Professor Ingo Karpen
Internal Grant-Funded Researcher E
Adelaide Business School
Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Economics
Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.
Ingo Oswald Karpen is Professor of Business and Design, with a passion for making lives and (eco)systems better. His interdisciplinary research revolves around reimagining and advancing service through designerly ways of thinking, working and being; and how this enables organisations to cocreate better strategies and improve the wellbeing of people and their (eco)systems alike. Multilevel and multimethod theorising is his favourite approach, connecting the essentiality and existentiality of individual human experiences with systemic innovation. As a faculty member at CTF - the Service Research Center at Karlstad University (Sweden) and Adelaide Business School, Adelaide University (Australia), Ingo seeks to engage with researchers and entrepreneurs for positive societal change across contexts.
Ingo's research has been widely published including in the Journal of Service Research, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Product Innovation Management, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Business Research, Marketing Theory, Industrial Marketing Management, Journal of Service Management, Journal of Cleaner Production, Journal of Travel Research, Journal of Services Marketing, Journal of Service Theory and Practice and Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services among others. His research and education has also been internationally recognised, for example winning the SERVSIG Best Service Article Award twice (2013, 2023) for publications in the Journal of Service Research, and multiple Educator Awards across Australia/New Zealand.
Seeking direct contributions to solving systemic problems, Ingo has won significant competitive research funding such as a prestigious Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Grant and successfully tendered Government funding for the purpose of service reform and societal wellbeing. Ingo also serves as an editorial review board member across service journals and has managed special issues across academic disciplines. Leveraging the nexus of business and design, Ingo works as a Strategic Designer and consults with private and public organisations.
Interdisciplinary in nature, my research mainly revolves around human-centred and systemic design, and its various forms that emerged across disciplines. This includes, for instance, service design in the marketing and design domains, as well as design thinking in the management domain. Combining human and systemic needs, I also pursue the notion of strategic design, which I investigate from an academic perspective (see publications) as well as from a practitioner perspective with my co-edited book titled Strategic Design.
In recent years, I have been focusing on understanding, measuring and managing organisations from a design and strategy perspective. For instance: drawing on service and designerly thinking to better understand and inform value cocreation and innovation strategies; unpacking and measuring the interplay of service-driving organisational design and customer experience design; managing service systems and human relations towards more engaging experience processes and sustainable experience outcomes.
The term ‘strategic’ reappears across my research areas as I am interested in studying, explaining and predicting phenomena that define the essence, priorities and evolution of people and the (eco)systems they are embedded in. For this purpose I am also a mixed methodologist using a variety of qualitative and quantitative research approaches.
-
Education
Date Institution name Country Title University of Melbourne Australia PhD -
Research Interests
-
Journals
Year Citation 2024 Baldassarre, B., Calabretta, G., Karpen, I. O., Bocken, N., & Hultink, E. J. (2024). Responsible Design Thinking for Sustainable Development: Critical Literature Review, New Conceptual Framework, and Research Agenda. Journal of Business Ethics, 22 pages.
Scopus22023 Becker, L., Karpen, I. O., Kleinaltenkamp, M., Jaakkola, E., Helkkula, A., & Nuutinen, M. (2023). Actor experience: Bridging individual and collective-level theorizing. Journal of Business Research, 158, 1-13.
Scopus8 WoS42023 Laud, G., Conduit, J., & Karpen, I. O. (2023). Member (co)creativity in open innovation communities. European Journal of Marketing, 57(8), 2021-2047.
Scopus52023 Conduit, J., Karpen, I. O., & Willmott, T. (2023). User circularity practices: Adopting a user stewardship perspective for a circular economy. AMS Review, 13(3-4), 211-231.
Scopus42023 Karpen, I., Edvardsson, B., Tronvoll, B., Jaakkola, E., & Conduit, J. (2023). Circular Service Management: Toward Conceptual Understanding and Service Research Priorities for a More Sustainable Future. Journal of Service Management, 34(6), 50-69.
Scopus12023 Kleinaltenkamp, M., Kleinaltenkamp, M. J., & Karpen, I. O. (2023). Resource entanglement and indeterminacy: Advancing the service-dominant logic through the philosophy of Karen Barad. Marketing Theory, 31 pages.
Scopus52023 Nørfelt, A., Kock, F., Karpen, I. O., & Josiassen, A. (2023). Pleasure Through Pain: An Empirical Examination of Benign Masochism in Tourism. Journal of Travel Research, 62(2), 448-468.
