Koskela-Huotari, Kaisa

Kaisa joined the Department of Marketing and Strategy in April 2021. Her research interests are diverse, but fundamentally, Kaisa is interested in understanding how change occurs in social systems. She is a theory enthusiast who loves applying insights from systems thinking, service-dominant logic, and institutional theory to better understand phenomena like innovation, design, and market evolution. Methodologically her expertise lies in conceptual, qualitative, and abductive approaches.

Kaisa's work has been published in journals such as the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Service Research, Journal of Business Research, and Journal of Service Management among others. She serves on the Editorial Review Board of the Journal of Service Research, Journal of Business Research, and the Journal of Service Management. Since 2019, she has been part of the editorial team of the AMS Review—the sole marketing journal exclusively dedicated to conceptual articles—first as an Assistant Editor and lately as an Associate Editor. She frequently speaks and teaches about the "art" of writing conceptual articles and making theoretical contributions with one's research.

Much of her recent work (together with Josina Vink from Oslo School of Architecture and Design) focuses to the theoretical development and practical application of service ecosystem design, a systemic understanding of service design.

Currently, she is also involved in two forestry-related research projects that study the market dynamics that stem from the plurality of value creation logics and market shaping efforts causing increasing tensions between, e.g., traditional industrial uses of wood, the use of forests as carbon offsets, recreational uses and biodiversity.

At SSE, Kaisa teaches marketing courses at various levels and serves as a reflection facilitator in the Reflection Series of the B&E Bachelor Program—a role she finds both enjoyable and highly meaningful.

In 2023, Kaisa received the Mary Jo Bitner “Rising Star in Services” Award and her co-authored paper with Josina Vink was honored with the 2022 Journal of Service Research Best Article Award.

In 2022, Kaisa received the SSE Corporate Partners' Research Award. 

Selected publications:

Koskela-Huotari, K., Svärd, K., Williams, H., Trischler, J. and Wikström, F. (2024) Drivers and Hinderers of (Un)Sustainable Service: A Systems View. Journal of Service Research,  https://doi.org/10.1177/10946705231176071 

Vargo, S.L., Peters, L., Kjellberg, H., Koskela-Huotari, K., Nenonen, S., Polese, F., Salerno, D. and Vaughan, C. (2023) Emergence in Marketing: An Institutional and Ecosystem Framework. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-022-00849-8

Vink, J., and Koskela-Huotari, K. (2022) Building Reflexivity Using Service Design Methods. Journal of Service Research, https://doi.org/10.1177/10946705211035004

Koskela-Huotari, K., Patricio, L., Zhang, J., Karpen, I.O., Sangiorgi, D., Anderson, L., and Bogicevic, V. (2021) Service System Transformation through Service Design: Linking analytical dimensions and service design approaches. Journal of Business Research, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.07.034 

Vink, J., Koskela-Huotari, K., Tronvoll, B., Edvardsson, B. and Wetter-Edman, K. (2021) Service Ecosystem Design: Propositions, Process Model, and Future Research Agenda. Journal of Service Research, https://doi.org/10.1177/1094670520952537

Vink, J., and Koskela-Huotari, K. (2021). Social Structures as Service Design Materials. International Journal of Design, http://www.ijdesign.org/index.php/IJDesign/article/view/4137/960  

Vargo, S.L. and Koskela-Huotari, K. (2020) Advancing conceptual-only articles in marketing. AMS Review, https://doi.org/10.1007/s13162-020-00173-w