interdependence in modularity literature revisited

Karlos Artto, Juri Matinheikki, Jere Lehtinen, Risto Rajala 2016

Powering sustainable innovations: Strategies for collaborating with deviant partners

Jouni Juntunen, Minna Halme, Angelina Korsunova-Tsaruk, Risto Rajala 2016

Assessing flow experience in social networking site based brand communities

Puneet Kaur, Amandeep Dhir, Risto Rajala 2016 Computers in Human Behavior

Flow in context

Puneet Kaur, Amandeep Dhir, Sufen Chen, Risto Rajala 2016 Computers in Human Behavior

Understanding online regret experience using the theoretical lens of flow experience

Puneet Kaur, Amandeep Dhir, Sufen Chen, Risto Rajala 2016 Computers in Human Behavior

Theory and practice of value co-creation in B2B systems

Marko Kohtamäki, Risto Rajala 2016 Industrial Marketing Management

Managing inter-organizational networks for value creation in the front-end of projects

Juri Matinheikki, Karlos Artto, Antti Peltokorpi, Risto Rajala 2016 International Journal of Project Management

Environmental sustainability in industrial manufacturing

Risto Rajala, Mika Westerlund, Tommi Lampikoski 2016 Journal of Cleaner Production

Introduction to the Special Issue on Multiactor Value Creation in Service Innovation: Collaborative Value Creation in Service

Risto Rajala, Faïz Gallouj, Marja Toivonen 2016 Service Science

Best Practices for Defining, Quantifying, and Sharing Value

Pekka Töytäri, Risto Rajala 2016 Value First then Price: Quantifying value in Business to Business markets from the perspective of both buyers and sellers

Funders and founders

Mika Westerlund, Diane A. Isabelle, Risto Rajala, Seppo Leminen 2016 International Journal of Globalisation and Small Business

Contract dimensions, service complexity and perceived supplier performance in purchasing business services

Wenting Zou, Saara Brax, Mervi Vuori, Risto Rajala 2016

Linking service quality to B2B service repurchase intentions

Wenting Zou, Saara Brax, Mervi Vuori, Risto Rajala, Kari Tanskanen, Esa Viitamo 2016 Annual Industrial Marketing and Purchasing Group Conference

The Capability Antecedents and Performance Effects of Exploration and Exploitation Alliances

O-P. Kauppila, R. Rajala, Mika Westerlund, S. Kajalo 2015 Academy of Marketing Science Annual Conference (AMS), Baltimore, USA, May 20-23, 2009

Value creation in the project front-end through managing the development of a multi-organizational network

Juri Matinheikki, Karlos Artto, Antti Peltokorpi, Risto Rajala 2015 The 12th Engineering Project Organization Conference (EPOC), Edinburgh, UK, June 24-26 2015

Editorial: Technology in Service Innovation

Chris McPhee, Stephen L. Vargo, Marja Toivonen, Risto Rajala 2015 Technology Innovation Management Review

The Evolution of Rapid Production

K. Muita, M. Westerlund, R. Rajala 2015 IFAC-PapersOnLine

Assessing Customer-Perceived Value in Industrial Service Systems

Risto Rajala, Pekka Töytäri, Tuomas Hervonen 2015 Service Science

Reinforcing the capability perspective of value-based selling: A response to the commentary by Jaakkola, Frösén and Tikkanen on the paper “Value-based selling: An organizational capability perspective

Risto Rajala, Pekka Töytäri 2015 Industrial Marketing Management

Organizational and institutional barriers to value-based pricing in industrial relationships

Pekka Töytäri, Risto Rajala, Thomas Brashear Alejandro 2015 Industrial Marketing Management

Value-based selling: An organizational capability perspective

Pekka Töytäri, Risto Rajala 2015 Industrial Marketing Management

Value-Based Selling: Toward new practices of creating and sharing value

Pekka Töytäri, Risto Rajala 2015 Pricing and the Sales Force

Supply chain reactions to the rise of the internet of things

Mika Westerlund, Risto Rajala, Hamidreza Kavandi, Mervi Rajahonka, Seppo Leminen 2015 Proceedings of the Fifteenth International Conference on Electronic Business "Internet of Things", ICEB 2015

User knowledge management in innovation process: Lessons learned from industrial manufacturers

Laura Kanto, Risto Rajala, Jussi Pihlajamaa 2014 15th International CINet Conference, Operating Innovation - Innovating Operations, Budapest, Hungary, 7-9 September 2014

Green innovation games: Value-creation strategies for corporate sustainability

Tommi Lampikoski, Mika Westerlund, Risto Rajala, Kristian Möller 2014 California Management Review

Exploring multi-actor value creation in IT service processes

Heikki Lempinen, Risto Rajala 2014 Journal of Information Technology

Editorial: Service and Innovation

Chris McPhee, Risto Rajala, Marja Toivonen, Mika Westerlund 2014 Technology Innovation Management Review

Does a contextualized theory of planned behavior explain why teenagers stay in virtual worlds?

Matti Mäntymäki, Jani Merikivi, Tibert Verhagen, Frans Feldberg, Risto Rajala 2014 International Journal of Information Management

Organizational responses to ambiguous expectations in solar technology markets

Heli Nissilä, Mari Holopainen, Risto Rajala 2014 30th European Group for Organizational Studies Colloquium (EGOS), Rotterdam, the Netherlands, 3-5 July, 2014

Arvoon perustuva hinnoittelu palvelu- ja ratkaisuliiketoiminnassa

Pekka Töytäri, Risto Rajala, Taija Turunen 2014 Teollisen palveluliiketoiminnan uudistaminen

Effective Digital Channel Marketing for Cybersecurity Solutions

Mika Westerlund, Risto Rajala 2014 Technology Innovation Management Review

Managing corporate business model greening in the manufacturing industry

Tommi Lampikoski, Mika Westerlund, Risto Rajala 2013 International Conference on Corporate Sustainability and Eco-innovations, Warsaw, Poland, November 18-19, 2013

Crowdsourcing as a method to innovate in the S-DL framework

Risto Rajala, Marja Toivonen, Johanna Bragge, Mika Westerlund 2013 XXIII European Association for Research on Services Conference (RESER), Aix en Provence, France, September 18-21, 2013

From Idea Crowdsourcing to Managing User Knowledge

Risto Rajala, Mika Westerlund, Mervi Vuori, Jukka-Pekka Hares 2013 Technology Innovation Management Review

The future of banking services

Jaakko Aspara, Risto Rajala, Virpi Kristiina Tuunainen 2012

How open source has changed the software industry: perspectives from open source entrepreneurs

Juho Lindman, Risto Rajala 2012 Technology Innovation Management Review

Strategic flexibility in open innovation - designing business models for open source software

Risto Rajala, Mika Westerlund, Kristian Möller 2012 European Journal of Marketing

The effects of service orientation, technology orientation and open innovation on the performance of software-intensive service businesses

Risto Rajala, Mika Westerlund 2012 45th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS), Maui, Hawaii, USA, January 4-7, 2012