Scopus14 WoS62022 Danatzis, I., Karpen, I. O., & Kleinaltenkamp, M. (2022). Actor Ecosystem Readiness: Understanding the Nature and Role of Human Abilities and Motivation in a Service Ecosystem. Journal of Service Research, 25(2), 260-280.
Scopus25 WoS162022 Pallant, J. L., Karpen, I. O., & Sands, S. J. (2022). What drives consumers to customize products? The mediating role of brand experience. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 64, 102773.
Scopus16 WoS62022 Kleinaltenkamp, M., Karpen, I. O., & Kleinaltenkamp, M. J. (2022). A sense-based perspective on market shaping: Theorizing strategies for the origination and propagation of new resource linkages. Industrial Marketing Management, 100, 145-156.
Scopus8 WoS32022 Klenner, N. F., Gemser, G., & Karpen, I. O. (2022). Entrepreneurial ways of designing and designerly ways of entrepreneuring: Exploring the relationship between design thinking and effectuation theory. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 39(1), 66-94.
Scopus42 WoS202022 Tierney, K. D., Oswald Karpen, I., & Westberg, K. (2022). Brand meaning and institutional work: The light and dark sides of service employee practices. Journal of Business Research, 151, 244-256.
Scopus42022 Altschwager, T., Conduit, J., Karpen, I., & Goodman, S. (2022). Event Engagement: Using event experiences to build brands. Australasian Marketing Journal, 32(1), 31-44.
2022 Popa, T., Karpen, I. O., Wright, M. R., & Dean, O. (2022). PROCEDURAL JUSTICE IN A TRIBUNAL CONTEXT: AN EXPLORATION AND EXTENSION OF THE CONCEPT FROM A HUMAN-CENTRED DESIGN PERSPECTIVE. University of New South Wales Law Journal, 45(4), 1657-1692.
2021 Koskela-Huotari, K., Patrício, L., Zhang, J., Karpen, I. O., Sangiorgi, D., Anderson, L., & Bogicevic, V. (2021). Service system transformation through service design: Linking analytical dimensions and service design approaches. Journal of Business Research, 136, 343-355.
Scopus29 WoS142021 Kleinaltenkamp, M., Conduit, J., Plewa, C., Karpen, I., & Jaakkola, E. (2021). Engagement-driven Institutionalization in Market Shaping: Synchronizing and Stabilizing Collective Engagement. Industrial Marketing Management, 99, 69-78.
Scopus17 WoS92021 Karpen, I. O., & Senova, M. (2021). Designing for Trust: Role and Benefits of Human-Centered Design in the Legal System. International Journal for Court Administration, 12(3), 1-18.
Scopus32021 Karpen, I., Holmlid, S., & Yu, E. (2021). Service Design in the Context of Complexity: Moving between Plurality and Tension towards a Future Research Agenda. International Journal of Design, 15(3), 1-10.
Scopus12020 Karpen, I., & Plewa, C. (2020). From Muso to Academic and Back: A Time and Person-Based Acknowledgement of Michael Kleinaltenkamp. Journal of Service Management Research, 4(2-3), 75-83.
2020 Karpen, I., & Conduit, J. (2020). Engaging in times of COVID-19 and beyond: Theorizing customer engagement through different paradigmatic lenses. Journal of Service Management, 31(6), 12 pages.
Scopus50 WoS392020 Pallant, J. L., Sands, S., & Karpen, I. O. (2020). The 4Cs of mass customization in service industries: a customer lens. Journal of Services Marketing, 34(4), 499-511.
Scopus25 WoS162020 Windahl, C., Karpen, I. O., & Wright, M. R. (2020). Strategic design: orchestrating and leveraging market-shaping capabilities. Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, 35(9), 1413-1424.
Scopus24 WoS172020 Baldassarre, B., Konietzko, J., Brown, P., Calabretta, G., Bocken, N., Karpen, I. O., & Hultink, E. J. (2020). Addressing the design-implementation gap of sustainable business models by prototyping: A tool for planning and executing small-scale pilots. Journal of Cleaner Production, 255, 120295.
Scopus104 WoS452020 Pallant, J., Sands, S., & Karpen, I. (2020). Product customization: A profile of consumer demand. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 54, 102030.
Scopus56 WoS392019 Kock, F., Josiassen, A., Assaf, A. G., Karpen, I., & Farrelly, F. (2019). Tourism Ethnocentrism and Its Effects on Tourist and Resident Behavior. Journal of Travel Research, 58(3), 427-439.
Scopus97 WoS612019 Kleinaltenkamp, M., Karpen, I., Plewa, C., Jaakkola, E., & Conduit, J. (2019). Collective engagement in organizational settings. Industrial Marketing Management, 80, 11-23.
Scopus73 WoS512019 Conduit, J., Karpen, I., Plewa, C., & Kleinaltenkamp, M. (2019). Business Actor Engagement: Foundations, Developments and Opportunities. Industrial Marketing Management, 80, 1-3.
Scopus10 WoS92019 Conduit, J., Karpen, I., & Tierney, K. (2019). Volunteer Engagement: Conceptual Extensions and Value-in-Context Outcomes. Journal of Service Theory and Practice, 29(4), 462-487.
Scopus18 WoS92018 Chung, E., Farrelly, F., Beverland, M. B., & Karpen, I. O. (2018). Loyalty or liability: Resolving the consumer fanaticism paradox. Marketing Theory, 18(1), 3-30.
Scopus26 WoS182017 Wilden, R., Akaka, M. A., Karpen, I. O., & Hohberger, J. (2017). The Evolution and Prospects of Service-Dominant Logic: An Investigation of Past, Present, and Future Research. Journal of Service Research, 20(4), 345-361.
Scopus133 WoS932017 Laud, G., & Karpen, I. O. (2017). Value co-creation behaviour – role of embeddedness and outcome considerations. Journal of Service Theory and Practice, 27(4), 778-807.
Scopus59 WoS392017 Beverland, M. B., Gemser, G., & Karpen, I. O. (2017). Design, consumption and marketing: outcomes, process, philosophy and future directions. Journal of Marketing Management, 33(3-4), 159-172.
Scopus13 WoS72017 Karpen, I. O., Gemser, G., & Calabretta, G. (2017). A multilevel consideration of service design conditions: Towards a portfolio of organisational capabilities, interactive practices and individual abilities. Journal of Service Theory and Practice, 27(2), 384-407.
Scopus80 WoS542017 Kleinaltenkamp, M., Plewa, C., Gudergan, S., Karpen, I. O., & Chen, T. (2017). Usage center – value cocreation in multi-actor usage processes. Journal of Service Theory and Practice, 27(4), 721-737.
Scopus34 WoS252016 Plewa, C., Ho, W., Conduit, J., & Karpen, I. (2016). Reputation in higher education: a fuzzy set analysis of resource configurations. Journal of Business Research, 69(8), 3087-3095.
Scopus99 WoS682016 Hollebeek, L. D., Conduit, J., Sweeney, J., Soutar, G., Karpen, I. O., Jarvis, W., & Chen, T. (2016). Epilogue to the Special Issue and reflections on the future of engagement research. Journal of Marketing Management, 32(5-6), 586-594.
Scopus62 WoS522016 Tierney, K. D., Karpen, I. O., & Westberg, K. (2016). Brand meaning cocreation: toward a conceptualization and research implications. Journal of Service Theory and Practice, 26(6), 911-932.
Scopus48 WoS312015 Laud, G., Karpen, I. O., Mulye, R., & Rahman, K. (2015). The role of embeddedness for resource integration: Complementing S-D logic research through a social capital perspective. Marketing Theory, 15(4), 509-543.
Scopus71 WoS532015 Rahman, K., Karpen, I. O., Reid, M., & Yuksel, U. (2015). Customer-to-customer interactions and word of mouth: conceptual extensions and empirical investigations. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 23(4), 287-304.
Scopus21 WoS152015 Karpen, I. O., Bove, L. L., Lukas, B. A., & Zyphur, M. J. (2015). Service-dominant orientation: Measurement and impact on performance outcomes. Journal of Retailing, 91(1), 89-108.
Scopus153 WoS1082012 Karpen, I. O., Bove, L. L., & Lukas, B. A. (2012). Linking Service-Dominant Logic and Strategic Business Practice: A Conceptual Model of a Service-Dominant Orientation. Journal of Service Research, 15(1), 21-38.
Scopus277 WoS1962011 Josiassen, A., Assaf, A. G., & Karpen, I. O. (2011). Consumer ethnocentrism and willingness to buy: Analyzing the role of three demographic consumer characteristics. International Marketing Review, 28(6), 627-646.
Scopus105 WoS78 -
Books
Year Citation 2016 Calabretta, G., Gemser, G., & Karpen, I. (2016). Strategic Design: 8 Essential Practices Every Strategic Designer Must Master. BIS Publishers. -
Book Chapters
Year Citation 2022 Tierney, K. D., Karpen, I. O., & Westberg, K. (2022). The role of brand-facing actors in shaping institutions through brand meaning co-creation. In Research Handbook on Brand Co-Creation: Theory, Practice and Ethical Implications (pp. 122-137). Edward Elgar Publishing.
DOI Scopus12022 Karpen, I. O., Vink, J., & Trischler, J. (2022). Service Design for Systemic Change in Legacy Organizations: A Bottom-Up Approach to Redesign. In B. Edvardsson, & B. Tronvoll (Eds.), The Palgrave Handbook of Service Management (pp. 457-479). Springer International Publishing.
DOI2016 Tierney, K., Westberg, K., & Karpen, I. O. (2016). Co-Creation of Service Brand Meaning: Initial Findings from an Exploration of Bank Branding in the Vietnamese Retail Banking Sector. In Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science (pp. 264). Springer International Publishing.
DOI2016 Azabagic, N., & Karpen, I. (2016). Making it Count: Linking Design and Viability. In G. Calabretta, G. Gemser, & I. Karpen (Eds.), Strategic Design: Eight essential practices every Strategic Designer must Master. 2016 Conduit, J., Karpen, I., & Farrelly, F. (2016). Student engagement: a multiple layer phenomenon. In C. Plewa, & J. Conduit (Eds.), Making a Difference Through Marketing: A quest for different perspectives (pp. 229-245). Singapore: Springer.
DOI Scopus24 -
Conference Items
Year Citation 2016 Sharma, S., Conduit, J., Karpen, I., Rao Hill, S., & Farrelly, F. (2016). Co-creation in a Service Innovation Context. Poster session presented at the meeting of LOOKING FORWARD, LOOKING BACK: DRAWING ON THE PAST TO SHAPE THE FUTURE OF MARKETING. Melbourne, Australia: SPRINGER INT PUBLISHING AG.
Scopus2 WoS1
Fight Food Waste CRC – Hospitals and Aged Care Project 2023-2024
ARC Discovery Project 2021-2024
Project title "Customer Engagement toward Social Purpose"
Victorian Government Tender 2019-2020
Project title "Human Centred Design Reform Project", in the legal sector
I fundamentally care about and work towards improving and innovating human experiences, and the (eco)systems where these experiences emerge. The design discipline that underlies this purpose and my daily practice is rather interdisciplinary, not being bound by rigid ideologies but open philosophies, integrating valuable insights from various perspectives for the betterment of the (eco)system. This challenges me to meaningfully combine human desirability (needs of people), with system-level feasibility (resources, processes), viability (relevant returns) and sustainability (long-term shared benefits).
As a practicing Strategic Designer, I apply design principles and practices to support positive change and innovation across product/service systems, business models, and (eco)systems. For this reason, I lead projects and trainings across government, industry and social enterprise sectors. This includes, for example, strategic design projects to redesign legacy organisations with traditionally less service-centred perspectives such as courts or hospitals; but can also include entrepreneurs and businesses that seek to make a difference to the wellbeing of people and the community, such as organisations driven by a responsible and/or a strong social purpose.
While engaging in these projects, I also seek to translate important (yet non-confidential) insights into academic publications and leverage these in my education. This creates a circular knowledge flow that my clients, students and partners benefit from.
Since completing my PhD in 2011 at The University of Melbourne and starting my academic position in full-time capacity, I have been passionate about inspiring students to interact with their peers, lecturers, and industry partners to cocreate exciting learning experiences and outcomes. This includes undergraduate, postgraduate and executive teaching. I view learning as a shared responsibility but put all my effort into engaging interactions in view of critical thinking and creative learning processes.
I teach courses at the nexus of business and design, such as Design Thinking for Business, Service Design for Entrepreneurs, or related Creativity and Innovation Management courses. Over the years I have built particular expertise in executive education and involve industry partners to design context-relevant strategy solutions together with students.
In terms of pedagogy, I have been recognised with school (department), college (faculty), overall university, national government and international teaching awards. I am also an ongoing Fellow of the Advance | Higher Education Academy, championing teaching innovation and excellence.
-
Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name 2022 Principal Supervisor The dark side of convenience: when online service convenience creates customer disengagement Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mrs Brittany May Currenti
Connect With Me
External Profiles